Richardson businesses can require customers to wear masks, city says
With state requirements on mask-wearing and capacity limits set to end Wednesday, city officials began looking ahead to reopening the library and other facilities.
Vehicles travel on U.S. Highway 75 in Richardson, Texas, on Thursday, June 18, 2020.(Lynda M. Gonzalez / Staff Photographer)
Richardson City Council members on Monday discussed how Gov. Greg Abbott’s decision to end the state’s mask mandate and allow bars and restaurants to reopen at full capacity may affect area residents and business owners.
As COVID-19 vaccinations ramp up in North Texas and across the country, city officials also plotted out a reopening schedule for city facilities and services, with the library and recreation center among those buildings set to gradually reopen over the coming months.
“Mental health and mental illness is not a crime,” Cook said. “If we start working to provide people with mental illness with solutions and we don’t treat [them] as criminals then I think we are already starting in the right direction.”
Tittle said mental health issues do not excuse criminal behavior. However, he said officers can detain individuals having a mental health crisis rather than arrest them if they are an immediate danger to themselves or others.
“That is more often the appropriate detainment, and they do not come to jail, they go to [Methodist Richardson Medical Center] and go to their psychiatric center,” he said. “We just want to be diligent in our efforts to call [a mental health crisis] what it truly is and take the appropriate actions that should truly be taken.”
Here’s how students got their art featured on Richardson Public Library bookmarks
The students created work honoring Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and his legacy.
Hafsa Sayeed, a third grade student and 10th-grader Aditi Amin recently won a Dr. Martin Luther King bookmark art contest held by the Richardson Public Library. Their artwork will be displayed on free bookmarks that will be available in the library s youth section.(City of Richardson)
The Richardson Public Library has announced that third-grader Hafsa Sayeed and tenth-grader Aditi Amin are the winners of the library’s Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. bookmark contest.
City Council member Steve Mitchell to run for Richardson ISD school board
Facing term limits on the city council, the former mayor announces his intention to file for the May election.
The Richardson ISD administration building has stood in its current location on Greenville Avenue for a century.(Richardson ISD)
Steve Mitchell, a 16-year member of the Richardson City Council, has announced his plans to run for the Richardson ISD school board.
Mitchell said in a prepared statement that he plans to run for the at-large Place 7 seat in the May 1 election.
In 2009, an amendment to the city charter restricted council terms to six consecutive two-year terms. Mitchell, who has served on the council since 2005 and was mayor from 2007 to 2009, will be term-limited out in May.
Richardson considers getting out of the private rental business as civic center fate hangs in balance
In a discussion this week, council members weighed the future of the facility, now at city hall, which is used for both public events and private rentals.
Job seekers wait to have their résumés critiqued by a professional during the Career Expo at the Richardson Civic Center in this file photo.(Mona Reeder)
Richardson City Council members favor relocating or ending some of the operations of the civic center at city hall.
That was the consensus in a Monday discussion in which council members considered the future of the civic center, which the city uses for its own events and rents out for conferences and meetings held by outside groups.