Fort Worth's Trinity River Vision Boondoggle Should Look West For Inspiration

It was early in this century, not long after I moved to Texas, that I recollect being completely puzzled by what I did not then understand was not a real newspaper, that being the Fort Worth Star-Telegram, and that newspaper's breathless headline announcing that something called Trinity Uptown was going to turn Fort Worth into the Vancouver of the South.

I remember when that same pseudo newspaper breathlessly announced that a lame little food court in downtown Fort Worth, the Santa Fe Rail Market, was modeled after Seattle's Pike Place Market, and other public markets, with me wondering have none of these people actually been to Seattle and seen Pike Place?

The headline about Fort Worth being turned into the Vancouver of the South had me wondering the same type thing, as in, have none of these people actually been to Vancouver?

Well, a decade and a half after learning Fort Worth was going to become the Vancouver of the South, do I have egg on my face, or what?

Let's go with the what option.

What became known as the Trinity River Vision has revitalized downtown Fort Worth, drawing in thousands of new residents, retail stores, restaurants, theaters, sports venues, concert halls, not to mention being the hub of a modern high speed rail public transport system, connecting downtown Fort Worth to the airport.

Oh, oops, I got my towns mixed up. That is not the Trinity River Vision's flood diversion channel you are looking at above. That is the Los Angeles River, flowing by downtown Los Angeles.

The Los Angeles River is being revitalized in the downtown LA zone by a project known as Los Angeles River Revitalization. Vision is not part of the name. Nor is some local congresswoman's unqualified son in charge of any aspect of the project.

During the period of time Fort Worth's Trinity River Vision Boondoggle has been floundering with little to show for it, downtown Los Angeles has been in the midst of a revival that has turned it from a ghost town, after hours, to a booming destination, night and day.

The Los Angeles River Revitalization Project is just one part of the changes that have come to downtown Los Angeles.

Like many cities in America, the downtowns of both Los Angeles and Fort Worth have changed drastically with the advent of freeways and suburbs. Residents and businesses bailed on downtowns. Fort Worth's downtown eventually was left without a single department or grocery store. Los Angeles also lost many of its downtown stores and corporate headquarters and residents.

Back in the last century Fort Worth tried to revive its downtown with things like a multi-block area called Sundance Square. Where there was no square til recently. As of 2015 downtown Fort Worth is still without a single department store. Or grocery store. Or public transit connection to the airport.

Meanwhile, in downtown Los Angeles.

In this century the Los Angeles City Council approved massive changes to zoning and development requirements for downtown LA. This allowed for denser development, with special consideration given to developers who reserved 15% of their units for low income residents.

Beginning in the 1990s, Los Angeles Metro Rail, a multi-lane rail transit network, began to move people efficiently in and out of downtown LA.

Downtown Fort Worth lacks a modern public transit system, including, like already mentioned, no direct public transit connection to D/FW Airport.

Rail based transit to and from downtown LA made developments like Staples Center feasible, followed by adding the adjacent L.A. Live Complex, which includes the Nokia Theater. Developers are pouring billions into projects in downtown LA, including a Disney Concert Hall and art museum designed by Frank Gehry.

Buildings, long sitting un-used in downtown LA, are being converted into residential towers.

Over 500 restaurants and retail shops have opened in downtown LA during this century's revitalization.

All accomplished without anything goofily ill-conceived, like Fort Worth's Trinity River Vision Boondoggle.

I mean, can you imagine the voters of LA being asked to vote on some aspect of downtown LA's revitalization by being asked to approve a $1 rental fee for a livestock stall in Staples Center?

Can you imagine the citizens of Los Angeles sitting quiet, like sheep, while those in charge of revitalizing downtown Los Angeles claim that three bridges are being built as part of the river revitalization, before diverting the river under the bridges, in order to save money?

And that those three bridges over the Los Angeles River will take four years to build? Longer than it took Walt to build Disneyland......

Fort Worth In The Deep South & Mount Vernon In The Far North Are Temperature Twins Today

This second Friday morning of 2015, temperature-wise, as you can see via computer generated temperature graphics generated by my computer, there is no warmth advantage, currently, to being located in the usually warm Deep South, compared to my former location in the Far North, a couple thousand miles distant.

Fort Worth is 34 and Cloudy. Mount Vernon is 34 with Some Clouds.

Mount Vernon, in the Far North, is heading today to a high of 49, while Fort Worth, in the Deep South, is heading to a high of 37.

The temperature in Washington, in winter, is moderated by this big mass of water called the Pacific Ocean. That same big mass of water, in summer, provides natural air conditioning.

The nearest big mass of water to Fort Worth is known as the Gulf of Mexico. That Gulf is several hundred miles distant, hence no temperature moderating body of water, not in winter, not in summer.

I do not recollect, in past winters, such a long period of dreary, cold, gray weather in the North Texas zone.

The usually pattern of Texas winter weather, if my memory is remembering correctly, is there can be a bout of cold weather, lasting a few days, sometimes accompanied by frozen water.

Those short bouts of cold weather, in times past, in Texas, have always been quickly followed by pleasant temperatures in the 70s. Or 80s.

Maybe I am remembering wrong.

All I know for certain is right now being some place tropical sounds real good.

A Giant Seattle Seahawk Bears Down On The Space Needle Hoping To Beat The Dallas Cowboys In The Super Bowl

I don't pay much attention to football, neither the American version or that odd version the rest of the world plays.

But, if you are in Seattle at the current time it is hard to avoid the fact that the Seattle Seahawks are on track to be in yet one more Super Bowl.

If I remember correctly the Seahawks won the Super Bowl last year.

Seattle Seahawk fans are quite demonstrative, but I really do think the giant holographic Seahawk logo you see here, dwarfing the Space Needle, is a bit much.

And why is this at the north end of downtown Seattle, rather than the south end where the Seahawk Stadium is located?

Has anyone been near Arlington's Dallas Cowboy Stadium, after dark, since the Cowboys also got on track to maybe be in their first Super Bowl of this century? Is there a giant holographic Cowboy logo dwarfing Cowboys Stadium? I suspect there must be, what with Tarrant County being the Football Capital of the Free World.

I just realized, I do not know what the Dallas Cowboys logo is. Is it a Cowboy hat? One would think that I would know this, living as I do about four miles west of where the Cowboys play football.

Is the Cowboy logo that silver star one sees on the 100s of special Dallas Cowboys themed outhouses sitting on the Dallas Cowboys' parking lots?

Are there any other NFL teams whose stadiums are surrounded by team themed outhouses?

A Little Mountain Hike With Spencer Jack Seeing Real Non-Fort Worth Type Islands

Yesterday Spencer Jack took me on a hike up Little Mountain in my old Mount Vernon hometown.

Little Mountain is a little mountain which is within Mount Vernon's city limits.

Little Mount Vernon has a park like Little Mountain near its downtown, whilst the little town I currently call home, Fort Worth, has a park near its downtown called the Tandy Hills Natural Area.

Having been in both town's parks I can tell you that Mount Vernon's Little Mountain Park is much more natural than Fort Worth's Tandy Hills Natural Area.

Well, there are those hang gliders who launch from the top of Little Mountain. That is not too natural.

No hang gliding was taking place on Little Mountain yesterday, due to weather related issues in the Skagit Valley and all of Western Washington, with those weather related issues causing large bodies of water to stand where usually there is not water. We shall see some of that documented in the photos which follow.

Above we are behind Spencer Jack, looking slightly northwest. That water you see in the distance is not the result of flooding. It is saltwater. Padilla Bay, I think. Near where I first met Spencer Jack, over six years ago, at Bay View State Park.

In the next picture we have zoomed in for a closer look.

In the foreground above you are looking at I-5. That straight line across the flooded land is the railroad track which on the left heads towards Seattle and on the right heads towards Canada. The land which you see on the other side of Padilla Bay is Fidalgo Island. Fidalgo Island is a real island, not an imaginary island of the sort that grows in Fort Worth. Fidalgo Island is where you will find the town of Anacortes and Spencer Jack's restaurant, the Fidalgo Drive-In. Click the link and you will soon see Spencer Jack with a root beer float.

In the next picture we are looking at another island in the distance.

That lump in the distance is known as Lummi Island. The Lummi are a Pacific Northwest Native American Tribe. The Lummi's Tribal Lands are on the mainland north of Lummi Island. A ferry will take you from the mainland to Lummi Island. Lummi Island is also a real island, not a Fort Worth style imaginary island. In other words, no ferry will be needed to take you to any of Fort Worth's imaginary islands.

Below is a section from informational signage about Mount Vernon's Forest Reserve Little Mountain Park. There are a couple things I found interesting about the information on this sign.

One thing I thought to be interesting was the fact that the sign is bi-lingual, both in English and Spanish. Now in Texas one would expect signage to be bi-lingual, what with Texas being so close to Mexico and once having been Mexico. Mount Vernon is only about 40 miles south of the Canadian border. If a Mount Vernon sign was going to be bi-lingual one would think the information would be in both English and Canadian. Or French.

However, just like Texas, the Skagit Valley, and Mount Vernon, has a large number of former Mexican nationals and their descendants, who have long lived in the Skagit Valley. Way more Mexican-Americans live in the Skagit Valley than Canadian-Americans. I do not think I ever knew a single Canadian-American whilst growing up in the Skagit Valley. I knew many Mexican-Americans.

The other bit of information on this sign, which I found interesting, was something you would never read on a Fort Worth sign in a Fort Worth park. That which I found interesting is in the first paragraph on the sign. I will copy that paragraph in its entirety. See if you can spot that which one would never read on a Fort Worth sign.

At its founding in 1877, Mount Vernon stood in a vast forest of giant trees. The idea of saving areas for public enjoyment would have seemed crazy then. But later, when the popular Carpenter Creek area was cut, the need became clear. On January 16, 1924, citizens of Mount Vernon voted overwhelmingly for the city to buy a park site.

Did you spot the part you would never read on a Fort Worth park sign?

Citizens voting on something to improve their city. What a revolutionary concept. A real vote, not a childish make believe vote, like having voters vote on Three Propositions with those propositions being things like voting to approve charging $1 to rent a livestock stall, rather than a straight up vote on whether or not to build a small arena for almost a half billion bucks.

I wonder where Spencer Jack is going to take me hiking next? A hike to the top of Goose Rock in Deception Pass State Park used to be one of my favorite things to do. Goose Rock is also on a real island.

To get to Goose Rock one takes a short drive west, to Fidalgo Island, crossing to Fidalgo Island on a bridge which spans the Swinomish Channel. That bridge was built over water in far less than four years.

One continues on Fidalgo Island, driving by Lake Campbell, which has an island in the center of the lake. One of the world's rare instances of an island on an island. Again, real islands, not Fort Worth type imaginary islands.

A short distance past Lake Campbell one comes to another bridge, Deception Pass Bridge, it being one of the Pacific Northwest's iconic images, built in less than a year, over very deep, swift moving water, back in the early 1930s.

Deception Pass Bridge takes you to Whidbey Island. Yet one more real island. The trail which leads to the top of Goose Rock begins at the south end of Deception Pass Bridge. From the summit of Goose Rock you can look in just about any direction and spot a lot of islands, some big, some small, none imaginary....

Texas Is The Worst At Graduating High School While Washington Is The Worst At Not Loving One Specific Canadian

Last night I came upon a scientific study on something called Thrillist which listed what each state in the American union is worst at.

Apparently Kansas has the ugliest scenery. Arizona is the worst at going to the dentist. Idaho has the worst drivers. New York is the worst to be a taxpayer. Oklahoma has the worst produce consumption. California has the most polluted cities. Utah is the nerdiest. North Dakota has the fewest visitors. Ohio has the worst water. Maryland is the worst at incarcerating the elderly.

Those are a sampling of the worst ats. You can click the above link to see what all the states are worst at.

And then there is Texas. As you can see above, Texas has the fewest high school graduates per capita. What a shock. Was the Texas education system in better shape back in the days when the state elected people like Sam Rayburn, Lyndon Baines Johnson, Barbara Jordan and Anne Richards?

And then there is what my old home state of Washington is worst at.  Washington is worse than any other state at something quite serious.

Worst at loving Justin Bieber.

How did Thrillist find out about the Washingtonian disdain for Justin Bieber?  Is Mr. Bieber being Canadian a bigger strike against him in Washington than in the other northern border states? Many people do grow up in Washington finding the Canadians to be a bit annoying....

Rooting Out Tarrant Regional Water District Corruption Is A Right Wing/Left Wing Cooperative Operation

A few minutes ago whilst perusing Facebook I saw that the TRWD's #1 Board Member, Mary Kelleher, was liking something someone had posted on Facebook.

The posting intrigued me when it mentioned something "weird" was going on here, as in...

"There is something very weird going on here. Breitbart, Jonathan Strickland, Matt Krause and I all want to support TRWD board member Mary Kelleher. It is just a little beyond strange."

What could be weird and a little beyond strange, I could not help but wonder?

Well, it did not take long to figure out that that which was weird was the fact that people all across the political spectrum are getting fed up with the corruption of the Tarrant Regional Water District and its increasingly embarrassing Dunce Confederacy Production known at the Trinity River Vision Boondoggle.

The Facebook post linked to an article in the publication which calls itself Breitbart.

Now, I know there are those who think Breitbart is nearer the Tea Party/FOX side of the political spectrum than it is to those who are the opposite end of the spectrum, but that does not mean that Breitbart is wrong in all things.

Breitbart's ROOTING OUT CORRUPTION AT THE TARRANT REGIONAL WATER DISTRICT article by Lawrence Meyers rather succinctly sums up much of what is corrupt about the TRWD.

I particular liked seeing Breitbart use the "Trinity River Vision Boondoggle" nomenclature.

Below are the first three  paragraphs from ROOTING OUT CORRUPTION AT THE TARRANT REGIONAL WATER DISTRICT......

Two members of the Texas TEA Party Caucus, along with a Democratic colleague, demanded that the ethically-challenged Tarrant Regional Water District (TRWD) Board release public documents that a colleague has been after for a year. 

Rep. Jonathan Strickland (R-Bedford) and Rep. Matt Krause (R-Fort Worth) are living up to their Tea Party roots, utilizing a provision under state law that requires public agencies to turn over documents when requested by state legislators. 

The move comes in support of reform-minded Board Member, Mary Kelleher, who believes the documents contain potentially incriminating information regarding the TRWD’s alleged misuse of public funds, cronyism, and numerous other activities surrounding what is known as the “Trinity River Vision Boondoggle.”

Overnight An Orange Orb Almost Landed On Me While Freezing Under A Full Texas Moon

This morning when I stepped outside to my elevated patio perch on the outer world I was startled to see that overnight the orange pod-like orb you see here had mysteriously attached itself to a tree branch.

What is this orange thing that somehow ended 30 feet from the ground?

An egg? An extra-terrestrial  being arriving with the full moon?

I would need a ladder to reach this thing for a closer inspection.

Without a ladder all I can do is wait and see what hatches. If anything.

I do not know if anything hatchable would have been able to survive last night's extremely frigid lack of heat.

It was a Three Dog Night, last night. Since I have no dogs I had to find myself an extra blanket at some point in time after midnight.

For the first morning in a long time I did not go swimming in the hot tub this morning.

I did not go hot tubbing for two reasons. One being the obvious reason of it being way too cold to get way too wet. The second reason being I forgot to bring in my hot tub suit yesterday from its outdoor drying location, rendering it frozen stiff and thus requiring a de-frosting before being usable.

Coming up on noon the temperature in the outer world has now gone well above freezing, to 35 degrees.

I think in a few minutes I will put on several layers of outerwear and venture into the outer world to experience some of that bright blue sky and the rare appearance of the sun....

Interesting Look Into The Convoluted Funding Of The Dunce Confederacy's Trinity River Vision Boondoggle

Out of the blue, on the third day of the New Year of 2015, in my incoming email inbox, there appeared a document which seemed to be a detailed accounting of the bizarre money moving shenanigans the City of Fort Worth is engaging in in cahoots with its Dunce Confederacy Cohorts in the Trinity River Vision Boondoggle.

It has long been apparent, to the few who pay attention, that the funding mechanism for the Dunce Confederacy Boondoggle is seriously flawed.

Hence the slow motion building of Three Simple Bridges Over Nothing taking an absurd four years, after which, if funding can be found, a ditch may be dug under the three bridges, finally giving them a purpose, after water is added to the ditch.

Does any other town in America finance a public works project in this convoluted manner?

Below is the legalistic gobblygook which seems to be all about transferring funds from various accounts into The Boondoggle's side of the ledger, near as I can tell....

SUBJECT:
Authorize Transfer of Funds Received from Tarrant County in the Amount of $332,065.91 from the Special Trust Fund to Certain Other Funds for the Purpose of Reimbursing City's Previous Trinity River Vision Eligible Project Expenses and Contracts, Consistent with the City's Limitation of $26.6 Million on Expenditures for the Trinity River Vision Project and Adopt Appropriation Ordinances (COUNCIL DISTRICT 9) 

RECOMMENDATION: 
It is recommended that the City Council:

1. Adopt the attached appropriation ordinance increasing estimated receipts and appropriations in the Special Trust Fund in the amount of $332,065.91 from available funds; 
2. Authorize the transfer from the Special Trust Fund in the amount of $332,065.91 to the Street Improvements Fund in the amount of $122,670.22, the Sewer Capital Projects Fund in the amount of 175,550.80 and the Specially Funded Capital Projects Fund in the amount of $33,844.89 for previous Trinity River Vision eligible project expenses and contracts;
3. Adopt the attached appropriation ordinance increasing estimated receipts and appropriations in the Street Improvements Fund in the amount of $122,670.22;  
4. Adopt the attached appropriation ordinance increasing estimated receipts and appropriations in the Sewer Capital Projects Fund in the amount of $175,550.80; 
5. Adopt the attached appropriation ordinance increasing estimated receipts and appropriations in the amount of $33,844.89 in the Specially Funded Capital Projects Fund; and
6. Authorize the transfer in the amount of $33,844.89 from the Specially Funded Capital Projects Fund to the Capital Projects Reserve Fund.

DISCUSSION: 
After a recent audit of City expenses and contracts, the above recommendations are necessary to reimburse several City Funds in order to ensure that the $26.6 million Trinity River Vision (TRV) spending cap is maintained. Tarrant County will soon be providing the City with their Fiscal Year 2015 TRV reimbursement in the amount of $1.5 million, so this Mayor and Council Communication will enable the redistribution of a portion of that funding to cover TRV-related expenses and contracts in the following manner:

On April 15, 2008, (M&C C-22766) City Council authorized the initial contract with TranSystems for Phase IA of stormwater and franchise utility design/coordination. This was a TRV eligible expense that counted towards the City's $26.6 million commitment in the amount of $946,500.00. This contract was paid for with City funds from the Capital Projects Reserve Fund because it was prior to the City receiving TRV Project reimbursements from Tarrant County. On October 6, 2009 (M&C C-23833), City Council authorized the use of Tarrant County TRV Project reimbursement funds to move the Police Auto Pound, which was a non-TRV eligible expense. The final cost in moving the auto pound was $912,655.11. By transferring the difference of $33,844.89 ($946,500.00 vs. $912,655.11) from the Special Trust Fund (i.e., Tarrant County TRV reimbursements) to the Specially Funded Capital Projects Fund, this leaves the Police Auto Pound expenditure of $912,655.11 paid by Capital Projects Reserve Funds and reimburses the difference for the TranSystems Phase IA contract.

FISCAL INFORMATION/CERTIFICATION: 
The Financial Management Services Director certifies that upon approval of the above recommendations and adoption of the attached appropriation ordinances, funds will be available in the current capital budgets, as appropriated, of the Street Improvements Fund, the Sewer Capital Projects Fund, and the Specially Funded Capital Projects Fund.

______________________________________________________

I can not help but wonder if the Dunce Confederacy Trinity River Vision Boondoggle had been funded in the way normal public works projects are funded, you know, after a public vote where the voters vote to tax themselves by some means to fund a project for the public good, whether we would be seeing these type convoluted "funding" manipulations to fund an ongoing Boondoggle?

The Pretentiously Portentous 2015 New Years Aspirations Of Althea & Me

Well, we have now arrived at day four of the New Year of 2015.

I think I am now settled enough into the New Year to talk about New Year's Eve.

I don't remember if I have mentioned it in New Years previous, but Althea and I have a tradition, inspired by our good friends, the Montagues, where every New Year's Eve we sit down, me with my single malt whiskey, Althea with her gallon of Mogen David wine and three pounds of fudge, to talk about our aspirations for the coming year.

Now, by aspirations we do not mean anything so heavy as a resolution, or even a goal, even though aspirations, resolutions and goals are pretty much the same thing.

For our pretentious purposes we are going to assert that aspirations are a different thing from a resolution or a goal.

A lighter thing.

Less heavy than a resolution or a goal. Nothing daunting like resolving to lose a few hundred pounds. What with it seeming sort of obvious, to anyone with any semblance of sanity, that, if one found oneself a few hundred pounds overweight, common sense would have one aspiring to lose that weight for health and aesthetics, plus ease of going up and down stairs, along with no longer being banned from flying.

I digress.

So, as Althea and I went over our list of aspirations which we had written down for 2014, way back on New Year's Eve of 2013, we were struck by how many of our aspirations had come to pass.

I shan't detail all our aspirations which have come to pass, that would seem way too much like pretentious bragging. And what with one of our 2014 aspirations being to cut back on our high volume of pretentious bragging, well, you get the point.

Suffice to say 2014 was a very good year. Very good.

Also, suffice to say I am a lucky boy and Althea is a very very very lucky girl. Very lucky. Can I say that again without seeming repetitive? Very lucky.

As we drank what remained of our whiskey and wine, Althea and I began to aspire to our aspirations for 2015.

Of course, it goes with out saying, but I will say it anyway, as we decide upon an aspiration we write it down in our Aspirations Notebook.

On the first banking day of the New Year we take our Aspirations Notebook to our bank to secure it in our safety deposit box until the next New Year's Eve. We don't quite understand why this is part of the Annual Aspiration Process, but the Montagues do it, and thus, so do we.

Anyway, I really thought it a thoughtful thing for myself and Althea to share our Annual New Year's Eve Aspiration tradition with others, so that they might aspire to emulate our aspirations....

The Sun Shined Bright For A Moment On This Third Day Of 2015 In Texas

A few minutes ago, on this Third Day of the New Year of 2015, the sun broke a hole through the clouds, with a big enough hole for a large patch of blue to appear.

Temporarily.

But, long enough that I was able to take a photo through the bars of my patio prison cell of the bright glaring sunlight bouncing off a pool filled near to overflowing by last night's deluge of downpouring rain.

That deluge of downpouring rain was accompanied by a long thunderstorm with way too much booming for far too long.

In other words, I had a rough night last night. A rough night of sleep interruptions due to that aforementioned booming thunder.

The outer world has suddenly seemed to darken, again. A quick look out my computer room window sees no blue sky remaining. Gray clouds once again cover the sky from horizon to horizon.

Changing the subject to something else.

This morning, on Facebook, I have been shocked, shocked I tell you, to read Miss Julie's, who in 2014 went by her stripper name of Fluffy Monkey Buns, tale of her recent groupie assignation with members of Fleetwood Mac, post a recent concert in Dallas.

Miss Julie's adventurous tale came complete with rather revealing photo documentation of the sort I had not seen on Facebook at any point any time previous to today.

Changing the subject back again to the weather.

During that brief and shining moment when the sun returned I was filled with a momentary desire to head somewhere in the outer world for a walk. A walk with the Indian Ghosts at Arlington's Village Creek Natural Historical Area seemed like a good idea. Then I remembered last night's flood level of rain and the likelihood Village Creek is flooding, with the park closed.

And now the gray doom has returned, clouding out any strong desire to commune with nature in a park-like setting....