Richardson Comes Off My "On Notice" Board

Source: H/T Stephen Colbert.

Richardson no longer has a place on my "On Notice" board. This is what triggered my change of heart:

This evening, the Richardson City Council authorized a purchase/sale agreement and an economic development agreement clearing the way for acquisition of nearly 60 acres of land from Galatyn Properties Ltd. consisting of members of the Margaret Hunt Hill family. Acquisition of the four parcels, which adjoin the existing Spring Creek Nature Area, will enable the City to more than double the nature area’s current size.

Source: City of Richardson.

Well done, Richardson. One hundred years from now, this acquisition will be looked back upon as the most significant action taken by Richardson in the early 21st century. That's just how valuable this large piece of heavily-wooded, undeveloped land in the middle of a growing urban area will be. With this move, Richardson comes down off my "On Notice" board.

After the jump, a look back at my love affair with the Spring Creek Nature Area.

George Clayton, DINO

George Clayton is the Democratic candidate for Texas House District 102. He is running against Linda Koop, the Republican candidate. I call Clayton the Democratic candidate loosely. Sometimes, people use the term RINO (Republican In Name Only) or DINO (Democrat In Name Only), but that's mostly done when one faction of the party wants to write a person out of the party. In this case, however, George Clayton appears to be trying to write himself out of the Democratic party tent.

After the jump, Clayton's strange response to The Dallas Morning News's endorsement of his opponent, Linda Koop.

Texas House District 102: Koop vs Clayton

A candidate forum for Texas House District 102 was held on October 8, 2014, at RISD's Westwood Junior High School. Linda Koop (R) and George Clayton (D) answered questions from the audience.

After the jump, where the two candidates stand on a wide range of issues.

State Fair of Texas - Midway

From 2014 09 30 State Fair

More photos after the jump.

OTBR: A Narrow Street in Zagreb

Latitude: N 45° 49.680
Longitude: E 015° 56.220

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".

My Turn to Squeal on Rodger Jones

I have something in common with the author of last week's fascinating Points essay, a woman who got raked over the coals by authorities for letting her kids play in the nearby park, unsupervised.

Source: Rodger Jones.

That's how Rodger Jones, editorial writer for The Dallas Morning News, sets the stage for his readers to sympathize with whatever it was that happened to him. Can you say false equivalence? Do you think Jones was innocent of wrongdoing, like the innocent woman he's comparing himself to? No, Jones admits, passively, that in his case "mistakes were made." Do you think maybe Jones "got raked over the coals" for those mistakes? No, Jones admits, "There were no coals in my case and no raking."

So what exactly does Jones have in common with the woman who suffered injustice? Let's find out, after the jump.

Cottonwood Art Festival - Fall 2014

From 2014 10 04 Cottonwood Art Festival

Saturday was sunny and warm, perfect weather for Richardson's twice yearly Cottonwood Art Festival, now in its 45th year. After the jump, more photos from this Fall's festival.