I wanted to have a town hall meeting before the election on May 11th. This meeting will be held on Wednesday, May 8th at 7:00 pm at the Lamar High School Auditorium. The subject matter discussed is going to be the Arlington Aviation Program, Law Enforcement/Crime, and some of the things that are happening in the North. What I really want to do mostly is talk to the residents of the north and listen to what is important to you and see what you are seeing in our neighborhoods. It is valuable to our North Chief of Police, and myself that we improve the quality of life in District 1. I can only do this by listening to you.
So please plan to come out and spend a little time with me on that evening. I am not up for election this year so there will be no, "can I have your vote please". Just a night of sitting and talking about what we need to do as a community, here in North Arlington.
Monday, April 15, 2013
Monday, April 8, 2013
The Boyz of Summer
Baseball season is back in full swing in this great baseball city. (take that Josh) Opening day was awesome!! What a great game to watch on the first day of the season in Arlington. Our little Rangers won their opener and went on to take 2 out of 3 in the home stand, against our arch rival Angels. What was really sweet was the fact that the baseball fans of Arlilngton got their revenge served cold to Josh Hamilton. He did it all by himself. The first two games he went 0 for 11, with a batting average as low as .054. In the third game of the stand he did get a couple of hits, but Kinsler's 3 run shot proved to be enough to win. So Josh's impact was of little consequence. At one point this weekend both Josh and Puljos were batting a combined 144 and costing the Angels over 45 million dollars worth of payroll this year.
I'm excited about this year's season. We do have a few holes in the line up but there are also several blinding bright spots. All in all a beautiful weekend full of baseball, hotdogs, peanuts and beer. It's going to be a long season, and I look forward to another remarkable year for the Rangers and the baseball fans of Arlington.
I'm excited about this year's season. We do have a few holes in the line up but there are also several blinding bright spots. All in all a beautiful weekend full of baseball, hotdogs, peanuts and beer. It's going to be a long season, and I look forward to another remarkable year for the Rangers and the baseball fans of Arlington.
Wednesday, April 3, 2013
Short Term Rental Off The Table
Last night at the City Council Meeting, short term rentals were on the agenda, because this issue was tabled during the meeting on the 19th of March. I made a motion to remove it from the table and place it on the floor. I then made another motion to remove the item from the agenda. What does all that mean and why on earth did I do that?
Essentially, I believe that there should be something on the books concerning short term rentals in Arlington. But the meeting on the 19th of March proved to be very productive, concerning a rental in a certain neighborhood. The owner of the property has agreed to meet and talk to the neighbors in the area. Horaaay! Finally we have some dialogue between the interested parties. It is my sincere hope that this discussion will become productive in solving this problem. In truth there was little support on the Council and if voted on it would be burried for a year before it could be revisited. I did not want that scenario to play out. By removing it from the agenda we could revisit the issue immediately if the talks weren't fruitfull. I am very optimistic about the possibility of an agreeable outcome to this situation.
In the meantime I think that we know the addresses that are being offered as short term rentals. We will contact these properties and leave information concerning their requirement to register with the city. Then we can monitor the calls to service by our police and fire departments. After this baseball and football season we will have a very good accounting of the problems encountered by neighbors of short term rentals.
Essentially, I believe that there should be something on the books concerning short term rentals in Arlington. But the meeting on the 19th of March proved to be very productive, concerning a rental in a certain neighborhood. The owner of the property has agreed to meet and talk to the neighbors in the area. Horaaay! Finally we have some dialogue between the interested parties. It is my sincere hope that this discussion will become productive in solving this problem. In truth there was little support on the Council and if voted on it would be burried for a year before it could be revisited. I did not want that scenario to play out. By removing it from the agenda we could revisit the issue immediately if the talks weren't fruitfull. I am very optimistic about the possibility of an agreeable outcome to this situation.
In the meantime I think that we know the addresses that are being offered as short term rentals. We will contact these properties and leave information concerning their requirement to register with the city. Then we can monitor the calls to service by our police and fire departments. After this baseball and football season we will have a very good accounting of the problems encountered by neighbors of short term rentals.
Sunday, March 31, 2013
Cinderella Ball
Normally I am not a Ball Go-er, but my wife collared me into going to the Cinderella Ball. Now the Ball is a fund raising benefit put on by the Ladies Auxiliary to benefit the Boys and Girls Clubs of Arlington. There were 20 contestants. They were all, not only very beautiful young ladies, but they were remarkable contributors to our Arlington Community. Their efforts were so notable that they raised over $409,000 for this worthy cause. Over the years this event has raised 8.4 million dollars with the proceeds going to fund youth programs, facility equipment, capital improvements and operating expenses for the nonprofit agency.
Jimmy Bennett was the master of ceremonies, and introduced each contestant and read their bios. The Carol H. Zimmer Award, presented for the first time in honor of longtime Ladies’ Auxiliary member Carol Zimmer, who passed away last month, was presented to Erin Hibbs. Scholarships were awarded to Kylie Wade, Hannah Hullender, and Madison Darden for $1,500, $1,000 and $750 respectively.
Miss Cinderella for 2013 was Miss Baylee Mozjesik, a junior at Lamar High School. She raised over $71,000 in this most generous effort. I'm sure she will represent The Ladies Auxiliary and the City of Arlington in the most elegant and professional manner. It was a great night, a noble event and I loved seeing my wife get all dressed up for the evening.
It was a busy weekend. My wife had a birthday, we went to the Cinderella Ball, we observed Easter and celebrated the event of our Savior's Ascension to Heaven, and my wife retires from Parkland Hospital tomorrow after 32 years of being a Nurse Anesthetist. Stick a fork in me, I'm done.
Jimmy Bennett was the master of ceremonies, and introduced each contestant and read their bios. The Carol H. Zimmer Award, presented for the first time in honor of longtime Ladies’ Auxiliary member Carol Zimmer, who passed away last month, was presented to Erin Hibbs. Scholarships were awarded to Kylie Wade, Hannah Hullender, and Madison Darden for $1,500, $1,000 and $750 respectively.
Miss Cinderella for 2013 was Miss Baylee Mozjesik, a junior at Lamar High School. She raised over $71,000 in this most generous effort. I'm sure she will represent The Ladies Auxiliary and the City of Arlington in the most elegant and professional manner. It was a great night, a noble event and I loved seeing my wife get all dressed up for the evening.
It was a busy weekend. My wife had a birthday, we went to the Cinderella Ball, we observed Easter and celebrated the event of our Savior's Ascension to Heaven, and my wife retires from Parkland Hospital tomorrow after 32 years of being a Nurse Anesthetist. Stick a fork in me, I'm done.
Wednesday, March 27, 2013
Busy Week
Last week was a Council week so it was busy and this one is just as hectic. On Saturday the Rotary sponsored an adoption picnic. Potential parents had the opportunity to meet kids that were up for adoption and inter-relate with them. There were over 80 parents and 100 kids at this event and it went into the gym because of the weather situation. It was a great success. Then off to the Entrepreneur Awards Ceremony at UTA to honor AISD kids from grades 3-7 for their product ideas. There was a ton of award recipents. But another great event that was held in the College Park Center and sponsored by the Chamber of Commerce.
Sunday was Church and teaching Sunday School in the second hour. That evening I presented a power point presentation to Park Central HOA at Rolling Hills Country Club. Subject matter included my district efforts in the past, present and future. The Arlington Police Department Aviation Department, the proposed car wash on Green Oaks and Ball Park, and the status of the Forest Hills apartments were additional subjects. There were about 40-50 people there and it was great to see people coming from their homes and interested in what is happening in their community.
Monday morning it was off to Roquemore Elementary to give dictionary's to the 3rd grade. These dictionary's were provided by the North Rotary Club, and it was heart warming to see the little ones get their new books. Lunch with the Rotary, then off to the Doctor, and then another presentation to the Rolling Hills HOA at Ellis Elementary. There were about 30-35 in attendance. This presentation had an actual radio controlled helicopter on display to prove that the City of Arlington doesn't have drones. That is all media hype, the sky is not falling. The new Police Chief Will Johnson and the North Deputy Chief Leland Strickland were in attendance and spoke.
Tuesday was the Council Retreat at the convention center. Well it wasn't a treat! This was a How-Goes-It concerning our budget and the results of the Citizens Satisfaction Survey. We sent out over 29,000 surveys and recieved 598 back. Essentially 82% of the citizens considered Arlington a good to excellent place to live. They sited location, convenience and affordable housing/taxes as the top 3 reasons to live here. After four hours of that, it was off to the Arlington Police Association's burger bash to celebrate our new Police Chief's appointment.
I'm going to play golf today just to prove to myself that I'm terrible at it, then I'll get my taxes in the mail, hopefully.
Sunday was Church and teaching Sunday School in the second hour. That evening I presented a power point presentation to Park Central HOA at Rolling Hills Country Club. Subject matter included my district efforts in the past, present and future. The Arlington Police Department Aviation Department, the proposed car wash on Green Oaks and Ball Park, and the status of the Forest Hills apartments were additional subjects. There were about 40-50 people there and it was great to see people coming from their homes and interested in what is happening in their community.
Monday morning it was off to Roquemore Elementary to give dictionary's to the 3rd grade. These dictionary's were provided by the North Rotary Club, and it was heart warming to see the little ones get their new books. Lunch with the Rotary, then off to the Doctor, and then another presentation to the Rolling Hills HOA at Ellis Elementary. There were about 30-35 in attendance. This presentation had an actual radio controlled helicopter on display to prove that the City of Arlington doesn't have drones. That is all media hype, the sky is not falling. The new Police Chief Will Johnson and the North Deputy Chief Leland Strickland were in attendance and spoke.
Tuesday was the Council Retreat at the convention center. Well it wasn't a treat! This was a How-Goes-It concerning our budget and the results of the Citizens Satisfaction Survey. We sent out over 29,000 surveys and recieved 598 back. Essentially 82% of the citizens considered Arlington a good to excellent place to live. They sited location, convenience and affordable housing/taxes as the top 3 reasons to live here. After four hours of that, it was off to the Arlington Police Association's burger bash to celebrate our new Police Chief's appointment.
I'm going to play golf today just to prove to myself that I'm terrible at it, then I'll get my taxes in the mail, hopefully.
Saturday, March 23, 2013
Schools
Last month I had the pleasure of addressing the Republican Women of Arlington. After my presentation was over I had a deposition to give in Ft. Worth and had to leave to meet that obligation. It didn't give me time to answer the questions of the ladies after the luncheon. One individual went directly to the school board and stated that I was going to "have the principals report to me." This statement couldn't be further from the truth. The principals of AISD are the responsibility of the School Board and Superintendent Marcelo Cavazos. I might add that although I have met many times with principals of schools in my district, most meetings were attended by either Superintendent Cavazos or a member of the Board. I have contacted the lady that has made this statement to the Board and corroborated my side of the story through other individuals in attendance.
Another statement that is in contention is that I said, "our schools are terrible." What I said was, "our schools WERE terrible." The testing at the end of the 2010 school year put three of the five schools that were "Academically Unacceptable" in the north district. You don't have to take my word for it, because it's a matter of public record. This is very unfortunate, because after that school year the rating standard changed to either Pass or Fail. In order to get into a Pass category you only have to test above 60%. Our schools that were previously "Academically Unacceptable" have all gotten test scores that has put them into the "Pass" category. There is hope that the state will change this rating system to paint an accurate picture of the true standing of our schools and where they are in comparison to the old system.
The good news is that Superintendent Cavazos and the AISD Board have met the challenges of these schools and made real time strategic personnel changes to correct these problems. Each of the schools in question underwent principal changes. Mr. Cavazos and the current Board are very progressive, not only in the personnel changes that they have made, but also in changing the curriculum to better suit the needs of a diverse student population. They have my total support and admiration for the job that they are doing.
While we are discussing admiration, let me talk about today's teachers. I personally believe that the missing ingredient to a successful education is parental involvement. I can assure you that most kids in AP classes come from homes where parents make education a priority. I applaud their efforts. Then there are those homes were education is not so important. If the student doesn't show his/her own initiative, then it is up to the teacher to inspire that child to want to learn. In our current society this can be very difficult. Today's teachers face the challenges of behavior management, communicating with parents, planning lessons, and keeping up with the latest in technology. And they do this in over crowded classrooms, on reduced budgets, for comparatively little compensation. You have my total respect for what you do.
In closing let me say this. The fact that the developers of the Viridian project, that is located in my district, have selected the HEB school district has not been lost on me or the School Board. There is a reason for this, and the school ratings in 2010 didn't help the matter. The Board has met this situation by opening up enrollment in AISD to anyone that wants to attend. Therefore, Viridian residents can attend AISD schools. Now the challenge is to get the parents of the kids in Viridian to want to attend Arlington schools.
Another statement that is in contention is that I said, "our schools are terrible." What I said was, "our schools WERE terrible." The testing at the end of the 2010 school year put three of the five schools that were "Academically Unacceptable" in the north district. You don't have to take my word for it, because it's a matter of public record. This is very unfortunate, because after that school year the rating standard changed to either Pass or Fail. In order to get into a Pass category you only have to test above 60%. Our schools that were previously "Academically Unacceptable" have all gotten test scores that has put them into the "Pass" category. There is hope that the state will change this rating system to paint an accurate picture of the true standing of our schools and where they are in comparison to the old system.
The good news is that Superintendent Cavazos and the AISD Board have met the challenges of these schools and made real time strategic personnel changes to correct these problems. Each of the schools in question underwent principal changes. Mr. Cavazos and the current Board are very progressive, not only in the personnel changes that they have made, but also in changing the curriculum to better suit the needs of a diverse student population. They have my total support and admiration for the job that they are doing.
While we are discussing admiration, let me talk about today's teachers. I personally believe that the missing ingredient to a successful education is parental involvement. I can assure you that most kids in AP classes come from homes where parents make education a priority. I applaud their efforts. Then there are those homes were education is not so important. If the student doesn't show his/her own initiative, then it is up to the teacher to inspire that child to want to learn. In our current society this can be very difficult. Today's teachers face the challenges of behavior management, communicating with parents, planning lessons, and keeping up with the latest in technology. And they do this in over crowded classrooms, on reduced budgets, for comparatively little compensation. You have my total respect for what you do.
In closing let me say this. The fact that the developers of the Viridian project, that is located in my district, have selected the HEB school district has not been lost on me or the School Board. There is a reason for this, and the school ratings in 2010 didn't help the matter. The Board has met this situation by opening up enrollment in AISD to anyone that wants to attend. Therefore, Viridian residents can attend AISD schools. Now the challenge is to get the parents of the kids in Viridian to want to attend Arlington schools.
Wednesday, March 20, 2013
Short Term Rentals
Yesterday during the work session at City Council the subject of an ordinance was before the Council on Short Term Rentals. After hearing Jim Parajon talk to us about the ordinance the Mayor stated his displeasure with the ordinance and stated that he wanted the item tabled, instead of voted on. It was evident from the straw pole that there was no support for the ordinance and that it would be defeated, probably around 7-2 or 8-1. Neighbors from a troubled neighborhood were going to arrive to the City Chambers tonight expecting to speak. So instead of letting the item be put on the table and die a slow lonely death, I mentioned to Jimmy Bennett that I would like a vote one way or another on the issue.
As I made my way down to the City Chamber, it was decided, unbeknown to me, that a vote would be taken after all. So the neighbors did have an opportunity to speak. Several people voiced their opinion concerning the deterioration of their neighborhood. Then the root of the problem stepped up the to microphone. That was the property manager of the short term rental in question. The first words out of his mouth was a lie and the hits just kept on coming. He stated that he had lived in the house since 1982. Actually he hasn't lived in the house for the past several years and he is not the owner of the house now. The owner, although in attendance, did not address the Council nor would he speak to me after the meeting. It would seem that he is very good friends with several of the Council Members and is looking to utilize those friendships instead of becoming a good neighbor. For the life of me, I cannot figure out why this person is so determined to ruin a beautiful neighborhood.
That being the situation, Council Woman Capehart wanted to study the ordinance and make changes so it was put on the table to be looked at again in the future. Personally I think that the city needs an ordinance on the books so that property owners can rent their property if they want to, and if it turns toxic, then neighbors should have recourse under the same ordinance.
As I made my way down to the City Chamber, it was decided, unbeknown to me, that a vote would be taken after all. So the neighbors did have an opportunity to speak. Several people voiced their opinion concerning the deterioration of their neighborhood. Then the root of the problem stepped up the to microphone. That was the property manager of the short term rental in question. The first words out of his mouth was a lie and the hits just kept on coming. He stated that he had lived in the house since 1982. Actually he hasn't lived in the house for the past several years and he is not the owner of the house now. The owner, although in attendance, did not address the Council nor would he speak to me after the meeting. It would seem that he is very good friends with several of the Council Members and is looking to utilize those friendships instead of becoming a good neighbor. For the life of me, I cannot figure out why this person is so determined to ruin a beautiful neighborhood.
That being the situation, Council Woman Capehart wanted to study the ordinance and make changes so it was put on the table to be looked at again in the future. Personally I think that the city needs an ordinance on the books so that property owners can rent their property if they want to, and if it turns toxic, then neighbors should have recourse under the same ordinance.
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