If you missed it, an article about Garland's forthcoming budget ran in the Dallas Morning News Metro section yesterday. Bryan Bradford, the city's director of budget and research, and a District 1 resident, is extensively quoted.
 
Last year, I heard moans about what a tough budget we had. I said several times, "This is not that tough; wait until next year!" Next year is here and it is, as predicted, even tougher. Fortunately, the Council and the staff took strong action last year or we would be a in a much, much worse situation, something akin to those situations so many other cities are now facing.
 
Budget review and discussions start in August. In initial reports that I've heard, city administration will propose several cost-cutting measures. The greatest impact on city employees would be no pay raises this year for anyone. There has been mention of a possible three-day unpaid furlough for employees, effectively cutting take-home pay this year.
 
My philosophy has been, and continues to be, seeking operating efficiencies where ever possible, looking to the corporate world for best practices whenever practical. I hope the city can move through this economic downturn as lean and efficient as possible. As we exit and revenues to the city start to increase, we will be much better prepared to tackle the challenges of growing the city and enhancing the quality of life to citizens ̬ because we will finally have some money to tackle those issues!
 
We need to promote the city to entise residents and businesses that help keep us growing and strong. We need to have neighborhoods, attractions, and services that keep them here. We need to control taxes and debt to not send them scurrying to other locales.
 
For now, we must be especially fiscally prudent.
 

From the Dallas Morning News:

Garland taking steps to avoid layoffs

10:29 PM CDT on Wednesday, July 15, 2009
By RAY LESZCYNSKI / The Dallas Morning News
rleszcynski@dallasnews.com
 
Although a $7 million budget shortfall will translate into about 5 percent of next year's general fund, the city of Garland isn't telling employees to clean out their desks just yet.
 
In anticipating the decline in the residential tax base and initiating a hiring freeze in October, the staff hopes to keep all hands on board when it presents a balanced budget to the City Council on Aug. 3.
 
"We saw this coming and took a lot of cuts last year in preparation," said Bryan Bradford, the city's senior managing director of budget and research. "What we've communicated to the employees is that there are a lot of options on the table. Those options include possible furloughs, pay reductions or position eliminations.

Garland officials said cuts made in last year's budget will make this year's $7 million shortfall easier to stomach. Cuts then included: 52 positions eliminated or banked Reductions in overtime and holiday pay Reductions in city vehicle fleet and equipment Closing of the Ridgewood Branch library Suspension of Star Spangled Fourth funding Elimination of seasonal flower planting at entryways and city facilities

 
"Where it sits right now, and we haven't gotten final numbers, is that we hope to reduce position eliminations to vacant positions."
 
The city banked or eliminated 52 positions last year and about as many in 2007. It also entered the current year with strong reserves, Bradford said, which provides the flexibility to minimize the hit to residents and employees.
 
"What has surprised us is the magnitude of the sales tax loss," Bradford said. "It looks like end of day we're going to have over a $1.5 million loss in sales tax compared to what we had budgeted last year, probably closer to $2 million."
 
Nowhere are the hard times more evident than in the city's LBJ corridor. It was announced last week that the 40-year-old Target store on Centerville Road would close in October. Chances of finding a replacement seem dim considering that two nearby grocery stores and a Mervyn's have been empty for years.
 
But even the city's golden child on the north side, Firewheel Town Center, has been hit. After sparking the city's $4.2 million in sales tax growth between 2002 and 2006, the mall has faced recent big box closings of Circuit City and Linens 'n Things.
 
The city will generate about $21 million in sales tax revenue this year, Bradford said. That compares with $22.5 million in 2006.
 
"Nothing that happens to us this year is going to be as bad as last year," said Jim Stone, the city's managing director of parks.
 
That's when his recreation centers lost five positions to a reduction in force, and two other positions that were authorized were not funded. On top of that, the city accelerated the closure of the Ridgewood Branch Library – moving staff and programs to the South Garland Branch two miles away.
 
"I can see where they were coming from on closing it," said Billie Watts, who had used the Ridgewood Branch for 20 years. "And I could see for people who live and that area and don't have transportation that it would make it very inconvenient for them."
 
Though the Ridgewood closing replenished South Garland's staffing levels, city employees know that in this economy, there's no such thing as a comfort zone.
 
"Even in the best of times, I'm concerned when somebody leaves because of the time lag to fill the position," branch manager Bill Raley said. "When somebody does leave, people ask about them. It's almost like a family member has moved on."
 

 
Also be sure to catch other bits of news from Ray Leszcynski and Karel Holloway at the DMN Garland Blog.
 

Councilman Rick Williams and I will host the first televised Town Hall meeting this year. Traditionally, Council members present pictures or video of interests within their districts and then take phone calls from viewers. From my experience, no one is ever in the audience. If anyone was, he would have to write the question on a card and it would be given to the moderator. So, in the sense of the old-fashioned town hall meetings of yesteryear, with the free exchange of questions and answers, this isn't exactly that.
 
In the two previous ones that I participated, there weren't that many questions. There were a lot more ad lib questions from the moderator. (Read: "fill the time" questions.)
 
This is the chance to change history! It's not necessary to wait until the day and time of the broadcast to call and ask questions. Send them in now! Follow that link for a form that allows you to ask multiple questions. Worst case scenario, you miss the broadcast but catch your answer on a re-broadcast or through the video streaming portal at the city's website.
 

City of Garland Press Release:

City Council Town Meeting Broadcasts Scheduled

Garland, Texas -- Garland citizens will be able to ask questions or offer comments to their elected representatives in a series of Town Meeting broadcasts to be aired live on the City’s Government Access Channel, CGTV.
 
The first broadcast is set for Tuesday, August 11, 2009 at 7 p.m., hosted by District 1 City Council Member Douglas Athas and District 7 City Council Member Rick Williams.
 
A call-in format allows residents to ask the Council representatives about issues related to their Districts. Each Council Member will give a “state of the district” report, and then citizens can call 972-205-9035 with their questions and comments. In addition, citizens may submit their questions and comments in advance via the City website at www.ci.garland.tx.us.
 
The schedule for the rest of the City Council Members’ Town Meeting Broadcasts is as follows:

 

September 8, 2009 – Districts 2 & 5
October 13, 2009 – Districts 3 & 4
December 8, 2009 – Districts 6 & 8

 

CGTV is available on Time Warner Cable channel 16 and on Verizon FIOS TV channel 44, or by video streaming from the City website.
 

 
As a reminder, this message will again be posted August 9.
 

I swear I have no idea as to the accuracy: supposedly, if you drop a frog into hot water, it'll immediately jump out, but raise the temperature slowly and it won't detect the threat.
 
I don't think this an unfair analogy to where we are on traffic congestion. It gets worse each year. The average Metroplex driver has gone from wasting 43 hours per year creeping in traffic (2002) to 53 hours (2007). Compare that to ten hours in 1982!
 
The problem gets worse and worse but you can find plenty of people willing to deny that we have any problems and are perfectly willing to fight fixing them. We're being cooked in apathy, stubbornness, and ignorance of the facts.
 

From the Tarrant Regional Transportation Coalition:

URBAN MOBILITY REPORT RELEASED

The Texas Transportation Institute (TTI) at Texas A&M University released this week its annual Urban Mobility Report, which assesses traffic congestion throughout the United States.
 
Dallas-Fort Worth continues to rank among the most congested regions: in the last five years, the metro area has climbed from 14th-worst to sixth-worst in terms of time wasted in rush-hour traffic (53 hours per person per year) and 14th-worst to eighth-worst in terms of fuel wasted (36 gallons per year).
 
To read the full study, visit http://tti.tamu.edu/ or go to the TRTC website and click on "Resources," then "Presentations & Reports."
 

Congestion delays are five times longer in the Metroplex than 1982, and have grown worse compared to other very large population areas. Source: TTI

As this region continues to grow — we're already the fourth largest metropolitan area in the country — the traffic problems will only grow worse. We are expected to grow from about 6 million today to over 9 million by 2030. As I've mentioned before, those forecasts from the North Central Texas Council of Governments have historically been wrong — they've always been too low!
 
A huge majority of North Texas leaders, from government and business, literally begged the Legislature this year to allow us to solve our problems ourselves. No one worked harder to make it happen than Sen John Carona. Other Garland representatives, like Rep Angie Chen Button, walked the aisles asking their colleagues for support, but it wasn't to happen. Much of the opposition came from individuals and organizations that attacked the effort as just an attempt to raise taxes. It will take taxes to fix our roads and highways. Always has, probably always will. (I say probably because the only other solution is toll roads, either publicly- or privately-owned, but those are being attacked, too.)
 
So are highways and rails important? The veins and arteries of any successful economic system are its modes of transportation.
 
For those interested in the who's who: the Tarrant Regional Transportation Coalition is very much the mirror organization of the Dallas Regional Mobility Coalition on which I serve as Garland's representative. Many of the members of both jointly serve on the Regional Transportation Council. Mayor Ron Jones serves on the RTC.
 

For a number of years, the ten-o'clock news often started with that reminder: It's ten o'clock, do you know where your children are? School is out and kids are more likely to have more free time to get in trouble. So, it's summer, do you know where your children are?
 
The overall number of reported incidents for June would have been down except we had more vehicle burglaries than any period in the last six months. For a quick look at where those occurred, check this map.
 
Home burglaries were less that last month but still higher than our recent average. Those incidents were in the same general area as the home burglaries. Check here.
 
Thefts and shoplifting were down. However, almost 55% of those incidents were at Walmart or Kohl's, most being shoplifting. If it's shoplifting, that really means someone was caught. With such bad odds, I'm not sure why anyone would be shoplifting. Map.
 
For a overall look where these crimes occurred, this map is a composite of the others.
 
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.
 

Today, the NTTA announced plans to increase the toll rate, a move that has been anticipated although it's looks to be coming earlier. The new effective rate would be 14.5 cents per mile. I have understood that the current rate on the north Garland portion of the PGB Turnpike has been 14¢, so the proposed increase wouldn't be too dramatic for travel in the immediate vacinity. For those residents that use the tollway system for more than just travel between Garland and Central Expressway, such as to DFW Airport, the percentage increase is a bigger hit.
 
The bad news: future rates are expected to increase faster on the Eastern Extension than any other section, the portion currently being constructed from Lavon Ave (SH 78) through Sachse and Rowlett to I-30.
 
It's perhaps ironic that the rate increase is being justified because of a traffic decrease. Economics 101 teaches that increasing the cost of travel will lead to even less traffic (less demand), exasperating the problem. Granted, there are a number of factors that can affect the elasticity of that formula and I don't have that information. If the decrease in traffic is solely due to the economy, the remaining users might be willing to absorb the increase rather than choose cheaper but slower and more congested routes. If drivers do find acceptable alternative routes, getting them back even with an improving economy will be a challenge. There is a traffic study due that will be based on the higher rates; it will be interesting to see if it contemplates these basic economic principles.
 

North Texas Tollway Authority press release:

NTTA Proposes Toll Rate Increase
New uniform system calls for three-and-a-half cent per mile increase

 
Plano, Texas – The North Texas Tollway Authority’s (NTTA) System Finance and Audit Committee today voted to advance a plan to implement a new distance-based tolling structure for its roadways. Motorists would pay roadway tolls that are better aligned with distance traveled. The recommended toll structure increases tolls by approximately three-and-a-half cents per mile. The NTTA Board of Directors will consider the proposal at its regularly scheduled meeting on July 16, 2009.
 
Beginning Sept. 1, 2009, three months ahead of a scheduled and previously announced increase, the new toll rate would be 14.5 cents per mile on the Dallas North Tollway and the President George Bush Turnpike (PGBT). This action aligns the tolls with Sam Rayburn Tollway rates and the regional toll rate adopted by the Regional Transportation Council in April 2006. The average toll road driver with a TollTag is expected to pay an additional $10 a month.
 
TollTag rates will remain at 50 cents on the Mountain Creek Lake Bridge and Addison Airport Toll Tunnel. The rate on Lewisville Lake Toll Bridge, scheduled to open in August 2009, will stay at $1.
 
After Sept. 1, 2009, the adjusted toll rates will be increased bi-annually in July at a compounded annual rate of 2.75 percent. The rates on the Bush Turnpike Eastern Extension will increase at a rate equal to 3 percent per annum. An amendment to the Sam Rayburn Tollway project agreement was recommended to provide for toll rate increases at a fixed annual rate of 2.75 percent.
 
“We realize these are difficult economic times to raise rates,” said NTTA Chief Financial Officer Janice Davis, “but this is the prudent decision that will help maintain the quality of existing roads, fulfill NTTA’s debt service obligations and meet regional commitments to finance and build much needed road construction projects.”
 
Davis said the rate increase is necessary for several reasons, including a response to changes in economic conditions and traffic demand. The Authority needs to maintain a strong financial position to continue mobility projects and maintain safety and sustainability for the NTTA System. “We continue to see a decline in traffic,” said Davis. “Transactions through April 2009 are down 4.0 percent compared to the same period in 2008.”
 
In June and July, the chief financial officer briefed the NTTA’s System Finance and Audit Committee members that 2008 and 2009 revenues are below projections developed two years ago when the economy was more robust. New revenue projections reflect the traffic decline as well as lower than anticipated TollTag usage and reduced collection from ZipCash. Ms. Davis implemented quarterly traffic and revenue updates and annual investment grade traffic and revenue projections to replace previous bi-annual reports last December, in conjunction with the 2009 budget. A new traffic and revenue study based on the recommended toll structure is scheduled for release later this summer.
 
The NTTA System Finance and Audit Committee members voted 4 to 1 to advance the distance based rate system at 14.5 cents per mile to the full Board on July 16.
 
Davis also said the rate increase is needed to protect NTTA’s credit rating, ultimately maintaining NTTA’s access to low cost borrowing. “In these challenging times, the rating agencies want to see proof that NTTA’s Board is committed to the maintenance of the Authority’s financial strength and integrity,” Davis said. “NTTA has already imposed some tough cost-cutting moves for this fiscal year, and the only other way to further increase financial capacity is through a toll rate increase.”
 
NTTA intends to continue to meet its regional commitments on the Eastern Extension of the Bush Turnpike and the Lewisville Lake Toll Bridge, to complete the Sam Rayburn Tollway, and to support projects such as SH 161 and Southwest Parkway/Chisholm Trail.
 

 
UPDATE: Comments closed to block spam hits.
 

When residents notice a problem with city services or note something that needs to be called to the city's attention, they usually pick up the phone or send an email. The easiest number to remember is (972) 205-2000, the city's receptionist that pleasantly forwards the call to the proper department. That works amazingly well. For those that wish to directly contact a department, I have a list of numbers on my website (link is usually at the bottom of each blog post, too), as does the city's website. There are even refrigerator magnets with department numbers available through the City Secretary's office and other departments (or print the one at the link ).

DMN's map-based Problem Tracker Source: DMN

 
A new service from the Dallas Morning News looks interesting. At their Garland Community webpage, visitors can link on the Problem Tracker to literally mark where problems exist and the newspaper will send an email to the city. One unique aspect is that others can "jump on board" to agree that a problem exists.
 
According to reporter Karel Holloway at the DMN Garland Blog, "The Morning News just started a new online feature called Problem Tracker. It's a map-based system that let's you report non-emergency problems. You can detail the issue and even upload a photo. Just click on the map where the problem is and type in a description. The city will automatically get an e-mail about the problem and other Garland residents will be able to see the city's hotspots."
 
It's a cool idea but I think it misses half the equation and might lead to a lot of exasperated users. One person might want something, like a new street light at a particular intersection. Maybe his family and twenty others will agree and "vote up" the idea. It might be a horrible idea from a traffic planning perspective yet it would be there being tracked. There could be three thousand other residents that would be negatively impacted by something that would benefit very few but we won't hear from them.

Garland Citizen's Request Center

 
Still, it's a great chance to catch ideas that might otherwise go unnoticed but it is a tool that has to be weighed by other factors. I'm not sure how that will be accomplished.
 
This is a great time to remind everyone that the city does like to collect these suggestions and offers a number of ways to do so. In addition to those ways mentioned above, a particularly good method is use of the city's Citizen's Request Center, a link is available on the front page of the city's website. It offers answers to many questions, accepts requests and questions, and allows users to track their submittals. This route will get you a direct response.
 
No matter how you choose to communicate to the city, know that your inquiry or suggestion is always welcome. It's your city.
 

There is more news today in the Dallas Morning News about the North Texas Turnpike Authority's efforts to curtail scofflaws that don't pay tolls. I briefly mentioned those efforts a couple days ago.
 
In briefings to the Dallas Regional Mobility Coalition from NTTA representatives, I have heard a number of times of the need for greater effort. There are some drivers that repeatedly use the tollways without paying, even daily at the same times. The new toll collection system will document those drivers by capturing the vehicle license numbers, making enforcement much easier.
 
The article also quotes Bob Day, Garland's immediate past mayor and NTTA director.
 
Here's how violators will also be creating very expensive penalties for themselves if they don't pay tolls and do so timely:
 

Dallas Morning News, July 1:

Left unpaid, North Texas Tollway Authority tolls grow – and fast

07:07 AM CDT on Wednesday, July 1, 2009
By MICHAEL A. LINDENBERGER / The Dallas Morning News
mlindenberger@dallasnews.com
 
How do you turn an $80 bill into a $2,000 monkey on your back?
 
Spend two weeks using the North Texas Tollway Authority's growing network of toll roads, then ignore your bills for as little as 45 days, and you're likely to find out.
 
As it prepares to raise toll rates next month, NTTA has increased its efforts to collect the money it is owed by drivers who use its roads without a toll tag, and then refuse to pay or simply ignore bills sent to their homes.
 
To encourage them to pay up, the agency tacks on a $25 fee for every toll transaction that isn't paid after 45 days and two notices. With a typical one-way trip on a toll road involving several toll transactions, those fines can quickly turn two weeks of toll use into a four-figure affair.

How an unpaid toll can spin out of control. Click to enlarge. Source: DMN

 
The agency hopes that painful kick in the pocketbook will reverse a trend in which it has identified tens of thousands of drivers who refuse to pay 13 million toll transactions. Those tolls are worth $9 million, not enough money to head off NTTA's toll increase, but money that the authority badly needs.
 
Repeat offenders
 
Most violators are repeat offenders who simply ignore the bills – which often are for just a few dollars – that are mailed to them after a video camera captures their license plates. Others are drivers who rarely use toll roads, but are being hit with hundreds of dollars in fines after failing to pay minor toll amounts.
 
It's a bad situation for both drivers and the NTTA, authority officials said. But it's not likely to change any time soon.
 
"Are we satisfied with this system?" asked agency chairman Paul Wageman at a meeting two weeks ago. "No, we are not."
 
But with toll rates about to go up, and overall revenue below expectations, Wageman said the authority must get tough with drivers who use the roads but don't pay. "It's theft of service," he said.
 
Most collections are simple for NTTA. Indeed, the vast majority of its customers pay in advance. When a driver gets a toll tag, NTTA links his or her account to a debit or credit card, and charges $40 up front. Every time the balance reaches $10, the agency debits another $40.
 
In 2008, 75 percent of NTTA's 428 million toll transactions involved a toll tag customer. Twelve percent came from drivers paying at cash booths.
 
But 13 percent or so of the transactions are from drivers without toll tags.
 
NTTA is fast doing away with cash toll booths. And at locations without them, drivers without a tag drive straight through the electronic toll gantries, just like toll tag customers do. A camera takes a picture of their license plates and NTTA sends them a bill for each toll transaction.
 
Adds up quickly
 
Unless drivers purposely avoided a cash booth, the bill from NTTA is only for the tolls owed. If drivers don't pay after 45 days, and a second notice, the costs spike upward. That's when NTTA sends a bill that includes the $25 fines for each transaction.
 
That can mean hundreds, or thousands, of dollars quickly. Driving back and forth from Frisco to Dallas on the Dallas North Tollway will rack up eight tolls a day, or 40 in a workweek.
 
NTTA will cut up to two-thirds of the fines if the driver pays within a total of 75 days. After that the bill is sent to a collection agency and negotiations end, spokeswoman Sherita Coffelt said.
 
"Our goal is not to put someone in the poor house," she said. "The goal is to collect the tolls we are owed and to recover the cost of collection."
 
Richard Jordan knows this story well – and he has had a toll tag for 15 years. His bank was recently bought out and issued him new credit cards, making his card on file with NTTA invalid. When NTTA tried to debit his account for a series of toll transactions, it could not. It mailed him a bill for about $20, which Jordan said he did not pay.
 
"I see a bill for $10 or $20, it's not going to be top of mind," he said.
 
He called NTTA last week and learned his case had been sent to a collection agency. The agency told him his bill was more than $2,000. He eventually worked out a settlement with NTTA for about $180, he said, but remains furious and is considering hiring a lawyer.
 
Coffelt said no collection agency has the authority to arrest anyone. But law enforcement does get involved eventually.
 
The collection agency has 35 days to collect the debt. After that, the matter is turned over to Department of Public Safety, which will issue a single citation to drivers who have failed to pay. Once a citation is issued, drivers are given court dates in a local justice of peace court. Failure to show up for court leads to an arrest warrant, spokesman Tom Vinger said.
 
13 million tolls
 
But with NTTA trying to collect against 13 million tolls, those courts are overwhelmed, meaning that the most delinquent customers are least likely to ever have to pay. And for drivers who feel they were wronged, their day in court may be months or years down the road.
 
A bill that would have given NTTA the power to create its own administrative court to handle fines died in the Legislature this year. Wageman said NTTA will try again in 2011.
 
Meanwhile, NTTA feels squeezed. It owes creditors about $6 billion, and they want to know that its revenue projects won't be undone by unreliable collections. But just as clearly the system in place isn't working.
 
In the first four months of 2009, Coffelt said, about half the cars without toll tags were deemed uncollectible from the start, either because they were in vehicles with dealer tags or the camera wasn't able to get a good picture of the license plate.
 
The other half got bills in the mail.
 
"The truth is that you can't ever collect all the tolls" from non-tag users, Coffelt said. "But you save so much in capital cost, operations and maintenance that those savings offset the small uncollectible portion of revenue."
 
By 2011, NTTA will have no cash booths at all, lowering costs overall but also making it increasingly important that it figure out how to collect its unpaid tolls. Its biggest hope is to convince more people to sign up for toll tags.
 
NTTA board member Bob Day has proposed making it easier to sign up, even if drivers don't have a credit card and can't afford the $40 upfront deposit.
 
But for now drivers beware: Those small bills from NTTA are likely to add up to big problems, and fast.
 

Crossing north Garland, for most people, involves using the turnpike. Tolltags or cash have been necessary for years to traverse District 1. As of today, the cash requirement disappears. If you don't have a tolltag, you'll get a bill by mail.
 

NTTA Press Release:

All-Electronic Toll Collection Begins July 1
Coins and Cash No Longer Accepted on Bush Turnpike

The North Texas Tollway Authority (NTTA) will convert the President George Bush Turnpike (Bush Turnpike) to all-electronic toll collection (all-ETC) on Wednesday, July 1, 2009.
 
By 12:01 a.m. July 1, the Bush Turnpike will become a cashless toll facility. The traditional cash booth lanes will be closed and video tolling will be in effect at all plazas allowing all motorists to drive through all plazas without stopping to pay. Customers who do not have a TollTag will receive ZipCash invoices in the mail after their trips.
 
"The safety of our customers during this conversion is our highest priority," said Clayton Howe, NTTA assistant executive director of operations. "All motorists, whether they are TollTag or ZipCash customers, should keep moving. We also ask that our TollTag customers slow down and use caution while motorists who currently use cash adapt to the new way to pay and the smoother flow of traffic."
 
The transition is scheduled to be complete by 6 a.m. July 1, 2009, prior to the morning commute. After the conversion, all customers will travel in the main lanes through each toll plaza and through the right-hand lanes at the ramp plazas. Additional signage and traffic monitors will be in place to remind drivers to keep moving through the plazas.
 
After the July 1 conversion, construction crews will return to replace the temporary barricades with more permanent structures. The post-conversion work is expected to be completed mid-October.
 
"Traffic may move slower this week as drivers adjust to all-electronic toll collection on the President George Bush Turnpike," said Howe.
 
Over the past several months, crews have installed equipment, new signage and temporary barricades as well as re-configured lanes at two main lane toll plazas along the Bush Turnpike to prepare for the all-ETC conversion. In addition, the NTTA conducted several public meetings along the Bush Turnpike corridor, created an all-ETC Web page and ran advertisements to raise public awareness about the conversion.
 
All-ETC is quickly gaining in popularity across the country because of the advancements in technology and its many benefits to the toll road customer. Benefits of the all-ETC conversion of NTTA facilities include time savings, added convenience, increased safety, improved air quality and fuel efficiency, which translates to cost savings.
 
For more information about the all-ETC conversion or to get a TollTag, please visit www.ntta.org.

 
UPDATE: An article in today's Dallas Morning News carries some additional information.