Veggie Dog

Hot dog kingpin adds the unthinkable to State Fair lineup: Could Houston Rodeo be next?

Oh, Fletcher's. What lurks inside that sweet cornmeal crust?

Photo courtesy of Fletcher's

Fletcher's, the original food vendor at the State Fair of Texas, will debut an exciting new product for the 2015 fair that heeds a major trend in dining: a veggie corn dog.

Proprietor Gigi Fletcher confirms that a vegetarian corn dog will be on the menu, in response to a growing demand from customers.

"We did a test run at our booth at Earth Day and feel like we got it figured out," Fletcher says. "My daughters have been suggesting this. They see what's going on, and we feel like it's a good place to go."

Before there were fried foods or Big Tex Choice awards, there was Fletcher's, home of the original State Fair corny dog, and a regular at the State Fair of Texas since 1942. (It's also a favorite at the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo.) Their corn dog has a unique, slightly thick battered shell that makes the experience as much about the corn-based crust as it is about the hot dog.

The Fletchers have tooled and improved their recipe over the years, including last year when they upgraded their hot dog to a better frank. They've also added other flavor options including spicy jalapeno and cheese and a turkey "bird dog" that has proven to be a surprise hit.

"We've had great success with the turkey dog, we sell more of those every year," she says. "It has brought in a completely separate audience."

The family is still working on the recipe, and for now it will be vegetarian, not vegan. "We're going to use our regular batter, which has milk and egg," she says. "Like my husband says, this is just a corny dog that doesn't have the dog."

It'll cost the same as the original, which is 10 coupons or $5. (The jalapeno is the only premium option with 12 coupons, or $6.) And it will be available only at one of their six stands: the permanent location, which is the big red wooden building near the Midway at MLK-10F, across from the Log Flume water ride.

"We'll start with just one location, and go from there," she says.

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Airport News

Both Houston airports would be affected by air traffic slowdown

Photo by David Syphers on Unsplash

Flights at George Bush Intercontinental Airport in Houston will run travelers about $392 on average.

The Federal Aviation Administration plans to reduce air traffic by 10 percent across 40 “high-volume” markets to maintain travel safety as air traffic controllers exhibit signs of strain during the ongoing government shutdown.

The affected airports covering more than two dozen states include the busiest ones across the U.S. — including Atlanta, Denver, Dallas, Orlando, Miami, and San Francisco. In some of the biggest cities — such as New York, Houston, and Chicago — multiple airports will be affected.

CBS News has a list of all the airports affected and that list includes both DFW Airport and Dallas Love Field. Other airports in Texas that would be affected include both airports in Houston — Houston Hobby and George Bush Houston Intercontinental.

The FAA is imposing the flight reductions to relieve pressure on air traffic controllers who are working without pay during the government shutdown and have been increasingly calling off work.

Controllers already have missed one full paycheck and are scheduled to again receive nothing next week as as the shutdown drags on.

The FAA has been delaying flights at times when airports or its other facilities are short on controllers.

Passengers should start to be notified about cancellations Thursday. Airlines said they would try to minimize the impact on customers, some of whom will see weekend travel plans disrupted with little notice.

United Airlines said it would focus the cuts on smaller regional routes that use smaller planes like 737s. United, Delta Air Lines, and American Airlines said they would offer refunds to passengers who opt not to fly -- even if they purchased tickets that aren’t normally refundable. Frontier Airlines recommended that travelers buy backup tickets with another airline to avoid being stranded.

Experts predict hundreds if not thousands of flights could be canceled. The cuts could represent as many as 1,800 flights and upwards of 268,000 seats combined, according to an estimate by aviation analytics firm Cirium.

Air traffic controllers have been working unpaid since the shutdown began October 1. Most work mandatory overtime six days a week, leaving little time for side jobs to help cover bills and other expenses unless they call out.

Major airlines, aviation unions, and the broader travel industry have been urging Congress to end the shutdown, which on Wednesday became the longest on record.

Staffing can run short both in regional control centers that manage multiple airports and in individual airport towers, but they don’t always lead to flight disruptions. Throughout October, flight delays caused by staffing problems had been largely isolated and temporary.

But the past weekend brought some of the worst staffing issues since the start of the shutdown.

From Friday to Sunday evening, at least 39 air traffic control facilities reported potential staffing limits, according to an Associated Press analysis of operations plans shared through the Air Traffic Control System Command Center system. The figure, which is likely an undercount, is well above the average for weekends before the shutdown.

During weekends from January 1 to September 30, the average number of airport towers, regional control centers and facilities monitoring traffic at higher altitudes that announced potential staffing issues was 8.3, according to the AP analysis. But during the five weekend periods since the shutdown began, the average more than tripled to 26.2 facilities.

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