Mornin’ y’all,

Have you seen that Frisco has been a hot topic across the country? I wish I could say it’s about something good, but it’s far from that. Here’s what happened.

On Feb. 3, an open city council meeting drew angry residents, and, fueled by this viral video, they took the mic to share suspicions of H-1B visa fraud. These visas allow US employers to temporarily hire foreign professionals in specialty occupations. Commenters called it an “Indian takeover.”

US Citizenship and Immigration Services reports that 75% of these visas are issued to individuals from India, and city data shows that the Asian population in Frisco has increased by about 23% since 2010—numbers these commenters weren’t happy about. A few led with the “great replacement theory,” the idea that there’s a coordinated effort to make white people the minority in the US. Um, whoa!

The incident made national headlines, including The New York Times. Frisco’s mayor said the meeting’s rhetoric doesn’t reflect the city or its residents. But they do represent many Americans, unfortunately, today and throughout history.

Fraud claims have long been used to combat diversity and empowerment efforts for Black and brown people. From black codes and Jim Crow laws to the 2020 election fraud claims, there’s been an effort to disenfranchise communities of color and make it harder for them to thrive here. The more civil rights non-white cultures and races gained, the harder it became to hold them back.

Supremacists had to get creative and figure out any way to exclude the others. So simple things become illegal, qualifications become unattainable, and disqualifications become as petty as using a blue pen instead of a black one.

Let’s be real (because that’s what we do here), if these Frisco residents wanted to possess the supreme technology skills that so many H-1B visa recipients hold (about 65%), they’d be talking about improving STEM in US public schools and universities. Right?

The 26th annual Empty Bowls fundraiser hopes to feed thousands of Texans in need. (Joel Muniz/Unsplash).

By Sam Cohen

In North Texas, 1 in 6 people (around 774,000 residents) face food insecurity, meaning they’re unsure of when they’ll have their next meal. To combat this ongoing issue, the North Texas Food Bank offers a variety of services, including access to food pantries and meal programs. And, on Feb. 26, the food bank will hold its annual fundraiser, Empty Bowls, to hopefully raise enough money to provide millions of meals to those in need.

North Texas Food Bank’s vice president of external affairs, Sarah Burns, told NBCDFW that the fundraiser is essential because hunger impacts thousands of people across the state, though many are unaware of when others are suffering. “It probably is somebody that lives next door to you. We have hunger insecurity in every ZIP code here in North Texas and the DFW region is actually one of the most food-insecure regions in the nation.”

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Tulip season in North Texas typically runs through the end of March or early April. (Joi Louviere/COURIER DFW)

It was a shock to the folks at Texas Tulips when their crop started blooming earlier than usual. This Denton County tulip farm quickly opened its gates on Sunday, Feb. 15, after realizing its buds were blooming and ready for picking. I luckily saw their Facebook post and went a couple of days later. I’ve never been to a flower u-pick farm, so I was a little unsure of what to expect, but found it really fun and simple to navigate. Let’s start with the basics.

Where: Pilot Point (Just north of Aubrey)
Hours: 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. daily until the season ends
Cost: $7 per person to enter; $3 per stem you pick

You use the cute wicker baskets to collect your flowers, and once you have what you want, the staff will ask you to choose a tissue paper color and wrap your flowers. They’ll add some gel to the ends of the stems to help preserve your flowers for a few hours before you can water them.

This is obviously not the most practical way to create a bouquet for your home, but it is a lovely outing for families, and in my case, with a friend.

I arrived at the farm right as it opened, and while the temperature was cooler, there were fewer people there, which made it easier to snap some cute photos and videos without a ton of extras in the shots. If you have a decent phone or camera, make sure to snap some photos of the kids or even some fresh headshots for yourself. The farm is definitely charging that $7 entry fee because they know they’re creating the perfect backdrop for photos, so take advantage of the scenery.

Since I went the first weekend, the flowers weren’t as tall and lush as they could be. Check out the farm’s Facebook and Instagram pages to see how gorgeous the grounds get. The staff said that they expect this coming weekend to be a beautiful bloom. If you go, send in a photo of you and the tulips. Want to know about more u-pick flower farms? Give this email a thumbs up, and I’ll share a map of some in a future issue.

Don’t Sleep On is a weekly series where I shout out DFW events and businesses I think you should try. Have a suggestion? Reply to this email.

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Thanks for reading. This newsletter was written by Joi Louviere with reporting by Sam Cohen. It was edited by Paula Solis.

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