Redistricting Commissioners Elizabeth Jones and Domingo Garcia, who have tough and thankless jobs for which they aren't paid a penny, are displeased with me at the moment for nay-saying their incomplete maps. Garcia chided me in the comments, writing that it appears I've graduated from "the Rupert Murdock school of journalism." He insists that his submission was merely "a demonstration map to show that 5 Hispanic opportunity districts could be drawn [and that] there was no attempt to draw other districts since the plan is for demonstrative purposes only."
Meanwhile, Jones has sent me two emails in which she writes, among other things, that her maps are intended to show only that it's possible to keep intact communities threatened by other submissions -- among them, she points out, my beloved District 13, which several proposals threaten to dismantle. "Going back to the earliest Commission meetings, I have been outspoken on the issue of preserving neighborhoods," she writes this morning. "I continue to see that as a most important consideration whether you live in the north or south. We all value community."
Anna went to last night's meeting; I told her not to worry about covering this one, most of which I watched last night. She can recap both Tuesday and Thursday's meetings on Friday. Besides, I just discovered: The city now makes it possible to embed City Hall hearings -- and not only that, but allows you to jump straight to a scene, which will come in handy during Dwaine Caraway's impassioned city council monologues. So let's look at Garcia's explanation above, along with accompanying commentary by his fellow commissioners -- and, yes, this is riveting, better than any network's summer series. Then, on the other side, let's say hi to Sandra Crenshaw, who's also unhappy with me (see the comments).
