Leading Off (7/28/09)

1. Texas spends less money per pupil than all but six other states, according to 2007 census data — about $7,800 a year versus a national average of more than $9,600 a year. (Although those figures are disputed.) But, at least we have the largest outstanding debt for education purposes at about $50 billion. (Does my student loan still count toward that?)

2. Speaking of kids, Texas is doing the best job in the nation of reducing the rate of fatal teen car crashes. As the father of a 15-year-old who tells me every day she wants a shiny new pink convertible Volkswagen Beetle, this is good news.

3. If, like me, you’re excited about the new Fairview Macy’s store opening north of Dallas, you’ll be happy to know the company is now being careful to tailor each store’s merchandise to better match the surrounding area’s tastes. Because, as one retailer notes, “the Dallas customer and the Portland customer are very different.” I would suspect, for example, you won’t find T-shirts in Portland with the Fairview city slogan “Keeping It Country.”