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.

What you may not know is Highland Park officers are giving offenders a warning this week only, while University Park officers have already issued 32 tickets (over the 2.5 days since school started) to drivers talking on their cell phones in a school zone, according to officials from both police departments.

Last year both departments wrote well over three hundred tickets a piece (HP wrote 395 from December to May, 2007 while UP wrote 332 from January to May last year, according to both departments).

UPDATE: The tickets come with a $75 fine, $11 of which goes to the city (the rest goes to the state), according to HPPD.

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.

UP will hyper-chlorinate the Curtis Park Pool Sunday night after the close of business.  It’s in line with recommendations from the County Health Department following the detection of Cryptosporidium in North Texas.  The pool will be closed Monday, August 4.  Details on UP city website.

I do know that former People Newspapers Society and Real Estate editor Paige Phelps (pictured on the right, with an unfortunate dye job) won a Mothers Against Drunk Driving Media Award in 2006 for a series of stories she wrote about the Gordie Foundation. Unfortunately those stories pre-date this incarnation of our website, and thus I cannot link to them.

Details after the jump:

WHAT: FREE special screening of the new documentary, HAZE, presented by The Gordie Foundation and Southern Methodist University’s Student Life Division. The film examines the issues surrounding the college drinking culture in America and addresses the death of college freshman Gordie Bailey, whose tragic passing following a fraternity initiation ceremony at the University of Colorado gained national media attention in 2004. HAZE is presented by The Gordie Foundation, the only nonprofit organization in the country dedicated to providing youth with the necessary skills to navigate the dangers of alcohol, binge drinking, peer pressure and hazing.

Evidence of the severity of this public health crisis is presented through graphic images filmed at campus parties, during emergency medical calls, and from police files, including details on the circumstances surrounding the death of Gordie Bailey. The film was produced by Watt Imagination! and Leslie and Michael Lanahan, Dallas residents and parents of Gordie Bailey.

HIGHLIGHTS: A special on-screen introduction by actress Robin Wright Penn, national spokesperson for The Gordie Foundation, will precede the film. HAZE includes interviews with national experts on the subject of alcohol abuse on college campuses including: Joseph Califano Jr., former U.S. Secretary of Health, Education and Welfare and Founder/Chairman of the National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse at Columbia University; T.J. Sullivan, CEO of CampusSpeak; Rick Barnes of the North American Interfraternity Council; Barry Seaman, former TIME magazine reporter and author of Binge: Excess in the Age of Disconnection; and Dr. Henry Wechsler, College Alcohol Study, Harvard School of Public Health.

IN ATTENDANCE: Leslie and Michael Lanahan will speak before the screening. Their hope is that the documentary will help prevent further tragedies like Gordie’s death and make college campuses a safer place for youth across the country.

TICKETS: 50 tickets FREE to the public.

TO RESERVE: Only 50 tickets will be available to the general public and will be given out on a first come, first served basis. To reserve tickets, please call The Gordie Foundation no later than August 29^th at 214-823-0235 or email contactus@gordie.org.

The Park Department is reducing the iron content of the fountain’s stone work.  It’s being done so that the fountain’s front won’t discolor in the months ahead.  The sheet of plastic is in place as a courtesy to passing drivers, so they don’t get sprayed etc.