Fort Worth Independent School District board members deserve compensation

Not an improvement to people like me

As a frequent golfer these last 22 years, I enjoyed playing what used to be the Charles W. Ditto Golf Course. It was owned and run by the city of Arlington for its residents.

Now, all I do is drive by it with a sense of times lost. The city allowed the Texas Rangers to buy or run it or both, I’m not sure.

It’s quite fancy now. The price went from $45 or so to as much as $119 for Arlington non-residents as I understand it.

I suppose the Rangers can offer their customers and major sponsors plenty of tee times and use of all the brand-new facilities. We regulars have been pushed out.

Those who have always get more. Goodbye, old friend. I left you more than my share of golf balls while you left me still trying to defeat you.

Editor’s note: The city of Arlington continues to own and operate the course, which uses the Rangers’ branding in a promotional agreement.

Advertising is encroaching

“Blockin’ out the scenery, breakin’ my mind.” It seems at some point in our history we decided we needed to regulate the ever-increasing number and size of roadside billboards. Aesthetics. Good idea.

But now, if someone wants to put up enormous signs in an inner city oasis of trees, birds, squirrels, museums and multiuse entertainment venues, we’ll just amend the laws so they can make a lot of money selling laundry detergent. Perfect.

School board deserves more

We compensate members of Congress. Our county commissioners earn six-figure salaries. Our Fort Worth City Council members are paid $25,000 annually, which doesn’t nearly compensate them for the hours they spend in regular meetings, plus extra time with neighborhood groups and in other duties. But it helps and encourages qualified candidates to run.

It seems to me these are strong arguments for comparable treatment for members of our Fort Worth Independent School District board, who put in long hours of meetings plus many hours of extra work for no pay — nothing but a few free meals. And they probably pay for many extra expenses as well.

Make the question more difficult

I heard on the radio a certain presidential candidate from west Texas. His answer to the question, “Do you believe in killing a live, full-term infant that survived an abortion?” was that he believes the decision should be up to the mother.

What I want to know is this: Will there be a time limit for this decision? Suppose I choose to let my baby live, but by age 10 it is really a brat and I don’t want it anymore. Then will I have the choice to be rid of it? What would the answer be then?

Don’t leave out the majority

Two of our last three presidents lost the popular vote but won the election because of the Electoral College. This system is facing more and more intense scrutiny from many angles.

Why isn’t more attention being paid to the national movement to elect presidents using the popular vote? I think we could have avoided a lot of this embarrassment if we had listened to the voters and elected a president who isn’t looking at possible criminal charges.

Please give a lot more written attention to the movement to get more states to join the National Popular Vote Interstate Compact. We all deserve a voice.