Feelings are running high over Plano’s upcoming May 6 election. At the center of the fury: homeowners up in arms over high-density apartments built or approved in Plano in recent years. They fear too many apartments will drag down schools, snarl traffic and affect our quality of life. We look at the question of apartments – good or bad for Plano? And we separate fact from fiction.
Category: Season 1
Episode 19: Play Ball, Plano | Bill Van Horn
It’s the start of Spring softball and baseball season in Plano. All across our city ball fields are packed with excited parents, hopeful players and a team of umpires ready to get the games underway. In this Plano Podcast Extra, we meet umpire Bill Van Horn who has spent his life devoted to the love of the game.
Episode 18: Mabrie Griffith Jackson and Marshall Jackson
Mabrie Griffith Jackson and Marshall Jackson weren’t born in Plano, but they got here as soon as they could.
Mabrie and Marshall know Plano. They opened up to us about Plano politics, Plano football, the Thunderbird Roller Rink, and all that came with growing up here in the 1970’s. Get the inside story on their relationship and why they’re excited about the future. Spoiler alert, that future probably includes more episodes of Marshall TV.
Episode 17: Plano Valentine | OP | Officer Arthur G. Parker, Jr.
We’re sending a Plano Podcast Valentine to one of our Plano’s most beloved characters: Officer Arthur G Parker Jr., better known as “OP”, school resource officer at Clark High School. He has made a positive impact on the lives of thousands of kids in Plano.
Parker, who has been with the Plano Police Department for 31 years, was the department’s Officer of the Year for 2015, making him the first school resource officer in department history to receive that award. He’s also the only Officer in Plano we’re aware of that has a Facebook Fan page.
If you haven’t met Officer Parker yet – or heard him play his harmonica, or watched him dance, or listened to him rap – you won’t want to miss this episode.
Episode 15: First Up | Plano Early Risers
Does the early bird REALLY get the worm? Does “early to rise” truly make you healthy, wealthy and wise? For some answers, we dragged ourselves out of bed before the crack of dawn to talk to some Plano early risers. By the time the rest of us are awake, they’ve been up for hours. Find out what they’ve been doing and how it affects their careers, bodies and minds.
Episode 14: Downtown Plano Art and Wine Walk
The Downtown Plano Art and Wine Walk in December. Yes, it was the coldest night Plano had seen in 2016, but there was wine, art, shopping and music. So naturally we had to go. Catch the vibe from the Downtown Plano Art & Wine Walk and hear from brave crowd members (and one not-so-timid youngster) willing to answer a few questions live on our mic. It was a historic night for our city, listen to find out why.
Episode 13: The Heroin Shutdown | 20 Years Revisited
Twenty years ago, we were in the middle of the Plano heroin crisis. Before it was over, nineteen teens and young adults in Plano were dead – killed by heroin overdoses. We tracked down those who were brave enough to say, “My name is Plano. I’m an addict” and to tackle the crisis. This is the extraordinary story of the Plano heroin shutdown.
Episode 12: Plano Panto | Holidays Get Hilarious
In Plano, the holidays get hilarious with Theatre Britain’s annual panto production. This episode opens the curtain to a raucous family holiday treat. It’s a fractured fairy tale called the “panto,” and it’s performed every year by Theatre Britain in downtown Plano. The Plano theater company’s production features all the traditional elements – the dame who’s actually a guy, a ghostly cameo, and lots of audience participation. We go behind the scenes to hear from the director and meet some of the actors, plus, an extensive wrapup with performing arts critic Mark Lowry of TheaterJones, who weighs in on growing diversity of theater and arts productions in Plano.
Episode 11: Storytellers | Haunted Plano
Join us in a ghostly tour of haunted Plano. Let your imagination run wild as we introduce you to a few possible Plano ghosts, voiced by some great storytellers. Plano’s history dates back to the mid-19th century, and in some of our older buildings, there are rumors of hauntings. Come along as we investigate – if you dare!
Episode 10: Webb Traffic | Duncan Webb
Traffic. It’s what’s up in Plano and all of Collin County, TX. Are we destined for California-style gridlock? Collin County Commissioner Duncan Webb shares his vision and challenges on the plan to ease gridlock as we take a journey together into the year 2040. We wrap with a special Route 380 road trip to meet with Mayor John-Mark Caldwell and City Manager Derek Borg of Princeton, TX. Our conversation is where the rubber meets the road.