Prolonged Construction Stinks!

Mike Luong's blog on Austin's Road Construction is about the hassle of construction projects in Austin. He states that the time it takes for these construction is ridiculously long. It is a big mess for people to maneuver around these sites because there are so many detours. Michael stated that he even had problems getting into his neighborhood to get home. That should not be happening to the citizens of Austin. Michael believes that the city of Austin should find a more efficient way to finish these construction projects faster.

I highly agree with Mike Luong’s blog. I understand that there needs to be roads constructed and fixed, but the time it takes to finish these projects is ridiculous. I drive on Loop 1 hoping that the next time I drive on it, the construction will be done. Unfortunately, I am disappointed every time. The traffic can be horrific especially during traffic hour. I was driving home one night from work coming North Bound on IH35 and I was stuck in traffic for about an hour because they only had one lane open. It’s hard having to deal with these issues on top of dealing with every other obstacle in life.

I think it is extremely unfair for those who live in neighborhoods that have construction surrounding them. No one wants to be woken up from their sleep early on a Saturday morning. I can barely handle my neighbor mowing their lawn let alone construction going on. The city should be more considerate of their citizens, especially because the citizens pay for taxes that fund these projects. I also agree with Mike when he says that the city needs to speed up the process of construction projects. It will make the lives of Austin citizens better; there will be no more traffic and interference with citizens‘ lives.

Keeping Students Safe in Texas

Are you ever afraid of sending your children to a school that has an employee with a criminal record? Thanks to a new law that has been passed, parents in Texas do not have to worry. This new law takes fingerprints of all employees, teachers, AND principals. This state law was put into effect on January 1, 2008 and is requiring that EVERY school district completes fingerprinting by September of 2011. "As of Tuesday [November 25, 2008] 10,305 certified employees, teachers and principals" of Dallas ISD have been fingerprinted. Out of the thousands that have been fingerprinted, about 13 percent had criminal records.

Although most of the criminal records were only misdemeanors, 20 were serious charges that were kept secret from DISD. According to a DISD spokesman, 8 of the 20 immediately quit after their secret charges were found. The remaining 12 are currently being terminated. Some of these criminal charges pertained to sexual misconduct, drugs, and burglary. It is scary knowing that these students are around criminals. This law is doing a great thing for the state of Texas.

I believe that this is a great way to keep students and other school employees from being a victim of these criminals. If I were a parent, I would want my kids to go to a safe school where I don't have to worry about my kids being around criminals. This is a great way to keep people safe in school; adults AND children.

"The fingerprinting is doing what it is designed to do." - Allen Gwin, DISD critic.

An Inspiration To Us All

When I read "Everything's BIGGER in Texas'" Se Habla Español blog, I was very inspired. The blog spoke about Hispanics and minorities running for office. I myself am a minority so I believe that we should work together to change the views of the government. Senators, governors and people who are in office should be able to represent someone who looks like them. Hispanics are the fastest growing minority population in Texas. It is rare for minorities to be in office, so why not change it? Not only would it be amazing to see more Hispanics in office, but to see an Asian American in office. I never in my life have seen an Asian American in office. I believe it would be so inspiring to all people to see minorities, (Mexican Americans, Asian Americans, and African Americans) sharing their culture, languages, and views of the government together as a team. America is all about freedom of speech and there should be no barriers on who run for office. For many, many years, we have seen the same stereotypical people in office. (NO OFFENCE TO ANYONE =)!!!!) This blog was amazing and has brought so much inspiration to myself and others.

Vote NO to Proposition 2

Why is everyone giving the Domain such a hard time? Yes, it may be a high class place to shop. Yes, it may not look "Austin-like." But have you ever looked at the bigger picture? The Domain is bringing all sorts of people together with their high class and middle class retail stores. Just because the Domain is characterized as "high class," that doesn't mean that it's gonna suck the money out of your pockets every time you go there. That's only if YOU CHOOSE TO SHOP THERE. There are more things to do there than shop at the Domain. Thanks to the money put into the Domain, people can experience something they can't experience in other parts of Austin. The Domain isn't made to look like Austin. In my opinion, the Domain gives a "New York" feeling. It can be seen as an escape for people. You don't have to pay for an expensive plane ticket to go to a place like New York; you can get a feel of New York right here in Austin. Along with the interesting art and amazing cuisine of numerous restaurants, the Domain can be seen as an all in one place to shop.

Proposition 2 is trying to stop the City of Austin from getting tax money to fund the new parts of the Domain. If we really think about it, the Domain is bringing stores from malls that are run-down and falling apart. Not a lot of people go to Highland Mall anymore and soon enough there won't even be a Highland Mall. The Domain is also taking stores from the Arboretum. They will soon be opening a new Gap, Express, and the department store Nordstrom. The Domain is a convenient place to shop. Looking at the big picture, the Domain is bringing new job opportunities to Austin. This will bring money back to the community. If the City of Austin approves Proposition 2, those job opportunities will be demolished. When the idea of the Domain was brought up five years ago, they agreed to kick-start new jobs. It did exactly what it promised; there are tons of job opportunities at the Domain. So why would we try to demolish new job opportunities for people who need jobs in Austin?

Proposition 2 will not change the city’s future incentive policy in any way. The Domain has also agreed to all of the written agreements that were made five years ago. Also, SIX out of SEVEN current members of the Austin City Council oppose Proposition 2. So with all of these facts, why would we want to proceed with Proposition 2? Doing so will just make more people unhappy than people who are happy.

Surveillance Cameras in Dallas Seen as Insignificant

A blog about Dallas police cameras focusing on petty crimes was published on Grits For Breakfast. The blog was about a disagreement on police surveillance cameras. The writer of the blog believes that surveillance cameras in Dallas are insignificant. The story starts off with four young adults caught on the surveillance cameras robbing a coin operated coin vending machine in downtown Dallas. One of the four young adults also turned out to be a murder suspect.

Tanya Eiserer at the Dallas News Crime Blog quotes that the department believes the surveillance cameras reduce crime by twenty percent in Dallas’ central business district. Although it looks like a big decline in crime, the cameras are only placed in the central business district. There are no surveillance cameras in Dallas neighborhoods so that crime is pushed into them equaling the crime rate in Dallas overall.

Despite the fact that a murder suspect was found due to the petty crime, the blogger still believes that cameras are less helpful for large crimes because only small crimes have been caught on camera. The writer of the blog doesn’t think that credit should be given to the surveillance cameras for catching that alleged murderer because he would have been discovered from being caught for his stupid behavior anyways.

I, on the other hand, believe that the surveillance cameras are extremely useful and should receive credit for catching an alleged murderer or even catching someone who ran a red light. The cameras may catch a petty crime like teenagers acting a fool, but the cameras could one day catch a kidnapping or help solve a murder. The new world of technology is amazing in this century. Those “insignificant” cameras can discover the face of a murderer or solve a mystery one of these days. It would be strange not to have them. I think that those cameras are very helpful and having them there helps the police force. It’s better having two sets of eyes than one and those cameras can be the other set of eyes.

A Higher Standard of Conduct

In the editorial, "Austin Police Shedding Tainted Culture," the author writes about Police Chief Art Acevedo trying to establish higher standards of conduct for officers. In the past there have been problems with police officers finding loopholes around the professional standards of the police force. The question of policies was raised when an arbitrator returned fired Austin policeman Gary Griffin to his job. This police officer was fired for using excessive force on a mentally ill man at a bus stop. Because there used to be a culture of police officers being able to return to their jobs without punishment after violating policies, Gary Griffin sued the city for firing him for his misconduct.

When policies were under the authority of former chief Stan Knee, there were questions about his authority; whether it was justified or whether it was based on favoritism. Police officers faced few consequences for the their unjust behaviors while other people could lose their jobs. This proved uneven discipline. Under commands of new Police Chief Acevedo, higher standards of conduct have been established for officers. There will no longer be loopholes around the standards. To achieve this goal, officers must attend training to make sure that they have read and understood the disciplinary standards. This approach is believed to reduce or prevent previous actions of favoritism and misconduct. Chief Acevedo's plan has already proved that it works; he has already fired 12 officers for misconduct and pressured others to resign. The author believes that there will be a better future for the police force while Acevedo's plan is intact.

I believe that this is a tremendously important editorial. Nobody likes favoritism, except the ones who get away with anything they want. Police officers should not get away with hurting a harmless person for no reason. We do not want the citizens of Austin or anywhere for the matter to fear police officers just because they have authority. We don't want the fear that a police officer can harm us. I highly agree with Chief Acevedo's technique for setting higher standards of conduct so that police officers do not get away with anything they want. I believe it is important for citizens to feel safe around authority figures like policemen and Chief Acevedo's tactics help ensure that.

A Plan for Galveston

After the devastating Hurricane Ike, Galveston creates a plan for its residents. This article helps educate readers about the plan to do so. Although there is a long way to go before everything in Galveston will be in order, the city is doing its best. There were about 45,000 residents who had to evacuate their homes last Friday due to the 110mph hurricane. After the hurricane hit, the coast was left a horrendous mess. A week after the hurricane, Galveston is planning to let their evacuees come back to their homes and lives. Currently there is only one gas pump and most of the cell phone services were restored. This is just the beginning of the plan. One of the worst problems is the water system. More water is leaving Galveston than coming in and that is a necessity for people's lives. Another issue they are still working on is hospitals; although the hospitals are helping residents, there is not enough space to help people. Authorities plan to bring more people back to their homes by next week. I believe this article is worth reading because it's a big part of what has happened in Texas recently. In my entire life, I have never heard of Texas getting hit by a hurricane so badly. I just believe that everyone should get some knowledge about what is going on to other people. While the people in Austin were going about their normal day, people only about 200 miles away from us were evacuating their lives in the coast. This really puts things into perspective.


A Plan For Galveston Article