Elsie Hotpepper's Midnight Fort Worth Weekly Cookin' The Trinity River Vision Books Turkey Alert

Last night, shortly before midnight, a few minutes after I'd become horizontal, my phone made its incoming text message noise.

I then struggled to get myself back vertical so as to make it to the location of the phone.

And found it was a message from Elsie Hotpepper. With the message being a screen cap from Fort Worth Weekly's Turkey Awards 2018 edition, specifically the lead Turkey Award, titled Cookin' the Books.

Below is that lead Turkey Award in its entirety....

Cookin' the Books

Turkeys are coming home to roost at Panther Island. The $1.1 billion (and climbing) private economic development plan disguised as a public flood control project is bogging down in its own hubris. Critics say the flood control portion could be completed for much less money, say, around about $20 or $30 million. A billion bucks is vital for flood control, at least according to proponents like Jim Oliver, general manager of the Tarrant Regional Water District, which provides water for 2 million people and implements flood control measures for 11 North Texas counties. Nobody can say exactly how much money is or isn’t needed for flood control because a cost benefit analysis hasn’t been done during the two decades that this project has been kicking around. Why? Because Oliver and water district board members don’t want such a study. Why? Why do you think?

The project is drifting now, even after local taxpayers recently approved $250 million worth of bonds for the water board to issue. Still, at least $700 million more is needed – money that doesn’t appear to be coming from the federal government or anywhere else anytime soon. Fort Worth officials are now demanding an audit, even though most of them have been coddling and enabling Oliver and the water district from the beginning.

__________________

It is interesting to me to see how, now that what has become America's Biggest Boondoggle is clearly sinking, that those who might have been accurately reporting this multi-decade embarrassment are only now doing so.

I was not long in Texas, not long in reading the Fort Worth Star-Telegram, before realizing this was not a newspaper of the sort I was used to reading whilst residing on the west coast. I soon realized the Star-Telegram was more of a propaganda organ for the local chamber of commerce, than a legit newspaper of record.

I was not long in Texas before I realized Fort Worth Weekly was the closest Fort Worth came to a real newspaper. That and, at times, the Fort Worth Business Press.

But, it has long seemed to me that Fort Worth Weekly could be more aggressively investigating that which has become America's Biggest Boondoggle. Such as way back during one of the Trinity River Vision's early failures, that being the Cowtown Wakepark.

It did not take much common sense to see that Cowtown Wakepark was not going to work. We still do not know how much public money the Trinity River Vision Authority wasted on the Cowtown Wakepark.

Or the TRVA  and TRWD shenanigans which resulted in the world's first drive-in movie theater of the 21st century. Oddly named something Coyote, rather than the Panther Island label the Boondoggle eventually came to slap on anything associated with its multiple shady operations.

Like Rockin' the River Happy Hour Inner Tube Floats at the imaginary Panther Island Pavilion on the imaginary Panther Island at the imaginary world class Panther Island music venue.

And, I am more than a little offput that in Fort Worth Weekly's 2018 Turkey Award about the TRV Cookin' the Books that Boondoggle propaganda is repeated, as in...

"The project is drifting now, even after local taxpayers recently approved $250 million worth of bonds for the water board to issue."

That bond issue which the voters approved remains controversial due to the misleading verbiage on the ballot, as in claiming the $250 million was for flood control and drainage. When, soon after passage, the Boondogglers, such as the TRWD's number one turkey, Jim Oliver, in full hubris mode, claimed the $250 million was for Panther Island. And another of Fort Worth's turkeys, Kay Granger, claimed this misleading ballot measure passing amounted to voters approving of the Trinity River Central City Uptown Panther Island District Vision, after years of criticism that the public had never been allowed to vote for what has become America's Biggest Boondoggle.

Yeah, another Fort Worth Weekly 2018 Turkey Award should have been awarded to Kay Granger and her favorite son, J.D., and Kay's future daughter-in-law, Shanna Cate....

UPDATE: Elsie Hotpepper has informed me I was erroneous in saying Kay Granger also needed a 2018 FW Weekly Turkey Award. Turns out Fort Worth's worst congresswoman did get herself a piece of the turkey for we have lost track now of how many times. In its entirety...

Tur-Kay

Back when Kay Granger was mayor of Fort Worth and considering a run for the U.S. House of Representatives, both Democrats and Republicans wanted her to run on their ticket. She was considered accessible and intelligent and sometimes even sensitive to the needs of her constituents. 

When she decided to run on the Republican ticket, in fact, some conservatives thought she was too liberal. 

Sometime during the last 20 years, that all changed. She has become a rubber stamp for all things right-wing, has not held town hall meetings for years, and, hell, she doesn’t even respond to most reporters’ requests for comments on issues that affect her own district.

So it wasn’t really a surprise that when Vanessa Adia decided to run against her for her District 12 seat Granger chose not to have a single debate with her. Disappointing, yes, but typical of someone who has been in office so long that she has become insulated and isolated, and the little people, even those running against her, just don’t warrant attention.

Kay, your constituents do matter. Time you wake up and come back down to earth. Meanwhile, since you’re apparently doing so well without our help, you must not need much. Therefore, all you’re getting is one turkey foot this year. Enjoy it. It’s all you deserve.

Was Someone High On Wax Before This Week's FW Weekly Went To Print?

When I picked up this week's Fort Worth Weekly this morning, and saw the headline for the cover story it had me wondering what fresh ridiculous nonsense is this?

The cover story is HIGH ON WAX, with a sub-headline of There's a new, cleaner way to smoke weed. And it's legal in Texas.

I got a text message a few minutes ago telling me that this week's Fort Worth Weekly has messed up bad, real bad.

I figured the real bad mess up must have  to do with the cover article.

I figured right.

Just a few paragraphs into the article I came to this gem....

"Originally called hashish, or hash, wax began its rise from obscurity in California around 1980. Wax is cannabis oil extracted directly from the buds that you would typically smoke in a joint."

West coast children of the 60s, does it come as a surprise to you that hash began its rise from obscurity in California around 1980?

What embarrassing, ignorant, inaccurate nonsense.

The article goes on  to elaborate on how one can make their own hash wax. And eventually makes an odd case as to how doing so is legal in Texas.

When it is not legal in Texas.

Two comments to the article sort of nail the problem Fort Worth Weekly has created for itself....

The headlines for this article are very incorrect. I hope people don’t go to prison relying on this misinformation! Wax, concentrates, dabs, shatter, etc. (Tetrahydrocannabinols) are listed in the Texas Controlled Substances Act as a Penalty Group II Controlled Substances. Possession under 1 gram is a State Jail Felony punishable up to two years in prison without any parole. Possession over 4 grams is a First Degree Felony punishable by 5-99 years or LIFE in prison! To say this is “legal’ in a headline is reckless to say the least! I would have loved the opportunity to tell this reporter this before you published this article.

David Sloane, Attorney
Public Information Officer
DFW-National Organization for Reform of Marijuana Laws (NORML)

This article is misleading and very unethical as a journalist to publish. This article needs to be retracted. Wax is still illegal in Texas and for you to misinform your readers could lead to peoples arrest, fines and so forth. Do the right thing and retract.

____________________________________________

Clearly Fort Worth Weekly no longer has an adult on board its sinking ship.

Is Gayle Reaves still available?

A Supposed Post Flood Fort Worth Wakeboard Revival

A few minutes ago I saw that which you see here, on Facebook. A few minutes after that I got a text message from Elsie Hotpepper telling me "I see Andy sent you FOD on FB."

Which translated means Andy sent me blogging fodder on Facebook.

The blogging fodder is a link to an article in this week's Fort Worth Weekly titled Wakeboard Revival.

The blurb from the article, which you see in the screen cap says, "The city’s biggest wakeboard park is being resuscitated after it was flooded by Tropical Storm Bill in June. A new owner is rebuilding ramps at the donut-shaped watercourse at the West Fork of the Trinity River downtown and adding several..."

Adding several what? Lucky for me I had acquired this week's Weekly at my neighborhood library. I could not find where I'd put this week's Weekly, then remembered I likely left it in my vehicle. Soon upon retrieving this week's Weekly I found the rest of the paragraph following several... to be "new features, including shaded seating and a place to get food and drinks."

I have several problems with this FW Weekly article. For one,  it reads like a Press Release. I mentioned a couple other problems I had with this article in the comment I made to Andy's Facebook post, before I had actually read the entire article....

Durango Jones: City's biggest wakeboard park? Does that mean there is another one and it is smaller? How could one get any smaller? This being re-opened under new management has been the operating propaganda on the Cowtown Wakepark Facebook page for months. If it is being re-opened, will the problem with it getting flood damaged be fixed? After all, America's Biggest Boondoggle is primarily a flood control project. Sort of ironic that the first project completed by The Boondoggle has been flood damaged twice....

Well, the article answers the question about there being multiple wakeboard parks in Fort Worth...

About a half-dozen are in Texas, and two are in Fort Worth: the full-sized Cowtown WakePark, with its endless loop cable hauling people around in circles, and TXMC Wake Park, which has a smaller, straight-line cable system.

I have no idea where in Fort Worth this TXMC Wake Park is located. I'd never heard of it before today.

Another paragraph was very perplexing to me....

Water levels on the West Fork, according to the USGS National Water Information System, rose by nearly 6-and-a -half feet during the last two weeks of May. These waters normally flow at low levels –– the West Fork is part of a flood control reservoir.

Only a nincompoop would look at the Cowtown Wakepark pond and not realize that whenever the Trinity River goes into flood mode the little pond is going to be flooded. The flood in May was not the first time the little pond has suffered flood damage. What did they think was going to happen when the river next door floods? And what is this about this area of the West Fork of the Trinity being part of a flood control reservoir.

Huh?

Doesn't a reservoir require a dam which holds back water? Thus controlling a flood? Where is this downriver dam creating a reservoir?

I tell you, Fort Worth Weekly is getting to be almost as embarrassing as reading Trinity River Vision Boondoggle propaganda. Or a Star-Telegram puff piece.

So, when Cowtown Wakepark reopens it will have a new name, Republic Waterpark DFW. The new owner of the so-called "park" is a Philippine man named Lray Villafuerte who is paying for its reconstruction. Supposedly new parts for the renewed park are being assembled in a Manila warehouse owned by Mr. Villafuerte.

I remember when America's Biggest Boondoggle put up signage along the Trinity Trails pointing out the direction to the various wonders one could find along the trails I opined that etching "Cowtown Wakepark" on the signs seemed a bit of an obvious risk, with it seeming obvious to me that that enterprise would not be in business very long. Will The Boondoggle use whiteout to cover up Cowtown Wakepark and write over the whiteout with Republic Waterpark DFW?

Last summer after I discovered Cowtown Wakepark was closed and saw a sign saying it would open soon under new management, it only took a little Googling to find that Cowtown Wakepark had a Facebook page. On that page there were a lot of comments lamenting its closure and the misinformation as to when it would reopen. There were comments about financial malfeasance, funds being stolen. It wasn't pretty.

Did Fort Worth Weekly not consider it might be worthwhile to dig a little deeper into the Cowtown Wakepark debacle?

Early on, when Cowtown Wakepark opened, J.D.  Granger very much touted this as an accomplishment of his Boondoggle, bragging about how The Boondoggle was bringing this wonderful sport to Fort Worth.

I have asked more than once how much The Boondoggle spent to build the wakeboard pond.

I  remember back in October of 2010, biking along the Trinity Trail and suddenly coming upon a ridiculous amount of signage touting the "TRINITY RIVER VISION UNDERWAY'. In the area that became Cowtown Wakepark I was totally bum puzzled wondering why so much earth was being moved, why a big hole was being dug, why the Trinity Trail was being re-routed.

I took pictures and blogged about it, asking if anyone had a clue. Connie D then sent me a link to page on the Trinity River Vision's website, touting this new thing they were bringing to Fort Worth. It was only an artist's rendering, but I could tell the hole I saw being dug was what is now the wakeboard pond.

How much money did The Boondoggle spend on this ill-fated enterprise? Shouldn't that information be readily available?

Changing the subject slightly.

This week's Fort Worth Weekly is their annual Turkey Awards issue. The prime Turkey Award went to the current extremely embarrassing governor of Texas, Greg Abbott.

I think Fort Worth Weekly should also have given itself a Turkey Award.

A Turkey Award is well deserved for firing Fort Worth Weekly Editor Gayle Reaves. Ever since Fort Worth Weekly lost Gayle Reaves the quality of Fort Worth Weekly has plummeted.

This article about the Cowtown Wakepark debacle is just one more example of that plummet.....

Fort Worth Weekly Critic's Choice Blog Is Not What You Are Reading Right Now

Today I finally was able to procure a hard copy of this week's Fort Worth Weekly, that being the eagerly anticipated annual Best of Fort Worth edition.

Readers are asked to pick the Best in several categories, such as Getting & Spending, People & Places, Good Grub, Culture and On The Town.

Each category has sub-categories where the readers submit what they think is the Best in Fort Worth.

For example, in Getting & Spending readers are asked to pick the Best place to get cigars. The Reader's Choice was Pop's Safari. The Critic's Choice was Tobacco Lane.

The Critic's Choice part of Fort Worth Weekly's annual Best of Fort Worth edition has always struck me as odd. They solicit the opinion of Readers. And then over and over again indicate the Reader's choice is wrong, that this is the Critic's Choice. And who are these Critics?

I suspect not all that many Readers bother to submit choices, so those Critics have to fill in the blank spaces with their choices. This is the biggest edition of FW Weekly of the year. Chock full of advertising. Advertisers love to get that coveted "Best of" accolade, which they then promote in their advertisements.

Now, regarding the Critic's Blog Choice of the Star-Telegraph, the Critics tell us the Star-Telegraph is a reminder that watchdogging still has a place.

Okay, well, that really makes no sense. Why do we need a reminder that watchdogging still has a place?

Regarding the Star-Telegraph blog, you can find a link to it on this very blog you are reading right now, on the list of blogs you will find on the column on the right.

A time or two or maybe more I have been asked if I know who does the Star-Telegraph blog. I think I get asked this because a time or two or maybe more the Star-Telegraph blog has linked to something I have spewed on my blog.

My boilerplate answer to this probing question is that I do have a fairly good idea who it  is who does the Star-Telegraph blog. And that it is not Betsy Price, who many think is the culprit...

Running Ghost-Free At Village Creek Unable To Find Fort Worth Weekly

Yesterday I got myself no heavy duty aerobicizing of the inducing endorphins sort due to a Euless doctor visit wreaking havoc with my regular schedule.

A cool pool bout just does not do it for me, endorphin-wise. This morning's cool pool bout started before the sun arrived.

Today in the noon time frame I was in Arlington, near where the Indian Ghosts haunt the Village Creek Natural Historical Area. So, I decided to go jogging.

Well, actually running. Today was run as fast as I can as long as I can and then walk day. Breathe hard. And repeat.

And sweat like a fat pig in a sauna.

Above you are looking at the Village Creek selfie stick which I have shown you before. This is a wider view of the mirror ball. I detected no Indian Ghosts hovering about me when I got the picture off the phone today. Maybe the Indian Ghosts have taken a quick trip to Washington, D.C. to see the Pope. The Indian Ghosts were probably pleased to hear the Pope speak of their ancestors.

Changing the subject to something else.

This week's Fort Worth Weekly is not be found, by me, at any of the usual locations. This is the annual Best of Fort Worth issue.

I have been told by a fairly reliable source, who included photo documentation, that Fort Worth Weekly has given one of its coveted Critic's Choice awards to a popular Fort Worth centric blog, with Fort Worth Weekly saying that that blog is a reminder that watchdogging still has a place.

I did not know we needed a reminder to know watchdogging still has a place.

The online version of Fort Worth Weekly was messed up when I tried to glean the Critic's Choice thing about that watchdogging blog. I'll go check and see if it is still messed up. Be right back.

Still messed up.

Ever since the esteemed, highly regarded Gayle Reaves decided to find a better job than being the editor in chief of FW Weekly, the Weekly has gone downhill like a sled out of control. The website being messed up and the Weekly not being delivered are a couple examples.

Fort Worth Star-Telegram Does Not Rip Itself Over America's Biggest Boondoggle

What you are looking at here is a screen cap of a section of last week's Fort Worth Weekly Static column. The section screen capped is titled "Star-Telegram Rips Itself".

When Fort Worth Weekly lost its renowned editor, Gayle Reaves, several months ago, the Weekly seemed to rapidly deteriorate. A few weeks columns went missing, such as the Static column.

Well, the past three weeks the Weekly seems to be back firing on all cylinders, with high quality cover articles and with the Static column back also firing on all  cylinders.

For example, two paragraphs from the Static column about the Star-Telegram ripping itself....

The paper also wants to talk to people who have stopped buying the Star-Telegram completely. That conversation is easy to imagine. “I stopped buying the paper because it kisses up to the downtown elite, the Basses, the gas industry, advertisers, and various sacred cows, and it offers mostly superficial, boring articles, mostly about Dallas.”

The Star-Telegram spends way too much time and money on silly consumer surveys. Seems like every other month they’re changing their layout, coverage, paper size, fonts, you name it, based on the latest survey. Here’s some free advice. Write interesting stories. Impact society. Ask tough questions. Take pride in your product. Stop sucking so much. You’re welcome.

___________________________________________

I have long opined that Fort Worth suffers due to not having a real newspaper asking tough questions, conducting what is known as investigative journalism.

That which is known as the Trinity River Uptown Central City Panther Island Vision likely would not have become America's Biggest Boondoggle if Fort Worth had a real newspaper asking questions from the start of the folly, such as asking, way back when the Boondoggle began, why this public works project is not being put to a public vote so as to secure funding like that which is done in other towns with successful public works projects?

Or when Congresswoman Kay Granger's son, with zero project engineering experience, was given the job of being the Boondoggle's executive director, asking by what criteria was J. D. Granger determined to be the best man for the job?

Or asking why it is going to take four years for the Boondoggle to build three simple little bridges over dry land?

Or asking why it is that America's Biggest Boondoggle has been boondoggling along for a lot longer than it took to build the Panama Canal, with so little accomplished in all the years of boondoggling?

If Fort Worth had a real newspaper editorials would have opined that if the Trinity River Vision is such a vital flood control and economic development plan, why is it being implemented in slow motion?

Another editorial might mention that fact that this vital project being built in slow motion is greatly increasing the cost of the project. Just all the extra years of paying the salaries of employees like J. D. Granger, who would long ago be off to the next job his mama found for him, has greatly added to the cost of the project.

If Fort Worth had a real newspaper that newspaper would have jumped all over the ridiculous claim that the Boondoggle's three simple little bridges are being build over dry land so as to save money and make construction easier.

Why would a real newspaper have jumped all over this ridiculous claim?  Because there will be no water under those bridges until the Trinity River is diverted into the ditch dug under the bridges. The ditch could and should be being dug at the same time as the bridges are being built.

If this project were properly engineered and fully funded, that is what would be going on.

The fact that the digging of the ditch will not begin until the three bridges are built just adds to the folly and is yet one more example of why this inept project has become America's Biggest Boondoggle....

Fort Worth Weekly Feels We Are Lucky Fort Worth City Leaders Prepared For Storm Bill's Flooding

This afternoon Elsie Hotpepper pointed me to something somewhat amusing in Fort Worth Weekly's online Blotch blog.

That is that which I am talking about, screen capped, but I edited the title due to this being a family friendly blog, which for common decency's sake does not use vulgarities of the F-word sort, lest some young impressionable mind see such and conclude such is appropriate in polite society.

So, I changed the title to "More Fun Rain!"

The blurb which caught the Hotpepper's eye was....

Did you ever think we’d be complaining about too much rain in Texas? Even Pete Delkus is wearing arm floaties to work. Luckily our city leaders are preparing for the latest round of rainfall brought by Hurri-storm Bill, the least menacing-sounding name for a storm since Hurricane Mildred is the ’40s.

Who would these Fort Worth city leaders be who are preparing for this latest round of flooding? And how is it they are preparing?

The same city leaders who led so ineptly when the West 7th area was rapidly developed, with little attention paid to drainage, turning the area into a lake when too much rain falls?

The same city leaders who go along with America's Biggest Boondoggle, that supposed flood control project combined with an economic development project which has been going basically nowhere in slow motion for well over a decade?

The same city leaders who have done nothing when gas drillers drilling in Fort Worth, particularly East Fort Worth, alter the topography, causing flooding where no flooding had occurred previously?

What has gone awry at Fort Worth Weekly?

It's like what used to be the only publication Fort Worth had which came close to being a real newspaper has now been co-opted and has taken to operating in the Fort Worth Way, as in kowtowing to the ruling oligarchy, blindly spewing the party line's propaganda, the flooded people be damned....

Has The Fort Worth Weekly Lost It?

That was the question Elsie Hotpepper asked me yesterday.

The reason Ms. Hotpepper was asking me this is because of what she read in a Fort Worth Weekly article titled Summer Fun List which purported to list some of the allegedly fun things one can do this summer in the Fort Worth zone.

The part of the article which has Elsie questioning the sanity of FW Weekly is...

And while August is the perfect time of year to get together with your favorite mosquitoes and grill some Walmeat, don’t forget that from June 14 through August 30, Panther Island Pavilion will serve up Sunday Fundays, in which you can rent a tube to float the Trinity from noon to 6 p.m. for five measly bucks. If you love the water but still think the river is too dirty –– or loaded with too many toe-devouring snapping turtles –– just remember that the flotsam at your apartment pool or nephew’s favorite Arling-fun water park is probably 10 times worse. #harboringecoli #hospitalbedvistas #ecoliestates –– Steve Steward

Well, that is a bit disturbing. Fort Worth Weekly coming to the defense of America's Biggest Boondoggle encouraging people to float in the polluted Trinity River, claiming Arlington's Hurricane Harbor is 10 times more polluted, along with equally polluted apartment pools.

Uh, unlike the Trinity River, apartment pools are tested daily,  the water is filtered, chemicals are added to the water to keep the water clean and safe. I'm fairly certain Hurricane Harbor makes sure its water is safe and clean.

Unlike the Trinity River, the water in apartment pools and Hurricane Harbor is the same treated water you get out of your faucet.

FW Weekly is advising us not to forget that The Boondoggle is serving up Sunday Fundays? With tubes costing only 5 bucks to rent?

Walmeat?

I think the answer to Elsie Hotpepper's question is YES!

Has An Automated Survey Asked How You Voted In The TRWD Election & If You Are Going To Scarborough Faire?

A few weeks ago, way back in April, Fort Worth Weekly's cover article was titled TWRD v. FOES.

I blogged about the article and its unfortunate TWRD typo in Fort Weekly Does Not Know I Am A Foe Of The TWRD followed by In Fort Worth Weekly Is J.D. Granger Exhibit A For The TRWD Prosecution Or The Defense?

A week ago an election took place in Fort Worth Weekly's vicinity. However in this week's post-election Fort Worth Weekly no mention is made of the TRWD and its foes and their part in the election.

Only in the STATIC column was tepid mention made of the election.

Methinks, no, mefears, that Fort Worth has lost its only vestige of a real newspaper. Something has gone awry with Fort Worth Weekly.

This week's cover article asks that Simon & Garfunkel question from a half century ago, Are You Going to Scarborough Faire? With a sub-heading telling us that The Renaissance is still all the rage in Waxahachie.

The article came across to me like one extremely long advertisement, with a lot of photos. This article, about a family oriented venue, also marks the first time I have noticed an FW Weekly feature article featuring barnyard vulgarisms and the F-word.

I made an F-word free webpage of my visit, years ago to Scarborough Faire. That webpage managed to generate the most comments, some with the F-word, of anything I have ever done. You can read some of them, freed of profanity, in Scarbo Feedback.

Now back to TRWD v. FOES.

This morning an interesting comment showed up commenting on a blogging yesterday about Ballot Bandits....

Anonymous has left a new comment on your post "Ballot Bandit Tips On How To Steal An Election In Texas": 

Just got an automated survey asking about how I voted in the TRWD election. Seems inquiring minds want to know... This could get interesting.
_______________________________________________

An automated survey? Over the phone? How would that work? I voted in the TRWD election. But I don't recollect leaving my phone number anywhere.

Is Fort Worth Weekly Suggesting Mary Kelleher Symbolically Scoops Corruption Sludge From The Trinity River?

With this week's Fort Worth Weekly I had not previously paid any attention to the artwork on this week's cover, what with my attention drawn to the TRWD typo and the article which the cover artwork apparently represents.

It was not til this morning I looked down to see Fort Worth Weekly laying on the floor to find myself wondering what is that cover artwork supposed to be telling us?

Is that redhead at the lower right supposed to be Tarrant Regional Water District board member, Mary Kelleher?

With Mary Kelleher scooping some symbolic sludge corruption from the polluted Trinity River while bundles of dollars are flushed down the river?

Or is that supposed to be a redheaded J.D. Granger scooping a handful of gold, for his personal use, from the polluted Trinity, while taxpayer dollars are flushed down the river, eventually floating under the Trinity River Vision Boondoggle's three little bridges currently being constructed to connect to an imaginary island in four years?

Anyone else wondering what this Fort Worth Weekly cover is trying to tell us?

In Fort Worth Weekly Is J.D. Granger Exhibit A For The TRWD Prosecution Or The Defense?

On Wednesday after I got myself this week's Fort Worth Weekly I blogged about this week's cover article in a blogging titled Fort Worth Weekly Does Not Know I Am A Foe Of The TWRD.

In that blogging I made mention of an unfortunate typo on the cover and the fact that the online version of FW Weekly had not yet been updated with this week's issue, hence me being unable to make a link to the article.

Until today.

The online version of FOES v. TRWD fixed the TWRD typo. Near as I can tell no editing has been done to the online version to fix the cluttered, confused print version's shoddy quality.

I will copy a few paragraphs from the FW Weekly article. The pronoun "He" in the first sentence of that which I will copy refers to the controversial Jim Oliver, he being the man whose job it apparently is to be TRWD's stonewalling enforcer.....

"He has engaged in feisty combat with Kelleher, who is trying to access many records that the public has not been able to. Most recently, she drew Oliver’s ire during a meeting in the fall when the district’s legal budget had to be increased.

Oliver, she said, blamed her in part for the increase.

Her colleagues are likewise unamused by her repeated requests for documents that include lobbyist payments check stubs, e-mails between district officers and lobbyists, and expense reports for board members.

They suspect her, perhaps with good reason, of simply being an agent for Bennett.

“She wants copies of records so that she can take them to Monty Bennett,” Stevens said simply.

Even if the complaints to authorities and the various investigations go nowhere, the gripes are an irritant to a district that for years sailed along with nary a question as to its operation.

Their concerns have some merit.

___________________________________________

Exhibit A is J.D. Granger, son of U.S. Rep. Kay Granger and the head of the TRWD’s sister agency, the Trinity River Vision Authority, the legislatively created economic-development arm of TRWD that has been criticized for its $909 million taxpayer-funded development of the river basin.

With little experience in economic development, J.D. was named head of the TRVA out of the Tarrant County district attorney’s office with almost no public input.

Also in question are contracts with those tight with the TRWD establishment."

Now back to my pithy commentary....

So, apparently FW Weekly is buying into the TRWD's propaganda that Mary Kelleher is a pawn of Monty Bennett, that they, meaning the other board members, suspect her, perhaps with good reason, of being a Bennett agent.

The article goes on to say even if all the investigations go nowhere they are an irritant to the district.

Well, duh.

I suspect anytime anyone gets investigated for shady dealing that that investigation is an irritant.

The section above the horizontal line in the article ends with "Their concerns have some merit."

Whose concerns? The public's? The board member's other than Mary Kelleher?

Immediately after stating that someone's concerns apparently have merit there is that aforementioned horizontal line followed by "Exhibit A is J.D. Granger".

As you can see via that which I copied from the article there are only two paragraphs devoted to Exhibit A.

Is the article intending to indicate that J.D. Granger is Exhibit A of public concerns which have some merit? I have no idea.

Elsewhere in the article we are told that requests for documents mentioning J.D. Granger are the most frequent subject requested.

I have long opined if you want to get to the heart of the corruption in the TRWD you could do that quite simply by making public the record of whatever discussions took place that led to the hiring of Kay Granger's son to do a job for which he had zero qualifications.

Surely there must be a record of the various discussions that had to have taken place before the job was offered to J.D. Granger.

The record of the interview with J.D. Granger which must have taken place would seem to be extremely interesting to read.

At that meeting did J.D. share with whoever was interviewing him his vision of where his leadership of the Trinity River Vision would take the project? Did J.D. speak about his brilliant idea to have Rockin' the River Happy Hour Inner Tube Floats in the polluted Trinity River? Did J.D. speak about his brilliant idea to have those Inner Tube Floats take place at an imaginary pavilion on an imaginary island? And tout that imaginary pavilion as a world class music venue? Did J.D. share his brilliant idea to label a chunk of land, which is not an island, as Panther Island?

There must be public records of how much money has been spent on J.D. Granger's multiple junkets to multiple towns to see how those towns managed to build, on an actual project timeline, actual successful projects involving re-developing waterfront areas.

How about J. D. Granger's expense account records? Like how much has been spent on stays in a Dallas hotel whilst on some imaginary River Vision business in that evil town run by Monty Bennett?

Among the documents the TRWD and Jim Oliver are covering up by stonewalling do they include records of whatever transpired between J.D.'s mama, Kay, and the TRWD and Jim Oliver which led to the hiring of Kay's son?

How come TRWD board member, Mary Kelleher, is denied access to records of the sort I am mentioning here?

Jim Oliver is pretty much Nixonian in his stonewalling coverup.

I do not think, years ago, the TRWD board ever dreamed  its shenanigans would become a public issue, operating as they did like a private fiefdom, complete with a private hunting preserve.

I think it is pretty obvious that what is in those public documents must be rather damning and rather embarrassing. Likely with more than one smoking gun.

With Nixon it took a unanimous ruling of the Supreme Court to force him to fess up, release the tapes and reveal he'd been in on the Watergate cover-up from the start.

What will it take to get the TRWD to fess up, release the documents and reveal the extent of their shady dealings?

An election?

Fort Worth Weekly Does Not Know I Am A Foe Of The TWRD

A couple weeks ago when I blogged The Formidable Gayle Reaves Fired From Fort Worth Weekly it did not cross my mind to think that the absence of Fort Worth Weekly's Editor-in-Chief would so quickly cause a noticeable deterioration in the usually impeccable editing in Fort Worth Weekly.

And then I picked up this week's Fort Worth Weekly, looked at the cover and saw that which you see here....

FOES V. TWRD.

I really do not think TWRD would have gotten past the eagle eyes of Ms. Reaves.

It was the other part of the cover article's title which had me more intrigued than the unfortunate typo.

"Has the Tarrant Regional Water District met its match?"

Which of the TWRD's, I mean, TRWD's many foes is this article gonna be talking about, I thought to myself.

Elsie Hotpepper? Mary Kelleher? Layla Caraway? Monty Bennett? Me?

Well, we can rule me out. Only me and two other people know I'm a foe of the TRWD.

I have not yet read the article in its entirety, just enough to get the gist, and to realize it is sort of a myriad of  FOES v. the TRWD.

I was afraid this article was going to be sickening, with Fort Worth Weekly having succumbed to the bizarre TRWD party-line kool-aid that the Star-Telegram drinks and hop on the Kill the Evil Dallas Businessman (before he steals our precious Fort Worth water} Bandwagon.

I would direct you to a link to this week's Fort Worth Weekly cover article, but I have been told that that link does not yet exist. Apparently ever since the departure of Gayle Reaves updating the FW Weekly website has become a bit tardy.

But, I have to say, ever since the departure of Gayle Reaves, FW Weekly has been showing up by noon on Wednesday at my regular Albertsons source, rather than a day late.

I have no idea if there is any connection between timely FW Weekly arrivals and the Reaves departure. I suspect not....

UPDATE: I have now read the Fort Worth Weekly FOES V. TWRD article. Simply put, I do not think this article would have made it to print under Gayle Reaves' editorial eye without extensive editing.

The Formidable Gayle Reaves Fired From Fort Worth Weekly

That is Gayle Reaves you are looking at here, with her arms crossed.

This morning I got a text message telling me that Gayle Reaves had been fired from Fort Worth Weekly.

Soon thereafter I shared this information with another FW Weekly reader who asked me "How could she get fired, I thought she was the publisher."

No, it was the publisher who fired her, Gayle Reaves was like the Perry White of FW Weekly, the editor-in-chief.

I have never met Gayle Reaves. However I have been in her presence. At a forum type deal at which she was one of a panel of journalists asking questions of some players in the Trinity River Vision Boondoggle.

Except for J.D. Granger. He chickened out, after agreeing to appear. I suspect he chickened out due to fear of being asked probing questions by Gayle Reaves.

It did not take me long observing Gayle Reaves to ascertain that she was a bit formidable. She sort of came across to me as a tall version of Hettie from NCIS: Los Angeles, combined with Meryl Streep from The Devil Wears Prada, with maybe a little bit of Hillary Clinton mixed in.

Upon my arrival in Texas, and soon thereafter figuring out something was not quite right with the cheerleading, distorting, chamber of commerce propaganda, lackey way the Fort Worth Star-Telegram covered much of what happens locally, I quickly learned that it was Fort Worth Weekly which covered issues and stories which needed to be told, for the most part, which the Star-Telegram ignored.

I imagine being the real newspaper of record for Fort Worth is a bit challenging for Fort Worth Weekly, wanting to expose wrongdoing and dirty deeds, but at the same time having to be careful not to annoy advertisers.

Anyway, I suspect Gayle Reaves will be moving on to a greener pasture somewhere soon.

We probably should have some sort of city-wide Goodbye & Thank You Party. Maybe this upcoming Friday. Somewhere on the imaginary Panther Island perhaps.

Or maybe in that classy Panther Island Pavilion Shack where the Trinity River Vision Boondoggle holds beer parties....

Fort Worth Weekly Neglected To Award The Biggest Turkey In Town: Kay Granger

This week, due to this week being the week before Thanksgiving, Fort Worth Weekly's eagerly anticipated Turkey Awards issue hit newsstands all over Tarrant County.

The 2014 Turkey Awards award a large number of Tarrant County and Texans the coveted Turkey Award, including one of Tarrant County's favorite Turkeys, Bud Kennedy.

You can go to the online version of FW Weekly's 2014 Turkey Awards and read about all the Turkeys, but I want to focus on just one Turkey Award....

The Perks of Pedigrees Turkey Award

Thanksgiving is all about family and making sure your relatives have jobs at places that are a clear conflict of interest to your elected or appointed position. Wait — we’re thinking of Fort Worth’s rampant year-round nepotism, not Thanksgiving. When it comes to getting a high-paying cushy job in this town, seems that the best way to get ahead is to be related to some alleged public servant.

The Trinity River Vision staff reads like a social directory for the offspring of local politicians and high-ranking officials: Most notably U.S. Rep. Kay Granger’s son J.D. is its executive director, and the Tarrant Regional Water District’s head honcho Jim Oliver’s son Matt is the TRV’s public information officer.

Mayor Betsy Price was all over television shilling for the Ed Bass-led effort to get taxpayers to pay for his pet project, an absurdly high-priced arena. It would have been Fort Worth knowing (to borrow from those commercials) that her son-in-law works for Ed Bass’ real estate company and sits on the board of the Fort Worth Stock Show and Rodeo.

I have been asked once, maybe twice, why I would say something as outrageous as to suggest that Fort Worth's Congresswoman, Kay Granger, is a corrupt politician.

Let me answer that corrupt question quite simply.

A non-corrupt politician, when told her son was going to be given a job in her district, for which he was totally unqualified, being the executive director of a public works project, with that project relying on attaining federal pork barrel earmark money to fund it, well, a non-corrupt politician would immediately object, saying you can not do that, it would be wrong, it would look bad, it would be nepotism of the worst sort.

But, Kay Granger willingly signed on to her unqualified son being given a cushy, high-paying job where he could act out as a textbook case of  a frat boy with arrested development, organizing floating beer parties, concerts, junkets and all sorts of other nonsense that has nothing to do with the construction of a flood control project.

In reaction to FW Weekly's 2014 Turkey Awards there were several comments, including one from a guy named Roy, which said, in part...

So what is it about the stunning nepotism at the Trinity River Vision? I have wondered for years why the most qualified person to run that boondoggle is apparently the son of the politician who corrals the jack for it. And NOBODY seems to notice or say anything about it. Is that what they mean when they say something is being done “the Fort Worth way?”

I find it gratifying that I am no longer alone in referring to the Trinity River Vision as a Boondoggle. In fact, I believe the number now is quite large who refer to this ill-conceived, poorly executed, never voted for by the public, public works project as a Boondoggle.

I have long shared the puzzlement that Roy is expressing, that being that NOBODY seems to notice, in a meaningful way, that something is dire wrong about how Fort Worth has gone about and continues to go about foisting the Trinity River Vision Boondoggle on the people who have never voted for it.

And yes, Roy, I have been told repeatedly that this is what is known as the Fort Worth Way. A corrupt town run by a corrupt oligarchy of good ol' boys and girls, who operate primarily in their own self interest, not in the interest of the majority of the people of Fort Worth.

All of them Turkeys worthy of an award.....

The Dallas Observer Suggests You Get Drunk & Roll Down The Grassy Knoll Yelling Al Qaeda Did It

In a mysterious coincidence, during the final week of September, both Fort Worth Weekly and the Dallas Observer issue their highly anticipated Best of the Year issues.

Best of the Year, as in this that or the other thing is the Best of 2014.

I'd not seen a Dallas Observer Best of the Year edition til this year's version.

I've long thought the Fort Worth Weekly Best of the Year version has some goofy elements, but then figure it's a big issue which takes a lot of effort to produce, hence some goofy elements are to be expected.

The most goofy element I have found in the Dallas Observer Best of 2014 edition is in the section the online version calls Arts & Entertainment, which the print version calls Nightlife & Music.

Just having different names for this section is a bit goofy, but the goofy element to which I refer I screencapped above and copy for your reading pleasure below...

Best Spot to Be Drunk and Yell at Tourists Dallas 2014 - Grassy Knoll

Now that Dallas has marked the 50th anniversary of JFK's murder, the city is moving on from the tragedy. It's time to acknowledge that the Grassy Knoll is a great spot to hide in and yell at people. The most elevated point at Dallas' knoll has an excellent view of tourists below, all of whom appear very interested to hear any Dallas factoids, personal revelations or conspiracy theories shouted at them from above. For people intent on yelling at tourists all night, showing up drunk tends to yield more creative results, such as the ever popular "Al Qaeda did it!" Other fun knoll-related activities include just silently sitting and not yelling at people and rolling down the hill.

I am sure whoever decides such things at the Dallas Observer thought the above was the height of hilarity. I don't know what people in parts of America, other than Dallas and Texas, might think about the idea that the Dallas Observer thinks getting drunk and hollering at tourists from the Grassy Knoll is a fun activity, and perfectly appropriate, what with it being over a half century since JFK was murdered at this location.

For some reason yelling "Al Qaeda did it" seems a bit juvenile to me. And would anyone actually laugh at that?

As for rolling down the hill known as the Grassy Knoll. I  recollect way back late in the last century seeing Dealey Plaza for the first time. When I figured out where the Grassy Knoll was at Dealey Plaza I recollect being surprised because it really is not much of a geographic feature. Labeling it as a Grassy Knoll seemed like an exaggeration, as does referring to this little knob as a hill.

Go to my Dealey Plaza webpage and you will see a photo of the little knob known as the Grassy Knoll, which the Dallas Observer thinks is a fun hill to roll down, drunkenly, whilst yelling that Al Qaeda did it....

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.....

Mary Kelleher Has Had Enough Of The TRWD's Jim Oliver's Attempts To Bully, Intimidate And Harass Public Officials

Photo from FW Weekly Static

On the left you are looking at Mary Kelleher, with a protest sign above her, with the message on the sign being "STOP HIDING DOCUMENTS."

I am assuming this photo was taken at the Tarrant Regional Water District board meeting at which Mary Kelleher's fellow board members censured her. If I remember right the censuring was for doing something totally outrageous like exercising her First Amendment right to free speech at a Fort Worth City Council meeting.

In this week's Fort Worth Weekly Static column titled "Water Disputes" we learn that Mary Kelleher has once again raised the wrath of TRWD Executive Director, Jim Oliver, because Mary had the raw gall to once again exercise her right to free speech by speaking to a group of journalists at the University of Texas in Arlington about her frustrations regarding her inability to be provided public TRWD documents she has requested to peruse.

That's right, Jim Oliver is denying one of the elected TRWD board members access to TRWD documents.

Oliver sent board members, TRWD staff and the TRWD's lawyers an email disputing what Mary Kelleher had to say in Arlington, along with bogus statistics alleging to show that the TRWD has adequately responded to document requests. Fort Worth Weekly did not agree with Oliver's claim. Nor did Mary Kelleher.

Is this all going to lead to another TRWD board meeting censuring Mary Kelleher?

How is it Mary Kelleher gets censured by the TRWD board, while no censuring takes place of a high ranking TRWD official caught flagrante delicto illicitly assignating with a subordinate? A big bad bit of bad boy behavior that is widely known.

How is it that a high ranking TRWD official has not been censured for loudly browbeating Mary Kelleher?

How is it that a high ranking TRWD official has not been censured for multiple acts of nepotism, putting multiple relatives on the TRWD payroll?

How is it that a high ranking TRWD official has not been censured for having little kids hold signs cheering for beer and going nuts for runner's butts?

Changing the subject slightly to something else I have noticed.

Is Fort Worth Weekly being, for want of a better word, censured for daring to be a real newspaper by reporting the TRWD's shady dealings?

I ask this because I have not seen any advertisements in Fort Worth Weekly this floating season for the Panther Island Pavilion Rockin' the River Happy Hour Inner Tube Floats. But, I have seen Rockin' the River ads in the Dallas Observer and DFW.com.........

Fort Worth Weekly Static About The TRWD Board's Water Mess

I did not get around to reading this week's Fort Worth Weekly til this morning.

Fort Worth Weekly hits the streets on Wednesday, a day after this week's TRWD Board censuring Mary Kelleher debacle.

I would have thought the TRWD debacle would have occurred too close to this week's FW Weekly publication, but I thought wrong, because this week's FW Weekly Static column was titled Water Mess and was all about the TRWD Board's latest embarrassment.

Unlike the Star-Telegram's article about the TRWD's censuring debacle the FW Weekly article matched my impression of what I saw transpire.

I suppose part of the problem with the Star-Telegram article was due to the fact that the financially strapped Star-Telegram could not spare a real reporter to cover the meeting, but instead sent its food critic, Bud Kennedy.

Perhaps someone on the Star-Telegram staff characterized the TRWD Board censure hearing as a roasting. Hence Bud Kennedy being sent to TRWD headquarters, thinking this was a food related event, not a roasting of Mary Kelleher.

After I blogged my take on the censure meeting, in a blogging titled Today Mary Kelleher Received The Badge Of Honor Of A TRWD Board Censure While Censuring The Board Herself, mention was made of one of Bud Kennedy's column's bits of misinformation where he opined "Much of the behavior Tuesday resembled kindergarten, not only by directors but also by a boorish and jeering crowd of Kelleher supporters led by state Rep. Jonathan Stickland, R-Bedford."

Many of Mary's supporters objected to being characterized as being led by the controversial Stickland. One of those supporters, calling her or himself Bullies of a Feather, commented saying "Mary's supporters could care less what a washed up, boorish, food critic has to say."

That seems harsh to me. I don't think Bud Kennedy is washed up, a bit boorish maybe, but washed up? No. I think he has many a meal yet to eat in his restaurant reviewing career.

I almost forgot, my original intention when beginning to write this post was simply to share what FW Weekly's Static column had so say about Tuesday's debacle, so here you go, Static's Water Mess in its entirety...

The typically quiet board meetings at the Tarrant Regional Water District took a loud and rowdy turn on Tuesday morning. A standing-room-only crowd, including some carrying protest signs, heckled board members throughout the two-hour special meeting. The board was debating whether to censure fellow board member Mary Kelleher. A censure is a public reprimand with no penalties or legal ramifications.

Board President Vic Henderson introduced the motion, linking Kelleher to several alleged policy violations and ethical lapses. He accused her of not reporting in-kind donations from Dallas hotelier Monty Bennett, who has wrangled with the water district for three years to prevent a water pipeline from crossing his East Texas ranch. And he complained that Kelleher misrepresented the water district’s stance on a water management plan at a recent Fort Worth City Council session.

Kelleher then leveled a symbolic fire hose at her fellow directors and water district President Jim Oliver. She said her supporters are fed up with the “cronyism, nepotism, corruption, and mismanagement that have plagued the water district for years.”

She said Oliver had “stonewalled me and the public at every opportunity.” Then she accused him of using water district heavy equipment for personal home improvements.

“Whoa, whoa,” board member Jim Lane said, trying to rein in Kelleher. But she was on a roll.

“Let me finish … how about using your position to engage in extramarital affairs with staff?” she said, looking at Oliver.

At times, Henderson resembled a substitute teacher who’d lost control of a junior high classroom. He admonished and threatened hecklers but never followed through. The crowd became bolder as the meeting wore on. Former board candidate John Basham practically dared Henderson to throw him out. Nothing happened.

Several legislators, including Tarrant County’s Jonathan Stickland and Lon Burnam, attended and wrote letters supporting Kelleher in her request for public documents.

Despite crowd support, Kelleher appeared overwhelmed at times. As for misrepresenting board policy at a city council meeting, she said she was unaware of the policy, implemented before she was elected. Regarding campaign reports, she said she was new to the political game and unfamiliar with all the requirements. Board member Jim Lane said ignorance of the law isn’t an excuse.

In the end, Henderson, Jack Stevens, and Marty Leonard voted to censure. Lane abstained, saying each accusation against Kelleher should be voted on separately. But he joined in a 4-0 vote to audit recent campaign finance reports from board candidates. Kelleher abstained.

Kelleher declared her censure a “badge of honor.” Oliver declined to comment.

Apparently I Am Usually Of Medium Intelligence But I Actually Have Less Than Half A Brain Advertorially Speaking

A couple days ago, after reading the latest edition of Fort Worth Weekly, I mentioned that I was a bit appalled at some rather ridiculous verbiage I read in the usually reliably not ridiculous Fort Worth Weekly.

I mentioned this in a blogging titled Today I Learned Fort Worth Has Been A Model For Other Cities Its Size & Larger.

The verbiage which I thought to be rather ridiculous was...

"Fort Worth has been a model for other cities its size and larger for the last several years and coupled with the growing local food movement, Fort Worth has been ranked as the most livable city in the United States."

I think anyone who has been to both Fort Worth and any of the other cities in America, Fort Worth's size or larger, can figure out what I thought was rather ridiculous.

Well.

Someone calling him or herself Anonymous, who apparently usually thinks me to be at least of medium intelligence, thought I did not have half a brain after reading what I wrote about that which I thought to be rather ridiculous. Anonymous expressed his or her opinion in a  blog comment....

Anonymous has left a new comment on your post "Today I Learned Fort Worth Has Been A Model For Other Cities Its Size & Larger":

Durango, you are usually as least medium in intelligence, but here you've dropped a bit. This is an ADVERTORIAL. What that means is that ALL COPY is written either by the advertisers or for them. So choose your criticism of the media better. This is meaningless fluff that media like the FW Weekly throws out there. Anyone with half a brain knows it means nothing. To criticize this ADVERTORIAL is the same as criticizing an ad for a restaurant that says they have really great food and you should come to eat there. Get it? 

Above you see the cover of the publication in question, with the words "Eats 2014 Annual Local Food Guide". Also on the cover, clearly readable in red and white, is "Fort Worth Weekly" indicating this to be a Fort Worth Weekly publication, billed as a guide to local food.

So, this really was not a guide to local food? But instead some sort of advertisement revenue generator?

I'm shocked, shocked I tell you.

Though I must admit I was a bit perplexed by the part of the NOSH on THIS "advertorial" which went on about the growing local food movement. There really is not a lot of agricultural production in the local zone.

To the left is the entirety of the part of the publication which contained the verbiage I thought to be ridiculous. Note that this verbiage appears above the Fort Worth Weekly editorial publisher info that appears in, well, Fort Worth Weekly.

The paragraph which contains the ridiculous verbiage is written as if it is words coming from Fort Worth Weekly. Not some advertiser's shill.

This is not an Advertorial.

For Anonymous to suggest this verbiage is not to be taken serious, that it is no different than a restaurant ad that touts itself as having really great food, is well, I'm thinking Anonymous is sort of exhibiting less than low intelligence, representative of the thinking of someone with less than half a brain, to use the charming Anonymous type vitriol.

And would the Anonymous restaurant analogy not be more apt if Anonymous had said the Fort Worth Weekly advertorial verbiage was no different than a restaurant ad saying said restaurant was a model for other restaurants of its same size and larger and that the restaurant has been ranked as the best in America?

Wikipedia has an interesting article which may enlighten Anonymous as to what an Advertorial actually is. One paragraph from that article might be slightly instructive...

Advertorials differ from traditional advertisements in that they are designed to look like the articles that appear in the publication. Most publications will not accept advertisements that look exactly like stories from the newspaper or magazine they are appearing in. The differences may be subtle, and disclaimers—such as the word "advertisement"—may or may not appear. Sometimes terms describing the advertorial such as a "special promotional feature" or "special advertising section" are used. The tone of the advertorials is usually closer to that of a press release than of an objective news story.

So, there you go, that's the take from me, a person with half a brain, barely functioning with medium intelligence, on this serious subject....

Today I Learned Fort Worth Has Been A Model For Other Cities Its Size & Larger

I got around to getting this week's Fort Worth Weekly this morning.

I was not long into thumbing through this week's Weekly when I came upon some verbiage which seemed to me to be totally Fort Worth Weekly un-worthy, as in something I would more expect to see in the propagandizing, Chamber of Commerce-ish, hyperbolizing Fort Worth Star-Telegram.

In this week's Fort Worth Weekly "Eats Annual Food Guide" the guide starts up with the intro you see photo-snatched here, with the intro titled "NOSH on THIS..."

Well.

Let me just copy the first sentence, with that first sentence being the one that contains the odd propaganda....

"Fort Worth has been a model for other cities its size and larger for the last several years and coupled with the growing local food movement, Fort Worth has been ranked as the most livable city in the United States."

You reading this in other cities in America must be sitting there in wonderment.

First off, what are these other cities Fort Worth's size and larger which have used anything in Fort Worth as a model for their own towns?

I hear crickets chirping.

There are several cities in Texas larger than Fort Worth, as in Dallas, Houston, Austin and San Antonio. Any of those towns using Fort Worth as model for anything? Is San Antonio now having Rockin' the River Happy Hour Inner Tube Floats in the San Antonio River? Is Dallas abusing eminent domain to take dozens of property owner's property for a public works project the public has never voted on?

How about outside of Texas? What town the size of Fort Worth or bigger has modeled anything in their town after anything in Fort Worth? Well, Chicago does dye a river green every St. Patrick's Day. But I think Chicago was doing that well before Fort Worth's goofy former mayor, Mike Moncrief, tried to dye the Trinity River purple.

Fort Worth has been ranked as the most livable city in the United States? That has happened one time, one time only, and it was not ranked the most livable, it was ranked in the top ten of the most livable cities in America, ranked by a Washington, D.C. lobbying group which was interested in promoting the urban village concept, with Fort Worth being the only one of the ten towns named which took the "award" serious, holding a city wide celebration for the bogus award.

I really do not understand why Fort Worth media, as in the Star-Telegram or Fort Worth Weekly, feels the need to propagandize in this manner with such blatantly foolish puffery.

I have lived in a town which was named best in the nation by a legit entity. That town did not go into a spasm of self congratulation, even though CNN showed up to show the rest of the world the Best Small Town in America.

A few weeks ago another bogus entity, something called something like Livability, ranked Fort Worth's downtown as being the best in America, causing an awful lot of perplexed head scratching. The other towns on the list were equally puzzling. Fort Worth Weekly's take on this "award" was more grounded in reality than this week's embarrassing puffery, with Fort Worth Weekly's article saying something like it was like being named Best in an Ugly Baby Contest.

Anyway, I certainly am not suggesting that Fort Worth is not a perfectly fine town, a fine town with many fine attributes. But best at anything? That is just ridiculous. Where does this need to self-aggrandize come from? Some have suggested it comes from a massive civic inferiority complex caused in part by being paired with Dallas.

I do not know what the explanation is for this type propaganda spewage. What I do know is it is embarrassing and really needs to stop.....