And, furthermore, here we go again.  The old “light fixture” was insufficient; now we must graduate to an expensive “chandelier.”  When “carpool lines” are replaced with “queue lines” and “light fixtures” with “chandeliers,” watch your wallet.  Although I’m sure it’s quite stylish.

Is that right? You can only ask HP to let you take defensive driving at an appointed time? You can’t just drop by the old town hall any old time to get permission?

The Highland Park Community League and the staff of the Town on Highland Park are proud to announce the third annual H. P. Leadership Program to begin September 9, 2008 from 7:00-8:30pm in the Town’s Public Safety Training Room above the fire station. The program will continue once a month on the 2nd Tuesday of the month, except for the final meeting which will be at the Town Council meeting on Monday, April 6, 2009. The class size is limited to 22 participants. We are seeking an interested body of citizens who want to learn more about the Town and who may be willing to volunteer their time for the betterment of the Town and our community. To register for the program contact Carrie Covert at 214-522-1095 or scovert@sbcglobal.net to request a Leadership Application. The program cost is $50.00. I hope that you will be able to join us this Fall to learn more about our Town

But because of rising property values, the tax bill for the average UP homeowner would be $2,513, up $227 from last year’s $2,286 average bill.

Now comes this photo (at left) featuring three of the big names down at Highland Park Town Hall. On the left is town secretary James Fisher. In the center is the newly hired town administrator Bill Lindley. On the right is outgoing, longtime town administrator George Patterson. They’re laughing it up at the Monday ceremony during which Lindley signed his new contract. What do they all have in common? That’s right.  (You can also see intrepid reporter Cassie Clark in the back, talking to the mayor. But she doesn’t have any facial hair, at last report.)

I’ve thought you could only pull off the lip fur if you’re Magnum. But I’m beginning to think that I’ve been wrong.

Anyway, photo caption contest in the comments below: Example: “My town pension plan includes free mustache combs for life.”

Among the various proposals is one that would require dancers, and all other employees of sexually oriented businesses, to pay a $100 annual fee for a permit and go through an outstanding warrant search and health check for sexually transmitted diseases.

Rasansky said even if it doesn’t raise the $200,000 he projects it will, it should still be on the books. Jump for the money quote.

“If you are going to come to Dallas and you are going to dance, we are going to check your criminal record,” Rasansky said. “Maybe that will send the message to the kind of people that work in these establishments that you are not wanted in Dallas if you have any outstanding warrants…I don’t care if it costs us some money. We don’t want those kind of people in Dallas.”

This should make for an interesting debate if it ever reaches the horseshoe.

Sounds to me like the city is going to end up giving the restaurant the OK. We’ll see.

Clark’s interviewed Elwonger before, for a story she wrote about the DARE program at McCullough Intermediate.

Apparently, ‘Officer Hollywood,” [the nickname a group of sixth graders gave her] didn’t like the story, because when Clark contacted her and asked to talk about the recent controversy, Elwonger said she didn’t think too highly of Clark’s reporting skills.

“You’re probably going to slant this like you did the other story you wrote about me and stab me in the back. With a knife.”

I’m not exactly sure how the DARE story was slanted, but for someone who wanted to be in the spotlight of the small screen, she sure is shy of Park Cities People.

First off, I wasn’t found not guilty, but the judge did dismiss my case because the prosecutor’s lack of evidence [aka the cop didn't show up]

Which kinda blows my mind. This officer was supposed to appear for at least 14 cases today, and as far as I can tell, when he didn’t show, they were all dismissed. Now most of these were for petty things, like expired stickers and whatnot, but it’s still shocking to see the Dallas municipal court just spins its wheels when cops write tickets and then can’t/won’t/don’t show up to court to help prosecutors enforce punishment.

Not that I’m complaining, but since the city will dismiss your expired registration/inspection sticker provided you get it fixed with a certain amount of time and you pay a significantly reduced fine than the original ticket, it seems like there would be an easier way to process these tickets than setting up court dates and calling cops as witnesses. The fact that a ticket written in December is just now being heard in June is just further proof at the inefficiency of the city’s court system.

As for the reason I ended up in court that’s a tricky subject. You see, back in May 2007, after participating in commencement ceremonies at SMU, I went home and parked the old Chevy in the gated garage of my apartment. When I returned, my poor car had been stolen. Police recovered it, but along with a busted up door and steering column, they also stole my registration tag.

Since my car is registered in Houston, I had to go down there to get a replacement sticker, which I never got a chance to do. Without a registration sticker, I couldn’t get a new inspection sticker, and on down the line.

Not that any of that is an excuse, but fast forward to December, and I got pulled over by the Dallas officer, but he and I both were in the boundaries of Highland Park, and my registration wasn’t technically expired, I just didn’t have the sticker to prove it. Not exactly sure if that’s kosher, but that was going to be my defense had I not been able to get the tickets dismissed.

All in all, though, I’ve learned my lesson, and I will keep my stickers current in the future.

So if you see a fully-inspected and registered 1987 Chevy Caprice Classic rolling through your ‘hood, don’t be alarmed Overheardians, it’s just me