CoR and RISD Election Results

Final unofficial election results for the contests The Wheel was following this year for City of Richardson and Richardson ISD.

I'll have thoughts about this in the blog tomorrow.

POTD: Madrid's Plaza Mayor

From 2022 10 19 Madrid

This photo-of-the-day is from Plaza Mayor in Madrid, Spain. According to Google, "Cafes & restaurants line the arches of this stately square with Philip III's statue in the center." It's a great place to start exploring Madrid in any direction.

A bonus photo is after the jump.

---

Looking out from Plaza Mayor through one of the square's arched entrances towards the streets of old Madrid.

From 2022 10 19 Madrid

POTD: The Land of Flamenco

From 2022 10 19 Madrid

The first photo-of-the-day from another odyssey is from Madrid, Spain, the home of flamenco. According to Smithsonian Magazine, "the world outside Spain often stereotypes the nation as inhabited by flamenco dancers, singers, and guitar players...Inside Spain, however, the relationship between the flamenco art form and Spanish national identity has been fraught for more than a century." But forget that for an evening, just sit back, relax, and enjoy the music.

Bonus video after the jump.

Morris Ice House Gets Respect from Google

In May of 2019, when I first wrote about the Morris Ice House in old downtown Richardson, now called the "CORE" (you know, like New York has the "Big Apple", Richardson has the "Core"), I noticed that on Google Maps, the Morris Ice House was labeled "Rinky Dinky Building." Offended, I immediately submitted a correction to Google Maps. Of course, I was ignored. (Remember, our motto here is "Not Being Listened to Since 2006.") Or so I thought.

8-Day Campaign Finance Reports for RISD

Candidates for Richardson ISD Board of Trustees have filed 8-Day Campaign Finance Reports. Here are the totals for the 30-Day Reports and the 8-Day Reports, ranked by the combined totals.

Total Political Contributions

Eric Eager	Place 6	$2,484.14	$1,886.09
Debbie Renteria	District 3	$2,226.43	$1,943.40
Blake Sawyer	Place 6	$1,967.37	$573.00
Bonnie Abadie	District 3	$1,205.00	$650.00

8-Day Campaign Finance Reports for City Council

Candidates for Richardson City Council have filed 8-Day Campaign Finance Reports. Here are the totals for the 30-Day Reports and the 8-Day Reports, ranked by the combined totals.

Political Contributions

		30-Day	8-Day
Bob Dubey	Mayor	$21,697.55	$3,387.10
Dan Barrios	Place 3	$14,629.56	$8,481.69
Janet DePuy	Mayor	$11,350.00	$7,515.00
Ken Hutchenrider	Place 5	$3,915.00	$11,515.00
Curtis Dorian	Place 1	$10,401.00	$2,050.00
Stephen Springs	Place 3	$6,875.00	$5,260.00
Todd Hunter	Place 5	$1,961.70	$3,386.15
G. Scott Waddell	Place 1	$3,755.00	$700.00

Random Thoughts: Jeff Leach Had It Coming

2023-04-02: Jeff Leach had it coming:
"Texas GOP lawmaker is tricked into reading dirty names during committee meeting."

2023-04-07: "On a vote of 86-52 the Texas House adopts amendment to ban school vouchers."
Richardson's representative, Angie Chen Button, who campaigns on a message of supporting public schools, votes to support vouchers.

POTD: Goodbye to the Danube

From 2022 07 18 Budapest

Our last photo-of-the-day from the Danube River is a scene of Budapest at night. It shows the Hotel Gellért, which sits on the site of the Gellért Spa, a famous thermal spa that has been used for centuries. In the midground is the Szabadság Bridge, built in 1896 and reconstructed after it suffered heavy damage in World War II (like so much of Europe did). And in the foreground is one of the pleasure ships that offer rides on the beautiful Danube River through Budapest. This was our last night in Europe, having traveled over 700 miles on the Rhine, Main, and Danube Rivers from Amsterdam to Budapest.

POTD: Bálna Budapest

From 2022 07 18 Budapest

Today's photo-of-the-day is from Budapest, Hungary. It shows two of my favorite things. Public transport (a Budapest streetcar), and iconic architecture (Bálna Budapest). Bálna is Hungarian for Whale, which the architecture resembles. It's right on the banks of the Danube. It redevelops and extends an old industrial building on the Danube, repurposing it into a modern mix of shops, restaurants, and entertainment venues. Everything old is new again in Budapest.

Shrinking a Neighborhood Park

There's a new page in town. The Richardson Independent Facebook Page. It's run by "Lauren Decker; a local, independent journalist residing right here in Richardson." In her first series of articles, she's publishing interviews with the eight contested candidates for Richardson Mayor and City Council. I highly recommend that you, first, read her interviews and, second, follow her page so you don't miss her future work.

One of Decker's questions was, "What is the responsibility of the city council when it comes to ensuring Richardson residents continue to have enough water?" Answers were very revealing about the candidates' attitude towards our neighborhood parks. Let's look at part of mayoral candidate Bob Dubey's answer.