They are the latest victims of the recesson: the middle class.  Low income advocates tell me they are seeing increasing numbers of middle class now needing assistance.  It's across the board...shelter, food, job placement.  It's hitting Dallas and advocates expect it to get worse before it gets better. 

The investigation is far from over -- but legal experts anticipate there will be questions about the way the Cowboys responded to the approaching severe weather before the bubble came down, injuring 12 people -- 3 of them seriously.

There was a 25 minute warning from the National Weather Service, but Jerry Jones says the team got "little warning". No one was ushered out of the flexible structure building despite the incoming storm. The structure was built to withstand 90 mph winds, so perhaps many inside felt it was a safe place to be. It will be interesting to watch the safety questions play out. Tell me what you think -- were the Cowboys too cavalier about the approaching storm? 

I'd never really thought about it until I stumbled upon this story. How do kids who are in the hospital for months keep up with their schoolwork? As it turns out, the class comes to them. Children's Medical Center in Dallas has a program where hospital teachers crack the books with students in their hospital room. The goal is to make sure the kids stay on track to move on or graduate. I met a Dallas ISD hospital teacher and a fifteen year old girl diagnosed with Myeloid Leukemia. She'll be in and out of the hospital for up to six months, but she won't fall behind her classmates. The day we dropped by to shoot the story she was studying geometry. The girl is from a town near Sherman, but she's now a DISD student. I hope her hospital room studies go well and that she gets to go home soon.

That's what I expected to hear from drivers today, after telling them gas prices went up $.04 overnight and $.10 in the past week.

Some say there is an expensive ring, a baby ... all of it makes for very interesting news, but for the soft-spoken German basketball player it has to be a very difficult time. By all accounts, Dirk Nowitzki is a nice and normal fellow, who can play one vicious round of ball. Perhaps, he was just unlucky in love and came across a gold digger, whose story he bought hook, line and sinker.

In any case, sometimes you feel for the person you are covering and this happens to be one of those times for me. Who hasn't been made a fool while under the spell of the "love bug"? But, you do wonder with all that fame and fortune couldn't Dirk have "bought" some good advice, or at least hired a private investigator a whole lot sooner? 

Feel distracted? Imagine how Dirk Nowitzki must feel. A woman he apparently has a relationship with was arrested at his Dallas home. Police say she has more than one name and is wanted for various transgressions. Game three is Saturday, and all the talk is about Dirk. Will he play well? Is he distracted? Will the team rally around him? We'll find out tomorrow, but I interviewed a peformance expert and he says great professional athletes have something in common. Concentration. Blocking out off field or court distractions. Hank Aaron did it. Barry Bonds did it. Kobe Bryant did it. Lets hope my expert is right, and Dirk can turn urmoil into triumph.

On many occasions, I've said out loud and to no one in particular, "I'd love to go back to schoool."  (For the record, I'm talking college here, not kindergarten.)

Today made me rethink that.  I spoke with TCU students turned graduates overnight and they are now officially entering a highly competitive job market.  Several have spent months looking with no luck.  One new grad who secured a job in November is thankful, saying the position wouldn't be available now.

It's just one reason to be glad I'm not in school anymore.  That...and I'm not smart enough!    

The FBI-Dallas is debuting a new way to track down criminals. Partnering with Clear Channel Outdoor, the agency is using digital billboards to flash the pictures of the most wanted fugitives. It's brand new to the DFW area --- look for the billboards in the Arlington-Grand Prairie Corridor.

But, now here's the question -- if you recognized the person on the billboard as your friend, neighbor or even a relative, would you make the call?

GM dealerships are feeling the heat tonight, as its CEO announces bankruptcy is still probable and notification of dealer closures could go out this week.

That was my original story but the Dallas City Council didn't take up the issue until this afternoon so we had to regroup and come up with my "real" original story to do. Folks in Prosper are dealing with some bad water... check it out at nine.

I've heard there is a recession. But if you talk to doctors who offer concierge service, things are good. Okay, if not good, better than many of them expected. That's because concierge service can set you back about 5K or more, depending on the package. It may seem expensive, and it is, but everyone is making hard choices. Some choose health over golf memberships, season tickets and so on. Even people who can afford concierge service have had to cut back, just not on their health care.

Not a fun day. I spoke with car dealers ordered shut down today by Chrysler. For one owner, it came as a surprise... and a costly one. He will lose 3 million dollars. His 40 employees will lost their jobs as they know it, but the owner is going to place them in his other dealerships.

It was interesting being inside Friendly Chevrolet today -- on one of the worst days in recent memory for GM dealerships. The owner was smiling and the staff seemed upbeat -- that's because this dealership with a long history and large sales volume was safe.

But, I'm sure inside others that were cut -- it was a bleak picture. Although, those dealers aren't talking, at least not many in North Texas. It's too bad we couldn't hear more from those that didn't have their contracts renewed. Their customers would probably like to hear their plans. 

It broke my heart seeing Sandra's story or our newscast tonight. To think of how those horses must have suffered is too much for me.

The woman at the center of the Dirk scandal has finally broken her silence. Cristal Taylor talked to the DMN from her jail in Beaumont, saying she is pregnant with Dirk's baby. Listening to the interview, at times you might believe what Taylor is ssaying. Her voice cracks and she sobs softly.

But then, there's the assertion that the two met during a "random, wrong number phone call". What! -- how would that go? "Sorry I was trying to call Jim. Well, this is Dirk. Really, Dirk the ball player. Ya, that's me". That is just a little hard to believe. I think it got a few laughs when I mentioned it in the newsroom.

Taylor claims she still loves Dirk with all her heart and was never after his vast fortune. She said she would love him if he only had 2-cents. 2-cents or 50 million, only Taylor knows the truth. 

We do thank the Dallas Morning News for allowing us access to the interview. So if you want to hear the entire interview, check out dallasnews.com.

And excited kids.

Pride was literally oozing out of Dallas' Spruce High School today. The students' latest TAKS scores mean the school, once slated for possible closure, will stay open. Samuell High School goes to the head of the class, too.

Yes, you read correctly.  If you play the piano, chances are your body may be suffering down the road.  Eri Yoshimura, a Doctoral Candidate in Piano Performance at the University of North Texas, is researching piano-related injuries.  UNT is one of the only Music Schools in the country that offers their students a "Music and Medicine" area of concentration.  Turns out there are many health occupational risks in the music industry. 

Yoshimura just completed her third study on piano-related injuries.  In this particular study, she uses motion-capture cameras and sensors on keyboards to collect the data.  The result is computer-generated animation.  The equipment that Yoshimura and the research team at UNT are using is very much like what was used to create "Gollum" in the movie Lord of the Rings.

Her data shows the pain is not caused by how much time one spends playing, but rather the size of the players hands in relation to the keyboard.  Pianists with smaller hands have a very hard time reaching the octave key.  They end up cheating the music and in the process contorting their bodies.  

Yoshimura is currently applying for a grant to study piano related injuries in people ages 11-26. 

Most people realize anchors do a lot more than just read the news. They report stories, make community appearances & help write the show.

Walt has another, special talent. He's a photographer. Most of the pictures you see on this website, were taken by him. He took the first pictures at the Rangers opening game, today he was at the Byron Nelson Golf tournament, and this weekend he's going to take pictures at the Cowboys Cheerleading try-outs.

Walt picked up photography when he was an anchor in Austin. He didn't have a lot of extra money to decorate his home, so he decided to take his own pictures and decorate with them. Several years later, he now gets to post his pictures, for everyone to see. If you like them shoot him an email. walt.maciborski@the33tv.com He doesn't even realize i'm writing this, so he'd be surprised to get the compliment :)

Graduation and prom is here -- and every parent is convinced that their kid isn't going to drink. Police say wake up. It happens ALOT and it can mean to bad things. Police are stepping up enforcement, but kids say it doesn't matter -- they will find a way to get the booze.

So, the only real solution -- in this reporter's opinion -- is to make sure your teen is smart enough to say no. Easier said than done. We've all been there.  

We have 3 backpack journalists at the 33 News. Our newest reporters are Dan X and Holly. They have extremely strong news backgrounds.

They both used to report for newspapers and are training to make their debut on TV sometime early next week. They also have experience shooting video, but it wasn't quite like this.

Here they have the top of the line equipment.

They're editing on Final Cut, on brand new Macs. They've got awesome new Sony cameras. They'll be able to finish their stories in the field, and feed them back to the newsroom from their laptops. I talked to both of them about making the switch from print, to TV. 

They are both taking it really seriously- and are excited to show off their stories to an entirely new, fresh audience.

 And they do NOT REALLY carry backpacks. I asked.

What a terrific sight today at Grapevine Lake. It was so crowded you could barely move and that is welcome news to marina businesses that have been struggling. Maybe it is a sign that this will be a good summer for those merchants. No doubt, they will be keeping their fingers crossed, hoping Independence Day will be equally lucrative. 

OK, so what would you pay to speed up that dreaded rush hour commute? Did you say your right arm? .. well, keep it intact because TXDOT officials have a better idea.

How about toll lanes on publicly-funded highways? That is what is happening with the new DFW Connector in the Grapevine corridor. The massive 24-lane highway, when complete, will also feature 4 toll lanes. For 16-cents a mile you can hop on and go. Note: there will only be 4 miles of toll lane in each direction, just part of the 14 mile stretch.

I don't know about you, but for about the price of a can of pop (yes, I said that. I am from Kansas) -- OK, soda ... you can put the pedal to the metal and cruise 50 miles an hour during peak traffic. Count me and my "64-cents" in!

...but I'm back! Asking you to help me help you help me better report on our local economy.

What's important to you? What's of concern to you?

Yes, that's with a capital "L".

You don't have to look far to see that some Dallas schools are very troubled, but there are the "shining stars" -- the learning centers and magnets, where students excel and succeed. You don't hear as much about these schools, but you may now.

Superintendent Michael Hinojosa and a majority of the board support a plan to cut these schools -- to trim the best. They say it's necessary because of a federal law that says schools must be funded equally. At stake: millions of dollars in federal funding.

But, here's the rub -- teachers and parents of the magnets and learning centers say isn't it a better choice to increase funding to the other schools, rather than cut the schools that are doing a good job educating kids? They make a valid point. Raise up everyone!

You can't grow money, so this funding has to come from somewhere. But at the same time the district is wielding the axe on these magnets, it is adding jobs at headquarters. That really has people asking, what is up? I think we haven't heard the last of this yet.

Hull and Jackson have been reassigned to different roles within the organization.  Hull's new job is Executive Vice President and Alternate Governor.  Jackson moves back into his old office as Director of Scouting and Player Development.  Hicks made it clear that both men are still important to the organization.

"Brett and Les have done a great job as co-general managers but after analyzing the situation, it is in the team's best interest to return them to roles that fit their respective strengths" Hicks said.  "Brett will assist the club in several business areas and serve as an advisor to me and Jeff Cogen, while Les will go back to what he does best - overseeing our scouting department."

For the first time in school history, the TCU baseball team has advanced out of the NCAA regional tournament. 

The Frogs rallied from a 4-1 deficit to eliminate Oregon State on Sunday night at Lupton Stadium.

Former Plano West star Jason Coats completed the heroics with the game winning single to right field which scored Matt Holaday from second base. It was one of three hits for Coats who earned the Most Outstanding Player of the Fort Worth Regional.