Mayâs election will be the biggest wake-up call yet in a city thatâs faced more than its share of community-changing events. And for the first time in 28 years, Plano wonât have the steady hand and vision of City Manager Bruce Glasscock to guide it forward.
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[Evening roundup](
01/30/2019
By Wayne Carter
Good Evening!
Here is a look at the top headlines of the day.
🔎 Prefer the online view? It's [here.](
Plano City Manager Bruce Glasscock is retiring April 30 after nearly 29 years of working for the city, starting with his hiring in August 1990 as police chief. (Daniel Carde/Staff Photographer)
COLLIN COUNTY
[As the angry crowd gains clout, hereâs what most worries Planoâs outgoing city manager](
From Metro columnist Sharon Grigsby:
Planoâs "City of Excellence" motto is at risk of becoming a big joke if the boomtownâs anti-government crowd wins Mayâs local elections. Contested races will take place in most every North Texas city this spring, but [Plano faces a very real referendum on its future.](
Over the years, the bedroom community became a city that could attract major businesses and residents with top-notch amenities â such as libraries, parks and recreation centers â because it prepared itself for the future. The angry crowd would have the city government stripped down to little more than police, fire and road repair.
Mayâs election will be the biggest wake-up call yet in a city thatâs faced more than its share of community-changing events. And for the first time in 28 years, Plano wonât have the steady hand and vision of City Manager Bruce Glasscock to guide it forward.
"We are at a pivotal point as to whether or not we want to continue to be the city we are today or do we want to go back to something else," he said. "Thatâs the decision that voters who put that council into place will make."
Economic development: Japanese international insurance giant Tokio Marine Holdings [is leasing more than 22,000 square feet in Plano's Legacy West.](
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BUSINESS
[Texas' major LGBT chambers of commerce unite to avoid another bathroom bill](
Four of Texas' major LGBT chambers of commerce have united to form a coalition that plans to advocate on behalf of LGBT-owned and LGBT-allied businesses in the state.
The North Texas, Austin, Greater Houston and San Antonio LGBT chambers of commerce will serve as the founding members of the new Texas LGBT Chambers of Commerce, and plan to hold the first-ever Day of Advocacy at the Texas Capitol on Feb. 20.
The move was sparked in part by Republicans' attempts to pass bathroom bill legislation during the 2017 legislative session which attempted to regulate which bathrooms transgender Texans were able to use.
The new coalition [will represent more than 1,000 LGBT-owned businesses and rely on strength in numbers]( to advocate against legislation they see as damaging to the Texas economy and the rights of LGBT Texans.
Also: Arts and craft retailer Michaels is [closing its Pat Catan's Midwest chain and cutting its outlook]( on consumer "volatility."
OPINION
[Another day, another Democrat running for president. How will this shake out?](
From former DMN Washington bureau Chief Carl P. Leubsdorf:
Sen. Elizabeth Warren. Rep. Tulsi Gabbard. Former HUD Secretary Julian Castro. Sen. Kamala Harris. Every day, it seems, another candidate enters the Democratic race. Every week, there's a new poll, most showing former Vice President Joe Biden as the party's early presidential leader.
The highly respected Cook Political Report even put out its first estimate of the 2020 electoral map, showing the Democrats with 232, the Republicans with 220 and the remaining 86 as toss-ups.
But with all due deference to my old friend Charlie Cook, stop already! There is no way to have any real idea at this early date who will be the Democratic nominee, let alone how the electoral votes will likely end up. (Well, not totally true, the Democrats will win DC's 3, the GOP Wyoming's 3, and a few others are predictable!) But not even President Donald Trump's re-nomination is certain now, given the plethora of investigations and the potentiality of impeachment.
So let's look at 2020 by [raising some questions that will be answered over the next two years.](
Editorial: Rural Texas needs more veterinarians, and [Texas Tech has a plan to provide them.](
Commentary: So you want to display the Ten Commandments in Texas classrooms. [But what version?]( Bruce Wells asks.
(Tom Fox/Staff Photographer)
PHOTO OF THE DAY
Outfielder Delino DeShields, sporting a new Rangers-blue 'do, loads items onto a truck for transport to the club's spring training facility in Surprise, AZ., Wednesday at Globe Life Park in Arlington. Pitchers and catchers are scheduled to report Feb. 13, and the first full-squad workout is scheduled for Feb. 18. [Follow our complete Rangers coverage on SportsDay.](
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EDITORS' PICKS
- Worth 1,000 words: "Houses for Sale" is a Dallas gallery's [photographic survey of the American dream gone wrong]( says architecture critic Mark Lamster.
- They're a little chewy: Tyson Foods has recalled 36,420 pounds of chicken nuggets [that may be contaminated with rubber.](
- Police blotter: A masked man [crawled through the drive-through window and assaulted an employee]( during a robbery at a Terrell Wendy's.
FINALLY...
[I love zoos, but do we need them?](
From contributing columnist Mark Davis:
The story out of Austin is heartbreaking. Zookeepers at the city's nonprofit zoo are blowing whistles at numerous examples of animal mistreatment, ranging from horrible neglect of some sick animals to the inhumane confinement of others.
The benefits of zoos are obvious. They can spark appreciation of God's creations in ways no book or YouTube video can. Careers in animal research and advocacy have surely been sparked by a child's direct witness of creatures they would never see otherwise.
Most zoos continually grow more conscientious about animal welfare as time passes. But there are too many cracks. I'm the last person to call for more government spending, but if vegan-packed Austin can have a zoo nightmare, no area is immune.
I have enjoyed zoos since my childhood, near the Smithsonian-run National Zoological Park in Washington, D.C. In the 25 years since returning to my native Texas, I have visited the zoos in Dallas and Fort Worth often, and I loved every visit.
But this is about the best human stewardship of the animals we have the latitude to control, and even after the most pleasant zoo trip, I can still find myself asking: [Is this right?](
👋 That's all for this afternoon! For up-to-the-minute news and analysis, check out [DallasNews.com](.
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