Top stories: Aviation pioneer dies, family mourns child, latest on data centers
.JPG "1960 photo of Wally Funk preparing to fly a Lockheed T-33 Shooting Star at Fort Sill, OK.. It was quite rare for women to fly jets in those days. Area resident Funk was one of 13 women candidates for the Women in Space program, an unofficial part of NASA's Mercury space program in the 1960's. The program was ended before any of the women went into space. Funk, now in her 60's, has been flying professionally since 1957, and still hopes to make it into space. (Photo courtesy of Wally Funk)")
From a fatal house fire to the death of a pioneering astronaut, Fort Worth and the surrounding region saw significant news this week. Here’s a roundup of the top stories from the Star-Telegram newsroom.
Here are key takeaways:
- The Fort Worth Zoning Commission voted 7-4 on July 8 to recommend denial of a proposal that would establish data center zoning rules, including a 250-foot setback requirement and a ban on cryptocurrency mining, after more than two hours of discussion. The Fort Worth City Council is expected to weigh the data center zoning rules at its Aug. 11 meeting, with residents able to complete a city survey that closes July 15.
- A Fort Worth family is grieving the loss of 5-year-old Lyxander Adryan Barboza Mendoza, who died in a June 25 house fire on McCart Avenue that destroyed everything the family owned. A bystander named Leon Segura punched through a glass door and pulled two children out of the burning home before firefighters arrived, though two children remain in critical condition at the Parkland Hospital burn unit in Dallas.
- Ranchman’s, an 80-year Denton County landmark in Ponder, has reopened as Ranchman’s by Marty B under new owner Marty Bryan, featuring a new bar, patio and Western-themed saloon after being closed for most of the last six years.
- John Denver, whose “Take Me Home, Country Roads” became a 2022 FIFA World Cup singalong hit, lived in Fort Worth from 1957 to 1961 and graduated from Arlington Heights High School, though he remains less well-known locally than other westsiders.
- Aviation pioneer Wally Funk, the oldest woman to travel to space, died July 8 at age 87 in her Grapevine home after flying on Blue Origin’s New Shepard NS-16 rocket in 2021 at the age of 82. Funk was a member of the all-female Mercury 13 test program, the first female FAA inspector and the first female flight instructor at a U.S. military base, training more than 3,000 pilots over her career.
The summary points above were compiled with the help of AI tools and edited by journalists. The source reporting referenced above was written and edited entirely by journalists.