Denton Backgammon Scoreboard
When filmmaker Josh Fox discovers that Natural Gas drilling is coming to his area—the Catskills/Poconos region of Upstate New York and Pennsylvania, he sets off on a 24 state journey to uncover the deep consequences of the United States’ natural gas drilling boom. What he uncovers is truly shocking—water that can be lit on fire right out of the sink, chronically ill residents of drilling areas from disparate locations in the US all with the same mysterious symptoms, huge pools of toxic waste that kill cattle and vegetation well blowouts and huge gas explosions consistently covered up by state and federal regulatory agencies.
Part verite travelogue, part expose, part mystery, part bluegrass banjo meltdown, part showdown, Josh and his banjo encounter EPA whistleblowers, congressmen, world recognized scientists, and some of the most incredibly inspiring and heart-wrenching stories of ordinary Americans fighting against fossil fuel giants for environmental justice.
Filmmaker's website: http://gaslandthemovie.com/
Blotter: Man uses device to steal gas
10:30 PM CST on Friday, February 12, 2010
A man apparently figured out how to defeat a gasoline pump system and get away with free fuel over the past few weeks, according to a Denton police report.
The manager of a convenience store in the 3100 block of West University Drive said employees have seen a man getting gas from the same pump four times recently. He did not come inside to pay for the gas, and the computer inside showed an error message.
The manager placed an “out of order” sign on that pump.
He saw the man again Thursday afternoon, getting gas from the pump with the “out of order” sign. He went outside and confronted the man, asking why he was using that pump.
The man climbed back inside his car and drove away.
The manager said another customer showed him how the man had defeated the system with a portable keypad. The numbers he put on the pad allowed him to pump without reflecting the amount of gasoline inside the store.
An investigation is continuing.
Other reports
1100 block of Avenue C — Police received a call from a store Thursday that a couple was fighting inside the business and had moved to the parking lot, where he was beating her car with a shopping cart.
Officers found the pair still in the lot. She said he followed her to the store and attacked her inside, pulling her to the floor and slapping her. Then he attacked her car, she said, and broke both windshields with the cart.
The man said he was angry because he had just learned she had given him a sexually transmitted disease.
Developers want input on Fry
Company plans student housing for vacant site
11:48 PM CST on Sunday, January 24, 2010
By Lowell Brown / Staff Writer
A public meeting Wednesday could help shape the proposed redevelopment of Denton’s once-vibrant Fry Street area.
The company behind a proposal to build student housing on a mostly vacant block bordering the University of North Texas is inviting residents to offer their views on the area’s fate. The meeting is set for 6:30 p.m. Wednesday at City Hall.
“We have ideas on what we want to see,” said Josh Vasbinder, a vice president with The Dinerstein Companies, a Houston-based real estate and development firm. “But I want to make sure our ideas align with what the community wants to see long-term for that property.”
Company officials plan to mostly listen during Wednesday’s meeting, Vasbinder said. They’re planning a second gathering, tentatively set for Feb. 17 at City Hall, to present revised plans incorporating feedback they receive, he said.
Company officials are already talking with community leaders to gather their views on the project, said Patrice Lyke, who leads the Denton Neighborhood Alliance, a consortium of local neighborhood groups. By contrast, the developer behind Fry Street Village — the doomed development planned for the same block in 2006 — didn’t reach out to neighborhoods until its plans were set in stone, she said.
“Time will tell, but this early willingness to listen to the neighborhoods is a really good sign,” said Lyke, who also serves on the city’s Planning and Zoning Commission.
The Dinerstein Cos. and Dallas-based Winkelmann & Associates Inc. filed a pre-application with Denton city officials last month to build 210 student apartments with 586 beds in a four-story complex split by a multistory parking garage.
When the plans became public, some area residents said they’d rather see a mix of housing and retail uses at the site, a 3.8-acre lot bordered by Fry, Hickory, Welch and Oak streets. Others raised concerns about increased traffic on Oak and Hickory — two roads already stressed beyond their capacity.
City staff members reviewed the application and issued a report Dec. 31 listing potential conflicts with city codes. For example, buildings in the Fry Street district can’t exceed three stories, according to the report.
“What was submitted doesn’t meet city standards on a number of levels,” said Mark Cunningham, the city’s planning and development director. “My understanding from the applicant is that he just wants to … get feedback from the community and then factor that into the design of the site” before offering new plans.
The submitted plans were preliminary, and the company is open to changing them, Vasbinder said.
“People want to see more of a mixed-use concept,” he said. “We’re pushing to try to figure out what the best utilization of that mixed-use concept is, how that new urbanism can be done correctly.”
The block has been a center of attention since Houston-based United Equities Inc. bought most of it in 2006 and announced plans for new retail shops and eateries.
An opposition group, Save Fry Street, formed to fight the project, and nearly 9,500 people signed a petition supporting preservation of existing buildings, some of which dated to the 1920s.
United Equities ultimately demolished five buildings, including one that housed The Tomato, but not before someone set fire to the iconic restaurant in an apparent protest of the project.
In December 2007, a divided City Council rejected a drive-through lane in the proposed Fry Street Village, derailing plans to build a shopping center anchored by a CVS pharmacy. A chain-link fence has surrounded most of the block since then.
United Equities still owns the land. Tim Sandifer, the project manager for Fry Street Village, did not return a call seeking comment.
If The Dinerstein Cos. can win city approval of its project, it likely would buy the block from United Equities, Vasbinder said. It also plans to develop and manage the property, he said.
“It’s our name on the building; it’s our reputation,” Vasbinder said. “We want it to be a long-term benefit to the community.”
LOWELL BROWN can be reached at 940-566-6882. His e-mail address is lmbrown@dentonrc.com.
IF YOU GO
What: Public hearing on Fry Street redevelopment
When: 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. Wednesday
Where: Denton City Hall, 215 E. McKinney St.
Why: A Houston-based real estate firm, The Dinerstein Cos., is seeking feedback on its plans to redevelop a block bordered by Oak, Fry, Hickory and Welch streets.
Here’s a tip: Try three wheels
Manpower replaces horsepower at new pedicab business09:31 PM CST on Saturday, January 9, 2010
By Candace Carlisle / Staff WriterThe rickshaw-like device followed Nathan Wieters’ every move as he pedaled around the traffic cones, turning in a tight radius.
The bicycle course tests are pass/fail, as determined by Laurent Prouvost, president of Denton Pedicab LLC, which opened business in Denton on Friday.
If the hopeful cyclist passes his test, he will join about 20 other pedicab drivers who can rent one of three bright yellow, newly purchased pedicabs from the company and make a little extra money.
DRC/Al KeyLaurent Prouvost, right, president of Denton Pedicab, and Nathan Wieters, a Denton resident, drive pedicabs down Malone Street on Thursday.And how much will pedicab drivers charge for a ride?
Nothing.
Prouvost’s business won’t rely on charging customers for rides, but passengers will hopefully tip drivers, he said, and advertising on the back and sides of the pedicabs will help pay for capital costs.
The pedicab drivers will lease the pedicabs from the company for between $2 and $4 an hour, depending on weekly shift times, he said.
“People will ride for free and tip their drivers,” Prouvost said. “A certain percentage of the advertising profit will go back into the community, helping the economy to grow and sustain the project.”
The pedicab business will operate in Denton with major roads as boundaries — University Drive on the north, Bonnie Brae Street on the west, Interstate 35E on the south and Woodrow Lane/Audra Lane on the east, said Prouvost, a new member of the Denton business community.
The flatness of Denton, the short distance from the University of North Texas and Texas Woman’s University to the downtown Square, and the city’s profile and attitude are appealing to Prouvost, he said.
DRC/Al KeyLaurent Prouvost, left, trains Nathan Wieters to drive a pedicab Thursday in Denton.While horse-drawn carriages have made appearances on the Square, Denton’s first pedicab company will be an interesting endeavor, said Julie Glover, a city economic development administrator overseeing downtown.
“We’re in unchartered territory at this point, but this is ideal for Denton,” Glover said. “This will give the downtown area a little more cool way to get around and see more of the city.”
Other cities, such as Austin and Arlington, have pedicab companies and ordinances governing them, she said, and Denton could have similar ordinances in the near future.
Until regulations are set for pedicabs, the company will need to self-regulate its business, Glover said.
Along with carrying a company insurance policy that covers the passengers, Prouvost is having drivers fill out information forms he can use for background checks when city ordinances are issued, he said.
There are turn signals and brakes on the 21-speed pedicabs to help with safety, Prouvost said.
There’s only one other cab company in Denton — AA Taxi and Shuttle — which does have city ordinances to follow.
The taxi business in Denton is regulated by the city, which requires background checks for drivers and permits for cab companies, said Robert McDonald, operational manager of AA Taxi and Shuttle. Rates charged to passengers are governed by the City Council, he said.
However, the pedicabs shouldn’t interfere with business at AA Taxi and Shuttle, he said.
“It won’t cut into business. People want convenience and to ride in comfort, not out in the open where they are more open to the elements,” McDonald said. “They [pedicabs] won’t really compete with us.”
But most of the pedicab drivers aren’t really looking to compete and aren’t in it for the money, said Michael Little, a company cyclist.
“This isn’t about making a profit; it’s about helping the community,” Little said, adding that most of his friends are going to drive pedicabs.
Prouvost has several ideas on how to grow his business, but the details are still under wraps, he said.
Some of the immediate plans include offering an alternative way for intoxicated individuals to get home, transporting residents short distances and becoming an active member of the community.
“These pedicabs are community pedicabs,” he said. “We are here for the community.”
For more information, call Denton Pedicab at 940-312-8298 or visit www.dentonpedicab.com.
CANDACE CARLISLE can be reached at 940-566-6889. Her e-mail address is ccarlisle@dentonrc.com.
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Comments (1)Posted by 8THGenTexan | 1 week agoWow Denton has a cutting edge for finally addressing the need to get drunk kids back home safe.That a Boy! This is something that the whole county should be proud of. But will this cut into the Police income and how are they going to feel about it? I hope this does not start harassment of these guy's.
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No Lux on Bell Avenue, city says
In a unanimous vote, council strikes down proposed duplex project12:02 AM CST on Wednesday, December 16, 2009
The Denton City Council on Tuesday shot down plans for a high-density duplex development inside the Bell Avenue Historic Conservation District, voting against a zoning change that neighbors vigorously opposed.
The council voted 6-0 against a two-step zoning upgrade to allow Lux at Bell Avenue, a rental duplex project proposed for the northeast corner of Bell Avenue and University Drive. Charlye Heggins was absent.
The vote came a day after the city’s Historic Landmark Commission tabled a separate permit for the project and formed a three-member subcommittee to meet with developer Rod Taylor over ongoing concerns about its design.
Taylor said the council’s vote may spell the end of the project after a year of work and multiple plan revisions. He would not say whether he might try to develop something under a less-dense zoning category.
“It’s hard to say right now,” Taylor said outside City Hall. “What we just saw in there is exactly why Denton has a lot of infill lots sitting around here doing nothing. It’s the typical behavior. We’ll just see if there’s another way of dealing with it.”
Taylor, managing partner for Corinth-based real estate development firm Point Services, said he saw no reason to continue working with the Historic Landmark Commission.
“It wouldn’t even matter at this point since they [council members] denied it,” he said. “It’s off the table, which is what the HLC, I’m sure, worked behind the scenes [to accomplish]. It’s the continuous, to a certain degree, railroading because there’s no factual reasons of why this got turned down.”
City staff members and a majority of the Denton Planning and Zoning Commission had endorsed the project. City planners argued that it would provide a good transition into the Bell Avenue district, which borders University Drive just north of Texas Woman’s University.
But Mayor Mark Burroughs said the 2005 city ordinance that created the conservation district wasn’t set up to allow such transitions. Council member Joe Mulroy said the high-density zoning category requested by the developer simply didn’t belong in the district.
“It’s not in accordance with the Denton Plan, the development code or the conservation neighborhood, so on that basis alone that zoning does not fit,” Mulroy said. “If the applicant wants to come back with something different, I’m sure we’ll all listen to it.”
Resident Steven Ambuehl, a spokesman for the neighbors opposing the project, said he was pleasantly surprised by the council’s unanimous decision. Under the council’s rules, the rezoning needed six votes to win approval because of the high level of neighborhood opposition, so a single dissenter could have blocked the change.
“I think that [vote] proves, a little bit, that the historic value of our older neighborhoods is starting to become apparent,” he said.
The latest plans for the project showed four duplexes and two single-family residences —a total of an estimated 30 bedrooms — on just over an acre of land.
Many neighbors said it would be too dense to blend in with the conservation district. During Tuesday’s meeting, they took turns offering examples of areas where they believed the project didn’t comply with city codes. They also criticized the traffic, parking and other problems they thought the project would bring.
Taylor argued the duplexes would be a nice buffer between the neighborhood and the university, and that he repeatedly tweaked his plans to address concerns raised by neighbors and city officials. He described the process of seeking approval from multiple city boards as a “browbeating session” and urged the city to review its procedures.
