It’s been freezing in Fort Worth before, and the lights stayed on then. What changed?
A tear for lost comic strips
As a longtime subscriber, I have seen changes to the Star-Telegram, including not printing a Saturday edition and reducing the number of pages. I understand reduction in expenses is necessary even as we pay an ever-increasing subscription price. But to tell your readers this change to the comics section is a good thing? Come on.
You got rid of some of the oldest and best strips, including “The Lockhorns,” “Blondie,” “Pluggers,” “Luann,” “Shoe” and “For Better or For Worse.” Just be up front and tell us you don’t want to pay for some of the oldest and best comics available, but don’t try selling us lemons and telling us it’s sweet lemonade.
- Milton R. Harrell, Fort Worth
Cold downsides of deregulation
Bud Kennedy wrote an excellent analysis Sunday of who is at fault for the deadly electricity collapse in Texas. (1B, “Cold, dark and without water: It can happen again”) Our Republican governors and legislators put deregulation and profits ahead of the safety and protection of the state’s residents.
As Kennedy pointed out, the next election cycle will give citizens an opportunity to put new leadership in charge of our energy system that cares more about citizens than corporate profits.
- Douglas Harman, Fort Worth
Get ready for the next outage
There are ways to help ourselves if we again face the power and water situation we did in February:
Know where the water shutoff valve from the street to your house is.
Buy a portable gas generator, one with an electric start and wheels, so you can run appliances and heaters. Familiarize yourself with the capacity of the generator so you don’t overload it. Do not run the generator in your home or garage.
Be sure your outside faucets are covered and let your inside cold-water faucets trickle when the temperature gets below freezing.
It’s best to be prepared.
- Paul LaChance, Fort Worth
This didn’t happen before
Texas had cheap, reliable electricity in the 1970s, ’80s and ’90s under a regulated market. The state did not have electric outages during the heat wave of 1980 or the cold snaps of 1983 and 1989, when there was a regulated electric market. No one died. We did not have any major electric power outages resulting in problems delivering fresh, clean water.
The regulated system was good government. Sometimes, the old ways are the best ways.
- Mark Mulligan, Hurst
Great job, Tarrant County
After seeing pictures of long lines of old people waiting outside in bad weather for COVID-19 shots in Dallas, I was amazed to see what Tarrant County did at Globe Life Field. Parking was easy. There was someone to direct us, and there was no wait outside. There were so many people helping, and things moved along with hardly a pause.
They got it right, and Tarrant County can be proud.
- Donna Fisch, Fort Worth
Realities of being a Black American
As a Black woman, I’m tired of fearing that if I would be pulled over by a police officer, he might shoot me. I’m tired of being paranoid that my brother may not come home.
I listen to stories from my friends about their experiences with police brutality and how awful it made them feel. I hate that this is happening, and I want it to stop.
Train officers better. For instance, tell them to take their knee off a Black man’s neck when he says he cannot breathe.
- Tatyana Lane, Fort Worth
This story was originally published March 2, 2021 at 5:00 AM with the headline "It’s been freezing in Fort Worth before, and the lights stayed on then. What changed?."