The Race So Far

The deadline is March 1 for candidates to file to run in Richardson's city council election of May 11, 2013. This will be the first time in memory that the mayor's position will be popularly elected. After the jump, how all the races are shaping up with only a little over a week left to file.

Fatal Shooting Outside Ice Rink

A man was fatally shot Sunday night outside an ice rink in Richardson, Texas. Three people are being questioned.

"It looks all of them knew each other and had been together earlier in the night," [Richardson Police Department spokesman Sgt. Kevin] Perlich says. A fight broke out, he says, though "over what it's not totally clear yet. We have two, three different versions of what took place, but we're sorting through it. But there is no other threat out there for the public to be concerned about."

Source: The Dallas Morning News.

"there is no other threat out there for the public to be concerned about."

This was probably just a little careless wording on Sgt. Perlich's part. He probably meant to say something like, "this particular shooting does not pose an ongoing threat to the public."

After the jump, the other threats out there.

Texas, Guns, and Politics

Jerry Patterson

So soon after the Newtown gun massacre, which took the lives of 20 children and six adults, only in Texas could a candidate for statewide public office think the ad at the right helps his election campaign. (And only in Texas would he probably be correct.)

S2L77: Pokhara, Nepal

Pokhara, Nepal
March 1, 1977

I sat out on the deck listening to the distant dogs, looking at the stars, and brooding on the mountains.

Source: Personal travel notes.

From 1977 02 21 Nepal

The trip from Kathmandu to India is only a few hundred miles by road. The bounty of sights makes it seem much longer. Nepal is mostly a high mountain valley with spectacular scenery. Outside the cities, people are sparse, most engaged in small-scale farming. In spring, Nepal has warm days and cold nights. Spending the night in Pokhara, sitting outside under a clear sky with a waxing moon, contemplating the eternal mountains, well, that's just about the closest thing to communing with nature that I can imagine.

More photos after the jump.

A Weak Cup of CAFR

For city finance wonks, Christmas comes twice a year: once in August when the city budget is set and again in February when the city financial audit is published. The budget specifies the city's cash flow (its planned revenues and expenses). The financial audit details the city's assets (the value of city property, bank accounts, etc.) and its liabilities (outstanding debt, pension obligations, etc.).

After the jump, a quick look at this year's Comprehensive Annual Financial Report (CAFR).

Berkner 54, Skyline 33

The Berkner Rams men's basketball team defeated the Skyline Raiders 54-33 Tuesday night to cap off a perfect 14-0 District 9-5A record, winning their fourth straight district championship. It's a great time to be a Ram!

Next up: UIL state playoffs starting Tuesday, February 19 at 7:30 pm at Naaman Forest High School against a team from District 10-5A.

More photos after the jump.

In Praise of Slow Reading

Sharon Grigsby, editorial writer for The Dallas Morning News, revealed a detail of the editorial process at that newspaper in a blog post about an op/ed that the newspaper didn't have room to print.

Each Friday about this time, I wrap up one of the most difficult -- and fun -- parts of my job for the week: Selecting five days worth of op/eds for our print Viewpoints page. Just as we have too many good editorial ideas to write each week, as I noted here yesterday, I always have a few columns that I really wanted to publish, but simply ran out of space before "finding them a home."

Source: The Dallas Morning News.

Apparently, the op/eds are selected up to a week in advance of printing. So, if you ever find yourself reading The Dallas Morning News and thinking that you're reading last week's news, it's because you are. It's that increasingly common reaction by readers of print newspapers that's partly responsible for the slowly dying industry.

But that's not what made me want to blog about Grigsby's own blog post. It was the op/ed that she didn't have room to put in the print paper. After the jump, Steve Chapman's ode to slow reading.