Correction: Mayor Maczka's Stand on Tolling Central

At the September 8 city council worksession, Mayor Laura Maczka clarified her statements to the Texas Transportation Commission, denying that she or the mayors of Plano and Allen expressed support for tolling Central Expressway, contrary to an unverified report I quoted from. In the worksession she said the city has not taken a position on tolling. I was wrong to state that she was still silent on where she or the city stands. I regret the error.

The Wheel Award for Excellence in Motion Pictures

Oscar night is six months gone. "12 Years a Slave" was the Academy's pick for "Best Picture." I couldn't say at the time that it was my pick for "best" movie of 2013 because I hadn't seen all of the nominees. In fact, I hadn't yet seen "12 Years a Slave" when it received the golden statue in March. Well, now that it's September, I can finally say I've seen all of the Oscar nominees for "Best Picture" of 2013 and I can pick a winner. Call this the Netflix Oscar.

After the jump, my own pick for "Best Picture".

Is It Too Early to Talk Richardson Elections?

The Richardson City Council elections aren't until May, 2015, but if there's anyone out there who is going to challenge the incumbents, he or she has to start thinking about it now. So, let's look at the lay of the land, shall we?

After the jump, is the current city council vulnerable?

The Wolf of Wall Street (2013)

IMDB

The Wolf of Wall Street (2013): Over the top depiction of excess. Too campy to be serious. Not campy enough to be funny. Bad Scorsese. D+

Confluence

From 2014 08 22 Confluence

If there's a site that combines such geographic and historic importance while remaining relatively untouched by human development, I don't know where it is. I'm speaking of the confluence of two mighty rivers, the Mississippi and Missouri, a few miles north of St. Louis.

Geographically, the combined river system is the world's fourth longest, draining almost half of the continental United States. Historically, the confluence was the winter campsite of the Lewis and Clark expedition before they set off on their voyage of exploration of the newly acquired Louisiana Territory in 1804. And why is the area still undeveloped? Perhaps because the rivers are untameable, their courses changing with each year's floodwaters. Because of that, today you can stand at the historical marker and see a natural vista that must be indistinguishable from what Lewis and Clark saw.

From 2014 08 22 Confluence

Lakeview Centennial 50, Richardson 14

From 2014 09 05 Lakeview Centennial vs Richardson

Garland's Lakeview Centennial Patriots defeated the Richardson Eagles, 50-14, Friday night at Eagle-Mustang Stadium.

Lakeview Centennial scored on the opening kickoff and never looked back, outgaining Richardson 474 yards to 214. Lakeview Centennial was led by T.J. Edwards (174 yds passing, 81 yds rushing) and Jamil Linwood (131 yds rushing). Richardson was led by Daevon Woods (112 yds rushing).

With the win, the Patriots move to 2-0 on the season while the Eagles fall to 0-2.

More photos after the jump.

Berkner 45, Naaman Forest 27

From 2014 09 04 Berkner vs Naaman Forest

The thermometer may still be flirting with triple digits, but on the gridiron it's football season again. Thursday night at Garland's Williams Stadium, the Berkner Rams defeated Garland's Naaman Forest Rangers 45-27. It's a great time to be a Ram!

Berkner was led by Davis Steelman (108 yds passing, 133 yds rushing) and CaDarius Edwards (147 yds rushing). Naaman Forest was led by Michael Nelson (239 yds rushing) and Juwan Saddler (117 yds passing and 90 yds rushing).

More photos after the jump.

Richardson Misses the Harvest

From 2014 06 28 Vancouver

Farmer's Market in Vancouver, British Columbia

The farmers market season isn't over, not by a long shot, as farmers gear up with fall crops. There's still plenty of end-of-summer produce, too, such as yellow and zucchini squash, some tomatoes, okra, eggplant, peas and peppers. Fall crops coming on include greens, such as arugula and bok choy, as well as cool-weather squashes such as spaghetti and butternut.

Source: The Dallas Morning News.

When it comes to big projects, Richardson gets things done (not always the right things, but at least something). Whether it's CityLine, Palisades Village, State Farm, or Raytheon, if the project is big, Richardson finds a way to move ahead and get it done. This is true even when there is significant opposition to the projects from the surrounding neighborhoods.

But when it comes to small, neighborhood-sized things, Richardson seems to drop the ball. Even when the neighbors are on board, Richardson kills popular ideas or bogs them down with red tape.

After the jump, the latest example.

OTBR: A Farm on Galveston Bay

Latitude: N 29° 29.724
Longitude: W 094° 57.708

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".

Tolling Central: Where Does Richardson Stand?

NCTCOG and TxDOT want to convert the HOV lane on Central Expressway (US 75) into a tolled express lane between IH 635 and Allen. Do you know where the City of Richardson stands on this? Seriously. Do you?

Different possible answers after the jump.