By Alex Bentley

This week's kids and family events are your typical mix of things that will take you all around the North Texas area. There's the start of summer in Grapevine, singing girls in Fort Worth, a music festival in Grapevine, the honoring of veterans on Memorial Day in Westlake, and some spying in Denton

Thursday, May 21 is the start of Summerfest 2009 at the Gaylord Texan in Grapevine, and they'll kick it off with a train exhibit that'll have members of the Lone Star High Railers train club present to teach visiting kids how the train was built and operates. The exhibit will be held every Thursday until September 6, and other Summerfest events can be found by searching for "Summerfest" (or just click here).

On Friday, May 22, the Singing Girls of Texas will perform their Standing Room Only show at the Fort Worth Academy of Fine Arts. The annual performance showcases the girls' dancing, singing, and acting skills. If you miss this one, don't fret -- they'll do the whole thing over again Saturday night.

Sunday, May 24 is the day for GRACE Rocks the Vine, a brand new, family-friendly music festival at the Palace Theatre Arts Center in historic downtown Grapevine. Among the many bands there will be The Zack King Band and Haley Osier.

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By STEVE BROWN / The Dallas Morning News

Despite huge cuts in the residential construction business, Dallas-Fort Worth still ranks second in the country in new-home sales and starts.

Only Houston had more new-house construction and sales during the 12-month period ending in March, housing analyst Metrostudy Inc.

By DEBORAH FLECK / The Dallas Morning News
Lewis Warren Jr. started plunking on a beat-up old piano when he was 3.

Q & A: What You Need To Know About Swine Flu

WASHINGTON (AP) -- A never-before-seen strain of swine flu has turned killer in Mexico and is causing milder illness in the United States and elsewhere. While authorities say it's not time to panic, they are taking steps to stem the spread and also urging people to pay close attention to the latest health warnings and take their own precautions.

Schedule for Presidents Day:

•Banks: Many, but not all, banks are closed.
•Federal, state and local offices: Closed.
•Financial markets: Closed.
•Post offices: Closed.
•Schools: Closed.

-- Federal offices and courts will be closed Monday for Columbus Day, one of 10 federal holidays.

-- There will be no home mail delivered Monday, except Express Mail.

By TREBOR BANSTETTER

Fares at Dallas/Fort Worth Airport and Dallas Love Field jumped during the first quarter of 2008, according to a new report, but Love Field remained one of the nation’s cheapest airports.

One-way domestic fares averaged $383 at D/FW during the quarter, up 7 percent from the same period in 2007, according to the Bureau of Transportation Statistics.

By GORDON DICKSON

DALLAS — Another Fort Worth-versus-Dallas battle is brewing.

A dispute between the Fort Worth Transportation Authority and Dallas Area Rapid Transit threatens to delay construction of a commuter rail line from southwest Fort Worth to Grapevine and Dallas/Fort Worth Airport.

WASHINGTON (AP) -- Thursday is the day about 2 million Americans get a raise.

That's when the federal minimum wage goes up 70 cents an hour.

WASHNINGTON (1010 WINS) -- Inspectors are collecting soil, water and produce samples, reviewing export logs and combing packing plants in three major tomato-growing states in Mexico.

But the U.S.

By SCOTT STREATER

Ozone pollution is projected to reach unhealthy levels across the Dallas-Fort Worth region for the first time this year today and throughout the weekend.

The highest ozone for today is forecast to occur on the northeast side of the Metroplex, primarily in Collin County. But by Sunday, state regulators say, it could reach unhealthy levels at areas like Eagle Mountain Lake in northwest Tarrant County, and in Denton.

The prime reason: A continental air mass will move air pollution from the West Coast and Midwest into the Dallas-Fort Worth area by late Friday, where it will mix with pollution generated by cars, trucks, construction equipment and industry in the region, said Bryan Lambeth, senior meteorologist at the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality.


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By MATTHEW HAAG / The Dallas Morning News

Feeling the pinch from rising gas costs? Imagine paying to fill up a fleet of school buses each month.

Some districts are asking drivers such as Anthony Gray to curb gas-guzzling habits like idling.

A study shows that the area is a great place for foreign investors, lured by the weak dollar, to set up shop

By MARIA M. PEROTINStar-Telegram Staff Writer

With the dollar's value waning, it's now cheaper for companies to do business in the United States than in many European countries.

The Dallas-Fort Worth unemployment rate slipped to 4.3 percent in February, while the statewide rate reached a 30-year low of 4.1 percent.

The Dallas-Fort Worth jobless rate was down from 4.6 percent in January and 4.5 percent in February last year.

The Dallas-Fort Worth area added the most residents out of all metropolitan areas in the country last year, according to data from the U.S. Census Bureau.

By KEVIN KRAUSE / The Dallas Morning News

Dallas County has taken an aggressive stand against fraudulent vehicle inspections by spearheading efforts to smoke out offenders and by forming a Clean Air Emissions Advisory Board to involve other agencies in the effort.

But the county now finds itself the focus of an investigation of bogus inspection stickers after state officials found paperwork discrepancies involving four to seven county vehicles.

By STEVE BROWN / The Dallas Morning News


Another month brings another increase in local foreclosures.

The number of Dallas-Fort Worth area homes faced with foreclosure rose 19 percent for April compared to a year earlier.

March 13, 2008

DALLAS -- Driving to her job at a landscaping company on Interstate 30, Sondra Plunk saw a young boy fall from an overpass and land in the lane next to her.

''I saw his face,'' she said. ''I saw the fear in his face.''

The boy and his brother were tossed from the overpass east of downtown Dallas on Wednesday, allegedly by their mother, who then made the two-story jump herself.

Somehow, all of them survived dropping into the fast lane of morning rush hour traffic.

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Southwest Brings 171 Soldiers Home for the Holidays

Last update: 11:00 a.m. EST Dec.

By TERRENCE STUTZ / The Dallas Morning News

AUSTIN – Farmers Insurance on Wednesday proposed an average 5 percent reduction in home insurance rates in Dallas and Tarrant counties, but it also served notice that it wants to raise rates 20 to 30 percent along the Texas coast.

In a filing with the Texas Department of Insurance, Farmers indicated its new rates would result in an overall statewide increase of 2.2 percent, with hefty premium hikes in coastal counties and southeast Texas and modest reductions in North Texas and many other parts of the state.

Michelle Levy, a spokeswoman for Farmers, said nearly 50 percent of the company's 686,000 policyholders in Texas would see lower premiums under the plan.

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