Panther Island = Beached Whale

Letter to the Editor: Panther Island or Beached Boondoggle?

Feb 23, 2018
The business of the Water Board is two-fold: Flood control and water supply. Not economic development. Yet they are asking the voters to approve a $250 million bond to salvage Panther Island, heretofore known as Trinity Uptown. When I started writing letters to the editor 15 years ago about this uprooting, heartless eminent domain economic development boondoggle, we were promised that Fort Worth's total obligation would be $26 million – no more.

Consider this: In 1990, the city asked voters to OK a $20 million bond to replace Will Rogers Auditorium with a new modern state-of-the-art Music Hall. The voters said No! Loud and clear! Now we are asked bald-faced by the Water Board for more than 10 times that amount to salvage the mother of all shameless, nepotistic boondoggles, Panther Island.

Panther Island! Seemingly a more appropriate name would be The Beached Whale.

Don Woodard
Fort Worth

Sucker$$$$

Panther Island Straight Talk Per Fort Worth Star-Telegram's Request

Complete the project by 2028? The Star-Telegram drops that embarrassing bit without editorializing regarding the absurdity of what was originally touted as being a vitally needed flood control and economic development project, of such import that it warranted the abuse of eminent domain to steal property, but is so totally not vital that the project is now projected to possibly be completed almost three decades after it was foisted on the Fort Worth public, without the public having the opportunity to vote for the project.

Til now.

After years of burning through bucks wasted on things like failed wakeparks, exorbitant salaries, junkets, ridiculous signage and tons of expensive mailed propaganda, the TRWD is asking voters to approve a quarter billion bond bucks so that new waterfront property might be created by 2028.