Highway Planner Sees Handwriting on Wall

Some in Richardson see projects like CityLine and Palisades as conspiracies between government and developers to rip off the little guy -- usually homeowners who already own a house in Richardson. Conspiracy theorists predict housing prices will drop as new apartments go up nearby. Simultaneously, housing prices (and property taxes) will go up as an influx of new jobs increases demand for nearby housing. (Cognitive dissonance doesn't afflict conspiracy theorists.) If they wanted to live in a high-density urban environment, they say, they'd have bought a condo in downtown Dallas. If Richardson keeps trying to increase density and force people to ride trains and bikes, they'll have to move to somewhere like Frisco or McKinney that's still in love with cars and sprawl.

You just know there's a "but" coming, don't you? The "but" here is that the trend towards mixed-use, high-density development is indeed happening, but it's not because of a conspiracy, either local (Richardson's mayor's recent behavior) or global (Agenda 21).

POTD: Pretty as a Picture

From 2015 03 16 Bangkok

Today's photo-of-the-day is from Bangkok, Thailand. It shows an unknown woman framed by doorways in the Wat Pho temple complex. There are more temples, towers, halls, shrines, classrooms, walls, gates, and courtyards than you can take in. All gilded, tiled or chiseled. A Buddhist Disneyland. Only without the thrill rides. Except for religious thrills, if you're into that. Sensory overload, in any case. Good times.

OTBR: Gus Grissom Road

Latitude: N 29° 30.726
Longitude: W 095° 08.682

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".

Charter Amendments: Three to Like

Previously, I took a first look at the Charter Review Commission's recommended changes to the Richardson City Charter. I found three changes that I'll oppose. But just to show you that I'm not reflexively negative, today I highlight three changes that I like.

Charter Amendments: First Look

The Charter Review Commission presented their recommendations to the Richardson City Council June 1, 2015. Now it's up to the council to decide which, if any, of the recommendations to adopt and place before the voters in November, 2015.

The commission made recommendations in about fifty areas, meaning that the ballot facing the voters could contain more than fifty propositions. Many of the propositions will be inconsequential (changing spelling, punctuation, grammar, vocabulary, etc.), but by the commission's own estimation, twelve of the changes are substantive, meaning they will have practical effect on the operation of government.

Unfortunately, while the commission explained *what* their recommended changes are, they didn't explain *why* the recommended changes are necessary. It's left to the voters to either put blind faith in the commission or attempt to divine the reasons behind the recommendations. I'm not inclined to the former, and I don't have the skill for the latter. Unless someone offers some compelling reasons otherwise, here are three changes that I'll oppose.

Repeat Tweets: Justice for All

Repeat tweets from May, 2015:

• May 1 2015: "None of us will know peace until we see justice for all, so it's time to take the blinders off." What she said. Destiny Herndon-DeLaRosa
  
• May 1 2015: To support his anti-gay bigotry, @DonMcLeroy pretty much says women are not created in the image of God. Just wow. TheEagle.com
  
• May 2 2015: Interstellar (2014): Wormhole shows humans way off dying Earth. Mishmash of ideas. Explains plot with dialog not action. Waste of talent. D+
  
• May 4 2015: "There is a pattern of the state leadership pandering to the fringe of Texas politics rather than the mainstream." texasmonthly.com
  
• May 4 2015: "It's possible to think both that this event was in bad taste, and that the response was utterly unacceptable." frontburner.dmagazine.com
  

After the jump, more repeat tweets.

Changing the City Charter

Now that the city council election is behind us, now that Mayor Laura Maczka has left the building, it's time for Richardson to turn its attention to something that's been bubbling away on the back burner for months: the work by the charter review commission to amend Richardson's City Charter. If all goes as expected, the voters will be deciding whether to amend the city charter in the November, 2015, election.

But before we dive into just what changes the commission has come up with, let's first look at the process. There seems to be some charges circulating that the commission is illegitimate, that it's a tool to provide a smokescreen for the city to change the charter to its own advantage and to the disadvantage of the citizens. Is there truth to that?

Review: Dept. of Speculation

Amazon

From Dept. of Speculation, by Jenny Offill:

"'I think I must have missed your second book,' he says. 'No,' I say. 'There isn't one.' He looks uncomfortable; both of us are calculating the years or maybe only I am. 'Did something happen?' he says kindly after a moment. 'Yes,' I explain."

After the jump, my review.

Sweet Jesus, $47 Million? - Amen

Earlier, I argued against giving targeted tax breaks to developers. Reader Steve Benson raised two counter-arguments.

First, development can sometimes result in added tax revenues greater than the cost of the city services consumed by that development, thus reducing the real tax burden on other taxpayers.

Second, if cities are prohibited from offering targeted tax breaks, some development projects in the category above won't proceed.

Is Steve correct? And if so, should I change my mind about the Palisades development in particular, and targeted tax breaks in general?

Selma (2014)

IMDB

Selma (2014): Powerful portrayal of fight for voting rights. Tips towards MLK and against LBJ. Voting rights under threat again today. B+