#@!% Comments

I've switched The Wheel over to a Facebook commenting system. There are some advantages, but there are disadvantages as well. For one, you have to have a Facebook account to comment (or Yahoo! or Hotmail). I hate that, but most people are on Facebook now, right? For another, the "Recent Comments" widget won't show any Facebook comments. I'll be deleting it in due course to avoid confusion.

Going forward, new comments have to be entered using the Facebook comment box. I'm leaving the old style comments visible, but if this is confusing, I might end up hiding the old comments. But I'd rather not do that. Dilemma, dilemma. I know...first world problem.

The rules for commenting remain the same. Comments are welcome, but anonymous comments are not. Keep it courteous, keep it clean, keep it on topic, and always advance the conversation. Comments in violation of that policy may be deleted from this website.

POTD: Fill 'er up with Johnnie Walker Black

From 2015 03 18 Siem Reap

Fill 'er up with Johnnie Walker Black. Or Red. Or Gordon's Gin. Or any old liquor bottle. Today's photo-of-the-day is from Siem Reap, Cambodia, where roadside stands make use of old liquor bottles to conveniently sell a liter of gasoline to the drivers of motorbikes and tuk tuks that dominate the traffic in Siem Reap.

Peering into the Dallas Looking Glass

Dallas city government is dysfunctional. It's not even a provocative thing to say anymore, is it? Everyone knows it's true. It's almost self evident, right?

In case you don't know that (perhaps you don't live within shouting distance of Dallas), you might want to check out this story in The Dallas Morning News by Elizabeth Findell. City council members shout at each other. City Council members shout at city staff. There's a whole lotta shoutin' going on.

But if you knew that already, you can just jump ahead to this story in FrontBurner by Peter Simek. He reads between the lines of Findell's story to understand the structural reasons behind all that shouting.

Peer into the Dallas looking glass and you might have a hard time seeing Richardson. Well, maybe if I cock my head just so, I think I see Richardson's future.

How Texas is Whitewashing History

The white supremacists might be on the defensive in South Carolina, where there are calls to haul down the Confederate flag from the state capitol, but in Texas the whitewashing of history is standing strong. If you have a child in Texas public schools, he or she is probably being taught shameful lies about American history.

How Much is Upzoning Worth?

"Upzoning" -- changing zoning laws to allow taller buildings and greater population density -- creates a windfall gain for landowners in high-value areas when the regulatory barrier is removed, and cities can capture some of that (by selling development rights at or near market prices) to defray the costs of the transit infrastructure that makes the higher-density development feasible.

Source: U.S. News.

How much is upzoning worth? A lot. Different stories about different places reveal just how much. Some cities are quicker to recognize that value and take advantage of it for the benefit of the city as a whole, not just the owner of the property that's upzoned. Some cities are a little slower on the uptake. And then we get to Richardson.