The Wheel

Today's photo-of-the-day is from Bangkok, Thailand. It's a photo of five unknown women colorfully dressed up for a night on the town. I don't know about them, but we were headed for a dinner cruise on the Chao Phraya River (I recommend it). I like to think they had an equally pleasant evening.

Monday, June 29, 2015

Filling City Council Vacancies - ctd

The commission appointed by the Richardson City Council to review the city charter made numerous recommendations for charter amendments. On June 22, the council deliberated what to do with those recommendations. I previously discussed those deliberations regarding one particular recommendation (filling a single vacancy on the council by appointment instead of a special election). Today, I want to add a postscript to that.

Early Summer in the Steger Garden (2015)

From Flowers

Wild (2014)

Wild (2014): Messed-up woman undertakes insane 1,100 mile solo hike to clear her head. Reckless but it worked for her. I couldn't relate. B-

Friday, June 26, 2015

POTD: Grand Palace

Today's photo-of-the-day is from Bangkok, Thailand. Specifically, the Grand Palace. This has been the official residence of the Kings of Siam/Thailand since 1782.

If you're of a certain age, think Yul Brynner and Deborah Kerr and the Rodgers and Hammerstein musical "The King and I." If you're not of a certain age, try Amazon. You can thank me later.

Thursday, June 25, 2015

Drove My Chevy to the Levee

From 2015 06 21 Trinity River

Dallas. Summer. 100 degrees. Drought. Except for 2015. This photo shows the Trinity River, normally a small stream in a large floodplain, now a major river due to this Spring's record rainfall.

That's a stop sign in the river. Ironic, as the biggest controversy in Dallas politics is whether to put a high-speed, massive tollroad down in that floodplain, between the levees that, so far, are keeping downtown Dallas dry.

Oh yeah, there was a classic car show down by the levee Sunday, too. "And them good ole boys were drinking whiskey and rye."

From 2015 06 21 Trinity River

Bonus photos after the jump.

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)

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+

Friday, June 19, 2015

POTD: Thai Street Food

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.

Thursday, June 18, 2015

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)

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

Tuesday, June 16, 2015

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.

Late Spring in the Steger Garden (2015)

From Flowers

Saturday, June 13, 2015

POTD: Water Taxi

Today's photo-of-the-day is from Bangkok, Thailand. Specifically, the Chao Phraya River, Bangkok's main thoroughfare. After a while, there's only so many temples you can stand to tour. You have to get away from the crowds, out on the river and breathe in some fresh, clean... diesel fumes from the river buses, cross-river ferries and water taxis. Good times.

Friday, June 12, 2015

Review: Salvage the Bones

Amazon

From Salvage the Bones, by Jesmyn Ward:

It's summer, and when it's summer, there's always a hurricane coming or leaving here. Each pushes its way through the flat Gulf to the twenty-six-mile manmade Mississippi beach, where they knock against the old summer mansions with their slave galleys turned guesthouses before running over the bayou, through the pines, to lose wind, drip rain, and die in the north. Most don't even hit us head-on anymore; most turn right to Florida or take a left for Texas, brush past and glance off us like a shirtsleeve. We ain't had one come straight for us in years, time enough to forget how many jugs of water we need to fill, how many cans of sardines and potted meat we should stock, how many tubs of water we need."

It's a Hurricane Katrina story, but so much more. After the jump, my review.

POTD: Bigfoot

Today's photo-of-the-day is from Bangkok, Thailand. It shows the foot of the statue of the Buddha in Wat Pho, aka the Temple of the Reclining Buddha. The full statue is about 50 yards long, filling the temple. There's just enough room for visitors to walk along the outside wall, from head to foot then back along the back side. There's something attractive about a religion that depicts its most holy figure in a reclining position, blissfully at peace. Good times.

Oh, and that big foot? Each is about 15 feet long.

A bonus photo after the jump.

Arapaho Redevelopment Put in Storage

From December, 2011:

The other request is for rezoning for a self-service warehouse with outside vehicle storage (boats, motor homes, etc.) on Arapaho Rd west of Custer Rd. That's right in a shopping center, across the street from a shopping center, just down the street from the Civic Center. A few years ago, the city thought parked boats and motor homes were such an eyesore that the city council passed an ordinance restricting home owners from parking their recreational vehicles at their houses. The city also spent years buying up aging homes across Arapaho Rd from the Civic Center and tearing them down. Why in the world would the city now agree to zoning that would allow a self-service warehouse, with boats and motor homes parked outdoors, to be built in a shopping center, near a residential neighborhood, and just down the street from the Civic Center? Here's another use destined to destroy any hope that this aging retail neighborhood can be revived.

Source: The Wheel.

That's what I wrote three years ago. The city council rejected that particular rezoning request in December, 2011, but the owner returned in March, 2012, with a modified request (he dropped plans for outside vehicle storage) and the council approved that. So now we have a self-service warehouse smack dab in the middle of the West Arapaho enhancement/redevelopment area.

It's time for an update on this three-year-old decision.

Still Alice (2014)

Still Alice (2014): No cure for Alzheimer's. No surprise movie happy ending. Sad but still positive. Oscar for Julianne Moore. Deserved. B-

Monday, June 8, 2015

Highway Planner Sees Handwriting on Wall

Some in Richardson see projects like CityLine and Palisades as conspiracies between government and developers to rip off the little guy -- usually homeowners who already own a house in Richardson. Conspiracy theorists predict housing prices will drop as new apartments go up nearby. Simultaneously, housing prices (and property taxes) will go up as an influx of new jobs increases demand for nearby housing. (Cognitive dissonance doesn't afflict conspiracy theorists.) If they wanted to live in a high-density urban environment, they say, they'd have bought a condo in downtown Dallas. If Richardson keeps trying to increase density and force people to ride trains and bikes, they'll have to move to somewhere like Frisco or McKinney that's still in love with cars and sprawl.

You just know there's a "but" coming, don't you? The "but" here is that the trend towards mixed-use, high-density development is indeed happening, but it's not because of a conspiracy, either local (Richardson's mayor's recent behavior) or global (Agenda 21).

POTD: Pretty as a Picture

Today's photo-of-the-day is from Bangkok, Thailand. It shows an unknown woman framed by doorways in the Wat Pho temple complex. There are more temples, towers, halls, shrines, classrooms, walls, gates, and courtyards than you can take in. All gilded, tiled or chiseled. A Buddhist Disneyland. Only without the thrill rides. Except for religious thrills, if you're into that. Sensory overload, in any case. Good times.

Friday, June 5, 2015

OTBR: Gus Grissom Road

Latitude: N 29° 30.726
Longitude: W 095° 08.682

A child on a road trip with his family asks, "Where are we?" and the father answers, "Let's check the map. We're off the blue roads [the Interstate Highways marked in blue on the road atlas]. We're off the red roads [the US and state highways]. We're off the black roads [the county highways]. I think we're off the map altogether." It was always my dream to be off the map altogether.

After the jump, a few of the random places (and I mean random literally) that I visited vicariously last month that are "off the blue roads".

Charter Amendments: Three to Like

Previously, I took a first look at the Charter Review Commission's recommended changes to the Richardson City Charter. I found three changes that I'll oppose. But just to show you that I'm not reflexively negative, today I highlight three changes that I like.

Charter Amendments: First Look

The Charter Review Commission presented their recommendations to the Richardson City Council June 1, 2015. Now it's up to the council to decide which, if any, of the recommendations to adopt and place before the voters in November, 2015.

The commission made recommendations in about fifty areas, meaning that the ballot facing the voters could contain more than fifty propositions. Many of the propositions will be inconsequential (changing spelling, punctuation, grammar, vocabulary, etc.), but by the commission's own estimation, twelve of the changes are substantive, meaning they will have practical effect on the operation of government.

Unfortunately, while the commission explained *what* their recommended changes are, they didn't explain *why* the recommended changes are necessary. It's left to the voters to either put blind faith in the commission or attempt to divine the reasons behind the recommendations. I'm not inclined to the former, and I don't have the skill for the latter. Unless someone offers some compelling reasons otherwise, here are three changes that I'll oppose.

Repeat Tweets: Justice for All

Repeat tweets from May, 2015:

May 1 2015: "None of us will know peace until we see justice for all, so it's time to take the blinders off." What she said. Destiny Herndon-DeLaRosa
May 1 2015: To support his anti-gay bigotry, @DonMcLeroy pretty much says women are not created in the image of God. Just wow. TheEagle.com
May 2 2015: Interstellar (2014): Wormhole shows humans way off dying Earth. Mishmash of ideas. Explains plot with dialog not action. Waste of talent. D+
May 4 2015: "There is a pattern of the state leadership pandering to the fringe of Texas politics rather than the mainstream." texasmonthly.com
May 4 2015: "It's possible to think both that this event was in bad taste, and that the response was utterly unacceptable." frontburner.dmagazine.com

After the jump, more repeat tweets.

Changing the City Charter

Now that the city council election is behind us, now that Mayor Laura Maczka has left the building, it's time for Richardson to turn its attention to something that's been bubbling away on the back burner for months: the work by the charter review commission to amend Richardson's City Charter. If all goes as expected, the voters will be deciding whether to amend the city charter in the November, 2015, election.

But before we dive into just what changes the commission has come up with, let's first look at the process. There seems to be some charges circulating that the commission is illegitimate, that it's a tool to provide a smokescreen for the city to change the charter to its own advantage and to the disadvantage of the citizens. Is there truth to that?

Review: Dept. of Speculation

Amazon

From Dept. of Speculation, by Jenny Offill:

"'I think I must have missed your second book,' he says. 'No,' I say. 'There isn't one.' He looks uncomfortable; both of us are calculating the years or maybe only I am. 'Did something happen?' he says kindly after a moment. 'Yes,' I explain."

After the jump, my review.

Sweet Jesus, $47 Million? - Amen

Earlier, I argued against giving targeted tax breaks to developers. Reader Steve Benson raised two counter-arguments.

First, development can sometimes result in added tax revenues greater than the cost of the city services consumed by that development, thus reducing the real tax burden on other taxpayers.

Second, if cities are prohibited from offering targeted tax breaks, some development projects in the category above won't proceed.

Is Steve correct? And if so, should I change my mind about the Palisades development in particular, and targeted tax breaks in general?

Selma (2014)

Selma (2014): Powerful portrayal of fight for voting rights. Tips towards MLK and against LBJ. Voting rights under threat again today. B+

Tuesday, May 26, 2015

Sweet Jesus, $47 Million? - ctd

Some people's view of the world is black and white and isn't troubled by the complexities of a case like this. Not me. My head hurts thinking about all the angles to this deal. I start with Eric Nicholson's reaction: "Sweet Jesus, $47 million?" But I end up torn. It might not be the best deal Richardson could have swung. But it might not be such a bad deal, either. I'm sorry if you've read this far and are disappointed in that wishy washy answer.

Source: The Wheel.

That's what I wrote when I first covered the topic of the $47 million tax rebate Richardson granted to the developer of Palisades. I'm back to make up for my wishy washy answer.

POTD: Taman Mini Indonesia Indah

Today's photo-of-the-day is from Jakarta, Indonesia. It is a photo of the Pavilion of West Sumatra in Taman Mini Indonesia Indah (literally translated, "Beautiful Indonesia Miniature Park"). Think of it as an Epcot Center devoted to the various islands and cultures of Indonesia. Good times.

Friday, May 22, 2015

Review: We Are Called to Rise

Amazon

From We Are Called to Rise, by Laura McBride:

There was a year of no desire. I don't know why. Margo said I was depressed; Jill thought it was 'the change.' That phrase made me laugh. I didn't think I was depressed. I still grinned when I saw the roadrunner waiting to join me on my morning walk. I still stopped to look at the sky when fat clouds piled up against the blue, or in the evenings when it streaked orange and purple in the west. Those moments did not feel like depression."

We Are Called to Rise is this year's selection for "Richardson Reads One Book." Above is the very first paragraph. For me, it almost turned the book into "Richardson Reads One Paragraph."

After the jump, my review.

POTD: Sunda Kelapa

Today's photo-of-the-day is from Jakarta, Indonesia. It will be of interest to lovers of history and the sea. It was taken in Sunda Kelapa, the old port of Jakarta. The port dates back at least 800 years and served as the main port of Batavia, the capital of the Dutch East Indies until the late 19th century.

Modern ships have outgrown the port, but it's still home to pinisi, traditional two-masted wooden sailing ships that carry cargo between Indonesia's many islands. It's still an active port. Walking down the long dock, observing the loading and unloading of ships, is like taking a step back in time, and not some historical re-creation but the real thing. Good times.

Wednesday, May 20, 2015

Meet the Mayor: Paul Voelker

Following a unlikely chain of falling dominoes, Paul Voelker was sworn in as Mayor of Richardson Monday night. (If you've been on Mars the last few months and don't know what all those dominoes were, tough. Here at The Wheel that's so yesterday's news.)

Voelker's selection wasn't a complete surprise. We had Bob Townsend as the slight favorite (or maybe Mark Solomon, depending on how much fight Townsend had in him), but Paul Voelker was our favorite to come out of a deadlocked executive session. And deadlocked it appeared to be, as the council took almost exactly an hour to decide on a pick. After the clock ticked away, it was no surprise when the council eventually named Paul Voelker as Mayor and Mark Solomon as Mayor Pro Tem.

POTD: RU LIVING in a BUBBLE?

From 2015 05 07 Portland

Today's photo-of-the-day is from Portland, Oregon. President Obama visited the city for a fundraiser downtown and a speech at Nike headquarters in Beaverton promoting the Trans-Pacific Partnership free trade agreement. He was met by several hundred protestors, including the woman in the photo above who went to some trouble to make not just a sign but a costume. The whole scene struck me a little like something from the television series Portlandia.

Sweet Jesus, $47 Million?

"Sweet Jesus, $47 Million?" That's what Unfair Park's Eric Nicholson exclaimed when learning the total of the City of Richardson's economic development agreement for the construction of apartments, offices and retail in the Palisades development.

Is he right to be flabbergasted? On the one hand, $47 million is a big number. No doubt about that. But compared to what? And what does the city get for its $47 million? Spoiler alert: the more I think about this, the less certain I am of what I should think.

Picking a Mayor Behind Closed Doors

Two years ago, after the last city council election in Richardson, I had this to say about the new council's first agenda item for the new term:

It's that time again. Now that Richardson's city council election is over, now that the sturm und drang of an election campaign has abated, now that the voters themselves have elected their next mayor, it's time to seat the new council and have them choose from among themselves, with no say from the voters, who should be their mayor -- mayor pro tem, anyway. What?!? If that sounds like maybe we haven't made as much change as we thought we were making, it's because it's true.

Source: The Wheel.

Well, this year it's the same story. Only this time, the new council's pick for Mayor Pro Tem will immediately become Mayor and serve in that position for the next two years. (For those who have been out of town for the last two months or so, that's because Mayor Laura Maczka has said she will decline to serve another term, thus creating a vacancy to be filled by the new Mayor Pro Tem.) In effect, we're back to having the council pick not only the Mayor Pro Tem, but the Mayor, too. The amount of change our amended city charter brought us two years ago is even less of a change than I thought then.

It's interesting to re-read everything that I wrote then, given everything that's happened since. I stand by some of it. Some I would change. I leave it as an exercise for the reader to decide which is which.

It's worth noting that there will be one change from two years ago. A change to eliminate an innovation introduced two years ago. A change that really does take us back to the way things were done before.

POTD: Girls Just Wanna Have Fun

Today's photo-of-the-day is from Jakarta, Indonesia, specifically Kota, the old city, once named Batavia by the Dutch, when it was the capital of the Dutch East Indies from the 17th to 19th centuries. The photo was taken in Fatahillah Square in front of the former Stadhuis, or town hall of Batavia.

But enough of history. The point of the photo isn't how old Jakarta is, it's how young Jakartans are. And how they are like young people all around the world. Obviously these girls just wanna have fun.

Thursday, May 14, 2015

City Council Election Maps

The 2015 Richardson City Council election maps tell a story. But not a surprising story. Below is the election map for the Townsend/Wilder Place 1 race, won by Bob Townsend. The precincts won by Townsend are in dark green. The precincts won by Rick Wilder are in light green.

Source: Dallas County Elections.

Given that Townsend won with an overall 62% vote, the map is mostly dark green as you'd expect. Wilder won handily in his home neighborhood of Duck Creek. He also won handily in the Prairie Creek neighborhood, the area closest to the planned Palisades development. Just to the north and south of there, the race was close, with Townsend winning by a tiny margin to the north and Wilder winning by a tiny margin to the south. Almost everywhere else in Richardson, Townsend won handily. The Palisades issue was a real one, hurting Townsend, but it turned out to be decisive in only one neighborhood.

St. Vincent (2014)

St. Vincent (2014): Cranky old man befriends boy. Funny and warm, but not syrupy, character study. Oscar nom for Bill Murray. Deserved. A-

Tuesday, May 12, 2015

5 Takeaways from City Council Election

The Wheel doesn't do listicles. But they are popular on Buzzfeed and easy enough to write, so let's do one anyway. Here are our 5 takeaways from Richardson's City Council Elections.

POTD: Satay Ayam

The Richardson City Council election is over, so it's time to get away. Today's photo-of-the-day is from Jakarta, Indonesia. Jakarta is about as far away from Richardson as you can get without starting to get closer again. Jakarta is 10,042 miles from Richardson. The only major city in the world that is farther away is Perth, Australia. And what better way to get the taste of the Richardson City Council election out of our mouths than to remember the foods of Indonesia? Walk the side streets of Jakarta and the smells from the food stalls entice you. The smoke from grilling chicken draws you in as your qualms and misgivings drift away with the wind. Good times.

Friday, May 8, 2015

The Overnighters (2014)

The Overnighters (2014): North Dakota oil boom pastor shelters job seekers, but haters gonna hate. Gut-wrenching. Liberty with the truth? B+

Thursday, May 7, 2015

POTD: Selfie at 433 Feet

Today's photo-of-the-day is from Jakarta, Indonesia, specifically the top of the National Monument, a 433 foot tower in central Jakarta built to commemorate the struggle for Indonesian independence. The photo shows a universal tendency of smartphone owners to snap a photo of themselves at tourist sites (and almost anywhere else, for that matter). It turns out we really are all alike under the skin.

The One I Love (2014)