Axios Dallas

July 21, 2022
Happy Thursday! Forgive the lonely heart.
πΏ Today's weather: Satan called. It's too hot for him here.
π΅ Sounds like: "I Will Buy You a New Life"
π Situational awareness: Luka DonΔiΔ was absolutely robbed at the ESPYs last night when he didn't win the award for "Best NBA Player."
- The honor went to some dude named Stephen Curry instead.
Today's newsletter is 932 prime words β a 3.5-minute read.
1 big thing: Low credit Texans feel impact of higher health care costs
Illustration: Brendan Lynch/Axios
Texans with credit scores below 700 have felt the impacts of inflation more dramatically than their neighbors with better credit.
- This is especially true when it comes to health care costs, analysts from the Center for the New Middle Class (CNMC), a Fort Worth-based financial firm that researches behaviors of the middle class, tell Axios.
Why it matters: About 45% of Texans had a credit score under 680 in 2018, the latest year available, per the Dallas Fed β though that percentage is likely higher now after several years of global economic instability.
- Analysts have dubbed these people "non-prime" consumers.
What they did: CNMC researchers asked non-prime consumers to report how much strain β a lot, a little or no strain β various household costs are causing to their month-to-month finances.
What they found: The number of non-prime consumers who said they felt less financially secure overall compared to the prior year grew throughout 2019 and peaked in the shutdown in 2020 β but then it dropped in 2021.
- The latest data suggest that insecurity is climbing again.
- Researchers saw a 10 percentage-point increase in the number of non-prime households experiencing "a lot" of strain due to health care costs, which includes both the price of insurance and out-of-pocket expenses.
- Groceries, utilities, entertainment and gas also ranked high on that list.
Yes, but: People with better credit scores were more likely to report that housing costs caused "a lot" of strain.
Go deeper: Read Rachel Monroe's New Yorker story about the cost of inflation in small-town Texas.
2. "The Daily" tells the tale of a local miscarriage complicated by abortion law
Illustration: Sarah Grillo/Axios
A 35-year-old woman from the Dallas area had two miscarriages within a year and had a vastly different experience after the state's abortion ban went into effect last fall.
- She shared her story with the New York Times, which detailed the ordeal on "The Daily" podcast.
Why it matters: Restrictive abortion laws may be scaring doctors away from performing procedures for anyone experiencing a miscarriage.
- There's little difference between those procedures and the methods used to perform abortions, blurring the lines for doctors who may fear legal reprisal.
What happened: The North Texas woman and her husband were overjoyed when she became pregnant, but they learned there was no longer a heartbeat during a routine ultrasound at the 10-week mark.
- She underwent dilation and curettage, or D&C, to remove the pregnancy tissue from her uterus per her doctor's recommendation.
But, but, but: When Amanda had another miscarriage about eight months later, she was denied a D&C at the same hospital.
- She was told to go home and only return if she bled enough in an hour to fill a diaper.
- The hospital declined to say whether the law played a role in denying the treatment.
Flashback: Texas' law that bans abortions after six weeks, including in cases of rape and incest, went into effect in September.
- Now that Roe has been overturned, a trigger law will go into effect that makes performing an abortion a felony.
What's next: Amanda no longer wants to conceive in Texas.
- "We don't feel like it's safe in Texas to continue to try after what we went through," she told the Times.
3. π DISD's bag policy gets the Trevor Noah treatment
Major bag alert. Photo: Gary Miller/Getty Images
"The Daily Show" recently took a jab at Dallas ISD's new policy requiring secondary students to carry clear or mesh backpacks when they return to school next month.
Catch up fast: The school district announced the policy Monday, saying it's intended to make campuses safer.
- Students can carry small opaque pouches for toiletries and other personal items.
Threat level: "The Daily Show" host Trevor Noah questioned the effectiveness of clear backpacks for keeping guns out of school.
- "I'm constantly amazed by how America is willing to get rid of everything, except guns," Noah said.
- The comedian joked that one solution could be to stop sending kids to school, "that way the guns can go there in peace."
Yes, but: The backpacks are just one component of the school district's safety policies.
- DISD's secondary schools require students and staff to go through metal detectors.
- The district also has a police agency led by a former Dallas police assistant chief.
4. π Burnt ends: Bite-sized news bits
We bull out all the stops. Illustration: Brendan Lynch/Axios
β Uvalde school officials will consider firing the district's police chief during a special meeting Saturday. The chief has been lambasted for his slow response during the mass shooting at an elementary school. (Texas Tribune)
π³ The Texas Civil Rights Project says the Voting Rights Act of 1965 is still necessary despite calls from the Texas GOP to repeal it. (KERA)
β½οΈ AAA says gas prices might drop below $3 per gallon. So, you're telling us there's a chance. (Star-Telegram)
π₯ Coronavirus hospitalizations in North Texas have increased to the highest levels since February. (NBC5)
Fresh job openings around town
π³ Branch out with our Job Board.
- IT Project Manager at Verizon.
- IT Business Analyst at RL Canning.
- Product Owner at Epsilon.
Want more opportunities? Check out our Job Board.
Hiring? Post a job.
5. π One very popular new dog to go: Portillo's
All this for ... a hot dog. π€· Photo: Tasha "College Try" Tsiaperas/Axios
π Tasha here.
I thought it might be too hot for a crowd to line up at Klyde Warren Park for a hot dog from the new Portillo's truck parked there Tuesday evening.
- I was wrong.
What happened: Apparently, many, many others were curious about the Chicago-based restaurant that's moving to The Colony this fall.
What I did: I waited about five minutes in line before texting my Axios Chicago colleague to see if it was worth it.
- I waited another 20 minutes before I decided it wasn't. He texted back shortly after that to say it's good, but not that good.
Instead, I found some air conditioning, a cocktail and a salad.
- Less than an hour later, the line hadn't moved much.
What's next: The truck will be in The Colony starting at 4pm today, at 5752 Grandscape Blvd.
- Maybe I'll try again.
Our picks:
π» Mike is reading Jamil Jan Kochai's new collection, "The Haunting of Hajji Hotak and Other Stories," which features a touching story told entirely via resume.
π₯΅ Tasha is rethinking her decision to try charcoal deodorant this week.
π€ Naheed is preparing for out-of-town guests by reading about the top Texas things that we often have to explain to visitors.
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