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Cheers! Southwest Revives 5.8 Million Expired Drink Tickets

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Five stories that have North Texas talking: Sky-high piles of unused drink tickets, anti-cheer from the KERA newsroom, bids for Hostess and more. 

Did you get passed one of the 5.8 million drink tickets Southwest passed out during October 2007 and August 2010? They can still be redeemed, according to a settlement with a Chicago attorney.

Here's the deal: The airline first offered patrons tickets they could redeem anytime they wanted. Then, in 2010, Southwest decided those tickets were only good on the day they were issued. Now those who say they had vouchers (no paper proof needed) are eligible for new drink tickets, good for a year -- but better ASAP. Or, sell ‘em on Ebay. Bids stand at about 8 vouchers for $15.

The Chicago Tribune has the story (HT Unfair Park.)

  • Back on the ground: Shelbi Walser, 12, was detained for an hour at DFW airport after TSA agents found traces of explosive material on her hands. Her mother, Tammy Daniels, says the decision showed a lack of common sense and sensitivity -- her daughter is confined to a wheelchair, and the wheel collects random particles like the bottoms of shoes, she says. [CBSDFW]

  • Morning Edition host Sam Baker does not hate Christmas. But as a discerning jazz/pop aficionado, he does not particularly like hearing “The Christmas Song” played incessantly in versions by artists who’ll never nail it like Nat Cole did. Reporter BJ Austin, Think host Krys Boyd and others in the newsroom loathe a holiday song or two like any American who occasionally visits a mall. Find out which tunes KERA staffers hate and exactly why. (Courtney Collins looked to Steve Wiest, who directs UNT’s Grammy-winning One O’Clock Lab Band, for reasons some songs are more grating than others.)

  • The future of Hostess Brands looks predictably okay. Wal-Mart and Kroger are among the companies bidding to assume the stamp’s iconic snacks. Nobody from any of the suitor firms are talking yet about which particular Hostess assets they’re after, beyond admitting sights solely on the “cake and bread business.” [Reuters]
  • Museum Tower found its first luxury condo buyer after a long dispute about the glare it casts on the Nasher, complete with rejected possible solutions. But the Dallas Morning News’ Steve Thompson rights that in not making the requisite tour public, the Dallas Police and Fire Pension system violated the Texas Open Meetings Act. [DMN]