Five stories that have North Texas talking: Severe weather is in the forecast today; have you seen the new ad that features a shirtless Dan Patrick?; who’s hungry for donuts?; and more.
Dallas officials expect to decide by Friday which airline gets two gates at Love Field that American Airlines must give up since its merger with US Airways. The CEOs of Southwest Airlines and Virgin America attended a Dallas City Council meeting Wednesday. Council members held most of their discussions behind closed doors. The U.S. Justice Department says Virgin America should get the gates to increase competition at Love Field, where Dallas-based Southwest is the dominant carrier. In the meantime, Richard Branson, the founder of Virgin Group, stars in this YouTube video -- a love letter to Dallas Love Field. Southwest is fighting back with a "What's LOVE got to do with it?" campaign.KERA’s Bill Zeeble was at the meeting and has more details. [Associated Press]
- Rain will fall on Dallas-Fort Worth Thursday – and some of the storms could be severe. Expect lots of rain – perhaps an inch or two. In some areas, there could be flooding. Hail and damaging winds are possible. Expect a high around 80 degrees. The National Weather Service reports: “Another round of strong storms will move east and northeast toward the Interstate 35 corridor through mid-morning. During this time, we expect the majority to remain below severe limits. However, a few strong storms will occur through mid-late morning and may produce small hail, gusty winds, brief heavy rainfall, and frequent lightning.”
- Just when you thought you've seen it all in the Republican lieutenant governor runoff. The ongoing battle between David Dewhurst and Dan Patrick took a creative twist Wednesday -- and it's all inspired by Frozen, the hit Disney movie that features the hot song "Let It Go" and the Norwegian princess with icy powers. First, the Dewhurst campaign posted a YouTube video that features Patrick lip-synching to a version of “Let It Go." The video, “The Ballad of Dannie Goeb,” focuses on Patrick's name change and bankruptcy. Then Patrick unveiled a post on its DewFeed page, a site that resembles BuzzFeed, complete with animated Frozen GIFs. No, we’re not making this up. Read more about it here.
- The Denton City Council voted this week to impose a temporary ban on hydraulic fracturing until September. But fracking opponents want to make that permanent through an ordinance that would prohibit the practice in Denton. They’ve submitted a petition that seeks a total ban. The Fort Worth Star-Telegram reports: “The Denton Drilling Awareness Group … said Wednesday morning that it turned in at least 1,871 signatures in support of the petition. It needs a little less than 600 valid signatures to force a public hearing and council vote. The city has 20 days to verify the signatures and then 60 days to hold the hearing and vote on the proposal.” Denton could become the first place in Texas to ban hydraulic fracturing. [Associated Press]
- Time to eat the donuts! The Dallas Morning News visited Glazed Donut Works in Deep Ellum. There, you can devour ice cream donut sandwiches; the donut grilled cheese (bacon and cheese in between a donut); a vegan watermelon donut; and many more. Check out the slideshow – but you’ve been warned: You’re going to get hungry.
