To the editor: As I gaze from my sixth-floor window and watch automobiles zipping east and west, north and south, free as the breeze, I see freedom in motion. Fort Worth is a city on the go, where its people are as free as high-flying birds to go where they want, when they want in their cars or rubber-tired buses without standing on the corner in all kinds of weather waiting for an old-fashioned, new-fangled, married-to-the-rails streetcar whose principal rider is Debt. Want to go somewhere? Get a car. Or a bus. Or a cab. Or a bike. You have a choice.
How can streetcar advocates be so dead certain that ridership would materialize (“Derailed,” page 10)? When the pink elephants glide embarrassingly by with few if any riders, who but the beleaguered, put-upon taxpayer would be holding the bag?
On Dec. 7, 2010, the city council was faced with a Solomonic decision. It gave back a $25 million federal grant — money originally borrowed from the Chinese, to be sure — that would have primed the pump on an $88 million start-up streetcar line. Profiles in courage! Spend-spend-spend streetcar proponents were dejected, not to say livid.
When they voted five to three that night to return the $25 million to our hemorrhaging national treasury, councilmen Carter Burdette of District 7, Jungus Jordan of District 6, Danny Scarth of District 4, “Zim” Zimmerman of District 3, and Mayor Mike Moncrief, consciously or not, answered the clarion call to patriotism. They showed what their city could and would do for their country.
Don Woodard
Fort Worth
All for the Dogs
To the editor: The article by Eric Griffey on Nov. 17 (“A No-Kill Option”) is just another indictment against the city for its lackadaisical attitude and lack of attention and compassion for our four-legged friends.
Accolades to Suzette Watkins, who is in the vanguard of the movement seeking to implement a no-kill policy that would ensure that adoptable pets have a chance to find placement in homes rather than being euthanized.
Credit should also be given to PetSmart for its superlative efforts in finding homes for these animals.
Watkins’ statement that it would take a “changing of the guard” to implement a no-kill policy for animals that could be medically rehabilitated or retrained is profound. The city should include the no-kill program simply because it isn’t in league with profligate spending, and it would benefit animals and their prospective new “parents.”
So much is spent on helping folks with food, housing, and medical problems at taxpayers’ expense — couldn’t the city include animals in need too?
Delores Russel
Fort Worth
To the editor: The Weekly’s Metro story by Eric Griffey, “Mimi and the Man,” (Dec. 8, 2010) is a true love story and illustrates the bond a person can have with man’s best friend, even in times of adversity.
Steven Woods’ saga and his determination to get justice for his dog Mimi are compelling. He found out that animal lovers would come to the rescue with his crusade to retrieve from the pound his beloved dog, which had been accused of biting someone.
The public rose to the challenge, and since all turned out well, there are hundreds of folks to thank, including those who made donations, an attorney for his contribution of pro bono representation, and the Metroplex Animal Coalition, whose efforts were spearheaded by Jonnie England.
Also a thank-you is needed to Mr. Woods for his sacrifice and duty to our country. Poor Mimi was nearly a sacrifice as well, but now you’re together again, and all has turned out in your favor.
Darlene Taylor
Fort Worth
Correction:
The Dec. 8 story “Mimi and the Man” incorrectly identified the organization that created the “Save Mimi” t-shirts. They were not done by the Metroplex Animal Coalition. Fort Worth Weekly regrets the error.
