DEFENSE! Lake Highlands 13, Berkner 16

From 2011 Football

In the battle for annual naming rights to their shared Wildcat-Ram Stadium, Berkner upset Lake Highlands 16-13 Friday night. Games don't get more exciting than this one. Berkner seemingly had victory in hand when they pushed their lead to 16-6 with a field goal with less than 5 minutes remaining in the game. But Lake Highlands marched 70 yards in less than a minute to cut the lead to 16-13. Then, on the ensuing kickoff, when Berkner couldn't handle the elusive bouncing ball, Lake Highlands recovered and was poised to score again to take the lead and, incredibly, the win.

The Wildcats had a first down at the Berkner 4 yard line. The Ram defense, who had played well all game, saved their best for last. Four times Lake Highlands ran into the Berkner line, the last three downs from inside the one yard line. Four times the Berkner line held. The goal line stand with less than a minute to play in the game gave Berkner the victory, their first in this cross-district rivalry in five years. It was a heart-breaking loss for the Wildcats and a great time to be a Ram!

More photos from this game, and all of the 2011 season, including the bands and color guards and drill teams and cheerleaders and everything else that goes into making high school football the best value in Friday night entertainment, can be found here.

Richardson City Charter Program: LWV

The League of Women Voters of Richardson plans to hold a public program to provide information to the public about the City of Richardson's charter. The announcement below is taken from the LWV of Richardson's website. If you have a question you want the panelists to answer at the meeting, email program@lwvrichardson.org.

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Richardson City Charter Program

Is the city's current charter right for Richardson?

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Charter Program

On Wednesday, October 19, 2011, the League of Women Voters of Richardson will present a program entitled "Is the City's Current Charter Right for Richardson?" in the Richardson Room of the Richardson Civic Center.

A reception celebrating the League's 50th year in Richardson will begin at 6:30 p.m., and the program will begin at 7:00 p.m.

Panelists will be:

• Raymond D. Noah, Presiding Judge, Richardson Municipal Court, Speaking on the background of Home-rule Charter; and
  
• Robert C. Lowry, PhD, Professor & Program Head of Political Science, University of Texas at Dallas, Speaking on issues that might be considered in a review of the charter.
  

DART to Fair Park - An Update

From 2011 10 State Fair

Two years ago, DART opened a short section of the DART Green Line from downtown to Fair Park. Football fans from UT and OU overcrowded the trains for the ride to the Cotton Bowl and the annual Red River Rivalry game. Anger overflowed. DART's image suffered.

Last year, DART added trains and rerouted the Red Line to eliminate the need to change trains downtown. And, likely, many fans, burned once, decided to drive, reducing demand. The result? A better balance of capacity and demand. Less anger. No headlines featuring DART.

This year, DART faced a new challenge. The Green Line has been extended to Carrollton. Would the influx of new passengers again overcrowd the service? DART was ready once again. Riding DART to Fair Park was a non-story. Good for DART.

How is DART handling the State Fair traffic on days other than the day of a big game? After the jump, my experience this week.

First Impressions of GOP Economics Debate

Eight Republicans gathered around a table at Dartmouth College in New Hampshire for the seventh GOP presidential candidates' debate. My quick scorecard:

• Romney won. Hands down.
  
• Perry lost. No doubt.
  
• Cain might have helped himself by sounding bold but hurt himself by sounding simplistic.
  
• No one else distinguished himself or herself to change the dynamics of the race.
  

After the jump, deeper impressions.

The Fair in Photos

From 2011 10 State Fair

More photos from our day at the 125th State Fair of Texas can be found here.

No Exemption for Home, Sweet, Home

City, county, and school property tax statements were mailed out to homeowners last week. The only new wrinkle this year is that the City of Richardson's tax statement is now combined with the county's tax statement. Combining the two saves money. Good, smart move.

Combining the two also makes it easier to compare the taxes paid to support city services versus county services. The numbers are right there, side by side. Now, if we could only get more momentum behind movements like Taxpayer Receipt, taxpayers would know even more about how their tax dollars are being spent.

What stood out for me in this year's local tax statement is that the city doesn't give homeowners a homestead exemption. It's hard to avoid that big, fat "0" in the column headed "Homestead Exemption." This shouldn't be news to anyone. The lack of a homestead exemption was always listed on the city's tax statement in the past. It's just more prominent now. I'm curious whether residents will notice and lobby for the city to revisit this policy. Odder things have happened. If so, it'll be another example of the law of unintended consequences.

Homecoming: Lake Highlands 37, Sunset 6

From 2011 Football

In perfect weather, with a large home crowd, Lake Highlands celebrated homecoming with a big win over Sunset High School, 37-6.

More photos from this game, and all of the 2011 season, including the bands and color guards and drill teams and cheerleaders and everything else that goes into making high school football the best value in Friday night entertainment, can be found here.