Tyler Fire Chief sends customized ‘Ben Franklin’ style fire helmet to Polish counterpart

An early Christmas gift just arrived at the main fire station in Tyler’s sister city in Poland. The commander of the fire brigade in Jelenia Góra recently unboxed a customized American-style fire helmet, a symbol of gratitude from Tyler Fire Chief David Coble. In late September, Coble was part of a small group of representatives…

East Texas delegation visits Ukrainian refugee center in Poland

Members of a delegation from the City of Tyler and the Tyler Sister Cities organization visited a Ukrainian refugee resource center set up in Tyler’s sister city of Jelenia Góra, Poland on Wednesday. Much of the food and supplies handed out here were purchased with private donations from East Texas effort that collected more than…

Poland relationship among oldest, most active of Tyler’s sister city partnerships

The City of Tyler’s partnership with Jelenia Góra in southwestern Poland is among the most active of its six current international sister city relationships. As one of the oldest cities in Poland, Jelenia Góra’s 900-year history includes nearly three decades of collaborations with East Texas. Jelenia Góra, Poland ‘Twinning’ ceremonies to formalize the sister city…

Tyler partnering with Polish sister city to offer assistance to Ukrainian refugees

The Polish sister city of Tyler, Texas has become a receiving point for hundreds of Ukrainian citizens fleeing their home country after the invasion ordered by Russian President Vladimir Putin. Jelenia Góra, a city of more than 78 thousand residents in southwestern Poland, has mobilized its municipal government to provide humanitarian services in response to…

Lingering East-West division in Germany highlighted by economic issues

This August marked 60 years since the Berlin Wall first went up, creating a physical barrier between East and West Germany. Despite the wall coming down nearly three decades later, a lagging economy in parts of the former East are creating new divisions. Wages, unemployment, and GDP are lower in the former communist East Germany,…

Talking Politics: Analyzing Texas election outcomes with international journalists

With a historic voter turnout in Texas during an unprecedented pandemic, the 2020 general election will likely be studied for years. President Donald Trump garnered roughly 600 thousand more votes in the Lone Star State than Democratic challenger Joe Biden, upending pundits’ predictions that Texas would turn “blue.” Democrats did make in-roads, expanding their reach…

Election 2020: The Morning After

What an awesome opportunity, the morning after the election, talking to students about the role of journalism in democracy. Journalism teacher Josh Ault, a former KXAS-TV (NBC 5) reporter and fellow Northwestern State University alum, invited me to lead a virtual Q&A with his class at Southlake ISD’s Dawson Middle School. There’s a reason why…

Tyler closer to formalizing sister city relationship in China

A city in southwest China is closer to being named the sixth official sister city of Tyler. The Tyler Sister Cities program is exploring a new partnership with Qujing, a city of more than six million residents located in southwestern China, located about 700 miles west of Hong Kong. Earlier this year, the Tyler City…

Legendary political consultant, journalist, professor heading into retirement

What a great privilege to spend an evening celebrating my former professor, Raymond Strother. The famed political consultant, author and journalist is retiring as the Erbon & Marie Wise Endowed Chair in Journalism at Northwestern State University. The university held a retirement reception for Strother on Saturday, April 28, 2018 at the NSU Alumni Center….

Reporter’s Notes: Lessons learned in Germany

As I stepped off the platform onto my train to the Frankfurt Airport, my world seemed to transform into a slow motion flood of memories. After three weeks in Germany as a fellow with the RIAS Berlin Commission, this life experience had just become my standard by which all others will be measured. Gazing out…

Germans take to social media to create traditions for national holiday

Germans have reason to celebrate Tuesday as the country marks 27 years since East and West Germany were peacefully reunified, forming the Federal Republic of Germany. Though the Berlin Wall fell in November 1989, the task of joining two countries didn’t go into effect until nearly a year later, with the adoption of the German…

An unfamiliar place: Making sense of the current political landscape

Time and again the current presidential campaign has defied tradition, shedding any familiarity to previous election cycles. After a brutal primary season for candidates, the two presidential nominees and their running mates are ramping up the rhetoric. The next 100 days are sure to mired in mudslinging, with more tweets, nicknames, and distractions from the…

Texas DMV rejects hundreds of ‘indecent, vulgar’ personalized license plates

Picking a personalized Texas license plate isn’t a free-for-all. The Department of Motor Vehicles uses very specific criteria for reviewing vanity plate requests, resulting in more than 1,600 rejected requests. Car enthusiasts at Saturday’s ‘Classic Cars & Art in the Park’ in Mineola are very familiar with the application process. Dozens of hot rods, rat…