New cola wars rock City Council

It looks like there's some Texas pride lacking over at 901 Bagby. Vending machines at City Hall will soon be taken over by Dr. Pepper, which originated in Waco, and some council members are not too pleased that their precious Coke and Pepsi will be difficult to come by. They did tactfully refrain from comparing Dr. Pepper to liquid manure though.

But how can they complain at all? Two years ago, the council approved a deal with Dr. Pepper Bottling Co. to stock vending machines in 150 city buildings. Since then, the company has slowly moved into fire stations, airports, parks, etc. and City Hall's time is coming. The deal was created and approved because Dr. Pepper allows the city to keep 45% of the vending machine revenue as long as they're the only soda in town. A deputy director in the city's Finance and Administration Department called this deal "a tripling of revenue."

Council members were reminded of the switch when an issue arose last week over whether or not to allow Dr. Pepper to provide vitamin-enriched water. There's nothing they can do to save their Coke and Pepsi, but this issue reminded them that the change is imminent. Eight members moved to delay the item for seven days, so they will likely vote on it this week.

So what's so bad about Dr. Pepper, Anne Clutterbuck? We suggest a City Council field trip to the Dr. Pepper Museum so that griping council members can learn to drink Dr. Pepper and be proud.