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| From 2025 12 31 Porto, Lamego, Castelo Rodrigo |
Today's photo-of-the-day is of the magnificent boulevard in Lamego, Portugal (pop. 24,000). This wide, tree-lined avenue is seemingly many times too big for the small city. On a foggy, mid-winter day like the one we visited, not just the end of the boulevard is lost in the mist, but even the sides of the avenue seem to fade into the fog.
Source: ChatGPT (mostly)
On September 28, 2026, the Richardson City Council appointed Daniel Burdette to fill a vacancy for Place 3 on the Council. Council Member Jennifer Justice's comments on the experience were not a glowing endorsement of the process.
I will say it was the hardest decision that I've made since joining the Council...I genuinely hope a future Council is not forced to make a similar decision, and I support changing the Charter the next time it's reviewed so that the council does not have to stand in for the voters should this situation ever arise again.Source: City of Richardson.
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Netflix
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Netflix
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Disney+
Source: City of Richardson
On September 28, 2026, Daniel Burdette is expected to begin representing Richardson's Place 3 on the City Council, replacing Dan Barrios. I discussed whether this will make a difference in Richardson policy. I believe it will, although I couldn't find evidence for that notion in this term's voting history. I have more on Barrios's voting history in today's post.
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| From 2025 12 31 Porto, Lamego, Castelo Rodrigo |
Today's photo-of-the-day is from the Sanctuary of Our Lady of Remedies in Lamego, Portugal. Our visit was on a foggy midwinter day that gave the site a particularly romantic cast. According to Wikipedia, "Popular devotion to the site dates back to a chapel, dedicated to Saint Stephen, erected in 1361. Over time, devotion to Saint Stephen diminished, replaced by devotion to the Virgin Mary. The devotion of those who turned to her seeking relief from illness, in turn, gave rise to devotion to Our Lady of Remedies. The current sanctuary was begun in 1750 and only completed in 1905."
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| From 2025 12 31 Porto, Lamego, Castelo Rodrigo |
Beginning our cruise up Portugal's Douro River, today's photo-of-the-day is from the Carrapatelo Lock. It is one of the deepest and highest river locks in Europe, featuring a large water level change of about 35 meters (115 feet).
Source: ChatGPT, City of Richardson
Beginning September 28, 2026, Daniel Burdette will represent Richardson's Place 3 on the City Council, replacing Dan Barrios. Will that make a difference in city policy? Who's to say? As a test, I looked at votes in the 2025-2027 term (so far) to see what might have been different had Burdette been in that seat for the full term. That is, had Barrios resigned in 2025, perhaps getting replaced by Burdette as early as May 2025, what would be different in city policy today?
I looked for Council votes in which Barrios's vote was determinative: winning votes in which Barrios was one of four Ayes, or losing votes with only three Aye votes, in which Barrios voted Nay. There were five such votes.
Source: City of Richardson
On September 21, 2026, the Richardson City Council interviewed the three finalists for appointment to the vacant Place 3 position. Then, after about a half-hour in executive session, the Council returned to open session to name Daniel Burdette the lone finalist for appointment. The Council is scheduled to vote on the appointment at its September 28 meeting. The Council did not publicly provide the reasons for its choice. I asked ChatGPT to score their answers against a specific set of criteria that I defined with suggestions from ChatGPT. Based on ChatGPT's scoring, Daniel Burdette's interview received the fewest "Strong" ratings of the three. That result was consistent with my own impression of the interviews. So, I asked ChatGPT to report a textual analysis of the interview, identifying Burdette's strengths, weaknesses, and implications for appointment. I include that report verbatim here.
