Metro
As Long as the Grass Should Grow
Don Young took on city hall over the height of his front yard and won.JEFF PRINCE
Fort Worth’s Code Compliance Department will present the city council with a new tall-grass policy in a few weeks and suggest some tweaks to the grass ordinance, which regulates things like plant placement and height. As resi...
Shocking Apparel
Electronic stun devices are being used more widely in court.Peter Gorman
When the defendant was walked into the Johnson County Courthouse in 2009 to stand trial on multiple charges of sexual assault on a child, he moved stiffly. When he stood to walk to the witness stand, it looked like he might hav...
Seeking Shelter
The world — or at least her house — is falling to pieces around a troubled East Fort Worth resident.JEFF PRINCE
The old house and the woman inside it have shared a downward spiral for years. Sharon Baker is a recluse, breathing air through a tube hooked to an oxygen tank, sometimes sleeping in her closet when anxiety overwhelms her.
Form, Function, Neighborhood
DAN McGRAWZoning laws are a major tool used by cities to keep neighborhoods together and give residents some control over what they have to live next to. But it’s never been a perfect implement: Normal zoning laws don’t keep McMansio...
Traffic Trauma
Residents say they’re getting threats over tickets they settled years ago.JEFF PRINCE
The request for payment took Terri by surprise. After all, the City of Fort Worth was demanding payment for a parking ticket that the former city employee swears she’d already paid. Even more startling, the ticket was almost ...
Notice: Public Beware
State agency decisions on public notices draw criticism.DAN MCGRAW
Public notices in local newspapers are a key element in keeping citizens informed about government goings-on. Giving people a heads-up on public hearings on everything from annexations to zoning, contract bids to new ordinances...
Broken Connects-ion
School officials are ready to jettison a flawed software system.BETTY BRINK
Connects, the multimillion-dollar “student information system” software program sold to the Fort Worth school district in 2008, may be headed for the trash bin.
Stockyards Cesspool
Hidden from view beneath the historic district is a park with potential but a lot of problems.DAN MCGRAW
About two years ago, tattoo artist Drago Reid heard a commotion in the parking lot behind his Knuckle Up parlor in the Stockyards. It was late at night, and a man was trying to break into a car. The owner of the furniture store...
An Ugly Business
A local man pushes back against the mug-shot muscle.JEFF PRINCE
Mug shot magazines such as Mugly! and Busted! and their online equivalents have become popular in recent years. Some people just can’t resist visiting web sites or paying a buck at a local gas station for a thin tabloid full ...
Air Quality Study Result?
Bupkus.Peter Gorman
“What people don’t understand is that gas drilling in Fort Worth is not us versus them. We’re all in this together,” said an exasperated Esther McElfish. “Nobody is saying people shouldn’t drill, but they should do ...