Concern Over Growth Sparks A Revolution In Richardson

Elections in Richardson have long followed the pattern of most suburban cities: low interest, low turnout, and long tenure for incumbents.
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This [year], however, the status quo in Richardson was radically reshuffled. After an unusually spirited campaign, voters dumped three incumbents.

Source: D Magazine.

Just kidding. That D Magazine story is not from this year. Or 2015. It's from 1987. But it's worth reading. It's like seeing Richardson in a funhouse mirror, an alternate universe where the Palisades scandal resulted in the defeat of Mayor Maczka and key council members in their re-election bids in 2015. But in our reality, in case you forgot, Mayor Maczka and four council members ran unopposed in 2015. The issue in 1987 was a familiar one. Only the electoral outcome was different.

Wine Country (2019)

Rotten Tomatoes

Wine Country (2019): Six women travel to Napa for a 50th birthday. What happens is less party than mid-life crisis and group therapy. Could have been better if they had picked a lane, either lol comedy or Albee's Virginia Woolf. Instead we get Thoreau's quiet desperation. C+

Long Shot (2019)

Rotten Tomatoes

Long Shot (2019): Rom-com with Seth Rogen as speechwriter for Sec. of State Charlize Theron. Surprisingly, the movie works despite its preposterous premise and a gratuitously gross key plot point. Charlize Theron on molly looks like it was as fun for her as for the audience. B+

Review: Bluebird, Bluebird

Amazon

From Bluebird, Bluebird, by Attica Locke:

She wondered if the sheriff had arrived yet, if the mess that had washed up in her backyard this morning was still there, that girl lying out there all alone. She had a vague worry about what all this might do to her business, but mostly she tried to comprehend what in God’s name was happening to the town in which she’d spent all her sixty-nine years. Two bodies inside a week. What in the devil was going on?"


Bluebird, Bluebird is a detective story, set in the fictional small town of Lark, somewhere in east Texas. It has things to say about the state of race relations in east Texas, and about the complex relationships in small towns everywhere. It's this year's selection for Richardson Reads One Book.

What to do at Richardson Square

A developer is looking to build along Plano Rd and Belt Line Rd on land previously used for parking lots for the old Sears in Richardson Square. Obviously, Sears has no need for the parking. Demand for parking at Sears was never great to begin with, so development of some kind is not a bad idea. But here's why this developer's idea is a bad idea.

Knock Down the House (2019)

Rotten Tomatoes

Knock Down the House (2019): Documentary about 4 women who challenged Dem incumbents in 2018. One is AOC but all four are worth watching. An inside look at retail politics. AOC won for many reasons but every Democrat should watch her dissect her opponent's out-of-touch mailer. B+

The Ice House Goeth

Many residents of Richardson may not even be aware of the Ice House. I've lived in Richardson since 1984 and this little white building on the south side of Main Street just east of Greenville Ave. has only been like something in my peripheral vision all of that time. It's been standing vacant for as long as I can remember. But I was at least aware of it. I even knew it as "the ice house." As years went by, the most remarkable thing to me was that the ice house was still standing — vacant, ignored, overlooked by time and development, but still standing. If rumors are true, that's all about to change. So, I did a little research. Just a little, but enough to cement its place in my heart.

You (TV 2019)

Rotten Tomatoes

You (TV 2019): Boy meets girl. Boy is charming, if a bit creepy. Girl tends to fall for the wrong guys, and the wrong girlfriends. Things get worse from there, much worse. It's all just plausible enough to suspend your disbelief and go along for the wild ride. B+

Seven Takeaways from City Council Election

Richardson City Council election winners:

• Place 1: Bob Dubey
• Place 2: Mark Solomon (unopposed)
• Place 3: Run-off: Janet DuPuy, Dan Barrios
• Place 4: Kyle Kepner
• Place 5: Ken Hutchenrider
• Place 6: Steve Mitchell (unopposed)
• Mayor: Paul Voelker (unopposed)

My congratulations to the winners and my sincere admiration to all who put themselves out there for voters to judge. I believe strongly in Theodore Roosevelt's words, "It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena."

Now, on to this critic's takeaways. It's said that political pundits can always spin a story to explain any election results, no matter how close, in a way that makes it sound like the result was inevitable. So, which story do you want me to spin for you this year?

POTD: Peterhof Portrait Hall

From 2018 08 14 Peterhof

Today's photo-of-the-day is from Peterhof, the St. Petersburg palace built by Peter the Great of Russia. It shows the Portrait Hall. Seeing 368 portraits chock-a-block on the wall is amazing enough, but look closely and you'll convince yourself that all 368 are of the same young woman. Maybe yes, maybe no. Judge for yourself.