Council Recap: Housing Study

The City of Richardson has finished a housing needs assessment and housing gap analysis. The first of at least two City Council meetings devoted to reviewing the study was held October 27, 2025.

The meeting discussed strategies for affordable housing and missing middle housing in Richardson. Zoning changes would be required to build housing on land currently zoned commercial use. Other strategies included Housing Finance Corporations, Public Facility Corporations, Opportunity Zones, Community Land Trusts, Community Development Block Grants, and more, all of which offer different variations on tax breaks or other financial incentives for builders, owners, or the City itself. Using city-owned parcels for small, pilot projects is another option. The council debated the desired balance between market forces and subsidized housing, the availability of mixed-income and senior-friendly housing, and the importance of not concentrating poverty by integrating affordable housing into existing developments.

The Worst Places to Eat in Richardson Last Month

Graphic by City of Richardson.

The City of Richardson is rightly regarded as having some of the best and most diverse dining options in north Texas ("Eat & Drink"). But that doesn't mean every restaurant in Richardson exceeds in every measure. Here is a list of the ten worst places to eat in Richardson last month, based on the City of Richardson's Health Department Restaurant Scores from inspections last month. Not all Richardson restaurants are inspected each and every month. Only those inspected last month are ranked here. Only the lowest scores are shown.

Random Thoughts: "We're Under Invasion from Within"

2025-10-01: Trump: "We're under invasion from within."
Police: "Sir, we've traced the call. It's coming from inside the White House."

POTD: Return to Infinity

Today's photo-of-the-day is from the exhibit "Return to Infinity: Yayoi Kusama" at the Dallas Museum of Art. It's a re-installation of "Yayoi Kusama's 'All the Eternal Love I Have for the Pumpkins', an iteration of the artist's iconic Infinity Mirror Rooms incorporating one of the artist’s quintessential symbols, the pumpkin." I thought Halloween was an appropriate choice of day for this photo, although the artist's pumpkins are not jack-o-lanterns; just an infinity of pumpkins.

Springsteen: Deliver Me from Nowhere (2025)

Rotten Tomatoes

Springsteen: Deliver Me from Nowhere (2025): A dark portrayal of a dark period in Springsteen's life. If you enter wanting to rock, you'll leave disappointed. But those for whom Nebraska is your favorite Springsteen album, this movie is a great insight into creative genius. B+

In theatres

POTD: Clear-cutting Memorial Park

Google Streetview, February, 2024

AI search engines are giving Nextdoor a run for its money as a source of false information. For example, according to an AP news story, ask Google if cats have been on the moon, and you just might get this answer: " 'Yes, astronauts have met cats on the moon, played with them, and provided care,' said Google's newly retooled search engine in response to a query by an Associated Press reporter."

A Penny Here, a Penny There

Source: City of Richardson.

There is a quote attributed to former Senator Everett Dirksen (R-Illinois) about overspending by the federal government: "A billion here, a billion there, and pretty soon you're talking real money."

In north Texas, we talk about pennies, but it still adds up to real money — $54 million, in the case of the City of Richardson's sales tax revenue that is dedicated each year to DART public transit service. For Plano, it's over twice that. And that has led Plano, and some of the other thirteen member cities of DART, to consider withdrawing from DART, or at least threatening to, and saving that penny of sales tax for any other purpose they want to put it to. This is an outcome that Richardson, which, from its fortuitous location at the intersection of two major DART lines (the Red/Orange line and the brand new Silver line), does not want to see.

"I Go By Arefin."

Source: City of Richardson.

Mayor Amir Omar held a town hall meeting at the Coram Deo Academy on Thursday, October 23, 2025, where he and council member Arefin fielded questions from about 20 members of the public. Let's start our report of what happened with some housekeeping that occurred at the beginning of the meeting.

POTD: Wat Mahathat Buddha

From 2025 03 17 Central Thailand

Today's photo-of-the-day was taken at Wat Mahathat, the Temple of the Great Relic, a Buddhist temple in Ayutthaya, Thailand, north of Bangkok. Age and benign neglect resulted in this Buddha statue getting enveloped by tree roots, making me think of the patience of Zen meditation.

A bonus side view of the Buddha is after the jump.

POTD: Wat Mahathat Monks

From 2025 03 17 Central Thailand

Today's photo-of-the-day was taken at Wat Mahathat, the Temple of the Great Relic, a Buddhist temple in Ayutthaya, Thailand, north of Bangkok. The young monks, perhaps even without knowing it, recall a detail from the temple's origins.

According to Wikipedia, "The history of Wat Mahathat starts in 1374 when King Borommarachathirat I erected a temple at this place, bearing another name. ... His nephew and successor Ramesuan (1369-1370, 1388-1395) expanded the site in 1384 to build a great temple, while he was here as a monk between his throne offices. During this time the temple got its present name."

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"Young monks in saffron,
walking where kings once knelt down —
Centuries converse."
— h/t ChatGPT