Wesley Mathews wants a new trial, airfare in Dallas is up: Your Friday Morning Roundup

Good morning! Here are the top headlines as you start your day  [Morning roundup]( 07/19/2019 By Todd Davis and Narda Pérez Good morning! Here is a look at the top headlines as we start the day. 🌥️ Weather: The wind picks up, but it won't cool you off. High of 99 is expected, with a low of 78. 🔎 Prefer the online view? It's [her]( Wesley Mathews pleaded guilty last month to injury to a child by omission in the death of his 3-year-old adopted daughter, Sherin Mathews. He testified at his sentencing hearing, saying he’d accept any punishment jurors chose. Now he's appealing his life sentence. CRIME [Sherin Mathews' father is appealing his life sentence in her death and seeks a new trial]( Less than a month after a Richardson man said he'd accept any punishment jurors chose, he has appealed the life sentence they gave him in connection with the death of his adopted daughter. [In a court motion filed this week, attorneys for Wesley Mathews, 39, requested a new trial]( arguing that evidence presented against him was prejudicial. Mathews avoided a capital murder trial by pleading guilty to a lesser charge, injury to a child by omission, in the October 2017 death of Sherin Mathews. After telling the jury how much he regretted dumping the 3-year-old's body in a culvert, he testified he'd accept life in prison.  Also: [A 15-year-old Texas boy]( is accused of drinking a supermarket beverage and putting it back on the shelf.   And: When will Dallas Police Chief U. Renee Hall return to work? [No one seems to know](.  ADVERTISEMENT BUSINESS [DFW, Love Field airfares are climbing, even as prices fall across the country]( Airfares across the U.S. are getting cheaper -- just not for North Texas fliers. Airfares between U.S. destinations dropped 2% during the first quarter, and the cost of a plane ticket is now cheaper, when adjusted for inflation and seasonality, than at any point in history, according to data released Wednesday by the Bureau of Transportation Statistics. But that hasn't held up for passengers catching flights out of DFW International Airport and Dallas Love Field. [DFW's average ticket price is now $406.63, while Love Field's is $304.52.]( Taking into account inflation, tickets on flights at either airport haven't been this expensive for the comparable period since 2015, when high fuel prices and airline consolidation led to a spike in ticket costs. Love's average fares, however, have actually dropped about $11 from the last three months of 2018.  Also: [American Airlines' old headquarters]( at DFW Airport is up for grabs.  REAL ESTATE [City says plaintiffs dumped deal to end lawsuit over Plano Tomorrow development plan]( Metro columnist Sharon Grigsby writes: Days before a scheduled Plano City Council vote on big changes to the city’s master development plan — the result of a mediation agreement in a years-long lawsuit with a group of residents — officials said Thursday that the deal has fallen through. A city of Plano statement said the plaintiffs "have changed their minds, indicating that the city’s proposed ordinance was not acceptable." The statement also said the plaintiffs "decided to proceed with litigation" in the case against the Plano Tomorrow plan, which some residents fear will speed the city’s urbanization. The plaintiffs’ lawsuit sought to either force a vote by constituents on the plan or a repeal of it by the City Council. The city had long resisted the effort to force a vote, which could cause ripple effects across the state. But after an unfavorable ruling by the state Supreme Court, [the city reached the settlement earlier this month](.  Also: Mesquite launched its [downtown redevelopment program](.   Robert Wilonsky: [Farewell to Phillip Shepherd]( the Dallas architect who helped make Uptown.  ADVERTISEMENT EDITORS' PICKS - Editorial: [Dallas' housing department]( shows, again, why it can't be trusted with its critical job. - Commissioner Bush? In a new book, Bud Selig details just how close President George W. Bush came to replacing him as [MLB commissioner](. - 'I thought I was going to die': [A former Mesquite officer]( testified about shooting an unarmed man in the back. Jaxson Hill, 18, of Wylie East High School rode East Beast for the school's Solar Car Challenge team at Texas Motor Speedway in Fort Worth on Thursday. (Vernon Bryant/Staff Photographer) FINALLY [Sun heats up the track and the competition during Solar Car Challenge at Texas Motor Speedway]( The bright North Texas sun is a blessing and a curse. For racers participating in the last day of the Solar Car Challenge at the Texas Motor Speedway on Thursday, it was a little of both. The sun was a curse as they zipped around a track radiating temperatures up to 150 degrees, and a blessing as it powered their cars around Texas’ largest stadium at speeds you see on major city streets. "When I was my first year doing [racing], I was really, really scared of driving on the track even though if it’s just a left turn the entire time," said Ryan Wersblatt, captain of the Mansfield High School solar car racing team and a recent graduate of the school. "Being able to say I’m out here racing is such an honor." Wersblatt’s team is just one of 31 high school teams from around the country that competed in [the challenge to complete the most laps in a set time period]( over multiple days in a solar car they built.  👋 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=). STAY CONNECTED WITH US [Facebook]( [Instagram]( [Twitter]( [LinkedIn]( [Tumblr]( [Reddit]( [OTHER FREE NEWSLETTERS]( [Unsubscribe]( | [Dallasnews.com]() | [Subscriber login]() | [Privacy Policy]( | [Contact]( You received this message because you signed up for this Dallas Morning News newsletter or it was forwarded to you. 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