Local Restaurant Closes because of Snow Days

Legends Restaurant in Norman was forced to close for three days in early Feb. due to the winter storm that passed through Oklahoma.

Owner and general manager Joe Sparks decided to close the restaurant Feb. 1, 2 and 3 due to the bad conditions from the storm.  He said that keeping the restaurant closed saved money and helped with the labor cost because there was no offsetting income. 

Legends was also closed for one of the days because they could not get their parking lot plowed and Sparks will not open the restaurant if the parking lot is not cleared. 

“The parking lot was completely covered in snow.  There were only so many people able to plow and all of Norman needed them.  We weren’t going to open the restaurant if the parking lots were still unsafe,” Sparks said.

Oklahoma received a record amount of snow during the blizzard, including about 12 inches in areas around the Oklahoma City metroplex.  These conditions led to icy streets, causing many businesses and schools to close for a few days so that people could stay safe at home.

Sparks attributed the amount of snow as the reason for closing, saying that if there is over four inches of snow, people will not go out to eat.

“It made no sense to have the whole staff there if no customers were coming in.  They don’t want to be here if there is nothing to do.  Plus, a lot of my employees didn’t want to get out in that weather,” Sparks said.

When the restaurant reopened, it went back to business as usual.  Joe Sparks insists that business is good when the weather permits it to be.

The Pearl Project

After three years of investigating, professors and students from Georgetown University have concluded their project on former Wall Street Journal reporter Daniel Pearl.

Georgetown University Journalism Director Barbara Feinman Todd and former Journal reporter and close friend of Pearl, Asra Nomani, led a group of students to find the truth about Pearl’s capture and murder in Karachi, Pakistan in 2002. 

This research, titled The Pearl Project: The Truth Left Behind, revealed that there were 27 men involved in Pearl’s death.  Of these 27 men, only four have been convicted of the crime, including mastermind Omar Saeed Sheik.  The majority of the others are walking free.

Daniel Pearl’s story opened eyes to the dangers that American journalists face when traveling abroad to report on a story for the well-being of the nation’s citizens.  His death showcases that these journalists will stop at nothing to reveal the truth.

Daniel Pearl was an American journalist covering news in Pakistan.  He was on his way to what he thought was an interview on January 25 when men kidnapped him and held him for ransom.  A few weeks after his kidnapping, his captors murdered him and released the video online.  This shocked American citizens, journalists and the government.

“The goal was to find out who killed Danny- who really killed him- and why they did it,” Asra Nomani said.

The professors and students faced challenging times when trying to chase leads about Pearl’s death.

Nomani faced difficulties because of her Indian roots.  The people in Pakistan did not always want to speak to her because of her nationality.  Barbara Feinman Todd had troubles because she was Jewish.

More difficulties included the time differences in America and Pakistan, the faulty technology and false information.

With all of these difficulties, the group of 32 students and their fearless leaders recognized the importance of continuing with the story.  They would not give up on getting the truth about Daniel Pearl’s unfortunate death.

“For Danny, his memorial is the truth,” Feinman Todd said.

Daniel Pearl’s legacy lives on in many people today.  His story helped others gain better understanding of what was going on in the world, that way something like this would not happen again.  From this, journalists have learned the importance of understanding race, culture and identity.