Sick? State Formula Says Go To School

In November, in a blog item about organ donation, I blogged about what's known as misaligned incentives in economics. An example was offered from Steven D. Levitt and Stephen J. Dubner's SuperFreakonomics from the ambulance business in mid-20th century America.

"Ambulances were often run by the local mortuary. It is hard to think of a better example of misaligned incentives: a funeral director who is put in charge of helping a patient not die!"

Now we have another example much closer to home. After the jump, how the state of Texas encourages local school districts to get sick children to drag their sorry butts out of bed and get to school.

And the Chairman's Award Goes To ...

Richardson Christmas Parade Chairman's Award

From 2009 12 Santas Village

The Chairman's Award for the Richardson Christmas Parade goes to the RISD combined high school marching bands from Berkner, Lake Highlands, Pearce and Richardson High Schools. Santa's Village opened in Richardson Saturday evening with the awards ceremony for the Christmas parade held earlier in the day. Based on points awarded to each unit in the parade, the RISD combined high school marching band received the highest total points for the youth entrants (or maybe it was the junior/senior high entrants), earning it the Chairman's Award. Seen above is Ellen accepting the award from the ... Chairman? ... on behalf of the RISD Fine Arts Department.

OK, I don't fully understand the award criteria or exactly who it was making the presentation, but that's not the point. I'm a blogger, not a reporter. Go find Ian McCann if you want the facts. The point is that it was a frigid sunny day, perfect for a Christmas parade, a lot of money was raised for charity and the awards ceremony was a lot of fun to kick off another Santa's Village, which keeps getting better and better. It's open every weekend between now and Christmas. It's free. It's great fun for kids from 1 to 92. Check it out.

More photos can be seen here.

OTBR: Off The Blue Roads

Latitude: 38.405° N
Longitude: 91.083° W

From GD101

There's a story I like about a family on a car trip. A child 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".

An Eastside Christmas

Berkner Jazz Band

From 2009 12 Eastside Christmas

The Christmas season opened on a suitably frigid evening Thursday with the ceremonial tree lighting ceremony at Richardson's Eastside mixed-use development on Campbell Rd at Central Expressway. The Berkner High School Jazz Band braved the weather to entertain the crowd.

I hesitate to say anything negative during the Christmas season, but as much as I like Eastside, their Christmas tree is a little underwhelming. The silver lining to this was that, having missed the actual big lighting event in favor of ducking into Twisted Root to get warm and enjoy a good burger, when I later saw the sparsely lighted tree, it removed some of the guilt I felt for ducking out. (I did see a certain high-ranking city official walking through Twisted Root, but I won't say he missed the flipping of the switch, too. More likely, he did the honors.) All in all, a good way to begin a great time of year.

Photos of the event can be seen here.

Fighting City Hall ... in Court

Earlier this week, I blogged about Richardson being at the crossroads, dialog or pitchforks. Will a constructive dialog between the city council and the public be nurtured or will it suffocate in an increasingly poisonous attitude by uncompromising critics? After the jump, a lawsuit that's a bad sign for which direction the city is headed.

Obama Hates Cute Kids ... and Christmas

No, not really. But that's the rap he's getting for the timing of his address to the nation Tuesday night to announce plans for a troop buildup in Afghanistan. After the jump, the case for why Obama hates cute kids ... and Christmas.

Richardson at the Crossroads: Dialog or Pitchforks?

What are the hot-button issues in Richardson city government? After the jump, two viewpoints.

Dispatch from the Shopping Wars: Black Friday

So-called "Black Friday" is behind us. Early spot reports from retailers indicate that the crowds were out and buying, which is a good sign, but caution still abounds. Will the shoppers return on Saturday and Sunday and the 27 shopping days until Christmas? (By the way, when did the word "shopping" in "shopping days" become redundant? It's 27 days either way.) After the jump, my own experience on Black Friday.

Time Limit on Trash Talk in Richardson

It looks like I was in the minority regarding what I thought was noteworthy about last night's council meeting. The DMN covered it straight, but the blogs covered not the Lookout trash transfer station -- you know, the subject raised during the visitors section -- but the number of minutes allotted to the speakers (e.g., here and here). OK, dump the trash, let's play along.

Trash: NIMBY

The Visitors Section of Monday's Richardson City Council meeting featured four residents appealing to the council for their support for specific neighborhood protections concerning the Lookout Trash Transfer Station. The aging trash transfer station serves as one of three waypoints in a five city area where solid waste is transferred from smaller city garbage trucks to larger capacity NTMWD trucks for the trip to the dump in Melissa.