City of Plano Stage 3 Water Conservation Continues
The City of Plano will maintain Stage 3 water conservation measures through the month of May while
continuing to encourage conservation. The North Texas Municipal Water District (NTMWD) has agreed to
delay Stage 4 for all member and customer cities and confirmed this action at their board meeting last night.
The NTMWD will consider Stage 4 implementation at a later date with expected activation on June 1 unless
conditions change.
In a presentation to the Plano City Council Monday evening, Mark Israelson, Director of Customer and
Utility Services outlined successful measures implemented in Plano since Stage 3 went into effect November 1,
2011. Among these is the distribution of 1,900 courtesy notices to addresses reported violating water schedules.
The City and Plano Independent School District have also worked successfully to reduce sports field water
consumption under their assigned variances. The use of conservation reminders on city vehicles has also played
a role in reminding residents to conserve water.
The presentation also included a comparison of water consumption on a gallon basis as well as a
percentage of reduction from October through December for member cities of the NTMWD. Plano is among the
leaders in water use reduction.
In continuing Stage 3 the City of Plano continues to ask all residents to conserve water by turning
irrigation systems off. Stage 3 provides for watering every other week but with recent rains and dormant landscapes there is no need to use sprinkler systems at this time. Stage 3 measures do provide for hand watering
two hours per day as needed for foundations, trees and landscapes.
The City of Plano asks residents to consider delaying the purchase of new landscape materials or grasses
as adequate water to establish new plantings is not and may not be available. Additionally, there is no draining
and refilling of swimming pools.
Finally, the City is asking irrigation system owners to convert to drip irrigation systems for foundation
and landscape watering. This measure not only conserves water now and in the future but can potentially reduce
your water costs on a regular basis while maintaining your investments.
For current information on City of Plano conservation measures please watch www.plano.gov/water
Posted: 2012 Jan 27 at 09:39
Residents Deliver on Water Conservation
Reports are showing your efforts to conserve water are helping Plano meet the limits imposed by the North Texas Municipal Water District. Plano continues to hit the 10 percent reduction target in most months since Stage 3 was implemented November 1.
Even with the recent rain, the drought continues to play havoc on local water resources. Please continue to follow the Stage 3 guidelines of only watering once every other week on the assigned day. It’s also important to note that different cities have different guidelines for watering, so when in doubt check www.plano.gov/water.
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) maps show the drought will persist and potentially intensify in our area. With that in mind, we may be in conservation mode for a while. On January 19, Lake Lavon, our main source for water, was only 52.8 percent full. Secondary sources, Lake Chapman and Lake Tawakoni, were 34.7 percent and 75.6 percent full respectively.
The North Texas Municipal Water District is considering implementation of Stage 4 conservation measures later this year. We will update this site as more information becomes available. We have also provided a brief summary of all Plano conservation measures.
We need to continue to work together to ensure the drought doesn’t impact our long-term drinking water supply over at least the next year. We understand your sacrifice and truly appreciate the extra effort to conserve.
PLANO -- The family of a man who was shot and killed by a Plano police officer in October 2010 is suing the company that manufactured the flashlight mounted on the officer's weapon.
In sworn affidavits, the officer stated he was attempted to switch on his weapon-mounted flashlight, when he accidentally pulled the trigger and shot 25-year-old Michael Alcala. The incident occurred when detectives from the Plano PD Narcotics Division were meeting Alcala at a Jack-in-the-Box restaurant at the Dallas North Tollway and Frankford Road. Police affidavits state the detectives were contacted by Alcala about a heroin deal and were attempting to take him into custody when the shooting occurred.
The flashlight in question, a SureFire X300 with an optional grip switch, was mounted under the barrel of the unidentified detective's weapon. The switch to turn on the light was below the pistol's trigger guard, flush with the grip, a location that is dangerous, according to Les Weisbrod, the attorney representing Alcala's family.
WASHINGTON—The U.S. economy grew at a 2.8 percent annual rate in the final three months of last year, the fastest growth in 2011.
Americans spent more on cars and trucks, and companies restocked their shelves at the strongest pace in nearly two years. But growth in the October-December quarter -- and all of last year -- was held back by the biggest annual government spending cuts in four decades.
The Commerce Department said Friday that the economy grew just 1.7 percent last year, roughly half of the growth in 2010 and the worst since the recession.
Most economists expect businesses to ease up on restocking in the first three months of the year. That should slow first-quarter growth. And consumers may cut back on spending if their wages continue to lag inflation.
The two women, both registered as blind, saw their vision improve in a matter of weeks after being given the embryo-derived cells in the US safety trial.
The breakthrough holds out the hope of a cure in the future for age-related macular degeneration, which currently affects some 500,000 people in Britain.
The results, published this week in The Lancet, provide a major boost for the field of stem cell reseach.
Professor Daniel Brison, of the North West Embryonic Stem Cell Centre in Manchester, said: “This is a very exciting moment for embryonic stem cell therapies.
Woman’s Garden: Inspiration at the Dallas Arboretum Plano Garden Club
“Woman’s Garden: Inspiration at the Dallas Arboretum” is Plano Garden Club’s program for February 7, 2012, presented by Margaret Duncan of the Dallas Arboretum. Be inspired by a photographic tour of individual gardens within the Woman’s Garden’s celebrating the essence and spirit of women. Join us for this presentation at Custer United Methodist Church, 6601 Custer Road, Plano, TX. Social is at 9:30 am and meeting is at 10:00. For more information contact Eileen Minehane at 972-423-1936 or visit planogardenclub.org.
January 27, 2012 – If you think hacking is just an illegal activity, it is time to expand your mind and maybe take a class. According to Collin College instructor Chuck Easttom, the U.S. Department of Defense has approved a unique certified ethical hacker certification which is in demand for cyber warfare employees.
“The students will learn to create viruses, execute denial of service attacks and perform various attacks on systems. The goal is to teach network administrators, law enforcement officers, and defense department personnel the techniques hackers use, so they can better defend against them,” said Easttom, an official EC-Council instructor.
The Collin College continuing education department is the only official EC-Council training center in Collin County. The certified ethical hacker class is offered from 6:30 p.m.-10:15 p.m., March 19-29, Monday-Thursday in room 218 at the college’s Courtyard Center for Professional and Economic Development, 4800 Preston Park Boulevard in Plano.
A computer science instructor who has spoken at Harvard and Columbia, Easttom is the author of 13 books and was one of 10 individuals in the world selected to assist in the creation of the next version of the Certified Ethical Hacker exam.
“The certified ethical hacker certification is often offered at other places for more than $2000. We offer it for $449 plus the cost of the student kit. This course actually teaches students hacking techniques. The single biggest knowledge gap I see in security professionals is that they don’t know the same things the bad guys know. They are missing pieces. This class covers the missing pieces,” Easttom added.
Thousands of Texas consumers could be due rebates this summer after the federal government rejected the state's request to phase in new requirements that health insurers selling policies to individuals pay at least 80 percent of premiums on medical expenses.
Friday's decision by the Health and Human Services Department means that Texans who held policies in 2011 will get money back from insurers who failed to meet that threshold. Based on 2010 regulatory filings, close to 700,000 Texans would have shared about $160 million in rebates from 22 insurers who did not meet the 80 percent rule. Twelve insurers met it.
The amount of money actually refunded will depend on 2011 results, which have not been reported. Insurers changed their operations in anticipation of the law, analysts said.
Read more here: http://www.star-telegram.com/2012/01/27/3693994/some-texas-health-insurers-ordered.html#storylink=cpy
For fifty years now, Loretta has fashioned a body of work as artistically and commercially successful—and as culturally significant—as any female performer you’d care to name. Her music has confronted many of the major social issues of her time, and her life story is a rags-to-riches tale familiar to pop, rock and country fans alike. The Coal Miner’s Daughter—the tag refers to a hit single, an album, a best-selling autobiography, an Oscar-winning film, and to Lynn herself—has journeyed from the poverty of the Kentucky hills to Nashville superstardom to her current status as an honest-to-goodness American icon. And ...
Encounter the 46-foot T-Rex and eight new life-size animatronic, dinosaurs along the Heard Natural Science Museum & Wildlife Sanctuary's nature trails. The 6th annual
Dinosaurs Live! Life-size Animatronic Dinosaurs at the Heard
exhibit opens Saturday, October 1. The exhibit always gives families and friends a fun, educational activity to enjoy together. Don't forget it also provides a unique family outing during the holidays!
Check out all nine dinosaurs including the Tyrannosaurus Rex, Dilophosaurus, Crylophosaurus, Parasaurolophus, Massospondylus, Apatosaurus, Brachiosaurus, Elephrasaurus, and Suchomimus. Photo op dinosaurs will be available as well. The dinosaur trail is jogging stroller friendly.
Legendary American country and gospel quartet, The Oak Ridge Boys will headline a concert at Allen Event Center on January 26, 2012. The band is most well known for such chart-topping country and crossover hits such as "Elvira,” "Bobbie Sue” and "American Made.” Tickets will go on sale
Friday, December 2 at 10 a.m.
through Ticketmaster (
www.ticketmaster.com
), charge by phone at 800-745-3000 or at Allen Event Center Box Office.
Over the course of country music’s recorded history, there have been a few defining vocal moments that have permanently etched themselves onto the genre’s landscape. But perhaps the most recognizable of them all is Richard Sterban’s “
giddy up
ba-oom papa oom papa mow mow
,” ...
Carter Museum Announces Major Acquisition by Mary Cassatt
Mary Cassatt (1844–1926)
Woman Standing, Holding a Fan
, 1878–79
Distemper with metallic paint on canvas
FORT WORTH, Texas—To mark its 50
th
Anniversary, the Amon Carter Museum of American Art announces that it has acquired an important painting by Mary Cassatt,
Woman Standing, Holding a Fan
, created in 1878–79. The work is one of only two known canvases painted by the artist almost entirely in the medium of distemper and represents a key moment in her transformation into an Impressionist.
“A great Cassatt painting has eluded us until now,” says Andrew Walker, director of the Amon Carter. “With her contemporaries John Singer Sargent and James McNeill Whistler, Cassatt was one of the most influential ...
A Spoonful of Magic: The 2011-2012 Performing Arts Fort Worth Season
Welcome to our season video for the 2011-2012 Performing Arts Fort Worth season at Bass Performance Hall. Sit back and enjoy a look at all the great shows we have coming up this season. Purchase tickets by calling our box office at 817-212-4280 or visiting www.basshall.com.
