Sunday, January 31, 2016

Kiss Me Kate at LHHS

From 2016 00 00 Miscellaneous
Kiss Me Kate at LHHS: Couple fight and woo onstage and off. Shakespeare, laughs, and such talented voices top to bottom.

Saturday, January 30, 2016

Grease at BHS

From 2016 00 00 Miscellaneous
Grease at BHS: 2016 kids in '80s musical about '50s rock and roll. Spirited production. Great singing and dancing (and sax solo).

Friday, January 29, 2016

Singin' in the Rain at PHS

From 2016 00 00 Miscellaneous
Singin' in the Rain at PHS: Great singing, dancing, acting, costumes, set, lighting and sound. All-around hit.

Thursday, January 28, 2016

POTD: Off the Rack


From 2015 11 13 Caribbean Cruise
Today's photo-of-the-day is from Jamaica, where the local vendors are ready to help out in case you forgot to pack appropriate clothing. A vacation rule of thumb: your comfort level wearing local fashion is inversely proportional to your distance from your vacation destination.

Wednesday, January 27, 2016

Spy (2015)

IMDB
Spy (2015): 007 parody that's surprisingly more fun than original franchise. Maybe too many vulgarities but they serve a purpose. B-












Tuesday, January 26, 2016

POTD: It's 5 O'Clock Somewhere


From 2015 11 13 Caribbean Cruise
Today's photo-of-the-day is from the beach at Montego Bay, Jamaica, where it's always five o'clock at Margaritaville.

Monday, January 25, 2016

What's Up with the RISD Bond?

The RISD is facing a February deadline to put a bond proposition on the ballot in the May election. What's the sticking point in finalizing what will go into the bond package?

It doesn't appear to be the size of the bond package or the need to raise the tax rate. The size is projected to be $417 million, with a likely tax rate increase of eight cents per $100 dollars. Most of the public commotion is not over these numbers, but seems to be over what's in the bond package, not how much it costs.

It doesn't appear to be those multipurpose facilities (aka, indoor practice fields). The scope of those has been cut down from $80 million to $60 million ($15 million each for four high schools). Now that the sticker shock has been addressed and the price is more in line with the dozens other such facilities already built by other school districts in north Texas, this issue seems to have moved to the back burner. Whether it's still simmering away, ready to boil over at the ballot box, is an open question.

It doesn't appear to be how to break up the bond items into separate bond propositions for voters to decide on. The Community Bond Advisory Committee recommends a single proposition. All or nothing. Not what I would recommend. There are too many angles to attack this bond proposition to feel comfortable that an all-or-nothing proposition will pass. But it's likely the school board will go along.

So, what's the sticking point? It's what to do about enrollment growth, especially in Lake Highlands.