Transatlantic (TV 2023)

Rotten Tomatoes

Transatlantic (TV 2023): True WWII story. A non-profit in southern France in 1940 works to get Jews to America. Opponents everywhere: Gestapo, Vichy France police, and even the American consul. Low budget (it shows). Too many characters. And, I'm afraid to say, too few Nazis. B-

#NoCasablanca

Council Recap: Food Truck, Police Radios, Massage

The Richardson City Council held a five hour marathon session Monday night. The first 90 minutes of it were taken up by a topic not even on the agenda: a possible NRA move to Richardson. I've covered that in "Richardson, Guns, and the NRA". Here I want to focus on the intended agenda, presentations, and Councilmembers' questions, comments, and policy suggestions. Oh, and one important fact check at the end.

Richardson, Guns, and the NRA

The Richardson City Council held a 5 hour marathon session Monday night. The first 90 minutes of it were taken up by a topic not even on the agenda: a possible NRA move to Richardson. That story was exaggerated in one direction before the meeting (that the NRA is coming to Richardson) and then exaggerated in the other direction afterwards (that the NRA is not coming to Richardson). In fact, according to the NRA itself, "Texas remains a preferred choice for a future HQ. That said, the NRA Board of Directors has not made any decision." For its part, State Farm issued a statement saying that they "are not actively marketing space for sublease at City Line." So, is the NRA coming to Richardson? Probably not, but nothing said by anyone rules out the possibility that it could still happen.

Sharper (2023)

Rotten Tomatoes

Sharper (2023): A caper movie where every time a new character is introduced, the caper changes, with a new villain and a new mark. By the end, it's anyone's guess who is going to come out on top. Plot gets more and more implausible, but it's a fun ride anyway. B-

How Richardson's New City Hall Went Wrong

U of Wis Humanities Building

The City of Richardson is in process of getting public input that will shape the design of a new City Hall. I'm here to report on lessons-learned from another building, new in 1969, from a university campus a thousand miles away that I always think of when I think about Richardson's own municipal campus. That building is the UW Humanities building on the campus of the University of Wisconsin—Madison. There are lessons for Richardson to learn from that building if you don't want to see a headline like the above sometime in the future.