DISD ‘ghosts’ on the comeback trail?

Jim Schutze has a thoughtful column in this week’s Dallas Observer about the state of DISD and what needs to be done. Rather than try to paraphrase what he’s saying, since he covers a couple of topics, I’ll let you read it. There is an interesting trip down memory lane for those of us who have been in Dallas for awhile, though, as Jim discusses past superintendents Yvonne Gonazalez and Waldemar Rojas, neither of whom lasted 12 months in the top job. The good times just keep rolling …

Little Forest Hills Conservation hearing today

The Dallas Plan Commission today will hold a public hearing in regard
to the proposed creation of a conservation district in Little Forest
Hills. The effort has been in the works for several years and has
generated much contention amongst homeowners there. I wrote a piece for
the  Advocate in October, The Fight for Funkytown, that delves into some of the issues Little Forest Hills is facing. 

Because
the plan commission will consider public opinion when making a
recommendation to the city council, Little Forest Hills residents are
encouraging neighbors to show up to voice their opinions — lots of
folks representing either side of the debate are expected to show.

Thanks
to Randall Heye who forwarded me the reminder — the CPC hearing is
today, Thursday Nov. 6 at 1:30 p.m. at Dallas City Hall, 6th Floor, in
the City Council Chambers. If you plan to attend, bear in mind the
Little Forest Hills hearing is low on the docket, so you should expect
ot be at City Hall until at least 5 p.m.

How about an extra year for DISD trustees?

With many parents and teachers eager to blow up the entire DISD school board, word comes today in a DMN article that some board members not only aren't eager to leave — they're considering plans to extend their terms.

The board will consider a proposal Thursday to extend individual trustees' terms from three years to four, giving Leigh Ann Ellis, Edwin Flores and Ron Price an extra year before facing election (currently, their terms end May 2009). The rationale is that a trustee new to the board could use an additional year to do the job more effectively. Ellis told the DMN it takes a couple of years to understand the district well enough to have an impact.

Predictably, the same people who are calling for board members to resign as a result of the budget problems aren't in favor of the board extending members' terms. From a practical standpoint, the proposal makes sense — a four-year term (already implemented in Austin and Houston) would provide more time to do the job right and, theoretically, more board continuity since terms would be staggered with four members up for election at one time and the remaining five up for election two years later — as opposed to electing three board members every year.

Unfortunately, from a PR standpoint, this proposal might be a little harder to defend, since it does give the appearance of board members extending their own terms, much like Mayor Michael Bloomberg recently lobbied for in New York (he said given the troubling economic times, it would be too risky for New Yorkers to have an untested mayor on the job; Bloomberg wanted to run again, but couldn't because of term limits unless the city's charter was changed, so it was). Personally, I don't have a problem with the DISD proposal, but it probably would be better to carry out the May 2009 elections, as planned, and extend the terms of those elected then for four years, similarly adjusting the terms of the other trustees as they come up for election until the rotation is correct.

Also Thursday, the board will be hearing from Supt. Michael Hnojosa, who is scheduled to lay out a plan to make sure DISD doesn't face another budget crisis anytime soon. Who knows? Maybe public interest in what's going on in Washington will allow Hinojosa and DISD to get back on top of education here out of the limelight. Relatively.

More lights no good for White Rock Lake

The latest National Geographic features a piece about light pollution and its toll on wildlife, pertinent to the situation we have here with the proposed White Rock Lake lighting project (more here, and here).
The aforementioned article backs up the idea that by making do without
all the artificial lighting, we will not only preserve energy, but also
protect animals whose biological rhythms can get screwed up when you
pollute the night with that “luminous orange glow”.

"Wildlife
species have evolved on this planet with biological rhythms—changing
that has profound effects," said Travis Longcore, a biogeographer with
the Urban Wildlands Group in Los Angeles, who with colleague Catherine
Rich, co-organized a conference last year on "Ecological Consequences
of Artificial Night Lighting."

Since the nights have started
falling earlier, I’ve gone out running around the lake in the pitch
dark. I can understand the idea behind installing lights — you have to
smartly navigate the roadways and paths at night to avoid collision
with fellow pedestrians, cyclists and cars. But that’s doable if we
just use common sense (I know, it’s a lot to ask for some of us).

The atmosphere at the lake in the dark with just the moon’s glow spilling onto the glassy water — well, it’s just irreplaceable
especially here in the city. It was the other night out there in the
dark —even as I was forced into a muddy roadside pit by a non-observant
motorist —that I decided how I felt at lights around the lake. And that
was before reading the National Geographic story. I know the lights
advocates have good intentions, but we are already doing so much out
there to make it more user friendly. Let's let nighttime be nighttime.

Bailey’s 1st & 10 closed by state over nonpayment of taxes

Neighborhood bar and grill Bailey's 1st& 10 Sports Bar has apparently served its last beer, based on this notice "for nonpayment of taxes owed the state of Texas" posted on the front door of the establishment, located at Mockingbird & Abrams in Hillside Village shopping center. Blog reader Steve Lazewski alerted us to this development last night; it's surprising since Bailey's had a regular clientele and had extended its lease at the center not too long ago. The notice indicates the comptroller has "seized this property for nonpayment of taxes, penalty or interest due the State of Texas", which generally means that either sales and/or payroll taxes were delinquent enough that the state decided to close the business and seize the property rather than work out some type of payment plan. A programming note: Penciled onto the sign are notes that the Silver Haired and HPSHSC groups that regularly met at Bailey's are now meeting at Humperdink's on Greenville.

Runner in ICU following accident at DRC Half

We have a little more news about one of the runners hit by a car following the Dallas Running Club Half Marathon. The Advocate received an e-mail via the Lakewood Service League from
Colleen Nelson, wife of Eric Nelson who suffered severe injuries in the
accident. According to Colleen, he is in ICU in critical but stable
condition. The injuries are bad — head injuries, two broken legs,
broken bones in his face, ligament damage around his c-spine — but she
says there has been improvement from day one to day two and that
doctors seem optimistic. Colleen was walking alongside her husband when
he was hit. "I still can't quite wrap my head around the accident," she
wrote.

It's tough to imagine what this family is going through —
one minute you are finishing up a challenging half-marathon race, and
moments later, your body is in shambles. Considering the severity of
the accident, though, it is a wonder that all of the victims are alive.
We will let you know if we get more news.

Lakewood man elected President….well, sort of.

Lakewood's own Tommy Callahan (aka Craig Spivey) was elected president of the Shore Party '08 Election Saturday night and won a Smart Car. Running on the "Labor Party" platform, Callahan, was the clear choice winner of the crowd. However, in an added twist, the Freak Party was also declared a winner in a "tie vote". The Freak party, if they won, pledged to donate the car to the Notre Dame School of Dallas. Kudos to the hosts, Michael and Judy Shore for adding the Freak Party as winners as now a good cause gets a good vehicle to further enhance their work.

The Commies, Democrats, Rush and Green Party's have nothing to show from the election but the great time they had.

The picture is of Callahan, standing next to his prize. The car is signed by all the members of the Black Crowes who played at the party.

Free drip coffee at Paciugo Monday from 8-10 a.m.

If you're into free coffee, stop by the Lakewood Paciugo, 2113 Abrams next to Glo Cleaners, between 8-10 a.m. Monday (Nov. 3) as the store promotes its new 8 a.m. daily opening time, owner April Charlemagne-Walding says. After nine weeks in the neighborhood, Charlemagne-Walding says business has been great, and the earlier-morning opening is a way to attract more neighbors to the store. Paciugo Lakewood also is developing special price breaks for neighborhood schools, with Woodrow Wilson High School students (packing a school ID badge) eligible for a 20% discount all day Wednesdays and after varsity football games. Check with Paciugo for other school-related discounts (Lakewood Elementary and St. Thomas programs also are in the works, Charlemagne-Walding says).

It’s holiday time at Krispy Kreme

I was buying donuts at a Krispy Kreme store Saturday, and while waiting for the box to be filled, what did I hear but holiday music wafting from the overhead speakers. They must have cranked up the holiday theme the second the clock struck Nov. 1; at least the sign on the door hyping the "holiday" collection of donuts indicated they wouldn’t unveiled until Nov. 28. On one hand, it was pretty disconcerting to be already listening to holiday music, but on the other hand, given all of the bad news we’ve been absorbing for the past few months, maybe it’s time to start thinking of something happier?

Three people hit by car near Flag Pole Hill

Three pedestrians were struck by a car following the Dallas Running Club Half Marathon
Sunday morning. It happened at about 11:30 a.m. The race was over and
the victims were waiting to cross the road, probably returning to their
cars parked at Flag Pole Hill. I left the race grounds around 10 a.m.,
went out for coffee, and returned home via Northwest Highway. We passed
the accident scene probably only moments after it happened — there were
several police cars and several ambulances, and my husband and I
guessed that something pretty terrible must have happened. Initial reports
say a driver lost control of her car and that she, along with the those
she hit, were hospitalized. I'll update if I get more info in the
morning.