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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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Yearning for ’Cue
To the editor: So on the mighty, mighty Chow’s recommendation, I went out to Deer Creek BBQ (Chow, Baby, Aug. 6, 2008) for lunch.
Is this one of those federal scams where the police lure fugitives to a location promising free tickets to something (or in this case, BBQ) and then bring the hammer down? (Note: This is a figurative example only. I am not a fugitive. Anymore.)
Because the place is gone — stone gone. Front door is open, but no tables, chairs, or any signs of occupancy. Heavily weird, CB. I’d love to know what happened. Attack from a Fort Worth-based group of militant vegetarian jihadists? Sudden annexation by Tarrant County College? Alien abduction?
Get your crack team of Fort Worth Weekly investigative sleuths on this one.
Jim Kerrigan
Fort Worth
Chow, Baby replies: Our crack investigative team figured it out: They moved. The Deer Creek gang’s new hideout is at the Ridgmar Farmer’s Market (900 Hwy. 183 N, just west of Ridgmar Mall). Look for lead sleuth Laurie Barker James’ full report and updated review, coming soon to an Eats page near you. Or go check the new digs yourself — uh, might want to call ahead: 817-246-0203.
Bike Nice, Now
To the editor: Regarding “A Radical Time To Be Alive” (July 30, 2008): I see more and more people riding bicycles, and not just for exercise (scooters, too). I see ordinary folks riding properly, on the correct side of the road, single file, observing the stop signs, dismounting at intersections and walking their bikes across divided streets rather than becoming a slow-moving target trying to pedal across. Yet our ubiquitous “serious” riders seem to cluster together, in their riding pants and helmets, endangering themselves by running stop signs and pedaling across divided roads — but guess who writes to the newspapers to complain about drivers who won’t share the road!
A recent event involved an elderly gentleman and a cyclist who was riding on the sidewalk, against the traffic. The bike rider became incensed that the driver did not see him coming and deliberately struck the man’s vehicle. Last I saw, the police officer was patiently explaining to the rider the error of his ways for about the third time.
Perhaps more riders will mean better riders, but I doubt it.
C. L. Douthitt
Hurst
Drastic Change
To the editor: I read Betty Brink’s TCC article (“TCC Money Machine,” July 23, 2008) while eating a burger at Tommy’s. Thanks to the Weekly for printing it and kudos to Betty for ringing the bell. While we’re dumbfounded by the actions of the TCC board (and especially the chancellor), considering the political climate that exists today, are we really surprised?
All over this country, powerful people are using wealth, connections, influence, and sometimes deceit to build narcissistic monuments to their inflated egos, more often than not at the public’s expense. Bush and Cheney’s war for Iraqi oil is the best example. In Alaska, Republican U.S. Sen. Ted Stevens’ “bridge to nowhere” is another.
Ditto for U.S. Rep. Kay Granger’s Trinity River Vision project, represented publicly as a flood-control project, but for which the water board hand-picked her own son (J.D. Granger) as its administrator “because he knew the most about the project.” Although the U.S. Corps of Engineers admitted that alternatives were available for as little as $10 million, tens of millions have already been spent in planning, studies, preparation, and land acquisition for a project that may cost us 50 times more — all done far in advance of actually securing the federal dollars necessary for completion. Meanwhile a Fort Worth Star-Telegram business writer trumpets that unsecured spending as a strength for the project.
Look southeastward to Ellis County — remember the vaunted Superconducting Super Collider project? Again, who benefits? Consider Jerry Jones’ new Taj Mahal stadium in Arlington, an “economic development for private gain” monstrosity that diverts money for Arlington streets and infrastructure into another pretty venue. For whom, the wealthy? How many of us middle-class Joes can afford that $16,000 seat license?
How about Gov. Rick Perry and the Republican-led legislature diverting money specifically earmarked for development and maintenance of state parks into the general fund, whence economic development money also flows? They did it for years while carping about “no new taxes”! Apparently the wealthy don’t go camping in state parks much. The gasoline taxes everyone pays are supposed to be used to build and maintain Texas roads, but highways already built with those taxes are being sold to investors and turned into toll roads, and more are planned.
Haven’t we suffered long enough from irresponsible and self-serving activity that passes itself off as leadership? Aren’t you fed up? Isn’t it time for a drastic change?
Robert Moore
Fort Worth
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