If this doesn't scare you...

Read the comments.  93 of them on an article posted today on the Fort Worth Star-Telegram. 

WHAT'S more important to YOU? Quality or growth?  What's more important to YOUR elected officials?

Do YOUR leaders really think lawn watering is the reason we're in the shape we're in?  We have reports of dead grass and trees from here to the Red River.

Remember earlier this week when a nonprofit did an investigation on Congress and their family connections.  WHAT do you think they are they paid to say?

WHO controls YOUR water?  What will the other cities do?  Like always, wait and see what Fort Worth does.  No offense, guys, but you need to pick another role model.

Guess the latest Irving Mayor has been brought into the game.  The last one tried to get water for the city instead of waiting on the Tarrant Regional Water District. All the way to the Supreme Court to get water from Oklahoma. 

"Mayor Price and I have been talking about lots of initiatives together, and water is one of them," Rawlings said. "I think water conservation is probably the most important issue we have in the next three decades. We cannot continue to grow without water, and I want to continue to grow."

The district provides raw water to 98 percent of residents in Tarrant County, including Fort Worth, Arlington and Mansfield.

"The goal is to reduce excessive outdoor watering and water waste, especially during peak summer months when rain is scarce and demands are high," said Linda Christie, the district's government and community relations director.

The (Tarrant Regional Water) district provides raw water to 98 percent of residents in Tarrant County, including Fort Worth, Arlington and Mansfield.

Officials with Colleyville and North Richland Hills said they haven't discussed the issue. North Richland Hills spokeswoman Mary Peters said the city will likely follow the lead of Fort Worth and the authority on the issue since it buys water from both entities.

The Fort Worth Water Department has 30 wholesale customers, including Dallas/Fort Worth Airport, Southlake, Hurst, Burleson and Crowley. Its contract requires customers to follow whatever rules the city implements itself.

The mayor of Irving, which tried unsuccessfully to broker its own water deal with Hugo, Okla., said the city is ready to work with others.

The U.S. Supreme Court recently declined to hear a lawsuit that resulted from the proposed deal, upholding a lower court's ruling that Hugo couldn't sell water without Oklahoma's permission.
The people say:

Ok, I can understand wanting to conserve water and even using the  twice a week plan. BUT... what about all the Government buildings, Commercial properties & City landscapes that (even when "WE" were in restrictions last year) continue to water on a daily basis, not only in the heat of the day (outside of City required times) but also over watering to the point that there is a large stream running down the road.

What's required for us should be required for the Government and Commercial properties also.
"We cannot continue to grow without water, and I want to continue to grow."

Sounds like a mindless comment to me.  At what point does growth reduce the quality of your life?
Maybe if Rawlings stopped and thought about it, he would realize that the lack of water ITSELF is trying to tell him something, that growth only works when there are reasonable resources to sustain it.
Promoting growth with one hand, while restricting resources with the other, is a bad idea.  There has to be a balance.

"We cannot continue to grow without water, and I want to continue to grow."  Why must we continue to grow?  If you are conserving water, only to expand your growth, then you are just delaying the problem.  If we are under water restrictions, then there should be building restrictions as well.  No new house without the destruction of an equivalent number of sq ft.  7 billion people.  Just stop already.Read more here: http://www.star-telegram.com/2...

Duh...

A new study called Family Affair, details the rampant nepotism in Congress.  Which isn't "technically" illegal, but how to YOU feel about paying for it? 

Recently there was the article about how much YOUR Congressperson is bringing home.  Now here's one about how much of YOUR money they are funnelling to their family. 

Guess WHO made the list? 

Even the Fort Worth Star-Telegram gave it a little notice.  YOUR billion dollars got a two sentence mention. 

Two-thirds of the Texans serving in the U.S. House of Representatives -- including three from North Texas -- have relatives who financially benefited from having a legislator in the family over the past four years, according to a report released this week.

The report, titled "Family Affair," was released by Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington, which reviewed documents for nine months. It shows that relatives of 248 members received payments or otherwise benefited because of the lawmaker in their family.

Some payments were not made directly to relatives but may have come through federal funds earmarked to institutions or nonprofit organizations where they work. Or family members may have served as lobbyists or in government relations, actions that are "not illegal, but ripe for abuse," according to the report by the nonprofit ethics group.

Granger was named because she earmarked $30 million in federal funds for a river redevelopment plan in Fort Worth. Her son, J.D. Granger, heads the Trinity River Vision Authority, which is working to make Kay Granger's vision a reality.

Downtown District

A Letter to the Editor in the Fort Worth Star-Telegram makes an excellent point.  Downtown Fort Worth isn't a congressional district.  It's part of one.  Don't show up in the rest of the district asking for our money to dump into our river.  Pay attention. 

Seeking attention

The Sunday article about Rep. Kay Granger gave much information about her international activities. I wish she would do as much in her own district, which is not just Fort Worth. The Tarrant County portion of her district, before redistricting, has 14 percent of the area and 79 percent of the population.

If you go by her own claim for appropriations in 2010, 61 percent was spent in Fort Worth and 4 percent in Parker County, with the rest being national or regional. Most of the Parker County spending went to a company that does business outside the county. Wise County got nothing. I got appropriations information from her website but can no longer find that link.

Granger does come to Parker County to raise money. With 86 percent of the area and 21 percent of the population, Parker and Wise counties would like to have more than 4 percent of the attention.

-- Darrel Behrens, Aledo

"People deserve to know that kind of stuff."

Almost three years ago, we started this blog due to the lack of news we were seeing on the "news".

(There are several stories taking place in Tarrant County right now, that none of the "news" stations have reported on. WHY?)

So due to lack of "news" we decided to do something, so did Grant Stinchfield.  Here's an article on WHY Grant left "news" reporting to run for office. 

There are still reporters left in the county.  They just don't work for the "news".

Kudos, Grant! 

Here is an excerpt of what Stinchfield had to say regarding a tip he started investigating  about government spending:   “When Cowboys Stadium  was being built….General Motors, getting bailed out by the federal government,  wants to buy a suite at Cowboys stadium….a million $ plus for that suite.  I make a call, and as a good conversative I say GM shouldn’t be buying a suite with taxpayer dollars.   20 minutes later I get hauled into the general manager’s office telling me, you will not make another call on that story. ” Stinchfield says the general manager didn’t want to “rock the boat” with automotive advertisers, even though it meant not reporting on what Stinchfield felt was the inappropriate spending of taxpayer dollars.

Well said -

A letter in the Fort Worth Star-Telegram tells you how to fix this mess our politicians have made.

Voting strength

It seems to be the common belief among most citizens that this country is gradually sinking into nothingness. It also seems to be common knowledge that the main reason behind our decline is the arguing and bickering among elected members of our do-nothing Congress.

It seems that the only way to get this country moving again is for all voters to, for once, forget party loyalty and vote out the slackers, regardless of party affiliation, who do nothing but draw their pay check and sign ridiculous pledges.

The way I see it, for us to thrive again and rebuild our recognition as the number-one economy in the world is try our best to rid Washington of all the greed and self-preservation of our selfish representatives. Yes, it can be accomplished at polling places!

-- Ed Huddleston, Fort Worth

Where will YOU be tonight?

You have options.  You could attend the Arlington City Council where they'll be discussing the Hike and Bike Plan.  The last Arlington City Council meeting was so much fun, YOU might not want to miss this one.

Or you could attend the Trophy Club/Roanoke Town Hall where Congressman Michael Burgess will be speaking. 7-8 at Byron Nelson High School.

See you there!

Politician Found Guilty in Texas

Imagine that.

Read about Tom DeLay, aka "The Hammer", being convicted on Yahoo. com.

The article calls him "one of the most powerful and feared Republicans in Congress".
WHY should anyone in congress be feared? 

"This case is a message from the citizens of the state of Texas that the public officials they elect to represent them must do so honestly and ethically, and if not, they'll be held accountable," Travis County District Attorney Rosemary Lehmberg said after the verdict.

Amen.

Leave it to Congress

To leave its citizens Up a Creek...Last week 20 dead in flood in Arkansas.  Today flash floods in Oklahoma.  Texas leads the nation in deaths due to flooding. 

Read the letter to the editor in the Fort Worth Business Press.  YOU can't afford not to. 

Up a creek

Due to inaction by Congress, on May 31 the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) expired and has not been reauthorized. Without the NFIP, property owners in designated flood zones across much of Texas cannot obtain flood insurance to protect their properties. As a result, those seeking to purchase property in a flood zone are not able to obtain a mortgage, without purchasing flood insurance.

This lapse in judgment on Congress’ part could have devastating results for the recovering Texas real estate market as families and homeowners seeking flood insurance are left without an option to purchase and those with expiring policies are left unprotected and unable to renew.

June marks the official start of Texas’ hurricane season, and many Texas homeowners are left with the added worry that their property may not be protected. If we have learned anything in the wake of Hurricanes Ike and Rita, it is flood insurance is a necessity for Texas homeowners. Hurricanes are not the only source of flooding as Central Texas, Houston and Dallas have all experienced flash floods in recent years.

For some time now, Congress has been approving a series of short-term extensions of the NFIP but this is the third time the program has lapsed this year. Previously, on March 28, the NFIP expired for several weeks due to Congress’ failure to agree on how to pay for extensions of other government programs and subsidies that were combined with the latest short-term NFIP extension.

As a Texas Realtor, I urge Congress to take immediate action on a lasting NFIP extension to protect a recovering real estate market and the millions of taxpayers that rely on the program for flood insurance.

– Bill Jones
Chairman, Texas Association of Realtors, Austin

Help is on the way??

Congress tells the EPA to revisit fracing. Let's hope they are listening. Read about it @ Propublica.

Thanks to our contributors for keeping the information flowing!