Food inspector shutdown burnout, gambling Dallas officers, Joe Biden visit: Your Friday morning roundup

Federal food inspector Anne Powell doesn't like feeling invisible. With the government shutdown in its fifth week, Powell is working 12-hour days, six days a week overseeing three different plants to make sure the chicken and meat sold in grocery stores and restaurants is safe to eat.  [Morning roundup]( 01/25/2019 By Nataly Keomoungkhoun Good morning! Here is a look at the top headlines as we start the day. But first, a correction: The subject line for last night's Roundup stated that UT Dallas had purchased The Crow Collection. That is incorrect -- it was donated. [Here's an excerpt from the story]( "The Crow Collection, begun by the late Trammell and Margaret Crow in the 1960s and expanded as a downtown museum in 1998, will donate its entire holdings to UTD in addition to supplying $23 million in funding for a Crow museum on the school's Richardson campus." ☀️ Weather: Sunny and chilly with a high of 48 degrees. 🔎 Prefer the online view? It's [her]( Anne Powell, FDA food inspector and vice president of American Federation of Government Employees Local 0681, poses for a photograph at Cookies in Bloom. (Shaban Athuman/Staff Photographer) BUSINESS ['Invisible Agency': North Texas federal food inspector fears shutdown burnout]( Federal food inspector Anne Powell doesn't like feeling invisible. With the government shutdown in its fifth week, Powell is working 12-hour days, six days a week overseeing three different plants to make sure the chicken and meat sold in grocery stores and restaurants is safe to eat. She's one of 68 U.S. Department of Agriculture inspectors in her North Texas union required to work without pay during the shutdown at plants stretching from Dallas to Waco. Continual food inspections are required by law. Powell, an inspector since 1984, is no rookie to government shutdowns. Still, she said, "it doesn't mean you're prepared." [And she worries the mounting pressure of working without pay will cause inspectors to quit.]( Health care: Texas Health Resources announced that it is [laying off 720 workers]( across North Texas. Sneak peek: Developers who plan to redo Plano's failing Collin Creek Mall [gave residents a first look at those plans.]( ADVERTISEMENT DALLAS [Former Dallas cop, 2 current officers convicted on gambling-related charges]( A former Dallas police officer and two officers still with the department [were convicted of gambling-related charges this month]( court records show. The three men are among four officers accused of taking part in illegal gambling operations between February 2015 and June 2018 in southeast Oak Cliff. Former officer Edrick Smith and Senior Cpls. Rogers Williams and Edward Van Meter each took plea agreements in their cases, which are unrelated to the police chief's vice-unit shakeup. No deal: A Dallas developer and Dallas City Hall [killed a land-swap deal]( for new North Oak Cliff apartments. Climate resolutions: The Dallas City Council voted to [advance the city’s first-ever climate action plan.]( CURIOUS TEXAS [What's the history behind Dallas' Old Parkland on Maple Avenue? Curious Texas turns back time]( The Old Parkland campus on Maple Avenue may be home to more than 100 companies today, but it was once Dallas’ first public hospital. One of our readers, who identified himself as Josh, wanted to know more about the former hospital’s history, so he asked Curious Texas: What’s the significance and/or history of the Old Parkland on Maple and Oak Lawn? It looks really fancy and nice, but I have no idea what it is. Drivers along the Dallas North Tollway have likely seen one of the campus’ red-brick buildings with a grand copper dome and thought of the Old Parkland building as quite palatial. In reality, [Parkland had a humble beginning as]( wooden]( hospital in 1894.]( Weather woes: Some areas of the Lone Star State have cooler summers than others — [albeit not by much.]( Sign up for our Curious Texas newsletters: Subscribe to this weekly newsletter for the latest answers to reader questions, featured Curious Texans and more [delivered straight to your inbox.]( EDITORS' PICKS - Dining winner: What's the most popular casual chain restaurant in the U.S.? [Hint: It's headquartered in Dallas.]( - 'Lewd' comments: Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick says he stripped committee chairmanships from Sen. Kel Seliger [not because of policy disagreements]( but due to bad behavior. - Arresting developments: University of North Texas police [released 39 minutes of footage]( Thursday after a viral video drew questions about officers' conduct during an arrest. Former Vice President Joe Biden speaks with author Rachel Hollis as part of his American Promise Tour on Thursday at The Theatre at Grand Prairie. (Ryan Michalesko/Staff Photographer)  FINALLY... [Joe Biden discusses memoir in Grand Prairie appearance but stays mum on potential bid for president]( When Joe Biden was considering running for the White House four years ago, he faced considerable challenges, including comforting a dying son. Ultimately Biden opted against a run for president and the Democratic nomination went to Hillary Clinton, who lost a close contest to Donald Trump. Now Biden is confronted again with the question of whether to pursue the presidency, this time under less trying circumstances. But on Thursday Biden, who was at The Theatre at Grand Prairie to talk about his memoir, Promise Me, Dad, [said nothing about whether he would seek the Democratic nomination for president in 2020.]( Instead he stuck to the themes outlined in his book, a relatively quick read at 260 pages that deals with the death of his elder son, Beau, his foreign policy work as vice president and the decision not to run for president in 2016. 👋 That's all for this morning! 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 [newsletters@dallasnews.com](mailto:newsletter-feedback@dallasnews.com?subject=). 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