Five stories that have North Texas talking: Love Field airlines compete for low-cost carrier title; a pregnant sword swallower proves she can stomach danger; Vanilla Ice burglarized a Florida home; and more.
The Love Field airline wars hit a new level Wednesday as Virgin America announced it would challenge Southwest on one of the routes that built the low-cost carrier — Dallas to Austin. Virgin America, an airline that moved from DFW to Love Field last fall, is offering low rates as a part of its “Texas Just Got Smaller” fare sale to commemorate further expansion. America will launch flights from Love Field to Austin April 28, but the $39 ticket price will only last until 11:59 tonight. KERA’s Bill Zeeble reports the enticing sale mimics a well-known Southwest strategy. “Southwest isn’t asleep in the cockpit. It’s matching Virgin America’s $39 fares to Austin. Those flights must be booked before midnight tomorrow.” [KERA]
- A 9-months-pregnant sword swallower slid a 14-inch blade down her throat. Veronica Hernandez will perform her cringe-worthy talent in front of live audiences and represent Dallas at World Sword Swallower’s Day in Grand Prairie. The Dallas Morning News captured video of Hernandez performing by putting a GoPro camera at the end of her sword. [Dallas Morning News]
- An original play from Dallas writer, Jonathan Norton, takes place in Civil Rights Era Mississippi. The play, Mississippi Goddamn, explores the “tensions and complications among neighbors in the years leading up to the 1963 assassination of Medgar Evers,” according to the South Dallas Cultural Center. Art&Seek director Anne Bothwell sat down with Norton to talk about the production, which opens tonight and runs through March 8. [Art&Seek]
- A special episode of State of the Re:Union exploring African-American art and its social role will air tonight. From a poem celebrating Nina Simone and her powerful voice for social change to the story of the surprising event that sparked the hip-hop revolution to unsung heroes of the culinary arts, “The Power of African American Art” provides a window into African-American history and how communities have been transformed. Tune into KERA 90.1 FM at 8 p.m. to hear a rich hour of art and culture.
- “Anything less than your best is a felony.” This verse from the 1990 one-hit-wonder, “Ice Ice Baby” rang true for rapper Vanilla Ice on Wednesday. Robert Van Winkle (his real name) burglarized an abandoned home in foreclosure in Florida. The Associated Press reported the 47-year-old Dallas native was charged with “burglary of residence and grand theft and taken into custody. Authorities say furniture, a pool heater, bicycles and other items were removed from the home sometime during December and February.” Watch Van Winkle in his better days. [Associated Press and Dallas Morning News]
