Follow-up: (original article below) 10/12/08 Ken Agee

Councilwoman Chick joined Councilwoman Cox on the Community Services Committee and with the help of the City’s legal services, wrote a proposed amendment to the City’s Article 5, Chapter 26 code, regarding the delivery of unsolicited material to homes. The amendment states that unsolicited items must be delivered within five feet of the home’s door. This was Councilwoman Chick’s idea, which has the intent of linking to Garland’s “No Solicitation” ordinance.

It may not be common knowledge, but if a person mounts a “No Solicitation” sign (must be at least 3” x 4”) near their door, no unsolicited sales can be attempted at that location.

The Dallas Morning News sent up five speakers at the 10/7/08 City Council meeting urging against the proposal, making the argument that this impeded their rights to free speech. They seem to be on shaky ground however, since they still have the right to their free speech, as long as they can get their papers within five feet of the homeowner’s door.

The amendment passed at this same 10/7/08 meeting by a unanimous vote. The main counter-argument was the City’s desire to control litter.

Those Yellow Al Dia newspapers thrown on your lawn… 9/15/08 Ken Agee

If you’re seeing newspapers in yellow bags on your lawn, or piling up on lawns down the street, you’re not alone.   The newspapers are being thrown courtesy of the Dallas Morning News, and just about everyone is getting them. 

The paper is called Al Dia, and it’s their answer to the Ft. Worth Star-Telgram’s La Estrella.  Both are free spanish language newspapers, but the similarities end there.  La Estrella is distributed thru newsstands, but Al Dia is thrown on people’s lawns by a carrier.  The Morning News model (stated at the community meeting on 9/11/08) has everyone in their target-zone receiving a paper until they “opt-out” by calling the number listed on the yellow newspaper bag (469-977-3747 at the time of this writing).

Councilwoman Barbara Chick has stated her displeasure with this delivery method, and is working with the City to rewrite their code regarding “solicitation”. 

Stay tuned to this website for updates!