Friday, November 30, 2007

Urban Village Planning

December 4 at 7:00 p.m.
Council Chamber of City Hall
1000 Throckmorton Street
Fort Worth, Texas 76102

The City Plan Commission received a staff briefing on November 16 and recommended that the City Council adopt all twelve urban village master plans. After receiving a staff briefing on the DRAFT master plans on Nov. 27, the City Council will hold a public hearing on whether to adopt the urban village master plans by reference into the Comprehensive Plan on December 4 at 7:00 p.m. in the Council Chamber of City Hall, located at 1000 Throckmorton Street . Please feel free to attend and give your comments to the City Council.

Southeast Cluster Planning

The Southeast Cluster of Urban Villages includes: Berry/Riverside, Berry/Stalcup, Near East Side, Oakland Corners, and Polytechic/Wesleyan. The City of Fort Worth has contracted with Freese and Nichols, Inc. for the preparation of redevelopment plans and implementation strategies for the Southeast Cluster of Urban Villages.

DRAFT Master Plans and Plan Summaries

Berry/Riverside Village DRAFT Master Plan and Plan Summary
Berry/Stalcup Village DRAFT Master Plan and Plan Summary
Near East Side Village DRAFT Master Plan and Plan Summary
Oakland Corners Village DRAFT Master Plan and Plan Summary
Polytechnic/Wesleyan Village DRAFT Master Plan and Plan Summary

Berry/Riverside Village


Berry/Stalcup Village


Near East Side Village


Oakland Corners Village


Polytechnic/Wesleyan Village

Thursday, November 29, 2007

What Part of Illegal (Alien) I Don’t Understand

Some pundit asked, “What part of illegal don’t you understand”, as it relates to immigration- which, to me, implied that the issue was so simple that even a caveman could understand.

Count me among the stupid, because I have a problem understanding the “ill” part of “illegal”. It seems more like “ill-will”. I especially had a problem back in the 1950s and 1960s with the “ill” part when it came to children being born without a father being called “illegitimate children”- bastards, as bad word in any language. Now I get the same connotation from “illegal immigrant”- the same ill-will prejudice that led to wholesale humiliation of single mother back then.

Words do not a thing made. Calling somebody “illegal” or “illegitimate” does not make a person so. Therefore, I am unimpressed with the highly charged language being used in the immigration debate. I think that I better understand the nature of the people who create such prejudicial semantics of delusion. Hate language produces hateful attitudes, ask any illegitimate child who grew up without a father, how they were treated.

As for the Great Immigration Debate of today, over which all the presidential candidates seem to be stumbling, this is a case example of how charged up language can obscure the issue.

We must recognize that every human being has rights. It may be possible to deny a person civil rights when they have no constitutional standing in a US court of law. But nationalism is subordinate to internationalism where human rights are primary in the court of world opinion.

There are three problems involved in the US Immigration Debate. The so-called illegal immigrant is attracted to the United States by prospects of opportunity, like 1800 gold rushers to California and land grabbers to Texas. We open the door to citizenship for some and close the door on others.

Nevertheless, there is a large US market for cheap labor- the cheapest of which is the undocumented worker. On the one hand, they are welcome to participate in the job market by some, while despised by others- no consensus but rather a mixed message. We just assume that they teach US immigration law in Guatemala in lieu of mixed messages emanating out of the states.

But practice supersedes ideologues. Undocumented workers are here in the US and they are working. And, like it or not, they are an integral part of the national economy. If they were not, there would not be crops spoiling in the fields.

For many years, it was okay to wink at immigration laws as long as we could get cheap goods and services, and the immigration population posed no political threat. The problem arose with the second generation, the Americanized Latino, born an American citizen with illegal parents. They have voting rights and legal standing in a court of law.

Suddenly, we seem overwhelmed and immigration becomes a hot-button issue- not because of mass migration from south of the border, but because the brown population is growing faster in numbers and political strength than we anticipated.

Closely the border means stopping the bleeding. Mass deportation is an attempt to protect the wound and stop infection. But the wound is self-inflicted.

What part of “illegal” I don’t understand is how we can criminalize others for our own self-inflicted wound. We want to outlaw 12 million people and deport them because we made the mistake of relaxing our borders and lowering the barriers way back when it was convenient.

(Continue Part II)

Monday, November 26, 2007

Opportunities for Diversity Candidates for Open Railroad Positions

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
CONTACT: Patsy Curtis 817-887-8084

Opportunities for Diversity Candidates for Open Railroad Positions

DATES:
TUESDAY, DECEMBER 11 - 6:30 PM
(Or)
SATURDAY, DECEMBER 15 - 10:30 AM

(Please be early to allow for finding parking space)

ATTIRE:
BUSINESS - Shirt, Tie, Slacks required

LOCATION:
777 Main St., 11th floor Fort Worth, TX 76102

ITEMS TO BRING:
Resume and 3 letters of reference

QUALIFICATIONS
**MUST be willing to travel. If you are not willing to travel (or an option to relocate),

No need to apply:
**Must have a High School diploma or GED
**Must not have any Felonies
**Must be able to pass a HAIR FOLLICLE drug test.

(NOTE: They do have a weight requirement although they don't say it publicly. If you have any misdemeanors, outstanding tickets, etc, the information MUST be disclosed and handled appropriately.)

**Need to show that you can pass a basic Math test (5-7th grade).

TESTING: You can practice by going to WWW.MATH.COM and clicking on Basic Math. You have to answer the practice questions first and then you will be given a final test at the end.

Alternatively, you can go to Barnes and Nobles and pick up a 5th grade TAKS math book.

EXPECTATIONS/ASSISTANCE

**You need to be able to take a timed math test with no calculator. (HINT: You need to answer EVERY question- the KEY being to answer first all the questions you are sure of first, then going back and answer the more difficult questions. The last 2 minutes of the test, if you have blanks. Make an effort to guess a, b, c, etc., until all questions are answered. Unmarked answers will be counted as incorrect.)

**There will also be a behavioral portion of the test...The answers to these questions are neither right nor wrong. The testing applicant MUST take a position that is all one way or all the other. (HINT: Do not be in the middle. No to answer will automatically be counted wrong.)

**There will be a reading/comprehension portion as well. You can also study with a 5th grade book at Barnes and Nobles. (NOTE: Do not to take these practice sessions lightly. Many people just do not remember things from the 5th grade, as proven by the hit TV show. It is not a matter of intelligence. To pass the test, you really must practice.)

(EG Note: Additional Reading/Comprehension ad may be found at RHL SCHOOL)

At the session, we will go over---positions available, how to apply, locations, types of gangs, etc., Testing procedures, drug testing, etc.

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
Please be 15 minutes early. These are the only 2 sessions scheduled. These sessions will be informational and will answer any and all your questions.

Staffing Dynamics
777 S. Main
Suite 600
Fort Worth, TX 76102