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Quickest Stop Ever: Dallas 7-Eleven Built In 5 Days

Lyndsay Knecht
/
KERA News

Five stories that have North Texas talking: A flat-packed corner store is born, Ted Cruz becomes Texas' first Hispanic U.S. Senator, a Fort Worth DWI enforcement officer faces DWI charges and more.

You know that 7-Eleven on the southwest corner of Greenville Avenue and Meadow Road? No? Check again. It wasn't there last month, but it's there now, after just five days of assembly from one kit of flat-packed materials. This isn't a Swedish concept. San Francisco startup Project Frog is behind these sustainable buildings-from-boxes.

The company has 300,000 square feet of energy-efficient, lower-cost structures planned for this year, including ambitious projects for school districts and health-care companies such as Kaiser Permanente.  Forbes has more.  [HT Unfair Park]

  • When Ted Cruz is sworn in today in Washington, he becomes the first Hispanic to represent Texas in the U.S. Senate. The GOP hopes his presence will draw Latino voters to the party, though his stance on immigration might impede his influence on the voting bloc. [NPR]

  • A  DWI enforcement officer in Fort Worth has been arrested ... on suspicion of driving drunk. Officer Nicolas Ramirez's blood alcohol level was more than twice the legal limit of .08. Ramirez is out of jail on bond, but he's looking at a Class A misdemeanor DWI charge that could mean a $4,000 file and a year in jail. [Fort Worth Star-Telegram]

  • No doubt you Downton Abbey fans were pumping fists en route to work, as the Granthams and their staff appeared on Morning Edition today. Actors Hugh Bonneville, Elizabeth McGovern and four other cast members reveal candid takes on the characters' development and give listeners a guided tour of the Highclere Castle set: "The big painting of a man on a horse at the end of the dining-room table is a genuine Van Dyck. It's the real thing," says Jim Carter (Carson the Butler). Season three of Downton Abbey premieries Sunday night on KERA Channel 13. And to celebrate, NPR also provides a quiz about all things Downton. [NPR]

  • Dallas chef John Tesar packed his knives and left Top Chef Seattle last night. Tesar, who helms the kitchen at Spoon, lost out with umami risotto vetoed by judge Padma Lakshi. But his presentation attitude-wise cost him too, apparently. [Pegasus News]