Arlington, TX

The Lights of Interlochen are glowing again. If you haven’t had a chance to see this display, I highly recommend it. Over 200 homeowners in the Interlochen neighborhood of northwest Arlington decorate their homes in displays that rival Clark Griswold. The Lights of Interlochen is one of the largest holiday light displays in north Texas. It runs daily until 11:30 pm from Saturday, December 15 through Christmas Day.  

Motorists are being asked to enter the neighborhood from Randol Mill Road at Westwood Drive. The Arlington Police Department will be on hand with traffic control posts to help things moving smoothly.  All other streets to the Interlochen neighborhood will be closed. Left turns are prohibited from northbound Bowen at Westwood and at Westwood and Crowley. No U-turns are allowed at Westwood and Findlay. 

Traffic is very congested during peak times. For the most pleasant viewing experience, try to visit during the week. Here are a few more tips to help make your trip through Interlochen a little more enjoyable:

• Be Patient! Traffic is heavy and moves slowly. 
• Adults and children must be properly secured by safety belts and child safety seats. 
• Traffic must keep right at all times, leaving the left lane open for emergency vehicles and Interlochen homeowners. 
• Pedestrian traffic is permitted. Roller skating in the street is prohibited by the Arlington Municipal Code.

Directions:

From I-30, take the Fielder Road exit and go south to Randol Mill Road. Turn right on Randol Mill Road and follow it to Westwood Drive; or you can take the Eastchase Parkway exit from I-30, turn east on Meadowbrook Boulevard to Randol Mill Road, then right on Randol Mill Road to Westwood Drive.

For a printable map of the area, visit the City’s website.

Well, since we had the overwhelming response of three commentors in the Maren Morris CD contest, I’ve decided to give each of my commenters one of Maren’s CDs. I’ve notified everyone by email and I’m awaiting their response, but I’ll go ahead and congratulate Kyla, Sarah and Jummy. Thanks for taking the time to comment and congratulations on your win!

I hope you’ll all enjoy your prize. If you’ve taken the time to check out some of the songs on Maren’s MySpace page, you know you won’t be disappointed. Be sure to stop by her page and let her know what you think of the CD. I’m sure she’d love to hear your feedback.

Thanks again to Maren for donating the CDs! I’ve still got some more CDs to give away, so be on the lookout for another contest soon!

Thousands of motorcyclists will make their annual vist to the Arlington Convention Center this afternoon to deliver Christmas gifts to underprivileged children as part of the 22nd Annual Big Texas Toy Run.

Cyclists head for Arlington from downtown Fort Worth, Dallas and Grapevine bringing as many toys as they can carry. It’s a site to behold as you can see by this video from last year’s Toy Run:

Last year, more than $1 million in toys and $100,000 in cash were donated to the drive, which benefits needy children through Mental Health Mental Retardation of Tarrant County, Dallas MetroCare and other charities. 

This year they are expecting about 90,000 riders to participate in the toy drive. That’s about 25,000 more than last year. For more information, visit their website at www.thebigtexastoyrun.com.

A few months ago, I had the opportunity to interview Maren Morris, a 17 year old singer/songwriter from Arlington. She told us a little bit about how she got started in the music business, who her influences were and what it’s like to be a young person with a music career. This girl has a promising career ahead of her! If you missed that interview, be sure to check it out here. You can also view a clip of Maren performing live.

Since we talked to her, Maren has been busy doing radio shows to promote her album, All That it Takes, which is currently number 10 on the Texas music charts. She’s also performing all over Texas and Oklahoma. This Saturday, December 15, she’ll be at the Granada Theater in Dallas with Marcia Ball. If you can’t catch her then, check out her MySpace page for her full calendar.

Even though she’s been busy with all of her promotions and performances, Maren took the time to offer a few copies of her CD for us to give away to our readers, so we’re going to have a real simple contest to start things off. All I need you to do is leave a comment on the blog. How easy is that? Just comment on any post between now and Friday, December 14 and you’ll be entered to win. Make sure you use a legitimate e-mail address (only I will be able to see it) because that’s how I will contact the winners.

Good Luck!

The cooler temperatures and dreary rain made today feel like winter, unlike last week when we were in the 70’s and 80’s and hitting record highs. It hasn’t felt much like Christmas with those temps!

The Texas Division of Emergency Management and the National Weather Service have declared Tuesday, December 11, 2007 as Winter Weather Awareness Day. Arlington’s Emergency Management Department is helping citizens prepare for the colder weather by giving tips on how to stay safe when (or if) the snow and ice arrive.  

About 70 percent of snow and ice related deaths occur in automobiles. To help keep you and your family safe, the Emergency Management Department suggest that you keep your gas tank near full to avoid ice in the tank and fuel lines and carry a “Survival Kit” with you. Them”Survival Kit” should include:

• Blankets/sleeping bags
• Radio, flashlight, extra batteries, booster cables
• First-aid kit
• High-calorie, non-perishable food and bottled water
• Extra clothing, including mittens and hat
• Sack of sand or cat litter for de-icing roadway
• Windshield scraper and brush
• Tool kit, tow rope and shovel
• Cell phone or two-way radio.

You shouls also be prepared at home or work with additional supplies in case of power and/or phone outages:

• Battery-powered NOAA weather radio, extra batteries
• Extra medicine, medical supplies and items needed by babies or the elderly
• Heating fuel for areas where fuel carriers may not be able to get through
• Properly ventilated emergency heating source such as a fireplace, wood stove or space heater
• Fire extinguisher and smoke detector
• Extra food and water

Listen for updated weather statements on the National Oceanic Atmospheric Administration weather radio or visit www.weather.gov/fortworth.

So far we haven’t needed these tips, but you never know about the weather in Texas. It can change from minute to minute. Keep warm and stay safe!

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When the city raised storm water fees by a phenomenal amount this past summer, Arlington school superintendent Mac Bernd called the increase “unconscionable” and refused to pay. The city threatened to turn off water to the schools and the district was considering a lawsuit.

The city caved and at last night’s City Council meeting, voted to exempt all local school districts from paying the fees. City leaders say they hope this will help to reopen communication with the school district so they can concentrate on more important issues,  such as gang violence.

The fee increase, which was implemented on October 1, would have cost the school district an estimated $110,000 more this year. The AISD had been paying about $6,000 a month. Since the increase, the school district has withheld the storm-water fee payment, setting the money aside in an escrow account, and has paid the rest of their water bill. 

Other items approved at the City Council meeting included:

• Spend $1.6 million to dredge the west pond north of Randol Mill Road by the Ballpark and part of the channel south of Randol Mill that leads to the pond.
• Spend $200,000 to update zoning regulations.
• Begin bidding on gas leases on 274 acres of city-owned land, including Rush Creek Linear Park and Veterans Park.
• Spend $153,000 to maintain medians and rights of way in the entertainment district and $113,000 for grounds maintenance, such as mowing, on city-owned land.
• Create a tax increment financing district around the Viridian project planned for far north Arlington.

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