Category Archives: local news

local news, State news

Collegiality? It’s toast!

It is virtually impossible to visualize this, given the intense partisan toxicity that exists in government at many levels, but there once was a time when Texas’s diverse congressional delegation was held up as the gold standard for bipartisan collegiality.

That was a long time ago. Congressional Quarterly, the Bible for many reporters who cover Congress for their media organizations, once reported on how the Texas delegation set the standard for getting along despite deep philosophical differences among its members.

Jim Wright of Weatherford, near Fort Worth, was speaker of the U.S. House. Every week, CQ reported, the entire delegation would meet for breakfast. Their agenda was to go over the issues important to the entire state. Republicans and Democrats broke bread together. They sought common ground in the search for legislative solutions. Farm policy, transportation, crime and punishment … it was all on the table. The state had elected its share of radicals from both parties. The fellow who represented me in the House, Democrat Jack Brooks of Beaumont, was as mean as they came, as he detested Republicans. GOP Rep. Dick Armey, who hailed from the Dallas area, was equally disposed to detest Democrats.

Yet they joined in the weekly breakfasts. And for a brief period each week, partisans on both sides laid down their long knives and searched for ways to get things done for the state they all said they loved.

CQ, interestingly, held up California as the opposite of the collegial atmosphere that permeated through the Texas delegation. California lawmakers couldn’t agree on the color of the sky or the wetness of the water, CQ reported. I guess they were the trendsetters who paved the way toward the political climate we have today.

I am not going to suggest an immediate return to those halcyon days of fellowship. I do want to remind readers of this blog that it could become the norm once again … even in this time of intense anger, rancor and revenge.

 

local news

Traffic class has begun

I have just taken a master class designed to acquaint motorists such as me with what to expect in the Metroplex for the foreseeable future … and beyond.

It is a class in patience associated with coping with highway construction.

I’ve known this class was on the books and that the hundreds of thousands of us who drive through the Dallas/Fort Worth area each day are aware of what we can expect. We’re going to experience gridlock made famous in places like Los Angeles and New York City. I’ll throw in some foreign cities with which I am acquainted. Traffic flow in places like Athens, Bangkok, Taipei and Mexico City is nothing to dismiss, either.

I saw construction sites with utilities — water drainage pipes — piled along the thoroughfares such as Texas Highway 5 and U.S. Highway 380 through Princeton. Motorists traveling past these construction sites are using good judgment and adhering to warnings that they would be fined extra if they sped through them. Following state police warnings, though, slows the traffic to a near crawl.

I drove to Addison to have lunch with a friend. We parted company just ahead of rush hour. My GPS said it would take me about 45 minutes to get home. It took well more than an hour! Yes, I grumbled and cursed when I approached Allen and Princeton, where I started noticing the utilities strewn along the roadway.

I had to remind myself that this is a temporary condition. State highway planners hope to relieve traffic along US 380 by building those freeway bypasses around Princeton, Farmersville, McKinney and other cities.

However, and this is a big deal … I am 75 years of age and I might not be around when it’s all done. So, I shall pray for continued good health and my ability to operate a motor vehicle. I want to see them pick up those ubiquitous orange construction cones for the final time.

local news

Diversity being tested

My family — immediate and extended — is a diverse lot, comprising “yellow dog Democrats” and “rock-ribbed MAGA Republicans.” So, I cannot say they influenced my own world view, as I have charted my own path over the course of my 75-plus years on this Earth.

One of my family members, who considers herself to be a mainstream, social and fiscal conservative Republican, has just informed me that, in her view, “Texas is really screwing the Democrats.” How so? In her mind, it’s the midstream reapportionment debacle unfolding in Austin that just gets her motor running.

My aunt is a kind and serious woman. She is not prone to latch onto cults the way many in both political parties seem prone to do on occasion. Therefore, the target of her anger is the MAGA cult that has attached itself to Donald Trump’s world view, such as it is. Trump has singled out Texas, with its strong GOP ties, to help him solidify the slim Republican majority in the U.S. House. He declares the Legislature, which is meeting in special session, can redraw five strong Democratic House districts into five GOP districts.

Trump wants to disenfranchise minority voters who are represented in Congress by representatives who reflect their views. We can’t have that, Trump has said.

The guy’s a maniac! And a dimwitted one at that! If he can piss off a reasonable Republican such as the member of my family I have just illustrated in this brief post, imagine how many others out there might be willing to rebel against the elected officials who are so damn willing to crater to this dipshit’s cravings.

environmental news, local news

Praise for twin-edged gesture

A company that does business in the North Texas community where I live has instituted an initiative I want to praise with this brief blog entry.

Community Waste Disposal picks up trash and recyclable material in Princeton and several Metroplex-area communities. This weekend I saw a public service announcement from CWD that kinda made my job drop. It encourages residents served by CWD to recycle material. Why? Because for every ton of material that CWD processes through its recycling program, it pledges to donate $10 for relief to aid the victims of the Fourth of July flooding in Central Texas.

Ponder that for a moment. The company is encouraging its customers to be more proactive in preserving the environment while at the same time pledging more money to repair the destruction that Mother Nature brought when the Guadalupe River wiped out families, businesses, homes and property.

The death count is something north of 100 people who perished in the river’s torrent. Many thousands more lives will need to be rebuilt, many of them without the presence of loved ones who perished in nature’s savage assault.

I have no idea how much CWD recycles each month. I am guessing it’s in the thousands of tons of material it picks up in front of Princeton houses — and elsewhere. Someone at CWD once told me that recycling efforts throughout the region has reduced landfill waste by something more than 30%. So, the region buys into the notion of recycling. It has become a way of life for many of us in North Texas.

I can think of no better reason to step up our efforts to send material to the recycling station than to raise money to aid our fellow Texans in distress.

Well played, Community Waste Disposal.

local news

What a visit!

Now, that’s what I would call an eventful visit … so that’s what I’ll do.

I ventured to West Texas and spent a couple of days visiting four of my best friends on Earth. They are members of a Rotary International Group Study Exchange team I accompanied to Israel in May-June 2009. We have stayed in touch for the past 16 years and they have become part of what we call our “familia.”

We enjoyed some barbecue, a steak dinner with another couple I have known for many years. We reminisced about the month we spent in one of the most marvelous places in this world of ours.

Then, this afternoon, after enjoying a fantastic lunch at a famed BBQ joint in Olton, Texas, we got in touch with a young man and his wife — two more friends of ours — in The Netherlands. The young man was part of a Dutch team that toured Israel with us and we also have remained close.

That wasn’t the end of the excitement … for me. I took off around 2 p.m. expecting to arrive home in Princeton around 8. Hah! I ran into two thunderstorms, one along U.S. 82 as I approached Gainesville, and then along U.S. 75 just as I turned south in Sherman. It was violent, full of lightning and thunder and deluge-scale rainfall. The wind that preceded that first storm was so intense I seriously thought I would witness a tornado. Yes … I was frightened.

My six-hour home turned into a nearly eight-hour trek.

I so thoroughly enjoyed seeing my good friends, people I love dearly. We all went through a lot together on our tour of Israel. It will stay with us forever.

local news

Community journalism is alive and well

I was sitting in a city council chamber meeting room this evening when the thought occurred to me … that community journalism is where it’s at.

Sachse, Texas, is a nice city that straddles the Collin and Dallas County line. My bosses for whom I work part time have asked me to cover Sachse City Council for the time being. I said “sure,” so there I was taking notes on a budget workshop that was taking place. Council members are preparing the budget to run the city for the next fiscal year. It was a humdrum meeting.

But it was damn important and I was filled with a sense of honor that I was being allowed to report to the residents of this quiet city what their elected officials are doing to decide how to spend the money that comes from the pockets of the city residents.

Get this, too. The Sachse City Council doesn’t get paid a dime for conducting these meetings. The only pay they receive is to be reimbursed for expenses incurred while doing city business. Talk about a labor love!

And I get to report on these fine folks. I am privileged to engage in community journalism at its finest point.

With all the nonsense being kicked around about journalism, whether it’s fake, I am proud to report that the journalism I get to practice from time to time remains alive and well in the communities where I practice it. I do the same kind of community reporting in Princeton (where I live) and in Farmersville just east of my house along US 380.

It was just a brief revelation this evening. It’ll stick with me for as long as I can continue to string sentences together. I’ve said all along that I learn about the communities I cover. I am getting to know Sachse and whatever motivates its public policy. Best news? I get to report on it for the folks who pay for it!

local news

Town hall set … Rep. Self?

A good bit of the smart money, if any such thing exists these days in D.C., suggests that Republican members of the U.S. House will avoid anything resembling a town hall meeting with constituents.

They have taken the rest of August off presumably to collect their thoughts and prepare for what could be a miserable onslaught of anger when they return to duty in early September. House Speaker Mike Johnson sent them home reportedly to avoid forcing House members to stand for a vote on whether to require Donald Trump to release those Jeffrey Epstein files that might contain a smoking arsenal detailing who was involved in sex trafficking along with the late Epstein.

My congressman is a Republican, Keith Self of McKinney. He’s a good man. I happen to like him personally. He once served as Collin County judge after serving for 20-plus as an Army combat infantry officer. I hope he calls for a town hall meeting while he’s home. I also hope he doesn’t choose to partake of that other congressional tradition, taking off on one of those overseas “junkets” designed ostensibly to allow congressmen and women to collect facts about this and that issue.

Democratic members have been venturing into heavily Republican districts to feel the pulse of what’s driving GOP voters. They are learning that Republicans aren’t happy with the big ugly bill and the slashing and burning of aid to Americans who need it. Nor are they happy with the Trump team’s dodging of demands to release those Epstein files.

Indeed, I learned that a member of my extended family, who supported Trump with his vote, is now turning against the numbskull in chief. I suspect that Rep. Self might find many more like my family member out here in Trump Country were he to call for a town hall session.

Is Keith Self brave enough to face angry constituents or did he save his courage by facing down enemy fighters intent on killing him on the field of battle? If he’s not so brave, he wouldn’t be the first elected member of Congress to shy away from such a fight.

economic news, local news

Mixed feelings over airport expansion

How am I feeling these days as I learn about the expansion of McKinney National Airport just down the road a piece from where I live in Princeton?

My feelings are decidedly mixed. Although I tend to support the expansion as an economic driver for a region that already is undergoing a tremendous population explosion.

I shall explain myself.

Voters rejected a $200 million bond issue a couple of years ago to expand the airport, creating a third commercial air terminal in North Texas. It wasn’t even close, with 58% of the votes saying “hell no!” to the expansion. Had I been able to vote on the project, I would have voted in favor. Voters had their say.

Aha! But it wasn’t the final word. McKinney officials weren’t to be dissuaded from fulfilling their dream. They have broken ground on a smaller expansion, costing about $70 million. They’ll add an air terminal, expand parking and dress up the grounds to begin commercial air service sometime late next year. A low-cost airline already has signed up to begin servicing the airport to be known in aviation-speak as TKI.

It is mildly troubling to me that McKinney officials chose to ignore the voters’ wishes by proceeding with the airport project. Opponents cited the massive change such a project would bring to a community that they liked as it stands. There could be noise pollution, traffic congestion and all the various elements associated with rapid growth. At the groundbreaking ceremony, officials spoke affectionately about the growth that will come this way.

Princeton, where I have lived for six years, is the fastest-growing city in the United States. It currently is terribly underserved by commercial establishments. This morning, for example, I drove to McKinney to purchase a $6 part for my bathroom sink. I couldn’t find a store to serve my needs in Princeton. I am going to presume that economic expansion will bring those services and many others eventually to my city.

Indeed, the landscape in the greater McKinney/Princeton/Farmersville area is now slated for some monumental change once the airport expansion is complete. All of that produces a mixed bag of emotions for my neighbors and me. Thus, I can declare my feelings remain mixed as the airport construction is set to begin.

I am going to pray it goes well.

local news

Too good to be true?

You have heard it said, I reckon, that you shouldn’t trust an offer that is “too good to be true.”

I’ve been getting many of them lately in North Texas. Here’s how they go:

My phone rings with the message that says “Spam Risk.” OK, it’s a risk of a spam call, not necessarily a guarantee that it is some sort of come-on. I answer and the voice on the other end offers to sell me a home security system for my house “with no installation charge or set-up fee.”

Sigh …

I hang up. You see, I treat calls like that the way I treat motel marquee signs that tell you that the Flea Bag Motel has “free HBO.” No. It doesn’t have a freebie.

Nor do these home security pitches. You see, no one goes into business thinking of ways to throw money away. Which tells me in clear and direct language that anyone who says they’ll install a home-security system with no installation fee is going to make up the price elsewhere in the transaction. In the monthly fee, yes? Or perhaps in some sort of surcharge.

So, there will be no installation charge. Right. It’ll come to you in a different form, which gives the solicitor a justification for spinning a tale that borders on a falsehood.

Now that I have posted this item on High Plains Blogger, I am going to stop answering all calls that warn me of a “Spam risk.”

local news, media news

‘My Life in Print’ awaits

I pledged some time ago that I would keep you apprised of certain aspects of my private life as I continued on my retirement journey into old age.

With that I will make an admission: I have fallen short on one of my key goals, which was to complete the draft of my memoir by the first quarter of 2025. OK. I got that off my chest.

Now I will make another pledge. My intention is to finish that task by the end of this year. I need to parse the language just a bit. Notice I said it is my “intention.” I intend fully to complete this task.

For those who are unaware, I spent nearly 37 years covering communities in Texas and Oregon for newspapers. I worked for four of them, two in Oregon and two in Texas. I pursued my craft with great joy … until the end began creeping up on me. The end came on Aug. 30, 2012 when I learned I had fallen victim to the changing media environment. My boss at the Amarillo Globe-News informed me I would no longer do the job I thought I did pretty well for 18 years there. I resigned on the spot.

Then my bride said to me, “You know, you need to tell the story of your career. You’ve met some fantastic people and done some unbelievable things. Put it down and give it to our boys.” I agreed. I started work on it.

I had to compile the lengthy list of notable folks I encountered along the way. Some of them were great men and women; others were, well, not so great. I did some remarkable things along the way. I flew over an erupting volcano in early 1980; I returned to Vietnam in 1989, where I served for a time in the Army; I took part in an aircraft carrier tailhook landing and a catapult launch in 1993.

Only recently, I came up with a working title for my memoir. It’s called “My Life in Print.” It has a bit of a double entendre. It tells of my career using a print medium; and it tells the story of my modestly successful — and fully joyful — career in print journalism.

I got distracted along the way. I lost my bride to cancer 2 1/2 years ago. We had moved from Amarillo to the Dallas area six years ago. My effort to rebuild my life has taken more of my attention than I imagined. One of my two sisters recently passed away.

But … it’s not a downer. I have finished about 65% of the writing. I am pretty much done adding names of individuals to my already lengthy list. The end of this project is in sight. At least I think it is.

I also intend to publish it in some form. I want to bind the pages in a binder with an engraved cover. I also plan to dedicate to my bride, Kathy Anne, my immediate family and to the men and women I encountered along the way who have given me the grist to help me tell my story.

Moreover, when I’m done, you’ll be among the first to know.