Five stories that have North Texas talking: Don’t panic — the recall only affects Rocky Road; what’s next for the former residents of Tent City; an iconic Denton venue is closing after almost two decades; and more.
Yes, it’s too soon to hear of another Blue Bell recall. The ice cream gradually returned to shelves late last summer and fall after the listeria outbreak in April 2015. But this time around, the reason for recall is much less severe, and it’s only involving two flavors — pints of Cookies ‘n’ Cream were mislabeled as Rocky Road.
This might not seem like a big deal — certainly compared to listeriosis — but for people with serious allergies to soy and wheat, a scoop of Cookies ‘n’ Cream could cause problems. No illnesses have been reported thus far, Fort Worth Star-Telegram reported.
A Blue Bell employee detected the mix up, so the company is playing it safe and recalling the pints of mislabeled Rocky Road produced at its plant in Brenham and distributed in Texas and Louisiana.
The Star Telegram reported: “A code on the bottom of the affected pints is 022918576. Anybody who bought one of these pints can return it to the store where they got it for a full refund. For more information, call (979) 836-7977.” [Fort Worth Star-Telegram]
- Fourteen attacks and robberies in Oak Lawn with no arrests mobilized the long established gay community to protect its residents. Texas Standard reported: “Frustration in this part of Dallas is beginning to mirror that of New York in the 1970s, when the so-called Pink Panthers organized patrols to protect their LGBT neighbors from attacks.” That frustration created Take Back Oak Lawn back in October 2015, when organizer Michael Dominguez was hospitalized from an attack on his way home after getting drinks with a friend. According to Texas Standard, the group report information about local crimes from police blotters to members of the community, and some have organized a volunteer block patrol. Read more. [Texas Standard]
- Tent City, the homeless encampment beneath I-45 has been officially closed, but there’s still work to do. The city decided to disband the community of 300 people due to concerns over violence and public health. Cindy Crain, president of Metro Dallas Homeless Alliance said service groups have placed 50 members of Tent City in new housing. KERA’s Stephanie Kuo reported: “Crain said outreach workers will now try to find people from Tent City, who were close to getting housed, and help them get settled somewhere more permanent. She said they’ve learned a lot from the past few months, and will use that to tackle the new homeless camps that have already popped up around Dallas.” Read more. [KERA News]
- After almost 20 years, Denton’s Rubber Gloves Rehearsal Studios is closing. The music venue, which opened in 1997, will close its door tentatively on June 5, according to its Facebook page. The message did not include a reason for closing, but described the situation as “unexpected” and “shock”. There will be several “surprise shows” between now and early June. Details are still being worked out, the venue said, and they’ll share them as they become available. GuideLive reported: “Rubber Gloves is Denton's second iconic venue to throw in the towel. Last November, Hailey's, a 12-year staple of the music community, announced it was revamping its model after a spell of financial hardship.” [GuideLive]
- Attorney General Ken Paxton has used taxpayer-funded security officers and drivers to travel safely to North Texas multiple times a month for the past year. The Texas Tribune reported: “The latest records available from DPS show that from January 2015 to February 2016, travel, lodging and meals for Paxton's security detail cost taxpayers $78,000. Nearly half of that — about $35,000, which includes $16,000 for lodging alone — was spent on the DPS team's travel to cities in Collin County.” Paxton travels two to four times a month to his various properties and obligations in North Texas towns, including church at Prestonwood Baptist, where congregation members have seen Paxton and his wife “being picked up at the church's main entrance by black sedans, SUVs and men in suits who appeared to be a security detail.” Read more. [The Texas Tribune]
