You Can’t Handle The Truth

by | Mar 30, 2023 | Elections, Politics

Michelle Obama said in her book Becoming, “The more popular you become the more haters you acquire.” There is some truth to that statement. Growing up I never cared about being the center of attention, being liked, or being popular. My wife on the other hand was and still is the complete opposite. She is a social butterfly, the talker, and the one everyone likes which is good for me because I can just hide in the distance behind her. I remember seeing her across the gym when we were kids and I said I am going to marry that girl. My best friend Charlie said that would require you to talk to her and you don’t talk to anyone to which I looked at him and shrugged my shoulders. He had a point! You’re not that interesting when your passions are reading, writing, and movies.
As a teenager, I worked at the local library so it’s no surprise that as I became a young man I picked career paths that were secular or isolated. I was a braille proofreader for many years, then went to school to become a mortician. A what? In English, I was a funeral director, and it was great because none of my clients talked back to me since my primary job was to preserve bodies, plan funerals, embalm and cremate dead people. I went back to school during that time to become a coroner because performing autopsies on dead people seemed interesting and my audience was still dead. My wife then introduced me to a man she met through a random chance encounter and he offered me a job as a fortune cookie writer for $42,000 USD a year I thought this could be fun. It was the best move because it led me to my long-time career of being a movie critic and ghostwriter.


What is the point of me telling you about my crazy past, well, simply, I never aimed to be popular, so I have very few haters. It was Dustin Hoffman or Warren Beaty who once said in a movie, “Telling the truth can be a dangerous business. Honest and popular don’t go hand in hand. If you admit that you play the accordion no one will hire you for a rock ‘n’ roll band.” Dustin and Warren were right and we know from personal experience anytime you are dealing with shit, it is a dangerous business. My dad told me once as we drove in his truck that honesty is like a slap in the face and the receiver will only take kindly to getting slapped once, beyond that you better be ready to run or not be invited to their party.
You are reading this and probably thinking to yourself, how does it relate to Frisco? Frisco Chronicles is not very popular, and we are guessing we are not very well-liked, shocking right? How do we know this or how did we come to this assumption? We sent the incumbent Mayor Cheney and his opponent Mark Piland an email on March 24 with the same questions and to our surprise, neither of them wrote us back! We thought we had at least a .001% chance of hearing back from at least one of the candidates, but our hopes may have been set too high. It appears that they have a lack of appreciation for what we do and we can’t figure out why. As we sit here drinking our second bottle of vino feeling despair and being heartbroken, we at least have hope that “YOU” our readers appreciate us exposing the shady shit of Frisco.
Side Note: In all transparency we did not send an email to the third candidate who is most known for tempting women with his half naked 6 pack abs towel wearing, gun-toting, bible quoting, software selling, food sharing, book writing, bible study hosting, reincarnated Jesus ideology here to baptize his flock in his apartment rooftop pool. We figured he might be too busy with his kingdom of followers or a psychiatrist. Mental health is no joke and we strongly encourage anyone suffering from mental health issues to reach out to experts who can help!

Back to the point, we know you are thinking what in the bloody hell was written in the email sent to the candidates. Hold your horses, we are getting to it!

Good Day Mr. XXXX

We are the Frisco Chronicles and are putting together a write-up on each candidate running for the city council. We wanted to reach out to ask you a few questions and we hope you choose to respond. We will be emailing your opponent and plan to ask him the same questions.

  1. What do you think are 3 of the most important skills needed to be a good mayor?
  2. What are the top 3 most pressing issues facing the city today?
  3. Do you have any personal rules when it comes to campaign donations?
  4. What’s more important for our city right now: Building new homes and commercial space, rehabbing/expanding, and better utilizing our existing homes and storefronts?
  5. If you could change one thing in our zoning code, what would it be?
  6. How do you plan to involve the residents in the decision-making process in our town?
  7. Describe an ethical dilemma you’ve faced and how did you resolve it?
  8. How many hours a night do you sleep?
  9. If you had to pick one and only one – what would be your go-to restaurant in Frisco?
  10. We have so many great areas and neighborhoods in Frisco. In recent years both candidates have built and moved into new homes. How did you choose the area in which you wanted to live and what made you fall in love with your home?
    Behind every man is great rockstar woman!
  11. How long have you been married?
  12. What is the best piece of advice you spouse ever given you?
  13. Who can tell a better joke, you, or your spouse?
    Two Fun Questions
  14. What is your favorite color?
  15. What would be your dream vacation spot?
    Thanks for your time and we truly do hope to hear back from you!
    Sincerely
    Frisco Whistle Blower
    Frisco Chronicles Team

From our perspective, we thought that it was professional and courteous as well as fair since the candidates received the same questions. Robin Sharma once said, “leadership is not a popularity contest; it’s about leaving your ego at the door. The name of the game is to lead without a title.” We agree with that statement wholeheartedly and popularity should be no scale for the election of politicians. As Orson Welles said, if elections depend on popularity, Donald Duck and The Muppets would take seats in the Senate. The reality is that elected officials at the municipal, state, and federal levels are very focused on their pet projects, running a campaign or getting re-elected, and being the winner of the popularity contest. What is next up on the Shady Shit blog? Well since they did not respond we will just have to continue with our curiosity which leads us to ask is Cheney popular or a one or two-trick pony?

VOTE FOR PEDRO

by | Mar 24, 2023 | Elections, Politics

If you drive around Frisco on any given Saturday you will see youth sports teams playing on the soccer and baseball fields throughout the city.  Parents along with grandparents cheer on the kids while enjoying the nice weather and having fun family time.  Would it surprise you if I said there were more people on those fields, sidelines, and sitting in the stands than there are voters who show up to have their voices heard in city elections?  As of August 25, 2022, in Collin County, we have 72,427 registered Frisco voters and in Denton County, we have 55,106 registered Frisco voters.  You should be shocked that in a city with an estimated population of 218,314 people,  across both Denton and Collin County, we only have a total of 127,543 registered Frisco voters. This should SCARE THE HELL OUT OF FOLKS who call this city home. 

If you are a resident of Frisco who is registered to vote and you do not take the time or put in the effort to vote in local municipal elections, then you should be appalled and ashamed of yourself.  Coming from another country I can tell you that the most important right you have as an American citizen is the right to vote.  Originally under the Constitution, only white males over the age of 21 were eligible to vote.  In the 1920s women won the right to vote with the ratification of the 19th Amendment. Then in 1965, Congress passed the Voting Rights Act which allowed African Americans the right to vote. Interesting side note, it was President Lyndon Johnson a white Texas Democrat who signed the Voting Rights Act into law.  In 1971, the minimum voting age changed from 21 to 18 years old because of student activism and the war in Vietnam.  Generations before you fought and some died so you would have the right to vote, so why don’t you vote?   

Abraham Lincoln once said, “Elections belong to the people. It’s their decision. If they decide to turn their back on the fire and burn their behinds, then they will just have to sit on their blisters.” If Lincoln were alive, he would be shocked and probably disappointed to learn how many Frisconians turn their back on the fire and sit on their own blisters.  My favorite segment on some news and talk shows is the one where they send a reporter out to the streets to stop people and ask them a simple question, that 99% of Americans should know.  After hearing the question many looked lost, puzzled, and dumb founded before they throw out their answer.  The whole point of the tv segment is to show we have truly become dumb and chances are we are not smarter than a fifth grader.  In the spirit of fun let’s pretend I am the news host, and you are the street walker, ready to play?

In the Frisco General Election of May 2021, out of 127,543 total registered voters, how many turned out to vote at the polls?    A) 24,319   B) 850  C) 10,431  or D) 18,720

Which county turns our more voters in Frisco municipal elections?   A)  Denton  or B) Collin County

Alright, do you have your answers ready?  No cheating!  In May 2021 we had (C) 10,431 votes cast, the breakdown by county was Collin with 5,106 votes and Denton County with 5,325 votes.  That equates to a voter turnout of about 8.91%. Now, in a general run-off election, (B) Collin County has had more voters in the last five out six elections.  However, the script is flipped in a runoff / special election when (A) Denton County turns out more voters five out of five times. 

What if we told you that in March 2022 that out of 127,543 registered Frisco voters that a total of 4,912 votes were cast and that is about a 3.96% voter turnout.  It is the lowest voter turnout the City of Frisco has had since May 2016.  In fact, since May 2016 we have only had 4 elections with double-digit voter turnout percentages, the highest being 15.87%.   Which leaves 7 elections with single-digit voter turnout percentages, the highest being 9.14%.    Out of the four elections with a double digit % voter turnout, one was the November 2020 Trump vs. Biden national presidential election with a 78.15% voter turnout. 

Is your interest peaked?  Do you want to know more?  Take a minute and just look at the voter participation on the Frisco city webpage.  Voter apathy is a lack of interest among voters in elections and is one of the mail reasons for low voter turnout. Residents have lost the fire to fight because they don’t believe their voice matters and they believe they have no power to change the situation around us, but they do.  It is time to Vote for Pedro! The phrase Vote for Pedro is sometimes used in political protest as a way to express dissatisfaction with the candidates or the two-party system.  Pedro is a classic Spanish name derived from the Hebrew Peter meaning “stone” or “rock.”  There is a ground swell in Frisco right now and residents are starting to chant over and over and louder and louder each time, VOTE FOR PEDRO!  What they really mean is Dear God, let there be an alternative to what has been the corrupt norm of Frisco politics.  Ready for a shocking comparison?

If you paid any attention the last two months to the Universal controversy, you probably remember hearing about the “traffic study” paid for by Universal.  The famous phrase everyone latched on to was
“Universal will have less traffic than the new H-E-B grocery store.”  It said the park would only add 7500 cars/trips a day during the week and up to 14 to 20,000 cars / trips on weekend days. That means more people will come to Universal in one day versus the total number that have shown up to vote in a single election since May 2016.  Don’t believe me, well in general election of May 2018 we had a total of 7,144 TOTAL votes cast.  If you look at both the general and runoff elections together the highest voter turnout between both (minus the Nov 2020 election) was May 2017 when we had 14,186 total votes cast which is less than one weekend day of traffic to Universal if the traffic report is right. Let that sink in!

One of my favorite movies was Coming to America in 1998 with Eddie Murphy and Arsenio Hall.  In one scene Eddie’s character (who is a prince) jumps out onto the balcony with Arsenio looking out the window at him.  He is excited to be in America to find a wife to be his queen.  From the balcony with his arms spread wide open, face filled with glee he yells Good Morning My Neighbors and in the background, you hear a voice awe F*#$ you, and Eddie’s character not knowing what it means yells back with a smile on his face and arms wide open, “Yes, Yes, F*%$ you too!”  Better yet the scene where he is walking home after dancing with the future queen, he starts to sing “To Be Loved” and jumps up on a light pole swings around, and continues to sing until he reaches the steps of his apartment.  We all need to find our inner Eddie Murphy!

It is time for us to take to the streets and start a revolution and chant VOTE FOR PEDRO!  Residents who have lost that fire to fight need to dig deep and find the furry again, then help get the word out that early voting starts in 40 days (give or take) and its time we use the powerful voice we have and cast a vote!  I hear it all the time from my generation, the youth today are screwed up, they have no concept of the real world, they want everything for free and finally they don’t know what a true day’s work is!  The harsh reality is that generation is the one who needs a good slap in the face because what example do we set for them when we don’t vote!  Truthfully we should be horrified and terrified regarding the rampant level of voter apathy in Frisco elections.

In 2023, it is clear residents are dissatisfied with representatives on both our city council and school board.    With elections right around the corner, we need to be spreading the word to friends and neighbors that is time to vote! 

Important Dates – May 2023 General Election

Last Day to Register To Vote – April 6, 2023 Click Here To Register

First Day of Early Voting – April 24, 2023

Last Day of Early Voting – May 2, 2023

Election Day – May 6, 2023

Lastly there is no time like the present, to look at the campaigns and candidates so we will start with the Mayoral Race and the incumbent, Jeff Cheney in our next blog.  

The Promised Land (Part 2)

by | Mar 14, 2023 | City Council, Developements, Developers, Jerry Jones, Jerry Jones - Blue Star Land, Jerry Jones - Dallas Cowboys, Politics, Taxpayer Dollars

There are two things that interest me: the relation of people to each other, and the relation of people to land. – Aldo Leopold

Remember that the land value of a piece of property includes both the value of the land itself as well as any improvements that have been made to it or around it, one could assume land around The Star would dramatically increase in value as the development came together and was completed.  Ready for the kicker, would it surprise you that the city sold the piece of land in question which is estimated to be worth $2.7 million to Blue Star Land Phase III for the sale price of $597,912.00 plus the city’s carrying cost of interest over the years?  At the time of the sale in 2019 it was all over the news, but did Frisco residents really pay attention?  Probably not and truthfully I had no clue until my curious nature got the best of me and I started looking into things last year.  Reading this, do you think it sounds like a win?  In theory yes, Frisco sold the land which will yield a substantial potential tax revenue.   

Stop the time clock, it is time for a replay so you can understand why Frisco residents should care.  First, if the city decided to sell that land no matter who bought it and developed it into an office building the city would be taking an asset generating no revenue and turning it into a cash-generating tax site.  We would not have lost an opportunity for the potential $190,000,000 in tax revenue.

Second, the city purchased all this land along the tollway years ago with taxpayer money as a future investment.  Selling it for the price we paid plus carrying costs seems to dilute the point of the purchase.  The Dallas Morning News reported the market value was an estimated $2.7 million and we sold it for $600,000 which means we gave away $2.1 million dollars of taxpayer money.  Anyone looking at this with basic common sense would see the land sale plus the potential tax revenue as a blockbuster achievement.   Sherlock Holmes might say, “Elementary, my dear Watson that is a win-win for the city and residents.” 

On the flip side, if you’re a DFW local then you know Jerry Jones, and his reputation for being a little pompous, arrogant, vain, egocentric, and self-centered.  He is not afraid to say what he thinks, show off or even be offensive at times.  It is “Jerry’s World”, and we are lucky to be in it and it has been that way for years.  He has worked hard, built an empire, and achieved the American Dream and he has every right to act or celebrate that the way he wants.  Keeping in mind Jones’s famous ego if the city did a public sale of the 2.4933 acres of land with direct views of Jerry’s empire including the player’s practice fields, do you think Jones would ever let anyone else buy it or develop it?  He would do whatever he had to do to protect his STAR!  That makes those 2.4933 acres a rare invaluable treasure that is irreplaceable to Jones.   Other developers would also see the value of that land and they would come out of the woodwork, and it could potentially create a bidding war for the holy grail tract of land.  Can you imagine what it potentially could have sold for?

We are left with so many questions, the first being who the real winner in this deal was.  Clearly, it is Blue Star Land.  The city is going to say the potential tax revenue outweighs the loss of profit on the land sale but as a taxpayer, I disagree.  I see the Superbowl moment for Frisco residents being the profit of the land sale and still achieving the potential tax revenue. 

Mayor Jeff Cheney has said multiple times over the years that the Dallas Cowboys moving to Frisco would create a “halo effect” for our local economy.  That means it would form a positive cognitive bias that would increase the city’s presence, brand, and attributes making it attractive to other developers and Fortune 500 businesses, so they would want to be and call Frisco home. That leads to my next question, which is logically thinking if we had to recruit businesses by offering oversized incentives before, then what does the “halo effect” do for us now?  Does it mean we will not have to dole out large incentives or deals as we had in the past?

Then I thought of marketing, the Dallas Cowboys logo, and the brand is one of the most famous in the world, and companies pay big bucks to do partnership deals with America’s Team.  In 1995 Jones had deals with Nike, Pepsi, American Express, and AT&T that were worth more than $60 million.  In 2013, AT&T bought the naming rights to the Cowboys Stadium for up to $20 million a year.  In 2022, it was reported that the Cowboys grossed $220 million in stadium ads and sponsorship revenue.  They also have million-dollar deals with WinStar World Casino, Lincoln Motor Company, Ford, Omni Hotels and Resorts and we could go on and on.  So surely in all these deals or incentive packages the city worked out something where we could put the Cowboy’s famous Blue Star on The City of Frisco webpage with a tagline “Home To The Dallas Cowboys World Headquarters” or when you open the Frisco EDC webpage to show off and increase the so-called “halo effect” to future companies looking to relocate to our great city.  A quick surf of our sites there are pictures of The Star but none of the famous and iconic Cowboys branding.  Nope, nothing, zilch!

What I did find interesting is a 2021 Dallas Morning News article talking about Monument Realty and how they were named the Official Real Estate Company of the Texas Rangers and you guessed it, the Dallas Cowboys.  Dak Prescott is listed as its “chief quarterback officer” and The Cheney Group hangs its hat there.  We are awe-struck really because we know that had to cost them a pretty penny to obtain those deals.  I mean one would assume that based on the millions of dollars other companies have to pay for partnership deals with these sports teams.

Halftime Show

by | Mar 14, 2023 | Politics, Public Information Requests

When we created Frisco Chronicles the goal was to get some simple questions addressed and expose some shady shit. What is our local governments purpose? Why do citizens have a lack of trust in our local city government? Why is our city so afraid of a transparent government? Why is our city afraid of ethics enforcement? Do we have an open budget process and our residents tax dollars being spent wisely? Why do residents have a fear of speaking up or calling out our leaders for what they believe is toxic or negative behavior? Is the business we are doing in public-private partnerships with reputable developers and companies? Why does our city charge and “arm and leg” for a Public Information Request and why are the prices differ depending on who files it? Why is everything from our leadership a sales pitch versus a fact finding to hear what residents want? We could go on … and on … an on but we won’t put you through that.

Corruption is widely defined as a breach of the public’s trust by government officials who use their public office to obtain personal gain. It is dishonest or sometimes illegal behavior by those in power which can affect the performance of local government and it erodes trust and weakens democracy.

Transparent governance means that government officials act openly, with citizens knowledge of the decision the officials are making. Important components include the availability of information on government policies and actions, a clear sense of organizational responsibility, and an assurance that governments are efficiently administered and free of systemic corruption. Transparent governance is important to local governments and the communities they serve because corruption threatens good governance, leads to the misallocation of resources, harms public and private sector development, and distorts public policy. 

Frisco Chronicles would love to hear from you! Do you have a blog idea or evidence of something shitty and/or shady going on? Confidentiality is of the utmost importance to us no matter who submits it (even if we are not too fond of you)! At Frisco’s Shady Shit, your secrets are safe with us! Please reach out to us by leaving a comment on a blog, send a direct message via our contact us page, or email us at FriscoWhistleBlower@protonmail.com

Now back to regular programming of The Promised Land (Part Two)

The Promised Land

by | Mar 13, 2023 | City Council, Community Development Corp, Developements, Developers, Economic Development Corp, Jerry Jones, Jerry Jones - Blue Star Land, Politics, The Star

Margaret Mitchell, the Author of Gone With The Wind said “Land is the only thing in the world that amounts to anything, for it’s the only thing in the world that lasts. It’s the only thing worth working for, worth fighting for..”  Mitchell was right which is why for anyone who resides here or immigrates here, it is considered the American Dream to own just a slice of the pie.

Now imagine it is 1987, your name is Dan Lansing and you are living on a farmstead that your grandfather and his descendants owned since 1906. You spent the day on the tractor like many other days and now you are relaxing when you hear a knock at the door of your farmhouse.  Is your first instinct to think this knock could change my life forever?  Probably not, but for Joe Lansing, the knock would change his life forever.  Standing before him was a woman who worked for the local film office, and she had been deployed to drive the dusty gravel roads in search of just the right eye candy when she spotted what she later would tell the film studios was the “holy grail!”  A white clapboard, two-story farmhouse nestled against a hillside with the iconic red barn nearby and plenty of cornfields.  Sue Riedel introduced herself and said she was a scout for Universal Studios and that they might want to come here and film a movie, would that be OK?   Lansing responded, “Are you crazy?”  That day changed everything for the Lansing farm located at 28995 Lansing Road. 

What would happen next is the Field of Dreams. Iowa farmer Ray Kinsella is inspired by a voice he can’t ignore as he walks through the corn fields doing a regular inspection.  “If you build it, he will come.”  Kinsella plows his field and builds a ballpark which will later save his family farm.  The final iconic shot of the film showed the ghost players emerging from the corn fields for a ballgame.  Dan and his wife Becky later sold the land for a rumored $5.4 million to Ballpark Heaven who wanted to turn it into a $74 million baseball and softball complex to draw tournaments from all over the country.  Even today, the mythical Field of Dreams has spawned thousands of people to visit Dyersville, Iowa every year and it is one of the top 10 attractions in the state.  The movie Field of Dreams changed life for the Lansing family forever and residents of Frisco would be surprised to learn that Dan and Becky lived in Frisco for a period after selling the Iowa property. 

Land in Texas is undergoing a fundamental change, one that has implications for rural economics, food security, and the conservation of water and other natural resources. Texas Land Trends reports that from 1997 to 2017 the Texas population increased by 48% which means we continue to see land loss as urban development takes over.  The land value of a piece of property includes both the value of the land itself as well as any improvements that have been made to it.  So many different factors can affect land value such as an increase in demand that exceeds the supply of land, if a movie is filmed on it, oil can be found under the soil, or because of nearby developments.  

Remember in our blog, Frisco, Are You Ready For Some Football we said to make a mental note of a land deal that took place in February 2019.   Remember the timeline, The Star was approved in August 2013, and the Dallas Cowboys moved into the new corporate headquarters and training facility with a 12,000-seat stadium in August 2016.  The following year in May of 2017, the city council approved 12 Cowboys Way, The Stars luxury high-rise community.  The Entertainment District at The Star held its grand opening weekend-long event in March 2018.   

In February 2019, the council had two agenda items before them relating to Jerry Jones and his Blue Star companies which included,

  1. Consider and act upon a contract of sale by and between Blue Star Land Phase III, LLC and the City of Frisco for the purchase of a 2.4933-acre tract of land.
  2. Consider and act upon a Chapter 380 Agreement by and between Blue Star Land Phase III, LLC and the City of Frisco related to the purchase of a 2.4933-acre tract of land.

First question, where is the 2.4933-acre tract of land?  If you drive up The Star Boulevard you look directly at the Tostitos Championship Plaza which replicates a football field and directly behind it you see The Ford Center a 12,000-seat stadium.  To the left of The Ford Center are the two practice fields that sit directly behind the Dallas Cowboys World Headquarters.  Directly behind those fields is a 2.4933-acre tract of land (along Hall of Fame Lane) that the city owns and is allowing the Cowboys to use as a player’s parking lot only.   

Second question, what is the benefit to taxpayers?  According to Ron Patterson, President of the Frisco Economic Development Corp., the estimated value of the proposed future office building will be approximately $190,000,000. Blue Star Land committed to having the project done and ready to move into as early as 2021.  

Doesn’t sound like a bad deal right? Well, you have not heard the kicker yet which will talk about in our next blog after the Halftime Show. Stay Tuned!