Of Redevelopment And Gas Stations

Suppose the city of Richardson told you that they were interested in redevelopment of a strip of older apartments, aging underperforming retail, and miscellaneous other land uses, and asked you to participate in a survey. You would rate the attractiveness of a series of photographs of potential new development for the area. For example, what would be your reaction to the photo above? Probably not much different than the reaction of almost everyone who actually participated in this focus group. The overlaid bar graph indicates that almost everyone who actually did this exercise gave this Chevron gas station the lowest rating, a 1 on a scale of 1-7.

After the jump, why their opinion may not matter.

Is It Too Late To Stop The Nonsense?

The Texas State Board of Education (SBOE) finished revising social studies standards for Texas public education for the next decade. After this rewrite of history by these elected non-historians, Texas schoolchildren are now going to be taught that maybe Thomas Jefferson was factually incorrect when he described the First Amendment as "building a wall of separation between church and state," that Abraham Lincoln's Gettysburg Address needs to be balanced by the speeches of Jefferson Davis, and that Wisconsin Senator Joseph McCarthy, who found a red under every bed, didn't have much to be ashamed of after all.

Our children will have to endure a decade of this. Or will they? After the jump, is it too late to stop the nonsense?

Redevelopment Should Be High Quality

West Spring Valley Corridor

Are you surprised that a focus group says they prefer quality? No? Neither am I. The Richardson City Council acted as if this is some big discovery. At the May 24 City Council meeting, city staff presented a progress report on the West Spring Valley Corridor Reinvestment Strategy, specifically a report on the second community meeting that was held May 13, 2010.

My take on the progress report of the first community meeting can be found here. After the jump, my review of the second community meeting.

83 And Under

The Health Department of the City of Richardson conducts inspections of restaurants on a regular basis. The department publishes the results for all to see. According to the city, "Scores are based on a scale of zero to 100. A score of 90 to 100 is excellent; 80 to 89 is good; 70 to 79 is acceptable; and 60 to 69 is marginal." According to the latest ratings, all of the restaurants in Richardson are acceptable or better. Most are good or even excellent. Dozens achieved a perfect 100 score.

After the jump, a list of under achievers.

Late Spring In The Steger Garden (2010)

From Flowers

Last Day To Play In May

Shane Hoelscher (1 HR, double and single, 3 RBIs)

From 2010 04 HS Baseball

Three of the Richardson ISD high school baseball teams achieved their season goal to make the UIL state playoffs and "Play in May." Berkner and Richardson made it to the second round (Area). Saturday, the Lake Highlands Wildcats baseball team lost 5-1 to Belton High School in the third round (Regional Quarterfinal), bringing an end to this year's great season for the RISD team that made it deepest into the playoffs.

The player of the game was Belton's Shane Hoelscher, whose home run, double, single and three RBIs provided all the firepower Belton needed to advance to the Regional Semifinal round next weekend against the winner of the Klein Collins - Spring series. By the way, Hoelscher is committed to playing for Rice University next year. Go Owls!

For more photos of today's game (and a look back at other games this season), look here.

Around Town: The "Real" Richardson

Each night, at the end of "The Late Late Show," there's a little jingle that asks host Craig Ferguson, "What did we learn on the show tonight, Craig?" And Craig, with his feet up on his desk and his coiled-snake coffee cup in hand, reviews the lessons learned.

After the jump, "What did we learn on the blogs this week, Mark?"

Pete Sessions' NRCC "Needs Proctology Exam"

Tuesday was election day in a few states, not Texas, but one story has a north Texas connection. Besides the primary elections, there was a special election in Pennsylvania's 12th District to fill the Congressional seat left vacant by the death of Congressman John Murtha. The head of the National Republican Congressional Committee (NRCC), which oversees GOP electoral strategy nationally, is none other than Richardson's own Congressman Pete Sessions.

After the jump, what our Congressman has been up to outside his district.

I Hear The Train A Comin'

Back in the 19th century, communities lived or died based on the route that railroad barons chose for new railroads. Plano and Richardson are about to experience a 21st century version of those long-ago battles. According to a story by Ian McCann of The Dallas Morning News:

"Plano and Richardson are positioning themselves to become transit hubs, connecting the DART Red Line with the proposed Cotton Belt commuter rail. Both city councils have recently approved resolutions that, while effusive in their support of the Cotton Belt, are markedly different in the route they want the new line to take."

After the jump, figuring the odds for this prize fight.

Maggie May USA

There's a new blog about Richardson to check out. It's "Maggie May USA". I'm not saying this because Maggie May USA had some nice things to say about me, although that does demonstrate superior insight and excellent judgment. It's because Maggie May USA offers valuable nuggets of consumer advice like this:

"Raccoons eat tomatoes. Don't let anyone tell you they don't. Their little stealing paws nabbed the best looking ones. They were not even red, still green."

Almost Haiku prose, that, if there were such a form. Or free verse, at least. Let's see how it looks reformatted.

"Raccoons eat tomatoes.
Don't let anyone tell you they don't.
Their little stealing paws nabbed the best looking ones.
They were not even red, still green."

The blog is also worth checking out because Maggie May USA had the scoop that, during Wildflower!, "hotel rooms, in addition to the suites, at the Renaissance Hotel have started being booked up by the City of Richardson" and "customers of the hotel who have reservations are bumped." That's not nice.

Check it out.