Today’s editorial in the Denton Record-Chronicle lamented the turn-out of Saturday’s city council election. Citing only the city-wide turn-out, the editorialist failed to recognize a positive trend emerging out of the District 1 voter stats. We do not yet know specific voter demographic data from those who came out to vote on election day, but there are hopeful signs from an analysis of the early voting stats of that one district.

exas Women’s University is moving forward with an aggressive expansion plan that aims at slowly, but surely dismantling an entire historic neighborhood to the West of the university and taking out a large portion of another to the East.

This entire issue sheds light on the problem of a decision-making process that tends to treat otherwise connected issues in isolation from one another. Sure, the city council tonight technically addressed some of the concerns raised by the neighborhood critics concerning this tower. But there is a larger narrative at play with this A-Train issue that runs beneath the surface of this specific neighborhood fight. The fact is that the SE Denton neighborhood, more than any other Denton neighborhood, has bore the brunt of the issues relating to the upcoming A-Train.

A narrative flows silently under the surface, still waiting to be recognized and understood. Consider 35 Conferette’s founder and Creative Director Chris Flemmon’s insistence on a downtown festival. Before crowd size and logistical concerns moved the Midlake and Flaming Lips showcase a mile away to the North Texas Fairgrounds, last year’s vision insisted on this as well. This vision for an urban-centric Conferette has been questioned from all corners…

With only a few days before the filing deadline for the May 14 Denton City Council elections, the race to see who will replace three-term veteran Charlye Heggins for her District 1 seat just got a bit wider.

The race for the four Denton City Council district seats began recently in preparation for the May 14 city elections. Denton staggers its elections so that the three at-large seats (Places 5, 6, and 7) take place in opposite years. This year only the district-specific seats are on the ballot.

A group of concerned citizens began to raise questions about a rushed-through ordinance change resulting in serious questions of economic justice for our most vulnerable citizens. They subsequently convinced nearly 900 registered voters of their position. Surely in light of a trend of low voter turn-out and minimal citizen participation in municipal affairs such an energized citizenry would be welcomed, encouraged, commended, and brought to the table? Not in Denton…

More than just places to buy food, these carts bring forth both culture and an opportunity for interaction to the very place where most meaningful human connections occur: on the public sidewalk. Yet as it stands today, the city ordinances make it easier to come into town and erect obnoxious and unhealthy gas drills across from a city park then it is to run a gyro stand on the Courthouse lawn.

In this guest column, local brewmaster Bobby Mullins discusses the roadblocks to his ambitious vision for putting Denton on the map with our first locally-brewed beer company. Bobby, along with Yianni Arestis, have been overwhelmingly generous to Denton this last year by providing their test brews free of charge at several cultural and musical events throughout town. Let’s return the favor by helping them, and other local beer outfits throughout the stage, overcome our state’s prohibition-like laws that stand in the way between you and a pint glass of their brilliant Quakertown Stout.

“Perhaps we can attribute its longevity to the direction of its leaning. Conservative city leaders would have ordered its demolition years ago had it leaned to the left.”