I was hoping to bring you both sides of the Crime Tax issue today, but unfortunately I could only find videos asking you to vote FOR the tax.
I found three videos on YouTube supporting the issue and decided to just let you see them all.
The first one features Mayor Robert Cluck telling you why you should vote for the Crime Tax:
On the ballot this November 6 is a proposal to increase the sales tax in Arlington by 1/8 cent. Though it doesn’t seem like much, if approved, the tax could generate up to $6 million a year for five years. The money would go to fund additional police officers, fire and code enforcement officers and crime prevention programs. The tax increase would take effect in May 2008.
Over $3 million would go to increasing public safety by adding police officers, additional court personnel and increasing patrols. $1.2 million would be used for neighborhood improvement and code enforcement. Things like grafitti removal would fall under this category. About $450,000 would go for youth, family and senior initiatives such as teaching seniors about fraud protection, youth and teen programs, and a literacy initiative. About $137,000 would be spent on program support such as an annual audit and information systems. For a complete breakdown of expenditures, you can visit the City Secretary’s page. (more…)
There are 16 (yes SIXTEEN) proposed Amendments to the Texas State Constitution on the upcoming ballot. You can find the actual ballot language here but sometimes it’s very confusing and doesn’t really tell you what the proposition is all about. Here’s a brief explanation of each:
Proposition 1: Allows the state to continue providing funding to Angelo State University in San Angelo, which is being transferred from the University of Texas System to the Texas Tech University System.
Proposition 2: Authorizes the issuance of up to $500 million in general obligation bonds to finance low-interest educational loans to students. (more…)
Early voting for the November 6 election begins today. On the ballot are 16 statewide constitutional amendments and the proposed Arlington Crime Control and Prevention District.
Tomorrow I’ll be bringing you information on the 16 amendments and what they’re all about and later this week I’ll take a look at the Crime Control District. We’ll see who is for it, who is against it, what it would do and how the increase in sales tax would be spent. I know, too often, I’m not as well-informed as I’d like to be when an election comes along so I’m going to help myself and hopefully help my readers by finding out about this one. (more…)
Arlington city officials joined the Texas Rangers Baseball Club to break ground on some changes the Dr. Pepper Youth Ballpark last Friday.
Changes include a new 20 foot high retaining wall in left field, which will resemble the famed “Green Monster” in Fenway Park, and greater distances from home plate to the outfield, which will allow the park to accomodate 13 and 14 year olds. The park’s design had previously only been able to host games for players up to 12 years old.
The changes were necessary to make way for new roadways which are part of the Glory Park and Dallas Cowboys Stadium construction.
Rick McLaughlin, vice president of business operations for the Rangers, said work on the outfield will begin in about two weeks and be completed by March. The field will be closed until then.
On Tuesday, November 6, Arlington voters will be going to the polls. One of the items on the ballot will be the proposal for a local sales and use tax to finance the proposed Arlington Crime Control and Prevention District.
Five Town Hall meetings have been scheduled to allow Arlington voters the opportunity to learn more about crime control and prevention. The District 5 meeting was held last Thursday, but there are 4 more chances for citizens to attend meetings. They are as follows:
District 4 Town Hall Meeting
Hosted by Council Member Kathryn Wilemon
6:30 p.m. Monday, Oct. 15
Fire Training Center, 5501 Ron McAndrew Dr.
District 2 Town Hall Meeting
Hosted by Deputy Mayor Pro-Tempore Sheri Capehart
7 p.m. Tuesday, October 16
Carol Holt Elementary, 7321 Ledbetter Road
District 3 Town Hall Meeting
Hosted by City Council Member Robert Rivera
6:30 p.m. Wednesday, Oct. 17
Bob Duncan Center, 2800 S. Center St.
District 1 Town Hall Meeting
Hosted by Council Member Mel LeBlanc
6:30 p.m. Thursday, October 18
River Legacy Living Science Center, 703 NW Green Oaks Blvd.
Early voting begins Monday, October 22 and continues until Friday, November 2.
For more information about the Arlington Crime Control and Prevention District, you can visit the City of Arlington website at http://www.arlingtontx.gov/.
The man involved in yesterday’s standoff with police has been identified as Arthur Jackson, 32. Jackson was involved in an hours long standoff with police, before leading them on a chase and driving his car into Lake Arlington. Jackson was pronounced dead at the scene.
Jackson’s victims are identified as his estranged wife, Lisa Ford Jackson, 36, and her two children, Tyson Adams, 7, and Jaelynn Ford, 13. (more…)
A woman and her two children were found dead inside their east Fort Worth home this afternoon, and police were in a standoff for hours with the suspect before he suddenly took off and drove his car through Arlington, down a boat ramp and into Lake Arlington.
The car sank and was completely submerged as of 7:45 p.m., and the man was believed to still be inside. Authorities are at the scene now. According to Fox 4, Police believe the suspect may have shot himself in the head as he went into the water. (more…)
After nearly 3 years, the South Arlington Hooters is now able to sell beer and alcohol. They never stopped serving beer, allowing customers to have 2 free beers with their meal, but had been fighting for a license to sell adult beverages for years.
The fight began in 2005 when an ultra conservative community group, calling themselves Partnership for Community Values, was able to convince a judge to suspend the location’s liquor license. They weren’t happy that Hooters had come to their neighborhood and hoped, by having their liquor license revoked, that the Hooters would be forced to close down and move elsewhere.
In response, Hooters began giving away up to 2 beers per guest while majority owner Kelly Hall fought the court battle. Hooters estimates that they gave away over $1.2 million worth of beer during the 30 months without a license. Yesterday, Hooters received a favorable ruling in the State Office of Administrative Hearings. A license issued by the TABC was delivered to the store and they began selling beer around 4:00 pm.
“Clearly this extremist group underestimated the will of Hooters to pursue justice and wage this battle,” said Mike Herrick the Executive Vice President of Texas Wings, the company that owns the 43 Hooters restaurants in Texas. “We felt we had a responsibility to our owners, employees and guests to put up this fight. If we had not stopped these opponents of freedom here there’s no telling where it could have led. Treating lawful and taxpaying employers in this way is not in the best interest of South Arlington or Texas,” continued Herrick.
The South Arlington Hooters is located at I-20 and Green Oaks in the Movie Tavern shopping center.
Now will this help or hurt Hooters? Sure they can sell alcohol, but I know many people who went there purely for the free beer. Weigh in with your thoughts.
Arlington, Arlington TX, Hooters, Liquor License, Beer, Free Beer
Demolition crews razed the Festival Marketplace today. The demolition will make way for a $66 million business park development. Phase I of the Pioneer 360 Business Park construction will include 1.3 million square feet of office and warehouse space which will cost around $55 million. Phase II will include a $10 million redevelopment of the Montgomery Ward site.
The mall was better known to us Arlington old-timers as the Forum 303. The Forum, built in 1970, featured an ice skating rink and anchor stores Dillard’s, Montgomery Ward and Wilson’s (which later became Service Merchandise). My family did plenty of shopping at the Forum when I was growing up and I had my photo taken with Santa there most every Christmas. I remember the soda fountain at Saturday’s where you could order up a “suicide” made with every soda they had, and even chocolate syrup. I shopped for my clothes at Stuart’s as a teen. During the early 80’s it became the premier hangout for junior high students with the Forum Fair arcade and the AMC movie theater.
A federal bankruptcy judge ruled Wednesday that Agape Christian Fellowship church in Arlington could sell part of its land and mineral rights to Chesapeake Energy to help settle lawsuits and pay back taxes.
The church will use about $5,000 to pay back taxes and penalties owed to local governments for the vacant land. An undisclosed portion would go toward settling lawsuits from the seven women who said they were raped by Agape founder Terry Hornbuckle. Hornbuckle is currently serving 15 years in prison for sexually assaulting three women, including two who were members of his congregation.
The $1 million deal with Chesapeake Energy would invlove 16 acres of vacant church land, all the mineral rights to that property and half the mineral rights for the remaining church land.
Arlington, Arlington TX, Agape Christian Fellowship, Chesapeake Energy, Terry Hornbuckle
When I announced last week that the Wildcatter (aka the Texas Cliffhanger) was being replaced, I had no idea that the ride would be blown to bits. Many times, old rides are disassembled and show up at other Six Flags. This time, the ride wasn’t so lucky.
Dallas Demolition Company was hired to ‘drop’ the freefall ride for the last time. They used six pounds of shaped-charge explosives to implode the ride, which was installed in the Arlington theme park in 1982. Six Flags said over 17 million people rode the Wildcatter, previously called the Texas Cliffhanger. Take a look at this video of Tuesday’s implosion:
Even though this wasn’t my favorite ride, it still makes me a little sad to see it have such a violent ending…like a part of my childhood was just destroyed.
Arlington, Arlington TX, Six Flags, Wildcatter, Texas Cliffhanger, Implosion Video
One of the two men wanted in connection with the September 15 shooting death of football player Quintarick Wilson turned himself in to Arlington police today. Martez Taylor, 18, surrendered at about 3 p.m. He was booked on suspicion of engaging in organized crime-murder and three counts of aggravated assault. Police believe Taylor was one of several people who showed up at the party following the Sam Houston High School homecoming game where Wilson was shot.
DeAngelo Cortez Morton was arrested shortly after the shooting and four other suspects were arrested over the weekend. Police have also issued an arrest warrant Damarcus Farrar, 19, of North Richland Hills. Police are still searching for Farrar. He is described as 5-11, 180 pounds. Anyone with information is asked to call Crime Stoppers at 817-469-TIPS (8477).
IN OTHER NEWS:
Arlington, Arlington TX, Quintarick Wilson, Sam Houston High School, Martez Taylor, Arrests, Gangs, Shooting
The Arlington Municipal Court has reinstated its Teen Court program after a four-year absence. Teen Court provides an alternative for minor juvenile offense like traffic violations or other minor offense, allowing participants to appear in a court before a jury of their peers. Sentences include things like community service, and offenses are dismissed once all terms are met. (more…)
Police have arrested 4 people in connection with the September 15th shooting death of Quintarick Wilson, the 18 year old Sam Houston High School football player. Wilson was shot at a party after the Sam Houston Homecoming game.
Anthony “Buck” Ware, 18, and Bentrail Wesley Wash, also 18, were arrested on suspicion of engaging in organized crime-murder, a first-degree felony, and aggravated assault with a deadly weapon. Bail for both young men was set at $80,000. They are being held in the Arlington Jail. Two juveniles were also arrested.
Police say two rival gangs, The Untamed Gorillas (UTG) from Lamar High School and F*** You Clique (FYC) from Sam Houston High School, were in a “gang war” and Wilson was just the latest victim.
DeAngelo Cortez Morton, 19, a member of UTG was arrested in connection with Wilson’s shooting and told police he recognized Wilson as an FYC member who had fired at him on July 9. Richard Wayne Dowell, 19, was shot and killed in the July 9 fight which occurred in the 3400 block of South Watson Road. Police also investigated another shooting between UTG and FYC members on September 12 near Carter Drive and East Mayfield Road.
Arlington police said UTG took credit for Wilson’s slaying on a MySpace page. If you search on MySpace you can find several messages that read “Rest in Peace” for OG (Original Gangsta) Rich Dowell and Quinn Wilson.
Wilson’s mother, however, disputes the police account, saying her son was not involved in the previous incidents. She says Wilson was a straight A student planning to go to college and was not involved in any gang activity.
Police have also issued arrest warrants and are looking for Damarcus Farrar, 19, and Martez Taylor, 18. Farrar is described as 5 feet, 11 inches tall and 180 pounds. His last address was in North Richland Hills. Taylor is 5 feet, 7 inches tall and 150 pounds. His last address was in Arlington. Anyone with information is asked to call 817-469-8477.
IN OTHER NEWS:
Arlington, Arlington TX, Sam Houston High School, Quintarick Wilson, DeAngelo Cortez Morton, Anthony ”Buck” Ware, Benrail Wesley Walsh, Damarcus Farrar, Martez Taylor, Richard Wayne Dowell
Welcome to About-ArlingtonTX.com. Arlington, Texas is located right in the heart of the Dallas/Fort Worth Metroplex and is full of fun things to do. It’s the home of Six Flags Over Texas, Hurricane Harbor, the Texas Rangers (and soon the Dallas Cowboys). Arlington also offers the finest in shopping, dining and entertainment. You can find everything Arlington here – city news, events, shopping, dining, tourist information and more! Bookmark us and visit often!
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