Recently in Living Category

Initial construction of the long awaited DFW Connector Project is slated to begin the week of February 15th.  Crews will start installing signage on Monday, January 25th.  There will also be some lane closures next week and reductions in the speed limit.  You might want to bookmark this website for use in the future: 

http://www.dfwconnector.com 

There isn't a lot of information there yet, but more should be added soon.

Also, there is going to be an information Open House on Wednesday, February 17th from 4-8 p.m. with a formal presentation at 6:30 p.m.  It will be held at the Grapevine Convention Center at 1209 S. Main Street.  I'm planning on going.

The 2009 school ratings have just been released.  I have prepared a report showing district and campus results for the districts in the area.  You can download the pdf report at cindyruppert.com/Accountability2009.pdf.

The only major change in the area was the Keller ISD dropping from Recognized to Academically Acceptable.  The district is challenging this rating, which was caused by just barely missing the required completion rate for economically disadvantaged students.  The district claims that two students were misclassified as drop-outs.  If the TEA changes the status of either of those students, the district will be Recognized.

For those new to the area, Southlake is mostly in the Carroll ISD,  Flower Mound is in the Lewisville ISD, and Trophy Club is in the Northwest ISD.  A big piece of far north Fort Worth is in the Keller ISD.

Call if you have any questions!

Keller is #7 on Money's 2009 list of best places to live!  Affordable homes, low crime, great schools were important factors.  This is a well earned distinction, Keller is indeed a great place to live!

Here's a link to the Money Magazine article.

On Saturday, June 6, 2009 at 7:30pm the band Fingerprints will be playing at Southlake Town Square's Rustin Park (in front of City Hall.)

Sounds like fun!

I am sure that all of us who have been caught  in the morass where Routes 114 and 121 try (and I do mean try) to connect have been glad to hear that in the reasonably near future someone is going to do something about this impossible interchange.  For an update, check out this recent article in the Fort Worth Star Telegram.  Think construction starting next year and toll lanes finished in 2014.

Interesting Star-Telegram article about folks moving to Texas.

"If you had to ride out this downturn, there is no better place than Texas. The declines here have been nothing compared to other states:"

The article describes how Texas is becoming what California has been since the Great Depression - the best place to be for jobs and housing.  While we are down in unemployment and housing, we are still much better off than California, Arizona and Florida.

Ebby Halliday, founder of the largest independent real estate Brokerage in Texas, visited Southlake on Sunday, May 17th.  She was here to do a book signing at Barnes & Nobel in Southlake Town Square.  Her biography, "The First Lady of Real Estate", authored by Michael Poss, has been a great hit.  Michael says that Ebby told him some wonderfully touching stories about her life and he captured come of them in this book.  She was welcomed by a large group of fans, both Ebby Halliday agents and many members of the public. After making some introductory remarks and amusing the crownd with some funny stories, Ebby began signing books. Members of the Carroll High School Band provided some great background music during the signing.  The Ebby Halliday Office in Southlake made a $1000 donation to the band as a way of saying thank you.



Ebby began her Southlake sojourn by visiting one of the Southlake Ebby Office's new listings.  The owners of this lovely property in Kirkwood Hollow graciously welcomed Ebby to their home where they had a private chat with her while they showed her around.  She also visited  some new residents to Southlake who were assisted in purchasing their  home by an Ebby Halliday agent in the Southlake Office.

We were all very proud to have her visit us.  Ebby is ninety eight years old and still goes to work every day.  She credits work with keeping her sharp and able to keep going.  She hopes to make 100.  She says that there is a rumor around that if she does, she will be able to do the coin toss at the Super Bowl.  She then laughs and says that the rumor may have originated somewhere in the Ebby organization!   We are all very proud to have this wonderful lady as our leader and as an example well worth following.

The Carroll Facility Planning Committee presented its recommendations to the School Board yesterday.  They recommended $138 million in projects for a May bond election.

Highlights include replacing two schools, technology upgrades, and stadium upgrades.

Some links:

Executive Summary
Full Presentation
Committee Web Page

This is a great idea.  The city council may ban all cellphone use if the state legislature doesn't do so this session.

Click here for the Dallas Morning News article.

At the risk of having folks think that the Rupperts don't do anything but eat, I want to share this terrific restaurant with those who may not have discovered it.  This is my husband's and my favorite place for a quiet dinner after a long work day.  It is also a favorite place to bring clients for a break when showing a long list of properties.  Expect great food, a good wine list and an elegant but friendly atmosphere.  You will be well taken care of!  And best of all, it is quiet enough so that you can enjoy a conversation with friends.



Ruggeri's is located in the Village in Colleyville.  The link below will take you to their website where you will find a menu and hours of operation.  I hope you enjoy it as much as we do.

http://www.ruggeriweb.com/index.html