Source: Nationhood Lab.
The last few days have seen a confluence of gun tragedy. A shooting death in the church of Joel Osteen ("church" used loosely) in Houston and a shooting death (and 21 wounded) at a Superbowl rally in Kansas City. More and more, mourning for the dead has barely begun before new dead take their place in the headlines.
"7. REVIEW AND DISCUSS COUNCIL RULES OF PROCEDURE"
With that innocuous wording, the Richardson City Council took up a question that has long puzzled me. That is, why don't City Councilmembers drive change in the City of Richardson? I attributed it partly to lack of will, but also partly to confusion over whether they even have the power to set the agendas for the City Council meetings. If it's not on the agenda, they can't deliberate it, they can't make motions for it, and they can't pass the motions that bring change.
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"Car stops, man offers
to show us Thursday Island
On his Thursday off."
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| From 2023 03 30 Thursday Island |
Today's photo-of-the-day was taken on Thursday Island, in the Torres Strait between the Australian mainland and Papua New Guinea. It's Australia's top pub, that is, its northernmost pub. There's not much else on the island so my guess is that it gets a lot of the island's business.
Ellen and I were hiking up to what's left of the historic, hilltop fort when a man in a car stopped and offered to give us a lift. He worked for the Australian border service and had the day off. So he gave us a panoramic tour of the hilltop, then offered to drive us around the rest of the island. We took him up on his offer and received the best personal tour available.
A bonus photo is after the jump.
"Safe zone amid waves,
Jellyfish safely kept out.
Lone camper's haven."
—h/t ChatGPT
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| From 2023 03 28 Cairns |
Another port in Queensland, another (almost) empty beach. Today's photo-of-the-day was taken in Cairns, Queensland, Australia. There is one lone camper on the beach. Beaches in Queensland are plagued with jellyfish, whose stings are painful. This beach has one safe zone for swimming. Halfway down the beach, you can see the floats for a net used to keep swimmers separated from the jellyfish. In the foreground you can see one lone camper sitting in the sun and enjoying reading a book.
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The Richardson City Council held a worksession February 5, 2024, to receive an update on the new City Hall and Library projects. The schematic design of City Hall is now complete and design development is beginning. There are enough details for the City Council and the public to have a good idea of what our new City Hall will look like. The new Library is farther along, with construction to begin in March, 2024.
The City Council and City Plan Commission (CPC) held a joint worksession February 5, 2024, to review progress on updating the City's Comprehensive Plan. Regular readers know just how much importance I place on this opportunity to reform Richardson's outdated regulations that limit a denser built environment, mixed-use developments, transit-oriented developments, missing-middle and affordable housing, and safe streets for bicycles and pedestrians.
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