A Look at Richardson's Council Districts

Yesterday, I blogged about a story by Jim Schutze in Unfair Park about how Dallas's single member council districts prevent that city from pulling together to implement improvements for the good of the city as a whole. I said Richardson doesn't have Dallas's divisions and therefore, single member districts are inappropriate for Richardson.

In response to my post, I was told that Richardson does, too, have divisions. After the jump, a look at what those divisions might be and what impact single member districts might have on those divisions.

Single Member Districts In Action

There has been a lot of talk recently in Richardson favoring amending the City Charter to replace at-large council member elections with single member districts (and by "lot of talk" I mean an odd voice or two crying in the wilderness, and by "wilderness" I mean some place like San Antonio).

Dallas already has single member districts. How's that working out? After the jump, Jim Schutze, in Unfair Park, gives us a look. The issue is flood control in East Dallas.

A Few Comments About Comments

It's a new year. Time for resolutions and all that. I thought it might be a good time to offer a few comments about commenting on this blog. Popular or not, I resolve to continue to keep a light hand on moderating comments. That's because I welcome comments. I appreciate comments. I wish more readers would comment.

Still, there are some types of comments that I don't want to see, specifically those that violate the stated commenting rules: "Comments are welcome, but please identify yourself. Keep it courteous, keep it clean, keep it on topic." Hypothetically, calling someone laughable or boring or inane is both discourteous and off-topic. Such arguments are not welcome.

After the jump, a few more behaviors that are not welcome.

Rose Bowl Game (2012)

From 2012 01 Rose Bowl

"The Granddaddy of Them All," the New Year's Day Rose Bowl Game, first played in 1902, is grander than ever. Growing up, watching on television, I couldn't resist the warm, sunny weather beckoning football fans watching from frigid Wisconsin. The game put an itch in me to be there in person like no other football game ever did. Finally, fulfilling that "bucket list" desire, we attended our first Rose Bowl game. It's everything I envisioned and more. Except for the outcome: Oregon 45, Wisconsin 38. But even that can't spoil the experience.

All of our Rose Bowl Game photos can be found here.
Photos from New Year's Day in Pasadena can be found here.
Photos from the Rose Parade can be found here.

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Trivia about the Rose Bowl I didn't know until this year: The record attendance for a Rose Bowl Game is 106,869, set in 1973. This year's full-house attendance was only 91,245. What's up with that? In 2000, the Rose Bowl was renovated. Bleacher seats were replaced with seats with backs (except in the end zones). That reduced seating capacity by about 15,000.

Rose Parade (2012)

From 2012 01 Rose Parade

Twenty one marching bands. Eighteen horse units. Forty three large floats, all completely decorated with flowers and other natural materials. That can describe only one parade -- the annual New Year's Day Rose Parade in Pasadena, California. Fulfilling a "bucket list" desire, we attended our first Rose Parade this year. Attending in person restores the entertainment value of parades that television coverage has increasingly sapped. No commercial interruptions, no obligatory pauses while minor celebrities lip-sync to the cameras, no announcers reading lame, scripted jokes. Only the full-on experience of floats, marching bands, horse units and an enthusiastic crowd. All in the glorious sunshine of southern California.

After the jump, a look at the pre-parade festivities and more photos.