McKinney is Growing

Here is an article I just read at cnn.com about fast growing cities in the US. There are a few mentions of McKinney.


**The Big Easy is making a big comeback. New Orleans has steadily won back some of the population it lost in the wake of Hurricane Katrina in 2005, according to a government report released Wednesday.

New Orleans lost more than half its residents during the deluge. Few large U.S. cities have ever had to cope with a disaster on that scale. Since then, it has been one of the country's fastest growing cities.

Only a couple of instances can compare. Galveston, Texas, was also devastated by a hurricane in 1900, a storm that remains the most lethal natural disaster in U.S. history with a toll of about 6,000 deaths. And San Francisco was almost leveled by the earthquake and fire of 1906.

New Orleans is now growing rapidly. Its population is up 8.2% in the 12 months that ended July 1, 2008, gaining 23,740 people to 311,853, according to the Census Bureau. That still leaves it well below its pre-storm population of 484,674.

For sheer numerical increase, New York City trumped the birthplace of jazz. During the same 12-month period, Gotham added nearly 53,500 residents, more than any other city. That represented a growth rate of only 0.6%.

Following New York City were Phoenix, which added 33,184 residents (2.1%) to a total of 1,567,924, and Houston, up 33,063 to 2,242,193 (1.5%).

The top percentage winners, after New Orleans, were Round Rock, Texas, part of the Austin metropolitan area, which grew by 8.2% to 104,446; Cary, N.C., which gained 6.9% to 129,545; and Gilbert, Ariz., which swelled by 5% to 216,449.

New York retained its position as the largest U.S. city by far. Its nearly 8.4 million folks crammed into 303 square miles is more than twice the number of people who live in sprawling Los Angeles, the nation's second biggest city with 3,833,995 people.

Chicago, once the nation's second city, has fallen nearly a million behind Los Angeles with 2,853,114.

Most old Midwestern and Northeastern cities have shrunk in population since World War II as heavy industry waned in importance to the overall economy. Much of the growth in these areas occurred in suburban towns and were not counted in central city population figures.

Meanwhile, many Sun Belt towns exploded with growth as job opportunities in new technology industries proliferated. Northerners, including retirees, also moved south and west, lured by the warmer winters and relaxed life styles.

Among old-line cities, New York has been one of the few to buck this trend. In the years since the last census in 2000, it has gained 355,056 residents, a substantial gain and more than the total number of people who live in St. Louis.

The highest rate of growth since 2000 was reported by McKinney, Texas, which more than doubled to 121,211 from 54,369. Gilbert, Ariz., was second with an 88.7% jump to 216,449.

Few losers
Of the 25 largest cities, only a handful experienced population loss.

Detroit, suffering from the turmoil in the auto industry, fell 0.5% to 912,062. The population of Philadelphia dipped slightly to 1,447,395 from 1.446,631. Baltimore dropped 0.5% to 636,919 and Memphis fell at about the same percentage rate to 660,651.

There have been some changes this year to the 25 largest cities.

For one thing, Denver moved into 24th place with 598,707 residents. It replaced Nashville, which dropped out of the top 25.

In addition, Dallas (1,279,910) edged past San Diego (1,279,329) to eighth place from ninth. San Francisco also moved up to 12th place; its population (808,976) surpassed Jacksonville (807,815).

And Austin (757,688) blew past Columbus (754,885) to 15th. Charlotte (687,456) leapfrogged Memphis (669,651) to 18th and El Paso (613,190) passed Boston (609,023) to 21st.

First Published: July 1, 2009: 12:02 AM ET**

Dogs With Beards

If you need a good laugh or a break at work today... check out this website.

Carrie

So Ugly They're Cute

Here are photos from the Ugliest Dog Competition in California.

Enjoy.

Carrie

I love Betty White

Hello and Happy Friday!

I just read this fantastic interview with actress Betty White. She is co-starring in the new Sandra Bullock movie, The Proposal.
Click here to read it.

Carrie

American Idol Auditions in Dallas

Here is some info on the auditions...

The New Cowboys Stadium in Arlington. Registration is the 24th and 25th. The actual auditions are on Friday the 26th. Click here for details.


Carrie

Cold Medicine Warning

Good Morning. Thanks for checking out the blog.

Did you read this story today about Zicam? If you use this over the counter medicine, check it out here.

Carrie

Fun Website of the Day

Hey Star Wars fans... I found this website today that asked people to photoshop their favorite celebrities into photos of Star Wars characters. My fave is Jack Nicholson as an Ewok. Here ya go.

Carrie

Tips from John Tesh

John Tesh's website always has some interesting facts. www.tesh.com

Did you know that most people LIE on their online dating profile?
Here is the story:

Most Online Daters Lie

Here’s the hard truth about online daters: Most of them lie. I’m not talking about the bad apples that prey on innocent people, or the scoundrels looking to cheat on their spouse. I’m talking about the average online dater. Here are the details, from the oldest continuously published magazine in the U.S., Scientific American:

•When researchers at Boston University and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology surveyed online daters, 1 in 5 said they lied to improve their profile. When the scientists crunched the numbers, the figure was closer to 9 out of 10.
•So, what’s everyone trying to hide? Their appearance. In a study done by Cornell University that checked actual height and weight against profile height and weight, the average person said they were five pounds lighter and an inch taller.
•Ladies, some guys lie about more than their waistline. They lie about their income, their education, and unfortunately, their availability. A University of Chicago study estimates that 13% of the men on dating sites are married.
•Women are much less likely to lie about being married - but in addition to their weight, they do often get creative with their age.


What’s this mean to you? Well, first of all, you should take online profiles with a grain of salt. According to Yvonne Rice, author of Finding The One: A Powerful Step-by-Step Guide to Making Online Dating Work for You, other people’s lies create opportunities for honest daters. She believes being honest in your profile attracts people who are frustrated with finding out that their online dream date is a nightmare in person. Also, telling it like it is saves time, and weeds out people you aren’t compatible with. Plus, when you do meet the right person, your honesty will help establish that all important part of a relationship – trust.

Save Money on Concert Tickets

If you are buying concert tickets this summer, check this out...

Live Nation, the world's largest concert promoter, is giving cash-strapped fans something to sing about.
Starting a minute after midnight Tuesday (12:01 a.m. Wednesday), the company will waive service fees for 24 hours on more than 5 million lawn tickets for amphitheater events ticketed by LiveNation.com. That typically will save ticket buyers about $10 off what are already the cheapest seats available.

The promotion will continue throughout the summer with a variety of "No Service Fee Wednesday" specials. Blink-182, Coldplay, Nickelback, Toby Keith, The Killers, Rascal Flatts and The Dead are among the touring acts included.

Free Stuff!

Hello. Welcome back from the long holiday weekend. Was it hard to wake up this morning?

This week we have some great prizes to give away. Be listening for passes to Nancy Lieberman's Basketball Camp. If you want details on her camp go to www.nancylieberman.com

We also have tickets from Texas Motor Speedway. Listen for your chance to win tickets to the Winstar World Casino 400 and the Bombardier Learjet 550k.

Good Luck.

-B and Carrie