This is no way to end the traffic gridlock on Loop 820

Drivers will pay for developers’ desires

So Fiasco Phase 1 is the always-backed-up traffic mess the Texas Department of Transportation and local politicians have given us on Loop 820 roughly between North East Mall and Interstate 35W.

Fiasco Phase 2 is about to be completed between downtown Fort Worth and Heritage Trace Parkway on I-35W, with its built-in “pinch points” designed to impede traffic so drivers will hop onto the toll lanes.

Mayor Betsy Price happily announced last week that she expects TxDOT to approve Fiasco Phase 3. (Feb. 20, 1A, “TxDOT promises extension to I-35W in far north Fort Worth”) Well, she had to. It’s what the Chamber of Commerce, developers, promoters and Hillwood, a Perot Company wanted. So what if it costs the working person $10 to $25 per day to get to work?

Mayor Price, a better announcement would have been, “You know, our first two managed-lane efforts have been kind of a joke, so let’s take another look at our plans to Alliance and try to get it right.”

New Southwestern chief’s job

As an alumnus of Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary in Fort Worth, I have been watching recent events at my alma mater with avid interest. This is especially the case now that Southwestern has announced it has nominated a new president to lead that famous institution that has been part of north Texas for so long.

By all accounts, Adam Greenway, 41, is a scholar and man of impeccable character who is a right fit to lead a school that has fallen on hard times since its last president, Paige Patterson, was fired in disgrace last year.

The new president of Southwestern Seminary has to be a person of strong biblical conviction and courage to right a ship that has been badly adrift in recent years. The first thing Greenway must do is remove Patterson’s image of the stained glass window and restore financial solvency at that venerable Texas institution.

More important than research

After reading the Star-Telegram’s Feb. 18 front-page story, “UTA takes another step toward becoming a top research institution,” it occurs to me that colleges and universities, especially publicly funded ones, should make teaching a higher priority than research.

Researchers are evaluated by the number of publications authored, research money acquired, advances in the state of the art obtained and so on. What is the method for evaluating and hiring professors who can teach effectively?

Politics shouldn’t be a blood sport

I find it difficult to listen to my state leaders (Gov. Greg Abbott, Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick, Attorney General Ken Paxton, Sens. John Cornyn and Ted Cruz) when they act as if Democrats are enemies of Texas.

Is a Democrat’s blood less red than a Republican’s when spilled on foreign soil in defense of this country? Are my taxes (a lesser sacrifice than one’s life, to be sure) discounted because I am a Democrat? Exactly how was Cruz’s win a “defense” of this state?

Let’s dial back the rhetoric and have meaningful discussions to find our common ground.

Get real about drugs’ entry points

A few weeks ago, the largest fentanyl bust to date — nearly 254 pounds — occurred. (Feb. 1, 6A, “Border officials claim record fentanyl bust”) This past week, we read a report about another bust of almost $13 million worth of meth. (Feb. 20, Star-Telegram.com, “Strawberries from Mexico packed with 900 pounds of ‘ice’ — the illegal kind, authorities say”)

Both happened at legal ports of entry. I’m pretty sure that the supporters of the border wall either don’t know about these two busts because they don’t pay attention to actual news or don’t care because they are only taking a position with no regard for the truth. Either way, it is willful ignorance.

This story was originally published February 23, 2019 at 8:35 PM.