Screwed at the Pump
Editor’s note: Village Voice staffer Pete Kotz, who wrote our July 18 cover story (“Robber Barons at the Pump”), passed along this letter:
To the editor: As a former New Yorker, I sure miss the frankness of the Voice. Here we have a little paper called the Fort Worth Weekly, which is the only publication to print ballsy articles like yours. We have a governor who doesn’t believe in global warming and a lieutenant governor running for senator who, if elected, will do more damage than that Phil Gramm.
Until I wrote to Gramm, I’d never received a nasty reply from any elected official.
So are we going to start a movement to repeal Gramm’s legislation before we’re totally screwed, blued, and tattooed? Put me down for support and keep up the good work!
Tom Malatino
Granbury
Foiled by Fees
To the editor: Your story about Will Rogers Memorial Center rip-off parking fees is spot on (“Insult to Injury,” July 3, 2012). I went to the food truck festival there and did not stop due to parking fees. Very few people were there.
Thanks, Fort Worth and Standard Parking, for killing small businesses.
Chuck Noteboom
Hurst
Not-So-Lofty Ideas
To the editor: As a fairly new resident of the Oakhurst neighborhood, I read with great interest the article “Revival in Riverside” (July 3, 2012). I hope this area of Fort Worth will experience a resurgence and influx of new businesses and residents, along with responsible and sensitive development in years to come. Fuzzy’s Tacos and Mamma Mia’s are unquestionably assets to this neighborhood.
I think the nearby and newly leasing Race Street Lofts, mentioned briefly in the article, could be another asset. At least I thought this until my niece checked into renting an apartment in this attractive, trendy community.
The Lofts are nicely designed and situated in the middle of what could be a great revitalization. Because of its location, this development will have a significant impact in setting the tone for the evolution of the Race Street “urban village.” But we discovered that she does not qualify to live in this development — she makes too much money as a single person.
She was told that Race Street Lofts will be entirely an income-restricted community. She couldn’t even live there if she paid a higher rent in order to match her salary. If she were a single mother with five kids and a part-time job, she might qualify. There are no clues on Race Street Loft’s website about these restrictions, nor any mention of them in the article.
Unquestionably those with modest incomes need to have opportunities to live in developments close to the city’s center. But to have an anchor residential community entirely restricted to low-income families in a neighborhood that is arguably already over-represented by residential rental properties does nothing to put Race Street “on track to become an arts district reminiscent of Magnolia Avenue’s funky but family-friendly vibe,” as the article noted.
Maybe some people do not want Race Street to be anything like Magnolia Avenue. Race Street Lofts, in my opinion, will definitely help prevent that from happening.
Will Higgins
Fort Worth
Resurrecting the Enmity
To the editor: With their collaborative story “Black, Brown, and Seeing Red” (May 23, 2012), top journalists Jeff Prince, Betty Brink, and Andrew McLemore provided a must-read edition of the Weekly.
John Wiley Price is synonymous with Dallas, and when he dubbed our beloved Fort Worth “the Aunt Jemima capital of the world,” someone should have stuck an apple in his mouth. It shows how easy it would be to resurrect the enmity between Dallas and Fort Worth, with politicians leading the charge.
Ethel Miller
Fort Worth
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