Patrick claims "bathroom bill" win, Cowboys face daunting foe, Curious Texas visits Little Mexico Village: Your Wednesday evening roundup

Good Evening! Here is a look at the top headlines of the day. 🔎 Prefer the online view? It's here.  [Evening roundup]( 01/09/2019 By Wayne Carter Good Evening! Here is a look at the top headlines of the day. 🔎 Prefer the online view? It's [here.]( Lt. Governor Dan Patrick, Governor Greg Abbott and Speaker of the House Dennis Bonnen speak at a press conference Wednesday at the Governor's mansion in Austin on opening day of the 86th Texas Legislature. (Ashley Landis/Staff Photographer) TEXAS LEGISLATURE [Dan Patrick says bathroom bill fight is 'settled' and 'won']( Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick says [the battle over the bathroom bill is over.]( "Sometimes a bill doesn't pass, but you win," Patrick said at a press conference Wednesday morning with Gov. Greg Abbott and House Speaker Dennis Bonnen. "I think it's been settled and I think it's been won. "When you win the battle, you don't have to fight the battle again." The bathroom bill, which Patrick strongly backed in 2017, would have restricted which restrooms transgender Texans could use. The legislation failed to become law, thanks largely to opposition from Fortune 500 companies and other business interests. Editorial: Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick says the bathroom bill was a win. [Here is a list of other important "wins."]( Symbolic gesture: The Texas flag that flew over the state Capitol on Tuesday [honored transgender Texans]( a Denton mom says. ADVERTISEMENT SPORTS [Film Room: How the Cowboys can slow down Aaron Donald and move the ball on the Rams defense]( From SportsDay contributor John Owning: The Dallas Cowboys have the unenviable task of playing against the most dominant defender in the NFL this week, as Dallas will be traveling to Los Angeles to take on Aaron Donald and the Rams. At 6-foot-0 and 280 pounds, Donald is a force against the run and pass. In a season that will likely result in a Defensive Player of the Year award, Donald recorded 106 total pressures (first among all NFL defenders), 20.5 sacks (first), 20 quarterback hits (third), 65 hurries (first) and 51 total stops (eighth). He's impossible to stop, but the Cowboys will hope to slow Donald down enough so their offense can still move the ball down the field. Let's discuss how the Cowboys can go about [slowing Donald down without compromising their ability to move the ball on the Rams defense.]( Joint announcement: He didn't say much, but [here's what Cowboys QB Dak Prescott had to say about his knee.]( Dream boat: Check out the $250 million, football field-length super yacht [that Cowboys' Jerry Jones now owns.]( OPINION [Dallas taxpayers can’t accept city's convention booker spending $150 million with little accountability]( From The Dallas Morning News Editorial Board: According to the city auditor, VisitDallas received almost $150 million in the fiscal years 2013-17 to market Dallas. That money was spent without any significant oversight from the city. The audit also asserts that VisitDallas CEO Phillip Jones, who is paid nearly $700,000 a year, spent VisitDallas dollars based on vague performance metrics and incurred travel expenses that sometimes violated his own agency’s guidelines. Moreover, the city's department of Convention and Event Services did not perform detailed compliance reviews of VisitDallas’ financial reports. And even if they had, according to the audit, VisitDallas consolidated expenses in ways that "inhibit appropriate monitoring" by the city. Nor did the city's department of Convention and Event Services compel VisitDallas to make timely capital payments of $500,000 annually to the Kay Bailey Hutchison Convention Center between fiscal year 2012 and fiscal year 2017. There’s much blame to go around, from the poorly written contract that limits its oversight to VisitDallas’ apparent lack of transparency and accountability [that now raises questions about the accuracy of Dallas tourism and convention statistics.]( Commentary: An attack on a Muslim woman at Reunion Tower [reflects the rise in hate crimes]( writes Dontrey Tatum. Editorial: The pardon of a Tennessee child sex slave [holds important lessons for Texas.]( (Ashley Landis/Staff Photographer) PHOTO OF THE DAY Lydon Wu, 2, and Winston Wu, 5, play at the desk of their father, Houston Rep. Gene Wu, on opening day of the 86th Texas legislature Tuesday at the state Capitol in Austin. You can keep tabs on debates, bills and other developments in this year's session [with our Texas Tracker.](  If you are a Dallas Morning News subscriber, you can customize your feed to keep track of the topics that interest you most. EDITORS' PICKS - Family tragedy: Teenage brothers who had been reported missing Tuesday [were found dead Wednesday in a vehicle submerged in a creek south of Denton.]( - Fresh start: Developers are planning to build a new housing development on what was [the campus of Dallas' troubled Timberlawn Behavioral Health System psychiatric hospital.]( - Hate crimes case: Two men have been charged with [using the Grindr app to lure gay victims to]( and robberies]( at a Dallas apartment. FINALLY... [What’s Little Mexico Village Apartments’ history? Curious Texas investigates]( Mateo Perez — a native of Monterrey, Mexico — said he’s been living in Dallas for about eight years. He’s made an effort to learn more about his new home during his time living here, but he’s always wondered about the Little Mexico Village Apartments on the northern edge of downtown. The apartment’s peach Spanish-style buildings that sit next to multi-million dollar high-rise condos catch his eye each time he drives through the neighborhood. "This seems to be out of place and out of time," Perez said. "It has always caught my eyes. The colors are pretty loud and easy to spot." He asked Curious Texas: [What’s the history and details on the Little Mexico Village apartments in Victory Park? Why are they pink? Who lives there?]( 👋 That's all for this afternoon! For up-to-the-minute news and analysis, check out [DallasNews.com](. Share the love! If you like this newsletter, please forward this email to a friend and [check out our other newsletters here](. Do you have feedback? Send your thoughts, questions, praise and corrections to [newsletter-feedback@dallasnews.com](mailto:newsletter-feedback@dallasnews.com?subject=). 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