Speaking of drinking ...
Across an icy stretch of Young Street from City Hall this morning, an intimate media bunch huddled up at the Bud Light Hotel to hear about the biggest danger on the roads this week -- worse than the weather, worse than slow-rolling cabbies: the drunks.
Charlie Cloud, regional director of the Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission, pretty much nailed it this morning: "There's nothing that dampens a good time more than an alcohol-related tragedy."
Lightening the mood after that thought was Anheuser-Busch's announcement that, along with wholesaler Ben E. Keith, they're footing the bill for you to get a $25 voucher for a ride home with City Hall-approved Dallas Yellow Cab -- available at a "responsible drinking booth" in the Bud Light Hotel.
The megabrewer's regional corporate responsibility director Aurelio Ruelas told us later they'd also hand out vouchers at "about 100" other bars and parties where the company's running promotions around Dallas-Fort Worth. Ruelas said they've got more than 1,000 of the cab vouchers to give away this week.
"DWI is the largest problem law enforcement faces," Dallas County Chief Deputy Gary Lindsey said this morning. "This does fix an issue that we have in the region." If you're drinking near a Budweiser promotion, anyway.
Meanwhile in the hotel lobby this morning, the irascible bunch at satellite radio's Covino and Rich show were helping to bring a little perspective to the still-frozen Super Bowl week, with a look at the latest big news from Egypt: the attack on Anderson Cooper in Cairo. "He's a tough little sucker," one of the hosts proclaimed, "good for him."