Category Archives: local news

local news

Adapting to custom

For those of you who have forgotten — and that’s probably all of you — I once declared myself to be a surprisingly adaptable human being, given that I uprooted myself from my home in Oregon in the 1980s to move my family to Texas.

That was in 1984 and by and large we all learned how to change many of our thoughts about our new home and to adapt to many of the customs practiced here. It wasn’t until a young woman joined our family in March 2012 that I truly grasped what one of those customs means to the average Texas family.

Eating black-eyed peas to welcome the new year.

The newest family member married one of my sons. She is a Plano native and has lived in North Texas all her life. She prepares black-eyed peas each new year and persuaded us to join her in eating them to welcome good luck to our family. We have done so since. I am going to do so again this year. I likely will continue doing so for as long as I draw breath.

The good news is that I happen to like black-eyed peas. They make a wonderful soup dish. I suspect I’ll just heat ’em up and consume ’em right off the stove top. The good luck will be sure to follow, right?

This is a big deal for this transplanted Texan. We began our Texas journey in Beaumont, then moved way up yonder to Amarillo and finally settled in the Dallas/Fort Worth Metroplex. My family and I have called Texas home since the spring of 1984. That makes almost 42 years waking up under the Lone Star and beginning a new year.

The state has changed in many ways since we first arrived here. Politically? You bet! Texas used to be reliably Democratic. Now it’s reliably Republican. For that matter, Oregon — where I was born in 1949 — has gone from nominally Republican to hard-core Democratic in about the span of time as Texas’s re-generation. Who knew … ?

I did not grow up in a family that lived with tradition. We didn’t participate in activities based on family history, or state culture, or religion. I guess we lived more or less for the moment. Texas taught my family and me that some traditions are worth keeping alive.

Eating black-eyed peas to ring in the new year is one of them.

Happy New Year … and bon appetit.

local news, Uncategorized

Following custom this holiday season

Custom reigns supreme in my humble North Texas home, which really doesn’t amount to much, except that it means something to little ol’ me.

It is custom in my home that I stay put the day after Christmas, just as I do the day after Thanksgiving. Black Friday is a non-starter in my home. I leave that madness to others to pursue to varying degrees of success.

Same is true for Christmas. The Eve night will be quiet. I might go to to church around midnight. I will make that call later. I will spend the holiday with my sons, daughter-in-law and granddaughter.

I made a pact long ago to not let Christmas stress me out. I was faithful to that pact once again this year. I finished my shopping five whole days early, which is pretty good for me. I have been seen frequenting stores on Christmas Eve looking for that “perfect gift” for my special loved one. I got it done early this year.

The new year awaits. 2026 looks like it’s going to be a good one for me and for those close to me. I’ll just gear up for the festivities.

I’ll follow the customary path into the coming year.

With that … Merry Christmas and let’s prepare for a year full of surprises and dreams come true.

local news

Reflecting on future Christmases

I know what you’re thinking, that we cannot “reflect” on events that haven’t yet occurred, as the term applies to the past.

I’ll make a stab at dispelling that notion.

Soon it will be three years since I experienced the worst day of my life with the passing of my bride after a savage bout with glioblastoma, aka cancer of the brain. I miss Kathy Anne every day. We were married for 51 years and one doesn’t lose a life partner without considerable pain.

Christmas was her favorite holiday. My wife would tear through the house like the proverbial Tasmanian Devil. She would deck the digs with boughs of holly, depictions of Santa and Rudy the Reindeer … along with Nativity Scenes depicting the birth of Jesus Christ, which is the real reason Christians celebrate the holiday. And every year she would tell me, “I am not very good at decorating,” which of course demonstrated a degree of false modesty.

I’ve been looking forward to this holiday. I am not the decorator that my bride was, but my modest North Texas home is full of love not just for the memories we shared, but for the family I will see very soon on Christmas.

We will laugh and carry on. We’ll enjoy the holiday fully. It’s all part of the journey I have undertaken since losing my bride.

I am declaring that my journey is complete. I cannot guarantee that I’ll never shed a tear. Indeed, I tell fellow widowers that they, too, likely will feel a sadness that will sneak up on them. Don’t fight it, I tell them.

I’m done fighting my own feelings. I intend to enjoy this season from this one forward.

Merry Christmas!

local news

Here’s why open search is vital

I want to restate my desire for the Princeton City Council to conduct an open, transparent and accountable search for a new city manager.

Now I also intend to tell you why I think it is vital.

Mike Mashburn resigned as city manager after serving a little less than two years. He was out of his element running a city in the midst of a growth explosion such as Princeton. Now he’s gone and will pursue his future elsewhere. I wish him good luck.

Now the council is embarking on a search for a new chief administrator. Why is it vital for the council to do it the right way this time? It is because the city manager is going to make a healthy six-figure salary running a city on the move. As manager he or she will be answerable to more than 40,000 residents. They will call on him or her to ensure the city can solve all manner of issues.

Potholes in the street? Spotty lighting on some of the city’s darker streets? Ensuring the garbage gets picked up? Riding herd on the police department if a spike in crime occurs? Ensuring firefighters respond quickly to emergencies? Helping resolve violations of city ordinances?

The council makes precisely one hiring decision. It is the city manager. The manager then hires department heads who run the various publicly funded departments to take care of the issues I have just lined out … understanding that I have left other issues off my list.

Mashburn got the council’s nod on the very night council members met him for the first time. Brianna Chacon was mayor in January 2024. She interviewed Mashburn and decided all by herself that he was the one for the job. She introduced the designated manager to the council, which in my view then foolishly voted to hire him on the spot.

No one on the council seemingly thought that Mashburn was being foisted on the city. They could not possibly have asked any sort of difficult questions while meeting initially with him that night in executive session.

The next city manager must endure a thorough vetting by the council, by relevant department heads and most importantly by the public this individual will serve. We all need a voice in making this critical decision. The concept of good government requires it.

local news

City needs careful search for new manager

My head is still spinning over the news that former Princeton City Manager Mike Mashburn quit after less than two years on the job in the fastest-growing city in the United States of America.

I am trying to process the enormous task that awaits the City Council as it ponders who to hire to manage that explosive growth. Frankly, this is where the council is going to earn its keep … which doesn’t involve money because the council basically serves for zero pay.

Mashburn seemed to be in way over his head as Princeton’s chief municipal officer. The city is growing at a 30% annual clip, totaling today more than 45,000 residents — give or take. It falls on the city manager to ensure the city can provide services to those new residents who are flocking here because of the relatively inexpensive cost of housing.

Princeton by definition has become a classic bedroom community, with the vast majority of its growth coming with new homes being built. The city has added little commercial development compared to what has occurred with its residential explosion.

What kind of individual should the council hire? Here’s an idea. The city needs to find someone with proven skill at managing a city on the go, such as Princeton. There might be a newly retired city manager out there looking for a challenge. My goodness, Princeton’s enormous growth rate should present anyone with a significant task of managing its constant change.

Or … there might be a younger person lurking who has a bold vision for what he or she wants in this city. He or she might have a doable plan that guides Princeton from a city known primarily for its hideous traffic along its main drag to a place full of entertainment opportunities. I have lost count of the times people have asked me, “How do you cope with that traffic?” I answer: It’s simple; I just stay home during rush hour. But if I have to plunge into the belly of that traffic beast, I always budget longer travel time knowing I will suffer through plenty of “stop time” on U.S. 380 or on any of the many side roads that thousands of others take to “avoid the traffic.”

I am left to wish the council good luck as it seeks to make this next key hiring decision. Oh, and one request must come with it: Conduct this search openly, telling us where you stand, where you are looking and what precisely you need in the next person who will manage the city I call home.

local news

Let’s get this one right

Well, kids … the Mike Mashburn era at Princeton City Hall has come to an end with the resignation of the city manager after being on the job for just shy of two years.

The search now is on for the next chief municipal administrator. I am going to use this blog to insist loudly and clearly that the City Council must conduct the search in the open and avoid the underhanded appearance associated with Mashburn’s hiring. The council makes one hiring decision. It is the man or woman who will implement council policy. They had better get this next one right.

Mashburn came to Princeton from Farmers Branch, where he served as an assistant manager; his field of expertise is in parks and recreation, and I presume he carried out his duties well in Farmers Branch. However, he seemed to lack any general municipal administrative experience.

I happened to be present at the City Council meeting when the council met Mashburn for the first time, went into executive session and then returned to open session to hire him. The vote was unanimous. Frankly, it was an astonishing turn of events. Then-Mayor Brianna Chacon had met with Mashburn privately before presenting him to the council. She contended it was all done with full transparency. My view? No … it wasn’t.

Here’s an idea for the council to consider as it starts to collect data on prospective city manager candidates. Why not follow the lead of other cities and pare the list down to, oh, three or four finalists? Then the council can invite the finalists to Princeton to meet the public and also to visit at length with each of them to assess their respective strengths and/or look for possible weaknesses.

Fort Worth did something like that when it chose its current police chief. It settled on former Dallas Police Chief Eddie Garcia, but only after showing the public all of the finalists.

The Princeton city manager is going to make something in excess of a quarter-million bucks. He or she will inherit a job in a city that is in the midst of a growth explosion. We all have a stake in the quality of the person chosen for this job. It shouldn’t fall on one person to make that call all alone.

City officials moved into our new municipal center a while back pledging to conduct business in the open and in full public view. Let’s ensure the next city manager gets chosen in a manner that keeps that promise.

local news

City falls short on building ban goals

All righty, kids, where does the city of Princeton, Texas, stand in its effort to prepare for the deluge of new residents wanting to call this North Texas city home?

The city council voted recently to rescind a building moratorium it had declared a year or so ago. The council decided to stop issuing building permits for new homes and apartments because it needed to shore up its infrastructure to prepare for the ongoing tidal wave of new residents.

Did the city succeed? Uhhh … no. Not even close. The Princeton Herald reports that the 2025 Legislature enacted laws aimed at preventing future building bans. So the city was left with no choice but to start issuing building permits.

What about the infrastructure, you know, the streets, sewer, water and emergency services personnel the city said it needs to shore up? A few streets have been improved. Near as I can tell the water and sewer systems are as they were when the ban took effect. Police and fire? I hear that Police Chief Jim Waters asked for seven new officers; he got two. The fire department is equally short staffed.

As a taxpaying resident of this rapidly growing community, I am asking: What the hell is going on at City Hall? City Manager Mike Mashburn walked into something of a bee’s nest when he took the job held for all those years by former Manager Derek Borg. There’s now an active recall movement afoot against at least one incumbent city council member and I understand that Mayor Eugene Escobar has signed on in support of one of the recall efforts. What in the world … ?

All the while, the city continues to struggle with providing the infrastructure it said was necessary when it enacted a building ban on new single-family homes and apartment complexes.

Seems to me someone needs to take a firm hold of the municipal rudder and start steering this ship toward serious stability.

local news

On a roll heading for ’26

You know, there are days when everything one touches turns to doo-doo and there are days when the stars align just right for you.

Today is one of those latter days for me. I now shall explain.

A few weeks ago I was involved in a minor accident that damaged the driver’s side of my Maverick pickup. The damage wasn’t huge, but it was still costly to repair. I picked my vehicle up and drove it home after a couple of weeks in the Princeton, Texas, body shop.

Then a strange event occurred a couple of days later. The driver’s side door suddenly was sprung. I couldn’t open or close it without scraping the edge of the door against the front fender. I had to reconfigure the interior of the truck to enable me to enter and exit the vehicle through the passenger door … a royal pain in the patootie. I called the body shop to tell them what happened. No sweat, they said. Bring it in and we’ll examine it and let you know the extent of the repair, they said.

I delivered the Mav to the body shop today at 8:40 a.m. At 9:15 the young lady, Devin, emerged to inform me “the door isn’t sticking any longer. Come back and take a look at it.” I did and met the mechanic who performed what I consider to be something of a miracle repair job. Poncho me told the wind might have caught the door and sprung it.

What? That’s it? Yep, he said. It’s all good, he added. It took 35 minutes. Period.

If that’s the case, then the damage to the truck wasn’t necessarily a result of faulty repair. That was Poncho’s best guess. However, Poncho fixed the problem without charging me anything for it.

Some days it is good to wake up on the right side of the bed. Today is one of those days.

crime news, local news

Museum always breathtaking

DALLAS — It doesn’t matter how many times I have come to this exhibit — or how many times I will see it in the future — every visit fills me with awe about one of this country’s most profound tragedies.

I came here this week with a dear friend to tour the Sixth Floor Museum, which commemorates the assassination of President John F. Kennedy on Nov. 22, 1963. Sixty-two years have passed since that horrifying day and I continue to be struck by how that single senseless act sent a great city’s emotional psyche spiraling into the sewer.

I saw for the first time on this visit a copy of the Dallas Morning News editorial page published on the day of JFK’s visit. The editorial referred to the city’s “partisan cleavage” that would disappear hopefully that day as it welcomed the 35th president of the United States. Indeed, there had been fear that right-wing activists might protest the president’s visit, accusing him of being “soft” on the Soviet Union.

Well, it turned out the world was looking in the wrong direction. Lee Harvey Oswald turned out to be an avowed Marxist who two days later met his own end when a night club owner, Jack Ruby, shot him in the gut as he was being transferred from the city jail to the county lockup.

I continue to be struck by the quietness of the large crowd of museum-goers who were milling around the sixth floor, looking at the artifacts, reading the text on the walls explaining JFK’s legacy, his record, his accomplishments and even where he fell short during the 1,000 days of his presidency. I found myself whispering information into the ear of my friend; I didn’t want to make any sort of unwanted noise. I felt as though we were in a church sanctuary.

I likely won’t ever buy into the notion that John Kennedy should rank among the nation’s great presidents. One thousand days doesn’t give anyone much of a chance to carve out a lasting legislative legacy. He had some success and he fell short a time or two during his time in office.

He did bring a huge wellspring of hope to a nation that needed it in the moment. That hope was blown to bits by the gunman aiming his rifle from the sixth floor of a building that reportedly was destined to be torn down.

I’ll be back again someday. I cannot get enough of that exhibit.

local news

Speak the language!

The time has come for me to vent against one of my several pet peeves, so here goes.

It is essential for major companies to hire individuals who interact with the American public to ensure those employees can communicate effectively with the public they are serving. In other words, employees should be able to speak English!

I live in a North Texas community that is chock full of families who speak English as a second language. It is quite common for me to walk through the only major grocery store in our community and never hear English spoken by people I pass while shopping for food. Hey, no problem with that, man.

It’s different, though, when I need assistance from an employee at that store and I ask him or her for, oh, where can I find a can of mushrooms. I occasionally get that blank stare from the employee who doesn’t understand a word I just said. I have to look for an English-speaking employee or, if there’s no one available, find the item myself. Maybe I have time to look for it. Maybe I’m on a tight deadline and need the help right away.

I returned recently from a brief trip to Roanoke. Va., where I stayed at a fairly nice mid-priced hotel. They serve breakfast at this hotel. I dished up some scrambled eggs, got a bisquit and some fruit. I sat down, took a bie of the eggs … and they were cold. I summoned the hotel staffer working the kitchen to tell him my eggs were cold. He looked at me, nodded his head — and smiled! I might as well have been speaking Martian to the guy.

Look, I totally get that the United States of America is an increasingly pluralistic society. I welcome the world here. I do not believe we need to write a law declaring English to be the official language of this nation.

However, we’re still a nation where English is the predominent language. I want our business community to recognize that reality when they seek to do business.