The Standard’s news roundup gives you a quick hit of interesting, sometimes irreverent, and breaking news stories from all over the state.
If someone told you there was a state that was more fun than Texas, we doubt you’d believe them.
But according to a recent report from finance site WalletHub, not only is Texas not the most fun state – it only ranks 34th in the nation.
“We looked at 22 different indicators of a good time here,” says WalletHub analyst Jill Gonzalez. “They range from movie theaters per capita to movie costs, to accessibility of national parks to casinos per capita. So not only how many fun things there are to do – entertainment, nightlife, and recreation-wise – but how much that’s actually going to cost you as well.”
Gonzalez said that Texas was average when it comes to entertainment and recreation – so it was the state’s nightlife rankings that dragged it down.
“The good news is that when it comes to beer and wine prices, Texas is pretty hard to beat,” Gonzalez adds. “The beer and wine there is pretty cheap. But when it comes to things like nightlife options per capita – so not only how many bars there are per capita, but how many there are per thousand square feet –we not only looked at accessibility but proximity to bars as well. And of course because Texas is so big and sprawling, it didn’t do as well in its access to bars and nightlife options.”
The state that was considered the least fun? Mississippi. And perhaps not surprisingly, Nevada – home to Las Vegas – was considered the most fun by WalletHub.
With only two-weeks left in the 85th legislative session, state lawmakers are pushing to get their bills across the finish line.
Texas Public Radio’s Ryan Poppe has a report on the Texas Senate. He says on Monday, the members of the Senate will consider a bill by Sen. Eddie Lucio, D-Brownsville, which would establish a Communicable Disease and Public Health Center in the Rio Grande Valley. The center would be used to study diseases like the Zika virus.
Then as early as Tuesday, members of the Senate could vote on House efforts to reform the state’s system for funding public schools. Houston-area Sen. Larry Taylor, R-Friendswood, is hoping to attach a measure that would create a private school choice, or voucher, program that would be available for special needs children.
When you use a drive-thru ATM at the bank, you’re used to the sound of idling engines.
But what about the sound of idling horses?
A horse sauntering up to an ATM might be a rare sight, but in a town outside of San Antonio, customers can saddle-up to an automated teller on horseback.
According to the local ABC station in Austin, the Wells Fargo in Bandera, Texas has also set up hitching posts so people can tie up their horses while inside the bank.
