OTBR: A Ladybug by the Baltic Sea

Latitude: N 58° 34.662
Longitude: E 022° 27.960
A child on a road trip with his family 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".

What Are Roads For?

What are roads for? The Dallas Morning News's Michael Lindenberger prompts that question in a Transportation blog item that should be required reading for every urban planner in Richardson. (Is there such a job?)

Lindenberger's subject is the plan to tear down the S.M. Wright freeway in southern Dallas and build a six-lane parkway in its place. Some local residents want the city to go even further and narrow that road to four lanes. That would enable wonderful things:

Use the left over land to provide incentives to small business, community non-profits, shops and more to be built along the new road.
...
The movement is part of a bigger trend, and one that has taken hold in some corners of Dallas too. The idea challenges the prevailing wisdom in Dallas -- readily apparent in this project -- that traffic relief is the first and best reason for building roads. Slow the traffic down, some argue, and you give the neighborhood a chance to breathe.

Source: Michael Lindenberger.

After the jump, what neighborhood in Richardson needs that "chance to breathe?"

2012 Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP)

Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP) refers to the federally mandated accountability system required by the No Child Left Behind (NCLB) Act of 2001 and the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA).

All public school districts, campuses and the state are evaluated annually for AYP. A Texas AYP Workbook is approved annually by the United States Department of Education (USDE) and meets the requirement to evaluate all districts and campuses for AYP. Please refer to the AYP website for more in-depth information.

Source: TEA.

2012 AYP scores are out. Half of the state's schools did not meet the federal AYP requirement. The Dallas Morning News says that the Plano ISD (PISD) was "hit hard."

After the jump, Richardson ISD's scores.

Review: Life of Super-Earths

Amazon

From The Life of Super-Earths, by Dimitry Sasselov

Today, two efforts have placed us on the verge of completing the Copernican revolution. One is the discovery of a new Earth. The other is the era of synthetic biology. These two milestones are going to teach us about our place in the universe in ways we could never have imagined."

After the jump, my review.

In Southwest Richardson, It's Always Friday

Source: Hermansen Land Development, Inc.

Yesterday, I reported how I became owner of a hotel, namely, the aging Continental Inn in southwest Richardson, which the city bought (for $2.2 million) and has commenced tearing down.

After the jump, what the city plans to do with the property.

I Now Own a Hotel

Perhaps you heard the news: "Richardson Purchases Property On Central Expressway". That property is home to the Continental Inn. That makes you, Richardson resident, a hotel owner. But not for long. The hotel is a drag on redevelopment and is being demolished.

We can hope that the city council has a plan that's unfolding here, maybe a developer waiting in the wings to step forward and buy that property from the city (and maybe others nearby) and announce plans to build a new hotel/shopping/restaurant/residential complex that will spur a renaissance for all of southwest Richardson. We can hope that, because otherwise, Richardson just spent $2.2 million for a vacant lot and a dream.

After the jump, a few questions about the deal.

Summer in the Steger Garden (2012)

From Flowers

She loves me. She loves me not.

Overheard at Chick-fil-A

"Being against gay marriage doesn't mean I'm anti-gay."

Um, yes it does. Just like being against inter-racial marriage means you're racist. It kind of goes with the territory, by definition. Don't deny the obvious. Instead, fall back on your next defense, explain why you're anti-gay.

"I'm just trying to live my life according to the Bible."

No, not really. Or only selectively. There are dozens of outdated rules in the Bible. Why are you so obsessed with the biblical comments about homosexuality when you don't give a flip about prohibitions against eating shrimp, crab, lobster, clams, mussels, etc., or any of the many other behaviors that are supposedly abominations before the Lord? For the answer, see above.

After the jump, more conversations overheard at Chick-fil-A.

What To Do With Main Street

Richardson's Main Street is an unappreciated bit of living history, a sadly neglected town center that time passed by as Richardson grew up all around it. Maybe, just maybe, that's about to change. The city has initiated a Main Street/Central Expressway Corridor study to explore redevelopment opportunities for old downtown. The public's careabouts for the area are being gathered through public meetings and an online survey and questionnaire, available through August 30.

After the jump, my responses to the survey.

Richardson's Next Mayor: Alan North

Artist's rendering

Too soon? Hear me out. The Richardson City Council put a proposition on the November election ballot that asks voters to approve an amendment to the city charter to provide for the direct election of the mayor. Now it's up to the voters. Who's going to vote against a populist notion like letting voters choose their own mayor? So, expect the amendment to pass. That will change the May, 2013, city council elections. Instead of electing seven council members, voters will elect a mayor and six council members. Who has to be an early frontrunner for mayor? None other than the man who organized the petition that forced the council's hand -- Alan North.

After the jump, considering the chances of Richardson having a Mayor Alan North.