Bonnen apologizes for saying 'terrible things,' no discipline for UTD profs: Your Tuesday evening roundup

Speaker Dennis Bonnen on Tuesday apologized to his 149 colleagues for “terrible things” he said about some of them, just hours after more details emerged about slurs against fellow House members uttered by him and his chief GOP sidekick Rep. Dustin Burrows.  [Evening roundup]( 08/06/2019 By Wayne Carter Good Evening! Here is a look at the top headlines of the day. 🔎 Prefer the online view? It's [here.]( Texas House Speaker Dennis Bonnen sent an e-mail to House members apologizing for saying "terrible things that are embarrassing" to the Texas House. (2019 File Photo/Tom Fox) TEXAS HOUSE TURMOIL [Speaker Dennis Bonnen apologizes for saying 'terrible things' that conservative activist recorded]( Speaker Dennis Bonnen stopped short of admitting that he lied, but has apologized for saying "terrible things that are embarrassing" to the Texas House, [in an email he sent Tuesday to members, obtained by The Dallas Morning News.]( Bonnen and GOP Chairman Dustin Burrows were accused of offering a quid pro quo to Empower Texans leader Michael Quinn Sullivan -- asking the conservative group to target 10 members of their party ahead of the primary in exchange for media credentials in the next legislative session. The two Republican House leaders were also accused of saying crude things about other House members. Initially, Bonnen outright denied the accusation -- which was made by Sullivan in a lengthy post on the Texas Scorecard website. Burrows has not commented. However, after the denial, Sullivan made it known he had a recording of the conversation, and threatened to make it public all the while allowing members of the GOP to listen to it one by one. At least six people who listened to it have confirmed Sullivan's account was accurate. Democratic primary: Joe Biden leads Beto O'Rourke in the Texas presidential primary, [and the race against Sen. John Cornyn is wide open]( according to a new poll. ADVERTISEMENT EDUCATION [UTD president won't punish professors involved in transfer credit deal]( Two University of Texas at Dallas professors will not be punished by the school president for directing a credit transfer arrangement that school leaders determined was inappropriate. School President Richard Benson said the deal damaged the university and led to irreversible consequences. But in letters dated July 16, Benson said he is dismissing the cases against professors Robert Taylor and John Worrall. Benson’s decision follows the recommendation of a faculty tribunal, which determined in July that the credit transfer practice was “improper from an academic integrity standpoint” but the professors did not act with “malicious intent.” Benson lamented the impact of the scandal [but did not admonish the professors who orchestrated it.](   Commentary: The testing craze is fading in U.S. schools. Good. [Here's what's next]( writes Andrea Gabor. DINING [Abacus, once a defining Dallas restaurant, will become an outpost of Jasper's]( From dining critic Michalene Busico: Another high-end Dallas restaurant is shredding the white tablecloths and going casual. Abacus, the elegant Uptown fusion restaurant that launched Kent Rathbun's career, then nearly ended it, [will reopen on Aug. 7 as Jasper's Uptown]( an outpost of the Texas-style chophouse in Richardson that is owned by the same restaurant group. Jasper's blue cheese potato chips, fried quail knots, hardwood-grilled pork tenderloin and other dishes will occupy about half of the menu. The rest will be holdovers from Abacus -- including a short selection of sushi and the famous lobster shooters -- though at generally lower prices. There are also a few new dishes that slightly tweak familiar menu items, such as a rib-eye cooked on the coals and lemon meringue crème brulee. If there was ever a restaurant due for a reboot, it was Abacus. Once at the forefront of the Dallas dining scene, it began losing status and stars nearly 10 years ago, when it slipped to a three-star rating in a Dallas Morning News review that dinged it for "lacking creative vigor." In 2016, it earned one of those stars back — and then Rathbun left the restaurant.  Au revoir: [E]( French Cafe in Dallas' Mockingbird Station has closed]( but chef-partner Omar Adame says he hopes to open another Edith's in Dallas in a new neighborhood.   Also: Glammy restaurant Te Deseo [is opening in a hot Dallas neighborhood.](  ADVERTISEMENT (Steve Hamm/Special Contributor) PHOTO OF THE DAY Mount Vernon High School coach Art Briles watches a play develop as as quarterback Jack Floyd releases a pass downfield during a practice on Aug. 5. SportsDay columnist Kevin Sherrington says that aside from a gray goatee and a thinner profie, Briles seems a lot like the guy who left Baylor in disgrace three years ago. Folksy. Funny. [Fairly clueless.]( EDITORS' PICKS - Editorial: Dallas can enjoy the benefits of scooters, [but only if we get serious about their dangers.]( - Can-do: Dallas' Peticolas Brewing will can beers for first time ever [thanks to Texas' new beer to-go law.]( - Gardening: These two easy-to-grow perennials [will attract tons of beneficial insects in your Texas garden.]( FINALLY... [Cost overruns, write-offs, a sinking stock price: When will Fluor’s epic failures end?]( From business columnist Mitchell Schnurman: Only when the tide goes out, do you discover who’s been swimming naked. That saying, attributed to Warren Buffett, is a warning to investors about frothy performances in frothy times. Well, the tides have changed for Fluor Corp., a major engineering and construction company in Irving, and it’s been exposed. Last week, Fluor took $714 million in pretax charges for its second quarter from cost overruns, project delays, client disputes and other malfunctions. That’s on top of $1 billion in similar charges since 2016, and Fluor even pulled its earnings guidance for the rest of the year, a sign that problems haven’t bottomed out. Much has been lost already, even beyond the billions in market value. Consider that Fluor CEO Carlos Hernandez had to close out last week’s call with analysts by pledging “to restore our reputation and credibility.” “We ask for your patience,” said Hernandez, formerly chief legal officer. [He’s asking a lot.]( 👋 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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