POTD: Sunset on the Mississippi River Delta

From 2020 01 31 New Orleans

Today's photo-of-the-day is from the Mississippi River south of New Orleans. It's just wetlands and occasional oil equipment all the way from New Orleans to the Gulf of Mexico.

Bonus photo after the jump.

Anatomy of a Scandal (TV 2022)

Rotten Tomatoes

Anatomy of a Scandal (TV 2022): British parliamentary leader is caught in a sex scandal whose stakes ratchet upwards until his wife, the PM, even the government prosecutor all get drawn in. Decent acting and compelling story even if the biggest reveal is highly implausible. B-

(New) School Board Comments on EDI

Richardson ISD is the fifth most diverse school district in Texas, and the largest in north Texas. RISD has recognized that fact for years and, in response, in 2019 adopted an "Equity, Diversity, Inclusion Policy" (EDI).

"June 10, 2019, is a big day," Superintendent Jeannie Stone said. "It's a big, big day." It was the day that the Richardson ISD Board of Trustees adopted the RISD Equity, Diversity, Inclusion (EDI) Policy in a unanimous 7-0 vote. "Once approved, trustees and members of the public delivered a standing ovation."

Source: Community Impact.

That was then. This is now. We all know what's happened in between, to Superintendent Stone and to RISD's unity. The three most contentious issues in 2021 were COVID-19 mitigation policies, Social-Emotional Learning (SEL), and, of course, EDI. It's time to check in on the (new) Board of Trustees and see where they stand on EDI.

Peer City Tax Rates

This slide was in the City of Richardson's slide show regarding the 2022-2023 budget. The good news is that the City is proposing to lower the tax rate, to the maximum rate allowed by law without voter approval. The not so good news is that the new rate leaves Richardson with a significantly higher tax rate than Plano, Frisco, Allen, and McKinney have now, some of which haven't even yet set their own 2022-2023 tax rates, so things might get worse for Richardson, relative to these other cities.

Of course, what you pay in property taxes depends on two factors: the tax rate and your home's appraised value. Even with a lower tax rate, your tax bill is, more than likely, going up. But alert homeowners know all this already. Really alert homeowners might also know something else that I just noticed about this table.

POTD: Mardi Gras During the Good Times

From 2020 01 31 New Orleans

Today's photo-of-the-day is from New Orleans. It was the last day of January, 2020. Mardi Gras was just getting warmed up. We were in town for only a couple of days before boarding a cruise ship for the Bahamas. The novel coronavirus was, at most, a minor story about events from far away. Little did we know what was in store. Our vacation was the last we would be taking for two long years.

Bonus photo after the jump.