Attack of Snow Miser. Freezing rain and sleet have coated North Texas in a sheet of ice, and conditions aren’t expected to thaw much over the weekend. Grocery stores were overrun last night, with customers stocking up in anticipation of being trapped in their homes for several days. About 200,000 people are without power. Downtown’s Main Street caught on fire. Roads have gotten messy. Schools are closed. Many flights are canceled. Saturday’s parade has been called off. So far it looks like runners will still show up Sunday morning to run 26 miles in the cold. Best of luck to them. (UPDATE, 1 p.m.: Dallas Marathon has been canceled.) I’ll be sleeping in until Heat Miser returns.
Rangers Outfielder Victim of Extortion Ring. According to the U.S. attorney’s office in Miami, three people conspired to extort Leonys Martin out of millions of dollars. Martin claims that, after he first defected from Cuba, a Mexican management company held him against his will and held his family hostage until he paid a “ransom” by agreeing to pay 30% of his future baseball earnings.
City Hall Tree-Huggers Go to Court. In a lawsuit filed last week, the city of Dallas is asking that developer Mario Davey pay a fine of up to $500,000 for illegally clearing an East Dallas lot of 29 trees in order to build homes. Davey just calls it “dirty politics.” It’s the first time the city has sued over a violation of the tree ordinance.
