May 24th, 2010
Is it just me or are there any other citizens in Tyler Texas who are beginning to feel… oh overly regulated? Now I grew up in this fair city, and I’m proud to call it my home town, but in the last few years both our state and city are being bombarded with petty new legislation that seems to afford its citizens yet another opportunity to glance over their shoulders in order to see whose watching.
It is well understood that Tylerites like to feel as though they are living in a larger city. The Tyler traffic reports they issue over the radio have always struck me as a silly manifestation of that desire. About two years ago the illustrious Tyler city council enacted its own ban on smoking in restaurants and bars. Yes bars in a city in Texas, are not allowed to permit smoking! Now I gave up that particular vice many years ago, but isn’t this a decision to be made between a man and his bartender, (or bar owner), not between a citizen and his city council? I still maintain the profound belief that this law gathered support on the basis of the fact that “Big fancy cities like New York all have smoking bans!”
In addition to the local regulations there are the new state laws like double fines for using a phone in a school zone, seatbelts in the back seats, etc. Now I understand the desire to encourage safety, but I have a mother! I don’t need the village to look out for my safety! The most annoying thing about these new laws is the condescending ad campaigns that accompany them. The commercials warn the citizenry that local police are now on the lookout for new evil doers! Just this morning I was treated to a reminder that area police are starting their annual “click it or ticket campaign.” Sounds like a fund raising drive to me. Now listen, I “back the blue” as much as any East Texan. I am profoundly grateful for those who pursue criminal threats to our society and help to maintain the peace however I am extremely tired of seeing police cars hiding near the corner of thirty one and the loop hoping to catch drivers five miles over the speed limit. When asked why they were policing the stop so closely, one officer replied “we just really need to get control of traffic on this street.” No you don’t! Its fine! There aren’t any more accidents there than anywhere else. How about getting control of the drug user and meth operator who allegedly lives in my neighborhood!
The most frustrating officers in Tyler are the ones who ride motorcycles. It seems every summer I get a ticket, usually for some petty offence, and it is always written by an officer on a motorcycle. I never ever receive a warning even though my actual driving record is pretty clean. The officer on a bike basically serves one purpose, raise revenue for the city. When was the last time a trooper on a motorcycle, made an arrest, intervened in a domestic dispute or did something other the write a ticket for expired tags?
I don’t want to turn this article into another rant. I recognize that Tylerites do have a propensity to run a red now and again, and I realize that traffic on Broadway and Old Bullard road tends to be tricky to navigate, but from this citizen’s observation, increasing regulation has not helped. Install new medians, build new toll roads, and synchronize the stop lights. These are just new band aids for addressing the fact that our city is growing. But frustrating the citizens is not going to solve these growing pains.
So to any area police who may be reading let me assure you that we who live in this great community support you, but please, cut us a little slack. We’re all just trying to get to work and home without incident. And to the State and local officials, (particularly the city council), remember Pain’s maxim: “The government is best which governs least!”
Tags: Annoying Thing, Bar Owner, Bartender, Citizenry, City Of Tyler, Click It Or Ticket, Criminal Threats, Double Fines, Evil Doers, Lookout, Manifestation, New Laws, New Legislation, Profound Belief, School Zone, Seatbelts, Smoking Bans, State Laws, Tyler City, Tyler Texas, Tyler TX Socio Political Commentary
Posted in Socio-Political Commentary | No Comments »
May 4th, 2010
700 Skyway Blvd
Tyler TX 75704
Phone: 903 531 2343
Tyler has a regional airport – just 6 miles East of Central Tyler on Hwy 64.
Currently, only American and Continental Airlines fly into and out of Tyler – to Dallas Fort Worth and George Bush Airport in Houston respectively. There are 3 runways.
Tyler Pounds is a really nice airport. It is very accessible with a large parking lot and a drop off area right outside the front doors. The City of Tyler keep it looking really nice with neat, colorful floral displays and a well kept outdoor paved area with fountain.
The terminal building is light, airy and modern with a spacious feel.
Everything for the traveller is at entrance level, with offices on the second floor – accessible by stairs and an elevator. After entering through the automatic doors, on the right side is the check-in desks for departures and on the far left is the arrivals hall with baggage reclaim. There are 4 rental car desks at the arrivals. In the center is the departure lounge and security followed by the departure gates. Restrooms are clean and wheelchair accessible. There is plenty of seating for passengers. A TV plays news for those waiting to fly.
There is no café at Tyler Pounds. There is space for one and tables and chairs available so hopefully, when the airport expands, there will be an eating facility in the future. Currently, there are 3 vending machines – one for hot drinks, one for cold beverages and another for snacks. If you are at the airport for an hour or longer – a local café called Skyline will deliver a meal to you – menus are available on site. There is no shop or newsstand.
The staff at Tyler Pounds are polite and friendly. The check-in is never busy and the security staff are relaxed.
All in all travelling through Tyler Pounds is a very pleasant and easy experience, if a little un-interesting!
Tags: Arrivals Hall, Automatic Doors, Bush Airport, Car Desks, City Of Tyler, Cold Beverages, Continental Airlines, Departure Gates, Departure Lounge, Entrance Level, Floral Displays, Front Doors, George Bush, Mercy Ships, Nice Airport, Regional Airport, Runways, Security Staff, Skyway, Tables And Chairs, The Anchorage Cafe, Tyler Pounds Field, Tyler Texas Airport, Vending Machines
Posted in Tyler Businesses | No Comments »
April 22nd, 2010
The Children’s Park
900 S Broadway
Tyler 75701
The Children’s Park is a little haven between downtown Tyler and the shopping areas of South Broadway.
It is a small memorial park where the names of local children who have died are inscribed on stones that encircle the park. It has some amazing bronze statues, a water feature running through the park, lots of flowers and shrubs and places to sit and be peaceful for a while.
Alternatively, you can bring your children and they can run around, paddle in the stream and have fun in the beautiful surroundings. We have picnicked here as a family and enjoyed it’s beauty. There are steps down to the park – it has a sunken garden feel – but also access for wheelchairs and strollers. There are places to stop and reflect and also picnic benches but my children preferred to climb up the waterfall and sit on the rocks at the top to eat their sandwiches! There is no playground but if that is what you are looking for then just a hundred yards down the road you will find Bergfield Park which has swings and climbing equipment.
The park is run by the City of Tyler Parks and Recreation Department and funded by the Children are a Gift Foundation. It has been in Tyler for 5 years. Annual events are held including a teddy bears picnic for families who have lost children and it is possible to reserve the park for your special event.
One note of advice. With the water, trees and grasses, this is also a very popular hang out for mosquitoes – the mean East Texas kind who need more than one bite! Repellant is a necessity in summer and fall.
If you know someone who has lost a baby or young child or even someone with a special needs baby who may be grieving and needing support from others in a similar situation – then there is a local organization that can help. ‘Glory Babies’ is part of the Children Are a Gift Foundation. This is the way in for anyone wanting to place a stone commemorating a lost child at the park too.
www.childrenareagift.com has more information.
Tags: Bronze Statues, Childrens Park, City Of Tyler, Climbing Equipment, East Texas, Flowers And Shrubs, Gift Foundation, Little Haven, Local Organization, Picnic Benches, Recreation Department, S Park, Shopping Areas, Small Memorial Park, South Broadway, Sunken Garden, Teddy Bears Picnic, the childrens park, the childrens park tyler tx, Tyler Parks, Water Feature, Water Trees
Posted in Fun | No Comments »
January 27th, 2010
The City of Tyler Texas welcomes you to the first annual Tyler Rose marathon, half marathon and 5k. With the idea that Tyler is kind of the picturesque garden destination in Texas with all of the azaleas, trails, and roses it was picked as a new marathon event. The marathon will wind through streets, sidewalks, wooded areas, and finish up in the azalea trail. This is really needed considering how bad the Azalea trail has become over the years. At one point back in the 80’s you would have athletes flying in from Africa to run the Azalea Trail but now all Tyler gets is a unique pack of teenagers wearing the same shirt from a ministry or two in town. Hey a lot of people running the Azalea Trail from the same organization is great but without those great groups like Teen Mania running the 10 and 5k we would only have a handful of people left running it. 
So this marathon event represents a revitalization in the Tyler Texas running community and will hopefully create something like we used to have back in the 80’s with the Azalea trail. Tyler really needs another serious racing event
and I hope this one takes off and becomes popular. In order for the Tyler marathon to become popular we need to get the word out so be sure to send out tweets and facebook messages to your friends and let them know about www.tylermarathon.com. They can read more about the event in order to plan for it this October. It is still a long ways off to give you plenty of time to train for it.
Many of the details regarding the marathon are still in development stages but it is going to happen so start preparing now. Marathons are not something that can be done without training first. I attempted to run a marathon once at the White Rock Marathon in Dallas and got to about mile 18 when I had to stop because of a lack of preparation and I had just past the donut whole and fresh milk booth.
The website says the event is being produced by Mellew Productions. I have never heard of this company but I am glad they are heading this up. After reviewing their website I found out they specialize in creating fun and festive events in cities across the US.
The Tyler marathon course has not been publicized at this time as the production company awaits approval from the city of Tyler.
Mellew will plan the whole event so that food, prizes, T-shirts, surroundings, the running course, volunteers, and staff are all coordinated to make it as fun and exciting as a marathon can be while making a profit. Isn’t lack of profit why Tyler’s Azalea trail became a miserable failure over the years? Maybe this is our town’s needed turnaround for exciting running events once again. Mellew is based out of Richardson Texas and some of their services are listed below.
Services include:
New Run/Walk Events:
· Event creation and design with event day management.
· Designing effective sponsorship proposals
· Assistance in finding host site for the event
· Create businesslike structure to insure profitability
· Produce brochure, web site, and T-shirt design
· Direct all promotional activities
· Provide all assistance and advice to create a fun and exciting event.
Tags: Azalea Trail, Azaleas, City Of Tyler, City Of Tyler Texas, East Texas, Excercise, Fresh Milk, Half Marathon, Handful, Marathons, People Running, Picturesque Garden, Revitalization, Roses, Running Community, Sidewalks, Teen Mania, Tyler Marathon, Tyler Rose, White Rock Marathon, Wooded Areas
Posted in Attractions | No Comments »
January 20th, 2010
To receive a call and a quote regarding Tyler and East Texas broadband high speed wireless internet service please click here to email East Texas Wifi. Click here to email
Choices Among Internet Providers in Tyler Texas
If you are like me and live out in the country you don’t have as many choices as someone living in the city limits of Tyler. There are a lot of things that I don’t have the privilege of doing without paying more money such as having a fast internet connection and going to the Tyler Public Library. Both of these things I will end up paying much more for than the average Tyler Texas joe living in the city limits. For those inside the city you can go with Suddenlink cable internet or AT&T highspeed internet service.
There are now even more internet options available for those in and outside the city of Tyler Texas than there has been for many years. There are these highspeed wireless PC cards offered by all the major cell phone carriers that allow you to plug a PC card into your laptop or desktop computer and have a fairly fast wireless internet service. The downside to the PC card wireless access is if you go over your usage limit you could be charged as high as 25 cents per megabyte. Those megabytes go pretty quick especially if you watch Youtube videos or download software.
Best Deal On Wireless Internet PC Card Service In Tyler
As far as cell phone wireless internet PC card service the best deal in Tyler is probably with Sprint although their coverage is spotty out in the country. The fastest and pretty good coverage in and outside the city of Tyler is with Verizon. Verizon will charge you 25 cents per megabyte if you go over your usage limit which is why I no longer use this company. Sprint only charges 5 cents per megabyte if you go over their limit however they also have an unlimited usage plan for a little more money.
Which Wireless Internet PC Card I Prefer The Most
AT&T’s wireless internet PC card goes by the name aircard and offers great speeds and coverage in the city of Tyler although the coverage gets a little spotty depending on where in the country you may be living in Smith County. Overall I prefer the speed of Verizon wireless internet PC card, the price and coverage of the Sprint wireless PC card, and enjoy the speed and coverage of AT&T’s aircard provided you use it within the city of Tyler and not out in the country.
Best Choice For Wireless Internet in Tyler Texas
For an even faster wireless internet outside the city limits of Tyler I recommend going with a wifi service that broadcasts from tower antennas. There is a company by the name of East Texas Wifi that I use and I love the service, low latency and internet speed they offer. There is another wireless internet company that competes with them called DCTexas Internet and they also boast some very fast speeds and low latency. Low latency simply means that any downloads you do will be very quick. If you were to compare the latency of a satellite internet service as you would get with Hughes net it would be a night and day difference. For instance, if you attempted to watch a funny youtube video with Hughes net you might as well queue it up and go eat a sandwich before it will be ready. With East Texas Wifi you will be able to watch the movie immediately almost as if you turned on TV to watch a show you like.
Stay Away From Hughes.net Satelite Internet Service!
WARNING!!! If you live in Tyler Texas or around the area avoid Hughes net at all costs! They will have you commit to a contract while wireless internet service companies like East Texas wifi will put you on a month to month plan. Once you are locked into the Hughes net contract you will quickly discover that the internet service is very slow and reminiscent of old dial up service back in the olden days. You will pay a high price for this lousy internet service too. It simply is not worth it and everyone I have spoken with about Hughesnet in Tyler have told me just how much they hate their internet service.
Contact Our Preferred East Texas Wireless Internet Provider
If you would like to contact our preferred East Texas wireless internet service provider please contact East Texas wifi at : 903-534-8888
You may also visit their website at : East Texas Wifi
Tags: Cable Internet, Cell Phone Carriers, City Limits, City Of Tyler, City Of Tyler Texas, Desktop Computer, East Texas, East Texas Wifi, East Texas Wireless Internet, Highspeed Internet Service, Highspeed Wireless, Internet Pc, Internet Service Provider, Living In The City, Major Cell Phone Carriers, Megabytes, Texas Joe, Tyler Public Library, Tyler Texas Internet, Tyler TX Internet, Wifi Internet, Wireless Internet Service, Wireless Pc Cards, Youtube Videos
Posted in Internet | No Comments »
Over Regulation in the City of Tyler
May 24th, 2010Is it just me or are there any other citizens in Tyler Texas who are beginning to feel… oh overly regulated? Now I grew up in this fair city, and I’m proud to call it my home town, but in the last few years both our state and city are being bombarded with petty new legislation that seems to afford its citizens yet another opportunity to glance over their shoulders in order to see whose watching.
It is well understood that Tylerites like to feel as though they are living in a larger city. The Tyler traffic reports they issue over the radio have always struck me as a silly manifestation of that desire. About two years ago the illustrious Tyler city council enacted its own ban on smoking in restaurants and bars. Yes bars in a city in Texas, are not allowed to permit smoking! Now I gave up that particular vice many years ago, but isn’t this a decision to be made between a man and his bartender, (or bar owner), not between a citizen and his city council? I still maintain the profound belief that this law gathered support on the basis of the fact that “Big fancy cities like New York all have smoking bans!”
In addition to the local regulations there are the new state laws like double fines for using a phone in a school zone, seatbelts in the back seats, etc. Now I understand the desire to encourage safety, but I have a mother! I don’t need the village to look out for my safety! The most annoying thing about these new laws is the condescending ad campaigns that accompany them. The commercials warn the citizenry that local police are now on the lookout for new evil doers! Just this morning I was treated to a reminder that area police are starting their annual “click it or ticket campaign.” Sounds like a fund raising drive to me. Now listen, I “back the blue” as much as any East Texan. I am profoundly grateful for those who pursue criminal threats to our society and help to maintain the peace however I am extremely tired of seeing police cars hiding near the corner of thirty one and the loop hoping to catch drivers five miles over the speed limit. When asked why they were policing the stop so closely, one officer replied “we just really need to get control of traffic on this street.” No you don’t! Its fine! There aren’t any more accidents there than anywhere else. How about getting control of the drug user and meth operator who allegedly lives in my neighborhood!
The most frustrating officers in Tyler are the ones who ride motorcycles. It seems every summer I get a ticket, usually for some petty offence, and it is always written by an officer on a motorcycle. I never ever receive a warning even though my actual driving record is pretty clean. The officer on a bike basically serves one purpose, raise revenue for the city. When was the last time a trooper on a motorcycle, made an arrest, intervened in a domestic dispute or did something other the write a ticket for expired tags?
I don’t want to turn this article into another rant. I recognize that Tylerites do have a propensity to run a red now and again, and I realize that traffic on Broadway and Old Bullard road tends to be tricky to navigate, but from this citizen’s observation, increasing regulation has not helped. Install new medians, build new toll roads, and synchronize the stop lights. These are just new band aids for addressing the fact that our city is growing. But frustrating the citizens is not going to solve these growing pains.
So to any area police who may be reading let me assure you that we who live in this great community support you, but please, cut us a little slack. We’re all just trying to get to work and home without incident. And to the State and local officials, (particularly the city council), remember Pain’s maxim: “The government is best which governs least!”
Tags: Annoying Thing, Bar Owner, Bartender, Citizenry, City Of Tyler, Click It Or Ticket, Criminal Threats, Double Fines, Evil Doers, Lookout, Manifestation, New Laws, New Legislation, Profound Belief, School Zone, Seatbelts, Smoking Bans, State Laws, Tyler City, Tyler Texas, Tyler TX Socio Political Commentary
Posted in Socio-Political Commentary | No Comments »