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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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A Platonic — and Profitable — Relationship
To the editor: Dan McGraw wrote a good column (“What Now, Cowtown?” March 28, 2007) with a message worth spreading. Civic organizations and politicians from our city spend way too much time Dallas-bashing. Many Fort Worth residents, myself included, once lived in Dallas, and many of us still do business there. We know why we live here. Lay off them. Don’t make them mad. We need their money.
Some area leaders — Lee Jackson, top dog at the University of North Texas, comes to mind — actually get the “regional thing.” That is, we are all part of this big economic engine called the Metroplex. Or North Central Texas. Or the DFW area. The name is not important, but the fact is that we are interdependent in many more ways than we are different. If you are like me, on the way to a single meeting, you can cross eight city boundaries, enter and exit 10 school districts, and dip into three counties, never leaving this big neighborhood. We need each other, even if we don’t want to sleep together.
John Pouland
Former Dallas lawyer,
Current Fort Worth resident
No Time Left
To the editor: The time for talking about global warming (“Hot in the Neighborhood,” Jan. 31, 2007) is over. Vice President Al Gore has unveiled an ambitious plan to begin the real work of finding solutions for our ailing planet.
Responsible lawmakers must embrace the solutions laid out in Gore’s plan. Nothing less than the future of our children and our planet is at stake.
Sharon L. Stevenson
Dallas
Frontier, Roll On
To the editor: I enjoyed reading Anthony Mariani’s article “Mob Rules” (March 21, 2007). I’m glad he enjoyed the Fort Worth showcase at Darwin’s Pub. One error I noticed was the listing of The Frontier Brothers as an Austin band. While it is true that two of their members now reside in Austin (and one in New York), all three were born and raised in Fort Worth.
Hopefully, Holy Moly, The Frontier Brothers, Stella Rose, and Calhoun have successful futures ahead, after their great show in Austin!
Aaron Moses
Fort Worth
We Hear the Drums
for Fernando
To the editor: Thank you for writing such a complimentary and thorough article on my father, Fernando Costa (“Shaping a Future for the Fort,” March 7, 2007). As a former journalism student, I have always appreciated Fort Worth Weekly as a publication based on serious, investigative journalism that did not try to appease public figures. When I first heard that he was going to be the subject of a feature story, I was a little wary of the slant that would be spun. To my surprise, your article was simply a comprehensive, articulate piece on a relevant issue to Fort Worth and on a person whose passion it is to make the city better.
I can tell you that my father truly does love Fort Worth. He has had many opportunities to move on to glitzier and trendier cities, but as you mentioned, he sees the long-term interests of a city full of genuine people with real culture and class.
Most people do not get to see the difference they have made and to realize the people they have touched. As you probably noticed, my father is a very humble person who would never have asked for any of this, but your article is really a highlight to his career.
I am sure very few people would consider Fernando Costa to be a “typical Texan,” but judging from your feature, it seems that the city has really accepted him as one of their own.
Margaret Costa
Columbia, Mo.
Wrapped in the Robes
To the editor: Once again, Fort Worth Weekly’s top-notch journalist Jeff Prince has turned his focus toward the legal system (“Justice’s Low Tire,” March 21, 2007) in our own Fort Worth.
Most judges, it seems, use the power of their robes to become self-serving “godfathers” in the system. Patronage is seen as a requisite to maintaining their status quo, at the expense of the taxpayer.
Keeping qualified attorneys off the “wheel” does not serve the indigent defendants simply because judges want to maintain a high conviction record. The unfortunate indigent defendants end up with lesser qualified attorneys who do nothing more than get plea bargains to keep in good standing with the judges. That’s blatant discrimination, and the Texas Legislature might serve the public better if its members paid attention to these practices and lent a “helping hand” to this Tarrant County judiciary system and legislate the judges out.
Dee Taylor
Fort Worth
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