Former President George H.W. Bush and his wife, Barbara Bush, say that despite rumors to the contrary, there was never competition between George H.W. Bush and his son George W. Bush, who also went on to become president.
"People always said, 'I read that George was just doing this because he wanted to beat his father,'" Barbara Bush said in an interview in today's Parade magazine, which appears in the Star-Telegram."Yeah, there were a lot of those stories," George H.W. Bush said."And they were stupid," Barbara Bush said. "It wasn't true. There was no competition at all."Street credWith a sizable backlog of transportation projects approved by voters and City Council members wary of taking another bond election to the public with that much work left to do, Fort Worth is trying a new program.The council authorized a two-year contract with the Jacobs engineering firm under which Jacobs will manage 15 street projects worth $77.1 million. Voters authorized the projects as long ago as 2004.Jacobs' $1.9 million fee could rise or fall by $171,000, depending on factors such as quality, "customer satisfaction" and whether it brings the projects in on schedule and budget.Doug Wiersig, transportation and public works director, said he expects the city to add a risk component to other engineering contracts in the future. The idea is new to the city but well-tested in the private sector, he said. With the project backlog of about $240 million, down from about $300 million a year ago, "you've got to add resources to drive the delivery," he said.Councilman Jungus Jordan said the Transportation Department has used risk-based contracts. The city's staff can handle $30 million to $45 million in transportation projects internally per year, he said.With the city facing $1 billion in future arterial needs, it needed to try something new, he said. He termed the Jacobs agreement a test.Designer clothesOne has modern designers looking to the future; the other offers vintage gear inspired by a father.Either way, Barack Obama and Mitt Romney are offering a different style of campaign clothing to raise money to help with their presidential bids.Presumed Republican nominee Romney's campaign has a new line of clothing inspired by the candidate's father, George Romney, who ran for president in 1968. The "vintage" line, available at www.mittromney.com/store, includes father-son campaign buttons as well as T-shirts, bags and buttons featuring a psychedelic '70s-style design.Meanwhile, the president's campaign is featuring a "runway to win" store, a project by fashion designers in support of Obama 2012. Modern designs, many featuring the Obama symbol, are on everything from bags to dogwear at store.barackobama.com.Raising moneyFamiliar faces will be on hand to help with a fundraising event for Fort Worth police training programs and equipment purchases.Former Dallas Cowboys players Walt Garrison and Jay Novacek, Mayor Betsy Price, former Mayor Mike Moncrief, and event host and WBAP-AM news anchor Hal Jay will be among those helping with the event at 5:30 p.m. Aug. 2 at Del Frisco's Double Eagle Steakhouse, 812 Main St. in Fort Worth.The event will feature a $1 million gallery of Beretta shotguns, along with luxury vehicles, watches, watercraft and more. There will be a live auction and raffle prizes.Tickets cost $250 per person. To buy tickets or get more information, call 817-925-3187 or e-mail jeff.bryan@me.com.