May 9-12, 2011 – Dallas Morning News
It’s been a good week. First, my story about the Waco Mammoth Site, the largest collection of Columbian Mammoth bones in the country, was featured on the front page, below the fold. Then on Wednesday, my story about the 40th anniversary of the invention of the frozen margarita machine by Dallas restaurateur Mariano Martinez ran on the cover of the Metro section. Both stories were picked up by the AP and ran on the wire.
Waco seeks national monument recognition for Mammoth Site
WASHINGTON — Waco leaders are hoping that a small, brown arrowhead designating a site as a national monument will soon adorn one of Texas’ paleontological treasures — and that the site will be like no other in the system. Read more…
Frozen margarita machine, invented in Dallas 40 years ago, shook up Tex-Mex history
WASHINGTON — He may not have created the first margarita, but Mariano Martinez transformed the drink from a border cantina concoction to the nation’s most popular alcoholic beverage with his invention in Dallas of the frozen margarita machine.
Forty years later, Martinez’s invention has increased the U.S. demand for tequila and contributed to the widespread popularity of Tex-Mex cuisine. Read more…