Is There Any Doubt Fort Worth Is Still A Great City?

This blogging falls into the category of bloggings about something I read via a west coast online news source which is something I would not likely be reading in the Fort Worth Star-Telegram.

In this instance the article was in the Seattle Times, titled Is Seattle still a great city? Checklist reflects doubts.

Can you picture an article headline in the Star-Telegram asking Is Fort Worth still a great city? Checklist reflects doubts?

The Star-Telegram is not known for doing any sort of civic self reflection of the open and honest sort.

So, this opinion piece in the Seattle Times was inspired by The Atlantic Monthly's James Fallows who flew all over America noting the ways American life is changing. In the course of doing so Fallows made note of some common civic themes which set apart rising cities and towns, with those places being "where things seemed to work."

The following is Fallows' Checklist of Eleven items he made note of, in bold, followed by what the Seattle Times opinionizer had to say about what Fallows said, followed by what I had to say about the same item, only my focus is on Fort Worth......

1. “Divisive national politics seem a distant concern.” Fallows found that the more national hot-button topics “came into local discussions, the worse shape the town was in.” Uh oh.

Well, Seattle does seems to get itself on the national radar screen, causing debate, over issues like raising the minimum wage to $15. I do not recollect any Fort Worth local discussion about anything being reflected in the national political debate.

2. “It’s easy to answer the question ‘who makes this town go?’ " Fallows found great places have easily identifiable civic engines. So who is the juice around here? No elected official, that’s for sure. Amazon is a rain forest of money but could not care less about the city’s affairs. So who? If I had to pick who runs Seattle right now, I would say “developers.” Is that a good thing?

What makes Fort Worth go? I have no clue if Fort Worth is actually going anywhere. Locally it is widely believed that the good ol' boy and girl network of long entrenched locals are behind whatever does happen in Fort Worth.

3. “Public-private partnerships are real.” We definitely have these, especially if you count subsidized sports stadiums.

Do things Fort Worth does like giving sweetheart deals to sporting goods stores and corporate headquarters count as a public-private partnership?

4. “People know the civic story.” By this he means, do we agree on a common identity? When I first got here in 1985, Seattle was still the jet city, or a striving middle-class city set in natural splendor. What is Seattle today? City of the rich and the homeless, still set in natural splendor? Silicon Valley North? Seattle’s story is being rewritten so fast the citizenry can’t be expected to know it.

I have no idea what Fort Worth's civic story might be. It may be sort of sadly summed up by the park celebrating Fort Worth's heritage, in downtown Fort Worth, that boarded up eyesore known as Heritage Park. Fort Worth bills itself, locally, as Where The West Begins. I have thought this odd ever since I first heard it. Thinking that St. Louis, Missouri, would seem to be the town to more accurately make such a claim, what with Gateway Arch and all those wagon trains heading west in the 1800s.

5. “It has a downtown.” This is what I mean about our changing story. Seattle’s so boomy we have downtowns. The main downtown is there, while another downtown springs up in South Lake Union. Only there’s no there-there yet to our sterile new downtown. I advise visitors to go to the miraculous Pike Place Market and call it good.

Well, Fort Worth does have a downtown. A perfectly nice little downtown. I don't think anyone would refer to Fort Worth or its downtown as being boomy.

6. “Near a research university.” Check plus for us. We have the second-largest research school in the nation. My only beef is we don’t always recognize the jewel we have, so we don’t support it as we should. We also ought to be creating new universities.

I am fairly certain Fort Worth has a research school. I vaguely recollect one of the reasons I ended up in Texas had to do with some sort of research being done at UNT, that's University of North Texas, for non-locals reading this.

7. “Has, and cares about, a community college.” These two-year colleges are the great equalizer of the new economy, Fallows argues. We’ve definitely got ’em. How much we care, measured in the form of consistent state support, is again an open question.

Is Tarrant County College a two year college? I don't know. I do know there are several campuses of TCC, including two in downtown Fort Worth, with one of the campuses being in the defunct Radio Shack Corporate Headquarters.

8. “Has unusual K-12 schools.” He means like high-school engineering academies or schools for the performing arts. We have some foreign-language immersion K-5s, but Seattle should be embarrassed by our lack of creativity. No Science and Tech High here. Even Tukwila has Aviation High School.

Fort Worth's schools are in bad shape, that I do know. Whether the town has any unusual K-12 schools I do not know.

9. “Makes itself open.” Meaning, it tries to be inclusive, to draw in outsiders. Give Seattle’s civic leaders credit for effort, what with the affordable housing push and other attempts at making future Seattle not only an enclave for the rich.

Well, Fort Worth is definitely not an enclave for the rich, that's for sure. A lot of what happens in Fort Worth comes about in non-transparent ways, then foisted on the public. The Trinity River Vision, aka America's Biggest Boondoggle, comes to mind.

10. “Has big plans.” We’ve got Mount Rainier-sized plans. Execution is another matter.

Well, Fort Worth definitely shares that big plans/poor execution problem with Seattle. Again, America's Biggest Boondoggle comes to mind. Has the world's biggest tunnel boring machine, Bertha, started up boring again? Or is it still stalled while the cause of giant sinkholes is investigated? Fort Worth's plan execution problems come from lack of funds, hence the slow motion Trinity River Vision which has been boondoggling along for most of this century, with little to show for the effort.

11. “Has craft breweries.” Check plus-plus for us! Fallows believes craft breweries are some sort of urban signpost of extended entrepreneurial activity. I don’t know about that, but the beer around here is fantastic.

When I first moved to Texas I made note of the fact that there were no craft breweries of the sort which had proliferated on the west coast like espresso stands. Trends take awhile to move from the two coasts to the hinterlands. One of the Trinity River Vision's operations is to promote craft beer consumption, including having a craft brewery open on The Boondoggle's imaginary island, called Panther Island Brewing.

________________________

So, there you go.

Does Fort Worth join Seattle in falling short of greatness, according to the Fallows criteria? Or not? I have no idea....

Winter 2016 Trinity River Vision Boondoggle Quarterly Propaganda Update

This morning I was pleased to open my mailbox to find the eagerly anticipated quarterly UPDATE from America's Biggest Boondoggle, also known as the Trinity River Vision Authority.

Every three months The Boondoggle mails out a slick piece of propaganda, which, for the most part, repeats what the previous quarterly update updated us about.

With America's Biggest Boondoggle's extremely slow motion construction it  is understandable that there is not a lot to report that is actual new information in each quarterly UPDATE.

What is not understandable is why does America's Biggest Boondoggle waste money on producing and mailing these embarrassing pieces of propaganda? Every three months.

The big news in the Winter 2016 UPDATE is pictured on the cover of the propaganda. Two pages of the UPDATE tell us that "On the morning of December 10, 2015, Fort Worth's newest piece of public art, Wind Roundabout, was celebrated with a formal dedication ceremony."

Formal? As opposed to an ordinary informal dedication ceremony? What made this ceremony formal I can not help wondering?

Below is one of the two pages under the title ART BECOMES THE CENTER OF ATTENTION.

I don't know why, but I found the first sentence of the second paragraph about the Wind Roundabout to be amusing....

This type of artwork is known as a kinetic sculpture because it incorporates movement.

If The Boondoggle thinks the public is so dumb it needs kinetic defined, don't you think the word "incorporates" might also need clarification?

In the page above about the Wind Roundabout we see Fort Worth Mayor Betsy Price in front of the kinetic sculpture apparently lecturing those she is speaking to about the importance of art in our community.

No mention is made in The Boondoggle's propaganda of the fact that they spent almost a million bucks for that ridiculous looking piece of aluminum.

The page below is from the two page section of the propaganda titled GATEWAY PARK MOVING FORWARD. Part of this was news to me, that being the part below.

I have not noticed dirt being moved on the west side of Beach Street. The current version of Gateway Park is due east of Beach Street. According to the propaganda "the Army Corps of Engineers is in the process of moving 1.4 million cubic yards of dirt, making way for flood protection and future recreational enhancements."

Flood protection? This area does not flood. Big levees the Army Corps of Engineers built over a half century ago keep this area dry when the Trinity goes rogue.

In the view above you are looking west. That is the stunning skyline of beautiful downtown Fort Worth you see in the distance. Those little things you see sticking up are Fort Worth's skyscrapers.

The below piece of propaganda titled THIS SUPERMODEL IS TURNING HEADS had me once again wondering why there is not more local complaining that this type nonsense must stop and those responsible for it removed.

Next to the SUPERMODEL title we learn "TRVA's newly-updated and interactive scale model of the Panther Island project has beauty AND the brains to match!

Who writes this embarrassing propaganda?

The first paragraph is another doozy...

"Once a majority of the bypass channel, street and canal right-of-ways had been purchased, the scale model in TRVA's Education Center needed updating in  order to more accurately represent the completed Panther Island project."

Completed? America's Biggest Boondoggle has completed NOTHING. Not a thing, after Boondoggling along for most of this century. Right-of-ways purchased? No mention made of The Boondoggle's wanton abuse of eminent domain to take property.

This interactive map, which lights up to highlight selected areas is located in something called the TRVA's Education Center. How many other public works projects in America have Education Centers? I believe this is located on the ground floor of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram building.

How much money has The Boondoggle wasted on its Education Center and this new interactive map? Why does The Boondoggle need an Education Center? In addition to the quarterly propaganda UPDATES. Don't these important UPDATES do enough educating?

No quarterly UPDATE from America's Biggest Boondoggle is complete without mention being made of all the wonders that have taken place, and will take place, at Panther Island Pavilion. You know, the world's premiere urban waterfront inner tubing music venue where there is no island or pavilion. And where occasionally events have to be canceled due to the e.coli levels in the Trinity River being too high.

The above propaganda tells us that last year's Oktoberfest had 10,000 patrons from more than 235 cities from 31 states. And this data was acquired how?

As always alcohol consumption plays a big part in America's Biggest Boondoggle quarterly UPDATES. We learn about upcoming PIP events like the Fort Worth Food and Wine Festival, Oktoberfest, in September, with beer wench stein carrying, whatever that is.

The Boondoggle's propaganda wishes HAPPY BEERTHDAY to Panther Island Brewing, telling us this brewery has won an award, while sitting on Panther Island (where there is no island) with a fantastic view of the Downtown skyline, telling us to come grab a beer and check out Fort Worth's hottest brewery.

And people ask me why I call this type nonsense propaganda.....

The First Good Swim Of The Year On The Third Saturday Of February

Yesterday's high was 81 degrees at my location. This morning when I woke up my temperature monitoring device I saw the outer world was chilled to only 62 degrees.

I figured the balmy temperatures should have the pool doable.

I figured right, and so had my first long swim this morning in the now not too cool pool.

Minutes ago I snapped the mid-afternoon view of the aforementioned pool you see here. As you can see it is currently being lit by a bright sun, with that sun currently heating the outer world at my location to 79 degrees.

I suspect I will be back in the pool tomorrow morning, unless the predicted Sunday thunderstorm is in full booming mode.

I read this morning that January in North Texas was the warmest, by far, since records have been kept. I know this winter has been the warmest since I've been in Texas. A few days where the temperature got below freezing. No ice storms. No snow.

This coming spring and summer should be interesting, weather-wise. I may feel the need to head north and west for relief....

Early Texas Voting At Fort Worth Library Thwarted Today Before Up Close Inspection Of New Art

The last time Texas had an election I was pleasantly surprised to see that my neighborhood East Regional Library had been added as an Early Voting location, obviating the need for the long drive to Handley to do some Early Voting.

So, today I decided to have myself a leisurely stroll to the East Regional Library to do some Early Voting. I knew the library was closed on Fridays, but figured that would not affect Early Voting.

However, upon arrival at the library parking lot I soon discovered that the two cars parked there were not early voters, because there was no Early Voting happening.

I arrived at the library right at noon, a timing which must never have happened before, because as I was looking at the plaque you see above, the Clock Tower bell began gonging, loudly, followed by a selection of religious greatest hits, like Amazing Grace, which I continued hearing long after I was a distance distant.

Til reading the Clock Tower plaque, you see above, I had no idea the Clock Tower had been presented  by the Citizens of East Fort Worth, with it being a project symbolizing the pride Eastsiders have in their neighborhood, what with it being the Gateway to the City where the West begins.

Let us continue on today's walk to another item of interest.

Lately whilst driving on Bridge Street I have noticed new art installations.

Back, late last year, when many locals were stunned at the revelation of a pseudo work of kinetic art which looked like a stylized, modernized trash can, at the center of the first of America's Biggest Boondoggle's traffic roundabouts under construction, and costing nearly a million bucks, we also learned that the city would be soon installing art on power boxes, with would beautify the apparent eyesores which I had never noticed prior to the apparent eyesores getting covered with art.

The below example I walked by today at the northwest corner of the intersection of Bridge and Bridgewood Streets.

A longhorn in a field of bluebonnets. It does catch ones eye as one drives, or walks, by. As one drives west on Bridge Street one sees many iterations of these works of art, depicting various themes, with most appearing to be somehow Texas related, though not as obvious as what you see above.

I don't know how much these works of art have cost the city. I would guess the price is no where near the almost million bucks the aluminum salute to trash cans cost.

It will be interesting to see how long these colorful pieces of plastic wrap last in the HOT Texas sun, which is starting to arrive, even now, prior to the blistering ULTRA HEAT of Summer.

I guess I will need to make that long laborious drive to Handley to do my Early Voting duty. But not today, that will need to wait til next week....

Are Elsie Hotpepper And I Attending The Downtown Fort Worth, Inc. Trailblazer Awards?

Way back in December of last year I got an email from Downtown Fort Worth, Inc. asking if I have blazed any trails lately, while informing me they wanted to recognize my contributions to Downtown Fort Worth.

I blogged about this in Downtown Fort Worth Wants To Recognize My Trailblazing Contributions.

Elsie Hotpepper was tasked with filling out the form which came with the email in which my multiple contributions to Downtown Fort Worth were to be detailed.

I forgot about this important document, which Elsie Hotpepper was tasked with filling out, til this morning when I got another email from the Downtown Fort Worth, Inc. people reminding me of the upcoming Trailblazer Awards event taking place March 8 in the Ballroom of the Omni Hotel.

I have received no notification from the Downtown Fort Worth, Inc. people as to the current status of recognizing my multiple contributions to Downtown Fort Worth with a coveted Trailblazer Award.

Elsie Hotpepper was also tasked with securing tickets to the Trailblazer Awards. I am suspecting Elsie Hotpepper has failed to follow through on both of these tasks with which she was tasked....

Keeping Tricycle Speed Under The Mount Vernon Speed Limit

I saw what you see here this morning on the Skagit Breaking News Facebook page and found it to be amusing.

Skagit is the county I lived in before moving to Texas. Mount Vernon is the town I lived in before moving to Texas.

In the picture a little boy on a tricycle is perusing the speed limit sign, likely wondering how in the world is he supposed to know how fast he is going when his trike is not equipped with a speedometer.

The part of the sign I found to be amusing  is the information attached below the ENTERING MOUNT VERNON SPEED LIMIT 25 ENFORCED notice...

PICK A SPEED YOU CAN AFFORD

$3 FOR EACH MILE OVER 25 MPH

In all my years of driving in the Skagit Valley I never got a single speeding ticket. I was only a couple weeks into my exile in Texas when I got a speeding ticket, due to a speed trap in Southlake.

Coming from Washington I was unfamiliar with the concept of the speed limit on a road going up and down, with a cop hiding in the speed limit down zone so as to trap alleged speeders.

At my current location on the three mile drive to Walmart, on John T. White Road, if I am remembering right the speed limit changes three times. Heading west on Randol Mill Road towards Town Talk, same thing.

I guess due to most Texans not knowing this is not normal no one makes a fuss to put an end to all the speed limit churning.

Speaking of driving in Texas. I must say, last night's late night drive to D/FW airport was totally painless, due to the well done upgrade to I-121. When construction was underway it was difficult to estimate how long the drive to the airport would take. Last night it took about 15 minutes.

The only construction annoyance in the drive to the airport is at the airport itself, with Terminal E being a bit of a challenge due to the construction upgrade. Last week after, delivering Miss Puerto Rico to Terminal E, upon leaving, I hit the biggest pothole I ever plowed through. Last night the exit from Terminal E was via a different route, and I found no dreaded potholes.

I intend to drive nowhere today....

A Postponed Airport Pickup Had Me Seeing New Scenery In Arlington's River Legacy Park

Last night I thought a change of plans had me driving to the airport this morning to pick up Miss Puerto Rico. By morning that plan had changed. More on that later.

I had myself a mighty stressful morning, so by the time the noon timeframe arrived I was in the mood for a relaxing contemplative walk. But, was in no mood to walk with Arlington's Village Creek Indian Ghosts.

Instead I went to Arlington's River Legacy Park, where the ghost haunting is kept to a minimum.

I'd not been to River Legacy Park since the Thanksgiving Flood. More on that later. But first I must mention that which you see above.

The River Legacy Park Pavilion.

This morning Elsie Hotpepper pointed me to an article about America's Biggest Boondoggle's V Piers being almost ready for their closeup with cement. Seems like it's been months since a fuss was made over those silly V Piers' wooden forms appearing, providing evidence that after a decade or so in the making something was rising from the ground due to the efforts of J.D. Granger and the slow motion Trinity River Vision Project.

I don't remember if it was in that article to which Elsie Hotpepper pointed me, or somewhere else, but somewhere this morning I read mention made of Panther Island and Panther Island Pavilion.

Panther Island is what The Boondoggle calls the imaginary island The Boondoggle is going to connect the Fort Worth mainland to, via those three bridges being built over dry land, currently consisting of some wooden V Pier forms.

So, today when I saw the River Legacy Park Pavilion I thought I should take a photo of it for those who don't know what an actual pavilion looks like. Have you seen anything like this in the area The Boondoggle refers to as Panther Island Pavilion? You know, where The Boondoggle has its Rockin' the River Happy Hour Inner Tube Floats when the e.coli level is low enough to make floating in the Trinity River semi-safe.

Back to River Legacy Park and the Thanksgiving Flood. I visited River Legacy Park soon after the floods of last spring. No damage in evidence after that flood. Today I walked a few miles, from the south side of the Trinity River to the north side. I saw views of the river I'd never seen, in all the years I've enjoyed this park.

I soon realized what had caused the new views.

The Thanksgiving Flood tore away at the river's banks, causing big chunks of earth, with trees and shrubs and other foliage, to break away and fall into the river, bringing the brink closer to the paved trail and opening up expansive views, such as above.

Above you can see some of the yellow mesh fencing which has been put in place as a temporary barrier to keep people from falling over the new brink.

When I got to the bridge which takes walkers, jogger, bikers and bladers across the Trinity to the north side I could tell the river had risen high enough to deposit mud on the bridge. I believe this is the first time that has happened since that bridge opened earlier this century.

The flood left some damage in its wake, but, overall, I think Mother Nature has made some major improvements in the River Legacy Park scenic experience.

Changing the subject from Mother Nature to aborted trips to the airport.

I went to bed thinking Miss Puerto Rico was leaving the island around 4 this morning, arriving in Fort Lauderdale around 7,  and being back at D/FW around half past 9.

By morning my phone had multiple confusing messages. One of those messages said "come get me, i miss my babies."

Huh?

Did that mean Miss PR was already back in Texas, waiting at the airport? I checked the flight status online. Nothing had changed. Arrival in D/FW still when I expected.

But, then I was getting more confusing text messages, arriving while Miss Puerto Rico was  supposedly in the air, unable to use her phone. Several confusions later I figured out she was still in Florida. More messages later I learned that the plane got in from Aguadilla, PR too late for those on board to catch the flight leaving for Texas.

So, Miss Puerto Rico has been stuck in Florida since this morning. The next flight out is half past 8, arrival at D/FW a little before 11 tonight.

Weeks ago when Miss Puerto Rico told me she'd booked a flight on Spirit Airlines I reminded her of how upset she'd been at her previous experience with that airline, where she vowed to never fly them again. Maybe after this experience the lesson will remain learned.

Does Anyone Know What We Are Saving The Stockyards From?

There is a Fort Worth effort afoot to Save the Stockyards.

This effort afoot has a Facebook page appropriately titled Save Our Stockyards.

What is it the Stockards are being saved from?

I'm not sure.

All I know for sure is the City of Fort Worth, in cahoots with a California based developer, is wanting to do some developing in the Fort Worth Stockyards National Historic District zone.

I've never been able to get a clear, consistent answer to what these developing plans entail, as in what is proposed to be removed, and where will all this development be taking place?

I have been told that the actual Stockyards are to be removed. I find this real hard to believe, as the actual Stockyards, the old pens with a boardwalk crossing the length above the pens is the most unique part of the Stockyards.

I've long thought the Stockyards sort of turns its back on the part of the place I think is the most unique. The access from Exchange Avenue is a bit tricky to find. You go through a revolving gate which is adjacent to where the Fort Worth Herd spends most of their time. Or you can access actual Stockyards from the north, to the east of Billy Bob's.

Above we are on the aforementioned boardwalk above the actual Stockyards, looking south at the stunning skyline of beautiful downtown Fort Worth.

Are the above actual Stockyards part of what is proposed to be removed? If so, count me on board the Save the Stockyards bandwagon.

Tandy Hills Mascot Olive The Prairie Dog Missing Again

This morning I got multiple confusing text messages from someone for whom English is not her first language.

Amongst those messages I got a confusing text message from someone for whom the Texas variant of English is her first language.

To which I replied something like good gawd is no one speaking understandable English to me today?

The message from the speaker of the Texas variant of English said "the prairie dog is missing again."

I had no  idea what that meant, and said so via the reply I already mentioned.

The speaker of the Texas variant of English then clarified that the prairie dog she was talking about was Olive the Prairie Dog, the Mascot of the Tandy Hills.

How has this happened again? The last time Olive the Prairie Dog went missing it turned into a big deal, with Olive the Prairie Dog posters posted all over, including some big sign versions.

I gleaned the photo of Olive the Prairie Dog from her paternal parental figure, Don Young's Facebook page. You can go there is you have any information about Olive.

A Presidential Presidents Day Walk Around Fosdick Lake Debating Feeding Ducks

What with it being Presidents Day today I decided to go to the nearest location I know of which I think of as presidential.

That being Fort Worth's Oakland Lake Park, for a walk around Fosdick Lake.

Don't ask me why I think of this location as being very presidential. A fortune cookie said I would utter a nonsensical sentence today, so I got that out of the way with that first sentence.

A lot of people were enjoying the ultra pleasant Presidents Day temperature at Oakland Lake Park, including the group of Fosduck feeders you see above. I was on the east side of the lake when I saw this group at the base of the Fosdick Steps on the west side of the lake. I zoomed in for the photo, with my steady hand rendering semi-good results.

Speaking of Presidents.

Last night I watched Saturday's Republican Presidential Debate whilst over at Miss Puerto Rico's. I'd set the DVR to record the circus the day before. Til last night I'd not made it through an entire Republican Presidential Debate during this current election debacle.

But, what happened in South Carolina on Saturday was an embarrassing train wreck that I could not quit watching. A monumental embarrassing entertaining train wreck.

How could the party of Lincoln, Grant, McKinley, Roosevelt, Eisenhower, Nixon, Reagan and Bush the First have devolved into such a mess of nincompoops running for President?

Last night Trump looked so orange. And I'd never noticed Marco Rubio's huge ears before. They looked like wings to me. Was this just because I was watching on an extra big screen? Ben Carson has written a book about the U.S. Constitution? But does not know that that document spells out how a new Supreme Court Justice is appointed? Jeb Bush whining about Trump picking on his family was funny, what with the back and forth between the two which then erupted.

I'd not witnessed a debate so out of control before. Is the Republican Party toast? It seems that might be the case, at least in its current version.....