Here are the headlines Peggy Heinkel-Wolfe read on-air this week:
DCTA, UNT re-visit bus contract
A new bus contract may be coming soon between the Denton County Transportation Authority and the University of North Texas.
For the past year, DCTA has put pen to paper and found a gap between the subsidy that UNT pays for bus service and what that service actually costs—which is more than $160 an hour.
DCTA also noticed that after cutting several Connect city bus routes, the year-round demand for GoZone ride-shares surged near the university.
CEO Paul Cristina told the DCTA board earlier this month that he didn’t think they could fully close the gap between the subsidy and the true cost of bus service, at least not any time soon.
Paul Cristina: “Ninety percent of all of our ridership is associated with the UNT contract. Now, as the Connect service grows, I think that will be offset. But it’s a significant driver of ridership. It’s a significant driver of costs. And it needs to be an equally significant driver of revenue.
“And so one of the things that we focused on this year is understanding, what is this UNT contract that we have that was struck most recently in 2019? It’s on a 10-year basis with a price schedule for hourly cost of services. What is it paying for? What is it not paying for? How does it address our current state of operation?”
He said that university officials understood the community’s need for a unified bus system. And they also understood that about $2.6 million of the $10 million in annual capacity for ride-shares is being spent within a quarter mile of the university.
Cristina got little public feedback from the board on the likely changes they will be asked to approve soon.
But the changes appear to be coming just in time. Texas Woman’s University asked DCTA about bus routes for its students that will be living off-campus next fall. And DCTA recently gave its bus drivers pay raises and better benefits in the hopes that they can recruit and hire more drivers by the fall.
More information at ridedcta.net.
UNT names Keller president of Denton campus
On Monday, the UNT Board of Regents officially appointed Harrison Keller as the next president of the Denton campus. The university announced Keller as the sole finalist about three weeks ago. He came to UNT from the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board. More information at news.unt.edu.
Memorial Day storm stats
In a recent memo to the city council, Solid Waste Director Brian Boerner recapped clean up from the Memorial Day storm. Crews from the Streets Department joined Solid Waste in working six days a week through most of June to help the city recover from downed trees and limbs, and other damage.
Crews typically collect about 130 tons of yard waste each day during peak seasons. That daily volume tripled in the days following the storm. Department officials said that they collected an extra 2,155 tons of yard waste and brush from the storm.
The city composts yard waste at the landfill, selling it back to the community at an affordable price.
More information at cityofdenton.com.
Federal settlement helps Texas voters with disabilities
Just in time for Disability Pride Month, the U.S. Department of Justice and four Texas counties announced a settlement that ensures elections information is accessible on the web. Elections officials in Upton and Runnels Counties, in West Texas, and Smith and Colorado Counties, East Texas, agreed to independent audits of their websites that provide voting information after federal officials determined the websites were inaccessible to people with visual and manual disabilities.
The websites are supposed to provide information on how people with disabilities can vote by mail in their counties, along with other critical information covering early voting and election day details. For information on the settlement, visit justice.gov.
To learn more about the Americans with Disabilities Act and universal design elements for the web, visit ada.gov.
Tech class for seniors
As part of a series of technology classes at the Denton Public Library, specialists from the Digital Career Center at Goodwill are offering a class Monday evening for seniors on cybersecurity and avoiding scams.
Upcoming classes will cover internet and email basics and resume building.
The classes are free but registration is required. More information at library.cityofdenton.com.
Local News currently airs each Wednesday at 10 a.m. on KUZU 92.9 FM-LP in Denton, Texas, with rebroadcasts airing at 3 p.m. Thursday, and 6 a.m. and 7 p.m. Friday. The Weekend Edition of Local News airs each Saturday at 4 p.m., with rebroadcasts at 9 p.m. and midnight; and 8 a.m. and 9 p.m. Sunday.
Send news tips by email to newsonkuzu@protonmail.com or by calling 940-241-7531.
On air since 2017, KUZU is Denton’s only volunteer-run, nonprofit community radio station. You can learn more and listen online at kuzu.fm.
Local News and Weekend Edition scripts are published on Substack. Subscribe for free at peggyheinkelwolfe.substack.com and follow live microblogging of Local News on Mastodon @phwolfe940@denton.social. Peggy is an award-winning, veteran journalist and a Denton County resident since 1993.