Filling City Council Vacancies

The commission appointed by the Richardson City Council to review the city charter made a recommendation to have a special election in case of a vacancy in the mayor's seat. (Good.) They also recommended reducing from three to two the number of vacancies in the six council seats needed to trigger a special election. (Right direction, but they didn't go far enough. It should be one.)

Monday night, the City Council deliberated this second recommendation.

Dallas Arts District Summer Block Party

From 2015 06 19 Dallas Arts District

The Dallas Arts District put on another world class Summer Block Party Friday night. The Dallas Museum of Art, Nasher Sculpture Center, and the Crow Collection of Asian Art all were open late, with food trucks and more bringing the surrounding streets to life. Combined with the adjacent Klyde Warren park, the whole area is starting to look and feel like a real city. ;-)

More photos after the jump.

For Restaurant Row, Dessert is Served First

It appears that the City of Richardson is now the proud owner of a row of restaurants along US 75 north of Spring Valley Rd. Well, not actually owner. Instead the city is just putting up the money. Someone else will actually own the restaurants and make money off of them.

Hermansen was the recipient of a very generous deal with the city. Richardson gave him a grant for the full purchase price of the five-acre tract – $2.2 million. In addition, the city will provide up to $1.2 million in grants to pay for infrastructure costs.

Source: The Dallas Morning News.

First Day of Summer in the Steger Garden (2015)

From Flowers

Bonus photos after the jump.

Chef (2014)

IMDB

Chef (2014): Talented but unappreciated chef quits and buys a food truck. As feel-good a movie as you could want. I just didn't want. C+

POTD: Thai Street Food

From 2015 03 16 Bangkok

Today's photo-of-the-day is from Bangkok, Thailand. It's a photo of a
street food vendor. Here are some quotes from just a few of the first
hits you get if you Google "Bangkok street food."

• "Bangkok is the best city in the world for street food."
• "For the best food in Bangkok, hit the streets."
• "Nowhere is the Thai reverence for food more evident than in Bangkok."
• "Known as the unofficial outdoor dining capital of Asia, Bangkok's street food is unlike anything else in the region."
• "You can wander the streets of Bangkok for weeks, pointing at every single thing that looks tasty, handing over a couple dozen baht [less than a dollar], and eating until you burst, all without ever trying the same thing twice."

Good times.

Real Sweet Deal for RealPage

Here's what I wrote in October, 2014.

"State Farm's move to Richardson will leave behind big blocks of empty office space." That was the headline to a story in The Dallas Morning News revealing the ugly secret behind the big win for Richardson. ... It turns out that many of the 8,000 employees moving into those new State Farm office towers will be moving from just down the road, where State Farm is currently leasing space in five office buildings in Richardson's Galatyn Park. That will leave a huge hole behind that will need to be filled, perhaps with the city trying to lure other big tenants to move.

Source: The Wheel.

It's time for an update on this game of musical chairs.

Oldboy (2003)

IMDB

Oldboy (2003): Korean thriller. Man imprisoned for 15 years by unknown enemy. When released, seeks revenge. Mystery and lots of violence. C-

POTD: Stanley Cup Champions

From 2010 06 Northwestern

Today's photo-of-the-day is from Chicago, home of the 2015 Stanley Cup champion Chicago Blackhawks. The Blackhawks also won the Cup in 2013 and 2010. Dynasty!

The photo is from the 2010 Cup year and shows the Blackhawks banner flying from the Michigan Avenue Bridge over the Chicago River. In the background is the Wrigley Building.

Good times.

A bonus photo after the jump.

Filling a Vacancy on City Council by Appointment

At Monday night's meeting, the Richardson City Council is scheduled to appoint a person to fill a vacancy in the Place 5 position on the council.

Some people just can't let go of the false idea that filling a vacancy by appointment instead of special election is a violation of the Texas State Constitution. And that the city charter itself gives the city council the option of calling a special election. By some people, I mean specifically local gadfly Cheri Duncan-Hubert. She's been corrected before, including here, but in a (long) Facebook thread she demonstrates a remarkable persistence of willful ignorance. So here we go again.