Five stories that have North Texas talking: Skip Fletcher dies at 82; a human shield forms during Texas Muslim Capitol Day; a Dallas theater founder hospitalized after being shot; and more.
Skip Fletcher, a patriarch of the famous Fletcher's Corny Dogs at the State Fair of Texas, has died at 82. Fletcher had been ill with pneumonia and died Tuesday morning, according to a state fair spokeswoman. On Fletcher’s Corny Dogs Facebook page, a post reads “Skip leaves behind a legacy of love, devotion and adoration for you, his fans, that we will humbly continue.”
This year’s state fair marks Fletcher’s 75th anniversary at the annual extravaganza in Dallas’ Fair Park. A mainstay of the fair, Fletcher’s was founded by Skip’s father, Neil, and uncle, Carl, in 1942, when they sold their legendary corny dogs for just 15 cents a piece, according to The Dallas Morning News. After the original brothers died in the ‘80s, Skip and his brother, Bill, took over the family business. Read more about the history of Fletcher’s from Eater Dallas. Below is a 2015 story from NBC DFW featuring Skip. [The Dallas Morning News, Eater Dallas, NBC DFW]
- Supporters formed a human shield around those attending Texas Muslim Capitol Day. Tuesday’s event came days after President Trump signed an executive orderbanning the entry of individuals into the U.S. from seven countries and temporarily blocking the resettlement of refugees in the country. The Texas Tribune reports: “Two years ago, the Muslim participants who attended the Texas Capitol were met with two dozen protesters who repeatedly interrupted their event. But when participants walked up to the south steps of the Capitol on Tuesday morning, they were surrounded by a massive human circle made up of at least 1,000 supporters...” [The Texas Tribune]
- Matt Posey, artistic director of Dallas’ Ochre House Theater, has been hospitalized after being shot in Deep Ellum Monday. Posey is in stable condition. Art&Seek reports: “Police say Posey and another person had left the bar Cold Beer Company after 11 p.m. Monday and were getting into their car on Main Street. A gunman opened the driver’s side door and began firing. Posey was struck twice in the face. The shooter has not been caught, according to Dallas Police.” Posey’s Ochre House is a funky storefront theater in Exposition Park. Friends and family gathered at the hospital Tuesday. Performances this week have been postponed. [Art&Seek]
- Spiral Diner’s vegan chocolate pie was the talk of the recently wrapped Sundance Film Festival. The Fort Worth restaurant's pie starred in a scene with actress Rooney Mara in “A Ghost Story,” the new film from Dallas director David Lowery. The scene shows “Mara, overwhelmed with grief, eats an entire vegan chocolate cream pie in two takes over five minutes that has caused much of the excitement,” according to the Fort Worth Star-Telegram. As Vulture noted, “people mostly just want to talk about the pie.” Fun fact: Spiral Diner’s James Johnston is a producer on the film. [Fort Worth Star-Telegram]
- Lawmaking in Texas is pretty complicated. What do you want to know about it? The 2017 Texas Legislative session is underway. State legislators meet every other year for 140 days in a frenzy of debating, deal-making, stand-taking, bill-killing and, occasionally, law-making. KERA and public radio stations across Texas want to know what you want to know about the Legislature: how it works, why it works the way it does and what you want lawmakers to do. We want your voice to be heard as we cover the state Capitol, so send us your questions! Use the form below. [Texas Station Collaborative]
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