Untraditional American Values in Farmers Branch

There is no Farmers Branch school district. But that could change if the mayor of Farmers Branch, Tim O'Hare, has his way. He's exploring whether the city of Farmers Branch can withdraw from both the Carrollton-Farmers Branch and Dallas Independent School Districts and form its own school district. (Read The Dallas Morning News stories here and here.)

After the jump, what triggered the mayor of Farmers Branch to involve himself in the public schools? Hint: it has something to do with "traditional American values." That's code for it has something to do with Hispanics.

Signs of Opposition to Development at US75 and PGBT

Fresh off their victory (?) over the rebuilding and expansion of the Lookout Drive trash transfer station, the Neighborhood Protection Alliance of Richardson (NPAR) has focused its attention on the planned development for the open land southeast of the US 75 and the President George Bush Tollway (PGBT). In an email blast (I can't find it on the group's website to link to), NPAR Chair Maitri Smithhisler rallied the neighbors to attend a City Planning Commission meeting Tuesday Dec 7th, at 7PM at City Hall, at which it will be considering the Parliament planned development for the open land.

Now, I'm all in favor of grassroots involvement in civic matters such as this, even if I fear that a reflexive NIMBY attitude is likely to prevail. Smithhisler's email suggests that risk is real in this case, although I'm encouraged by the appearance of an open mind: "Please note: while the significant traffic increase, the massive apartment presence and the form-based code pose great concern, there are many aspects to this development that preliminarily look positive."

Hey, it's the corner of an 8-lane freeway and an 8-lane tollway, with a DART station in the middle and another rail line, the Cotton Belt, on the drawing boards. If that's not tailor-made for high-density development - offices, apartments, retail -- what is? The increased tax base will help pay for those parks and rec centers and trails that everyone else in Richardson likes so much. This kind of development should come as a surprise only to the most clueless home buyers for about the last 20 years. And form-based code is a plus. It's what enables mixed-use and reduces the need for people to use cars to get from a neighborhood zoned residential to a neighborhood zoned commercial. If you want to free Richardson from its shackles to the automobile, support form-based zoning.

So, let's hope that Smithhisler's open mind is genuine and that she can persuade other homeowners to keep an open mind, too.

P.S. My earlier post with comments on the subject, comparing it to another development in downtown Dallas, can be read here.

OTBR: The Parthenon in Nashville

Latitude: 36.1450 N
Longitude: 86.8100 W

A child on a road trip with his family asks, "Where are we?" and the father answers, "Let's check the map. We're off the blue roads [the Interstate Highways marked in blue on the road atlas]. We're off the red roads [the US and state highways]. We're off the black roads [the county highways]. I think we're off the map altogether." It was always my dream to be off the map altogether.

After the jump, a few of the random places (and I mean random literally) that I visited vicariously last month that are "off the blue roads".

Richardson Santa's Village

From 2010 12 Santas Village

"A heart-warming event for the young and young at heart.....where all of the sights and sounds of the holiday season can be enjoyed! Santa's Village features a variety of dwellings, each with a different activity, and live entertainment on stage."

Santa's Village is located in front of the Richardson City Hall, and will be open from 6:00 - 9:00 p.m., Saturday - Sunday, December 4 - 5, Thursday - Sunday, December 9 - 12, and Thursday - Sunday, December 16 - 19, 2010.

To see more photos from Santa's Village, look here.

Is Texas Too Business Friendly?

Steve Blow (yes, the folksy Metro columnist of The Dallas Morning News) provoked a political debate yesterday with a column asking whether Texas was *too* business-friendly. He points out that Texas ranks 49 out of 50 states in tax revenue per capita but is near the bottom of the rankings in public school quality, clean air and health care.

I know, it sounds blasphemous for a Texan to suggest it's possible to be *too* business friendly, doesn't it? But Steve Blow tossed the question out there anyway, trolling for bites. After the jump, did his bait attract any fish?