April 26, 2022 Picture of Democrats at work: Earth Day Clean-Up Project by the McKinney Area Democrats. Covid Update: Collin County has 213,702 confirmed Covid cases. That’s 813 more cases than I reported last week and 1,504 of our Collin residents have died (NO increase!!). This is very good news! As we move away from the active portion of the pandemic, other issues are brewing. In the mental health arena, my colleagues and I are seeing a surge of people experiencing depression and burnout. So many people are struggling with this that I actually wondered if there was something in …
Collin County Politics: Make Yourselves Heard
April 19, 2022 Covid Update: Collin County has 212,889 confirmed Covid cases. That’s 1,189 more cases than I reported last week and 1,504 of our Collin residents have died (an increase of 3 people). Both cases and death rates decreased. Keep your fingers crossed! Schools: Do you remember last week’s column in which I talked about “parental empowerment” as the slogan anti-child crusaders use to prevent children from gaining the freedom and services they need? Well, the Texas Public Policy Foundation is proving my point. They’re beginning a Parent Empowerment Tour to galvanize misinformed and stupid voters around issues like …
Collin County Politics: Together We Rise
April 12, 2022 Covid Update: Collin County has 211,700 confirmed Covid cases. That’s 1,822 more cases than I reported last week and 1,501 of our Collin residents have died (an increase of 6 people). Cases increased but the death rate decreased significantly. While we’re in a relative lull, there are some things we need to consider. A new study estimates that case investigation and contact-tracing programs in the United States averted more than 1 million Covid cases and more than 27,000 hospitalizations over 60 days during the 2020-2021 winter peak of the pandemic. This means contact tracing is a vital …
Collin County Politics: Do Extraordinary Things
April 5, 2022 Covid Update: Collin County has 209,878 confirmed Covid cases. That’s 1,107 more cases than I reported last week and 1,495 of our Collin residents have died (an increase of 16 people). Cases are still decreasing but the death rate went up. Schools: While the news about schools is still bad, there have been some bright spots. Remember how I said last week that we need to start playing offense? Well, some people are doing just that. With their jobs no longer on the line, three outgoing superintendents – Michael Hinojosa (Dallas), Kent Paredes Scribner (Fort Worth), and …
Collin County Politics: Take the Fight to Them
March 29, 2022 Covid Update: Collin County has 208,771 confirmed Covid cases. That’s 1,287 more cases than I reported last week and 1,479 of our Collin residents have died (an increase of 11 people). I’m not sure what it means that new cases and deaths from Covid are holding steady. The BA.2 strain that’s been spreading in Europe is already in North Texas. It’s been here since January. Although new cases are still decreasing, a higher percentage of them are BA.2. Keep your fingers crossed. Schools: The school situation is getting worse. It’s time to stop playing defense and start …
Collin County Politics: Ethics Needed
March 22, 2022 Covid Update: Collin County has 207,484 confirmed Covid cases. That’s 1,210 more cases than I reported last week and 1,479 of our Collin residents have died (an increase of 12 people). The continuing downward trend is good news which begs the question of why I’m continuing to include this section. One word: BA.2. It’s fueling increasing cases in Europe and China and has made its way to the United States as well. New York and New Jersey are already seeing more cases. As we know from history, we’re a month or two behind them. This means that …
Collin County Politics: Let’s Practice Democracy
March 15, 2022 Covid Update: Collin County has 204,432 confirmed Covid cases. That’s 1,842 more cases than I reported last week and 1,467 of our Collin residents have died (an increase of 14 people). Signs are looking good, so it’s tempting to think we’re over the worst of it. We may not be. Among countries that make their data available, some are showing rising hospital admissions. Again. We know where this leads. Please keep wearing your masks, do more outside gatherings, and social distance. I’m going to assume everyone is vaccinated and boosted. If you aren’t, do it. Schools: Things …
Collin County Politics: Safeguarding Democracy
March 8, 2022 Covid Update: Collin County has 204,432 confirmed Covid cases. That’s 1,234 more cases than I reported last week and 1,453 of our Collin residents have died (an increase of 17 people). The CDC has a program that tells you the overall rate of Covid transmission by county. Collin, Dallas, Denton, and others around us are Low. However, Tarrant County is Medium and some of the more rural areas (like Van Zandt County) are High. Be careful if heading in those areas! Commissioner’s Court: Chris Hill was absent, so Susan Fletcher ran the 19-minute meeting. Still no mention …
Collin County Politics: Democracy in Peril
March 1, 2022 Covid Update: Collin County has 203,198 confirmed Covid cases. That’s 1,061 more cases than I reported last week and 1,436 of our Collin residents have died (an increase of 25 people). The overall trend is down and that’s wonderful. But people are still dying, decimating families. According to the COVID-19 bereavement multiplier, every Covid death means 9 surviving Americans have lost a grandparent, parent, sibling, spouse, or child. By that estimate, there are almost 13,000 people in Collin County who’ve lost a close relative to Covid. While FEMA provides funding to families who experienced a death from …
Collin County Politics: Citizenship Requires Effort
February 22, 2022 Covid Update: Collin County has 202,137 confirmed Covid cases. That’s 1,772 more cases than I reported last week and 1,411 of our Collin residents have died (an increase of 37 people). Thank goodness, we’re still trending down. Commissioner’s Court: Last week’s meeting was another simple one. Cheryl Williams was absent for the 3rd meeting in a row. There still wasn’t any mention of the inmate found dead in the jail and no further details have been released. Josh Murray didn’t mention this either but did point out the expansion of the jail means we’re going to need …