Snowpiercer (2014)

IMDB

Snowpiercer (2014): Think Coors Silver Bullet train meets Hunger Games with Gandalf and zombies. Absurd. Illogical. Cheap. Dreadful. D-

Agenda Watch: Food Trucks

The following item appeared on the agenda for the cancelled February 23, 2015, Richardson City Council worksession:

REVIEW AND DISCUSS FOOD TRUCK REGULATIONS

Source: City of Richardson.

As usual, there is no hint of what prompted this agenda item (I've never understood how agendas are put together, but that's another topic). But my guess is that the reason this was on the agenda wasn't because some council member thought that existing regulations are too restrictive, maybe resulting in Richardson not having as many food trucks as a modern, vibrant urban city ought to have.

You know, like Plano...

Playoffs: Berkner 65, Jesuit 62

The Berkner Rams men's basketball team fought off a challenge from the Dallas Jesuit Rangers in the first round of the UIL state basketball playoffs Tuesday night at the Richardson High School gym. The Rams came back from a nine point deficit in the third quarter to win 65-62.

It's a great time to be a Ram!

Neighbors (2014)

IMDB

Neighbors (2014): Gross, tasteless, raunchy, sophomoric, derivative, unfunny. Boy, I am so the wrong demographic for this movie. D+

CAFR's Upward Trend is Real

For city finance wonks, Christmas comes twice a year: once in August when the city budget is set and again in February when the city financial audit is published. The budget specifies the city's cash flow (its planned revenues and expenses). The financial audit details the city's assets (the value of city property, bank accounts, etc.) and its liabilities (outstanding debt, pension obligations, etc.).

After the jump, a quick look at this year's Comprehensive Annual Financial Report (CAFR).

RALC Murder Mystery in the Library

RALC "Once Upon a Murder": Who knew an ESL program would lead to MURDER? Who knew sweet fairy tale characters had so many secret issues?

How Unpopular Is Palisades, Really?

At first glance, it looks like Mayor Laura Maczka might be ripe for a challenge in the upcoming Richardson elections. After all, when she ran for mayor in 2013, she left no doubt on where she stood: "When it comes to apartments, you know that Laura has always said we do not need more apartments near our neighborhoods. Period."

When the Palisades development came before the city council, a reported 651 people turned out in opposition; only 1 member of the public registered support. (I can't vouch for the numbers, but it sounds about right.) It was a tailor-made opportunity for Maczka to deliver on a campaign promise by voting "no", right? Well... Maczka led a 5-2 majority of the council voting "yes," handing the Palisades developer the right to build a thousand or so apartments next door to Maczka's own Canyon Creek neighborhood.

Surely, a huge majority of her neighbors would see this flip flop as a betrayal of her own neighborhood and be ready in 2015 to throw Maczka out, right?

War on Education

It's not just in Texas that state government is waging a war on education.

Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker made national headlines this month when his proposed state budget redefined the mission of the University of Wisconsin System as "to develop human resources to meet the state's workforce needs." His budget removed "to serve and stimulate society,", "to improve the human condition," and "to search for truth." Although the governor quickly retracted them, the proposed changes generated lots of conversation about the public purposes of college.

Source: Phi Beta Kappa.

Particle Fever (2013)

IMDB

Particle Fever (2013): People behind Large Hadron Collider, humans' largest experiment into universe's smallest things. Inspiring. B+

Putting the Squeeze on Group Homes

The Richardson Coalition political action committee included this paragraph in its latest "Richardson News in Three Minutes" newsletter:

The City staff is actively working with an independent legal counsel to evaluate the City's current policies and procedures for processing group home applications.

Source: Richardson Coaltion PAC.

The words that jumped out at me were "legal counsel." That can only mean the city is looking for (legal) ways to put the squeeze on group homes that provide support for people recovering from drug and alcohol dependency. That is, keep more from opening, and who knows, maybe even hassle existing ones out of business.