Congresswoman’s daughter-in-law to exit water district

 Folks,

There’s a new reporter in town, and her name is Jessica Priest.

If you haven’t been reading her articles in the Fort Worth Report, you can just start here.

Get your popcorn.

THIS is what reporting looks like. This lady has only been here a hot minute and she’s reported better articles on the TRWD than half of you combined. Maybe more.

Try and keep up, would ya?

Congresswoman’s daughter-in-law to exit water district

Someone tell Dallas you're still downstream!

Durango concerns about what Fort Worth's favorite son is sending to Dallas.

J.D Granger Wears T-Shirt Anonymous Finds Incomprehensible

Two Town's Flood Tales

Durango makes some interesting comparisons between the flood control projects in his old hometown and his new hometown. And asks some interesting questions.

Read it all in A Tale of Two Town's Flood Control Projects: Fort Worth & Mount Vernon.

Below is a blurb....

Now, how is it that Fort Worth and its bizarro Trinity River Vision Boondoggle has gotten millions of federal dollars for an un-needed flood control project that will build a likely ridiculous looking, un-needed flood diversion channel, so that the levees that have stopped flooding for decades can be removed?

Meanwhile, Mount Vernon, which has an actual, real, flood problem, that has caused problems for decades, scrambles to find the money to build a permanent fix.

Is this a function of the fact that the congressperson who represents the district in which Mount Vernon is located is not a corrupt politician willing to finagle shady deals to channel federal money Mount Vernon's way, whilst Fort Worth is represented by a corrupt congresswoman who stands to make financial gains from the Trinity River Vision Boondoggle which she has helped to fund, which, in addition to providing her financial gain, also provided her son, J.D. Granger, the job of running the project, a job for which J.D. Granger has absolutely zero qualifications?

The installing her son to run the TRV Boondoggle is sufficient cause to attach the "corrupt" label to this corrupt politician, let alone all the other reasons.

Why do not more people find the TRV Boondoggle's wastefulness and lack of need to be perplexing, particularly when there are locations in America where money could be spent to fix an actual flooding problem?

Places like Haltom City and Mount Vernon.

HE has a way with words

THEY have a way with your money.

A Letter to the Editor of the Fort Worth Business Press....

The Woodshed

News flash! Earmarks are back! Alive and well! No matter that our country is in financial rigor mortis with Chinese undertakers feeling our pulse while tenderly asking what more can we do for their country.

According to the winter propaganda screed put out by the Trinity River Vision Authority, the boast is made that Congresswoman Kay Granger has secured another $23 million of Federal funds for two Trinity Uptown bridges. Bulletin! Neither of the bridges is Uptown. Both are bridges to nowhere to be built over a yet to be dug channel. Which comes first? The chicken or the egg?

In addition, the screed bragged that the North Central Texas Council of Governments, led by Michael Morris and the Regional Transportation Commission chaired by Jungus Jordan, was able to secure an additional $15 million through “another Federal source.”

When it comes to picking Federal pockets, these three deft-fingered artists make Dickens’ Artful Dodger look like a ham-handed bumbling amateur. After the bridges are built, will they then find another obscure Federal pocket to pick in order to dig the ditch underneath the bridges to nowhere?

Step by stealthy step the beat goes on. Now comes to light another soft-shoe step made under cover of darkness – $970,000 of local taxpayer money has been spent by J.D. Granger, executive director of the Trinity River Vision, on a sweetheart deal with a restaurateur to build a hamburger eatery called The Woodshed on the north bank of the Clear Fork near Colonial Country Club. What has this surreptitious money laundering to do with flood control and water supply, the primary duties of the Tarrant Regional Water District?

Looks like the taxpayers have been taken to the woodshed. Again. Saints preserve us!

Don Woodard, 

Fort Worth

Tired of Turkey yet?

THE People are.

Thanks to the Fort Worth Weekly for looking out for THE People.

Last month, the Trinity River Improvement Partnership (TRIP) sponsored a forum at the Fort Worth Botanic Garden to discuss the merits of the Trinity River Vision project. (You know, that project that’s going to cost $900 million to prevent flooding even though the last big flood around these parts was back around 19-and-49.) TRV Executive Director J.D. Granger promised to show up for the panel discussion and take questions from the crowd weeks in advance, but he cancelled at the last minute. The crowd booed heartily at the mere mention of his name. “He’s a gutless wonder,” shouted one.

He might lack guts, but he’s got gall. The latest issue of the TRV’s quarterly newspaper includes an article entitled “Need a Speaker?” The TRV promises to provide one to any group free of charge for a 40-minute narration. Unless of course they hear that the crowd might include people who want to question flood control disguised as economic development or question the no-bid sweetheart deal the TRV gave local chef Tim Love for his Woodshed restaurant on the Trinity River or question the … well, you get the idea.

Class Act

Kudos to TRIP for putting on another stellar event.  In spite of an 'unnamed troublemaker' trying to get their event derailed for the past week, despite the City of Fort Worth backing out and JD Granger being a no show, this group still managed to pull off a very classy, educational evening.  The Society of Professional Journalists asked the citizen's questions and there was no yelling or name calling, unless you count Jim Lane referring to Clyde Picht as colonel.

It was impressive Jim Lane attended when his cohorts backed out.  John Basham shared information on Texas water that all citizens should hear and Steve Hollern was top notch as well.

You can read Durango's review of the TRV Forum here.

Lone Star salutes TRIP, SPJFW and all the 125 plus citizens that attended.  Keep on keeping on!