Will World War II Amphibious Ducks Ever Carry Tourists On Fort Worth's Pond Granger?

No, you are not looking at a picture of a recent Rockin' the Trinity River event here. Nor is this an artist's rendering of what America's Biggest Boondoggle's Pond Granger may look like in the distant future when it may be able to float a boat.

What you are looking at here is sort of a variant of our popular series of things I see in west coast online news sources, usually the Seattle Times, which I would not see in the Fort Worth Star-Telegram.

How many things can you count in this picture which you would not see if you were looking at the stunning skyline of beautiful downtown Fort Worth?

Construction cranes, yes that would be one. A large body of clean water, yes that would be another. A filled  in skyline of tall buildings, yes that would be another. Hordes of tourists floating in World War II amphibious vehicles, known as "ducks", yes that would be another.

That which you see above came from the Seattle Times, which would make that skyline you see above, a small slice of the Seattle skyline, looking south across Lake Union. The Space Needle would be to the right.

I may be wrong.

I am assuming the flock of Ducks are floating on Lake Union, not Elliott Bay. It would seem there would be too much competing watercraft traffic on Elliott  Bay for the Ducks to be floating there, what with giant cruise ships, super ferries, container ships and a lot of other big boats.

When last I was in the downtown Seattle zone, for a lot of hours, August 7, 2008, stuck in Pioneer Square, I saw Ducks waddle by over and over again, stuffed with tourists. At that point in time I did not realize the Ducks actually got in water. That day I lost track of the number of times the Duck's tour guide's loud speaking loudspeaker informed those on board  they were passing the coffee shop made famous on the TV show called Frasier.

I wonder if Ducks will be floating on America's Biggest Boondoggle's Pond Granger, then exiting the pond to take the tourists on a tour of all the sights in downtown Fort Worth, like the coffee shop made famous by, oh, nevermind.....

Haha A Card From My Little Sister Thanking Me For Teaching Her Not To LOL

Yesterday afternoon in my mailbox I found a letter from my little sister. I opened the letter to find a birthday card. The cover of the birthday card had a picture of someone who vaguely looked like me in a serious facial contortion.

The text on the cover of the birthday card said, "Happy Birthday to a brother who's taught me something very important..."

I opened the card to see "LOL" in big letters, under which my little sister wrote, "Have a good one! Jackie".

At the same time I read my little sister was LOLing in big letters I saw that which you see above, on Facebook, informing me that "LOL is out, haha is in."

Supposedly Facebook is claiming "haha" is used by 51 percent of Facebook users, while "LOL" is totally uncool, used by only 2 percent.

Most of the people I see on Facebook must be totally uncool because I am still seeing a lot of  LOLs and have seen no hahas.

I have long found the LOL thing to be a bit annoying.  I'll read LOL and think really, that has you laughing out loud? That is not even remotely amusing, yet it has you laughing out loud?

I texted my little sister to thank her for the birthday card and also texted that "I just read on Facebook that LOL is totally out. Haha is the new LOL. Haha.

To which my sister texted, "Whatever. LOL."

To which I texted, "haha".

From this I guess we can conclude I am way cooler LOL-haha wise than my little sister...

Today We Learn 66 Piers Are Part Of The Moat Surrounding Grangerville

Earlier today I blogged about a bridge in Oregon built in the last century which took around two years to construct, built high above a saltwater bay, as compared to three simple little bridges being built in slow motion over dry land in Fort Worth with a four year project timeline.

Someone named Anonymous commented regarding the current state of America's Biggest Boondoggle's project...

Anonymous has left a new comment on your post "In Oregon Building The Yaquina Bay Bridge In Less Than Four Years While Celebrating A Hotpepper Birthday.":

66 flood wall piers have been completed at the Panther Island Project. The piers will be part of the moat that will surround Grangerville.

Corps of Engineers progressing on flood wall piers

Clicking the above Anonymous link we learn.....

As part of its flood-control work on the Trinity River Vision project, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has completed 66 flood wall piers in the Henderson Street and White Settlement corridor.

These piers are part of the future flood wall in the bypass channel; construction on the channels is scheduled to begin in 2018.

The piers were constructed during this phase because it is cheaper and faster to build them before bypass channel construction begins.

The bypass channel will be a 1½- mile, 300- foot-wide channel that will redirect flood waters around the 800 acres of low-lying area north of downtown Fort Worth.

The channel will have three flood gates installed at the sections of the river where the bypass channel and the original river intersect. These gates will remain open at most times, but can be shut during high-water events to force water through the bypass channel.

________________________________________________

66 flood wall piers have been installed in the Henderson Street /White Settlement zone? I drove through that zone on Saturday and did not see 66 of anything. Maybe flood wall piers are not noticeable.

These piers were stuck in the ground now because it is cheaper and faster to do so before bypass channel construction begins? Nothing to do with limited funding being the reason for the slow motion progress of America's Biggest Boondoggle?

It's all about being cheaper and faster? Then why is this relatively simple project, with no project timeline, slated, currently, to take four years to build three simple bridges over dry land.

Longer than it took to build actual complicated feats of engineering, such as the Golden Gate Bridge, and multiple other similar projects around the world.

So, this slow motion project would go even slower if the flood diversion ditch was being built at the same time as the three simple bridges?

This article refers to the flood diversion channel in the plural. As in "construction on the channels is scheduled to begin in 2018."

Channels? More than one ditch is scheduled? Ditch digging to begin in 2018? The year the three simple bridges might be finished connecting the mainland to the imaginary island?

I hope I live long enough to see a flood diverted under those bridges. But, I suspect not many of us currently observing America's Biggest Boondoggle will get to witness such a thing....

In Oregon Building The Yaquina Bay Bridge In Less Than Four Years While Celebrating A Hotpepper Birthday

Today is Elsie Hotpepper's 30th birthday. Happy Birthday, Elsie. I must check in to see if the Hotpepper is available for a Happy Birthday lunch today.

Changing the subject from a young lady leaving her twenties in the rear view mirror to the photo you see here.

A D/FW native is currently up north, on the Oregon coast. Hunting sea lions, among other things. Those are sea lions you see in the lower part of the photo, lounging on a dock in Newport. I do not know if this dock is in Yaquina Bay or not.

I do know that that is the Yaquina Bay Bridge you see in the background, which would make this yet one more of those popular bloggings about feats of complicated bridge engineering, over water, completed in less than four years.

Before I get to the bridge I must mention that the aforementioned D/FW native, currently in Oregon, is my source for this photo. Found this morning on Facebook. I had been told by the aforementioned  D/FW native that she did not want it mentioned that she had left Texas. I think I may have been forbidden to mention this on my blog.

So, imagine my surprise to check in on Facebook to see dozens of photos documenting what the aforementioned D/FW native is seeing up in Oregon.

Back to the Yaquina Bay Bridge.

This is one of the most recognized bridges on the Oregon coast. On August 5, 2005 the bridge was placed on the National Register of Historic Places.

During the course of its construction around  220 workers worked to pour 30,000 cubic yards of concrete while fabricating 3,100 tons of steel. The bridge's pier pilings were driven to a depth of around 70 feet below the seabed.

From Wikipedia a description of the Yaquina Bay Bridge design elements...

The 600-foot main span is a semi-through arch, with the roadway penetrating the middle of the arch. It is flanked by identical 350-foot steel deck arches, with five concrete deck arches of diminishing size extending to the south landing. The main arch is marked by tall obelisk-like concrete finials on the main piers, with smaller decorative elements marking the ends of the flanking spans.The arches are built as box girders. The two-lane road is 27 feet wide, running inside the arches with two 3.5-foot sidewalks. The main arch is 246 feet  above sea level at its crown. Overall length of the bridge is 3,260 feet , including concrete deck-girder approach spans. The navigable channel measures 400 feet wide by 133 feet high.

The bridge uses Art Deco and Art Moderne design motifs as well as forms borrowed from Gothic architecture. The Gothic influence is seen in the balustrade, which features small pointed arches, and in the arches of the side span piers. The ends of the bridge are augmented by pedestrian plazas that afford a view of the bridge and provide access to the parks at the landings by stairways.

_____________________________________________

Construction of the Yaquina Bay Bridge began on August 1, 1934. The bridge opened to traffic on September 6, 1936,.

That's right, opened two years, one month and five days after construction began.

Meanwhile in Fort Worth, Texas, in October of 2014, a TNT explosion was the highlight of a pompous ceremony marking the start of construction of three, simple, little bridges being built over dry land to connect the mainland to an imaginary island, with an astonishing four year project timeline.

We are nearing a year since construction began on America's Biggest Boondoggle's three simple little bridges. I drove through the Henderson Street bridge construction zone on Saturday. Little has been built in almost a year. Some short pier like looking elements are sticking out of the ground which may be bridge related.

I could not find the other two simple little bridges under construction.

So, how was an actual complicated feat of bridge engineering, over a saltwater bay with tidal changes, completed in far less than four years, in Oregon, many decades ago, while in Fort Worth, with absolutely no feat of engineering design complications, no moving water, no great height, no chasm to span, take four years to build in the following century?

Taking four years seems bizarre, yet the locals do not seem to mind. Apparently this is just one more element of what is known as the Fort Worth Way.....

No Initiative Is Underway Fixing Fort Worth's Heritage Park

A few days ago I came upon that which you see here, in the Seattle Times. Making this the latest entry in our popular series of articles I read in west coast news sources, online, usually the Seattle Times, which I would never read in the Fort Worth Star-Telegram about something taking place in Fort Worth, or other locations in Texas.

Or maybe I am wrong. Are Texans allowed to put an issue to a vote by getting enough petition signatures to put a measure on a ballot? If Texans do have this basic democratic right what is the reason it is so seldom used that I am not aware of it?

Below is an excerpt from the Seattle Times' Initiative for elevated park along waterfront qualifies for ballot article...

Campaigners for Initiative 123 filed enough petition signatures to qualify a ballot measure that would create a public-development authority to begin work on a new elevated park along the waterfront using a piece of the Alaskan Way Viaduct. This is an alternative to plans already in progress.

Campaigners filed enough petition signatures last month to put Initiative 123, to create an autonomous public-development authority, on the ballot. On Monday, the Seattle City Council received certification of the initiative.

Supporters are promising a 1-mile, 6-acre “garden bridge,” incorporating a reinforced block of the old viaduct into a new, 45-foot-wide structure.

Corner’s designs show at least three pedestrian bridges, including a verdant overlook walk from the waterfront to the Marketfront plaza, a $73 million expansion of the Pike Place Market that began in June.

The viaduct is likely to stay up until as late as 2019, after the Highway 99 tunnel is completed. For now, reality offers a noisy viaduct, seawall-construction barricades, traffic detours — and crowds of visitors at the waterfront last weekend.

____________________________________

Fort Worth Star-Telegram readers, how many items in the above six paragraphs can you spot which you would not read in the Star-Telegram  about a Fort Worth project?

In Fort Worth a public works project gets foisted on the public, with no public vote. Such as that entity which calls itself the Trinity River Vision Authority. The Seattle initiative in the above article creates an autonomous public-development authority, that is if the voters vote to give the authority.

What a  concept.

I wonder if having the public back public works projects by voting on them is the reason why Seattle and Western Washington have so many such  projects under way? With project timelines. I wonder if this type thing is part of the reason the Seattle and Western Washington economy is booming?

I have lost track of how long Fort Worth's Heritage Park has been a boarded up eyesore.

Heritage Park used to celebrate Fort Worth's heritage at its location in downtown Fort Worth, across the street from the Tarrant County Courthouse, overlooking the confluence of the West and Clear Forks of the Trinity River and the imaginary island and imaginary pavilion where the aforementioned Trinity River Vision Authority authorizes locals to float with the feces.

Heritage Park had no problem that justified it being turned into a ruin. The park was closed after the tragic drownings in the Water Garden in the south end of downtown Fort Worth. The city feared another lawsuit due to another drowning. And since Heritage Park had multiple water features it was deemed a danger.

Trouble was, I don't think any of those responsible for turning Heritage Park into a ruin actually walked through the park. If they had they would have seen that none of the water features presented any drowning danger, due to all the water being very shallow. Heritage Park had no swirling sinkholes presenting a drowning danger.

So, with little thought Heritage Park was closed and left to fall into ruin. Why would any self respecting city let this remain the status quo year after year after year?

How can American towns operate so totally different? In Seattle a citizen initiative is trying to build a new park in coordination with ongoing waterfront projects, all of which have a project timeline. While in Fort Worth a park is allowed to fall into ruin, surrounded by cyclone fencing and no trespassing signs, with no apparent effort to fix the problem, either by elected officials or citizen activists.

Pitiful is the word which comes to mind. And sad, real sad.

Heading West To Fort Worth's Best Tourist Attractions & Uncle Julio's Enchiladas With Boondoggle Bridges

I dropped in on Fort Worth's two best tourist attractions today, those being the Botanic Garden, before visiting Uncle Julio's on Camp Bowie, and then the Fort Worth Stockyards.

I came across multiple Asian tourists enjoying the Botanic Garden. The language being spoken was Asian, but I can not tell what brand, be it Chinese, Japanese, Thai, Vietnamese, Korean or any of the other Asian flavors.

In the photo you are looking at a guy who had caused a herd of turtles and koi fish to get all excited taking bites out of the piece of bread he was holding above the water. On the 5th and last slice a big turtle snapped the entire piece out of  his hand, which caused a frenzy in the water as turtles and fish battled  for bread.

Why are the Botanic Garden's turtles and fish so hungry?

Fort Worth's Botanic Garden is the first thing I discovered in Fort Worth, soon after I was exiled here, which I thought I'd never seen anything like it, done so well. The Botanic Garden really is a gem. A lot to see and explore.

Today I came upon a memorial to Charlie Company that I'd happened upon for the first time way back in 2009. Eventually I got back to my computer where I soon learned I'd blogged about my previous visit to the Botanic Garden's Charlie Company memorial in a blogging titled Charlie Company Memorial in Fort Worth's Botanic Garden. It is a rather poignant memorial.

Leaving the Botanic Garden I headed west to Uncle Julio's. My new form of mechanical vehicular transport informs me what direction I am heading. But, I already knew I was heading west. I have not yet figured out why being informed of the direction I am heading is of any use.

Arriving at Uncle Julio's a half hour past noon I was not happy to see a lot of vehicles parked on the road and in the parking lot. I figured there would be a long wait, which would have had me going somewhere else. But, I figured wrong. The interior eating zone was packed, but the outdoor patio was not.

You can  see the unpacked Uncle Julio's outdoor patio above, with Big Ed being very uncomfortable due to two blondes insisting on sitting on his shoulders. I don't understand why more people did not opt to eat outside. It was very pleasant, with overhead fans making a breeze, and, as you can see, plenty of shade.

After an hour with Uncle Julio I headed back east, intending to see if I could find any evidence of America's Biggest Boondoggle's three bridges being  built slow motion over dry land. This coming October it will be a year since bridge construction began with a TNT bang.

Well. I drove past what I think will eventually be a big traffic circle. I saw a few pier like things coming out of the ground which may be bridge supports. But, is this all there is after this much time? Driving through that area  I have no clue where the ditch will go that will go under the three bridges. Where are the other two bridges? I found no other construction activity.

Continuing on I drove through Fort Worth's #1 tourist attraction, the Fort Worth Stockyards, which I think is the best tourist attraction in the D/FW zone. And is the only thing I take out of state visitors to that impresses them as being something not seen back in their own home zones.

Fort Worth really should put more effort into improving the Stockyards. I saw there has been some sidewalk work done since my last visit. The lighting at night needs a lot of work. And get rid of any boarded up eyesores, like the New Isis Theater, which has been "Opening Soon" since before I arrived in Texas in the last century. And demolish that ugly Wells Fargo bank eyesore. How did that get construction approval?

There were a lot of tourists touring the Stockyards today. And Riscky's BBQ was packed. Made me want  to stop for the all you can eat beef ribs. But, I had just been to Uncle Julio's and was not hungry.

Leaving the Stockyards I headed north on Highway 156, also known as Blue Mound Road. My initial location in Texas was in Haslet, a tiny burg way out in the country, at that point in time. Early upon arrival  in Texas, when getting our bearings, we did not yet remember place names, so, heading to downtown Fort Worth, one would ask what route you taking? The Freeway or Tijuana? Yes, we referred to Fort Worth's Blue Mound Highway 157 Road as Tijuana. None of us had ever seen such a road with so much delapidation in full view. This was before we discovered other roads in Fort Worth, like Lancaster and Berry.

I digress.

So, it has been years since I have driven by my original Texas location. Two things shocked me. One was Tijuana, in even worse shape than it was when I first saw it. The other shocking thing was to see how much of what had been open land is now covered by houses. Houses as far as I could see.

I drove past my first Texas abode with very little looking  familiar. I continued on to Golden Triangle Boulevard. West of I-35 Golden Triangle is still  a potholed mess, despite all the new houses and side roads. East of  I-35 Golden Triangle has been turned into a modern boulevard.

With landscaping.

Crossing under the freeway was like leaving a third world country and re-entering America. When I lived in Haslet  the drive east on Golden Triangle was lonely. Not a busy road. This is no longer the case. The closest grocery store upon my arrival was Krogers in Keller. Now there is an Albertsons on Golden Triangle well before you get to Keller, along with a lot of the usual fast food joints and other developments.

Continuing on into Keller I headed south on Rufe Snow Road, which has been totally rebuilt since I last drove it from Keller.

The remainder of today's road trip was over ground I've been on in recent times.

So, what is the deal with The Boondoggle's bridges? Anyone know? Anyone know exactly where that flood diversion ditch is going to be dug? Almost a year after that big TNT bang celebrating the start of the building of three bridges in slow motion and what I saw today is all there is to see?

Bizarre. And just a little pitiful.....

No Mountain Of Japan's Tsunami Debris Is Arriving In Fort Worth Today

Today we have a slight variant in our popular series of bloggings about news items I see in west coast online news sources, usually the Seattle Times, which would likely not be something I would see in the Fort Worth Star-Telegram.

The caption under the photo says...

A barge carrying 1 million pounds of debris that washed up on Alaska and Canada coastlines — half of it from the 2011 Japan tsunami — signals a larger cleanup that needs to be done.

That mountain behind the mountain of debris is Mount Rainier. That bird flying over Mount Rainier is a seagull.

I don't think a barge carrying a million pounds of anything could float very far on the Trinity River.

Half the mountain of debris came from the tsunami which struck Japan in 2011. What does this tsunami debris consist of, I can not help but wonder? How does a debris collector tell that debris is from Japan's tsunami, rather than junk thrown off a cruise ship, or some other source?

Has Japanese tsunami debris washed up on the Washington, Oregon and California coasts, too? Or did it all end up north of the border?

What is Washington doing with that million pounds of debris? Is a lot of it recyclable?

So many questions, so few answers. I maybe could have clicked on the link and read the article. But I think my Seattle Times five articles a month quota has already kicked in.

Rockin' The Trinity River Beer In Hand With A Dose Of E. Coli On Sunday Funday

A couple anonymous comments from Anonymous about Rockin' the River with a good dose of e.coli.....

Anonymous has left a new comment on your post "Rockin' The River Flushed Due To Too Much Toilet Water In Fort Worth's Trinity River":

Juris Doctor Granger talking on stage at Rockin' the River (Week 7) in photo #17. He should have bought the house a round at his own expense.

And then Another Anonymous left another interesting comment, including the Star-Telegram article about Rockin' the River getting flushed due to too much e.coli.

Another Anonymous has left a new comment on your post "Rockin' The River Flushed Due To Too Much Toilet Water In Fort Worth's Trinity River":

I dumped the Startlegram earlier this year because I got tired of paying an ever expanding price for an ever shrinking paper. But, for those few occasions when I go to their site, I never have a problem getting any story I want (because I dump cookies frequently?). So here's the story that raises more questions than it answers:

E. coli found in Trinity River at Panther Island Pavilion

A high amount of E. coli in the Trinity River left locals rockin’ the land instead of the water at Thursday night’s Rockin’ the River concert.

The crowd at the Panther Island Pavilion had to watch headliner Sam Riggs, followed by musician Aaron Einhouse, from the banks of the river after weekly testing found 1,700 E. coli organisms per 100 milliliters of river water near the pavilion.

The Texas Commission on Environmental Quality standard is 399 E. coli organisms per 100 milliliters, said Woody Frossard, environmental director for the Tarrant Regional Water District.

“Anything above that they don’t recommend contact recreation,” Frossard said.

He said the TRWD performs water sampling every Tuesday from May through October. When the test results came back Thursday, he said, he recommended water tubing be canceled for the event that night.

“I can’t tell you what is causing the problem because I don’t know yet,” Frossard said. “I got the samples today and will do more testing tomorrow. There is a possibility someone dumped something in the river.”

He said the only problem area found was near Panther Island Pavilion. Other parts of the river tested less than 40 E. coli organisms per 100 milliliters.

Water district employees will be back out on the river early Friday, testing the waters upstream to try to identify the source.

Sunday Funday, a day of family-friendly tubing, kayaking, canoeing and boating at Panther Island, was still scheduled. It will be the last Sunday Funday event of the year.

By Monica S. Nagy

_________________________________________

In the photo of J.D. Granger, with his signature can of beer in hand, is he announcing to the assembled throng of inner tubers that there would be no getting in the Trinity River tonight due to a big plume of sewage passing through on its way to Dallas?

I agree with Another Anonymous, the Star-Telegram article raises more questions than it answers. As in how did this extremely elevated level of e.coli pollution come to be at this one specific location, that being the location where America's Biggest Boondoggle encourages people to get wet in the Trinity River?

Supposedly other areas of the river were tested, at the same time, with no elevated e.coli levels.

Are there random plumes of sewage pollution floating down the Trinity River? And just by happenstance the water testers were testing the water just as a plume of sewage floating by the Rockin' the River zone?

I refuse to refer to the Rockin' the River zone as Panther Island Pavilion, due to my aversion to propaganda and puffery, As in there is no island or pavilion. And the panther is a hundred year old joke. I agree with Mr. Spiffy on this serious issue, in that Gator Island is a much better name. Since a gator has been seen on the imaginary island this century.

Thursday the Trinity River was closed to floaters due to too much contamination. But Funday Sunday will float on schedule, three days later?

Bizarre.....

Spencer Jack Waving & Water Sliding At Washington's Lake Chelan

That would be Spencer Jack waving at you.

Last weekend Spencer drove his dad over to Eastern Washington to Lake Chelan.

Which would make that Lake Chelan behind Spencer.

Lake Chelan is the largest natural lake in Washington. It is a narrow, 50.5 mile long lake. A very long, very deep lake, with crystal clear water which I remember as being extremely cold, even in summer.

For some unfathomable reason Washington is known as the Evergreen State, when the fact of the matter is a large area of the state is not green, such as that which you see above.

Because Lake Chelan is a not a polluted body of water one can eat the fish you catch there. Native to the lake are fish like various versions of trout, various versions of suckers, mountain whitefish and  a couple other swimmers I am not remembering. Six types of fish not natural to the lake have been added, with those being Rainbow trout,  Kokanee, Yellowstone cutthroat trout, Brook trout, Chinook salmon and Lake Trout.

The official Lake Chelan website gives one a good idea why this location is such a big tourist attraction. A blurb from that website...

"Only in Lake Chelan will you find four seasons of wine, sun, stunning natural beauty and adventures that you can tune to your own tastes."

Below are two videos of Spencer Jack water sliding whilst at Lake Chelan....

Rockin' The River Flushed Due To Too Much Toilet Water In Fort Worth's Trinity River

This morning's quick check of the front page of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram informed me of that which you see here.

That being that testing the Trinity River water on Thursday, that being the day of the week when America's Biggest Boondoggle sponsors a bizarre event called Rockin' the River, where hundreds of clueless fools are enticed to get in one of America's most polluted rivers to drink beer and listen to music, well that testing indicated that there was way too much fecal matter in the river, rendering it unsafe for swimming and tubing.

Do the clueless now understand that there has always been e.coli fecal matter in the water with them while they were Rockin' the River? That on any given day the level of e.coli could reach a level considered to be unsafe?

When I logged into Facebook this morning I found I was being tagged on this subject.

One of those taggers was Elsie Hotpepper....

Thanks to Mary Kelleher, at least they test the 'crap' now. I can't wait to see what Durango Jones has to say...

And then Mr. Spiffy had this to say....

Hello, Sunday Funday Trinity Innertubers! Please take note of the following announcement: You've been floating in poop water all summer. Sorry 'bout that. Now, here's some fun local country music band! Enjoy! - Yours truly, TRWD

Well, Ms. Hotpepper, Durango Jones does not have much more to say about this subject than he has already said.

One of the many things that crosses my mind regarding this is the fact that this is one more example of how Fort Worth suffers from not having a real newspaper.

A real newspaper would have been all over the absurdity of the Trinity River Vision getting into things like sponsoring drinking parties in the polluted Trinity River.

A real newspaper would have addressed the ridiculousness of the Panther Island nomenclature, pointing out there is no island. Pointing out there is no pavilion on the imaginary island.

Instead, the Star-Telegram goes along with The Boondoggle's nonsense, even when reporting a story with the headline "E. coli found in Trinity River at Panther Island Pavilion".

Would any legitimate newspaper in America go along with the Panther Island Pavilion con job?

A legitimate newspaper long ago would have been all over the scandal that is America's Biggest Boondoggle.

A legitimate newspaper would have long ago focused intense scrutiny on the hiring of Kay Granger's unqualified son to run what has become America's Biggest Boondoggle.

A legitimate newspaper would have been all over looking at how America's Biggest Boondoggle has accomplished so little in well over a decade, and has devolved into sponsoring absurd floating beer parties in the polluted with fecal matter Trinity River.

Rockin' the River needs  to be permanently cancelled as a first step towards bringing some level of adult supervision to the Trinity River Vision.

Oh, and J.D. Granger needs to be fired......