Law of Domain

See Sal Espino's response to a Northeast Tarrant Tea Party questionnaire concerning eminent domain.

Bet those 90 businesses and property owners in the path of Trinity River Vision are glad to hear about the law...too bad the Tarrant Regional Water District is above the law.  WHY is that? 

ASK your "leaders".

Heck, even ask Sal.

Which of the following items are acceptable uses of the power of eminent domain by the city?

___Economic development
___Transportation projects
___Blight
___Community projects
___Other

I strongly support private property rights. Eminent domain is dictated by state and federal law. Our U.S. Constitution in the 5th Amendment has the following language: “…nor shall private property be taken for public use, without just compensation…” Eminent domain under state and federal law can be used to address infrastructure whether it be road, water, sewer, etc. It does include right of way acquisition through eminent domain for transportation projects. Under state law, one CANNOT use eminent domain for economic development. It is allowed for urban blight and parks. Obviously, if a property is substandard and there is a threat to the public health, safety, or welfare of the public, the governmental entity after due process to the property owner , can demolish the structure. In conclusion, I favor following federal and state law on eminent domain.

Read More

Fort Worth ISD Interests

Yesterday we told you we hoped the kids in Keller grew up to be a trustee on the FWISD board.  Today, the Fort Worth Weekly tells you WHY we need them. 

Read it all here.

WHO's watching out for YOUR kids?

A small storm has broken out in the Fort Worth school district over nearly identical letters sent by two school board trustees to the Texas House Energy Resources Committee regarding a bill that would put gas wells farther away from local school kids. Oh, and both trustees took ’em back, after word spread of what the letters said.

... from Fort Worth trustees Tobi Jackson and Judy Needham.

Both letters, in their next paragraphs, noted that “The FWISD has already executed many leases that would be negatively impacted by HB1556. In several cases this proposal would make the production of leased minerals physically impossible to produce, thus stranding not only our own minerals but also our neighbors’, resulting in lost tax revenue that is desperately needed right now.”

The similar wording of the letters and the timing of the backpedaling are, um, interesting coincidences to ponder. But the real question is, what do the letters reveal about how much school trustees are really thinking about the safety of students when they make gas well decisions?

Read More

Kudos to Keller

The kids in Keller, that is.

Yesterday 500 of them spoke out about canning their teachers. Several held signs that said, "Save our teachers, save our future".  Some walked four miles to be heard.  That's more than some adults will ever do.  Bravo, Keller kids, bravo.

Maybe the kids in Keller will grow up to become the next Governor, or Fort Worth school board trustee.  One can only hope.

Read about the Keller kids, in the Keller Citizen and what the FWISD Trustees are mixed up in this time in the Fort Worth Star-Telegram. 

The day before the House Energy Resources Committee held a hearing on the bill, a Facebook posting by local attorney Jason Smith, who testified in favor of the bill, said an energy company lobbyist was "bragging" that he had letters in his pocket from some Fort Worth school trustees who opposed the bill.

The e-mails show that Jackson and Needham provided written testimony March 15 that opposed Burnam's bill, which is endorsed by the Texas Association of School Boards. Jackson and Needham rescinded their testimony hours after the Facebook posting by Smith.

Read More

Your Invitation!

TRIP invites you to join us for a viewing of the locally made film “Up a Creek” exploring various impacts of the Trinity River Vision project.

Citizens Who Care will present the
Alternative Trinity River Vision plan after the film.

WHEN:
Wednesday April 13th, 2011

6:30 – 8:00 p.m.

WHERE:

Elks Lodge
3233 White Settlement Road
Fort Worth

This is an important viewing that will enlighten neighborhood leaders, political candidates, and every taxpayer.

If you pay Federal taxes, Tarrant County taxes, Fort Worth taxes or
Tarrant Regional Water District taxes – YOU need to see this film!

TRIP is a non-partisan, non-profit organization which advocates cleaning the river and supporting development that doesn’t despoil the natural aesthetics and historic nature of the river.

Visit TRIP at:http://savethetrinityriver.org/
RSVP to: jspivey@savethetrinityriver.org

Read More

Truth Hurts...

Betty Fay is back!  How we have missed her! 

Read her latest in the Fort Worth Star-Telegram today. 

Our Texas?
Texas, our Texas,

Where:
Ignorance is respected,
education neglected
and the uninformed elected,
leaving children unprotected .

-- Betty W. Fay, Fort Worth

Read More

"Texas math" and water

Incoming from Parker County...Alpha Particles in YOUR water.  The map above shows the water source, which is now surrounded by gas drilling.  (Multiple wells per red dot).

People come here daily searching Parker County water.  That should be the first sign.  The second is when the agency supposed to be regulating it uses "Texas Math" to determine the danger.

Several Parker County residents received the TCEQ form letter this week telling them their water contains radiation.  They say it's not dangerous.  If the math is fuzzy, and with their history, do YOU believe them? 

By the way, those mailers don't go to everyone. At the bottom of the TCEQ form letter it states -

"Please share this information with all the other people who drink this water, especially those who may not have received this notice directly (for example, people in apartments, nursing homes, schools and businesses).

Feel better?

KHOU did a story on this last year.  

KHOU: “Do you think the ‘Average Joe’ knows there's radiation in the water?”
GOODALL: “Well I can't speak for the ‘Average Joe’ but I know that we sent out mailers.”

Texas officials charged with protecting the environment and public health have for years made arbitrary subtractions to the measured levels of radiation delivered by water utilities across the state, according to a series of investigative reports out of Houston.

Those subtractions, based on the test results' margin of error, made all the difference for the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ): without the reduction, demonstrated levels of dangerous radiation would have been in excess of federal limits for years.

This was being done in direct contravention of an order by the US Environmental Protection Agency, which told state regulators in 2000 to stop subtracting the margin of error.

Wonder what the margin of error is in Parker County water?

Read More

Priorities

We've noticed that recently, on the "news", it's the same story in city after city.

Each city has had to cut services to the citizens, cutting jobs, closing pools, shortening library hours, cutting teachers in the school districts, no funding for infrastructure or police, fire, etc.

However, several of these cities (all?) want to raise taxes, or obligate the taxpayers to pay for new development. What is wrong with this picture? Did their parents not teach them any better?  You don't spend money you don't have on things you don't need.  Even if it's someone else's.

Then, last night on WFAA, we heard some in Dallas say they should give the earmark Trinity River bridge money back.  That's the best thing we've heard since Don Woodard said the same about the Trinity River Vision earmark money in Fort Worth, he said it might encourage every city across America to do the same.  That man may just be on to something.

What's downstream of the Fort Worth Trinity River Vision earmark?  Oh, the Dallas Trinity River bridge earmark...

What would not change is the $92 million in federal earmarks to pay for the remaining arches — and for anything else beyond the cost of a basic bridge over the Trinity.

Suhm said Dallas still deserves the earmarks.

But with the Washington debate about debt and cutting spending, Phillip Dennis — who is on the steering committee for the Dallas Tea Party — said earmarks for a designer bridge can't be justified.

In a written statement to News 8 on Tuesday, Hutchison wouldn’t say whether the earmark is still appropriate or should still be spent — only that the federal share “has been met.”

The Tea Party's Dennis accused Sessions of talking out of both sides of his mouth on the earmarks issue. “If he's against them now, then he should be against this $92 million," Dennis said. "Let's use it toward paying off our record $1.65 trillion deficit this year.”

Read More