Plano Independent School Board The Plano school board handled its usual business. Approving working within the state laws regarding security at each school along with other education question, such as when the screening for dyslexia begins. Time was spent on how to have the district do as well as it could with the state grading system. The board talked in …
Local Updates for August 30, 2023
What has been going on locally? Plano ISD meeting of August 8th spent a great deal of time trying to figure out how to comply with House Bill 3, requiring armed security on each campus. Plano police does not have enough officers to cover all the schools, therefore Plano will have to go about hiring security officers who meet the …
Not Done Yet
Hello Collin County, This week we have news from McKinney and Parker. With all our wins in the May elections, now is a great time to support our new council members and trustees by getting involved in our mission. We still need coverage of city council and school board meetings across the county. If you can watch meetings from home …
2023 Municipal Elections – Is Collin County finally flipping?
Hello Collin County, In case you forgot amidst everything else that happened to our community these past couple weeks, we had an election. We didn’t just have an election. We had THE election that may be the start of this county flipping in our favor. We had major victories all across the county. Down here in Richardson, every candidate recommended …
Give a D@mn!
Hello Collin County, This week I have a short and quick legislative update. I cannot write this column without your participation. Democracy is not an amenity. Democracy is our work. I need you, yes even you, to watch your local city council and school board meeting every other week. Then, I need you to send in a report on that …
Keep up the Fight
Hello Collin County, This week’s column discusses news from city councils in Celina, Murphy, Sachse, Princeton, Richardson, Plano, and Wylie. Look for a legislative update and call to action on bills concerning school finance and the LGBTQIA+ community at the end. I appreciate you reading this column to stay informed on what is happening. I encourage you all to use …
Common Sense
Hello Collin County, It’s been quite the week. Let me help break it down for you and show what is affecting us here in Collin County. This week, we hear from McKinney, Richardson, and Parker. And of course, more bills! As the chaos continues around us, let’s remember what we’re trying to accomplish. We want common sense governance that includes …
Our Community
Hello Collin County, Unfortunately, I don’t have many reports this week to include. So, we will cover the latest from Richardson and focus on legislation. We’ll focus on legislation introduced by one of our own, Representative Mihaela Plesa, as well as legislation that covers gun regulations, the LGBTQIA+ community, disabled rights, and school choice. If you’d like to help with …
One Step at a Time
Hello Collin County, Let’s dive into what’s been happening in our county lately. This edition covers some concerning statements made by school boards trustees, and highlights some of the latest news from city councils and school boards across the county. I hope to one day have complete coverage for every city, town, school board, and county level of government in …
We’ve Got to Get Ourselves Together
Hello Collin County, I hope to earn your trust as I begin writing this column. I’ve reported on Richardson meetings for some time now, and I’m excited to have the opportunity to share some of my ideas with the rest of the county. I was listening to a 1968 Staple Singers song entitled “We’ve Got to Get Ourselves Together” to …
Book Banning Is a Slippery Slope to Fascism
Texas Republicans, having worked up hysteria around so-called “critical race theory” being taught in schools (it’s not), have moved on to the next culture-wars issue: banning books from schools that they claim are pornographic or present history or society in ways that makes them feel uncomfortable. This is nothing new; Americans have been banning books since before there was a …
What Black History Month Means To Me
By Frederick L. Nickens IV Vice-Chair Collin County Democratic PartyBlack History Month is an annual celebration of achievements by African Americans and a time for recognizing the central role they have played in the building and shaping of U.S. history. Also known as African American History Month, the event was originally called “Negro History Week,” created in February 1926 by …
Democrats Deliver: Broadband For All
Here in Collin County, we take it for granted that we have high-speed broadband. And for good reason: nearly everyone in the county, 97.6%, have access to at least 100 mbps (megabits per second) wired broadband at home. Besides giving us the opportunity to “Netflix and chill” on Friday nights, fast internet access enables access to telemedicine, allows students to …
Don’t Believe Their Lies About the Filibuster
Senators John Cornyn (R-TX), Kyrsten Sinema (D-AZ), and Ted Cruz (Q-TX) Republican Senators and pundits – and now Senator Kyrsten Sinema (D-AZ) – are trying hard to convince Americans that the “filibuster” is somehow a sacrosanct aspect of our Senatorial governance. But it’s not. They are worried that President Biden is now taking aim at the filibuster to stop Republican …
The Republican Primary: A Race to the Bottom
As expected, the 2022 Republican Primary is a race to the bottom for right-wing extremism and bigotry.
Volunteer for Boards and Commissions
City of Plano Planning and Zoning Commission Meets At City HallNational news can be so overwhelming, making us feel helpless under the weight of all of it. But remember the famous words of former U.S. Speaker of the House Tip O’Neill: All politics is local. If we are to effect real change in our country, we have to create change …
No To Extremists Visiting Collin County
We here with the Collin County Democratic Party disagree with our counterparts in the Collin County Republican Party on just about everything, but at least they are not sponsoring two of the most extremist members of Congress to visit our County. That grim distinction goes to the Frisco Conservatives, which hosted Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia in Frisco on …
Let’s Celebrate “Native American Heritage Month”
Native American Heritage Month is a time of the year to recognize all the original peoples of this continent and to understand who they are, as well as the struggles and sacrifices they have had to endure.
The Reauthorization Of The Violence Against Women Act Languishes In The House. One Vital Provision Is Needed.
According to the National Network to End Domestic Violence, there is virtually a 1:1 correlation between domestic abuse and financial abuse. Survivors often name financial constraints as the one of top reasons for their decision as to whether to leave an abusive partner. What’s more, financial abuse is often the first sign of domestic abuse and is used as a …
REPUBLICAN GERRYMANDERING CONTINUES
Texas Republicans have gone all-in with partisan gerrymandering to both protect incumbents and preserve their mostly white minority rule in this round of redistricting. Their redrawing of districts in Collin County is particularly bad. The Legislature’s first map (click the image for a larger view) for Texas House of Representative districts was made public only on September 30, and this …
Register Collin: An Interim Report
Register Collin (RC) is a Collin County Democratic Party (CCDP) program to register likely Democratic voters in Collin County. The program began in mid-June, 2021 and runs through the second weekend of October 2021. RC uses volunteers to directly canvass precincts across Collin County using the “Map the Vote” web app to identify homes and apartments with unregistered potential voters …
Bring Back Postal Banking
By Jeff Williams, MBA PROGRESSIVES WANT TO BRING BACK POSTAL BANKING. HERE’S WHY YOU SHOULD SUPPORT IT TOO In today’s digital economy, the working poor, in both urban and rural areas alike, is finding our banking system less and less accessible. As of 2019, according to an FDIC survey, approximately 7 million households had no bank accounts. Roughly 25% of …
Texas Republicans Enact Nation’s Strictest Anti-Abortion Law
By Sarah Mitchell, President, Women Organizing Women Democrats. In May, Governor Greg Abbott signed into law one of the nation’s strictest abortion measures, SB8, banning abortions as early as six weeks into a pregnancy with the law effective September 1, 2021. His Facebook Livestream said the Legislature “worked together on a bipartisan basis to pass a bill that I’m about …
I’m Asking You to Care About Me
Hi, my name is Katie. I am your neighbor in Celina. I’m asking you to wear a mask for me. It’s 2021, and at forty years old I am reviewing my will because I don’t know if I will make it to forty-one. I am one of the immunocompromised. I spend many nights wondering if tomorrow will be the day …