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Fort Worth crime district vote
On Nov. 3, the residents of Fort Worth will be able to vote on the renewal election of the Fort Worth Crime Control and Prevention District. We are all fortunate to live and work in a city that boasts fine people, businesses, culture and neighborhoods. Crucial to this is the $50 million that is collected annually by a half-cent sales tax that supports the city’s Crime Control and Prevention District. CCPD funds directly contribute to crime prevention programs, police officers in our middle schools and high schools, after-school programs for at-risk youth and Police Department equipment, including 100 percent of the cost of our patrol cars.Since it was launched in 1995, serious (Part I) crimes have decreased by 32 percent. Fort Worth has gone from having the highest crime rate of any major city in the United States to being one of the safest.At a time when crime is on the rise nationwide, we cannot turn our backs on ensuring the safety and prosperity of our city, neighborhoods and businesses. While the value of a secure city is truly immeasurable, your vote FOR the CCPD will give our city measurable peace of mind in the ongoing battle against local crime.— Buddy Puente, Fort Worth More Texas Tier One schoolsOn Nov. 3, Texans will get a once-in-a-generation opportunity to expand our economy, boost our universities and catch up to other states in terms of education dollars and students.Proposition 4 would dedicate more than $400 million — money the state already has — to the creation of more Tier One universities in Texas. We currently only have three: UT-Austin, Texas A&M and Rice.We’re losing 10,000 of Texas’ brightest high school graduates each year to other states with more Tier One campuses, and we’re leaving as much as $3.7 billion a year in federal money on the table because those three institutions don’t have the capacity to do research that would attract those funds.Proposition 4 would start bringing the money and talent back to Texas.Institutions such as the Massachusetts Institute of Technology help put that economic power into perspective. MIT alumni have founded more than 4,000 companies. Collectively, those businesses employ 1.1 million people and generate $232 billion in sales, an amount roughly equal to the economic output of the Fort Worth-Dallas Metroplex.Proposition 4 is our chance to create opportunities that will meet our economic needs today and train our youth for tomorrow.This is a rare opportunity. We’ve got to take it. On Nov. 3, vote Yes on Proposition 4.— Kenneth Barr, Fort Worth Vote yes on Proposition 9We own property on the Bolivar Peninsula in what used to be Gilchrist. Texas Land Commissioner Jerry Patterson made a comment, after Hurricane Ike, about Gilchrist that just flew all over me. Since that time, however, Patterson has done some good things. One involves his efforts to close Rollover Pass (located on the Bolivar Peninsula), which many believe will infinitely reduce beach erosion. Another, Texas will begin coastal protection projects from Padre Island to the peninsula. The $135.4 million list of projects was made possible by state and federal funding and includes $25 million the 81st Legislature appropriated to the state’s Coastal Erosion Planning and Response Act.
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