Friday, September 5, 2014

Richardson Misses the Harvest

From 2014 06 28 Vancouver
Farmer's Market in Vancouver, British Columbia

The farmers market season isn't over, not by a long shot, as farmers gear up with fall crops. There's still plenty of end-of-summer produce, too, such as yellow and zucchini squash, some tomatoes, okra, eggplant, peas and peppers. Fall crops coming on include greens, such as arugula and bok choy, as well as cool-weather squashes such as spaghetti and butternut.
When it comes to big projects, Richardson gets things done (not always the right things, but at least something). Whether it's CityLine, Palisades Village, State Farm, or Raytheon, if the project is big, Richardson finds a way to move ahead and get it done. This is true even when there is significant opposition to the projects from the surrounding neighborhoods.

But when it comes to small, neighborhood-sized things, Richardson seems to drop the ball. Even when the neighbors are on board, Richardson kills popular ideas or bogs them down with red tape.

After the jump, the latest example.

Thursday, September 4, 2014

OTBR: A Farm on Galveston Bay

Latitude: N 29° 29.724
Longitude: W 094° 57.708

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".

Wednesday, September 3, 2014

Tolling Central: Where Does Richardson Stand?

NCTCOG and TxDOT want to convert the HOV lane on Central Expressway (US 75) into a tolled express lane between IH 635 and Allen. Do you know where the City of Richardson stands on this? Seriously. Do you?

Different possible answers after the jump.

Tuesday, September 2, 2014

A Drive Through Ferguson, Missouri

From 2014 08 22 Ferguson Missouri
When a white policeman, Darren Wilson, shot and killed an unarmed black teenager, Michael Brown, in Ferguson, Missouri, he set off a chain of events that put Ferguson, Missouri, in the headlines for days. The community protested against police violence and the militarized police responded with tear gas and armored vehicles. Naturally, we just had to see things for ourselves.

After the jump, my impressions of Ferguson.

Monday, September 1, 2014

Repeat Tweets: Extrapolating US Politics to Middle East

Repeat tweets from August, 2014:

  • Aug 3 2014: Extrapolating US politics to the Middle East: Tea party/Hamas (fighting on at any cost) vs Dems/Israel (refusing to dismantle the state).
  • Aug 4 2014: MT @DaveLieber: "How a school board broke a zillion rules in five minutes. thescoopblog.dallasnews.com.html" Which reminds me, when will RISD tape?
  • Aug 4 2014: Headline: "Rick Perry forms political action committee." Or as it might be called, a roll call for Rick, or you know: youtube.com

After the jump, more repeat tweets.