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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 More Partying on the River
To the editor: Elizabeth Bassett’s article “Rollin’ on the River” (Aug. 23, 2006) hit a home run with the public, which is being swindled and short-changed by the stewards of the Tarrant Regional Water District.
A river of fraud, profligate spending, inept hierarchy, and circumvention of the law and standards ought to be the blueprint for the termination of Jim Oliver. He should be required to reimburse the expenditures he submitted to the water board if he cannot account legitimately for whom he wined and dined. The party is over!
Accolades to attorney Jim Lane, former councilman and a sitting board member of the TRWD, for positioning himself to bring the deceitful practices at the water district to a halt.
As Clyde Picht said in the story, “If it had not been for the Trinity River Vision, the water district would probably still be in the shadows, escaping examination by either the press or its own board members.”
Thank you, Weekly, for your comprehensive watchdog article.
Teresa Johnson
Fort Worth
Equal Injustice
To the editor: There are a lot of reports of foreign-born nationals who claim they are being harassed unjustly by various law enforcement agencies (“Decision: Deported,” Aug. 23, 2006). Don’t these unfortunates ever read the papers? American-born citizens are arrested daily for little or no reason. I write from painful experience: I’ve lost count of friends and acquaintances who’ve been run through the system, sometimes roughed up and jailed over Class C misdemeanors, if there even was an offense.
All I can say is, if it’s good enough for Americans, it’s good enough for foreigners.
Howard R Music
Denton
Substance or
Sensationalism
To the editor: According to Ms. Brink’s seriously skewed logic (as further supported by Mr. Picht’s bizarre, holier-than-thou comments) as to the absurd limits of due diligence they would have us impose upon our local elected officials, I suppose we should ask them to fill out an exhaustive checklist wherein they include the names of their insurance agent, accountant, banker, stockbroker, physician, cell phone/cable providers, lawn and pool maintenance company, etc., in order that we might insure that none of their immediate family (blood relatives, as well as kin by any former marriages, etc.) be allowed to profit in the slightest, however peripheral their involvement may be, from any business arrangement whereby any dealings with the city might come to pass.
Then there’s also this thing about Mr. Mallick and the people he happens to do business with — would Ms. Brink and Mr. Picht have him reveal in advance what surveyor, appraiser, attorney, architectural and/or engineering firm, lender, subcontractors, etc. he might choose to work with in connection with his project in order to further avoid any alleged ill-gotten profiteering by anyone else who might be related, albeit however remotely, to any and all city officials with whom he might come into contact during the tenure of his involvement with this city-assisted development project of his?
Let’s try and maintain some perspective here, folks. Ms. Brink’s article was nothing more than sheer, unadulterated, self-aggrandizing sensationalism where nothing of any real substance exists.
Bill Jackson
Commercial Mortgage Connexion
Fort Worth
Editor’s note: Those quoted in the referenced story did not question the propriety of awarding any contract, but rather Mayor Mike Moncrief’s failure to abstain from voting on a contract involving a close family member.
Big Bucks and
Bad Air
To the editor: Gov. Rick Perry continues to prove he does not care about the well-being of Texas — not just its citizens, but the state itself. He has fast-tracked permits for 17 new coal-fired power plants (Static, April 12, 2006) to be built in North and Central Texas. These plants are worse for the environment than an additional 20 million cars would be. In addition to the decrease in air quality and increase in smog, more than two tons of mercury would be deposited into the soil.
Just why is Rick Perry allowing such a deal to go through? It’s because energy companies that would benefit from it have given him more than $37,000 in campaign contributions. Apparently the only way you can get Rick Perry to listen to your concerns is to give him a little something. It also appears that he has taken a tactic from the oil companies’ playbook: Even though the price of natural gas has decreased significantly in the past six months, Perry has brokered a deal with TXU to let them charge the same rates as before.
The only candidate with proven results that can prevent dealings such as these is Chris Bell. He can ensure that such despicable, selfish dealings in the governor’s mansion do not take place. The campaigns run by Strayhorn and Friedman indicate that they are either indecisive or incompetent, leaving us with Chris Bell, who showed nothing but progress during his term in the U.S. House of Representatives.
Nick De Cesare
Denton
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