this week's hot headlines

Alamo Drafthouse Cinemas' return tops week's 5 hottest Dallas stories

Alamo Drafthouse Cinema is back.

Alamo Drafthouse Facebook

Editor's note: A lot happened this week, so here's your chance to get caught up. Read on for the week's most popular headlines. Looking for the best things to do this weekend? Find that list here.

1. Alamo Drafthouse Cinema to re-open all 5 locations in Dallas-Fort Worth. The Alamo Drafthouse Cinema chain is back in business in Dallas-Fort Worth: According to a release, the company will reopen all five locations in Dallas-Fort Worth as well as a location in the Twin Cities in summer 2024.

2. Enterprising Frisco teen invents app that slashes wait times at the DMV. Finding and waiting for a DMV appointment can be far from pleasant. Sowmya Nandyala, a 13-year-old from Frisco, took it in her own hands to find a solution and founded DriveIt.

3. Supermarket chain H-E-B breaks ground on new location in Rockwall. The ground has been broken on the newest H-E-B coming to Dallas-Fort Worth: According to a release, H-E-B officially started construction on its H-E-B store in Rockwall, located at the southwest corner of I-30 and South John King Boulevard in Rockwall County.

4. Blazing heat across Dallas and Southwest is climate change, scientists say. Human-caused climate change dialed up the thermostat and turbocharged the odds of this month's killer heat that has been baking the Southwestern United States, Mexico and Central America, a new flash study found.

5. Woman-owned wine lounge with self-serve pours premieres in The Colony. A woman-owned wine bar and lounge is now serving wine with a twist in The Colony: Called Simply Unwine, it opened in May at 5701 SH-121 #110 in a cute little center off South Colony Boulevard, where it's offering wine by the glass or bottle, plus a menu of sharable plates and bites.

movies supermarkets hot-headlines

Music News

Dallas record store owner and DJ suffers catastrophic injury in fall

Chris Penn

The Dallas music community is rallying around a local figure who's been hurt in a serious accident: Chris Penn, a DJ and co-founder of music store Good Records, fell while at work and sustained serious damage, causing paralysis from the neck down.

According to a post from musician Tim DeLaughter, founder of Polyphonic Spree and co-founder of Good Records, Penn was taking down advertising decals on the store's front window on Monday March 17 when the decal unexpectedly gave way and he fell backwards landing directly on his back.

DeLaughter described the fall as "catastrophic," stating that "his spinal cord was bruised and paralysis was immediate from the neck down."

"It's going to be a long road ahead with many challenges along the way, and we're just getting started," DeLaughter said.

Penn has been in the Intensive Care Unit ever since and is being monitored around the clock. Their current focus is on getting his intubation tube removed so that he can start the journey of breathing without assistance — "that's the first step of many to come," DeLaughter said.

No visitors are allowed but they've started a GoFundMe for Chris, his wife Jennifer, and their three sons Oliver, Archie, and Grover that has already amassed more than $6,000 in donations.

There is also a link for a MealTrain for those who prefer to make donations of food.

"Please send your prayers and positive thoughts towards Chris and his family as we navigate his road to recovery," DeLaughter said. "I know. It's a lot to take in….As you can imagine, the world stopped and from that moment on it has been about Chris and what his future will look like."

DeLaughter also said that one of the first things Penn discussed — via nodding his head at letters until a word was spelled — was "order" — as in order Charlie Crockett Records for an in-store appearance this weekend.

"That pretty much sums him up, so be sure to show up for that in-store tomorrow. We’ve got some records to sell," DeLaughter said.

music