Bridge Collapses in Baltimore. We normally keep things local on Leading Off, but this is what everyone will be talking about this morning. A cargo ship appears to have lost power before it crashed into the 1.6-mile Francis Scott Key Bridge and caused it to collapse. Here’s video.
North Texas City Managers Jockey for Austin Job. The two finalists for the city manager gig in the Capital are Denton City Manager Sara Hensley and Dallas City Manager T.C. Broadnax. Yesterday they made their pitches at a public forum. Broadnax described Dallas as “the city I had dreamed of leading” but said, “I would love to have an opportunity to lead [Austin] so that we can be the beacon for any other city in this great nation, let alone in the [state] of Texas.”
E. Coli Levels Spiked at White Rock Lake. A Dallas city memo says that after 1.5-million gallons of sewage from Plano flowed into the lake, levels of E. coli were still high a week later—though the memo didn’t provide any specifics, and the city hasn’t yet provided them to the Morning News.
North Texas Expected to Get $689.7 Million From Eclipse. That’s the economic impact according to research by The Perryman Group. My own personal analysis is that if it’s cloudy on April 8, people are gonna be pissed.
Development Fees Too Low in Dallas. This story in the paper makes it sound like everything is going to hell. As in: “The cost to build and renovate in Dallas will rise this year … . [I]t’s the everyday Dallasite that will pick up the bill in the end. The Dallas City Council is slated to consider an ordinance to amend and add fees tied to permitting, engineering, inspections and other items … . One fee will increase more than 2,400% on certain projects … .” But then, when you keep reading, you come to understand that it’s been way too long since Dallas raised its fees, so right now we’re way cheaper than everyone else. To build a $33 million apartment complex, it would cost $38,000 in Dallas, while Plano would charge $228,000.
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