Fort Worth Drive-In

Has everybody talking. 

Durango does it again.  YOU don't want to miss it, or the comments.

Yes. That sounds like a good plan, lease land to a startup business starting up a new business they've not started up before. Sounds like a recipe for success. Sort of like building the world's premiere wakeboard park where it can get wiped out by a flood.

The TRV Boondoggle Drive-In propaganda promoters are saying they anticipate around 300,000 TRVBDIT (Trinity River Vision Boondoggle Drive-In Theater) movie goers a year.

That works out to about 822 paying customers a day.

That sounds believable. Sort of like how the Fort Worth Star-Telegram and its propaganda co-horts claimed 7 to 8 million visitors a year to the Fort Worth Cabela's sporting goods store would make Cabela's the top tourist attraction in Texas. With apparently no one doing the math to see how unlikely was a daily average of around 22,000 visitors to a sporting goods store.

Three screens with up to 500 cars each? That'd be 1,500 cars running their A/Cs to keep cool on a HOT Texas summer night. That does not sound very eco-friendly to me.

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Pulitzers and Pickets

Incoming from a local taxpayer concerning the JD Granger, Tim Love, Trinity River Vision, Tarrant Regional Water District, Woodshed Boondoggle...

I'm boycotting....I hope it fails HUGE...The Business Press should get a Pulitzer for this cover up....
Not only am I boycotting, I'm looking forward to picketing, too.  Every restaurant owner in town should be out there in force. Businesses in Fort Worth need to get a clue.  Don't they know they are next?

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Meanwhile, back on the ranch

The Fort Worth Star-Telegram sticks with the usual spin. 

Don't worry, your local "news" knows "what's good for you". Remember, THEY also tell you WHO to vote for.  How's all that working out for ya?

And how has this worked out in the past?

WHY would a local politician and backers "scratch and claw" for this project?

That "local government money" they talk about, where do YOU think they get that?

The federal government may be in a world of hurt, but not the Trinity River Vision.

That was the message last week, when Rep. Kay Granger, R-Fort Worth, called a news conference to announce that $15 million in federal money had been secured for the river project.

Given that the TRV is estimated to cost $910 million and take at least 10 more years to complete, it hardly seems newsworthy that officials locked up 1.6 percent of the budget. Except that these days, every federal dollar is precious, and Granger's TRV coalition served notice that it'll scratch and claw to keep the Fort Worth project on track.

Maybe its best argument is that local government is paying more of the early costs rather than relying exclusively on Uncle Sam. Through August, local sources had contributed $83 million toward the project, while the federal allocation was almost $44 million, not including the latest $15 million pledge.

Despite some Republicans calling for an end to earmarks, Granger believes that this cost sharing will keep the TRV on course.

"The projects that can't come up with their local funds are the ones that are really going to slow down," Granger said. "That's one reason ours goes to the top of the list."

Fortunately, this ambitious idea took root in 2001. Back then, most people still believed that government could do great things, such as moving a river and reviving a distressed area about the size of the central business district.

But such progress gets overshadowed by the infighting in Washington, where earmarks -- money OK'd by Congress for specific projects advocated by members -- have been attacked as wasteful spending. That broad brush discredits every infrastructure project in the country, including the good ones. And the TRV is counting on the feds to cover more than half its budget, or nearly $488 million, so Granger has to keep the money flowing.

The Army Corps of Engineers, penciled in to provide the big bucks, isn't expected to start digging the $94 million bypass channel for three years, so a lot could change by then. Officials are already adjusting schedules in the event that Congress reverses course and plows new money into infrastructure jobs; if that happens, several pieces of the TRV will be shovel-ready and eager to compete for funding.

But at the moment and probably until the TRV is finished, there will be fears that federal support will dry up. Granger said she's always asked whether local, state and national leaders are still behind it.

"Our actions speak as loud as our words," Granger said Thursday, proud that local officials had found a way to land more money.

Originally, the Transportation Department was supposed to provide the last piece of funding for two bridges on Henderson and North Main streets. But the transportation bill is bogged down over a House proposal to cut spending by 30 percent, so Granger went to the Regional Transportation Council of the North Central Texas Council of Governments.

That local agency had enough federal money to close the gap. Bridge construction starts next year, and Granger was quick to say that 800 jobs will be created.

If the federal money stopped completely, the TRV would be in serious trouble. The local players -- the Tarrant Regional Water District, Tarrant County and Fort Worth -- have already pledged a combined $102 million.

In a more austere time, when the corps can't do as much, one priority should be to finish projects that are under way. The TRV has already bought property, moved businesses, demolished old buildings and completed some environmental cleanup. Building bridges adds to the list.

Under the worst-case scenario, local governments could increase their contribution, Granger said. And some cities have sold bonds to complete vital projects. She wouldn't suggest how the local share might change, saying any shift wouldn't be necessary until 2014 or beyond.

"It'll be a year-to-year thing" with federal funding, said Vic Henderson, president of the water district. "We may have to slow it down some time, but we'll finish this project."

Officials also discovered that the bypass channel could be about 8 feet shallower than initially projected, which will cut extraction costs by $10 million to $15 million.

Sometimes, the savings benefit the Army Corps' side of the ledger; other times, they lower the costs for local players. Either way, the TRV wins and in the process shows how a ground-breaking project should work.

That's not only good for taxpayers and government. It may be the only way to keep the federal money coming.

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Boondoggles and Earthquakes

Waxahachie Supercollider Boondoggle

Go hand in hand.

Reports coming out of Waxahachie of a 2.5 earthquake.

You know what their famous for, an expensive boondoggle.

What will Fort Worth be famous for? Time will tell.

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Flood control scams?

White Settlement has a real flood control problem, one where homes actually flood.  They voted to spend money years ago to correct the problem. 

So, what happened?

Congress and the Corp of Engineers, that's what.  Read the excerpt below from the Fort Worth Star-Telegram.

In the meantime, the cost of the project, which is funded by White Settlement and the Army Corps of Engineers, has increased. After voters approved the $6 million, Congress placed a moratorium on the $7 million in federal funds that wasn't lifted until 2007 because of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. During that time, costs increased and the estimated cost for the project was $16.2 million, but now it is more than $18 million.

One of our sources tells us the same thing happened in Haltom City.  WHERE are the cities supposed to come up with the additional money?  If they call it a vision will that help?  If real flooding problems cost more than estimated, what will happen with the Trinity River Vision estimate?

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Affordable Education?

Not.

One of our favorite letter writers is back, read the letter to the editor in the Fort Worth Star-Telegram.  THE PEOPLE get it.  You know, the ones paying for it.

TCC priorities

The Star-Telegram reported that Tarrant County College trustees are contemplating raising tuition and their portion of the property tax rate in order to help build three additional buildings.

Watch your wallets! The last building TCC constructed cost about $700 per square foot, roughly four times the average cost of similar community college buildings.

In other words, they could have put up the existing building plus these three additional ones for what we paid for that Berlin bunker, an East Belknap Street underpass and a hole in the ground that we are assured will be nice to visit "when the weather is nice."

Where are the letters to the editor?

Millions for scholarships and teacher salaries and not one dime more for monuments to greed and bad taste.

-- Guelma B. Hopkins, Fort Worth

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Education Boondoogles

Check out the two articles in the Fort Worth Star-Telegram -

Fort Worth schools fail federal and state standards in largest percentage among big districts

The Fort Worth school district had the largest percentage of schools failing to meet state and federal academic standards among the largest districts in Texas, according to recently released data.

More than half, 56.4 percent, of the schools fell under the federal adequate yearly progress measures, and 16.5 percent were rated academically unacceptable by the state. While districts across the state had dips in accountability ratings, Fort Worth had the highest percentage of failing schools among the 10 largest districts.
 
AND

TCC Administrators propose 5-year tuition increase

Tarrant County College students could pay more tuition under a preliminary plan to raise $27.4 million in five years to help pay for three new facilities and academic programs.

"We are going to see if it sticks," Trustee Bill Greenhill said.

Be sure and read the comments, from THE taxpayers.

Does anyone see the irony?

One has to ask, if they hadn't shoved the TCC boondoggle down the taxpayers throat, would there be a need to raise tuition?  If OUR schools are failing in standards, will OUR kids be able to attend TCC?

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Time for another Trinity River Rhyme

And unlike most things associated with the river, this didn't cost you a dime!

Keep 'em coming!

The river is fetid and warm,

So to tube you must fill in a form,

To forgive the promoters,

Who won't even be boaters,

On the waters that you all will swarm.

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What NOT to do this week

Read the latest Trinity River Vision scheme courtesy of Durango.  Good questions, anyone from the Trinity River Vision, Trinity River Vision Authority, Tarrant Regional Water District, District of Columbia, City of Fort Worth, or Tarrant County want to answer?

What is the reason the Trinity River Vision Boondoggle has added Happy Hour Inner Tube Floats to its vision? How much do the Happy Hours cost? Is the cost being covered completely by the sponsors?

Are J.D. Granger and his mom, Kay, going to be in the Trinity River on Thursday? If not, why not?

Then read about the Trinity River Improvement Partnership.  Get involved, if not for you, for YOUR kids.

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Using YOUR kids...

Don't miss the comments from THE PEOPLE on this article about the Tarrant Regional Water District and the Trinity River Vision's school kid art contest concerning the the Trinity River.

Again, you can't make this stuff up.  WHO were the judges of the contest?  None other than our Congresswoman, Kay Granger and Tarrant Regional Water District board member, Marty Leonard.  For once, we agree with something Marty said, "The river belongs to all of us...", not our politicians... 

The contest was "What does the Trinity River mean to you?"  We'd love to see the rendering our congresswoman would submit. 

Read about it in the Fort Worth Star-Telegram.  Don't miss the comments, as usual, they are the best part.

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Friends with Money...

YOUR money.

Durango has something to say about that.  Don't miss it.  Obviously, you already missed the vote.

So. These were not actually votes on the TRV Boondoggle. And, a vote in 2004, on a bond program worth only $4.5 million, is the vote that TRVB proponents cite as indicating the Fort Worth public's support for the almost $1 billion Trinity River Vision Boondoggle?

Apparently I missed the connection between these two bond votes and the TRVB. I suspect I was not the only one who missed the connection, even if I am more dense than most.

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With Friends like these...

WHO needs enemies?

Friday, our Congresswoman Kay Granger, sent a message to her "friends".  Not those on 7th Street or American Airlines, but all you little people. 

We're not sure if it's in response to TRIP, or the Up a Creek documentary, or citizens attending the TCC/TRV meeting Wednesday and asking questions.  They say timing is everything.

All we know is "The Truths about TRV" leave a lot to be desired.  We're reminded that the Fort Worth portion of the Trinity River Vision is $26 million.  That's a lot of money for a city that's broke.  And again, WHO's money is it?  WHERE will the rest of the money come from when the federal portion never comes through?  If not Fort Worth, will it be Tarrant County or the Tarrant Regional Water District?  Ah, yes, that's YOUR money too.

It's good to have friends...

And don't worry, they say the trolley car money isn't coming out of Fort Worth, we can't wait to see WHERE it's coming from.  Yes, the council voted down the streetcars, we've now heard JD Granger and his mom basically say, that doesn't matter.  Maybe that's WHY they want to pick YOUR new mayor.  Ms. Granger also says it will create a billion dollars of economic impact, so if we spend a billion for it, does that make it a wash?  WHO is it impacting exactly?

You can read more about it on Landslide Clyde.  YOU can't afford to miss it.

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You are invited

Yes, we know it's short notice.  And it's during the day.  And it's at the TCC sunken money pit fiasco and it's in the "Energy" Auditorium.  Go anyway.  It's sure to be entertaining. 

What does the Trinity River Vision have to do with computer classes?  Maybe they'll teach you how to turn the water blue and edit out the trash for photo ops.

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