On a local radio station today they named fallen soldiers from the metroplex. Their reading of the names is chilling. We are sure it is more so to the families of those lost. Hopefully it will remind some to pause and give thanks for all those things we take for granted. They ended the reading with, "Home of the free, courtesy of the brave". We agree and are very thankful to all serving, have served, and the families that have supported them while they did so.
UPDATED: 1/6/09--New info about the infamous map
UPDATED: 1/5/09--New input from a reliable source I will refer to as Deep Throat
That's a map on the left. Some call it an infamous map. Why, you ask? Well, that map was found at what is known as the Thomas well site. The Thomas well site is the Chesapeake Energy drill site that has stirred so much controversy due to it being next to Tandy Hills Park. And being part of the Tandy Hills.
So, why is this map infamous, you continue to ask? Well, the map belonged to and was made by Dunaway Associates. That's a consulting firm.
Big deal, you're thinking. Well, Jim Dunaway was one of the developers on the first Gas Drilling Task Force. The Task Force makes decisions regarding drilling. The company Jim Dunaway's father founded and ran for years is directly involved in the destruction of land next to Tandy Hills Natural Area. Dunaway work trucks have been photographed at the Thomas/Tandy Hills drilling site.
The infamous Thomas well site map gets most of its infamy due to the fact that, despite Chesapeake Energy applying for and getting approval for a single gas well permit at this particular site, the map clearly shows more than one gas well.
Task Force member, Gary Hogan, reports that Dunaway did not participate much in the first Task Force. Dunaway was replaced, early on, by Walsh Ranch representative, Rob Green. He being another pro-driller. Dunaway has extensive connections at city hall. Regardless of the amount of time Dunaway spent on the Task Force, this still was a fox in the chicken coop situation, with Dunaway later profitting from drilling operations he was, earlier, part of overseeing.
To help set government policy for some business activity from which you profit is generally thought of as a conflict of interest. This is usually frowned upon, sometimes to such a degree that those participating in such dubious deeds end up doing jail time and paying large fines.
Jim Dunaway is also a contributor to Mike Moncrief's election campaigns.
A reliable, anonymous source, I will call Deep Throat, had this to say about Jim Dunaway, "I'll quickly note, not for attribution, but for your info, that whenever I see Jim Dunaway associated with something I already know it's wrong and probably evil. He is a lowlife SOB that has not an inkling or care about the world we live in. Other than that, he is probably a fine person."
For some unfathomable reason, Mike Moncrief continues to avoid being charged with serious conflicts of interests, while Moncrief and his wife have substantial holdings in most of the gas drillers operating in Fort Worth. In other words, Moncrief profits from the operations he is part of regulating.
And in yet one more example of a conflict of interest, this morning I learned that Lead Gas Drilling Inspector, David Lunsford, now works for a pipeline company. Lunsford has been quoted as saying he rarely received complaints. Lunsford was known to dismiss gas drilling concerns out of hand. One can not help but wonder how much effort Lunsford put into protecting the public, when he had a cushy pipeline job waiting for him.
And then we have Don Behrens. Hired by the City of Fort Worth to consult and offer advice to the city and the Gas Drilling Task Force on sound mitigation. He is now selling products to Barnett Shale drillers. At one point Behrens had a monopoly on sound mitigation blankets. Behrens had a direct influence on the sound mitigation rules specified in the city's sound mitigation ordinance. Behrens misrepresented his Los Angeles drilling experience to the FW City Council and the Task Force.
Why are these type conflict of interests allowed in Fort Worth? I don't know. It's like there is no oversight.
I can't imagine the same type thing happening in Seattle. If the mayor had a vested interest in Starbucks he knows he would have to recuse himself from having any part in approving or disapproving some request from Starbucks. That's only common sense. Except in Fort Worth, where an entirely different set of rules apply to how things get done.
"We need the participation of our region's suburban cities to muster the resources we need to achieve success," said the letter from Mayors Ken Shetter of Burleson and Oscar Trevino of North Richland Hills. Shetter is coalition chairman and Trevino, a former chairman, is on the executive committee.
In the letter, the mayors proclaimed a "good start" on behalf of the funding bill but said "it is going to take a monumental effort to get us over the goal line. ... While smaller cities can't match the large commitments Fort Worth and Arlington have made, we can and should do our part."
The fee for transportation lobbying, he said, is separate from Fort Worth's $93,000 contract with HillCo to represent the city's other legislative issues in Austin, Rector said.
Although elected officials also participate in the effort and make contact with lawmakers, Miller said, HillCo is "quarterbacking the play" and directing strategy." "We have to persuade people to support it, to find ways to make it attractive to them," he said. "Or to persuade them that their opposition is unwarranted. It's a classic lobby deal."
