If you haven't heard yet, chances are you'll receive a call tonight telling you about U.S. Rep. Pete Sessions' Park Cities Town Hall meeting scheduled for April 8 from 7- 8:30 p.m. at Hyer Elementary School in University Park. Sessions will speak and answer questions centered around our economy. Stick with Park Cities neighborsgo for more information about the event.
(more)

Do you want to be the next Blackie Holmes? Now's your chance catch a glimpse of what it's like in the world of the University Park mayor and his staff by joining the city's new Youth Advisory Commission. The group - which will be comprised of high-school students - will learn about policy and help in the planning for several programs including the city's recycling efforts and holiday events. The application deadline is Monday to take part in the 20-member group, and the selection process will begin next month. Learn more here.

Come visit with me in University Park tomorrow 1 p.m. at Starbucks in Snider Plaza and let's talk about how neighborsgo.com works for you. Whether you have questions, complaints, suggestions or even praise, I'd like to hear it. Starbucks is located on the east side of Snider Plaza at 6733 Hillcrest at Rosedale. Shoot me an email at awisk@neighborsgo.com if I will see you then! (more)

For Le’Shai Maston, returning to the football field means coming full circle for the new Providence Christian School coach.

Maston, a former member of the legendary 1988 Carter High School team, Baylor Bear and NFL player for the Houston Oilers, Jacksonville Jaguars and Washington Redskins, has since traded in his jersey for a Dallas Police Department uniform. But the husband and father of four believes that what is learned on the field has a great deal to do with how someone leads their life off of it.

(more)

Elizabeth Lenart of VGS Marketing wrote us today to announce Her Majesty Queen Noor of Jordan's upcoming appearance at the Genesis Mother's Day Luncheon, to be hosted by Ruth Altshuler and daughter Susan Sharp on May 8. Read more information from Elizabeth about the event here. (more)

            Big things are happening in Park Cities, and you’ve read about many of them here in neighborsgo.

University Park Mayor Blackie Holmes told you about the renovations being made to CoffeePark and City Hall, and this week, Dallas Morning News reporter Ian McCann gives us further details on the improvements being made to the structure. Today, many city employees begin to office once more in their permanent home, and Mayor Holmes looks forward to giving residents tours of the revamped facilities this summer.

            Also recently unveiled in our area were various construction projects for Highland Park ISD. Each campus in the district will undergo a facelift in the form of reconfigured space or campus additions, with new classroom space also on the menu. The target date for completion is late 2009 to early 2010. Take a look at plans for the initiative at http://tinyurl.com/aob44n, which will direct you to the HPISD Web site.

            Cerulean Gallery is still flourishing in its Snider Plaza space, and tonight the gallery will open a new exhibition, “Uncommon Composites,” with a reception at 6 p.m. Owner Caroline Crockett Kneese has nurtured a neighborhood gallery that has drawn visitors and artists from all across the area. Stop by tonight and take a peek at what’s going on inside the venue across from Southern Methodist University.

            Finally, I will be at the Starbucks in SniderPlaza at 1 p.m. on Friday, Feb. 27 to get together with and hear from readers and contributors. Need help navigating the Web site? Need more information about how to submit to the section? Have a great story idea? Come to visit with me and let me know what’s happening in your world. Send me an email at awisk@neighborsgo.com if you’d like to attend. The more the merrier, so feel free to pop in for a few minutes before heading to a late lunch, back to the office or the carpool line.

Author, professor, historian and Pulitzer Prize winner James McPherson was the World Affairs Council's special guest at the Rosewood Crescent Hotel today as part of its "authorspeak" series. The Tried by War author's appearance was in celebration of the 200th anniversary of President Abraham Lincoln's birth, and a sold-out crowd was in attendance to hear McPherson speak about the 16th president.

McPherson spoke about Lincoln's shrewd handling of his presidency despite a lack of military experience, and of our current president's reliance upon Lincoln as inspiration.

Read more about the day in upcoming editions of Park Cities and North Dallas neighborsgo.

 

When Dr. Cathy Bryce retired from her post as superintendent of Highland Park ISD, the thought of the district’s beloved leader leaving left community members wondering who might fill her very big shoes.

            But after a careful search process led by Dr. Mike Moses’s School Executive Consulting, Inc., the district introduced Bryce’s successor, Dr. Dawson Orr, whose selection was met with approval, due in part to his friendship with his predecessor.

 

 

 

 

(more)

If you hit the Mockingbird Lane/Dallas North Tollway intersection during this morning's rush hour like I did, chances are you had a rough start to the day. Both the southbound and northbound onramps to the Tollway at Mockingbird Lane are closed for two weeks, due to more work on Highland Park's Mockingbird Lane project. Shelley Smith has more at DallasNews.com.

By now you've heard of the careful selection process that brought Dr. Dawson Orr from Wichita Falls ISD to succeed his friend Dr. Cathy Bryce as Highland Park ISD superintendent. Orr was groomed by Texas education icon Dr. Nolan Estes for a career that has had him serving students all over the state. Orr made time to meet with me today after a morning meet-and-greet at Bradfield Elementary for a discussion about his vision for the district and its hyper-engaged, dedicated community. Among his priorities? Preparing the students under his care to be "good citizens of the world." Read more in the Jan. 30 edition of Park Cities neighborsgo.