Garland's In-N-Out restaurant near the entrance to the Firewheel Town Center off SH-78 is nearing completion. Hiring has started and training will begin mid-month. Opening is currently planned for Mar 1.
 
When the Council approved the location in 2010, it was the first public acknowledgment that the famous west coast fast food phenom was coming to Garland and to Texas. I posted a note about it and within days a Google search on the name and Garland yielded over a million sites. Excited transplants and area travelers longed for a chance to get their burger fix.
 
Speculation ran rampant that Garland would be the first site to open. When that proved to not be the case, there were many disappointed local fans. The first restaurant opened in Allen and the lines were seemingly days long. In hindsight, we can be thankful that Garland wasn't the first location. Our location would have had a lot more trouble handling the traffic. We just don't have the same amount of stacking capacity and area residents would have seen traffic jams symbolic of those in California, an import we wouldn't want to see. Burger, yes; congestion, no.
 
While we won't see the long, long lines and hopefully not the hours-long waits, there is still plenty of excitement and local buzz.
 
So, what is really in that secret sauce?
 

From the Dallas Morning News online:

 

Janine Bowman of Rowlett sits in her 5-year-old son's bedroom, which was struck by a bullet last month. She believes the bullet came from a nearby shooting range in Garland.
Mona Reeder/DMN Staff Photographer

Rowlett files to shut down Garland Public Shooting Range

By RAY LESZCYNSKI, Staff Writer
rleszcynski@dallasnews.com
Published: 31 January 2012 11:30 PM [Story link]
 
Bullets found at three Rowlett homes have led to a challenge of a new state law that protects longstanding gun ranges from urban sprawl.
 
Many neighbors, and Rowlett city officials, considered it an isolated incident when Michael Domin was shot and injured while working in his backyard in June 2010.
 
“We saw it as two streets over, not really a problem for us,” Dave Bowman said.
 

Dave and Janine Bowman took this photo of the bullet that hit their son's bedroom.

But on Jan. 16, the Bowmans were downstairs eating dinner when they heard a loud noise above them. A bullet had come through the ceiling and entered their son’s upstairs bedroom.
 
The officer who responded to their call had just answered one at another home hit by a gunshot on Domin’s street.
 
No one was injured, but lives have changed. The Bowman family now avoids the back of the house and their sons do not go in their backyard until after the Garland Public Shooting Range is closed.
 

“Our peace of mind is not there right now,” Bowman said.
 
Over the last decade, Rowlett officials platted neighborhoods a little more than a mile downrange from the facility, which is owned by James Day and has been in operation since 1969.
 
“If Mr. Day was operating safely that would not be a question because bullets would not be leaving the gun range and not endangering the safety of Rowlett residents,” Rowlett City Manager Lynda Humble said.
 
The city filed for temporary and permanent injunction against Day asking that the gun range be closed until safety improvements are made. The case is scheduled to be heard Tuesday in state district court in Dallas.
 
Rowlett officials also are encouraging residents to file suit.
 
The gun range owner filed a response to the court Friday, denying the allegations and demanding proof the bullets came from the range.
 
The action is separate from Domin’s suit, which is set for trial April 23, though Domin was in attendance when city officials met with neighbors last week. Like the Domin suit, the city cites a lack of ballistic baffling or bullet traps that would help keep bullets from leaving the range.
 
It is estimated the improvements to the gun range could cost $500,000. In his response to the court, Day said the requested relief would result in the unconstitutional taking of his property.
 
In September, a law took effect to protect gun ranges, which are typically small businesses, from the costs of defending against frivolous lawsuits.
 
However, while Senate Bill 766 prohibits cities such as Rowlett from bringing legal action against a gun range, it does not prevent civil action to recover for damages to private property, personal injury or death.
 
After 20 to 30 residents showed interest in participating in the suit, the city followed up with about 10 of those Monday night.
 
“As much as I would like everyone who wants to participate to join in, a large number of participants would make the litigation cumbersome,” City Attorney David Berman said.
 
Resident Jon Voorhies, who attended the first meeting, said the city presented strong evidence the bullets are coming from the range.
 
“I am very happy in the direction and efforts,” said Voorhies, who has shot pistols at the range.
 
The attorney general may also take action, a possible pursuit that brought Rowlett officials to Austin on Friday.
 
“Bullets physically went through exterior walls and an interior wall of a residence,” Humble said. “From a matter of public safety, it’s very disconcerting to me that anyone living in Rowlett would feel uncomfortable in their living room.”
 
Rowlett officials are not the only city officials concerned about the range.
 
Garland officials met in closed session to discuss the gun range last week. The city owns a landfill between the range, the Rowlett neighborhood and power lines behind the gun range.
 
Garland Power & Light officials said in late 2010 that they had no issue with the gun range, that it was not impacting service and that they had never had an outage related to the range.
 
But in a statement issued Friday through the city attorney, Garland Mayor Ron Jones said a line had been recently damaged, “evidently, from more than one round fired skyward from the firing line.
 
“While I’m certain that no responsible range operator would condone such behavior, the evidence indicates that other rounds are leaving the range and that this is not an isolated incident,” Jones said.
 
The city estimates damage to its power lines may exceed $100,000.
 
Rowlett police confirmed a downward trajectory of the rifle shot that hit Domin, but did not determine that the bullet came from the range. A creek and farm are also near the range and the neighborhood.
 
Another half mile downrange is Back Elementary School, built in 1985. Garland school district officials said this week there has never been an incident regarding the gun range that brought safety at the campus into question.
 
“If the owner of the range is willing to work with us and with the professional recommendations of the NRA and other shooting range experts, I feel certain we can come to an acceptable resolution,” Jones said.
 

A bullet hole through the dining room crown molding of a home in Rowlett is clearly visible. The bullet strike was reported to Rowlett police last week. Click the graphic to see the Fox 4 News story and video.

The man shot in 2010 in a Rowlett neighborhood filed suit against the Garland Public Shooting Range for damages he suffered as a result of his injuries and that case is expected to be heard in a couple months. Now two or more suits have been filed or are about to be filed.
 
In a Fox 4 News story last night, additional information was presented that is related to my post yesterday on stray bullets that may be coming from the Garland Public Shooting Range on Pleasant Valley Rd. The range is privately owned and has no connection to the City of Garland.
 
New information was available on the second incident reported last week. In the first, a bullet came through the roof and ceiling into the bedroom of a five-year-old. In the second, a bullet came through the wall and through the crown molding into the dining room. A fourth-grader describes her family's experience in the video report.
 
The City of Rowlett does not consider the man that was mysteriously shot last year a one-in-a-million incident. All their guns (figuratively speaking) are now on the GPSR. They have filed for a temporary injunction to close the range to protect residents. Rowlett has also agreed to finance a lawsuit against the range to be filed by the family that had the bullet land in their son's bedroom. It's not entirely clear if the two cases are separate or are to be combined.
 
The news report also said that range owner James Day claims a bullet cannot travel that far. If accurate, that would be very disturbing and would seem to indicate that the range will not be examining their operations or taking any actions to assure residents and others in the area—in Rowlett and Garland—that their safety is a concern, because there is no question that most calibers can reach that far. [See chart in that previous post.]
 
Officials in Garland and I do take these reports to be extremely serious. While none of us has a desire to wrongly accuse anyone, we cannot ignore these incidents, the frequency, or the safety of residents in the area.
 
Rather than those responsible paying, GP&L ratepayers are the ones paying to repair the electric transmission lines in the area.
 
Also, all the land east of the range, all the way to Castle Dr, is owned by the City. The old Castle Landfill that serves as a backdrop for the gun range is officially closed, no longer to ever accept garbage. One responsibility the city has is to monitor methane gas generated at the site. City personnel responsible for checking those monitoring stations could be at risk when onsite. The circumstantial evidence is too great for the City to tell them they are safe. Most landfills eventually have a second life, quite often as a park. One use discussed over the years was to convert the site to a dog park. Under these circumstances, none of that can happen.
 
We can't live with the status quo. It's imperative that we learn where these bullet rounds are coming from and that action be taken to protect everyone in the area.
 

"Well, I don't know what will happen now. We've got some difficult days ahead. But it doesn't matter with me now. Because I've been to the mountaintop. And I don't mind. Like anybody, I would like to live a long life. Longevity has its place. But I'm not concerned about that now. I just want to do God's will. And He's allowed me to go up to the mountain. And I've looked over. And I've seen the promised land. I may not get there with you. But I want you to know tonight, that we, as a people, will get to the promised land. And I'm happy, tonight. I'm not worried about anything. I'm not fearing any man. Mine eyes have seen the glory of the coming of the Lord."

 
These were the words of a prophet—on the next day the Rev Martin Luther King, Jr, would die at the hands of an assassin.

 
I think too often King is remembered as a man that fought for the civil rights of black people. But I don't remember him that way and don't read that message in his speeches. Certainly the crowds that gathered for his speeches were heavily black but his words were always to a broader audience, the audience of all people, and his message was of freedom and equality for all people.

 
He knew that inequality for any man meant there could be inequality for all men and, also, that what we openly grant to all others, we preserve for ourselves.

 
On this day that we celebrate his birth, I wish to recognize the huge gift that he secured for all people in this country and for so many across the planet.

 
I know he did see the promised land, and, by the power of his message, he took many to view the promised land. Our journey since his death has taken us closer to the promised land. We have not arrived but we are closer than we have ever been in history. If we keep our path forward to the promised land, we shall arrive. We, as a people, will get to the promised land.

 
I'm proud that the vision and promise that Martin Luther King, Jr, shared with all of us is closer to reality today than ever before. I'm not worried—we will get there.

Under the leadership of GP&L Director Ray Schwertner, Garland has been extremely innovative finding opportunities that benefit GP&L ratepayers and the city as a whole. The Southern Cross project reported below will allow Patterson Energy to buy excess wind energy for use outside Texas. (If it's excess, we need to sell it! It can't be stored for later use.) Conversely, because the line will be in place, it is also possible that when Texas needs power, we will have an source outside Texas.
 
For GP&L ratepayers, there are no risks. GP&L will operate a segment of the line for 20 years under the contract and be paid for our services.
 
It is too early to say that ratepayers will see lower bills though. It will definitely help delay increases longer and that is the real benefit.
 

Transmission Project to Help Stabilize Electric Rates

Utility rates could be stablized from revenue earned from excess wind energy
By Tammy Mutasa, Garland/Mesquite Reporter
Wednesday, Jan 11, 2012
 

GP&L's "Southern Cross" project with Patterson Energy will allow Texas to sell excess wind energy but also allow Texas to buy energy when there is a need for more power in the state.

Garland's portion of the Wind Energy Project is expected to lower electric bills and support other city-based projects
 
Garland Power and Light is hoping the revenue it cashes in from a high-profile wind energy project will help stabilize and even lower electrics rates for its residents.
 
Garland Power and Light is participating in the Pattern Energy Southern Cross Project which uses 400 miles of transmission lines to share excess wind energy generated in Texas to states in the southeastern part of the country.
 
"From an economic standpoint, Garland will be paid some revenues above and beyond our cost to participate in this project,” said Ray Schwertner, Garland Power and Light Electric Utility Director. “Those revenues will be used to lower electric bills or stabilize and support other projects in the city of Garland."
 
Garland’s section in the wind energy project is a 30-mile-long transmission line on the Texas border. The utility will make money from managing and maintaining the facilities there and from consulting fees.
 
"This is not going to cost the city of Garland or residents any money at all but it will be a revenue stream to help the city and GPL lower the utility rates and provide better service to the citizens,” said City of Garland Councilman Larry Jeffus.
 
For Garland’s Utility Director, it’s a big step in a booming industry.
 
"We'd like to support the development of wind energy, we believe that's a good thing, for today and for the future,” said Schwertner. “And we have an excess amount of renewable energy in the form of wind energy and in West Texas that is available to share with other states."
 
The project will also increase reliability within ERCOT because power can also flow back into Texas. It’s especially important for Texas to receive power from the other states when the state is short on supply, especially during hot summer months.
 
Garland residents are anticipating the benefits of the project, on paper.
 
"I've lived here for 36 years and anything that would lower our bills would be a blessing to this community because our bills are astronomical,” said Corryne Hampton, Garland resident.
 
The transmission line is expected to be energized in 2015. The amount of power that can be exported or imported into Texas through the new transmission facilities will be three times more than exists currently.
 

Crime reports from December took a hefty drop compared to November but remained in that "middle zone" that we usually see. There were no incidents of robbery or assault reported.
 
Home burglaries dropped 40% from November but were still higher than any other month for almost two years. It's curious looking at the locations reported and noticing (1) that incidents were all across the district, and (2) that a significant portion were deep within various neighborhoods. Some burglars plan their getaway and obviously want to be able to escape to a major street fairly quickly. Those criminals must have taken the month of December off as incidents were often many blocks away from a major street and required navigating through a neighborhood maze of streets, both to locate their victims and to escape. Or the burglars were from those neighborhoods.
 
In protecting our homes, it is important to realize we are all vulnerable and that we need to remain diligent by keeping doors locked, garage doors closed, and being wary of strangers in the neighborhood.
 
If you want to review the areas that have reported incidents over the last month, download the complete report here for address-by-address information that includes your neighborhood. If you are a Garland resident reading this but do not live in District 1, you can get reports for your area here on the Police Department's website or from your Council member.
 

 
The Garland Police Dept has made it even easier to see where and what type of crimes have occurred: information can now be accessed through www.CrimeReports.com. If the data doesn't seem to appear, "zoom in" further. Not all types of incidents reported are shown on the maps.
 

Local policies have not and will not be changing.

Like many others, I was amazed to read in the Dallas Morning News that the Dallas Police Dept would no longer respond to calls from merchants of shoplifting incidents that involved less than $50. I read that to mean "take small items only; no prosecution pending." Dallas police have since walked that back...some. The store owner must still file a report and send it in, call first though.
 
The DMN editorial staff wasn't impressed by the policy but have since given a little benefit of the doubt to the change. "If Class C shoplifting reports plunge—at least, in part, because the new reporting requirement creates one more hurdle for retailers—[Dallas Police Chief] Brown might have to rethink it. But if the shoplifting conviction rate goes up—and 4 percent for Class C is a pretty low starting bar—it would be strong evidence that it’s a policy worth keeping."
 
I'm not sure if that is the best formula for measuring. A drop in reports would seem to indicate fewer incidents are being reported because I can't imagine this policy will lead shoplifters to suddenly decide to quit shoplifting, the other possible reason for a drop. But judging the reasons for a rise in the conviction rate is more problematic. There are more variables and I'm not familiar enough with the details of minor shoplifting prosecution to make a personal call. My doubts are not dispelled.
 
One interesting measure though and one that might have local effects will be how our shoplifting figures change. Again, my shoplifting ignorance is a factor, but I presume shoplifting of minor amounts (under $50) are usually local kids, not professional shoplifting gangs from Dallas. If that's right, we wouldn't see much change. If, however, most of our shoplifters are from out of town, we could see some big changes if they decided Dallas was less of a risk.
 
And that measure will be valid because our variables aren't changing, we're not changing our local policies, as confirmed by Police Chief Mitch Bates when I asked. Steal a coke and our police will respond. It remains a crime and we will treat it as a crime. We know that a number of shoplifters do often have involvement in other serious crimes, such as narcotics, burglaries, robberies, etc., so a store that catches a shoplifter often catches a wanted criminal.
 
I suspect the final result for Dallas will be less reported shoplifting thefts, more convictions because the best cases will continue through the system, and it will be hard to judge the dark side, that the overall number of incidents is rising because thieves are emboldened. For us, I imagine our numbers will stay about the same, but if they start dropping, you have a good case to argue that the thieves like "shopping" in Dallas better.
 

There are many things that impress me about Garland. Sure, some outside the city think we're too blue-collar or too car-sales-centric, but those are not representative qualities of us at all. Among many wonderful qualities, I'm impressed by the charity we so often have for each other.
 
At the city staff level, it is commonplace to see or hear examples of staff members helping others. With 2000 city employees, a caller isn't going to get the right department every time, but there is someone answering the phone trying. We're not surprised to see firemen raising contributions for gifts for those facing unusual economic challenges. The code folks carry tools and paint to whack limbs or paint over graffiti instead of writing a notice. Code and several departments assist the elderly and handicapped with services. The list is long.
 
So the following report isn't a surprise but it still shows especially caring hearts:

From KDFW Fox 4 TV online:

Police Replace Woman’s Stolen Bike

Photo from myFOXdfw online.

Published : Thursday, 05 Jan 2012, 6:47 PM CST
Shaun Rabb, FOX 4 News
Adapted for Web by Tracy DeLatte | myFOXdfw.com
 
GARLAND, Texas - Traumatized by two horrific car accidents, a North Texas has avoided cars for 15 years. But bad actors recently ripped off her bike and she was without a ride until now.
 
“The bike is my car. I mean, I do everything on that bike,” said Denise Armendariz.
 
Armendariz has been involved in two major accidents caused by drunken drivers.
 
“The cars hit me on my side and threw us up into the tree, on the ground, and another, up and the doors flew open. The impact went right through me and I was just shaking. I couldn’t hardly breathe,” she said. “I just said, ‘I can’t do this anymore.’ I was just having terrible panic attacks in the car and fear and I just couldn’t deal with that.”
 
She got around fine on her purple and white Huffy mountain bike until someone stole it from her Garland apartment.
 
“I had it locked, but the thing is it makes me feel very unsafe. And if they only knew what they were tampering with, it’s more than just the bike itself,” she said.
 
Garland police did more to help Armendariz than just take an incident report over the phone. An officer actually went out and spoke to her, wanting to know why the bicycle was so important to her.
 
“I didn’t know policemen were involved in this sort of stuff. I know they are out to help others, but not this way, in a personal one-on-one way. It feels nice,” she said. “I’m just so happy and blessed that that policeman took the time to come to my house and take the time to say, ‘What’s going on?’”
 
When the department learned about Armendariz’s history in cars, officers contacted Wal-Mart and worked together to give her a new bike.
 
“What a great deal. It's community coming together, not just retailer Wal-Mart but also the police department and us, everybody doing what’s right,” said Joe Harn, a spokesman for the Garland Police Department.
 
Read more on myFOXdfw.com. Video report also at that link.