Brett Shipp Looks Into Travel Budget of Dallas Police and Fire Pension System. The lead of Shipp’s story: “Amsterdam, Rotterdam, London, Zurich, Brazil, Florence and Milan. While that itinerary may sound like a vacationer’s dream, it’s just part of the travel schedule of the head of the Dallas Police and Fire Pension System. That’s the group that built and owns Museum Tower in downtown Dallas.” He found that of the $185,000 spent on travel last year, more than $21,000 of it was on the tab of chief administrator Richard Tettamant. I find it hard to work myself into high dudgeon over this. The fund has $3.6 billion in assets all over the world. Is it fun to go visit the hotel investment in Hawaii? Of course it is. But it’s also probably necessary. Shipp ends his report thusly: “The trip to Abu Dhabi in 2009 was a costly one. Seven people from the pension system went — at a cost of more than $100,000 — to attend an energy conference. We wanted to ask Pension Fund staff members about the details of that conference on Monday, but they were all in Washington, D.C., at a conference.” Not Washington! That’s all the way over on the East Coast!
Plano Looking To Go Wet. Yesterday a group supporting liquor sales in Plano turned in their petitions at City Hall, and WFAA says the folks likely have enough signatures to force a vote. Don’t screw this up, people.
Arlington ISD Looks at Arming Teachers. Last night at Coker’s Barbeque, two Arlington ISD board members (Peter Baron and John Hibbs) met with two gunners (Bill Sandlin and David McElwee) to talk about allowing teachers to carry concealed handguns. Read that sentence a couple time, just to let it really sink in.
