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A D V E R T I S E M E N T
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A D V E R T I S E M E N T
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No-Fear Factor
Static nearly swallowed its bubblegum when Tarrant County’s staid commissioners agreed to let MTV film a documentary inside the county jail. As Ozzy might say on The Osbournes, “Something smells #$!*%# fishy around here.” Sheriff Dee Anderson said the documentary, called Inside, will follow first-time offenders through arrest, prosecution, and incarceration and should discourage young people from looking at jail as a cool rite of passage. “It was what sold me on the project,” he said.
So a television station that has championed sex, drugs, rock ’n’ roll, rebellion, and obscenity for 20 years (God bless ’em) is interested in teaching youngsters to be good? Hmmm. The production company handling the show is responsible for such brain-eating pap as Big Brother and Fear Factor.
Static asked several county jail inmates whether they thought Inside would help keep kids out of jail. If their comments are a preview, MTV is in trouble. “Hell, we got cable tv here,” one inmate said. Another said, “You’re not going to be able to run to the 7-Eleven, but it ain’t that bad.”
Yep, that’ll scare ’em straight. MTV agreed to let the sheriff have some editorial control, but if the early takes are boring, look for the producers to start sensationalizing — and stepping on the sheriff’s toes. That could be the most interesting part.
More Stinky Garbage
A traditional garbage dump it ain’t — but it’s too damn close for some angry East Siders who kicked off a petition drive this past weekend to try to halt the city’s plan to locate a large “garbage drop-off station” at 6500 Bridge St., near a Luby’s Cafeteria and a dental office.
The station, one of four citywide, will be equipped with jumbo dumpsters where citizens can take excess garbage and bulky items like old tires and couches. Luby’s and other businesses along the developing Bridge Street corridor have threatened to move if the dump’s put there, said White Lake Hills Neighborhood Association president Peggy Terrell, who helped organize the petition drive. “Who wants a smelly dump next to their business?” The location was chosen, Terrell said, by city staff, but with input from Becky Haskin. The Eastside councilwoman may soon find herself in California Gov. Gray Davis’ company.
There are rumblings that Haskin’s recall could be the goal of citizens’ next petition drive. “Becky’s been totally unresponsive to us,” Terrell said. From the expensive and fancy Oakland and Beach street bridge railings (which still aren’t in place) to the garbage dump, Terrell said, “The movement to recall Becky is accelerating.” Haskin did not return Static’s call for comment.
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