Heather's Dallas Blog

On Wednesday, the CDC confirmed the presence of cryptosporidium organisms in Burger's Lake. Burger's Lake remains closed until the lake is considered clean of the parasite.

Other area pools and lakes have not been found to contain cryptosporidium, but continue to exercise caution when swimming. Don't get pool water in your mouth and tell children the same. Wash your hands with soap and water after swimming and before eating or preparing food.

Further reading:
Safe swimming
CDC's guide to crypto

Salmonella has been found in jalapeno and serrano peppers and avocados distributed by Grande Produce, Ltd. Co of Hidalgo, Texas. They are recalling shipments Read more...

Here's a smattering of free stuff to do in Dallas and the surrounding area for Jul 24-30:

Yea! Free food!

An early memory of mine is of a school field trip to a hibashi grill. For $3 each, a group of fifth graders got dressed up, went to Benihana, and enjoyed the show. I loved it -- vegetables flying, seasonings bouncing off the edges of the grill, utensils twirling. It was great. I even ate the food. Picky eater that I was, that's a bit surprising. But I was caught up in the excitement. Hibashi Teppan Grill, Sushi & Bar is offering a free kid's meal Read more...

Here's a smattering of free stuff to do in Dallas and the surrounding area for Jul 17-23:

July festivals kick into high gear this weekend. Temperatures are predicted to peak around 100 on Saturday and Sunday. Even so, my recommendations for this weekend are outdoors. I will also recommend that you remember your sunscreen and hat.

Look at nebulae, star clusters, planets, moons, and interesting happenings in the night sky this Saturday night with the members of the Fort Worth Astronomical Society. Society members bring their telescopes to the parking lot north of the Fort Worth Museum of Science and History in the Fort Worth Cultural District and allow the public to view the night sky. Admission is free. The star party starts after dusk when the sky is dark enough to see the stars.

Here's a smattering of free stuff to do in Dallas and the surrounding area for Jul 10-16:

• The construction of the Fort Worth Museum of Science and History is reaching its high point this week. The dedication is at 10 a.m. and includes live music and free Curly's peach-flavored frozen custard. Guided construction perimeter tours are at 11 a.m. and 2 p.m. The Fort Worth Museum of Science and History is located in the Fort Worth Cultural District.
• 2:30 p.m.-4 p.m., bring those mysterious fossils to the National Cowgirl Museum to be identified by science curator Dr. Aaron Pan. The Cowgirl Museum is located in the Fort Worth Cultural District.

Dallas County began their traffic ticket roundup yesterday to collect revenue on more than 600,000 unpaid tickets. Some of the tickets are decades old, but they are limited to tickets written by Dallas County sheriff's deputies and deputy constables. During the traffic ticket roundup, the Dallas County sheriff's office will be issuing warrants. The total amount of unpaid traffic tickets is more than $200 million. Wow. The revenue from the tickets will help make up the $34 million shortfall in the county's budget.

Fourth of July is on Friday this year, which makes it easy to not get up for work the next day. It seems every city has at least one fireworks display going on. Many cities also have concerts and family activities beforehand. Grab a blanket (or several, depends on how big your family is), pack that cooler (if coolers are permitted -- they're not allowed in every celebration), and head out to the local fireworks display.

Photo of Fourth of July fireworks (c) Heather Carr, licensed to About.com