Fort Worth film boom, snakes on set, cheap eats, Ebola | Top service stories
The Star-Telegram service journalism team covered a range of news this week, from Fort Worth earning international recognition for its booming film industry to where to find the best cheap eats in town to a look back at how North Texas faced Ebola. Here’s a look at what readers were following.
- From reporter Brayden Garcia: Fort Worth and the Fort Worth Film Commission won the Emerging Location Award at the Global Production Awards in Cannes, France, recognizing a decade of growth that has driven $1 billion in economic impact and created more than 50,000 jobs since 2015, with major productions including “Landman,” “Lioness” and “Dutton Ranch” filming in the city.
- From reporter Brayden Garcia: Cole Hauser revealed on “The Kelly Clarkson Show” that more than 3,400 rattlesnakes were caught during eight months of filming “Dutton Ranch” in North Texas. The production employed up to six snake wranglers and once had to pause shooting after crews found 40 to 50 rattlesnakes at a single location.
- From reporter Ella Gonzales: Members of the Fort Worth Foodies Facebook Group shared more than 130 recommendations for eight affordable restaurants in Fort Worth offering meals under $12. The list spans southern comfort food, barbecue, breakfast, Tex-Mex and Asian cuisine, with deals including $5 smash burgers, Taco Tuesday specials and buy-one-get-one barbecue plates.
- From reporter Ella Gonzales: The Malt Shop, a classic 1950s drive-in burger restaurant in Weatherford, is expanding with a second location in Peaster. Owners David Hart and Shawn Allen plan to open the new spot at the former Merl’s 111 barbecue stand by mid-June to early July, featuring homemade ice cream and rotating Mexican, barbecue and steak specials.
- From reporter Tiffani Jackson: A look back at the 2014 Ebola outbreak in North Texas recalls how Thomas Eric Duncan arrived in Dallas from Liberia and became the first person diagnosed with Ebola in the United States. Duncan died Oct. 8, 2014, and nurses Nina Pham and Amber Vinson contracted the virus while caring for him before recovering at specialized treatment centers.
The summary points above were compiled with the help of AI tools and edited by journalists. The source reporting referenced above was written and edited entirely by journalists.
Jake Harris
Fort Worth Star-Telegram