Close to 50 percent of University Park drivers have to commute less than 15 minutes to get to their office, according to U.S. Census data compiled by The Business Journals.

That’s better than the 28 percent of drivers nationally that take less than 15 minutes to get to work, and is much better than the small city of Little Elm, Texas, where only 15 percent of commuters take less than 15 minutes, the worst percentage in the state.

The numbers are for all municipalities with between 10,000 and 50,000 residents. According to the data, only 3 percent of UP residents take longer than 45 minutes to get to work. So, for you 20 people driving to Fort Worth every day, step it up so UP’s numbers can drop.

Memo to the geographically challenged staff at Channel 5: Inwood Road and Northwest Highway, the epicenter of the small earthquake that shook Dallas just after midnight, is not in University Park. For that matter, neither is the Starbucks at Preston Road and Northwest Highway.

Source: Politically Inclined

I spotted this sad parking job in the parking lot of the SMU bookstore on Mockingbird while at lunch. Looks like this cop really needed to pick up his laundry.

UP Police Chief Gary Adams, always one to defend his troops on this blog and others, jumped to his officers’ defense in the comments:

I have looked into this matter and the officers were out on call dealing with a mental patient who was exposing himself and urinating on the sidewalk. Since this is the case, I see no need to take any action against the officer who parked this vehicle. Had the officer been out on personal business, i.e., eating lunch, or even on a regular call that involved only taking a report from a retail merchant or citizen I can assure you I would more concerned about the manner in which this police vehicle was parked.

The moral of this story? Chief Adams is watching. Always watching.

Now that the holidays are over, that dying blue spruce in the corner of your family room isn’t serving much of a purpose. For University Park residents, that means taking off all the ornaments and tinsel and sticking it on your curb by Jan. 12 (Jan. 13 if you live north of Lovers Lane). If you slack and don’t get the tree out there until after those dates, the city will charge you $10. Seems as good a reason as any to pack away the ornaments, no?

Dallas Stars captain Brenden Morrow looks thrilled to support his hometown library.

The last time I advised you to buy Dallas Stars tickets to support the University Park Public Library, the team was leading the Pacific Division by a point. Thanks to Monday’s 5-3 win over the Anaheim Ducks, that lead is up to two points.

But we’re not here to discuss that game; we’re here to discuss the New Year’s Eve matchup against the Stanley Cup champions, the Boston Bruins. If you buy a seat to that game here, 40 percent of the price will be donated to the library. (Your special code is “library.”) Tickets are available at two prices ($25 and $70), and they can be purchased up to 5 p.m. on game day.

Already have New Year’s Eve plans? The same offer applies to the Feb. 26 game against the Vancouver Canucks, the team Boston beat in the Stanley Cup finals.

For questions or groups of 20 or more tickets, contact Randell Holmes at 214-387-5670 or rholmes@dallasstars.com.

The University Park City Council will tackle 7.59 acres worth of campus change at its meeting tonight. At stake are a new parking garage, student housing complex, and dining facility, all at the intersection of Dublin and Airline.

The council will also vote on whether to appoint special counsel to handle the Legacy Hillcrest vs. UP Board of Adjustment lawsuit, filed Dec. 8.

Check out the full agenda here.

This is how we first reported Colin Ridgway's murder, complete with a misspelling of his name.

On the cover of Saturday’s Dallas Morning News, Matthew Haag reported that University Park police are testing a piece of evidence that might reveal who killed former Dallas Cowboys punter Colin Ridgway, who was shot in his UP duplex on May 13, 1993. Haag did not describe said evidence in his story, at the request of Sgt. Travis Vavra.

Reading this story made me curious about how Park Cities People covered the death of an ex-Cowboy within the Bubble. I was a little surprised to see that the news was buried at the bottom of Page 4 in the May 20, 1993, edition — an edition with no less than seven stories on its front page. (These days, we typically put no more than five on the cover.) I’m guessing that placement was due to two factors: 1. The murder was a week old, and 2. It probably was overblown by other media outlets seven days earlier. But still, a former Cowboy murdered in his Park Cities home can’t make the front page of Park Cities People? Come on.

We just got this photo into Park Cities People world headquarters downtown. I have only one question: who drives a Pontiac in the Park Cities?

Chris Canellos, Steve Canellos, University Park Mayor Dick Davis, Angelo Chantilis Jr., and Scott Vickers raise a milkshake toast in honor of the Burger House 60th anniversary. (Staff photo by Christina Barany)

I just returned from Burger House, where Bradford Pearson and I each enjoyed two burgers because A) they were 60 cents and B) in Brad’s words, “we’re growing boys.” To make us feel even worse about ourselves, we spotted University Park city manager Bob Livingston jogging on Hillcrest as we drove back to the office. Perhaps Bob was just trying to shed a few pounds before consuming a few burgers. Wish I’d thought of that. Read more about the Burger House anniversary celebration in this week’s edition of Park Cities People.

I’ll have more about this in Friday’s paper, but attorneys for Legacy Hillcrest filed a lawsuit against University Park’s Board of Adjustment Dec. 8, claiming the group illegally met in closed session.

The suit claims “no reasons were given for meeting in executive session.” Later that night, the Board reversed a staff decision, which would’ve allowed Legacy to build a parking garage on the Chase bank site.

Here’s the suit:

Legacy Petition 2011 12 08[1]