The May 11 City Council elections are approaching, and the Lower Greenville Neighborhood Association has teamed with ten other neighborhood groups to sponsor a Candidate Forum for the District 14 candidates to hear what they think about the most important issues impacting our neighborhoods.

The forum is set for 7 pm on Thursday, April 11, at Vickery Towers, 5619 Belmont Ave.  Parking is free at Vickery Towers and at the old post office site across the street on Belmont.

Because there are seven candidates for this seat, we will operate on a fairly strict timetable to ensure every candidate equal time.  The format will allow questions from the moderator with responses from the seven candidates.  The moderator will be Bruce Thomas, an attorney and experienced moderator who resides in District 14.  Time has been allocated after the forum for the candidates to interact one-on-one with the audience.

Each of the eleven neighborhood groups solicited questions from their memberships.  Enthusiastic residents submitted close to 100 questions.  Due to the large number of participants and in order to save time, a neighborhood organizing committee analyzed community input to formulate a list of forum questions based on greatest interest.

In addition, a deputy registrar from the Dallas County Elections Department will be present to register voters.

The seven candidates are Bobby Abtahi, David Blewett, Kevin Curley, Philip Kingston, Chuck Kobdish, Judy Liimatainen, and Jim Rogers.

In addition to LGNA, other sponsors of the forum include Belmont Neighborhood Association, Cochran Heights Neighborhood Association, Dallas Homeowners League, Edgemont Park Conservation District, Greenland Hills Neighborhood Association, Junius Heights Historic District, Lakewood Heights Neighborhood Association, Munger Place Historic District Association, Swiss Avenue Historic District and Vickery Place Neighborhood Association.

St. Andrew’s Presbyterian Church presents the solo cello recital of Italian
cellist Francesco Mastromatteo on April 1, 2013 beginning at 6:30 p.m. in
the sanctuary at 3204 Skillman at Monticello.  The concert is titled:
“Narrating the Cello: Musical Stories of the Low Instruments.”  The solo
concert will include a performance of Gaspar Cassado’s Cello Suite and
Benjamin Britten’s Suite No. 1, Opus 72.  Mr. Mastromatteo will perform the
music and provide a narration of the story behind the compositions.

Mr. Mastromatteo has been performing throughout Europe since his graduation
from the University of Texas at Austin Butler School of Music in May 2012.
He received a Doctor of Music Arts degree in cello performance from
UT-Austin. Mr. Mastromatteo was the Resident Cellist at St. Andrew’s
Presbyterian Church and artistic director of Spring of Harmony concert
series from 2007-2011. Mr. Mastromatteo also has served as artistic director
for festivals and concert series for Associazione Amici della Musica “G.
Paisiello” in Lucera, Italy and Classical Music for the World, a non-profit
in Austin, TX.

“We are excited to have Francesco return and fill our sanctuary again with
his beautiful music and artistry,” said Suzanne Anderson, Music Director of
St. Andrew’s Presbyterian Church. “It’s a joy to welcome him back to Dallas
for this visit.” Mr. Mastromatteo also will join the St. Andrew’s chancel
choir and tenor John Campione to lead Easter worship, beginning at 10:45
a.m. on Sunday, March 31, 2013.

There is no admission charge for the concert, although a free will offering
will be taken to assist with travel and production costs. For more
information, call 214 821-9989 or standrewsdallas.org.