Time to Review Richardson's Code of Ethics

Yesterday I called out the City of Richardson's Code of Ethics as being deficient and in need of review. So, color me surprised to find this section deep in the code itself:

Sec. 2-10. Review.
The City Council shall review this article once every two years following its adoption on September 27, 2010.

Source: City of Richardson.

Maybe those periodic reviews have been happening like clockwork and I just missed them. Can someone alert me when the next one happens so I can contribute?

The City Has Some Explaining To Do, Too

Yesterday, in response to the federal indictment for bribery of former Richardson mayor Laura (Maczka) Jordan, I explained and apologized for my endorsement of her for mayor in 2013. The City of Richardson itself (whoever the "City" might be) offered up its own response to the indictment. I'll let others judge my response. But in my opinion, the City's own response falls short of any hint that I might not be the only one with some explaining and apologizing to do.

Never Apologize, Never Explain

"Never Apologize, Never Explain." Purportedly, that was the guiding philosophy of the Victorian English in how they ran the British Empire. I don't believe I have any English ancestry, and I certainly don't rule an empire. I find a better personal guiding philosophy to be, "Always Apologize, Always Explain." That brings me to a rather awkward moment in my blogging archive: that time when I endorsed Laura Maczka for Richardson mayor.

Review: The Underground Railroad

Amazon

From The Underground Railroad, by Colson Whitehead:

The music stopped. The circle broke. Sometimes a slave will be lost in a brief eddy of liberation. In the sway of a sudden reverie among the furrows or while untangling the mysteries of an early-morning dream. In the middle of a song on a warm Sunday night. Then it comes, always—the overseer’s cry, the call to work, the shadow of the master, the reminder that she is only a human being for a tiny moment across the eternity of her servitude."

"The Underground Railroad" had me by its awards: Winner of the Pulitzer Prize and the National Book Award. But then there was this: Winner of the Arthur C Clarke award for Science Fiction. Say what???

POTD: Coffee Beans Soaking Up Sun

From 2018 01 25 Costa Rica

Today's photo-of-the-day is from the Doka Estate, a coffee plantation in Costa Rica, where what look like parking lots are coffee bean drying patios where beans are spread to dry in the sun. All in all, a much better use of space, in my opinion.

POTD: Costa Rica Hydrangeas

From 2018 01 25 Costa Rica

Today's photo-of-the-day is from the Doka Estate, a coffee plantation in Costa Rica. Although most the estate is given over to growing, drying, roasting, tasting and selling coffee, the grounds are beautiful for other reasons, especially if someone in your party doesn't drink coffee.

(P.S. I like coffee.)

The Square (2017)

Rotten Tomatoes

The Square (2017): Museum curator experiences crises with a pickpocket, PR stunts, and sex. This Swedish, Palme d'Or winner pokes at art, money, society, political correctness and social consciousness. Hit or miss on the satire, but always weird. B-

Mapping Racial Diversity in the RISD

Source: Washington Post.

The Washington Post published a tool that allows one to use census data to map changing racial diversity in cities across the country from 1990 to 2016. The graphic here is roughly contiguous with the Richardson ISD boundaries. There are no surprises.

Neighborhood Schools

Recently, 300 community members of the Richardson school district wrapped up months of meetings, making 27 recommendations that were accepted by the school board to comprise the RISD's Strategic Plan 2017. One recommendation in particular caught my eye.

Adopt a neighborhood school policy and create a formal definition of neighborhood school to provide clarity on future decisions regarding school construction, boundary lines, and transfer policies.

Source: RISD.

POTD: Scarlet Macaw

From 2018 01 25 Costa Rica

Today's photo-of-the-day is from the Botanical Orchid Garden in La Garita, Alajuela, Costa Rica. The garden is filled not only with tropical flowers but shows off a few native bird species as well, like this Scarlet Macaw.