Idle Thoughts on "The Map"

The whole universe depends on everything fitting together just right. If one piece busts, even the smallest piece...the entire universe will get busted.

Source: Hushpuppy, Beasts of the Southern Wild (2012).

The Richardson ISD is adopting single-member election districts. The proposed map is drawing many comments, pro and con. The more I think about all the different careabouts this map has to balance, the more interesting it is. Here are a few of my own idle thoughts. OK, maybe not so few.

RISD Single-Member Districts: The Public Speaks

Finally, after a long year of school board trustees discussing the lawsuit in executive session, after a long year of lawyers sparring over procedural issues in court, the public finally got a chance to weigh in on the Richardson ISD's legal settlement agreeing to introduce single-member districts in elections.

Let's Quit Fixing Potholes

The City of Richardson has council elections coming up in May. Community Impact Newspaper has published Q&As with five candidates. Snippets of the responses are below. I've chosen to focus on what is the classical focus of local government, what I'll call fixing potholes. Here is what Bob Dubey (Place 1), Mark Solomon (Place 2), Janet DePuy (Place 3), Franklin Byrd (Place 3), Dan Barrios (Place 3), and Ken Hutchenrider (Place 5) have to say. And afterwards, why I say let's quit fixing potholes.

On the Basis of Sex (2019)

Rotten Tomatoes

On the Basis of Sex (2019): If this were fiction, you'd knock it for having an obvious arc. But it's not. It's a dramatization of why every girl, every woman, and yes every man owes RBG a debt of gratitude. She's not just a character on SNL. She's a real American superhero. A-

Cinderella at LHHS

Cinderella at LHHS: Great singing, dancing, live orchestra, sets, costumes, sound and lighting by RISD students, music and lyrics by Rodgers and Hammerstein, what's not to like? A delightful evening of musical theater. Support local live theater. Support RISD.

More photos after the jump.

Donald J. Ozymandias

Just a reminder that while we're bringing our country to its knees over a border wall with Mexico, the atmosphere and oceans continue to warm, threatening pretty much everything in the country we're supposedly trying to protect.

Consider this headline ripped from this week's news: "Pentagon Fears Confirmed: Climate Change Leads to War, Refugees." I tell you, it's not the wall, it's climate change that we ought to be focused on. If you want to stop refugees, start by stopping climate change.

From Immigration Impact

How Richardson Can Combat Climate Change

Just a reminder that while we're bringing our country to its knees over a border wall with Mexico, the atmosphere and oceans continue to warm, threatening pretty much everything. But instead of wringing our hands over Washington's abdication of responsibility to do something about this existential threat, we can and ought to look closer to home for at least partial or incremental solutions. The Washington Post recently published an op-ed with ideas, the first of which is aimed right at the City of Richardson.

No Drive-Through for Eiland

The Richardson City Council rejected an application from Eiland Coffee Roasters for a location off US 75 in Richardson.

The Wife (2018)

Rotten Tomatoes

The Wife (2018): Glenn Close as the quiet, reserved wife behind a man awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature...until the awards ceremony brings her true self to the fore. An important lesson in gender roles. Great performances by both Close and Jonathan Pryce. B+

Lessons for the City from RISD

The Richardson ISD has settled a voting rights lawsuit by agreeing to change its at-large election system into a hybrid system of five single-member districts and two at-large. What can the City of Richardson learn from RISD's experience?