It’s been more than 30 years since my last math class, but even I can count high enough to know that if you’re starting a sixth volume of a newsletter, that means your newsletter is 5 years old. I appreciate everyone who has supported and boosted the Coppell Chronicle over its half-decade of life.

Patrick Svitek was one of the best in the biz when he was working in Texas. Laying off someone of his caliber is like trading Shohei in his prime. Actually unbelievable.

no matter how hard Greg Bovino tries to exude rugged masculinity he always comes off like Don Knotts in a Portlandia sketch

Minnesota Star-Tribune Editorial Board: “Noncitizen immigrants without legal status make up roughly 1.5% of Minnesota’s population — less than half the national average. Nothing about that figure justifies the scale, posture or tactics now widely deployed.” www.startribune.com/editorial-mi...

BREAKING: David Caviness intends to step down from the Coppell ISD Board of Trustees after nine years of service.

How could I not add this testimonial to the About page on my website? “Your articles are timely, informative, pertinent, concise, and objective — everything one could ask for in local journalism.” That comment was posted on the latest edition of the Coppell Chronicle, which is outside the paywall.

For some reason, Facebook’s Meta Business Suite believes that tomorrow is the first day of Hanukkah and Friday is inexplicably the last day of Hanukkah, a holiday observed over eight nights. Best of luck to all the social media managers out there who have never darkened the door of a synagogue!

Could this week’s edition of the Coppell Chronicle be the best one yet? There’s only one way to find out.

@gordonkeith.bsky.social I worked at Park Cities People when the newspaper marked its 30th anniversary and we revisited the story of Highland Park’s first Black residents: peoplenewspapers.com/2011/07/14/2...

There are so many people who, despite everything, still want to be journalists. If you call yourself a journalist and choose to use AI to write your stories, please quit so someone else can take your seat.

reminder: Jimmy Kimmel is enough of a mensch that he devised a segment on which actors who are just short of having enough work to qualify for union healthcare come on his show and deliver a single line of dialogue deadline.com/2024/07/jimm...

Because I’m always looking for the local angle, I’ll point out that this Jimmy Kimmel imbroglio started with Nexstar Media Group, which is headquartered in Irving. Its founder and board chairman, Perry Sook, lives in another one of Coppell’s neighboring cities, Flower Mound.

Coppell ISD residents may think things have been dramatic around here lately, but we’ve been backstroking in buttermilk relative to what’s been going on a few districts to our west in Keller ISD.

I’ve been expecting Cypress Waters to creep closer to Coppell. DART wouldn’t have plopped a train station next to empty land without the promise of some businesses and residences to follow. But I wasn’t anticipating the development in the latest Coppell Chronicle, which is outside the paywall.

Oncor wants to erect a 200-foot tower near South Haven, a subdivision of 200 homes zoned to Coppell ISD. More than two dozen South Haven residents testified against the proposal last week during a public hearing at Dallas City Hall. But none of these people live in Dallas; South Haven is in Irving.

You’ll have to excuse Lakeside Elementary parents who feel confused. Last Thursday, school district officials discussed possibly closing the campus. This Thursday, city officials will discuss possibly expanding it.

Important questions answered in today’s edition of the Coppell Chronicle, which is free for anyone to read: 🗞️ Can Texas cities prohibit electric bicycles? 🗞️ Can the leadership of St. Ann Catholic Parish control unruly bingo players? 🗞️ How do you pronounce Coppell?

I think the Commanders should change their name to the Washington Epsteins.

One thing I believe is that it’s a super good look for a TV network to cancel a show in a what seems like an effort to get in the good graces of a guy who that very day was revealed to have signed a birthday card to a famous sex criminal: “Shhh I’ll never tell xoxo gossip pedophile.”

A dozen restaurants are mentioned in this week’s edition of the Coppell Chronicle: Desi Chowrastha, Dillas Quesadillas, Dirty Dough, The Great Greek, Hangry Joe’s Hot Chicken, Madira ’N Masala, Pakora Indian Eatery, Salad and Go, The Silk Road, Small Sliders, Texas Pizza Lab, and Urban Egg.

Correct me if I’m wrong but I feel like the USA is the only country with a president who calls the citizens scum in his holiday messages.

Good news: The Senate Education Committee has scheduled a hearing on the House bill that would provide a bit more money to public school districts.

Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton’s lawsuit against Coppell ISD is no more, but the two sides have different takes on why that is.

I hope some journalist with access to Eddie Murphy will ask for his thoughts on Sturgill Simpson covering “Party All the Time” on his current tour. #SturgillSimpson #JohnnyBlueSkies

Man, this is a pretty fucking gross move from Amazon, huh? Good on @bookshop.org for not mincing words, though:

I finally lost hope for the future of our nation when I heard 250,000 people are traveling to Green Bay to watch the NFL draft in person.

Early voting for the May 3 elections begins tomorrow. If you live in Coppell or Coppell ISD, the latest edition of the Coppell Chronicle – which is free for anyone to read – will help you prepare for your trip to the polling place. #coppell #coppelltx #coppelltexas #coppellisd

I am genuinely surprised by this. I was sure he’d stick around until our sons graduate in 2027.

During Monday’s meeting of the Coppell ISD Board of Trustees, Nichole Bentley offered some tips on how to effectively lobby the Legislature. #txlege #txed

With ZERO media attention, on Saturday voters in Louisiana gave a stunning rebuke to the MAGA conservatism of Gov. Jeff Landry and his cruelty-is-the-point criminal justice. Voters lining up to stop America's right turn should terrify Team Trump. My new column www.inquirer.com/columnists/a...

Substack informed me today that the Coppell Chronicle is in 72nd place on the platform’s News Leaderboard, right behind a newsletter that offers “dispatches from the fringes of the information war” and just ahead of one dedicated to “exposing far-right extremism and corporate media complicity.”

Many outlets have reported on Attorney General Ken Paxton’s recently filed lawsuit against Coppell ISD. But did you know the administrator at the center of the controversy has been the subject of surreptitious videos for more than two years?

Texas voucher math doesn’t add up.

These are real quotes from real people who really enjoy reading the Coppell Chronicle.

As I suspected it might, Sunday's edition of the Coppell Chronicle has already inspired a strongly worded email from the Coppell Greens Homeowners Association.

Our nation has a long history of explorers and entrepreneurs who looked westward and saw dollar signs. Lewis and Clark. Ben and Jerry. Jerral Wayne Jones. I’ve decided to follow in their footsteps, because I think folks in Tarrant County might enjoy (and pay for) my brand of journalism.

Last week’s edition of the Coppell Chronicle included a brief about a Chick-fil-A’s impending rebuild, and that brief included an error. In this week’s edition, we more than made up for it.

With hysteria about drones growing nationwide, now seems like the perfect time to inform you of a company’s plans to deploy the airborne devices over Coppell.

Carrollton-Farmers Branch ISD, which includes portions of Coppell and Irving, will likely close some campuses soon. The district announced today that trustees will hear “consolidation and rezoning recommendations” at their February meeting, and a vote is expected at their March meeting.

I’ve been publishing the Coppell Chronicle on a weekly basis for nearly four years. Today, my Google News alert for “Coppell” served me my own content for the first time. Huzzah!

THIS JUST IN: All lanes of westbound I-635 will be closed and detoured at MacArthur Boulevard from 9 p.m. today until 5 a.m. on Monday for bridge maintenance.

One week ago, a judge ruled in favor of Coppell and a few other cities that sued Texas Comptroller Glenn Hegar over his proposed changes to the distribution of sales taxes for online transactions. These statistics are from the final version of their lawsuit.

Due to the threat of inclement weather on Saturday, Coppell’s Holiday Parade has been canceled. The tree lighting ceremony and associated drone show have been rescheduled for 6 p.m. on Wednesday.

In the past 24 hours, I’ve been notified of six gift subscriptions to the Chronicle that have expired. 😬

BREAKING: Judge Karin Crump issued her final judgment today in favor of Coppell and the other cities that sued Texas Comptroller Glenn Hegar. The judgment says Hegar’s Rule 3.334 would have impaired or interfered with the plaintiffs’ legal rights or privileges.

If you know anyone who drives on highways in the Dallas-Fort Worth area or patronizes DFW Airport, you may want to give them a heads-up: The stretch of Interstate 635 that borders Coppell will be closed for at least one evening this week.

One development could bring more than a dozen new restaurants to Coppell. On Nov. 12, the City Council approved the latest set of plans for the Victory Shops at Coppell. All but two of the 11 lots are labeled as potential restaurants, and Lots 2 through 7 are designed to house multiple tenants.

From the Texas Tribune article linked below: “Three Republicans — Evelyn Brooks, Patricia Hardy and Pam Little — joined the board’s four Democrats in opposition to the materials.” Brooks represents Coppell on the State Board of Education; Hardy did before the latest round of redistricting.

When I launched the Coppell Chronicle in 2021, a friend of mine doubted one tiny town would generate four topics worth writing about every week. Au contraire, mon frère. I sometimes get four headline-worthy articles from a single meeting. This week is one of those times.

A majority of Coppell ISD voters — 54 percent of them, to be precise — rejected an attempt to raise more money for the district. In the latest edition of the Coppell Chronicle, I broke down how the district voted on a precinct-by-precinct basis.