A Weak Cup of CAFR

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).

Berkner 54, Skyline 33

The Berkner Rams men's basketball team defeated the Skyline Raiders 54-33 Tuesday night to cap off a perfect 14-0 District 9-5A record, winning their fourth straight district championship. It's a great time to be a Ram!

Next up: UIL state playoffs starting Tuesday, February 19 at 7:30 pm at Naaman Forest High School against a team from District 10-5A.

More photos after the jump.

In Praise of Slow Reading

Sharon Grigsby, editorial writer for The Dallas Morning News, revealed a detail of the editorial process at that newspaper in a blog post about an op/ed that the newspaper didn't have room to print.

Each Friday about this time, I wrap up one of the most difficult -- and fun -- parts of my job for the week: Selecting five days worth of op/eds for our print Viewpoints page. Just as we have too many good editorial ideas to write each week, as I noted here yesterday, I always have a few columns that I really wanted to publish, but simply ran out of space before "finding them a home."

Source: The Dallas Morning News.

Apparently, the op/eds are selected up to a week in advance of printing. So, if you ever find yourself reading The Dallas Morning News and thinking that you're reading last week's news, it's because you are. It's that increasingly common reaction by readers of print newspapers that's partly responsible for the slowly dying industry.

But that's not what made me want to blog about Grigsby's own blog post. It was the op/ed that she didn't have room to put in the print paper. After the jump, Steve Chapman's ode to slow reading.

Richardson is Playing the Wrong Game

I have been frustrated lately by the direction that development/redevelopment in Richardson is headed. For example, see "Main Street/Central Expressway Study" for my criticism of redevelopment plans for old downtown Richardson; see "The Last, Best Hope for Richardson" for my criticism of development plans for the land around the PGBT DART station; and see "In Southwest Richardson, It's Always Friday" for my criticism of the planned restaurant row in the West Spring Valley corridor.

After the jump, I finger the common source of these frustrations.

West Side Story at PHS

West Side Story at Pearce High School: Everyone loves the songs, but it's the dancing that really sets this musical apart. Huge Pearce cast nails it.

More photos after the jump.