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Dave Capps
James Northrup
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2/16/09 But, the ODB and
their puppets want her looking elsewhere.
Angela Hunt is not perfect, but she is perfectly
right to keep her eye on the Trinity River Project and all the shenanigans being
acted out by local politicians.
I've always heard "history repeats itself", but it's supposed to happen over
long periods, not a couple of years. It's been fun the past few weeks to
watch the poor folks up in Dekalb County, Georgia endure their edition of the
Terrell Bolton nightmare. TB pretty much has mirrored his evil Dallas
ways.
A bigger and much more dangerous repetition of recent history is the headlong
rush by local politicians and our City Manager to put Dallas in the same
precarious position as pre-Katrina New Orleans. What Our Downtown Betters
(the ODB) have planned for the Trinity River corridor is outlandish and bizarre,
even by pre-Katrina New Orleans standards.
Only a few years ago, the Corps of Engineers was usually the best friend of the
most ambitious politicians and developers. The Corps' basic philosophy
used to be "tell us what you want, and we will make nature behave the way you
want". They let towns along the Missouri and Mississippi build too close
to the rivers. They let local governments try to channel and alter those
rivers. They under-built and under-maintained levees. The
predictable disasters happened and continue to happen to those foolhardy
communities who abandoned common sense for tax revenue.
Even before Katrina, the Corps had become a more cautious and respectful of the
power of nature over man-made challenges. |
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2/17/8 Darryl Baker
Better late than
never! We tried to tell them better, but would they listen?
As I've
stated before, no engineer worth his/her
salt would sign off on a project like the Trinity Tollway and
expect to keep their license. The consultants cannot produce
enough smoke and mirrors or milk enough snake oil to sell such
an ill-conceived project as this one. How voters were convinced
this would work is a mystery to me.
Why would a project of
such REGIONAL proportions be the financial responsibility of
only the City of Dallas? Even though
the margin was 51/49%, this should have been structured as a
County or multi-county project, not as a Dallas project. You
can't build a house (or a toll road)
on sinking sand!
Post-Katrina, and in an
economic downturn, even engineers want to keep their good names
and their licenses, despite what politicians and other elected
officials may have to say! The laws of science and nature still
prevail and have proven us right!
It is a BAD IDEA to build
roads inside a floodway!
If the vote were held
today, people would question the competency of a tollway
board who continues to pay $26,000
monthly salary to a director who
decided to leave. Is that showing good and capable stewardship
of the public's money or trust? I don't think so! No wonder
the tollway authority is running a deficit ...
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When we fought the Trinity Project in 1998, Gene Rice was gung-ho to deliver the
goods for the ODB. Now, he's annoying Craig Holcomb, who has done his own
metamorphis from community person to ODB water boy.
Gene
Rice,
Trinity
River
project
manager for
the corps'
Fort Worth
district
office, said
much has
changed
about the
area's
topography
since the
levees were
designed
decades ago.
Upstream, he
said, nearly
all of the
ground is
paved,
meaning more
water runs
into the
river during
a heavy
rain.
"The same
rain will
leave the
water at a
higher level
than 50
years ago,"
Rice said.
"And
downstream,
with more
trees and
vegetation,
the water
takes longer
to flow
through,
creating a
back up."
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Lindenberger's story is a
shocker in itself, considering that it's in the
Dallas Managed News.
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For those of us who
have been watching the Trinity River Project for over a decade now, Gene
Rice's comments have us watching the skies for flying pigs. |
Several weeks ago, Donna Blumer
and I attended the memorial service for the late Ned Fritz. There may have
been 2 other Republicans there, but I didn't recognize them. The majority
in attendance were aging hippies and Democrats. It was interesting to note
who wasn't there. I will not name the no-shows, but they should have been
there. In his last few years, old age took Ned's voice from us, but he had
already given us all the arguments and information we needed to make our case
for letting the Trinity River be a river. Unfortunately, Stupid Dallas
Voters can't be bothered with facts or logic.
Angela Hunt may be using the Trinity River Project for her own political agenda.
I don't think she is, but who cares? If her political ambitions are
boosted by her keeping the spotlight on the rush to danger by the TR
project-pushers, so what? No one is claiming that she's being
dishonest. I doubt I would support her for higher office because she's a
liberal Democrat, and I don't swing that way. I certainly support her as a
member of the Dallas City Council.
Angela Hunt is going up against the big guys of both parties in her fight
against the Trinity River Project. She's been consistent. That's a
rare commodity in politicians anymore.
On this city council, going along to get along is the norm. Even a
maverick like Councilman Mitch Rasansky went to the dark side on the Trinity
River Project. Fat lot of good it did him or his district! Had
Councilman Rasansky stayed consistent with his past position on the Trinity
River Project and opposed the toll road in the Trinity River floodway, District
13 would have gone against it by a higher margin. The ODB played him for a
sucker. Since delivering District 13 for the Trinity River Project (and
winning the election for the Mayor and the ODB), the Mayor has kicked Councilman
Rasansky off his yes man team. Angela Hunt was never on it.
This Republican appreciates consistency in a politician. Angela Hunt may
be liberal, but she's never wavered on the Trinity River Project. Her
objections are valid and not just based on her tree-hugging inclinations.
Believe it or not, I'm a tree hugger myself. I don't want a tree cut
anywhere. I certainly don't want the Great Hardwood Forest in the Trinity
River floodplain dissected or thinned by even one tree. The Trinity River
Project would rape that forest.
Angela Hunt has kept the light on the real life dangers of the ODB's plans for
the Trinity River Corridor. Dallas is so much larger than New Orleans,
with so many people and industry. The loss of life and economic disaster from a
failure of the Trinity River levees would dwarf the results of Katrina.
Our levees are aged and built for another time, as Gene Rice says. They
were adequate when originally built, but over-development in North Texas has
changed everything.
I'm really excited about Ann Margolin representing District 13 on the city
council. She's just as smart as Angela, and has the same common sense
approach to her decision making. Happily for this Republican, Ann Margolin
is a fiscal conservative who votes like me.
There's a reason why the ODB put up a guy to run against Ann Margolin.
They are afraid of her. They can't demonize Ann as some East Dallas
liberal. She has experience on several important city boards and
commissions. Her opponent hasn't bothered to vote in a city election.
So, hang in there Angela. Help is on the way.
sb
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