Can Anyone Find A Timeline Schedule Of Construction For The Trinity River Vision Boondoggle?

No, in the picture you are not looking at an artist's rendering of what downtown Fort Worth will look like if the Trinity River Vision Boondoggle ever builds the little lake, long ago promised, that many of the locals have taken to calling Pond Granger.

No, that ferry is not floating on Pond Granger, it is floating on Elliott Bay, in Seattle.

Elliott Bay is a natural body of water, part of Puget Sound, which is connected to the Pacific Ocean. It is not the result of a public works project run amok, that the public was not allowed to vote for.

This past week public works projects have been on my mind. Ever since the I-5 Skagit River Bridge collapsed in my old hometown zone of Burlington and Mount Vernon.

The building of the American Interstate System was one of the biggest public works projects in the history of the world. One would think there would be extensive records of its building, timelines, photos, all sorts of documentation.

But, there aren't.

Which brings me to the time line time table of the Trinity River Vision Boondoggle.

Is there one?

Back when the TRV Boondoggle began, well over a decade ago, wakeboard parks, happy hour inner tube floats, drive-in movie theaters and music venues were not part of the vision that I saw. I do sort of recollect mention being made of restaurants being part of the waterfront attractions. I don't quite see how the TRV Boondoggle's Woodshed Smokehouse fits that bill, what with it being upstream from the Trinity Uptown zone.

Whenever I bike through Gateway Park I see the massive collection of Orwellian signage from the TRV Boondoggle touting the Gateway Park Master Plan.

What is the time table for the Gateway Park Master Plan? Is there one?

Trying to get info about the building of I-5 in Washington led me to the Washington State Department of Transportation website, which led me to some Washington projects, with time tables, that brought the TRV Boondoggle, with its non-time tables, to mind.

The Seattle zone has 3 public works projects underway that dwarf the TRV Boondoggle, both in scope and cost.

This summer the world's biggest tunnel boring machine will begin digging a tunnel under downtown Seattle for a new roadway to replace the earthquake damaged Alaskan Way Viaduct. Estimated cost, $4.25 billion. Completion date, 2015.

One of the floating bridges over Lake Washington is in dire need of replacement. This is now taking place, with the new bridge scheduled to be open in 2014. Estimated cost for the new bridge and other improvements, related to the bridge, $4.65 billion.

The other public works project underway in the Seattle zone are extensions to the Link Light Rail system. The various links have various completion dates. I don't know what the estimated cost is of the various new Link Light Rail routes, except for the fact that the number is in the billions and the public voted on the projects.

So, why is it that there is ZERO time line time table info for the extremely important, totally bogus, flood prevention economic development project known as the Trinity River Vision Boondoggle?

What can we expect to see from the TRV Boondoggle in 2015? A bowling alley? Roller rink? World's biggest collection of outdoor trampolines? When is Pond Granger scheduled to be filled with water? When is the scheduled completion date of the 3 ordinary non-signature bridges over the un-needed flood diversion channel?

Speaking of that, when is the scheduled completion date of the un-needed flood diversion channel?

Why is there no time table for the Trinity River Vision Boondoggle? Does it have anything to do with the project being underfunded?

Does it not seem that the public has the right to know a completion date for various projects of the Trinity River Vision Boondoggle? Even though the public did not vote for the Boondoggle?

The Day After Memorial Day Betty Jo Bouvier Took Me On A Trip To The Virtual Wall Vietnam Veterans Memorial

This morning, the day after Memorial Day, Betty Jo Bouvier remembered to email me a memorable link to a website that is The Virtual Wall Vietnam Veterans Memorial.

You click on a state, this brings up a list of the towns in the state which had at least one Vietnam War Casualty.

You then click on the Veteran's name to find a surprising amount of info is provided.

I knew of only one Vietnam War Casualty.

Dennis Linnell.

Dennis graduated from Burlington-Edison High School, but his Home of Record is listed as Mount Vernon. I first looked at the Burlington list, expecting to find Dennis Linnell, there was only one name listed and it was not he.

At the top of the Persons from Washington page it says "The name you seek may not be under the city you expect." Which is why I looked in Mount Vernon and found Dennis.

When you click on the PFC DENNIS RICHARD LINNELL link below is what you see...

Clicking on full profile brings up....

From the above we learn that Dennis Linnell began his tour of duty in Vietnam on August, 17, 1970 and was killed less than 3 months later, on November 11, 1970.  Dennis was only 20 years old.

Clicking on the link in the sentence "DENNIS R LINNELL is on the Wall at Panel W6, Line 52", brings up a photo of the Vietnam War Memorial Wall, with Dennis R Linnell highlighted to facilitate finding the name...

Included is a rubbing from the Vietnam Memorial Wall of Dennis R Linnell...

Rubbing? Is this done by placing a sheet of paper over the name and then running a pencil back and forth?

I believe there are over 50,000 names memorialized on the Vietnam War Memorial Wall. An amazing amount of effort has gone into making this Virtual Wall Vietnam Veterans Memorial.

Tomorrow Marty Leonard Will Be Clutching Her Pearls Overseeing The TRWD Board Election Recount

Message from BNKer, John Basham regarding the TRWD Election Recount starting tomorrow.

Apparently TRWD Board Member, Marty Leonard, will be anxiously clutching her pearls whilst overseeing the impartiality and accountability of the recount.

Below is what Mr. Basham had to say about tomorrow's  recount and related issues....

Durango,

Okay, so I've paid my $14,000 to the TRWD, put together a group of lawyers and "observers", and I'm preparing for tomorrow's beginning to the recount.

Funny thing.... The TRWD must designate a "Recount Coordinator" to oversee the impartiality and accountability of the recount.... and that person is...drumroll... Marty Leonard...

Oh, well.... There will be 5 counting tables with 3 "counters" at each table recounting the ballots by hand (starting of course with the paper ballots, which I'm told is well over half)...

Then every candidate who is on the ballot is allowed to designate ONE person to each of the three counters at each table.... (good thing we ran as a three slate team)....

So we will start this process tomorrow morning at 9am in the warehouse of the Elections Department.... And will count until no later than  6pm.... this repeats daily until all ballots are counted or I call it off.

But not to worry.... If I still don't pick up the 90 votes needed in recount I can always run next year..... errr oh wait.... Charlie Geren steps in and changes the play (it's a sneak).... He has MOVED next year's election to 2015!

Yep, it's true, and the Governor just signed it.... Such is life in the cesspool of Fort Worth politics.

Oh, and Happy Memorial Day.

Warmest Regards,

John

A Memorable Memorial Day Mountain Bike Ride In Fort Worth's Gateway Park

I had myself a memorable Memorial Day bike ride today on the Gateway Park mountain bike trail.

The bike ride was memorable because I don't ever  remember seeing so many people biking on this trail as I saw today.

And many of the mountain bikers were little tyke mountain bikers. Little tykes, as in little kids of the 4 or 5 years old variety.

As you can see via the view over my handlebars of the Trinity River and the cloudy sky above the river, Memorial Day in North Texas is not a clear blue sky day.

It is only 80 degrees in the outer world at my location, which really is not all that hot. Yet I keep turning the dial on the A/C cooler and cooler. Ceiling fans spinning, A/C running, minimal clothing and yet I am still uncomfortably warm.

I have not heard from Spencer Jack's dad or Uncle Joey today with an update into their ongoing search for proof that the Federal Highway Administration National Bridge Inventory Database information about the recently collapsed Skagit River I-5 Bridge is erroneous. Yesterday Spencer Jack's dad had a run in with law enforcement when he got too close to the collapse in an early morning evidence search.

I have blogged about this serious issue a couple times on my Washington blog.....

The Collapsed I-5 Skagit River Bridge Was Built in the 1960s not 1955 and My Nephews Jason & Joey Continue to Try to Find Out When the Collapsed I-5 Skagit River Bridge Was Actually Built.

I just got incoming info via email from BNKer John Basham about the recount of the votes cast in the recent Tarrant Regional Water District Board Election.  Apparently a current TRWD board member, the Self-Entitled Dowager Heiress Marty Leonard will be busy clutching her pearls whilst overseeing the recount for the TRWD.

I shall hit the publish button on this blogging and then blog about the recount....

A Littered Walk With Village Creek Indian Ghosts, Lizards & Lost Dogs

This last Sunday of May I had myself a hot, humid walk with the Indian Ghosts who haunt Arlington's Village Creek Natural Historical Area.

Today I found myself additionally haunted by the pile of litter piled up behind the Village Creek Dam Bridge.

Why do so many people who live in this part of the planet release so much litter to the outer world to be disposed of by Mother Nature's flushing system?

It really does not seem all that difficult, to me, to dispose of things, like empty cans and bottles, in a way that renders it unlikely that a can or bottle will somehow end up in a Texas stream of water that flows into the Trinity River and then makes its way to the Gulf of Mexico.

On a more pleasant note, today on the Village Creek Blue Bayou overlook there was a cute yellow lizard practicing yoga poses.

Above you are looking at the aforementioned yoga practicing yellow lizard in the Cobra Position. The lizard  did not seem to much care that I was visiting real close. It winked at me a couple times.

Why is it I find reptiles of the snake variety totally creepy, while I think reptiles of the lizard variety are cute?

On a sadder note...

Several days ago, the last time I walked with the Indian Ghosts, at the picnic area one comes to as soon as you leave the parking lot, there was a dog, with no human nearby. The dog at that point in time seemed both nervous and sort of needy. Like he was hoping I was going to take him home.

Today I walked into the picnic area to see someone had left a bowl of water next to a bowl of dog food. I sat at a picnic table and started making where are you doggy noises.

After about a minute of making where are you doggy noises the dog showed  up. He walked to about 15 feet from me and then stood and stared. After a couple minutes of staring he partially sat down, still staring at  me. After a couple more minutes he laid on the cement, resting his head on his front legs while still staring at me.

I talked to the dog for a few minutes. After awhile the pleading staring got on my nerves, so I left.

A Quanah Parker Park Mantis & Snake Encounter With Wenatchee Cherries At Town Talk

Today, this last Saturday of May, I parked at the Quanah Parker Park parking lot to commune with nature before making my weekly treasure hunting trek to Town Talk.

Quanah Parker Park was blooming a lot of wildflowers today.

There were the ubiquitous Indian Blankets and others whose names I do not know, such as the pink tulip-like wildflower you see in the picture.

I briefly knew a woman once who had a Hello Kitty pink color fixation. I saw this wildflower pink patch and thought of that particular person.

Today whilst walking the Quanah Parker Park paved trail I had myself a snake encounter. The snake was a high speed slitherer, so I had no chance to get a picture before it disappeared.

My other wildlife encounter was with a Praying Mantis. Or is it Preying Mantis? Whatever the correct name these have to be the oddest insects in the world of insects. For some reason at the moment I spotted the Mantis I did not feel like disturbing it by taking a picture.  Maybe that reluctance was partly due to not wanting to get all that close to the thing whilst take a picture in macro mode. Or maybe I did not want to intrude upon its praying. Or preying.

At Town Talk today I found myself Tillamook white extra sharp cheddar cheese, some really good mangoes, acorn and hubbard squash, plums and cherries from this place in the state of Washington called Wenatchee.

Wenatchee sounds more like an Indian name than Quanah Parker  does.

Spencer Jack's Uncle Joey Safely Crosses One Of The Remaining Skagit River Bridges To Possibly Visit Betty Jo Bouvier In Sedro-Woolley

Apparently Spencer Jack's Uncle Joey needed to get to the north side of the Skagit River. With crossing the river on Interstate 5 currently not doable, Joey took Skagit River Alternative Route 2 to cross the river.

Joey recorded his safe crossing of the river and then emailed me with the video documentation of his successful river crossing.

It has been a few years since I have used this particular bridge to cross the Skagit River. This is known as the Sedro-Woolley Skagit River Bridge.

Joey lives in Clear Lake, a little town situated on a clear lake, a mile or two south of the Sedro-Woolley Skagit River Bridge.

Betty Jo Bouvier lives in Sedro-Woolley and is currently home on a long Memorial Day weekend. I do not know if Joey was driving to Sedro-Woolley to visit Betty Jo Bouvier.

Today's Bike Ride Had Me Thinking About Riding Fort Worth's Light Rail Public Transit All The Way To Panther Island Pavilion

I took my two wheel bi-pedal transport mode to Trinity Park today to have myself some endorphin inducing aerobic stimulation.

I can not think of a nicer Fort Worth park than Trinity Park. I know it is the only Fort Worth park with a statue of Mark Twain. And I think it may also be a rare Fort Worth park with modern restroom facilities.

Though, now that you are making me think about this I don't know if I have actually seen Trinity Park's modern restroom facility or why I think they exist.

Fort Worth's light rail public transit runs through Trinity Park, hauling people back and forth across the Trinity River between Trinity Park and the Fort Worth Zoo.

As I watched the Fort Worth light rail public transit pass by it appeared to me that the train was running at full capacity.

With the Fort Worth light rail pubic transit running at full capacity methinks maybe additional trains need to be added to the system. And maybe extend the line all the way into the heart of Fort Worth's fabled Cultural District and all the way to Fort Worth's fabled music venue, Panther Island Pavilion.....

This Morning I Woke Up To Shocking Bridge Collapse News From Washington

Spencer Jack's Dad With Collapsed I-5 Bridge

This morning when I woke up my computer, among the incoming email I saw two from Spencer Jack's dad, that being my nephew Jason, and one from Connie D, that being the Fort Worth Connie D, not the Tacoma version.

The subject line in the Connie D email was "Did you see this?" I clicked on the link in the email and was more than a little surprised by what I saw.

But the details were a bit sketchy (MOUNT VERNON, Wash. (AP) Authorities say there were no fatalities when an Interstate 5 bridge over a river north of Seattle collapsed. The Thursday evening bridge failure dumped vehicles and people into the water), so I was not totally sure exactly what I was looking at.

Go Skagit On-Line's Bridge Collapse on I-5 Info

There are several bridges over rivers on Interstate 5 north of Seattle. The MOUNT VERNON, Wash. (AP) part of the article had me thinking this could not possibly be the I-5 bridge between Mount Vernon and Burlington. Could it?

Then I opened Spencer Jack's dad's email to see the picture above to realize it was the I-5 bridge in my old hometowns of Mount Vernon and Burlington that collapsed.

I remember when that bridge was built. If that bridge is old enough to have such a failure, for no apparent reason, like an earthquake, well, America, methinks our infrastructure really is in trouble.

UPDATE: I later learned the bridge collapse was caused by a truck with too wide a load hitting the bridge trusses, which was a known vulnerability of an outdated bridge design.

Losing the I-5 bridge is going to make for some Skagit Valley traffic nightmares til it gets fixed. In Mount Vernon there are now only two bridges across the river, with one taking you to West Mount Vernon, with a long detour to get yourself back to I-5.

The other remaining bridge across the river in Mount Vernon is a short distance to the east of I-5, with it being a new bridge built this century to replace the old bridge on Highway 99, that being the highway that I-5 replaced. If I remember right, the new Highway 99 bridge is 4 lanes wide. I think I've only been over it once.

Fort Worth locals reading this, whose only river they've ever seen is named Trinity, in the pictures you are looking at a full size river, not a big-sized creek. At the location where the bridge collapsed the Skagit River is contained by dikes that are not nearly as massive as the levees that keep the Trinity River from going over its banks as it passes past downtown Fort Worth.

You can safely eat any fish you catch in the Skagit River. But, apparently, you do not want to be standing in the shade of a Skagit River bridge when you do your fishing.

UPDATE: After blogging this morning I checked my phone to see that last night I had voice mails about the bridge collapse, including one from Spencer Jack's dad and one from my mom telling me to turn on CNN.

Then I checked in on Facebook to see what some of my friends up in the Skagit Valley had to say about the I-5 debacle...

Martin is the first husband of one of my best friends from high school. Martin is a Skagit Valley farmer and best selling author. Martin is a bit profane, so please excuse his extremely foul language...

And then there was this first hand account of the Skagit Valley's bridge collapse traffic woes from one of my best friends from high school, Bev....

And this from one of my friends from high school, Bruce....

To those reading this in Texas who are unfamiliar with such things, in the photo above, that bluish item under the clouds, in the background, is known as a mountain. Well, actually, a Cascade Mountains foothill. If I remember right this particular "hill" is called Cultus Mountain.

Fishing In Fosdick Lake While Hunting Endorphins With A White Swan

Wednesday was a day with zero endorphins peacefully calming me after a bout of aerobic stimulation.

Thursday started out with a bout of pool based aerobic stimulation and its resultant endorphins.

The noon time frame had me getting myself some more endorphins via aerobic stimulation acquired via fast walking around Fosdick Lake in Oakland Lake Park.

The fisherman you see in the picture perplexed me.  Did he gain greater fish access by putting on a pair of hip boots and wading out 3 feet from shore?

And why do people bother trying to catch fish in Fosdick  Lake, what with all the warning signs letting you know you don't want to be eating fish you catch in this lake?

The Fosdick Swan was still in residence, at the same location I saw the Fosdick  Swans days ago. Today the Fosdick Swan seemed to have lost his duck followers, replaced by a flock of doves. Along with the little bird, you see sitting next to the Fosdick Swan, who seems to have adopted the Fosdick Swan as a parental figure.

The Fosdick Swan has some kind benefactors, well at least one. I watched a lady scatter food on the ground near the White Swan, after which the White Swan awkwardly waddled to the food source to do some eating.

Swans look very graceful whilst floating on water. On ground swans do not look so graceful.

I did not think rain was in the forecast for the noon time frame today. However, some precipitation precipitated whilst  I was doing my fast walking. The precipitation precipitating felt real good, a nice antidote to the oppressive humidity.