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North Texas Attorney Threatens To Sue Mansfield Diner Over Saturday Soup Special

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Our Place restaurant in Mansfield.

Five stories that have North Texas talking: The dissatisfied lawyer seeks $2.25 for the soup plus $250 in legal fees; a Laredo-born musician remembers his time with Prince; KERA’s Think is in D.C. and more.

Have you ever made a decision when you’re hungry? Was it a good one? Dwain Downing, a lawyer from Arlington, didn’t get his soup on a recent Saturday special, and he’s now planning to sue if not compensated by Our Place, a diner in Mansfield, according to the Fort Worth Star-Telegram.

Downing wanted beef vegetable soup as a part of the restaurant’s $7.95 special on Saturday, April 16. Our Place ran out of soup, and so Downing requested a substitute side or a discount on the price of the special, The Dallas Morning News reported, but he did not get either because of restaurant policy.

 

Downing accused Benji Arslanovski of deceptive trade practices notified him via certified mail that if he wasn’t repaid $2.25 for the soup, or was not contacted within 10 days, he was going to file a lawsuit.

“The menu is an offer for a contract by you,” Downing wrote in the letter. “I accepted the offer. This action by you and I created a binding contract which is legally enforceable in a court of law.”

Arslanovski then posted the letter on Facebook, commenting the soup comes free with the special, and it’s only available “while supplies lasts”. Downing also demands that policy be changed to allow substitutions or price reductions if an item is unavailable, the Star-Telegram reported.

Downing and Arslanovski think the situation is not a big deal, according to the Star-Telegram and Morning News, but they’re both willing to go to court. [Fort Worth Star-Telegram, The Dallas Morning News]

  • Residents of The Rio Grande Valley have been consuming toxic fish for decades. Fish from the Donna Reservoir are contaminated with dangerous levels of cancer-causing chemicals. Residents have known this for about seven years. Federal environmental regulators and state health officials have known for 23. The water itself is safe, but the issue with the carcinogenic fish has stumped researchers since 1993. The Texas Tribune reported: “For all that’s been done in this small, mostly Hispanic community, the narrative surrounding Donna lake tells a familiar story in Texas. It's one of poor people of color exposed for decadesto dangerous environmentalcontaminants with solutions largely out of grasp.” Read more.
  • Think will broadcast live from the NPR headquarters in Washington in D.C. this week. KERA’s Krys Boyd will speak with the familiar names and voices of NPR, including Nina Totenberg and Kelly McEvers, as well as Texas political representatives like Congresswoman Eddie Bernice Johnson and Senator John Cornyn and many more for a week full of interesting conversations. Visit our Think in D.C. page for more information and join the conversation by tweeting @krysboydthink using #ThinkinDC. [KERA]
  • Adrian Quesada, the leader of Austin’s Grupo Fantasma, recalls Prince’s immense talent. Grupo Fantasma participated in Prince’s musician residency in 2006, and the late guitarist and pop artist liked their music enough to invite the group to play at a Golden Globes party and a music club in London. Perhaps the most memorable time Quesada and his band spent with Prince were the late-night hotel room jam sessions. Quesada talked to Texas Standard about the experience:
“We went from being his little bros to somebody that was – you can’t say ‘An equal with Prince’ – but somebody that at least deserved to be on the stage with him,” Quesada says. “Those were probably the best shows I’ve ever been a part of. Every little note and every little song and lick that you play is just complete magic.”

Prince died Thursday, April 21 at the age of 57. Read more. [Texas Standard]

  • Dallas Stars advanced to the second round of the Stanley Cup playoffs. The Stars claimed a 5-4 victory against Minnesota Wild on Sunday. The team maintained a 4-0 lead Wild scored three times in the first nine minutes of the final period, according to The Associated Press. “Jared Spurgeon had two power-play goals for the Wild before Jason Pominville cut the Stars' lead to 5-4 with 4:47 remaining.” Dallas will face the winner of tonight’s Game 7 matchup between St. Louis Blues and the Chicago Blackhawks. [The Associated Press]