Sunday, February 21, 2016

Winter 2016 Trinity River Vision Boondoggle Quarterly Propaganda Update

This morning I was pleased to open my mailbox to find the eagerly anticipated quarterly UPDATE from America's Biggest Boondoggle, also known as the Trinity River Vision Authority.

Every three months The Boondoggle mails out a slick piece of propaganda, which, for the most part, repeats what the previous quarterly update updated us about.

With America's Biggest Boondoggle's extremely slow motion construction it  is understandable that there is not a lot to report that is actual new information in each quarterly UPDATE.

What is not understandable is why does America's Biggest Boondoggle waste money on producing and mailing these embarrassing pieces of propaganda? Every three months.

The big news in the Winter 2016 UPDATE is pictured on the cover of the propaganda. Two pages of the UPDATE tell us that "On the morning of December 10, 2015, Fort Worth's newest piece of public art, Wind Roundabout, was celebrated with a formal dedication ceremony."

Formal? As opposed to an ordinary informal dedication ceremony? What made this ceremony formal I can not help wondering?

Below is one of the two pages under the title ART BECOMES THE CENTER OF ATTENTION.


I don't know why, but I found the first sentence of the second paragraph about the Wind Roundabout to be amusing....

This type of artwork is known as a kinetic sculpture because it incorporates movement.

If The Boondoggle thinks the public is so dumb it needs kinetic defined, don't you think the word "incorporates" might also need clarification?

In the page above about the Wind Roundabout we see Fort Worth Mayor Betsy Price in front of the kinetic sculpture apparently lecturing those she is speaking to about the importance of art in our community.

No mention is made in The Boondoggle's propaganda of the fact that they spent almost a million bucks for that ridiculous looking piece of aluminum.

The page below is from the two page section of the propaganda titled GATEWAY PARK MOVING FORWARD. Part of this was news to me, that being the part below.


I have not noticed dirt being moved on the west side of Beach Street. The current version of Gateway Park is due east of Beach Street. According to the propaganda "the Army Corps of Engineers is in the process of moving 1.4 million cubic yards of dirt, making way for flood protection and future recreational enhancements."

Flood protection? This area does not flood. Big levees the Army Corps of Engineers built over a half century ago keep this area dry when the Trinity goes rogue.

In the view above you are looking west. That is the stunning skyline of beautiful downtown Fort Worth you see in the distance. Those little things you see sticking up are Fort Worth's skyscrapers.

The below piece of propaganda titled THIS SUPERMODEL IS TURNING HEADS had me once again wondering why there is not more local complaining that this type nonsense must stop and those responsible for it removed.


Next to the SUPERMODEL title we learn "TRVA's newly-updated and interactive scale model of the Panther Island project has beauty AND the brains to match!

Who writes this embarrassing propaganda?

The first paragraph is another doozy...

"Once a majority of the bypass channel, street and canal right-of-ways had been purchased, the scale model in TRVA's Education Center needed updating in  order to more accurately represent the completed Panther Island project."

Completed? America's Biggest Boondoggle has completed NOTHING. Not a thing, after Boondoggling along for most of this century. Right-of-ways purchased? No mention made of The Boondoggle's wanton abuse of eminent domain to take property.

This interactive map, which lights up to highlight selected areas is located in something called the TRVA's Education Center. How many other public works projects in America have Education Centers? I believe this is located on the ground floor of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram building.

How much money has The Boondoggle wasted on its Education Center and this new interactive map? Why does The Boondoggle need an Education Center? In addition to the quarterly propaganda UPDATES. Don't these important UPDATES do enough educating?

No quarterly UPDATE from America's Biggest Boondoggle is complete without mention being made of all the wonders that have taken place, and will take place, at Panther Island Pavilion. You know, the world's premiere urban waterfront inner tubing music venue where there is no island or pavilion. And where occasionally events have to be canceled due to the e.coli levels in the Trinity River being too high.


The above propaganda tells us that last year's Oktoberfest had 10,000 patrons from more than 235 cities from 31 states. And this data was acquired how?

As always alcohol consumption plays a big part in America's Biggest Boondoggle quarterly UPDATES. We learn about upcoming PIP events like the Fort Worth Food and Wine Festival, Oktoberfest, in September, with beer wench stein carrying, whatever that is.

The Boondoggle's propaganda wishes HAPPY BEERTHDAY to Panther Island Brewing, telling us this brewery has won an award, while sitting on Panther Island (where there is no island) with a fantastic view of the Downtown skyline, telling us to come grab a beer and check out Fort Worth's hottest brewery.

And people ask me why I call this type nonsense propaganda.....

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

How much money did it cost to host all those events and how much profit did they bring to the the TRWD taxpayers?