That's what we are told.
A link we recieved today disagrees.
If you live in the BS (Barnett Shale) you might want to take a look. And ask your "leaders" to stop looking the other way.
Friday, October 29, 2010
Fort Worth Way crosses city line
The White Settlement City Council fiasco sounds like a cross between small town politics and Fort Worth politics. Notice how the Mayor wants someone from the police to the governor to help, but doesn't want to hold city council meetings with the council members that disagree with him. WHAT?? Isn't the Mayor's job to represent the residents of the city? Read it all in the Fort Worth Star-Telegram.
"They've been out to get me ever since they lost their majority," he said.
Powell said she has seen Giddens' documents and has also visited his home. She said she does not understand why Giddens is being mistreated by the mayor, Hatcher and Wilson.
Giddens has also accused Burns of putting the trial ahead of important city business.
"We are all sad about the standoff, but they are crucifying that man," Powell said. "He takes care of his mom, brothers and sisters," she said.
Burns said that until the residency trial is held he doesn't want to have a council meeting with Giddens, Powell and Warner.
"If anyone knows how to resolve this situation from the police to the governor, I'm willing to listen," Burns said.
"They've been out to get me ever since they lost their majority," he said.
Powell said she has seen Giddens' documents and has also visited his home. She said she does not understand why Giddens is being mistreated by the mayor, Hatcher and Wilson.
Giddens has also accused Burns of putting the trial ahead of important city business.
"We are all sad about the standoff, but they are crucifying that man," Powell said. "He takes care of his mom, brothers and sisters," she said.
Burns said that until the residency trial is held he doesn't want to have a council meeting with Giddens, Powell and Warner.
"If anyone knows how to resolve this situation from the police to the governor, I'm willing to listen," Burns said.
THE PEOPLE
Two letters to the Editor in today's Star-Telegram that speak volumes. Read them. And VOTE.
Vote the incumbents out
The only way to really change our government is to vote all the incumbents out of office. The career politicians are bought and paid for by big business, insurance, drug companies and banks and Wall Street.
They only care about getting re-elected. Our country is in the mess it is in because they want it that way. They don't care about the American people.
Only Congress has the power to change things and unless we get all the existing bums out of power we will never get our country back in the hands of the people.
Give each new elected official one term to change and represent the people or vote them out the next election.
-- Donald "Jack" Cornelissen, Bedford
This could be the most important election of your lifetime. You have the opportunity to replace what I believe is the most corrupt Congress in the history of our country.
Democrat, Republican, Libertarian or whatever; it makes no difference. They passed legislation that now puts us $1.3 trillion in debt.
Our young men are getting killed daily in two wars we cannot win because we have no leadership. Remember, President Obama can do nothing without the OK and funding from Congress. Send all these traitors home! Vote!
-- Philip E. Orr Jr., North Richland Hills
Vote the incumbents out
The only way to really change our government is to vote all the incumbents out of office. The career politicians are bought and paid for by big business, insurance, drug companies and banks and Wall Street.
They only care about getting re-elected. Our country is in the mess it is in because they want it that way. They don't care about the American people.
Only Congress has the power to change things and unless we get all the existing bums out of power we will never get our country back in the hands of the people.
Give each new elected official one term to change and represent the people or vote them out the next election.
-- Donald "Jack" Cornelissen, Bedford
This could be the most important election of your lifetime. You have the opportunity to replace what I believe is the most corrupt Congress in the history of our country.
Democrat, Republican, Libertarian or whatever; it makes no difference. They passed legislation that now puts us $1.3 trillion in debt.
Our young men are getting killed daily in two wars we cannot win because we have no leadership. Remember, President Obama can do nothing without the OK and funding from Congress. Send all these traitors home! Vote!
-- Philip E. Orr Jr., North Richland Hills
Thursday, October 28, 2010
Grand Jury investigating Council member
There's a thought...
Read about the White Settlement fiasco in the Fort Worth Star-Telegram. For those of you who don't know, White Settlement is next door to Fort Worth.
Are the allegations against him true? Or is this another case of whistle blower retaliation? Or retaliation for speaking out against the city and the U.S. Army Corp of Engineers? ASK.
Notice Farmers Branch Creek needs an $18 million dollar flood control project. Next door to Fort Worth. Maybe they can get some help from the Trinity River Vision or the Tarrant Regional Water District.
Giddens was elected to his first council term last May. However, he drew fire before he took office because of his stance against the $18 million flood control project for Farmers Branch Creek.
He has fought with the city and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers over a portion of his mother's property which would result in the loss of several pecan trees and a security fence. A condemnation hearing is set for next week.
Read about the White Settlement fiasco in the Fort Worth Star-Telegram. For those of you who don't know, White Settlement is next door to Fort Worth.
Are the allegations against him true? Or is this another case of whistle blower retaliation? Or retaliation for speaking out against the city and the U.S. Army Corp of Engineers? ASK.
Notice Farmers Branch Creek needs an $18 million dollar flood control project. Next door to Fort Worth. Maybe they can get some help from the Trinity River Vision or the Tarrant Regional Water District.
Giddens was elected to his first council term last May. However, he drew fire before he took office because of his stance against the $18 million flood control project for Farmers Branch Creek.
He has fought with the city and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers over a portion of his mother's property which would result in the loss of several pecan trees and a security fence. A condemnation hearing is set for next week.
Making news...
What does Adrian Murray say about the "news" interview concerning Pastor Stephen Broden?
An ode to Brad Watson
Don’t take the mike away from me
Don’t you leave while I make history
If you don’t believe then I’ll be blue
‘Cause making news ain’t hard to do
Remember when we told the truth
Reporting facts now seems uncouth
Sorry friends, those days are through
‘Cause making news ain’t hard to do
They say that making news ain't hard to do
Now I know, I know that it's true
Just cut and paste and slice and dice
Yes becomes no and bad becomes nice
I beg of you, don’t turn that dial
I’ve quaffed my hair, come watch me smile
As I twist the facts and false becomes true
‘Cause making news ain’t hard to do
An ode to Brad Watson
Don’t take the mike away from me
Don’t you leave while I make history
If you don’t believe then I’ll be blue
‘Cause making news ain’t hard to do
Remember when we told the truth
Reporting facts now seems uncouth
Sorry friends, those days are through
‘Cause making news ain’t hard to do
They say that making news ain't hard to do
Now I know, I know that it's true
Just cut and paste and slice and dice
Yes becomes no and bad becomes nice
I beg of you, don’t turn that dial
I’ve quaffed my hair, come watch me smile
As I twist the facts and false becomes true
‘Cause making news ain’t hard to do
What does Woodard say?
About the Fort Worth bullying concerning Riverside Park and the Trinity River Vision?
Below is his latest letter in the Fort Worth Business Press.
Gouging
Now the Fort Worth City Council on a late night vote has unanimously approved the gouging of Riverside Park, another small step in the giant mad, mad, mad Trinity River Vision eminent domain boondoggle. One step by stealthy step. That’s the history of the Billion Dollar earmark. Never a vote by the people. One little piece of the jigsaw puzzle at a time while the people sleep. After every time a new piece is fitted into the picture, they make their case: “Too late to turn back! The ship has sailed.”
In his historic 1951 address to Congress, Gen. Douglas MacArthur told that when he was asked by his soldiers in Korea, “Why surrender military advantage to the enemy in the field?” He replied: “I could not answer.”
When they get three bridges built over a non-existent drainage ditch, I can hear their predictable unarguable gotcha!: “Too late! That ship has sailed!” Then, when I am asked, as I will be, “OK, letter writer, what do you say now, I’ll reply like the General: “I cannot answer.”
Oh for one courageous voice on a council, commission or chamber of commerce that will ask, “Don’t you think we should put this thing up for a vote by the people like we did in 1973 on the Trinity River Canal before it is undeniably too late?”
– Don Woodard
Below is his latest letter in the Fort Worth Business Press.
Gouging
Now the Fort Worth City Council on a late night vote has unanimously approved the gouging of Riverside Park, another small step in the giant mad, mad, mad Trinity River Vision eminent domain boondoggle. One step by stealthy step. That’s the history of the Billion Dollar earmark. Never a vote by the people. One little piece of the jigsaw puzzle at a time while the people sleep. After every time a new piece is fitted into the picture, they make their case: “Too late to turn back! The ship has sailed.”
In his historic 1951 address to Congress, Gen. Douglas MacArthur told that when he was asked by his soldiers in Korea, “Why surrender military advantage to the enemy in the field?” He replied: “I could not answer.”
When they get three bridges built over a non-existent drainage ditch, I can hear their predictable unarguable gotcha!: “Too late! That ship has sailed!” Then, when I am asked, as I will be, “OK, letter writer, what do you say now, I’ll reply like the General: “I cannot answer.”
Oh for one courageous voice on a council, commission or chamber of commerce that will ask, “Don’t you think we should put this thing up for a vote by the people like we did in 1973 on the Trinity River Canal before it is undeniably too late?”
– Don Woodard
Wednesday, October 27, 2010
Speaking of Reverend's
YOU are invited! Unless you work for WFAA, we don't think you're on the list. Well, you are on one, just not this one.
STAND WITH STEPHEN BRODEN THIS SATURDAY, OCTOBER 30, 2010
Bienvenidos Restaurant and Cantina
920 North Interstate 35 east
Lancaster, TX
5:00 pm
Friends and supporters of Pastor Stephen Broden are invited to attend a special rally in his support this Saturday at 5:00 pm in Lancaster.
Pastor Stephen Broden has endured an unprecedented and unsubstantiated assault from the mainstream media this past week. Using clever and sophisticated splice and dice techniques, WFAA and "newsman" Brad Watson concocted a video which purported to show Pastor Broden advocating the violent overthrow of the government. The Dallas Morning News played its own role by dropping the story on a Friday morning with a misleading and hysterical headline, letting it fester over the weekend so reliable allies in the left wing like Rachel Maddow and Anderson Cooper could whip up a media frenzy without Pastor Broden being able to respond.
Those of us who have come to know, respect and love Pastor Broden smelled a rat. There was no way a man of peace and God's word would ever advocate such a thing. With the release of the unedited interview yesterday we found we were right. WFAA edited Pastor Broden's negative responses to violence and left on the cutting room floor his admonitions that change and reform had to come through the ballot box.
Many of you have walked neighborhoods and knocked on doors for Pastor Broden. You have been inspired by his soaring speeches on protecting liberty. You have been reminded of the greatness of our founding principles and the necessity of returning to them. Don't let the left wing smear machine deny Texans the opportunity to be represented in Washington by this great man. The citizens of House District 30 deserve better than the corrupt Eddie Bernice Johnson.
We've called on you many times before and you have always answered. We're asking one more time. In this crucial closing weekend please come to Lancaster and stand with Stephen Broden.
The Fort Worth Way and the Reverend...
We know it sounds like a joke, it's not.
The FW Weekly reported additional information on the latest School Board Whistle blower scandal.
YOU won't believe this...unless you live here.
Just before the vote on Palazzolo’s fate, one of his supporters, the Rev. Kyev Tatum, was escorted out of the meeting after applauding too long following an impassioned appeal from board member Carlos Vasquez for the board to “do the right thing” and vote against Palazzolo’s firing and fire Superintendent Melody Johnson instead. “I am a preacher,” Tatum said, grinning, “and when we hear good news, we stand up and shout ‘Amen’ and clap our hands.”
The FW Weekly reported additional information on the latest School Board Whistle blower scandal.
YOU won't believe this...unless you live here.
Just before the vote on Palazzolo’s fate, one of his supporters, the Rev. Kyev Tatum, was escorted out of the meeting after applauding too long following an impassioned appeal from board member Carlos Vasquez for the board to “do the right thing” and vote against Palazzolo’s firing and fire Superintendent Melody Johnson instead. “I am a preacher,” Tatum said, grinning, “and when we hear good news, we stand up and shout ‘Amen’ and clap our hands.”
Fort Worth Schools not exempt from the Fort Worth Way
Stand up Fort Worth, this is OUR town. Read about it in the Fort Worth Star-Telegram. Don't miss the comments from THE PEOPLE.
Mr. Vasquez has the right idea. We should be looking at the "leaders".
The board voted 6-3 to terminate Palazzolo, with Trustees Carlos Vasquez, Juan Rangel and Ann Sutherland opposing the move. Vasquez blasted Superintendent Melody Johnson for recommending the termination, saying the administration is bullying staffers who bring forward complaints.
"Tonight we should be looking at you and your lack of concern. ... Shame on you," he said to Johnson, noting that no supporting documents justified Palazzolo's firing. "We went on a witch hunt, and now you're going to fire him for it."
Now teachers live in fear of coming forward with concerns, Whitt said.
"We hear loud and clear in this district that if you come forward, if you do the right thing, you will be retaliated against," Whitt said.
Mr. Vasquez has the right idea. We should be looking at the "leaders".
The board voted 6-3 to terminate Palazzolo, with Trustees Carlos Vasquez, Juan Rangel and Ann Sutherland opposing the move. Vasquez blasted Superintendent Melody Johnson for recommending the termination, saying the administration is bullying staffers who bring forward complaints.
"Tonight we should be looking at you and your lack of concern. ... Shame on you," he said to Johnson, noting that no supporting documents justified Palazzolo's firing. "We went on a witch hunt, and now you're going to fire him for it."
Now teachers live in fear of coming forward with concerns, Whitt said.
"We hear loud and clear in this district that if you come forward, if you do the right thing, you will be retaliated against," Whitt said.
Surprise
Issues with the Fort Worth air quality study.
Read about it in the Fort Worth Star-Telegram. Be sure and read the comment from THE PEOPLE.
Read about it in the Fort Worth Star-Telegram. Be sure and read the comment from THE PEOPLE.
Tuesday, October 26, 2010
Where will YOU be tonight?
Suggested donations are: General Admission $12, Students $7 and $50 for the After Party which includes hors d'oerves. All proceeds will benefit ShaleTest.
Monday, October 25, 2010
Seems Fort Worth politicians don't own the Trinity River
Neither do Dallas ones. Don't miss the Dallas Observer's latest. And don't miss the similarities in WHO all is involved in the Trinity River Vision and WHY?
Different city, same questions - WHO is being put in harm's way? WHO is paying? WHO profits? WHY?
That's why this mess about the levees along the Trinity River is proving to be so personally difficult for Leppert and for Neumann, who is chairman of the city council's Trinity River Committee.
At the council meeting, Leppert and Neumann started riffing—again! for the third time in three days—about how furious they are with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. They say the corps keeps changing the rules on them, coming up with new requirements that delay repairs to the levee system. The levees are supposed to protect the city from flooding.
The levee problem is a huge deal. The city is up against a deadline next year. If the levees can't be fixed by then, an official notice will go out telling people that a major swath of the city, including some of the most valuable buildings downtown and near downtown, are subject to being wiped out in future floods.
Who knew?
Not the people who built the buildings. Not the people who put up the money to build the buildings. Not the people who own them now. They were told their investments were safe. For years the corps told everybody that the Trinity River levees were not only OK but excellent.
But then you have to remember: The corps is in the levee-building business. They sell levees. The corps is a half-civilian offshoot of the Army. It has to go out and drum up business.
The corps telling you that the levees they just sold you are in excellent shape is like a salesman telling you that the car he just sold you is excellent. The big wake-up would be if he said anything different.
But after Katrina, the rules changed. Congress directed the corps to go out, survey all of the nation's flood control levees and then come back and tell the truth about them.
So in April 2009, the corps came back to Dallas and said the levees along the Trinity River were not excellent any more. Actually, not good. In fact, no good. Specifically, worthless.
Without some kind of major repair or even replacement, according to the corps, the levees along the Trinity cannot be counted on to protect people from a catastrophic flood. Actually, even from a big flood. In fact, from any flood.
Different city, same questions - WHO is being put in harm's way? WHO is paying? WHO profits? WHY?
That's why this mess about the levees along the Trinity River is proving to be so personally difficult for Leppert and for Neumann, who is chairman of the city council's Trinity River Committee.
At the council meeting, Leppert and Neumann started riffing—again! for the third time in three days—about how furious they are with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. They say the corps keeps changing the rules on them, coming up with new requirements that delay repairs to the levee system. The levees are supposed to protect the city from flooding.
The levee problem is a huge deal. The city is up against a deadline next year. If the levees can't be fixed by then, an official notice will go out telling people that a major swath of the city, including some of the most valuable buildings downtown and near downtown, are subject to being wiped out in future floods.
Who knew?
Not the people who built the buildings. Not the people who put up the money to build the buildings. Not the people who own them now. They were told their investments were safe. For years the corps told everybody that the Trinity River levees were not only OK but excellent.
But then you have to remember: The corps is in the levee-building business. They sell levees. The corps is a half-civilian offshoot of the Army. It has to go out and drum up business.
The corps telling you that the levees they just sold you are in excellent shape is like a salesman telling you that the car he just sold you is excellent. The big wake-up would be if he said anything different.
But after Katrina, the rules changed. Congress directed the corps to go out, survey all of the nation's flood control levees and then come back and tell the truth about them.
So in April 2009, the corps came back to Dallas and said the levees along the Trinity River were not excellent any more. Actually, not good. In fact, no good. Specifically, worthless.
Without some kind of major repair or even replacement, according to the corps, the levees along the Trinity cannot be counted on to protect people from a catastrophic flood. Actually, even from a big flood. In fact, from any flood.
WHO's Water is it?
WHO besides Texas Lone Star is worried about YOUR water?
Lots of folks.
Read about it in the Fort Worth Star-Telegram. YOU can't afford not to.
But rancher J.K. "Rooter" Brite Jr. is worried -- worried that the courts, legislators or groundwater districts might take that water right away.
Brite, 58, isn't opposed to all regulation -- he doesn't approve of water marketers like billionaire Boone Pickens sucking aquifers dry, and he believes that groundwater districts can provide some protection from the oil and gas industry -- but he said strict groundwater-use regulations could cripple his ranching operation during a drought.
"If that right doesn't belong to me, and I do benefit because I know it's in reserve, then what incentive do I have to care for this land?" Brite said as he drove his pickup through tall stands of native grasses on his 3,400-acre ranch outside Bowie.
Restricting access to groundwater would discourage good range management practices that lead to less silt downstream in the Trinity River as it flows into Lake Bridgeport and Eagle Mountain Lake, he said.
"I guarantee you this soil will move if you don't protect it," said Brite, who serves as vice chairman of an agricultural research committee for the Texas and Southwestern Cattle Raisers Association.
A pending case, Edwards Aquifer Authority v. Burrell Day and Joel McDaniel, has been going on for over a decade and wrestles with the issue of who owns the groundwater underneath land.
The case has been heard by the Texas Supreme Court and may eventually affect the state's interpretation of groundwater rights.
A brief by Austin attorney Paul Terrill on behalf of a Medina County client, who also has a claim against the aquifer authority, argued that the Supreme Court "should reaffirm the clear principle that landowners have vested property rights in groundwater and reject [the aquifer authority] and the State's attempt to reverse a century of precedent and make it so that no government is ever required to pay just compensation for taking groundwater from a landowner."
Another case that concerns landowners is State of Texas v. 7KX Investments, in which land was condemned for a Texas Department of Transportation rest stop along I-35 south of Salado. The owners of the property argued that there was a vested groundwater right with the property and a jury agreed, saying it was worth $5 million.
The state has appealed, and Attorney General Greg Abbott argued in his appellate brief that under Texas' rule of capture law "a landowner does not have a vested and constitutionally protected interest in groundwater."
Any legislative action is unlikely until the Supreme Court rules on the Edwards Aquifer Authority case.
"I think everybody sees this as the big one; it's been before the Supreme Court and everybody has been waiting for a decision from the Supreme Court for months now," said Ken Kramer, executive director of the Lone Star Chapter of the Sierra Club.
Locally, groundwater districts became a political issue this year in the Republican primary race for Parker County judge, when challenger Cary McKay accused County Judge Mark Riley of bringing unwanted regulation to the county with the Upper Trinity Groundwater Conservation District.
At the time the Upper Trinity district was formed, Parker County officials said the state was forcing them to join a groundwater district and the formation of Upper Trinity was viewed as better than being placed in a district with Dallas and Tarrant counties, where they felt their concerns would lost to the bigger cities.
But Brite feels the same way about Upper Trinity, which stretches all the way north to include Montague County, where his ranch is located. He believes Montague County's groundwater planning has little in common with Parker and Wise counties, which have become more suburban over the last decade.
Lots of folks.
Read about it in the Fort Worth Star-Telegram. YOU can't afford not to.
But rancher J.K. "Rooter" Brite Jr. is worried -- worried that the courts, legislators or groundwater districts might take that water right away.
Brite, 58, isn't opposed to all regulation -- he doesn't approve of water marketers like billionaire Boone Pickens sucking aquifers dry, and he believes that groundwater districts can provide some protection from the oil and gas industry -- but he said strict groundwater-use regulations could cripple his ranching operation during a drought.
"If that right doesn't belong to me, and I do benefit because I know it's in reserve, then what incentive do I have to care for this land?" Brite said as he drove his pickup through tall stands of native grasses on his 3,400-acre ranch outside Bowie.
Restricting access to groundwater would discourage good range management practices that lead to less silt downstream in the Trinity River as it flows into Lake Bridgeport and Eagle Mountain Lake, he said.
"I guarantee you this soil will move if you don't protect it," said Brite, who serves as vice chairman of an agricultural research committee for the Texas and Southwestern Cattle Raisers Association.
A pending case, Edwards Aquifer Authority v. Burrell Day and Joel McDaniel, has been going on for over a decade and wrestles with the issue of who owns the groundwater underneath land.
The case has been heard by the Texas Supreme Court and may eventually affect the state's interpretation of groundwater rights.
A brief by Austin attorney Paul Terrill on behalf of a Medina County client, who also has a claim against the aquifer authority, argued that the Supreme Court "should reaffirm the clear principle that landowners have vested property rights in groundwater and reject [the aquifer authority] and the State's attempt to reverse a century of precedent and make it so that no government is ever required to pay just compensation for taking groundwater from a landowner."
Another case that concerns landowners is State of Texas v. 7KX Investments, in which land was condemned for a Texas Department of Transportation rest stop along I-35 south of Salado. The owners of the property argued that there was a vested groundwater right with the property and a jury agreed, saying it was worth $5 million.
The state has appealed, and Attorney General Greg Abbott argued in his appellate brief that under Texas' rule of capture law "a landowner does not have a vested and constitutionally protected interest in groundwater."
Any legislative action is unlikely until the Supreme Court rules on the Edwards Aquifer Authority case.
"I think everybody sees this as the big one; it's been before the Supreme Court and everybody has been waiting for a decision from the Supreme Court for months now," said Ken Kramer, executive director of the Lone Star Chapter of the Sierra Club.
Locally, groundwater districts became a political issue this year in the Republican primary race for Parker County judge, when challenger Cary McKay accused County Judge Mark Riley of bringing unwanted regulation to the county with the Upper Trinity Groundwater Conservation District.
At the time the Upper Trinity district was formed, Parker County officials said the state was forcing them to join a groundwater district and the formation of Upper Trinity was viewed as better than being placed in a district with Dallas and Tarrant counties, where they felt their concerns would lost to the bigger cities.
But Brite feels the same way about Upper Trinity, which stretches all the way north to include Montague County, where his ranch is located. He believes Montague County's groundwater planning has little in common with Parker and Wise counties, which have become more suburban over the last decade.
Only in Texas...
Word on the street is this murder was committed by Harold Tod Granger over an oil dispute.
Read about the death of Bill “Gill” Clements Jr., son of the former governor on WFAA.com.
Read about the death of Bill “Gill” Clements Jr., son of the former governor on WFAA.com.
Only in Fort Worth
Downtown Fort Worth Inc. has raised the money for it. From WHO? WHY?
WHERE are Fort Worth's priorities?
Jim Lane, a recent appointee by Mayor Moncrief to the Ethics Committee and member of the Tarrant Regional Water District had the following to say in the Fort Worth Star-Telegram article:
This month, former Councilman Jim Lane also floated the idea of honoring Arnold with a statue. He wanted it to be down by the Trinity, where a lake would be built as part of the Trinity River Vision Project.
"That's all we needed," Lane said. "You can build a hell of a statue with the money they got. The problem will be depicting what he looks like and determining where to put it.
"We'll get together and have lots of cussing and discussing, but this is just a gift from above. We can get the rest of it done."
Cheers and Jeers
Interesting one of each in Saturday's Fort Worth Star-Telegram.
First a follow up on the Jeer for the Trinity River Vision Authority tube events.
Cheers: To Al McCluney's Oct. 2 jeer about floating down the Trinity River. He nailed it! Grabbing an inner tube and floating down the Trinity? What's next, asking us to jump off a cliff? No thanks!
-- Rick Pokluda, Fort Worth
We second that! Don't forget, they'd charge you to jump off the cliff.
And now a Jeer that made us ask, off duty from what? Being a human? While we proudly support our local law enforcement, this is a sad example of the reason some do not.
Jeers: To the Arlington police officer who would not hold a door open for me. I served in World War II and the Korean conflict and now use a three-wheel scooter. I asked him why he didn't hold the door and his answer was, "I'm not on duty." He was in uniform.
-- Maurice Mitchell, Arlington
First a follow up on the Jeer for the Trinity River Vision Authority tube events.
Cheers: To Al McCluney's Oct. 2 jeer about floating down the Trinity River. He nailed it! Grabbing an inner tube and floating down the Trinity? What's next, asking us to jump off a cliff? No thanks!
-- Rick Pokluda, Fort Worth
We second that! Don't forget, they'd charge you to jump off the cliff.
And now a Jeer that made us ask, off duty from what? Being a human? While we proudly support our local law enforcement, this is a sad example of the reason some do not.
Jeers: To the Arlington police officer who would not hold a door open for me. I served in World War II and the Korean conflict and now use a three-wheel scooter. I asked him why he didn't hold the door and his answer was, "I'm not on duty." He was in uniform.
-- Maurice Mitchell, Arlington
If YOU are a taxpayer...Part 2
Watch WFAA tonight at 10. They have more questions. We love it when the media asks questions.
Thursday, October 21, 2010
If YOU are a taxpayer
Look at this...
Then ask yourself, WHY YOU are paying for things like this and the Trinity River Vision?
Then, ASK YOUR representative. And go VOTE.
Then ask yourself, WHY YOU are paying for things like this and the Trinity River Vision?
Then, ASK YOUR representative. And go VOTE.
Brett Shipp is on a roll
A gas drilling pipeline "pig" crashed through a house in Grand Prairie last Friday. WHY did no one hear about it until WFAA started asking questions?
ASK.
And read about it on WFAA.com.
The 150 lb. flying object was retrieved by its owners, DFW Midstream. They admit their mistake and have offered to pay for damages to two homes.
"It's an isolated incident that occurred during a standard pipeline test... conducted more than 600 times in the area," said Brett Wiggs, President of DFW Midstream.
"DFW Midstream is committed to learning from this incident and working diligently to ensure the safest construction and operation practices possible," Wiggs added.
Heredia questions the company's sincerity.
"It could have killed somebody," he said. "Still I haven't heard from anybody since Friday, the day it happened."
Heredia feels that by just paying for his damages, the company avoids paying a price for endangering lives.
Even though the accident took place on Friday, the incident was not officially reported to the Texas Railroad Commission until Wednesday after News 8 began inquiring about what happened.
Reportable incidents are supposed to be brought to the attention of Railroad Commission investigators within two hours.
ASK.
And read about it on WFAA.com.
The 150 lb. flying object was retrieved by its owners, DFW Midstream. They admit their mistake and have offered to pay for damages to two homes.
"It's an isolated incident that occurred during a standard pipeline test... conducted more than 600 times in the area," said Brett Wiggs, President of DFW Midstream.
"DFW Midstream is committed to learning from this incident and working diligently to ensure the safest construction and operation practices possible," Wiggs added.
Heredia questions the company's sincerity.
"It could have killed somebody," he said. "Still I haven't heard from anybody since Friday, the day it happened."
Heredia feels that by just paying for his damages, the company avoids paying a price for endangering lives.
Even though the accident took place on Friday, the incident was not officially reported to the Texas Railroad Commission until Wednesday after News 8 began inquiring about what happened.
Reportable incidents are supposed to be brought to the attention of Railroad Commission investigators within two hours.
Wednesday, October 20, 2010
Pipelines and Flooding
If you missed Brett Shipp's report on WFAA last night, you missed a lot.
We can only find a link to the written story, ask WFAA.com where you can see the video.
Brett showed completely exposed pipelines in Rush Creek, surrounded by debris. When the water rises - fast moving debris. What happens when a pipeline is punctured?
Brett also interviewed Mary Kelleher, the Fort Worth resident who has experienced flooding problems since the pipeline went in on the landfill next to her property.
In every instance Brett Shipp brought to light, every pipeline company claimed, it is safe.
WHO do YOU believe?
Read the article here.
We can only find a link to the written story, ask WFAA.com where you can see the video.
Brett showed completely exposed pipelines in Rush Creek, surrounded by debris. When the water rises - fast moving debris. What happens when a pipeline is punctured?
Brett also interviewed Mary Kelleher, the Fort Worth resident who has experienced flooding problems since the pipeline went in on the landfill next to her property.
In every instance Brett Shipp brought to light, every pipeline company claimed, it is safe.
WHO do YOU believe?
Read the article here.
Tuesday, October 19, 2010
Argyle Drilling and YOUR kids
This is one of MANY emails we received concerning the drilling in Argyle, Texas. Save our kids already.
Whitehead Pad Site Update
Intermediate students are reporting feelings of nausea, dizziness, disorientation, with the school smelling of dirty socks or rotten eggs. Children with asthma are having trouble maintaining with their current protocols. We are trying to confirm a report of an individual who was taken by ambulance from the campus Friday. The individual had apparently started vomiting and could not stop. Should anyone have any questions please feel free to contact one of the following Hillwood representatives:
Jim Kramer – 817-201-2360
Johnie Daniels – 817-454-3000
Tad LeBlanc – 832-418-2295
Submitted 04/07/2010 Approved 04/09/2010
HILLWOOD O & G OPERATING CO LP (388852) WHITEHEAD 1D 09 DENTON Directional
Hillwood was approved for the first of 36 wells to be located near the Argyle Intermediate School (AIS).
Please send a Letter of Protest to RRC of TX
c/o Office of General Counsel
PO 12967
Austin, TX 78711
Protest Letter must contain Status #, location of well, ATI, and for what reasoning you are protesting.
Whitehead Pad Site Update
Intermediate students are reporting feelings of nausea, dizziness, disorientation, with the school smelling of dirty socks or rotten eggs. Children with asthma are having trouble maintaining with their current protocols. We are trying to confirm a report of an individual who was taken by ambulance from the campus Friday. The individual had apparently started vomiting and could not stop. Should anyone have any questions please feel free to contact one of the following Hillwood representatives:
Jim Kramer – 817-201-2360
Johnie Daniels – 817-454-3000
Tad LeBlanc – 832-418-2295
Submitted 04/07/2010 Approved 04/09/2010
HILLWOOD O & G OPERATING CO LP (388852) WHITEHEAD 1D 09 DENTON Directional
Hillwood was approved for the first of 36 wells to be located near the Argyle Intermediate School (AIS).
Please send a Letter of Protest to RRC of TX
c/o Office of General Counsel
PO 12967
Austin, TX 78711
Protest Letter must contain Status #, location of well, ATI, and for what reasoning you are protesting.
Straight from the Shale
Kudos to Mayor Tillman and crew!
For Immediate Release:
Information Meeting Announcing The Formation of ShaleTest Non-Profit Environmental Testing
Fort Worth Texas-- Josh Fox, producer of the award winning documentary Gasland will join the Board of Directors for the announcement of ShaleTest, a non-profit organization that will provide environmental testing on water, soil and air for lower income families. ShaleTest was formed by DISH, TX Mayor Calvin Tillman, and Wise County property owner Tim Ruggierro. Other founding board members include founder of the BlueDazewebsite and Texas Oil and Gas Accountability Project community organizer Sharon Wilson, Susan Knoll, ofBartonville TX and Cora Bell of Corinth TX.
ShaleTest.org is a new national group that has a mission: “To provide lower income and compromised individuals with environmental testing of their drinking water, air and soil that might have been impacted by natural gas development. Our testing involves analyzing and measuring these elements for the presence of natural gas development fluids or associated chemicals and compounds. We also provide the public with educational awareness to the dangers associated with natural gas development." Currently, ShaleTest has testing volunteers in Texas, Pennsylvania and Arkansas, and is recruiting in other states.
DISH mayor Calvin Tillman says that " I have seen a real weakness in the availability of quality environmental testing across the United States to all families, especially in lower income areas. Therefore, citizens must rely on poorly equipped and understaffed state agencies to protect them, ShaleTest will level the playing field for these people".
Co-founder Tim Ruggiero says "I have seen first hand what negative impacts natural gas development has had on our air, water, soil and even our property values. I have also seen the unwillingness to address these issues and the political game playing and foot dragging from our local and federal level politicians and protection agencies to assist any of us.
We cannot allow our quest for energy to outweigh our need for clean air and water. Mayor Tillman and I formed this non-profit group to do what the very same agencies that have sworn to protect us simply refuse to do."
"Currently, it is up to citizens to prove harm rather than industry to prove lack of harm and it is now clear that state regulations do not protect public health." said Sharon Wilson, Organizer for Texas Oil and Gas Accountability Project. "With enough data we can shift that burden back to those who profit and hold them accountable for their irresponsible operations."
When: October 26, 2010, 12:30 PM
Where: Tandy Lecture Hall inside of the Fort Worth Library, located at 500 West 3rd Street, Fort Worth, TX 76102
For More Information
Contacts
* Calvin Tillman, Mayor, DISH, TX
(940) 453-3640, tillman4council@aol.com
Tim Ruggiero
(917) 763-8901, trruggiero@gmail.com
Sharon Wilson
(940) 389-1622, sharson@gmail.com
Links:
http://www.shaletest.org/
http://www.gaslandthemovie.com/
Calvin Tillman
Mayor, DISH, TX
(940) 453-3640
"Those who say it can not be done, should get out of the way of those that are doing it"
For Immediate Release:
Information Meeting Announcing The Formation of ShaleTest Non-Profit Environmental Testing
Fort Worth Texas-- Josh Fox, producer of the award winning documentary Gasland will join the Board of Directors for the announcement of ShaleTest, a non-profit organization that will provide environmental testing on water, soil and air for lower income families. ShaleTest was formed by DISH, TX Mayor Calvin Tillman, and Wise County property owner Tim Ruggierro. Other founding board members include founder of the BlueDazewebsite and Texas Oil and Gas Accountability Project community organizer Sharon Wilson, Susan Knoll, ofBartonville TX and Cora Bell of Corinth TX.
ShaleTest.org is a new national group that has a mission: “To provide lower income and compromised individuals with environmental testing of their drinking water, air and soil that might have been impacted by natural gas development. Our testing involves analyzing and measuring these elements for the presence of natural gas development fluids or associated chemicals and compounds. We also provide the public with educational awareness to the dangers associated with natural gas development." Currently, ShaleTest has testing volunteers in Texas, Pennsylvania and Arkansas, and is recruiting in other states.
DISH mayor Calvin Tillman says that " I have seen a real weakness in the availability of quality environmental testing across the United States to all families, especially in lower income areas. Therefore, citizens must rely on poorly equipped and understaffed state agencies to protect them, ShaleTest will level the playing field for these people".
Co-founder Tim Ruggiero says "I have seen first hand what negative impacts natural gas development has had on our air, water, soil and even our property values. I have also seen the unwillingness to address these issues and the political game playing and foot dragging from our local and federal level politicians and protection agencies to assist any of us.
We cannot allow our quest for energy to outweigh our need for clean air and water. Mayor Tillman and I formed this non-profit group to do what the very same agencies that have sworn to protect us simply refuse to do."
"Currently, it is up to citizens to prove harm rather than industry to prove lack of harm and it is now clear that state regulations do not protect public health." said Sharon Wilson, Organizer for Texas Oil and Gas Accountability Project. "With enough data we can shift that burden back to those who profit and hold them accountable for their irresponsible operations."
When: October 26, 2010, 12:30 PM
Where: Tandy Lecture Hall inside of the Fort Worth Library, located at 500 West 3rd Street, Fort Worth, TX 76102
For More Information
Contacts
* Calvin Tillman, Mayor, DISH, TX
(940) 453-3640, tillman4council@aol.com
Tim Ruggiero
(917) 763-8901, trruggiero@gmail.com
Sharon Wilson
(940) 389-1622, sharson@gmail.com
Links:
http://www.shaletest.org/
http://www.gaslandthemovie.com/
Calvin Tillman
Mayor, DISH, TX
(940) 453-3640
"Those who say it can not be done, should get out of the way of those that are doing it"
Monday, October 18, 2010
DANGER on the Trinity River
Read all about the danger and heed the warning here.
Friday, October 15, 2010
No Surprise
The Fort Worth Star-Telegram endorses yet another incumbent. What do THE PEOPLE say? Be sure and read their comments.
If you keep doing things the same way, you keep getting the same stuff. Isn't that close to the definition of insanity? Or the Fort Worth Way? Remember what happens when nothing is done...it just gets worse.
It's also no surprise that the endorsement has raised some questions, such as, didn't Kay Granger say in the same paper this week that spending money to create jobs is something the federal government can't do?
Also, WHY is it not mentioned in the paper that the Congresswoman's son is the head of the Trinity River Vision project? WHY do THE PEOPLE have to keep pointing that out?
And WHERE will benefit from this "flood control"? ASK.
She also takes pride in supporting the Trinity River Vision, one of the largest public works projects in Fort Worth history that will energize the north end of downtown by transforming the river and surrounding acreage.
Although the project has generated opposition because of its enormous cost (almost $1 billion) and its impact on property owners, Granger touts its emphasis on flood control, ecosystem restoration, recreation and economic development, perhaps generating 16,000 jobs.
During the current session of Congress, Granger has cast a lot of "no" votes: against the president's stimulus bill, cap and trade, the Omnibus Public Land Management Act, Student Aid and Fiscal Responsibility Act and Statutory PAYGO, to name a few. While we hope to see more cooperation from both sides of the aisle when the next Congress convenes, Granger insists that she did what she thought was best for the country.
If you keep doing things the same way, you keep getting the same stuff. Isn't that close to the definition of insanity? Or the Fort Worth Way? Remember what happens when nothing is done...it just gets worse.
It's also no surprise that the endorsement has raised some questions, such as, didn't Kay Granger say in the same paper this week that spending money to create jobs is something the federal government can't do?
Also, WHY is it not mentioned in the paper that the Congresswoman's son is the head of the Trinity River Vision project? WHY do THE PEOPLE have to keep pointing that out?
And WHERE will benefit from this "flood control"? ASK.
She also takes pride in supporting the Trinity River Vision, one of the largest public works projects in Fort Worth history that will energize the north end of downtown by transforming the river and surrounding acreage.
Although the project has generated opposition because of its enormous cost (almost $1 billion) and its impact on property owners, Granger touts its emphasis on flood control, ecosystem restoration, recreation and economic development, perhaps generating 16,000 jobs.
During the current session of Congress, Granger has cast a lot of "no" votes: against the president's stimulus bill, cap and trade, the Omnibus Public Land Management Act, Student Aid and Fiscal Responsibility Act and Statutory PAYGO, to name a few. While we hope to see more cooperation from both sides of the aisle when the next Congress convenes, Granger insists that she did what she thought was best for the country.
Thursday, October 14, 2010
Political Double Talk
Don't miss the article in the Fort Worth Star-Telegram concerning the candidates for District 12.
The Fort Worth Way runs as deep as the Trinity River. Which right now is quite shallow.
We have a few concens with some of the quotes, such as -
Congresswoman Granger saying "the issue is recognizing what the federal government can't do -- like improve healthcare by creating more requirements and higher costs or create jobs by spending money and regulating businesses more."
Isn't creating jobs one of the supposed selling points of the Trinity River Vision? THE PEOPLE spending a billion dollars to create jobs. While about 100 businesses had to get out of the way of the Vision.
"We need a predictable business climate, lower taxes, less government and reduced federal spending," said Granger, R-Fort Worth. "That's what I've been fighting for in Congress and what I will continue to fight for when I am re-elected."
Has been fighting for lower taxes? Less government? Reduced federal spending? If you live in Tarrant County, Fort Worth, or the Tarrant Regional Water "District" your taxes are going up, thanks to your current and local government. How much of the Trinity River Vision earmark is federal again? And don't forget the stimulus money earmarked for "Riverside, TX". What was the Congresswoman's ranking in Federal spending? 25th?
Smith of Fort Worth said he's running because he supports Democratic initiatives that President Barack Obama has brought forth and opposes pushing through the Trinity Uptown project without voters' approval.
The three are competing for a two-year term that pays $174,000 a year.
What does JD Granger, head of the Trinity River "Authority" make again? Who pays these salaries?
YOU.
VOTE.
The Fort Worth Way runs as deep as the Trinity River. Which right now is quite shallow.
We have a few concens with some of the quotes, such as -
Congresswoman Granger saying "the issue is recognizing what the federal government can't do -- like improve healthcare by creating more requirements and higher costs or create jobs by spending money and regulating businesses more."
Isn't creating jobs one of the supposed selling points of the Trinity River Vision? THE PEOPLE spending a billion dollars to create jobs. While about 100 businesses had to get out of the way of the Vision.
"We need a predictable business climate, lower taxes, less government and reduced federal spending," said Granger, R-Fort Worth. "That's what I've been fighting for in Congress and what I will continue to fight for when I am re-elected."
Has been fighting for lower taxes? Less government? Reduced federal spending? If you live in Tarrant County, Fort Worth, or the Tarrant Regional Water "District" your taxes are going up, thanks to your current and local government. How much of the Trinity River Vision earmark is federal again? And don't forget the stimulus money earmarked for "Riverside, TX". What was the Congresswoman's ranking in Federal spending? 25th?
Smith of Fort Worth said he's running because he supports Democratic initiatives that President Barack Obama has brought forth and opposes pushing through the Trinity Uptown project without voters' approval.
The three are competing for a two-year term that pays $174,000 a year.
What does JD Granger, head of the Trinity River "Authority" make again? Who pays these salaries?
YOU.
VOTE.
Kudos
To Fort Worth City Councilman, Joel Burns.
Yes, you read that right, we are applauding a Fort Worth Council member.
Joel gave a moving speech Tuesday night at council concerning bullying. It was moving, as it was real. He is spreading hope to others. Let's hope some of that rubs off on his fellow council members. And they get the "bullying" message. Let's hope the Norman, Oklahoma City Council got the message as well. Our thoughts are with the families of the kids that Joel Burns speaks of.
Read the article and watch the video in the Fort Worth Star-Telegram.
Yes, you read that right, we are applauding a Fort Worth Council member.
Joel gave a moving speech Tuesday night at council concerning bullying. It was moving, as it was real. He is spreading hope to others. Let's hope some of that rubs off on his fellow council members. And they get the "bullying" message. Let's hope the Norman, Oklahoma City Council got the message as well. Our thoughts are with the families of the kids that Joel Burns speaks of.
Read the article and watch the video in the Fort Worth Star-Telegram.
Wednesday, October 13, 2010
Fox 4 Earthquake update
Fox 4 News has the following on their website,
Don't blame the gas wells this time -- the real thing struck in Oklahoma this morning and people all over North Texas felt it.
Don't blame it on gas wells? It was near Norman, Oklahoma...home of gas well headquarters. Coincidence?
Don't blame the gas wells this time -- the real thing struck in Oklahoma this morning and people all over North Texas felt it.
Don't blame it on gas wells? It was near Norman, Oklahoma...home of gas well headquarters. Coincidence?
Earthquake in Fort Worth?
We are hearing reports that there has been an earthquake in Fort Worth this morning? Any Lone Star reporters out there have the scoop?
We also heard there was an earthquake in Oklahoma this morning, right outside of Norman. That must be why they haven't stopped in to see us today. Looks like there have been many there in the past six months. WHY?
We have a question, what happens to large underground pipelines when the ground shifts?
Read the Earthquake Update here.
We also heard there was an earthquake in Oklahoma this morning, right outside of Norman. That must be why they haven't stopped in to see us today. Looks like there have been many there in the past six months. WHY?
We have a question, what happens to large underground pipelines when the ground shifts?
Read the Earthquake Update here.
The Fort Worth Way Spreads
To the Tarrant County Culture of Corruption.
Last night the Fort Worth City Council voted unanimously to let the Tarrant Regional Water District do whatever they want. They must have gotten the memo in the paper this week that said they'd do that regardless. After all, it's the Fort Worth Way.
Kudos to the Fort Worth Star-Telegram for finally mentioning that someone actually owns the land the Tarrant Regional Water District and the Trinity River Vision "Authority" want. And how many jobs has Randle Harwood had with the city? Was he "acting" when he was part of the city's Trinity River Vision department? How much does that department cost the taxpayers?
Markus Kypreos said he doesn't believe that the plan will move as smoothly as city officials think, particularly because the city hopes to expand the park on about 20 acres of farmland and build the soccer fields there. The property is not for sale and likely never will be at the $136,900 price that officials estimate, said Kypreos, an attorney for the owners.
If the land is never acquired, the city "would have to find another place in the park system" to build those fields, said Randle Harwood, acting director of planning and development for Fort Worth.
Last night the Fort Worth City Council voted unanimously to let the Tarrant Regional Water District do whatever they want. They must have gotten the memo in the paper this week that said they'd do that regardless. After all, it's the Fort Worth Way.
Kudos to the Fort Worth Star-Telegram for finally mentioning that someone actually owns the land the Tarrant Regional Water District and the Trinity River Vision "Authority" want. And how many jobs has Randle Harwood had with the city? Was he "acting" when he was part of the city's Trinity River Vision department? How much does that department cost the taxpayers?
Markus Kypreos said he doesn't believe that the plan will move as smoothly as city officials think, particularly because the city hopes to expand the park on about 20 acres of farmland and build the soccer fields there. The property is not for sale and likely never will be at the $136,900 price that officials estimate, said Kypreos, an attorney for the owners.
If the land is never acquired, the city "would have to find another place in the park system" to build those fields, said Randle Harwood, acting director of planning and development for Fort Worth.
Tuesday, October 12, 2010
Trinity River Vision vs. Arlington
8 people dead, 200 homes damaged...
The Trinity River Vision gets $909 million of YOUR dollars, while flooded Arlington gets none.
What do you think will happen in Arlington when the levees come down?
Someone should get their priorities straight.
Read about the latest Arlington flooding fiasco in the Fort Worth Star-Telegram.
The Trinity River Vision gets $909 million of YOUR dollars, while flooded Arlington gets none.
What do you think will happen in Arlington when the levees come down?
Someone should get their priorities straight.
Read about the latest Arlington flooding fiasco in the Fort Worth Star-Telegram.
Trinity River Toilet
Water testing shows high levels of E. coli. The Tarrant Regional Water District disagrees. Show of hands on WHO is surprised by either of those statements.
Woody Frossard, the water district's environmental director, said the Friends of Riverside Park tested for fecal coliform bacteria rather than E. coli, which is the state standard. When the fecal coliform bacteria readings are translated into E. coli measurements, they are close to acceptable levels, Frossard said.
"They're right at the level identified by the state," Frossard said. "They're not out of the norm. It may or may not be a reportable event."
This is the same portion of the Trinity river that the Fort Worth Star-Telegram reported as having the highest levels of PCB's. And the same portion where the Trinity River Vision Authority is promoting tubing? WHO do YOU believe?
Read the article in the Fort Worth Star-Telegram. YOU can't afford not to.
Wednesday night in DISH, Texas Public meeting for Barnett Shale Citizens
Public meeting for
Barnett Shale Citizens
Barnett Shale Citizens
Help fix TCEQ's 12-hour odor response system
Eight months later, the Texas Oil & Gas Accountability Project wants to check in with TCEQ -- and the people affected -- to show them how effective this new 12-hour odor response policy is.
Based on public documents, we know that 98% of the time, when you call in with an odor complaint, TCEQ finds no violation, even when 40% of the time you tell them the odors are making you sick with ailments ranging from headaches, vomiting and burning eyes to heart palpitations, dizziness and breathing difficulties. At Texas OGAP, we don't think that's good enough!
In fact, we think it stinks! The 12-hour odor response is broken and we want TCEQ to fix it so it is more protective of public health.
October 13, 2010 7:00 PM
DISH, Texas Town Hall
5413 Tim Donald Road
DISH, Texas 72647
With:
- Wilma Subra
- TCEQ or their empty chair
- U.S. EPA
- Sharon Wilson
If you...
Have made an odor complaint to TCEQ and been unhappy with the outcome...
Are interested in learning more about TCEQ's Odor Complaint System...
Want to make "the system" better serve the Citizens of the Shale...
...then come to the meeting! Be part of the solution.
Audiovisual equipment will be available for your use
Monday, October 11, 2010
Want to know?
What's going on in Fort Worth? Durango knows.
Check out the latest on the Trinity River Vision concerning Gateway Park here. Got questions? ASK them tomorrow night at Fort Worth City Council meeting.
Want to know about the corrupution in Fort Worth, Durango has that scoop too.
The local media should hire Detective Durango.
Check out the latest on the Trinity River Vision concerning Gateway Park here. Got questions? ASK them tomorrow night at Fort Worth City Council meeting.
Want to know about the corrupution in Fort Worth, Durango has that scoop too.
The local media should hire Detective Durango.
Thursday, October 7, 2010
Ladies and Gentlemen
The Fort Worth Star-Telegram has arrived.
We'll save our comments for another post. Right now we have only this to say. Bravo.
Study Floods Fort Worth's Riverside Park with anguish
We'll save our comments for another post. Right now we have only this to say. Bravo.
Study Floods Fort Worth's Riverside Park with anguish
Citizen Sues Watauga Texas for Political Speech Violation
NEWS CONFERENCE ANNOUNCING LAWSUIT TO STOP CITY’S SUPPRESSION OF POLITICAL FREE SPEECH:
Liberty Institute Seeks to Overturn Unconstitutional City Ordinance That Bans Political Speech on City Property
WHAT: Today, less than 30 days before the general election, Liberty Institute will hold a news conference announcing a lawsuit filed on behalf of a local citizen who was arrested, jailed and criminally prosecuted for expressing his political views on city property on primary election day, March 2.
WHO: Liberty Institute constitutional attorneys and our client will offer comments and answer questions.
WHEN: TODAY! Thursday, October 7, at 2 p.m. CST
WHERE: Outdoors on the sidewalk of the Watauga Community Center, where the incident occurred. 7901 Indian Springs Rd, Watauga, Texas 76148
DETAILS: The plaintiff was arrested on March 2, Texas’ primary election day, and thrown in jail for five hours for holding a political sign on city property. He was then criminally prosecuted. Rightfully, the criminal charges were dismissed by the court, but the extreme city ordinance banning political speech still stands.
Media Contact:
Roe Ann Estevez
Cell: 214.558.9957
Office: 972.941.4452
raestevez@libertyinstitute.org
12001 Plano Parkway, Suite 1600, Plano, TX 75075
Tarrant County Citizens Ignored...Again
The Tarrant Regional Water District and the Trinity River Vision "Authority" are at it again. WHO do these people work for? It's obvious they don't work FOR THE PEOPLE. And WHY was the Tarrant Regional Water District created? FLOOD control and water supply. Do YOU believe the Trinity River Vision is flood control? No one else does either. Removing the levees sound like a good flood control plan to YOU, Arlington?
Recently the Tarrant Regional Water District gave themselves a raise. Now they have decided they own part of the land in the Riverside Park "deal" and they don't care what the residents want or say. They don't own all of that land. ASK them.
Then ask YOUR Congresswoman WHY her son is ignoring her constituents? ASK WHY she is. ASK YOUR "leaders" why the Tarrant Regional Water District would carry on with their plans if opposed by the City and THE PEOPLE. Then ASK the media WHY they don't report any of it. Also ASK WHAT the Trinity River Vision "Authority" or the Tarrant Regional Water District has to do with streetcars.
Read about the latest scheme in the Fort Worth Star-Telegram. Don't miss the comments from THE PEOPLE.
Ending two years of wrangling with neighborhood residents, Tarrant Regional Water District officials say they plan to use Riverside Park for floodwater storage even if the city of Fort Worth opposes the idea.
Putting the floodwaters there is part of developing the sweeping. $909 million Trinity River Vision project that stretches from downtown's near north side to Gateway Park on the city's east side.
The announcement, made at Wednesday's Trinity River Vision Authority board meeting, effectively ends a contentious two-year process that has been criticized by neighborhood groups that have opposed shifting floodwaters to the park.
J.D Granger, executive director of the authority, and Jim Oliver, general manager of the water district, said they learned during a recent title search that they already owned some of the land and had the rights for flood easements and didn't need city approval. The authority, a flood control and economic development agency, is a political subdivision of the water district "If I had known, we wouldn't have been going through this process the last two years," Granger said.
At Tuesday's meeting, Granger said city officials can determine what recreational enhancements they want added to the park but said that location will be used for flood storage.
Libby Willis, president of the Fort Worth League of Neighborhoods, said her group has known for several years that the water district already had the authority.
"This has been the plan all along," Willis said. "I think they're tired of diddling around. They've decided it's time to quit playing around and the citizens' opinion evidently doesn't matter."
Willis expressed frustration that the city has had rounds of public meetings and promised that flood storage wouldn't be placed in Riverside Park if the public opposed it.
Floodwaters will be diverted by a bypass channel away from downtown Fort Worth, allowing the levees to come down and development along the Trinity River on the near north side.
Recently the Tarrant Regional Water District gave themselves a raise. Now they have decided they own part of the land in the Riverside Park "deal" and they don't care what the residents want or say. They don't own all of that land. ASK them.
Then ask YOUR Congresswoman WHY her son is ignoring her constituents? ASK WHY she is. ASK YOUR "leaders" why the Tarrant Regional Water District would carry on with their plans if opposed by the City and THE PEOPLE. Then ASK the media WHY they don't report any of it. Also ASK WHAT the Trinity River Vision "Authority" or the Tarrant Regional Water District has to do with streetcars.
Read about the latest scheme in the Fort Worth Star-Telegram. Don't miss the comments from THE PEOPLE.
Ending two years of wrangling with neighborhood residents, Tarrant Regional Water District officials say they plan to use Riverside Park for floodwater storage even if the city of Fort Worth opposes the idea.
Putting the floodwaters there is part of developing the sweeping. $909 million Trinity River Vision project that stretches from downtown's near north side to Gateway Park on the city's east side.
The announcement, made at Wednesday's Trinity River Vision Authority board meeting, effectively ends a contentious two-year process that has been criticized by neighborhood groups that have opposed shifting floodwaters to the park.
J.D Granger, executive director of the authority, and Jim Oliver, general manager of the water district, said they learned during a recent title search that they already owned some of the land and had the rights for flood easements and didn't need city approval. The authority, a flood control and economic development agency, is a political subdivision of the water district "If I had known, we wouldn't have been going through this process the last two years," Granger said.
At Tuesday's meeting, Granger said city officials can determine what recreational enhancements they want added to the park but said that location will be used for flood storage.
Libby Willis, president of the Fort Worth League of Neighborhoods, said her group has known for several years that the water district already had the authority.
"This has been the plan all along," Willis said. "I think they're tired of diddling around. They've decided it's time to quit playing around and the citizens' opinion evidently doesn't matter."
Willis expressed frustration that the city has had rounds of public meetings and promised that flood storage wouldn't be placed in Riverside Park if the public opposed it.
Floodwaters will be diverted by a bypass channel away from downtown Fort Worth, allowing the levees to come down and development along the Trinity River on the near north side.
Quick on the Draw
A couple of days ago, Durango posted an article about a Fort Worth neighborhood being one of the Most Dangerous in America.
This neighborhood is in Councilwoman Kathleen Hicks district. Kathleen has responded promptly to this. You can read it all on Durango.
We bet those on Carter Avenue wish she would have responded this quickly and with as much conviction.
This neighborhood is in Councilwoman Kathleen Hicks district. Kathleen has responded promptly to this. You can read it all on Durango.
We bet those on Carter Avenue wish she would have responded this quickly and with as much conviction.
Wednesday, October 6, 2010
Let us get this straight...
The Vice President of UTA called the police on a woman who brought her medical testing to show him out of concern for students and residents?
Really???
WHAT does Mayor Cluck and Councilman LeBlanc say about that? We heard them on the "news" a couple of nights ago voicing their "concern" about air pollution.
WHY did we not hear about the UTA Vice President calling the police? ASK.
And read the medical results and the story of Sandra DenBraber on TXSharon.
Really???
WHAT does Mayor Cluck and Councilman LeBlanc say about that? We heard them on the "news" a couple of nights ago voicing their "concern" about air pollution.
WHY did we not hear about the UTA Vice President calling the police? ASK.
And read the medical results and the story of Sandra DenBraber on TXSharon.
The Fort Worth Way
By Clyde Picht in the FW Weekly. What's going on in Fort Worth politics and elections? Clyde knows.
Mayor Mike Moncrief brags about “the Fort Worth Way” when extolling the virtues of the council or of businesses that aid the city. But judging by recent revelations in the media, before the city council, before the Tarrant County College board, and elsewhere, the Fort Worth Way is sounding more like influence peddling, cronyism, and unethical conduct, withholding information from the public, obfuscation, nepotism, and violation of the public trust.
The Tarrant Regional Water District is still touting Trinity Uptown as if it were the original pie-in-the-sky project. Not only has the price ballooned, but nothing remains in the original form, from channel width to bridges, from environmental cleanup to catchment basins, from canals to completion dates. If costs increase like the salary paid to J. D. Granger (the congresswoman’s son), which rose from $110,000 in 2006 to $140,400 in 2010, you know we’re in trouble.
Jim Lane is a good choice — having been a target of an ethics complaint before, he knows one when he sees one. Being a water board member working closely with the city on Trinity Uptown (or “up yours” as former councilman Chuck Silcox, used to say) Jim really meshes with Moncrief’s modus operandi. This is real synergy among the “you scratch my back, I’ll scratch yours” crowd.
Lane won his water board seat through alleged illegal mail ballots. The state attorney general was investigating mail ballot abuse in certain precincts at the time but declined to prosecute anyone.
Bottom line is that we have public officials, elected and appointed, who may qualify as pond scum — incompetent, lazy, abusive of the public trust, and in some cases, corrupt. Make your own assignments; it’s the Fort Worth Way.
Mayor Mike Moncrief brags about “the Fort Worth Way” when extolling the virtues of the council or of businesses that aid the city. But judging by recent revelations in the media, before the city council, before the Tarrant County College board, and elsewhere, the Fort Worth Way is sounding more like influence peddling, cronyism, and unethical conduct, withholding information from the public, obfuscation, nepotism, and violation of the public trust.
The Tarrant Regional Water District is still touting Trinity Uptown as if it were the original pie-in-the-sky project. Not only has the price ballooned, but nothing remains in the original form, from channel width to bridges, from environmental cleanup to catchment basins, from canals to completion dates. If costs increase like the salary paid to J. D. Granger (the congresswoman’s son), which rose from $110,000 in 2006 to $140,400 in 2010, you know we’re in trouble.
Jim Lane is a good choice — having been a target of an ethics complaint before, he knows one when he sees one. Being a water board member working closely with the city on Trinity Uptown (or “up yours” as former councilman Chuck Silcox, used to say) Jim really meshes with Moncrief’s modus operandi. This is real synergy among the “you scratch my back, I’ll scratch yours” crowd.
Lane won his water board seat through alleged illegal mail ballots. The state attorney general was investigating mail ballot abuse in certain precincts at the time but declined to prosecute anyone.
Bottom line is that we have public officials, elected and appointed, who may qualify as pond scum — incompetent, lazy, abusive of the public trust, and in some cases, corrupt. Make your own assignments; it’s the Fort Worth Way.
City Hall Runaround
Yes, another one. Another one brought to light by the FW Weekly. Don't miss it!
Several lines we read kept reminding us of the Trinity River Vision. Any of this sound familiar?
“The city hasn’t met with businesses nearby, and they are pushing this through without any data,” said Early Davis, vice president of the Association of Businesses of the Cultural District. “It seems like everything is being kept secret.”
In the case of the Harley Avenue project, the arena that it would theoretically serve has not yet been approved by voters in a bond election, and that approval is not likely to be sought before 2013. But city staffers told the Fort Worth Plan Commission a few weeks ago that the project needs to be done in 2011, to ease traffic congestion on Harley, improve parking access, and to encourage economic development.
Another Plan Commission member, architect Bob Kelly, questioned the alleged economic development benefit.
The plan for Harley “makes no sense,” said one local real estate developer with interests in Cultural District, who asked that his name not be used. “If the rodeo arena is approved by voters, then there is still plenty of time to build this road while the arena is being constructed. But there are so many transportation projects in this city that need to be funded, and how this got to up high on the list is sort of outrageous.”
Despite those concerns, the commission went along with city staff recommendations and voted unanimously to make the new alignment part of the city’s master thoroughfare plan.
In the meantime, the plan is for the city to lend itself $1.75 million from another pocket to fund the project. That pocket is the city’s aviation fund, which has grown fat with profits from Barnett Shale gas drilling at city airports. By federal law that money must be used only at those airports — but the city is availing itself of a loophole that allows it to lend the money for other projects, as long as the funds are repaid with interest. The loan would be for three years, with interest totaling about $230,000, according to city estimates.
Several lines we read kept reminding us of the Trinity River Vision. Any of this sound familiar?
“The city hasn’t met with businesses nearby, and they are pushing this through without any data,” said Early Davis, vice president of the Association of Businesses of the Cultural District. “It seems like everything is being kept secret.”
In the case of the Harley Avenue project, the arena that it would theoretically serve has not yet been approved by voters in a bond election, and that approval is not likely to be sought before 2013. But city staffers told the Fort Worth Plan Commission a few weeks ago that the project needs to be done in 2011, to ease traffic congestion on Harley, improve parking access, and to encourage economic development.
Another Plan Commission member, architect Bob Kelly, questioned the alleged economic development benefit.
The plan for Harley “makes no sense,” said one local real estate developer with interests in Cultural District, who asked that his name not be used. “If the rodeo arena is approved by voters, then there is still plenty of time to build this road while the arena is being constructed. But there are so many transportation projects in this city that need to be funded, and how this got to up high on the list is sort of outrageous.”
Despite those concerns, the commission went along with city staff recommendations and voted unanimously to make the new alignment part of the city’s master thoroughfare plan.
In the meantime, the plan is for the city to lend itself $1.75 million from another pocket to fund the project. That pocket is the city’s aviation fund, which has grown fat with profits from Barnett Shale gas drilling at city airports. By federal law that money must be used only at those airports — but the city is availing itself of a loophole that allows it to lend the money for other projects, as long as the funds are repaid with interest. The loan would be for three years, with interest totaling about $230,000, according to city estimates.
If the price of natural gas
is too low to substain production, WHY the hurry in the Barnett Shale?
The land has been grabbed, the air and water polluted, HOW much was your royalty check this month?
Read about it in the Fort Worth Star-Telegram.
By continuing to drill despite weak prices, "we've been ignoring the free market," Nichols said. But today's depressed prices represent "the free market ... sending us a very powerful signal" that there is an oversupply of gas, he said.
Drilling activity has been sustained by companies needing to drill wells to retain leases, by hedging contracts that have enabled energy companies to receive prices for their gas that are well above market levels, by joint-venture agreements mandating certain levels of drilling and by Wall Street's willingness to pump money into the industry, Nichols said.
But drilling in a low-price environment inevitably will decline after energy companies have either drilled wells to hold leases or allowed them to lapse, as the beneficial hedging contracts expire and as Wall Street grows "weary of funding undisciplined growth" through companies' excessive drilling, Nichols said at the three-day event running through Thursday at the Fort Worth Convention Center.
The land has been grabbed, the air and water polluted, HOW much was your royalty check this month?
Read about it in the Fort Worth Star-Telegram.
By continuing to drill despite weak prices, "we've been ignoring the free market," Nichols said. But today's depressed prices represent "the free market ... sending us a very powerful signal" that there is an oversupply of gas, he said.
Drilling activity has been sustained by companies needing to drill wells to retain leases, by hedging contracts that have enabled energy companies to receive prices for their gas that are well above market levels, by joint-venture agreements mandating certain levels of drilling and by Wall Street's willingness to pump money into the industry, Nichols said.
But drilling in a low-price environment inevitably will decline after energy companies have either drilled wells to hold leases or allowed them to lapse, as the beneficial hedging contracts expire and as Wall Street grows "weary of funding undisciplined growth" through companies' excessive drilling, Nichols said at the three-day event running through Thursday at the Fort Worth Convention Center.
City holds budget meeting - 60 miles away
Great question in Letters to the Editor from the Fort Worth Star-Telegram. We like when THE PEOPLE ask WHY?
Meeting too distant
I'm not sure how many other city councils take their annual budget planning meeting out of the city, but the Euless council does.
For at least the last five years, the meeting has been in Kaufman, nearly 60 miles from City Hall.
This meeting, required by law to be open, is essentially closed because it is so far away.
This is a three-day event, which would make a Euless resident drive nearly 360 miles to observe all or part of each day's activities. This places an extraordinary burden on anyone who wants to attend.
Not only that, this year's facility rental, lodging and meals cost more than $6,000, which is an unnecessary expense. The remodeled Euless City Hall is perfectly suitable to host this meeting.
Is the Euless council moving this meeting out of the city to intentionally limit access?
I ask the residents of Euless to write or call Mayor Mary Lib Saleh to ask why.
-- Darl Easton, Euless
Meeting too distant
I'm not sure how many other city councils take their annual budget planning meeting out of the city, but the Euless council does.
For at least the last five years, the meeting has been in Kaufman, nearly 60 miles from City Hall.
This meeting, required by law to be open, is essentially closed because it is so far away.
This is a three-day event, which would make a Euless resident drive nearly 360 miles to observe all or part of each day's activities. This places an extraordinary burden on anyone who wants to attend.
Not only that, this year's facility rental, lodging and meals cost more than $6,000, which is an unnecessary expense. The remodeled Euless City Hall is perfectly suitable to host this meeting.
Is the Euless council moving this meeting out of the city to intentionally limit access?
I ask the residents of Euless to write or call Mayor Mary Lib Saleh to ask why.
-- Darl Easton, Euless
What is wrong with the media?
While we understand it's "a business". It should supply people with unbiased information. So WHY does the media not cover political debates if the incumbent doesn't show?
Not just for the Governor's race, we see it happen over and over again, in Fort Worth. In the last mayoral election here, there were three candidates. Two of them showed up to every speaking event in town for months. Mayor Moncrief showed up to one.
Certain campaign managers tell their clients not to talk. It's easier not to stick your foot in your mouth if your mouth is closed.
WHO pays the price? The voters that would like to be educated on the candidates but can't get the information. And the rest of us that get stuck with those voted in by those that don't know any better.
Read the latest media let down in the Fort Worth Star-Telegram.
Not just for the Governor's race, we see it happen over and over again, in Fort Worth. In the last mayoral election here, there were three candidates. Two of them showed up to every speaking event in town for months. Mayor Moncrief showed up to one.
Certain campaign managers tell their clients not to talk. It's easier not to stick your foot in your mouth if your mouth is closed.
WHO pays the price? The voters that would like to be educated on the candidates but can't get the information. And the rest of us that get stuck with those voted in by those that don't know any better.
Read the latest media let down in the Fort Worth Star-Telegram.
Fort Worth Flooding Update
After the most recent flood in Fort Worth, we told you about the FW Weekly story concerning Mary Kelleher and the nightmare on her property, that started after Enterprise installed a pipeline.
Staying with the status quo, Enterprise said they didn't do it.
Are they having to change their story? Read it in the Fort Worth Star-Telegram.
After investigating the matter for weeks, city officials think she might be right. And Enterprise is pledging to cooperate fully with the city.
Clair Davis, the city's flood plain administrator, wrote Enterprise this week and accused the company of never filing for the required flood plain development permit. Obtaining the permit involves having an engineer determine how the plan might affect drainage.
In his letter, Davis wrote that the material Enterprise used to fill the hole it dug for the pipeline "appears to have obstructed the natural drainage pattern in the area, and may have contributed to increased flooding on adjacent properties."
It's the latest in a string of issues with Enterprise's development next to Kelleher's land. The Houston-based company began building a metering station next to the pipeline this summer before getting the proper permit, according to city records. Enterprise applied for the permit only after city officials notified the company about it. Earlier, state officials found that the pipeline had been installed on a former landfill and that Enterprise should have taken proper precautions.
Staying with the status quo, Enterprise said they didn't do it.
Are they having to change their story? Read it in the Fort Worth Star-Telegram.
After investigating the matter for weeks, city officials think she might be right. And Enterprise is pledging to cooperate fully with the city.
Clair Davis, the city's flood plain administrator, wrote Enterprise this week and accused the company of never filing for the required flood plain development permit. Obtaining the permit involves having an engineer determine how the plan might affect drainage.
In his letter, Davis wrote that the material Enterprise used to fill the hole it dug for the pipeline "appears to have obstructed the natural drainage pattern in the area, and may have contributed to increased flooding on adjacent properties."
It's the latest in a string of issues with Enterprise's development next to Kelleher's land. The Houston-based company began building a metering station next to the pipeline this summer before getting the proper permit, according to city records. Enterprise applied for the permit only after city officials notified the company about it. Earlier, state officials found that the pipeline had been installed on a former landfill and that Enterprise should have taken proper precautions.
More Trinity Trash
WHO thinks it's a good idea to promote tubing here?
What's in YOUR water?
Yesterday we told you about another contaminated water well next to a gas drilling operation. We then noticed Washington, District of Columbia found that link by searching for MTBE.
So what is MTBE and how is it getting in the water? For the answer, we went to Pennsylvania. Seems there are "DOCUMENTED" cases after all. Is someone in need of a new spin doctor?
Learn more about MTBE here. YOU can't afford to miss it.
MTBE will diffuse 8.6 times faster than Benzene. This will allow MTBE to spread laterally faster than the other hydrocarbons, creating a wider and longer plume. MTBE is 2.6 times more likely to vaporize than Benzene. MTBE is 9.2 times more likely to stay in water or to enter water from the atmosphere than Benzene.
MTBE is a known animal carcinogen and possible human carcinogen. The reported U.S. production of MTBE in 1992 exceeded nine billion pounds - virtually all of it is added to gasoline. Oil companies reportedly make approximately $3 billion per year from MTBE production.
Recent testing by the U.S. Geological Survey indicated that 27 percent of the urban wells and springs tested were positive for MTBE. With its increased use, MTBE is now being found in shallow groundwater, at very low levels in some reservoirs and drinking water. The most likely sources of the groundwater contamination are leaking underground storage tanks and pipelines. Although MTBE is readily mixed with gasoline, it does not appear to be easily absorbed by soil. As a result, the MTBE moves from the leaking gasoline source into the water where it is dissolved. MTBE, like other ethers, is hydrophilic; in other words, it has a chemical attraction to water molecules. It is more than thirty times more soluble in water than other toxic compounds of gasoline. When MTBE is released into the environment via transport accidents, leaking tanks, or simple over-filling at gas stations, MTBE travels great distances underground to the water table. MTBE can contaminate surface waters, but underground drinking water supplies are most at risk.
Note: The most likely cause of the occurrence of MTBE in deep groundwater is typically steep vertical gradients caused by extraction wells, cross contamination within the aquifer, and poorly sealed wells.
So what is MTBE and how is it getting in the water? For the answer, we went to Pennsylvania. Seems there are "DOCUMENTED" cases after all. Is someone in need of a new spin doctor?
Learn more about MTBE here. YOU can't afford to miss it.
MTBE will diffuse 8.6 times faster than Benzene. This will allow MTBE to spread laterally faster than the other hydrocarbons, creating a wider and longer plume. MTBE is 2.6 times more likely to vaporize than Benzene. MTBE is 9.2 times more likely to stay in water or to enter water from the atmosphere than Benzene.
MTBE is a known animal carcinogen and possible human carcinogen. The reported U.S. production of MTBE in 1992 exceeded nine billion pounds - virtually all of it is added to gasoline. Oil companies reportedly make approximately $3 billion per year from MTBE production.
Recent testing by the U.S. Geological Survey indicated that 27 percent of the urban wells and springs tested were positive for MTBE. With its increased use, MTBE is now being found in shallow groundwater, at very low levels in some reservoirs and drinking water. The most likely sources of the groundwater contamination are leaking underground storage tanks and pipelines. Although MTBE is readily mixed with gasoline, it does not appear to be easily absorbed by soil. As a result, the MTBE moves from the leaking gasoline source into the water where it is dissolved. MTBE, like other ethers, is hydrophilic; in other words, it has a chemical attraction to water molecules. It is more than thirty times more soluble in water than other toxic compounds of gasoline. When MTBE is released into the environment via transport accidents, leaking tanks, or simple over-filling at gas stations, MTBE travels great distances underground to the water table. MTBE can contaminate surface waters, but underground drinking water supplies are most at risk.
Note: The most likely cause of the occurrence of MTBE in deep groundwater is typically steep vertical gradients caused by extraction wells, cross contamination within the aquifer, and poorly sealed wells.
Tuesday, October 5, 2010
Tarrant County - YOU are next
The Wise County Messenger and its readers know. WHY don't YOU?
WHAT will you do when YOU have NO clean water? Of course the "spokesperson" says there "are no documented cases of groundwater pollution". THE PEOPLE are tired of hearing this when they know if you don't do testing, you don't have documentation. Therefore, THE PEOPLE are having their own water tested, it's documented. Would the Texas Railroad Commission like a copy? Maybe the Upper Trinity Groundwater Conservation District?
Remember what happens when "nothing was ever done", it just gets worse.
Read the article here. YOU can't afford not to. Be sure and read the comments from THE PEOPLE.
"I've got two so salty you can't drink the water from them," he said. "It wasn't until they drilled a gas well across from my home that they went bad. They also put an injection well about a quarter-mile down the road.
"I've been having to haul in drinking water. That's pretty bad when the well man is buying bottled water."
"That service pipe has to be deep enough or else it's gonna leak up through the strata. I don't know why people can't see that."
The couple decided to get the water analyzed by a private firm.
"I didn't know what it was we were looking for," Brett said. "I just wanted to know why it was burning my eyes before I ever even used soap. I was also concerned about the animals.
"We weren't expecting anything bad. Then we got the test back and were shocked because it had benzene in the water."
The amount of benzene, a carcinogen, was twice the level considered safe by the federal Environmental Protection Agency.
"It also isn't supposed to have MTBE in it, but it does," he said.
After finding toxins in their rural water well, they've received little help from state or local agencies. They appealed once to the Upper Trinity Groundwater Conservation District (UTGCD), but they said nothing was done.
"We're very concerned with any instance of possible contamination of a water well," said Bob Patterson, general manager of the district. "We're pretty anxious to get some more information on it."
WHAT will you do when YOU have NO clean water? Of course the "spokesperson" says there "are no documented cases of groundwater pollution". THE PEOPLE are tired of hearing this when they know if you don't do testing, you don't have documentation. Therefore, THE PEOPLE are having their own water tested, it's documented. Would the Texas Railroad Commission like a copy? Maybe the Upper Trinity Groundwater Conservation District?
Remember what happens when "nothing was ever done", it just gets worse.
Read the article here. YOU can't afford not to. Be sure and read the comments from THE PEOPLE.
"I've got two so salty you can't drink the water from them," he said. "It wasn't until they drilled a gas well across from my home that they went bad. They also put an injection well about a quarter-mile down the road.
"I've been having to haul in drinking water. That's pretty bad when the well man is buying bottled water."
"That service pipe has to be deep enough or else it's gonna leak up through the strata. I don't know why people can't see that."
The couple decided to get the water analyzed by a private firm.
"I didn't know what it was we were looking for," Brett said. "I just wanted to know why it was burning my eyes before I ever even used soap. I was also concerned about the animals.
"We weren't expecting anything bad. Then we got the test back and were shocked because it had benzene in the water."
The amount of benzene, a carcinogen, was twice the level considered safe by the federal Environmental Protection Agency.
"It also isn't supposed to have MTBE in it, but it does," he said.
After finding toxins in their rural water well, they've received little help from state or local agencies. They appealed once to the Upper Trinity Groundwater Conservation District (UTGCD), but they said nothing was done.
"We're very concerned with any instance of possible contamination of a water well," said Bob Patterson, general manager of the district. "We're pretty anxious to get some more information on it."
October 7 ACTION Meeting
STATEWIDE SUNSET REVIEW OF THE
Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ)
AND
the Texas Railroad Commission
-
When: Thursday, October 7, 2010
Time: 6:30pm - Networking & Coffee
7:00pm - Meeting & Announcements
8:45pm - Networking and Coffee
Place: Hotel Trinity Inn Suites, IH30 @ Beach Street, Fort Worth, Texas
****Map to Hotel Trinity Inn Suites****
WHAT: NCTCA's stated mission focuses on 3 main objectives:
Education - Communication - Mobilization
Our October monthly meeting will engage you in all three actions!
This will be a highly informative, interactive and enjoyable session to give you a better understanding of the roles of the TxRRC & the TCEQ. Both of these agencies (plus 30 more) are up for Sunset Review during the 2011 Legislative Session, and your input can affect urgently needed changes.
NCTCA is about empowering you and our communities!
Are you more than mildly distrustful that State agencies, like the Texas Railroad Commission (TxRRC) & the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ) that are supposed to be protecting your health, safety, and property rights are more "beholdin' to the industries they are created to regulate than to you?
Do you see Red Flags when you learn that two of the TX RRC Commissioners received $800,000 and $1.3 million in campaign contributions from the Oil and Gas industries they are supposed to oversee and regulate?
Does it bother you that the TCEQ not only didn't use scientifically recognized laboratory procedures in recent Barnett Shale air quality testing, and then got caught in lies to local elected officials about withholding pertinent data from their study results which discovered toxins in our air?
Did you know you are paying for a TxRRC office in Fort Worth but can't utilize their services, and must travel (at your own expense) to Austin for TxRRC business and hearings?
Do you realize that your lack of positive attention to and action on these issues can result in a natural gas well 157 feet from your front door (as in Fort Worth recently) or a 16 inch pipeline with wet odorless gas running across your front yard? It's already happening in one county!
Do you feel IGNORED by the very state agencies your tax dollars $$$ pay to protect you?
Well, it's time for make your voice heard this Thursday! The industry is doing that already with heavy lobbying and lots of "contributions!" However, as Margaret Mead famously said; "Never underestimate the power of a small, dedicated group of people to change the world; indeed, that is the only thing that ever has."
Come be part of an effective team effort working on positive solutions to these and other problems in the Barnett Shale and statewide! Bring your pens, paper and your voice! (you will be heard!)
The deadlines to submit your comments are fast approaching, and by joining us Thursday, Oct. 7th, your voice will be heard, you'll have the latest information, and
you can join others in mobilizing!
PLEASE NOTE: As much as we'd like to have individual discussions regarding the above information, we are an all-volunteer, nonprofit organization, and there just aren't enough hours in the day! We encourage you and your friends and neighbors to join us Oct. 7th for a firsthand experience and to support our area wide efforts!
Will this help any?
Fort Worth City Manager, Dale Fisseler, to retire. Mr.Fisseler, please don't go alone...
Read about it in the Fort Worth Star-Telegram.
Read about it in the Fort Worth Star-Telegram.
Arlington Flooding Victims have something to say
Read it in the Fort Worth Star-Telegram Letters to the Editor.
We want our leaders to focus on the residents.
Clear the debris
I read in Friday's paper that Arlington Mayor Robert Cluck said "there is no way we can control flooding on Rush Creek. It's like a bathtub." (See: "Arlington may use bonds to buy up flooded homes")
Really, mayor? Our home, which was built in the '70s and had never before flooded, flooded Sept. 8. I'm not an engineer, but if my bathtub were full of debris and the water had nowhere to go because the area surrounding it was also full of debris, I would realize I let it get into that condition and do the responsible thing -- clean up the debris!
Arlington's priority has been the Cowboys Stadium area in order to give a picture of a progressive city to the rest of the country. We want our leaders to focus on the residents.
I challenge the city leaders to take a walk on the trail that parallels Rush Creek. They would understand the homeowners' frustration over a situation that indeed is fixable.
Our home is in an area that never should have flooded. We want to stay! Is your home next?
-- Janice Elaine Graber, Arlington
We want our leaders to focus on the residents.
Clear the debris
I read in Friday's paper that Arlington Mayor Robert Cluck said "there is no way we can control flooding on Rush Creek. It's like a bathtub." (See: "Arlington may use bonds to buy up flooded homes")
Really, mayor? Our home, which was built in the '70s and had never before flooded, flooded Sept. 8. I'm not an engineer, but if my bathtub were full of debris and the water had nowhere to go because the area surrounding it was also full of debris, I would realize I let it get into that condition and do the responsible thing -- clean up the debris!
Arlington's priority has been the Cowboys Stadium area in order to give a picture of a progressive city to the rest of the country. We want our leaders to focus on the residents.
I challenge the city leaders to take a walk on the trail that parallels Rush Creek. They would understand the homeowners' frustration over a situation that indeed is fixable.
Our home is in an area that never should have flooded. We want to stay! Is your home next?
-- Janice Elaine Graber, Arlington
Monday, October 4, 2010
YOU are invited
We were sent information about this upcoming meeting. YOU might want to attend.
And you might want to attend Fort Worth City Council pre-council in the morning. While it's called the Riverside Park Expansion, it really means the Trinity River Vision. Ask WHO owns the land they are wanting to flood? The city doesnt. Ask HOW they are trying to obtain it.
TRTC Monthly Membership Meeting
Wednesday, October 6, 2010
8:30 a.m.
Fort Worth Intermodal Transportation Center (ITC)
2nd Floor Conference Room
1001 Jones Street
Fort Worth, TX 76102
***
Don't miss this important meeting at which members of our local delegation will provide a preview of the upcoming 82nd Legislative Session and a look at the state of transportation.
The following legislators are scheduled to be in attendance:
State Senator Wendy Davis
State Representative Lon Burnam
State Representative Diane Patrick
State Representative Mark Shelton
State Representative Todd Smith
State Representative Vicki Truitt
State Representative Chris Turner
And you might want to attend Fort Worth City Council pre-council in the morning. While it's called the Riverside Park Expansion, it really means the Trinity River Vision. Ask WHO owns the land they are wanting to flood? The city doesnt. Ask HOW they are trying to obtain it.
TRTC Monthly Membership Meeting
Wednesday, October 6, 2010
8:30 a.m.
Fort Worth Intermodal Transportation Center (ITC)
2nd Floor Conference Room
1001 Jones Street
Fort Worth, TX 76102
***
Don't miss this important meeting at which members of our local delegation will provide a preview of the upcoming 82nd Legislative Session and a look at the state of transportation.
The following legislators are scheduled to be in attendance:
State Senator Wendy Davis
State Representative Lon Burnam
State Representative Diane Patrick
State Representative Mark Shelton
State Representative Todd Smith
State Representative Vicki Truitt
State Representative Chris Turner
Don't mess with Don
Have you sensed a pattern here? Mayor Moncrief might have gotten away with talking to residents in the "Fort Worth Way", but it seems THE PEOPLE are growing tired of that.
They don't like it when you mess with their friends.
Read it in the Fort Worth Star-Telegram.
Jeers: To our usually gracious Fort Worth mayor for ridiculing his longtime friend Don Woodard Sr., when Don asked a legitimate city budget tax question regarding the new cost of the Trinity River Vision at the Sept. 13 council meeting.
-- Beverly Branham, Fort Worth
They don't like it when you mess with their friends.
Read it in the Fort Worth Star-Telegram.
Jeers: To our usually gracious Fort Worth mayor for ridiculing his longtime friend Don Woodard Sr., when Don asked a legitimate city budget tax question regarding the new cost of the Trinity River Vision at the Sept. 13 council meeting.
-- Beverly Branham, Fort Worth
We don't know Al...
But we like him.
Read his Jeers in the Fort Worth Star-Telegram. Just so you know, Lone Star has asked local media about the Trinity River Vision "Authority" touting this as safe, have YOU seen anything on the news?
Jeers: To anyone who invites people to float down the filthy Trinity River. When Mayor Mike Moncrief, the City Council, U.S. Rep. Kay Granger or Trinity River Vision Authority Director J.D. Granger float on it, then you might consider it semi-safe.
-- Al McCluney, Hurst
Read his Jeers in the Fort Worth Star-Telegram. Just so you know, Lone Star has asked local media about the Trinity River Vision "Authority" touting this as safe, have YOU seen anything on the news?
Jeers: To anyone who invites people to float down the filthy Trinity River. When Mayor Mike Moncrief, the City Council, U.S. Rep. Kay Granger or Trinity River Vision Authority Director J.D. Granger float on it, then you might consider it semi-safe.
-- Al McCluney, Hurst
Friday, October 1, 2010
Arlington Flood help?
Read the latest flood pattern in the Fort Worth Star-Telegram.
With federal disaster assistance uncertain, the Arlington City Council is considering issuing bonds to buy and demolish dozens of homes in the Rush Creek flood plain to "get people out of harm's way," Mayor Robert Cluck said Thursday.
"I think that area gets so inundated that we should clear it and do something else with it," Cluck told members of the League of Women Voters during its annual State of the City luncheon.
"There is no way we can control flooding on Rush Creek. It's like a bathtub."
As Tropical Storm Hermine passed through the area Sept. 8, at least 129 homes and 68 units at the Willows at Shady Valley condominiums in west Arlington were damaged by floodwaters. Most affected homes are along Rush Creek near Pioneer Parkway and Green Oaks Boulevard.
At least 11 homes were so heavily damaged that they will likely be demolished, Cluck said.
Arlington officials have said they expect to learn this month whether President Barack Obama will declare Tarrant County and 12 other Texas counties federal disaster areas. The declaration would allow the city and flood victims to apply for assistance from the Federal Emergency Management Agency and the Army Corps of Engineers.
The city will also apply for FEMA grant money to buy out homes that have flooded at least twice, known as severe repetitive losses, funding that is not contingent on a federal disaster declaration, Public Works Director Bob Lowry said.
In the meantime, city leaders are considering their alternatives to pay for buyouts.
Arlington, which has been collecting appraisals on affected properties, would need $13 million to $18 million to buy and tear down structures in the Rush Creek flood plain, Cluck said. Most of the flood victims who attended public meetings since the storm have told city leaders that they want to be bought out.
"Those people want their homes gone. They have been through three or four floods. They are tired of it," Cluck said.
Some have questioned why the city allowed homes and town houses to be built in a flood plain. Arlington officials say the area wasn't flood-prone when much of the construction took place. But the flood plain has expanded as development has spread.
Four years ago, after the last big flood along Rush Creek, the city spent $2 million from FEMA to buy and demolish six houses.
With federal disaster assistance uncertain, the Arlington City Council is considering issuing bonds to buy and demolish dozens of homes in the Rush Creek flood plain to "get people out of harm's way," Mayor Robert Cluck said Thursday.
"I think that area gets so inundated that we should clear it and do something else with it," Cluck told members of the League of Women Voters during its annual State of the City luncheon.
"There is no way we can control flooding on Rush Creek. It's like a bathtub."
As Tropical Storm Hermine passed through the area Sept. 8, at least 129 homes and 68 units at the Willows at Shady Valley condominiums in west Arlington were damaged by floodwaters. Most affected homes are along Rush Creek near Pioneer Parkway and Green Oaks Boulevard.
At least 11 homes were so heavily damaged that they will likely be demolished, Cluck said.
Arlington officials have said they expect to learn this month whether President Barack Obama will declare Tarrant County and 12 other Texas counties federal disaster areas. The declaration would allow the city and flood victims to apply for assistance from the Federal Emergency Management Agency and the Army Corps of Engineers.
The city will also apply for FEMA grant money to buy out homes that have flooded at least twice, known as severe repetitive losses, funding that is not contingent on a federal disaster declaration, Public Works Director Bob Lowry said.
In the meantime, city leaders are considering their alternatives to pay for buyouts.
Arlington, which has been collecting appraisals on affected properties, would need $13 million to $18 million to buy and tear down structures in the Rush Creek flood plain, Cluck said. Most of the flood victims who attended public meetings since the storm have told city leaders that they want to be bought out.
"Those people want their homes gone. They have been through three or four floods. They are tired of it," Cluck said.
Some have questioned why the city allowed homes and town houses to be built in a flood plain. Arlington officials say the area wasn't flood-prone when much of the construction took place. But the flood plain has expanded as development has spread.
Four years ago, after the last big flood along Rush Creek, the city spent $2 million from FEMA to buy and demolish six houses.