My neighbor and friend of West and Clear Mike Lee reported in the Star-Telegram this week that the city delayed its decision on transportation impact fees. Quite naturally, developers don’t want to pay the fees and are lobbying hard to lower the price.

I think the city staff’s original proposal, which would have encouraged growth in areas that already have sufficient infrastructure, was an excellent plan. The proposed compromises, which would levy a much lower fee across the city, including areas that already have good roads (!?), would be an unfortunate example of the citizens’ best interest being ignored in favor of corporate developers.

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Most people have a love-hate relationship with their local paper — they love to hate it.

Consider this — the latest flashpoint in the culture wars between Dallas and Fort Worth has become, unbelievably, DaFoWoShow, the three minutes of snarkiness brought to you each Thursday by the Startlegram.

OK, that’s massive overstatement. However, there is a difference of opinion between the left and right sides of the Metromess on this’n. I am previously on record as saying I like it, which prompted one S-T editor who shall remain unnamed to say, “I’ve lost all respect for you. How could you think that was funny?”

Well, to paraphrase John Belushi, that’s your bad. You fucked up. You trusted me.

But this person wasn’t the only soul in the Fort with a low opinion. Anthony Mariani at FWWeekly also weighed in with his instant disapproval of the show’s “really lame jokes, or jokes for the blissfully suburban fortysomething-plus set, or for people who’ve only recently become acquainted with the concept of sarcasm.”

But a funny thing happens when you go east of Arlington and HEB where the S-T ain’t so local and there ain’t so much hate for Tarrant’s daily — the show got funnier as it went through the tubes of teh Internets. Maybe that’s why the Frontburner review is far more kind.

Former Startlegramer and current D Magaziner Eric Celeste called DaFoWo “more proof that the S-T gets it. … It’s not riotous, but it’s a clever and amusing webcast, and the use of random video clips is perfect, especially the [David Hasselhoff] vid in the second one we watched. Well done, folks. Should just get better with age.”

Take that D(a)MN! So, is DaFoWo too Dallas? Is it too not funny? Are some people in the Fort just wearing their underwear too tight? Whatcha think? [Read more]

Since I’m lazy by nature, I see no reason not to just link to the roundup of political events that the Star-Telegram has put together, instead of going to all that effort myself.

I will add this, though: Please take public transit. That’s the one thing that the roundup leaves out. They list plenty of parking options, but never mention that a whole bunch of perfectly good buses (in the case of the stockyards) and trains (the convention center gets both!) that go by these places that would love to see you on them. (You could also ride your bike, since both are on street bike trails and/or near the Trinity trails.)

Once upon a time, I used to love reading the Sunday paper. These days, not so much. Case in point, Sunday’s front page:

Another front page love letter to the Star-Telegram’s best friend, the Barnett Shale. It has a soft advertorial feel to it, like one of those fake newspapers they print up to use in made-to-order corporate videos. But it gets even better. Turn the page and you get this:

It’s a huge Chesapeake ad about how the Barnett Shale is a giant flu shot against recession for the local economy. The advertorial feel is complete. A huge coincidence? I don’t think so.
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This may not be of much interest to most people, but there aretwo interesting Star-Telegram-related items here.
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That’s what Yogi Berra said.

And I always said I thought the Star-Telegram would be a lot better if it were more like West and Clear, but then I opened up today’s Metro section and … COME ON!

If you don’t know what I am referring to, let me point you all the way back to last week’s roundup.

And don’t even get me started on Chris Kelly and the Lone Star International Film Festival story.

Oh, and then there’s this which started here.

Don’t get me wrong, it’s flattering and Fort Worth will, of course, be better for it … but let me explain how it works. You go do the original reporting, then we bloggers piggyback on your hard work. Not the other way around.

You’re making us work too hard. We want to go back to watching videos of monkeys smoking cigarettes on YouTube.

Help a brutha out, willya?

Nice story on the Lone Star Film Festival, but … uh, welcome to last month. Why the delay? Too busy plugging your book?

This week:

PeteW attended the Django Reinhardt festival at Arts Fifth Avenue Saturday night. Great time, and a really warm, enviting venue for arts events in the Fairmount/Ryan Place area.

Steve-O listened to the Fort Worth Symphony at Carnegie Hall this weekend. He thought it went off well, and so did both the Star-Telegram and the NY Times. (Quick correction: the new piece was a fresh arrangement of a 1999 composition.)

Kevin clues us in to a couple of new green developments (well, one green and one “green“) happening in Fort Worth.

“Ria!”

Flynn’s Irish Pub - A great place to stop for a cold Rahr beer. (No, neither of them is paying us to say that.)

 

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