To Experience America's Top Downtown Go To Fort Worth Weekly's Best Of 2014 Edition

Yesterday I picked up this week's Fort Worth Weekly, the eagerly anticipated Best of 2014 edition.

I did not get around to looking at the eagerly anticipated Best of 2014 edition of Fort Worth Weekly til this morning.

It only took flipping the cover to the first page to aggravate me.

You are looking at the aggravation on the left. A full page advertisement from the entity known as Sundance Square.

I know there is often little truth in advertising, but this un-truthful advertisement is downright embarrassing. I know that Fort Worth Weekly likes its advertising revenue, but, really, this ad is totally shameless.

The ad claims "Fort Worth has the #1 downtown in America, according to livability.com..."

That is a lie.

Livability.com did not designate Fort Worth's as the #1 downtown in America. I blogged the facts about this ridiculous propaganda previously in a blogging titled Elsie Hotpepper Helped Me Learn How Fort Worth Became The Top Downtown In America.

Why does Fort Worth Weekly go along with this false advertising I can not help but wonder?

Than again, maybe I don't need to spend all that much time wondering, what with the following propaganda gem from Fort Worth Weekly itself in the "On the Town" section of its Best of 2014 edition....

The few readers who participated in the Best of 2014 voting voted Lightcatcher Winery and Bistro as the place to Take a First Date.

While the Critic's, meaning the Fort Worth Weekly staff, chose Coyote Drive-in as the place to Take a First Date.

Part of the Critic's Choice explanation for their choice says "Situated at the scenic Panther Island Pavilion, the outdoor theater serves tasty food and beverages..."

Okay, let's just ignore the fact that what used to be known as Trinity Bottoms has been renamed Panther Island, by the Trinity River Vision Boondoggle, even though there is no island, and it is highly likely there never will be anything one could stretch their imagination far enough to call an island.

There also is no pavilion on the imaginary island. A blogging from a few weeks ago titled The Futile Search For The Missing Pavilion, Island & Panther At Fort Worth's Panther Island Pavilion elaborated on the fact there is no pavilion at Panther Island Pavilion.

Now, let's get back to what those Fort Worth Weekly Critic's had to say.....

Coyote Drive-in "Situated at the scenic Panther Island Pavilion"?

The area that is known as Panther Island Pavilion is at the confluence of the West and Clear Forks of the Trinity River, that being the location of the Trinity River Vision Boondoggle's Rockin' the River Happy Hour Inner Tube Floats.

I do not know anyone whose imagination is so imaginative that they would see this location as being scenic.

The oddest part of what the Fort Worth Critic's had to say about the Coyote Drive-in being situated in the scenic Panther Island Pavilion is not the scenic part, it is the fact that the Coyote Drive-in is no where near the confluence of the West and Clear Forks of the Trinity River and that which is being called Panther Island Pavilion.

Well, you get what you pay for. Fort Worth Weekly is free.....

Is A Fort Worth Arctic Blast Helping Freeze Panther Island Ice In The Vancouver Of The South?

Yesterday after I mentioned that an Arctic Blast was scheduled to arrive, today, in the Dallas/Fort Worth Metroplex zone, along with the rest of North Texas, someone, calling him or herself Anonymous, made the following comment, with a website link....

Anonymous has left a new comment on your post "A Drizzly Swim Before Today's Arctic Blast Blew Cold In To Texas": 

The Arctic Blast should go well with Panther Island Ice.

http://www.trinityrivervision.org/pantherislandice/ 

Panther Island Ice. An ice rink located at the world's first drive-in movie theater of the 21st century, that being the Trinity River Vision Boondoggle's Coyote Drive-In.

Why is the Trinity River Vision Boondoggle persisting in this Panther Island name foolishness?

Was nothing learned from the debacle of decades of confusing Fort Worth's few tourists by naming its downtown Sundance Square, with that confusion only recently slightly mitigated by actually adding a square in downtown Fort Worth, but then goofily naming that square Sundance Square Plaza?

So, decades from now when, or if, the Trinity River Vision ever becomes clear, a future tourist may ask what makes this Panther Island place an island to be told that the island is surrounded by the Trinity River and an un-needed flood diversion channel, that may, or may not, have water in it.

As for this Panther Island Ice ice rink, which opens for business November 22, 50 years, to the day, after John F. Kennedy was assassinated in Dallas, well.....

Who would have thought, over a decade ago, when we first learned of the Trinity River Vision, in a totally breathless piece of propaganda puffery in the Fort Worth Star-Telegram, in which the Star-Telegram informed us that what was then called Trinity Uptown would transform Fort Worth into the Vancouver of the South, that that lofty expectation would come to this.

An ice rink.

You reading this in Vancouver, or other locations in the Pacific Northwest, I guarantee I am not making this up. The local newspaper of record informed its readers that this public works project, which the public has never voted on, would transform Fort Worth into the Vancouver of the South.

Vancouver of the South without mountains, large bodies of saltwater, cruise ships or a highly educated population with an annoying tendency to add "eh" to the end of every sentence....

Panther Island Ice Will Soon Be Freezing In The Trinity River Vision Boondoggle

Yesterday I mentioned J.D. Granger in a blog post.

That mention of J.D. Granger had someone named Anonymous making a blog comment...

Anonymous has left a new comment on your post "I Am Shocked Regarding New TRWD Ethics Violation Allegations": 

Fort Worth's favorite mama's boy, J.D. Granger: Photo #22 is the one with him in it.

I am almost 100% certain that the lady on J.D.'s right is not the mama to which Anonymous refers.

In other J.D. Granger news this morning we learned that J.D.'s vision for the Trinity River Vision Boondoggle is now expanding to add an ice skating rink to the plethora of outdoor activities the TRVB has initiated in Fort Worth.

The public, I mean, the Trinity River Vision Authority voted, unanimously, to spend $99,000 to get the ice rink up and freezing.

J.D. says the TRVB will get back its investment via skate rentals and sponsorships.

Panther Island Ice will be open daily from November 22 through January 5.

The ice rink will be located in the Coyote Drive-In complex, near the canteen, with one of the movie screens viewable from the ice rink, thus allowing a dream of many to come true, that being to be able to ice skate whilst watching a movie.

Who could have guessed, over a decade ago when the Trinity River Vision was first announced, that all these years later what we'd be seeing of the vision is the world's premiere wakeboard lake, the world's first drive-in movie theater of the 21st century, happy hour inner tube floats in the Trinity River, one of the world's best waterfront music venues at something called Panther Island Pavilion and now an ice rink?

I really don't understand how come J.D. Granger was not picked as Best Servant of the People in last week's Fort Worth Weekly Best of 2013 issue....

A Fun Sunday Fort Worth Trinity River Vision Boondoggle Bike Tour

Yesterday I blogged about a bizarre bit of propaganda that touted something being called Panther Island Pavilion as a revolutionary game changer that is changing the face of music in Fort Worth and the world beyond, with this Panther Island Pavilion music venue being a huge attraction that will put Fort Worth on the music map.

I read this propaganda and wondered to myself if it were possible that the totally nondescript Rockin' the River location, which I'd checked out previously, could possibly have morphed into something special, since I last looked at it.

So, I decided to take myself, and my bike, on a Fort Worth Boondoggle Tour on this next to last Sunday of May. I drove to Trinity Park, via the 7th Street bridge, whose new arches, I must say, look cool. This will be a good-looking bridge, when completed, methinks.

Let the Fort Worth Boondoggle Tour begin.

The photo at the top is part of the downtown Fort Worth campus of Tarrant County College. This part of the college was supposed to be larger, with part of it on the opposite side of the Trinity River. After millions of dollars in cost over runs it was decided to spend millions more to turn the defunct Radio Shack Corporate Headquarters into the main campus of the downtown Fort Worth campus of Tarrant County College.

You are looking at the former Radio Shack Corporate Headquarters, that became a college, below.

Fort Worth's Boondoggles sort of feed on each other, at times. Radio Shack's Corporate Headquarters, that Radio Shack could not afford, and soon had to sell, came about with a land grab via eminent domain. From the Radio Shack Boondoggle Fort Worth lost acres of free parking, which, for decades, had made access to downtown an easy pleasant experience, because along with the free parking there was the world's shortest subway line to take you from the free parking to the heart of downtown Fort Worth. And the subway ride was also free. The Radio Shack Boondoggle clearly did lasting damage to downtown Fort Worth. I think of that anytime I need to park in downtown Fort Worth.

Well, let's leave those Fort Worth Boondoggles behind and visit some Trinity River Vision Boondoggles.

Below we are looking at the confluence of the West and Clear Forks of the Trinity River. This is also the location of the Trinity River Vision's Rockin' the River Happy Hour Inner Tube Floats. This is the area described in the dfw.com propaganda article I blogged about yesterday, with the below paragraph...

Over the past two years, Panther Island Pavilion, a 40-acre space tucked away underneath Henderson Street just outside downtown, has risen from a barren patch of real estate you might not even notice on your jog along the Trinity Trails to become a focal point not only for civic planners with an eye on tomorrow, but for the city and state’s music industry.

Impressive isn't it? Actually, in person, this is a mess. J.D. Granger references new and improved music stages. But, what I saw today, was the stage I'd seen previously, is now missing, replaced by the two blue outhouses you see  at the center of the picture. The stage on the right has been altered since I last saw it.

A couple lifeguard perches have been added. The sign on the lifeguard perch says it is "A PRODUCT OF THE  TRINITY RIVER VISION."

Hubris.

The sign also advises "SWIM AT OWN RISK."  If a floater runs into trouble does the lifeguard shout that you are swimming at your own risk?

That is a Panther Island Pavilion cement encased outhouse you are looking at above. The stage we saw in the previous two pictures is in the background.

I think the MMG should be changed to OMG.

J.D. Granger is planning on having thousands of people attend music events that will turn Fort Worth into the live music capital  of the world. All those people? And only a few outhouses? Outhouses? Is there any other big city in America with so many outhouses near its downtown core?

Continuing on with the Trinity River Vision part of our Fort Worth Boondoggle Tour. Next stop, Coyote Drive-In.

I was hoping to be impressed by the Coyote Drive-In. I was hoping to see a well designed, landscaped, attractive modern looking take on a drive-in, something that reminded me of the long gone Skagit Drive-In of my long ago youth.

The word that quickly came to mind when I saw the Coyote Drive-In was TACKY. The cyclone fence topped by 3 strands of barbed wire is one example. The parking lot had  not been resurfaced from the days when its facing bankruptcy owner sold it to the Tarrant Regional Water District. I saw no landscaping. A fence made of worn looking boards surrounds the area where the movie watchers park. The entry to the drive-in, where you pass on to the property to get in line to buy your ticket is, well, missing a Welcome to Coyote Drive-In sign, or any other type signage. Maybe it was there and I missed seeing it.

The Coyote Drive-In has the look of something built on the cheap, the extremely cheap. Totally aesthetically unappealing. Which makes it a perfect pairing with the Panther Island Pavilion.

Leaving the Coyote Drive-In our next stop on the Fort Worth Boondoggle Tour is the world's premiere urban wakeboarding venue, Cowtown Wakepark.

I must say, of the three Trinity River Vision Boondoggle up and running operations, Cowtown Wakepark is looking the best. The last time I saw Cowtown Wakepark it was a littered, overgrown mess. Today there were 4 guys wakeboarding at the same time. Several people were watching. The thing that totally surprised me is how clean the water looked. It is a totally different color than the Trinity River which you can see at the same time you are looking at the Wakepark lake.

What is making the Wakepark lake look so clean? There is no apparent filtration system. There are no aerating fountains. The water looked so good I thought to myself the TRV Boondoggle should lose this Cowtown Wakepark thing and turn this into a swimming lake.

On thing I forgot to mention and forgot to take pictures of, because I was focused on pedaling into a very strong wind, was at the Panther Island Pavilion location a couple of the old subway stations had signage attached of the "STAGE 3", "STAGE 4" sort. Can these possibly be some of the "new" stages J.D. Granger references in the bizarre propaganda article in dfw.com? If that is the case I guess it is sort of admirable that J.D. is re-purposing something lost due to the Radio Shack Corporate Headquarters Boondoggle.

Yeah, it is really clear to me, that J.D. Granger's vision for the Trinity River Vision Boondoggle is leading Fort Worth to a very special future, a music, drive-in and wakeboard mecca for all the world to come and enjoy...

Fort Worth's Trinity River Vision Coyote Drive-In Movie Theater Boondoggle

Trinity River Vision Boondoggle Drive-In

I have been slightly ailing for the past couple weeks, so a thing or two has slipped past my notice.

Like the Trinity River Vision Boondoggle has now been expanded to provide Fort Worth with a much needed drive-in movie theater.

The Tarrant Regional Water District, it being the entity in cahoots with the TRV Boondoggle, is leasing 25 acres, give or take an acre or two, of land it owns south of LaGrave Field, to a Dallas startup business called Coyote Theaters.

Yes. That sounds like a good plan, lease land to a startup business starting up a new business they've not started up before. Sounds like a recipe for success. Sort of like building the world's premiere wakeboard park where it can get wiped out by a flood.

Tarrant Regional Water District board member, Jim Lane, is totally on board, thinking this is a great idea. Mr. Lane plans on borrowing a neighbor's 1957 Chevy to take his wife to the drive-in. I assume to recreate the wild drive-in nights of his youth.

I've been there, done that. My drive-in vehicle was a 65 Mustang Fastback. In the Skagit Drive-In. A drive-in theater long gone. As are most drive-ins in America. Outdated relics of the past.

The TRV Boondoggle Drive-In will have 3 screens. Each screen will be able to be watched by movie goers in up to 300 cars. Tickets will be in the $6 to $8 range.

The TRV Boondoggle Drive-In propaganda promoters are saying they anticipate around 300,000 TRVBDIT (Trinity River Vision Boondoggle Drive-In Theater) movie goers a year.

That works out to about 822 paying customers a day.

That sounds believable. Sort of like how the Fort Worth Star-Telegram and its propaganda co-horts claimed 7 to 8 million visitors a year to the Fort Worth Cabela's sporting goods store would make Cabela's the top tourist attraction in Texas. With apparently no one doing the math to see how unlikely was a daily average of around 22,000 visitors to a sporting goods store.

The Tarrant Regional Water District con jobbers are claiming they will realize $1.7 million in rent from the lease to the Coyote Theater start-up.

I have found no info as to how this deal came to be. Was it the same type machinations that got Tim Love his sweetheart deal for the cool new Woodshed Smokehouse?

I can not help but wonder if one of the Trinity River Vision Boondoggle Drive-In Movie Theater's screens will be facing the Trinity River, so that in summer, the Rockin' the River Happy Hour Inner Tube Feces Infested Floats can enjoy watching a movie from the comfort of their favorite dangerously polluted river?

My only drive-in experiences have been in Washington, decades ago, before most cars had air conditioning. In Washington you don't often have any need for air-conditioning. With modern cars and air conditioners, how does that work at a movie drive-in theater?

Three screens with up to 500 cars each? That'd be 1,500 cars running their A/Cs to keep cool on a HOT Texas summer night. That does not sound very eco-friendly to me.