Fort Worth Weekly // February 2-8, 2022

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The brewery threw a lively party Saturday to celebrate the Lunar New Year.

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FEATURE An inmate claims he was railroaded, and he says he has the documents to force his exoneration.

BY EDWARD BROWN

C H R I S T I N A

B E R G E R

METROPOLIS The mainstream media is failing us — and more shiny, happy news from the wider world and Fort Worth.

BY S TAT I C

STUFF The NFL product is so good, it makes swallowing its off-field garbage easy.

BY PAT R I C K H I G G I N S

MUSIC Do you care enough about the truth to cancel your precious, oh, so precious Spotify account, or are you meh?

BY STEVE STEWARD

The Best Broncs, Barrels, bulls & Breakaways in te xas!

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Febr uar y 2-8, 2022

INSIDE Cry for Help

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No Fun League Wins There are still a lot of good guys to root for, despite the league’s trashy condition.

By Patrick Higgins

Ryan Burger, Art Director Jim Erickson, Circulation Director

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Cour tesy Wikipedia Commons

By Edward Brown

Bob Niehoff, General Manager

Good times and great brews helped ring in the Lunar New Year at the brewery.

By Christina Berger

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Fight or Flight?

As Neil Young removes his songs from Spotify in protest, we’re left wondering: Why?

By Steve Steward

CONTRIBUTORS

Edward Brown, Staff Writer

Megan Ables, Christina Berger, E.R. Bills, Jason Brimmer, Sue Chefington, Buck D. Elliott, Juan R. Govea, Patrick Higgins, Bo Jacksboro, Laurie James, Kristian Lin, Vishal Malhotra, Cody Neathery, Wyatt Newquist, Linda Blackwell Simmons, Madison Simmons, Teri Webster, Ken WheatcroftPardue, Cole Williams

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EDITORIAL

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Michael Newquist, Regional Sales Director Jennifer Bovee, Marketing Director Stacey Hammons, Senior Account Executive Julie Strehl, Account Executive Tony Diaz, Account Executive Wyatt Newquist, Digital Coordinator Clintastic, Brand Ambassador

BOARD

Anthony Mariani, Edward Brown, Emmy Smith

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FIND YOUR HAPPY PLATE

3

News Roundup

It’s long, it’s gnarly, it’s your Weekly dose of media interpretation.

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S T A T I C

Most of us, I would say, are moderates, which is why there are next to no moderate political candidates. The middle is like a pool of quicksand from a really bad nighttime soap opera circa 1979, and on one side, you’ve got Archie Bunker saying he’ll throw you a lifeline but only for a billion dollars in tax cuts, and on the other, “Dyno-miiiite” JJ is dancing like no one’s watching. Because no one is. The middle doesn’t work. The gaping chasm between parties is even bigger now that The Former Guy manifested what most conservatives have been thinking since 1619: that people of color are intrinsically bad and deserve their mostly sorry lot in life and that Jesus will save only people who do not force their women to abort their fetuses. On record, no one’s forcing anyone.

In secret, the majority of abortions are by middle-aged white women who are also mothers and also, quite possibly and quite likely, conservatives.

I think if enough of us moderate Democrats said, “I’m not even going near a ballot box until the Dumbocrats in Congress throw Donald Trump’s traitorous, racist, rapist ass in jail,” maybe Chuck and Nancy will push themselves away from their soy lattes and wake the fuck up. Our democracy is under attack, and all that they — and Grandpa Joe — can do is go on and on about Build Back Better and omicron, which is fine and necessary. I’m just worried about catching the virus after my family and I have been thrown into the gulags for not bowing to Emperor Trump once he stages his second coup after the 2024 election. Hopefully, Chuck, Nancy, and Gramps will be wasting away in the cell right next to me, because I might have a thing or two to say to them, like, “Um, so was there a rule that said you couldn’t talk about BBB and omicron while also, y’know, trying to save democracy?!”

I wish my life were privileged enough for me to be able to ignore politics or to be

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“We must take sides. Neutrality helps the oppressor, never the victim. Silence encourages the tormentor, never the tormented. Sometimes we must interfere.”

— Elie Wiesel

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METROPOLIS

a fancy “swing voter.” It’s not. My family is racially mixed, as I expect most families are these days, and my son is a Black male, and we all know how Black males are treated by authority/whites in this shit-hole country. Believe me, White Redneck Asshole, if I could leave this shit-hole, I would quicker than you could scrawl “FJB” on a bathroom wall. If you can help me pack, I’ll send you my address, mother-fucker! See? None of us here are afraid to cuss. Unlike you gut-less turds.

Alas, my family and I are stuck here and probably will be for a while. All we can do is try our best, and all I can do is keep pointing out the hypocrisy of the Republican party and the ball-lessness of the Democrats and whipping up the otherwise uninterested to hopefully effect some long-needed change.

We moderate Dems are only trying to make sure we’re all treated equally, that the ultrawealthy pay their fair share, and that we all start caring about the environment. In case you don’t know, TFG spoke at a Save America or something rally last week in Conroe, a hillbilly enclave outside of H-town/Getdown. The racist rapist vowed to pardon the insurrectionists once he steals the presidency in 2024 with the help of his equally racist state legislators across the country, and he called for violence against the Black prosecutors investigating his crime family, which led to bomb threats at Black workplaces and HBCUs a couple of days later. TFG also essentially admitted that he tried to overturn the 2020 election. I mean, what more does this piece of shit have to do to get his ass hanged for treason? Why has he not been arrested yet?

We lovers of democracy can only hope that Chuck, Nancy, and company are waiting to unleash hell closer to midterms, because most “swing voters” are privileged enough to not pay attention to politics and won’t remember anything now in two months, when time comes to vote. Wouldn’t it be nice to swing? Wouldn’t be nice to be fine on either side of the coup? — Anthony Mariani

The Abstract Assholishness of Polls

According to recent polls — gotta love stories that start off that way — the undisputed president of the United States, Grandpa Joe Biden, is seeing his favorability dip slightly despite leading a surging economy. In only his first year, we’ve seen: 6.4M+ jobs created, the largest yearly job growth in U.S. history; national unemployment falling to 3.9% from 6.7% just 12 months ago; and GDP growth at 5.7%, the highest rate since 1984. As my man, media watchdog @EricBoehlert, says, if Biden were a Republican, the msm would put him on Mt. Rushmore. No. Not even close. Grandpa Joe is being blamed for everything, including TB12’s retirement and probably slushy snow.

The msm would have you believe that inflation is Joe’s problem and only his. And that it’s all his doing. This is the same inflation that’s plaguing the entire planet. What every dumb poll fails to mention is that supply chains and omicrons and inflations don’t happen in political vacuums. Enter: the mainstream media or, as we cool uncool kids say, the msm.

The same newspapers that claim Joe Biden’s popularity is tanking are the very same organizations that run borderline bullshit daily articles in which even his victories — and there’s a lot of them (economy, good jobs, unemployment down, wages up, more Americans vaccinated than ever before) — are framed as failures. Smart people stopped reading The New York Times a long time ago, long after their sexist, botched, flatout wrong coverage of should-have-beenpresident Hillary Clinton. Like some alien species of money-dowsing insectoids, the Times higher-ups (mostly all white, mostly all male) started shifting to the right to replace the (smart) readers lost in the Hillary aftermath. Never mind that the fate of our very country is at stake and that the Times, more than any other paper of its kind on the planet, carries an imprimatur of greatness based on past successes. Never mind honor and decency. It’s almost masochistic, what this media empire is doing to itself. The Times is begging to please the very people who will torch the building after the second coup attempt in 2024. I can’t say I won’t be laughing my ass off watching that wonderful Renzo Piano plinth on 8th Avenue go down in flames.

Like pretty much every other major media outlet, the Times is guilty of bothsides “journalism,” even when one side is clearly deflecting and clearly making shit up. Instead of coming out in a “news” story and saying something to the effect of, “What this source said has been refuted by the evidence,” the “reporters” at the Times — and the Washington Post and CNN and every other msm dump — just let the lies run as if they are fact. Lies are not fact and should be corrected as they are repeated. Anyone who’s ever had a real journalism class in flippin’ high school knows that the journalist’s job is not to tell “both sides” of a story but to tell the truth. Again, when the idiots who stormed the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6 come back this time around in even larger numbers and go after the msm, I will be sitting here in Fort Worth with my crummy little laptop, making pauper money while trying to fight the good fight, and I will be laughing my goddamn ass off. Just leave the culture departments alone. They don’t know a damn thing about anything anyway. Somehow Juno is not a steaming pile of pandering trash? Somehow Chuck Klosterman still gets column inches to talk about how accidentally great he is? Somehow Kanye West

appears in every issue? See? Know-nothings.

It’s no real wonder why Biden is dropping in the polls when nearly every msm “news” story blames him for everything and credits him for nothing. In a recent CNN piece about how the 2021 U.S. economy “grew at the fastest rate since the Reagan administration” — “fastest rate”! since the 1980s! — the president, the person overseeing the aforementioned “U.S. economy,” is never mentioned. Not even once. Go back to the CNN homepage and scroll down a few inches to some claptrap about inflation or omicron, and “Biden” appears a million times. It’s almost comical, this media obsession with manufacturing drama as a means of attracting those G.D. swing voters as they sip Earl Grey with their pinkies out and binge-watch teenage dramas. As @ EricBoehlert put it the other day: “reporting good econ news, Biden not mentioned. reporting bad econ news (inflation!!), Biden always mentioned.”

While I haven’t read all kazillion msm stories about inflation, I’ve read a bunch, too many but enough to know that not a single one of their writers/“reporters” has the balls/ ovaries to state that not only is inflation happening all over the globe but that it’s hitting us hard because corporate wealth is concentrated into the hands of just a few overlords. @DanPriceSeattle knows what’s up, tweeting, “Suspicious how everyone blames the rising cost of a burrito on workers getting a $1 raise but not the fact that CEO pay has gone up 1,322% in the last 43 years. Last year Chipotle gave its CEO a $24 million raise and paid him 2,898x more than their median employee.”

The President of the United States of America, Grandpa Joe Biden, is also being blamed by the msm for school closures. Don’t laugh. I know it’s ridiculous. It’s not the fact that everyone is catching omicron, including teachers and staff. It’s that Joe hates schoolchildren, even though no “reporter” seems to remember that every single school in this country was closed under Trump and every single school reopened under Grandpa Joe, but that’s what’s happening in the mainstream media. Bro, bottom line, cancel your subscriptions now.

And I’m just talking about the so-called “liberal media.” You expect anti-democracy/ Trumpaganda junk from the likes of the Wall Street Journal and I would say Fox News, but I haven’t watched that bullshit since the Clinton administration and did so only accidentally because I was living with my future wife at her parents’ house, and her dad is a retired Air Force colonel, and we all know Fox News is still being aired on U.S. military bases around the world for whatever the fuck reason — can’t Grandpa Joe put a stop to that Trumpaganda bullshit?!

Not-so-gentle reminder: Donald Trump passed one bill in four years. One. Bill.

UT and the Texas Tribune released a totes adorbs poll the other day. The results — that a majority of us approve of mask mandates and other sensible, totally easy, totally non-freedumb-encroaching approaches to battling omicron — come to us under the good-natured belief that Gov. Greg Abbott and his jackass cronies in

Overpriced Leadership?

You have to hand it to U.S. Rep Kay Granger. She’s a uniter, not a divider. Few local political issues have brought conservatives and liberals together like Fort Worth’s collective disdain for the $1.2 billion boondoggle that is Panther Island. The largely unfinished flood-control levees, apartments, waterways, developments, and bridges are the frequent target of criticism from locals who question the need for an upscale Northside development where one already exists — Mule Alley in the Stockyards.

The recent allocation of $403 million in federal funds for Granger’s pet project has only further fueled anger for the project that promises to provide “flood control” measures in the form of a lakeside resort. Why? Because Granger voted against the 2021

bipartisan infrastructure bill that is now funding her once-stalled project (“Double Standards,” Jan. 20). The U.S. rep called the infrastructure bill a “liberal wish list” before her vote against it. Now she’s singing its praises.

Downtown Fort Worth hasn’t experienced a major flooding catastrophe in several decades, but that hasn’t stopped Granger from peddling a development project that keeps her son J.D. Granger on a $242,216 base annual salary, according to documents released by the Tarrant Regional Water District (TRWD), the government group that is tasked with preventing flooding and providing drinking water to 11 nearby counties.

“Tarrant Regional Water District board, you got the federal taxpayer money,” said Chris Putnam, the former Colleyville city councilmember who lost against Granger in the 2020 Republican primary. “Now fire J.D. Granger. The Granger family can no longer be allowed to profit off our taxpayers and the mess they created for Fort Worth. It’s long past time to remove the stink of nepotism and corruption.”

Water district board member Mary Kelleher responded that she totally agreed but needed two of the district’s five board members to vote with her. Kelleher has long been the lone voice for reform and transparency on a board that has historically allowed rampant wasteful spending and nepotistic hires.

Critics of water district dealings point to the 2019 hiring of Mark Mazzanti as the flood control project program coordinator for the Trinity River Vision Authority, a wa-

ter district-managed group that coordinates flooding risk assessments among local cities and the county, as a murky position that possibly overlaps with J.D., who now has a lower position within the water district after he was removed as the river vision’s executive director in 2019. Mazzanti’s initial 2019 contract paid him $25,000 per month, according to river vision documents we reviewed, but a water district spokesperson said his current salary is $7,500. We were not given an explanation of why Mazzanti’s pay changed.

According to his 2019 river vision contract, Mazzanti handles risk management and river vision program governance, working to make the Trinity River Vision Authority’s projects more competitive for federal funding and to provide cities that work with the river vision with strategic analysis. For a so-called “consultant,” it reads like an executive position. We asked for a copy of Mazzanti’s job description but were told none exists.

In October, the water district board adopted a new nepotism policy that prohibits familial relationships at top positions. We can only guess that J.D. is able to skirt that new rule because his mom isn’t a water district employee. It’s a bogus argument and one that their board should address immediately.

This column reflects the opinions of the editorial board and not necessarily the Fort Worth Weekly. To submit a column, please email Editor Anthony Mariani at Anthony@FWWeekly.com. Submissions will be edited for factuality and clarity.

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Cute Poll Says We Want Masks, Ignores Context

Austin actually represent the majority of Texas or in any way give a shit about us, when we all know the complete opposite is true. Not only do most of us who haven’t been gerrymandered out of mattering want racial and gender equality, fair wages, health care, and green policies, but we also, y’know, want to live? Like, without being death-coughed on in class or while standing in line at the supermarket? Abbott doesn’t care. He’s just licking his chops, waiting for the next windfall for his buddies once the electrical grid fails again this winter. Funny how spraying a couple of pieces of equipment means Abbott’s pals can double charge us on our utility bills.

Weird how that works. — A.M.

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Locally, the Star-Telegram announced it’s hiring more “conservative” columnists.

Again, this is just the sign of an ageing, meaningless, toothless publication moving to the right to pick up some middle-ofthe-road “swing voters” who might — just might — pick up a newspaper between having their nails done, watching their stocks soar, and running their Beamers through the car wash.

Another not-so-gentle reminder: Two of the most popular Republican governors, Asa Hutchinson and Larry Hogan, want to move on from MAGA, with Hogan saying, “With America on the wrong path, the stakes are too high to double down on failure.”

Not too sure what he means by “the wrong path” when the economy is surging, people are working, and wages are up, but I can totally see doubling down on TFG as a “failure,” as big as there’s ever been.

However, will any Republican leaders in Washington step up? Haha. They don’t have balls/ovaries, remember?! They’re afraid of pissing off a small but vocal group of largely uneducated racists. That’s America. That’s where we are. Sorry. — A.M.

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No Way Out Eighteen years into a 45-year sentence, Ronnie Turner fights to overturn his conviction for aggravated robbery.

S T O R Y A N D P H O T O S B Y E D W A R D B R O W N

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or the past few months, I have received near daily letters from Ronnie Turner, a Black man in his late 50s who claims that he was wrongfully convicted of aggravated robbery of a Fort Worth convenience store 18 years ago.

The dozens of letters and large envelopes that greeted me every day as I returned from work were packed with government documents, court records, and pointed letters that describe what appeared to be a weak case that Tarrant County prosecutors used to incarcerate him.

I recently made the two-hour drive to the James V. Allred Unit just north of Wichita Falls to meet Turner. After passing a rapid COVID test inside, I was searched and led to a long row of cubicles separated by glass. A media relations staffer with the Texas Department of Criminal Justice was on hand to brief me on the rules of the interview. I was not allowed to bring my wallet or smartphone and was allowed only one hour with Turner.

Behind the glass was a gentle-looking man of medium build with closely cropped white hair. Rather than wait for questions, he launched into a calm and deliberate description of his case and subsequent attempts to appeal his conviction. It was clear that he had come prepared.

“I have lost everything,” he said. “I’ve been gone 18 years for a crime I didn’t do.

I have lost my son. I have lost my older brother. I am now divorced because of this case. What I have lost, no one can ever give back. I have the evidence and trial transcripts, and these people don’t care.”

He broke down sobbing.

“My mama is about to die,” he continued, still choking up. “My mom is about to go home in heaven. I’m trying to go home before she dies.”

At every point in the local criminal justice system, Turner alleges he has found corruption and a concerted attempt to derail his appeals. The most recent effort, he said, is a citation by the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals for abusing the state’s appeal process.

“It is obvious from the record that the applicant continues to raise issues that have been presented and rejected,” one recent letter reads. “Because of

his repetitive claims, we hold that the applicant’s claims are barred from review.

This application is dismissed.”

A spokesperson for the court of appeals ignored multiple requests for comment on this story. The state courts, Turner said, are trying to stop evidence from coming to light, evidence that he is innocent and wrongfully convicted. In a recent letter, Turner told me that Tarrant County’s clerks have withheld documents, including three alibi witness statements from his longtime girlfriend, that were supposed to be forwarded to the district attorney’s office.

Tarrant County’s conviction integrity unit, Turner claims, is a fraud. According to the county website, the unit that is headed by county prosecutors is tasked with reviewing claims of innocence and systemic issues that lead to wrongful convictions.

As recently as October, integrity unit attorney Andrea Jacobs filed a notice with the county clerk’s office that states that the DA’s office “does not intend to file a response” to Turner’s request for an investigation into his case.

A spokesperson for the DA said in an email that their office has responded to Turner’s claims several times in the past.

“Most recently, this office provided an 11-page response to his” actual innocence claim, the spokesperson continued. “We will not respond to [his most recent appeal] because it was rejected in 2021 by the Court of Criminal Appeals. As for our conviction integrity unit, they reviewed his complaints in 2017 and were unable to substantiate any claims he raised.”

The post-conviction process is set up to fail, said Mike Ware, executive director of Innocence Project of Texas, a nonprofit that works to overturn wrongful convictions.

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Turner: “Please expose them. The people of Tarrant County need to know.”

Strict rules limiting interviews with prisoners gave the author one hour to speak with Turner.

For every exonerated Texan, there are likely 10 Texas prisoners who have not been exonerated due to the onerous exoneration process, a lack of access to legal help, or a combination of those factors, he said. Texas’ Innocence Project estimates that, at any given time, upwards of 9,000 wrongfully convicted Texans remain in prison.

On July 16, 2004, Fort Worth police officer Robert Ellis responded to a 911 call from 7020 W. Vickery Ave. at 10:16 a.m., according to police records. By 10:20 a.m., Ellis was on the scene at the Quick Mart on the West Side. Police documents describe what happened next.

“At approximately 10:05 a.m., the suspect entered the store and walked to the beer cooler and got a 12-pack of Coors Light bottles. The suspect placed the 12-pack of beer on the counter. As the [employee] began scanning the beer, the suspect states, ‘Money, money.’ The suspect was holding a small black revolver.

The [employee] pulled the cash till out of the drawer, and the suspect took it and walked out of the store. The suspect also took the beer.”

Cesar Salinas, according to the police report, observed the suspect prior to the offense, washing his car at a nearby facility.

The suspect walked into the Quick Mart wearing a white tank top, blue shorts, and, on his head, a dark-colored bandana. One minute later, Salinas said he witnessed the suspect leave the Quick Mart with a 12-pack of beer and the till held close to his chest. The suspect then drove away eastbound on West Vickery Avenue.

Witness Ketsana Mehra was standing by the freezer and “briefly saw the suspect leaving.” Witness Etsuko LaFleur similarly saw the suspect briefly, according to the police report.

At 9:30 p.m., officers arrested Turner, who was driving a vehicle that matched

the one used at the Quick Mart robbery.

Police interviewed him before taking him to the Fort Worth police jail at 350 W. Belknap St. Turner told me during our prison interview that he was shopping for a birthday cake for his daughter at the time of his arrest.

In a supplemental report filed four days later, police say that witness Saroj Mehra said she did not look at the suspect’s face. Police showed Salinas a photo spread of male headshots soon after the crime was committed. He pointed to a photo of Turner and said, “That’s him.”

A police search of Turner and his vehicle failed to uncover any evidence that tied him to the crime earlier that day, according to the police report and subsequent court testimony. Turner’s bond was set at $150,000.

The district attorney’s case against Turner, which began 16 months later, relied on eyewitness testimony and Turner’s green Grand Am, although the eyewitness descriptions of the car varied and often did not describe the four-door Grand Am without tinted windows that Turner was driving when he was arrested.

One witness, Ketsana Mehra, stated during the criminal proceeding that prosecutor Richard Bland had told her where Turner would be sitting, according to court transcripts. I attempted to contact Bland, but the State Bar of Texas lists him as deceased.

In the transcripts, the court reporter describes the following late-2005 trial testimony that includes quotes from prosecutor Bland and defense attorneys Doug Emerson and Rex Barnett. Although Ellis was the initial officer on the scene following the burglary, several officers later joined the investigation and testified in court.

Defense attorney Barnett: When you were speaking to Mr. Bland before the trial, continued on page 7

Ketsana Mehra: Was I told that?

[Prosecutor Bland] told me, “He was going to be sitting there. You sit there, and [Turner] sits there.”

Barnett: Is Mr. Turner the only Black person at the table?

Mehra: Yes. Turner told me he was the only Black man sitting at the table and that Bland’s documented coaching made it all but certain that she would be able to point to Turner during the trial. Earlier during that court proceeding, one officer assigned to the case said Ketsana Mehra had previously stated that she did not see the suspect clearly on the day of the robbery.

Defense attorney Emerson questioned the credibility of Ketsana Mehra as a witness.

Emerson: In reference to Ketsana Mehra, she was also in the store when this occurred?

Police officer: Yes. Emerson: She was not able to make any kind of identification either?

Officer: No, sir. I don’t believe so. I don’t believe she saw his face at all.

Etsuko LaFleur also testified against Turner even though an officer described her as a weak witness at best.

Officer: [LaFleur] advised that she didn’t have much detail to give me on this. She stated she was positive she could not ID him at that time.

Defense attorney Emerson: Was she shown a photo spread?

Officer: No, sir. She said she couldn’t pick him, so I didn’t show her the [photo] spread.

Witness Saroj Mehra, the female employee who was held at gunpoint, testified that Turner was “maybe” the man who robbed the store.

Prosecutor Bland: Do you see the person that robbed you in the courtroom today?

Saroj Mehra: Maybe he is the one.

Bland: Pardon?

Mehra: Maybe he is the one.

Bland: Maybe him?

The prosecution’s strongest witness by far was Cesar Salinas, the man who said he saw the suspect three times during the day of the robbery and whose 2004 photo spread identification led to Turner’s $150,000 bond and warrant for aggravated robbery. Salinas testified last. At the time of the trial, Turner was 40 years old.

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Defense attorney (unnamed): How was [the robber] dressed?

Salinas: Dressed in appropriate manner of a 20-, 22-year-old with the long shorts that they use and a sleeveless shirt and wearing like a handkerchief or a bandana.

Defense attorney: Would you recognize that individual if you saw him here in the courtroom today?

Salinas: I possibly could, but then it’s been 16 months.

Bland: When you saw the photo spread [on July 16, 2004], did anyone tell you that you had to pick someone out?

Salinas: No, just showed me the pictures to see if I could identify [the suspect], and I told them which one it was.

When asked if the photo of Turner’s car matched the one from the crime scene, Salinas said he wasn’t sure because he couldn’t see the side windows on the photos that prosecutors presented in court. Turner alleges that the photos of his car were purposefully taken only from the front and back. Turner’s car did not have tinted windows, but several witnesses said the robber left in a car with tinted windows.

Toward the end of the trial, Turner’s defense team made an impassioned plea to the jury to find Turner not guilty of aggravated robbery.

“At the core of the system is that no person can be deprived of their liberty, one of the most important rights we have in this country, without appropriate safeguards,” defense attorney Barnett said. “They cannot be imprisoned by mere accusation or conjecture or wishful thinking. As a society, we do not want lawbreakers to get away, but it is so much more important to make sure that the wrong person doesn’t pay for what someone else does. It must be beyond a reasonable doubt. This is a case where we do not have any forensic evidence, no fingerprints, no DNA, no hair clippings, nothing physical linking anybody to the crime. We don’t have pictures of the crime. We had cameras in the store, but, for whatever reason, it wasn’t working that day.”

Barnett and Emerson practice law in continued on page 8

Follow FORT Worth Corruption Trail on the first Wednesday of the month We have over 900,000 Residents that do not have a clue about the city of Fort Worth being Redistricting, The Mayor and City Council like it that way. I think you should know what is happening is $200,000 of taxpayers’ money 100% wasted! annually, we have been barefaced lies to by the Redistricting Taskforce, and Mayor Price, if City Council will not place proposition 2 on the Ballot and billboards to inform everyone, it is a scam! and a shameless falsehood. We are adding 2 Council Members to please less than 1% of the city and City Council, it requires 20% to remove a Council Member.

You should not be afraid of the city council and the mayor, you should be mad like us, give Mayor Mattie Parker a call (817) 392-1234 and give her an ear full, Stop the Redistricting scam! And include the whole city it is everyone tax dollars. and give us back our right to speak at the city council! meetings

“Local Voter Education” Blog Talk Radio,

come Join us Sunday’s night from 8 to 9 pm by calling

1 (515) 602-9610 to listen, press 1 to speak Guests: Feb 6 Tim O’ Hare running for Tarrant County Judge Feb 13 Byron Bradford running for Tarrant County Judge Feb 20 Aaron Sorrells for Lt. Governor Feb 27 Taylor Mondick District 95 Congress (fwdistrict5.com) for more info and must-see videos Bob (817) 446-7056 b.willoughby@live.com

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were you told where everybody would be sitting in the courtroom?

Mehra: He is the one.

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Ronnie Turner has served 18 years of a 45-year sentence at the James V. Allred Unit just north of Wichita Falls.

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Pittsburgh and Weatherford respectively, according to the State Bar of Texas.

Neither attorney responded to my requests for comment on this story.

Turner said that he did not testify because he did not want the prosecution to ask about his previous criminal record for unarmed burglary and unlawful carry of a weapon.

“I do truly regret the things that I have done in the past and any harm that I have done,” Turner told me via letter, referring to offenses he committed between 1983 and 2004.

Barnett made one last appeal to the judge to issue what is known as a directed verdict. The ruling allows a judge to order the jury to return a verdict in favor of the party that requests the directed verdict.

“There has been insufficient evidence on the identity of the defendant except for contrary and contradicting testimony from the witnesses,” the defense said.

Defense motion for directed verdict is denied, Judge Elizabeth Berry replied.

Turner alleges that the county clerk’s office, the DA, local criminal judges, and the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals are coordinating efforts to derail his and other claims of actual innocence.

“Five times I have filed my actual innocence claim with DA Sharen Wilson,” Turner said. “Despite the affidavits from my alibi witness Jennifer Pullins putting me at her home at the time of the crime, the discrepancies surrounding the vehicle, and the misidentification that was allowed to happen in open court, Sharen Wilson and assistant district attorney Andrea Jacobs refuse to file any response in my case with the court.”

Turner maintains that a 2018 sworn

affidavit that was signed by Pullins, his girlfriend at the time, should have been proof enough to open an investigation into his trial and conviction. In the affidavit, Pullins said she was with Turner at the day and time of the convenience store robbery.

When Pullins called the assistant district attorney heading the conviction integrity unit at the time, Pullins was told to stop calling, according to the affidavit.

I asked Pullins how Turner’s conviction has affected her.

“We just write to each other,” she said.

“We still talk about getting married.”

Fighting back tears, Pullins said that she still prays for his release or exoneration.

“He is innocent,” she said. “He didn’t do that stuff. He was a hardworking man.

They just lie about him.”

The charge of aggravated robbery, she said, doesn’t fit his demeanor, she said.

“He wasn’t that kind of person,” she said. “No, he never got angry. He was a very good guy. He is a very good person.”

Turner feels the police, the DA, and the criminal judge destroyed his life.

“There is no way in hell that I would trust an attorney in Tarrant County to do my writ of habeas corpus,” Turner wrote in one of his letters, referring to the legal procedure for seeking exoneration. “They are all friends, and any attorney would rather lose than expose corrupt officials.”

With Pullins’ affidavit, Turner said he is entitled to an evidentiary hearing.

Assistant district attorney Jacobs has denied that due process, Turner said. He said an investigator with the conviction integrity unit did speak to Pullins a few years ago but did not follow up.

“Ronnie Turner was at my apartment with me, and he didn’t get up until 1 p.m. or 1:30 p.m.,” Pullins wrote in one affidavit. “He left my apartment about 5 or 5:30 on July 16th to give a friend a ride home. I told Ronnie that I would come to court and testify to this at his trial. continued on page 9

had many opportunities to say that it is a violation of due process for an innocent person to be convicted, incarcerated, and even executed, but they are yet to recognize that as a due process violation.”

Ethnic minorities and the poor are often victims of wrongful convictions because those populations are easier for law enforcement to pick on, Ware said. Another reason that this country frequently convicts the innocent, he continued, is because our solution to everything is to criminalize acts and prosecute them.

“If you convict a large number of people, a proportionally large number continued on page 10

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However, at no time did I ever hear from Ronnie’s attorneys or from the Fort Worth police detective or district attorney’s office. Had they contacted me, I would have been to court to testify as a witness to his whereabouts on July 16. I believe that with my testimony, Ronnie would not have been convicted.”

A DA spokesperson sent me court documents that show that prosecutors did not find Pullins’ affidavit to be credible.

In court documents, prosecutors allege that Pullins did not sign the first of the three sworn letters that she sent to the DA’s conviction integrity unit on Turner’s behalf and that the other signatures were suspect. Prosecutors also point toward the timing of Pullins’ written testimony.

“In applicant’s prior 14 applications, he alleged that he was actually innocent several times but never alleged that Ms. Pullins was his alibi,” part of a court document reads.

Turner said that the continual roadblocks that he faces with the DA, county clerk, and state court of appeals are designed to protect prosecutor Bland and Judge Berry from respectively facing charges of prosecutorial and judicial misconduct. Turner was unaware of Bland’s death at the time of our interview.

Court documents from the trial show that Turner’s previous team was unaware of Pullins or her ability to testify as an alibi witness, and it is unclear why she was not contacted to testify in Turner’s 2005 trial.

Reporting by the Washington Post found that wrongful convictions are often the result of official misconduct. Citing a recent report by the National Registry of Exonerations, a project managed by three universities, reporters found that prosecutor misconduct was responsible for 30% of wrongful convictions, yet only 4% of prosecutors involved in those convictions were disciplined.

The study cites five types of misconduct that lead to wrongful convictions: misconduct in interrogations, witness tampering, fabricating evidence, concealing evidence that weakens prosecutors’ cases, and misconduct at trial.

“Misconduct by police, prosecutors, and other law enforcement officials is a regular problem,” Samuel Gross, cofounder of the registry, told the Washington Post. “It produces a steady stream of convictions of innocent people.”

Since 1989, the National Registry of Exonerations has documented 2,500 exonerations. One local Black man was recently released from prison after lawyers with Texas’ Innocence Project used new DNA mapping techniques to conclude that he did not hold the gun that killed a Fort Worth club owner in 2009. The released man, Willie Thomas, was convicted in 2011 and given a life sentence without the

retrial.

Since 2006, staffers with the Innocence Project of Texas have worked to exonerate or free 25 innocent people who collectively served 341 years behind bars. Ware and his Innocence Project team sift through around 1,000 credible letters every year from incarcerated Texans seeking to overturn their convictions.

“The system was supposed to prevent wrongful convictions in the first place, but it hasn’t always worked out that way,” Ware said. “Other than the very general right of habeas corpus, there is nothing specifically in the Constitution that says someone who has been wrongfully convicted has a right to be exonerated. The Supreme Court has

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continued from page 8

possibility of parole.

Thomas’ conviction was largely based on statements from two men, referred to in court documents by their last names only, Morgan and Odom, who were involved in the robbery that led to the club owner’s death. As part of a plea bargain that lowered their sentences, they agreed to testify against Thomas.

“Witnesses at the club were not able to positively identify Thomas as being present at the crime,” a public statement

by Texas’ Innocence Project read.

Inmates are often given full exonerations following the discovery of new DNA evidence, but the local DA’s office is requiring Thomas to undergo a

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of them are going to be innocent,” he continued. “Many wrongful convictions involved an eyewitness who inaccurately pointed to a defense table and said, ‘That’s the person who did it.’ That’s very unreliable testimony, but it is very convincing testimony to a jury. A major cause of inaccurate eyewitness testimony, aside from the infirmities of the human perception and memory, is the fact that it’s coached. The police and the prosecutors know what they need that person to say to get a conviction, so they tell them what to say, and most witnesses will adhere to what the ‘authorities’ tell them to do, even if they believe it to be wrong.”

Ware is advocating for a set of proposals currently before the State Bar of Texas’ Committee on Disciplinary Rules and Referenda that would compel prosecutors to disclose evidence that proves a person was wrongfully convicted.

As Turner’s prison interview ended, he asked that I promise to send him a copy of my story when it came out and to send additional copies to the governor, state attorney general, and new candidates for the DA’s office. He was heartened to learn that DA Sharen Wilson will not seek reelection in 2022.

DA Wilson’s reputation remains tarnished from the 2018 conviction of

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Nearly 20 years ago, the Quick Mart at 7020 W. Vickery Ave. was the scene of an aggravated robbery that Ronnie Turner maintains he played no part in.

Crystal Mason, a Black mother of three, for illegally voting. Mason was on supervised release following a tax fraud conviction when she cast a ballot in 2016. Mason maintains that she was unaware of the obscure law that prohibits certain people from voting while under specific types of federal probation. The case is being appealed by the ACLU, which maintains that DA Wilson is using the conviction to fuel right-wing paranoia over voter fraud as a means of justifying Republican voter suppression laws.

More recently, Wilson’s administration has been plagued by accusations that her office put the interests of wealthy Southlake Republican donors over the people of Tarrant County. Early last year, Wilson sought the unprecedented prosecution of two Carroll school board members for alleged violations of the Texas Open Meetings Act, a state law governing board meetings that is frequently violated by political allies of Wilson. The indictments served the stated interests of prominent Republican donors, including current

county judge candidate Tim O’Hare, who see maligning public schools as a means of furthering baseless Critical Race Theory conspiracies and further disenfranchising people of color.

DA Wilson “stated that she was going to create the [conviction integrity unit] when she campaigned,” Turner said. “She won. She publicized one case. It was a Black guy. They found a fingerprint. He was in prison for 19 years. It took 19 years to bring that up? That is the only case I have heard of.”

The DA’s office has not yet responded to my open records request seeking the number of wrongful convictions that have been overturned by the conviction integrity unit. A cursory search for past news coverage found that John Nolley, a Black man, was released through the work of Texas’ Innocence Project and the local conviction integrity unit in 2018, and Aaron Dyson, who is white, was released last year after prosecutors reviewed new evidence related to his case.

I gave Turner my word that I would forward copies of the story as requested and that I would share the details of the case with the Innocence Project of Texas and the shortlist of elected officials he requested by name.

“Please expose them,” he said. “The people of Tarrant County need to know.” l

“A roaring, wondrous whirlpool of a show”

Promotional support provided by

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This exhibition is organized by Tate Britain in association with the Kimbell Art Museum and the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston. The exhibition is supported by an indemnity from the Federal Council on the Arts and the Humanities and by the Texas Commission on the Arts and the Fort Worth Tourism Public Improvement District.

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FINAL WEEKS Through February 6, 2022

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– The Guardian

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STUFF

Despite the league’s obvious moral failings, the NFL playoffs continue to prove the product on the field is just too good to turn away from.

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P A T R I C K

H I G G I N S

It’s a vote-with-your-wallet culture right now. Boycotting or stockpiling a certain brand’s frijoles negros or another’s sleeptime head support products could easily be determined by the last candidate you pulled a lever for. For example, I don’t eat at Chick-fil-A because a mediocre chicken sandwich is not enough of a payoff to me to assuage the guilt I’d feel over some of the bigoted things the company chooses to do with some of their profits. That’s a fairly easy one. But how do you take a stand against a morally bankrupt corporation when the product they provide is actually really, really good?

Amazon? Spotify? Facebook? There’s no shortage of big bad megacorps that I’d rather not contribute to. Goddamn if I don’t enjoy the services they offer, though. I can get a five-inch waffle iron delivered to my door by tomorrow afternoon because I impulsively bought one after watching a TikTok on a recipe for a crispy melted cheddar-and-pickle snack? Sold. I can just pop on a playlist and have an algorithm force-feed me killer tuneage undisturbed for hours, and I don’t have to get up to flip a record over?

I’ll take it. I can angry-react to some dude I went to high school with ranting about “cancel culture” from the driver’s seat of his shiny new F-150? Well, yeah, I don’t know what the hell I’m doing there.

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B Y

Cour tesy NFL.com

King Shit of Turd Mountain

Don’t you dare say you’ve run out of people to root for in the NFL.

Perhaps chief among the big bads I can’t help but consume is the NFL. Setting aside one of the league’s biggest issues in the form of the obvious longterm physical repercussions suffered by its athletes, there are plenty of other reasons to refuse to let the pro football league sell ads to make their way into your eyeballs. From the shamefully uneven profit sharing between players and owners and the gruesome gladiatorial spectacle of grown men literally trying to destroy one another for entertainment, to the seemingly ever-present specter of domestic abuse and the staggering lack of racial and gender equity among leadership positions leadership positions — an issue so severe that it has prompted recently fired Dolphins head coach Brian Flores to sue the league for discriminatory hiring practices this week — to the pervasive flatout racism and sexism infecting almost every level of the sport, if you think too long about how the NFL sausage is made, you couldn’t in good conscience take a single bite.

Other major sports handle some of the above infinitely better. Major League Baseball has the most powerful player’s association in professional sports, and as a result, the average MLB player’s salary is $4.17M, nearly five times that of the average NFL player’s $860K, despite the MLB’s lower annual revenue. The NBA is certainly at the vanguard of racial equity in sports with the number of Black coaches hovering around 50% compared to the NFL’s embarrassing 12.5%. In the NHL … well, maybe they actually help

the NFL’s look in respect to some of the above issues. The point being, the NFL is a rotten organization.

But! As the playoffs have shown, the NFL’s product is just too damn good.

What is more beautiful than Cooper Kupp catching a 40-yard pass over his shoulder to set up a field goal and stave off yet another Tom Brady Super Bowl appearance? Or Patrick Mahomes hitting Tyreek Hill for a 64-yard TD catch and run to take back a lead just a minute after the Cinderella Bills scored? You just have to make yourself forget that Hill, one of the league’s two best wide receivers, fell to the late fifth round of the 2016 draft because he brutally beat and choked his pregnant girlfriend.

The last two weeks of the NFL playoffs have been some of the most exciting spectacles any sporting fan could ever hope for. We can ignore “Super” Wild Card Weekend, which suffered greatly by the addition of a seventh playoff team in each conference — a flagrant cash-grab by the legion of bloodsucking septuagenarians who run the league and which culminated in a series of mostly boring blowouts. Beginning with the Divisional Round, however, the six games since have all been absolutely stellar. Every single game was decided by only a field goal and, in most cases, a walk-off field goal at that. The Buffalo/ Kansas City game alone is one of the most monumental sporting events I’ve ever seen. Twenty-five points between the two in the final two minutes?!?! If it weren’t for the NFL’s stupid overtime rules,

those two teams might still be trading touchdowns more than a week later. You can’t script entertainment more fulfilling.

The parity that the league seeks (at least as far as quality of teams) is being born out in front of our eyes, and the results are inarguable. The singleelimination aspect of the NFL playoffs gives infinitely more weight to each game than in the other leagues’ series-based format. With the teams so evenly matched — swings in momentum! lead changes! explosive plays! — you just can’t beat it.

So shut off your noodle and focus on the good. There’s a lot of it. For every scumbag like Tyreek Hill, there are a dozen solid bros like Joe Burrow (Joe Cool 2.0) and Andrew Whitworth to cheer for. For every gruff and stoic Jon Gruden, who was rightfully fired earlier this year for sending racist, sexist emails, there’s a Sean McVay, a guy on the sidelines with heavy youth minister vibes who coaches with the same passion as a fan in the stands. He’s you with the brain of a football computer.

Perhaps the NFL is like ground beef. The high fat content is exactly what makes it so effing delicious. It’s also what’s giving you colon cancer. With the Cincinnati Bengals set to square off against the Los Angeles Rams in Super Bowl 56 in two weeks, I can think of a million reasons to tune out. If I were the type to put my duckets where my piehole resides, I would. But I’m not. And so I’ll watch. And I’ll enjoy every damn second of it. l

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psychokinetic powers, and a rebellious streak. “She’s unloved by her cruel parents but impresses her schoolteacher, the highly loveable Miss Honey. Matilda’s school life isn’t completely smooth sailing, however. The school’s mean headmistress, Miss Trunchbull, hates children and just loves thinking up new punishments for those who don’t abide by her rules. But Matilda has courage and cleverness in equal amounts and could be the school pupils’ saving grace!” Tickets are $29-$39 at CasaManana.org.

“Furiously funny & disarmingly real” -Arts in LA

JAN 27 - FEB 20

Church & State

"Startlingly original!

Brave and bold"

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- NY Times

FEB 3-20

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On the

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Exhale

stagewest.org 817-784-9378

821 West Vickery, Fort Worth 76104

Make reservations for pre--how dining

NIGHT&DAY Jean Carlos Centeno and Ronal Urbina will set the mood at The Mysterious Circus thru Sunday.

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On Thursdays thru Sundays at various times thru Sun, Feb 20, Stage Thursday West (821 W Vickery Blvd, 817-784-9378) presents On the Exhale: A Play by Martin Zimmerman. “When a senseless act of violence changes her life forever, a college professor finds herself inexplicably drawn to the very weapon used to perpetrate the crime — and to the irresistible feeling of power that comes from holding life and death in her hands.

Peering down the barrel of a uniquely American crisis, this perspective-bending one-woman tour de force intimately examines our collective grief over a national epidemic that we all want to end.”

Tickets are $45 at StageWest.org.

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Magnolia at the Modern — an ongoing series featuring critically Friday acclaimed films screened in the auditorium of the Modern Art Museum of Fort Worth (3200 Darnell St, 817-738-9215) — recently released its February schedule. Up next is Jockey, a drama about an aging jockey, his longtime trainer, and a recently acquired championship horse. “The years — and injuries — have taken a toll on his body, throwing into question his ability to continue his lifelong passion. And the arrival of a young rookie rider who claims

to be his son, and whom he takes under his wing, further complicates the path to fulfilling his dream.” The film is 94 minutes long and is R-rated. Showtimes are 4pm and 8pm today, 5pm Sat, and noon, 2pm, and 4pm Sun. Tickets are $10.

Sunday noon shows are always half-price.

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Look out, Cirque Italia, another circus-style show is hot on your heels. On Saturday Friday thru Sunday at various times at Irving Mall (5880 Irving Mall, 972-255-0572), then Thu-Sun, Feb 10-13, at the Shops at Willow Bend (6121 W Park Blvd, Plano, 972-202-7115), see The Mysterious Circus (@MysteriousCircus, 469-897-2588) in theatrical tents in the mall parking lots. This production features acrobats, contortionists, and daredevil stunt performers, with the troupe members taking on a Globe of Death and Wheel of Death. Colombian singer-songwriters Jean Carlos Centeno and Ronal Urvina will perform live and provide the mysterious soundscape. Tickets are $20-$55 at TheMysteriousCircus.com.

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Daily at various times thru Sun, Feb 13, Casa Manana presents Matilda Sunday the Musical. Based on the book by Dennis Kelly, this is the story of a bright little girl with an active imagination,

Cour tesy The Mysterious Circus

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When people encourage artistic types to “be creative,” they don’t mean Monday “cook the books.” If you are a local creative and need guidance on bookkeeping, invoicing, taxes, and the like, the Mansfield Commission for the Arts (1164 Matlock Rd, Mansfield, 817728-3383) wants to assist. Veteran freelance artists and local professionals will be on hand at the Arts & Finances educational seminar at 6pm. The cost to attend is $10.

Admission is free for Arts Commission members. For more info or membership inquiries, contact the office of the Cultural Arts Supervisor at 817-728-3383.

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As part of the Conversations with Women’s Voices of DFW Tuesday four-night event series, Downtown Cowtown at The Isis Theater (2401 N Main St, 817-808-6390) presents an evening with WFAA’s Tashara Parker from 7:30pm to 10pm. The guest moderator is local mental health professional Adaire Byerly of Entertainment Mindframe (EntertainmentMindframe.com). Future speakers include Betsy Price — former mayor of Fort Worth and current candidate for Tarrant County Judge — on Tue, Mar 15, and Krys Boyd of Think on KERA/ NPR on Tue, Apr 12. Tickets are $35 per event at OuthouseTickets.com.

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To read about the night that Jim Croce fell in love with #RollerDerbyQueen Wednesday a — or figure out who that even is, you infants — do some googling.

To learn about joining up with the North Texas Roller Derby (222 S Mayhill Rd, Ste 100, Denton, @NorthTexasRollerDerby), you should come to the NTRD February Open House from 7:30pm to 9pm. Ladies, if you’ve never skated before, that’s OK. They will teach you. Bring your 18-yearold+ self, your COVID vax card, and the appropriate gear, including skates, elbow pads, helmet, knee pads, mouth guard, and wrist guards. Some used equipment will be available for rent or purchase at the event, but @AceofSkates is a great resource as well. There is no cost to attend.

By Jennifer Bovee

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221 E Broadway Ave 817-332-4364 Heart of Fort Worth’s South Main Village!

www.DoggieDiggsFortWorth.com

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for Small Breeds

Day & 24 Hour Boarding for All Sizes Grooming For Small & Medium Sizes

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DOGGIE DAYCARE

“We’ll take great care of your furry friends!”

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Vacations or Staycations

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GIOVANNI’S I TA L I A N K I T C H E N

Co m e J o i n Us Valenti n e ’s W e e ke nd Complimentary roses on sunday the 13th Closed Monday the 14th

5733 crowley rd • fort worth tx 76134

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817.551.3713 | GIOVANNISFW.COM

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our hilarious Homicide Detective, ostensibly from the Fort Worth Police Department.” Tickets are $62.95 per person and include an hors d’oeuvre reception, a threecourse dinner with your entree of choice, soft drinks (cash bar available), gratuities, and the live-action show happening all around you. For details and tickets, visit MurderMysteryTexas.com.

Eat Your Heart Out!

5.) If you’ve been, Valentine’s is the perfect excuse for dinner theater. From 7pm to 10pm on Sat, Feb 12, national troupe Keith & Margo presents Murder in Sundance Square, an immersive mystery dinner theatre experience at Aloft Hotel (334 W 3rd St, 817-885-7999).

The plot is basically a police procedural drama, but they’ve got jokes. “Enjoy an evening of delicious cuisine and despicable crime as you help solve a triple homicide, but don’t be surprised if you find yourself at the business end of a comically snarky third-degree interrogation by

8.) Let’s talk about your heart, literally. With the arrival of February, it is now the 57th Annual American Heart Month. According to the American Heart Association, stroke and cardiovascular disease are among the leading causes of death in our country. Along with checking out healthier dining choices as advocated by the Blue Zones Project or buying a year’s supply of oatmeal to fight off the “bad” cholesterol, you can also be proactive with your heart health by doing preventative health screenings.

Companies like Life Line Screenings offer packages that include several types of tests. June Peterson, who represents Life Line, let us know that the current special for February is five screenings for $149: “Screenings can provide peace of mind or early detection!” Call 1-833-6361757 for more information.

By Jennifer Bovee

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3.) On Fri-Tue, Feb 11-14, Riscky’s Steakhouse (120 E Exchange Av, 817-624-4800) offers its Texas Twosome Valentine’s Special. This complete dinner for two is $89.99 and includes an appetizer of calf fries with gravy, one 6-oz filet, one 18-oz bone-in ribeye, two side salads, two side dishes, and two glasses of house wine. This offer is valid for dine-in and to-go orders, although wine is not included when you make it to-go.

4.) From 2pm to 10pm Sat, Feb 12, head to Sledge Distilling (8210 Paluxy Hwy, Tolar, 817-888-8119) for the Bring Your Honey Hootenanny featuring live music — love songs for dancing — by Brandon Scott. Valentine’sthemed drinks and food by Weatherford food truck Tacos El Viejon (@TacosElViejonTX) are available for purchase.

There is no cost to attend.

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2.) From 7pm to 9pm Sun, Feb 9, join Grand Cru Wine Bar (1257 W Magnolia Av, 817-923-1717) for a seated Wine & Bites Pairing. The event includes five wine tastings — beginning and ending with a bubbly variety — with hors d’oeuvres. For updates on pricing or wine and food selections, keep an eye on Facebook.com/ GrandCruWineBar. In the meanwhile, save the date!

Nothing says “I love you” like a heart-shaped box of tacos from Los 3 Karnales.

7.) For ladies on a budget, Taste Project also has a paywhat-you-can Galentine’s Day Brunch. From 10am to 2pm Sun, Feb 13, gather your girlfriends for a day of “ladies celebrating ladies” and pay what you can afford, pay what you would typically pay, or pay what you would typically pay plus a little extra to help the community.

Reserve a table now at TasteProject.org.

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1.) If anyone loves me, they will send tacos to the Weekly offices — specifically, a heart-shaped box of tacos like the one pictured from Fort Worth food truck Los 3 Karnales (@Los3KarnalesFW, 817-229-1990). For only $12, you can send me (or someone else you love) six tacos and a horchata or lemonade. As quantities are limited, you should pre-order immediately. You wouldn’t want to disappoint me, now, would you?

Cour tesy Facebook

Whether celebrating Singles Awareness Day, gathering the gals for a Galentine’s gathering, or buying into the sentimentality of a traditional Valentine’s Day dinner, it’s time to plot things out. Here are eight ideas to get you started.

6.) How does love taste? At $300 per couple, it had better taste delicious. This amount is the ticket price for the Fifth Annual Taste the Love Valentine’s Dinner and Fundraiser at Taste Project (1200 S Main St, 682-2331255) at 6pm Sat, Feb 12. All sales benefit Taste Project’s efforts in feeding, educating, and serving the community, plus operating Taste Community Restaurant, so it’s worth every dollar. Reserve your table in advance on EventBrite. com. For more information, visit TasteProject.org.

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Dinner with the Modern Lights

LIVING LOCAL

Valentines at Crockett Row From coffee to spa treatments, the shops at Crockett Row at West 7th (816 Foch St, 817-810-9076) have a variety of choices for Valentine’s Day. Here are just a few of the specials for Valentine’s Day 2022 Cinnaholics (817 Currie St, 817)-2032421) will be announcing its Valentines’s Days Specials soon.

Keep an eye on CinnaholicCrockettRow. com..

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Hiatus Spa (2859 Crockett St, 817-9842200) has two Valentine’s Day specials, plus receive a $250 gift card for $200.

The Greatest Love of All includes signature massage and custom facial for $179 (regularly $200). The Unforgettable includes a sparkler facial, mani/pedi, and massage for $349 (regularly $420). All specials are available in spa and online thru Tue, Feb 25. For more info, visit HiatussSpa.com/Locations/FortWorth.

Insomnia Cookies (825 Currie St) is offering Heart Cookie Cakes, Classic Red

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Fridays through February 4 from 5 to 8:30 pm Executive Chef Jett Mora welcomes you with warm hospitality, creative cuisine, and a seasonal menu rooted in Texas ingredients.

Create your own holiday memories on Friday nights at Café Modern.

Seating is available from 5 to 8:30 pm. For reservations, call 817.840.2157.

The Modern trees will be illuminated with an array of festive lights in celebration of the holiday season. The museum galleries are open for FREE until 8 pm on Fridays.

Modern Art Museum of Fort Worth 3200 Darnell Street Fort Worth, Texas 76107 817.738.9215

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Promotional Feature

Velvet Cookie (AKA the o.g. V-Day fave), and Red Velvet Loaded Brownies, Red Velvet Big Dippers + Chocolate Lovers Dippers Social House (840 Currie St, 817-8201510) hosts a Valentine’s Day Brunch and Dinner. Brunch is 11am-3pm Mon, Feb 14. Dinner is 5pm-9:30pm Mon, Feb 14 and includes a 3-course meal and a special Valentine’s Cocktail Menu. The price is $45 per person by reservation only. For reservations, call or go to SocialHouseFortWorth.com.

Toasted Coffee + Kitchen (2972 Crockett St, 682-703-5000) is offering 1/2 Price Rose Mimosas. Purchase a Mimosa Carafe which serves 3-4 for $6.50 or a single Mimosa for $2.25. Offer will be valid from Sat, Feb 12 thru Mon, Feb 14.

For more info, visit Toasted.Coffee.

EATS & drinks

Rahr of the Tiger

The brewery threw a lively party Saturday to celebrate the Lunar New Year.

Rahr & Sons Brewing Co., 701 Galveston Av, FW. 817-810-9266. 2pm-8pm Sun, 5pm-8pm Wed, 4pm-8pm Thu, 3pm-10pm Fri, 12pm-10pm Sat. Closed Mon-Tue. All major credit cards accepted.

S T O R Y A N D P H O T O S B Y C H R I S T I N A B E R G E R

“Best Thai Food” – FW Weekly Critics Choice 2015, 2017 & 2019 4630 SW Loop 820 | Fort Worth• 817-731-0455 order online for pickup Thaiselectrestaurant.com

sky at Rahr & Sons Brewing Co. during its Chinese New Year Weekend Tasting, with a beer in hand and a niggling feeling that continued on page 20

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least for one lovely day, like last Saturday, all feels new and possible.

That’s precisely how I ushered in the Year of the Tiger — beneath a cloudless

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FIRST BLUE ZONES

bosom of spring’s warm embrace? Though Texas weather tends to be a fickle, tempestuous bitch who could shove you back into the icy throes of winter at any moment, at

BEST RAMEN WINNER - Fort Worth Weekly Best Of 2021

K I N T A R O R A M E N . C O M

FO R T WO R T H W E E K LY

Is there anything quite like a gorgeous, sunny day to drag you from your seasonal affective disorder and thrust you into the

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I should have applied sunscreen.

The Year of the Tiger marks the third in the 12-year cycle of the Chinese Zodiac, based on the lunisolar calendar. Legend tells of a race decreed by the Jade Emperor to determine which animals were worthy of guarding him. The cycle corresponds to the order in which each finished the race, and while I’m all for a good myth, I have a hard time stomaching that a rat beat out all the other animals … I suppose if Peter Pettigrew could endure for so long as a family’s pet rat in the Harry Potter series, there must be some basis for the creature’s resourcefulness. Personally, I’m more of a dog person.

Squinting and ducking under the garage door entrance into the taproom lined with barrels and brightly hued cans left me disoriented. While my pupils adjusted, I dazedly approached the ticket counter.

Fifteen buckaroos bought me a festive pint glass and three and a half pours of Rahr’s

usual ales. Every inch of the gold-rimmed tumbler was decorated in scarlet artwork, with bulbous lanterns, a veinlike network of flowers reaching toward the brim, and two tigers mid-roar as a beer can erupts like a firework betwixt them.

I was a bit surprised that the wellloved local brewery hadn’t crafted a special batch for the occasion. Most everything on tap I’d tasted before, aside from a spiced orange hard seltzer with ginger and cinnamon. My second pour of the day, the fizzy concoction was admittedly subtle in flavor, as if someone had spritzed citrus into the mixture from across the room while another whispered each particular spice in its general direction. Still, I savored the seltzer’s refreshing effervescence.

It seems I was a few days early for the specialty suds. This weekend, Rahr will release a remix of its famous Ugly Pug — just in time for the impending arctic front. A similar dark malt, S’more Pug tips toward sweet with notes of vanilla, cinnamon, and cocoa. I can’t wait to get my mitts on a can continued on page 21

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o’ that.

The Chinese New Year event promoted live music from Abbey Munk Band along with Asian and Pacific Island fare from NSFW Foods. While the former delivered, the latter was nowhere to be found.

Instead, a boxy Yatai Food Cart whose chalk-art menu displayed a rice bowl with each ingredient labeled was parked to the side of the stage. I made the mistake of eating too much beforehand to curb the headache I would inevitably suffer after day-drinking — yes, 30 hit me hard — so I regrettably didn’t indulge.

The atmosphere was as mellow as it gets. When I walked outside holding the first strike on my wristband, Texas Red, I spotted my friend lounging near the edge of a sea of Adirondack chairs, having already tossed back most of his blonde brewski. Texas Red continues to be my go-to, a scrumptious lager that’s light and just a tad hoppy with a crisp finish. The

Blonde feels like a summer sipper to me, and I’m just not emotionally ready to stow my sweaters and scarves yet.

I was pleased to discover that the rendition of “Wagon Wheel” I’d heard from my parking spot on West Leuda had originated from Rahr. Abbey Munk, who can’t be more than 16 years old, strummed away, surrounded by a gaggle of uncle-aged bandmates while her mom flitted about, capturing footage. From the short interludes between songs, you might assume that Abbey is reserved, but then she belts out greats like “Sweet Child O’ Mine” and “Mama’s Broken Heart,” and you realize she lets her vocals speak for themselves.

Forgive my sentimentality, but I can’t help but fondly recall my first piece for the Weekly almost exactly three years ago — a review of the “blind tiger” that had just opened, Bodega West 7th. There’s a sort of poeticism there, no? “From blind tiger to Year of the Tiger.” Is it mere coincidence, or perhaps an auspicious sign?

Time will tell. Meanwhile, here’s to good times, great beer, and even better fortune.

Prost, y’all! l

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Eats & Drinks

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MUSIC S T E W A R D

One funny thing I noticed when I googled “Neil Young” this week: The Spotify icon is still the first choice in the results page’s “Listen” section, despite the fact that the iconoclastic classic rocker is currently in the news for removing his music from the streaming service, following through

continued on page 24

feb. 2

carter faith feb. 3

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poo live crew feb. 5

david nail

Jan. 14 - Feb. 5

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S T E V E

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You probably aren’t because the damage is done.

ROADHOUSE

with the “find out” conclusion of Spotify’s choice to fuck around with him about Joe Rogan and the specious COVID-related content that the comedian/podcaster gives air to on his podcast. Is Spotify presuming Young will get over himself and restore his catalog now that the company has promised to put a content warning on Rogan’s episodes, and is that an easier route to take than getting Google to remove their service as a channel for listening to Neil Young? Is it just an oversight? Don’t you have On the Beach on vinyl anyway?

I don’t know, and I don’t really care.

For one thing, there are already enough opinions about this already. From that very same search page, Politico warned of “The Dangerous Appeal of Neil Young’s Righteous Censorship,” while CNN declared that “Neil Young puts his finger on America’s big divide.” Rolling Stone giddily tossed off the clickbait-y “Nash, Young Reunite Against Spotify,” referring

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Music

continued from page 23

to Neil’s former bandmate, Graham Nash, while Fox News predictably gave Rogan a big, slappy bro-hug, commending him for hitting “the right note after Neil Young’s attack.”

Moreover, I don’t even care that the other legacy artists — which, at the time of this writing, include Joni Mitchell, E Street Band guitarist and songwriter Nils Lofgren, the aforementioned Nash, and India Arie — are joining Young in his exodus in protest. Good for them, I guess, even though none of them are going to have trouble keeping the lights on over this. I applaud the symbolism of their stances, and now I’d like to go back to what I was doing, because even if Rogan has a content warning on his show and

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even though Rogan promised to “have all the pertinent facts on hand before I discuss them,” wouldn’t you say that the great ship of policing Spotify content has already sailed? Or, to borrow from Young himself, wouldn’t you say the damage is done?

I was 7 years old when Tipper Gore’s Parents Resource Music Center debuted, and by the time I was old enough to buy my own music, I knew that a cassette or a CD with that black-and-white Parental Advisory sticker was an absolute mustbuy. And thinking about that, I can only imagine that this drama is good for Rogan, for Spotify, and, I suppose, for Amazon, the music streaming service that Young is currently promoting as an alternative to the one he just peaced out on. So really, Young’s noble intention will cause ignoble waves, motivating people who were previously ignorant of Rogan or merely

Rogan-curious to finally wade in and see what flavor of Kool-Aid he’s putting in his water, regardless of whatever digital sticker Spotify slaps on his page. And that points to another reason I don’t care about this story: Unless Spotify’s listeners abandon the service en masse over controversial content, nothing will change. Per that assertion, I have to ask: Are you willing to cancel your Spotify account?

I, for one, am not, even though I know full well how little artists make from the platform and even though I know its compression is terrible and makes everything sound shitty and even though they’re still hosting Joe Rogan. The fact is that even though Spotify’s policies, business model, and quality kind of suck, the service is too convenient, and it mostly lines up in ways that don’t actively harm my life, never mind that it’s been a part of

my life for a really long time. It’s the same as Amazon and Exxon, AT&T and Target, the Democratic party and every scrap of clothing I’ve ever worn that came from a developing nation, undoubtedly produced in a miasma of exploitative conditions.

What do you want from me? I’m an American. I try to do the right thing much of the time, but other times, I just can’t be bothered, and I bet that’s the same for you, too. Because whether you listened to Neil Young on your Spotify subscription or on vinyl, you’re still spending money in the system that profits from whoever is the biggest, the boldest, and the loudest. If Spotify cared about anything other than that money, they wouldn’t have signed Rogan to begin with. To borrow from Young yet again, rock ’n’ roll will never die, not as long as there are people to spend money on it. l

The Orbans at MASS Sat Here’s something you can talk about this week other than the weather: The Orbans’ show at MASS (1002 S Main St, 682-707-7774) on Saturday, which also features Yeah Huh and Ghost Cloak. If you’re at all nostalgic for the Fort Worth of a decade ago — and, honestly, who isn’t from time to time — The Orbans will really take you back, seeing as how they were one of the centerpieces of the Fort Worth music scene back then, one of the all-time should’ve-been-huge local bands whose hook-heavy, Pete Yorn-influenced indie rock garnered

DJ Son of Stan at the Owl Sat Since I’m on the subject of the Fort Worth of a decade ago, I’d like to bring up Super Bowl XLVI, not because of the game itself but because that was the night the Boiled Owl Tavern (909 W Magnolia Av) opened for business. While I likely rooted against the Patriots, I didn’t pay any attention because I was busily pouring drinks during my first shift at what would become one of Magnolia’s premier drinking destinations. Ten years later, I’m still pouring drinks there, and while we recently deep-cleaned the bar and finally got rid of all those DVDs on the backbar wall, very little has changed, and I

think that is exceedingly comforting. In celebration of this milestone, the Owl is throwing an anniversary party Saturday.

The costume theme is “dress like your favorite decade,” and Son of Stan, the nom de rock of Jordan Richardson, who’ll be releasing a new single, “Cool Country,” on Friday, will be dropping the needle on three hours of classic jams.

— S.S.

More Sonic Goodness This Week

On Wed, Feb 2, go to Twilite Lounge (212 Lipscomb St, 817-720-5483) for the Claws Out Comedy STFU open-mic night, with Euless’ Kate Greathouse in

Cour tesy Facebook

Cour tesy Facebook

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Noteworthy

them a sizeable fanbase. Yeah Huh, the indie rock project of former Oil Boom frontman Ryan Taylor and guitarist Kenny Wayne Hollingsworth (also of The Orbans, as well as Leon Bridges’ band), will also kind of take you back, even though their songs are pretty new, if for no other reason than Taylor’s old band used to play with The Orbans often enough. Taylor and Hollingsworth will also be backing opening act Ghost Cloak, a musician hailing from McKinney-byway-of-Manchester, U.K. The idea of a backline utilized by all three of these bands is really soothing to my bassist brain. — Steve Steward

Drive-By Truckers will Southern-rock Tulips Monday.

the featured spot. For your Thursday night plans, folky singer-songwriter Taylor Craig Mills and his band are playing at MASS. Should you still have charge in your nightlife batteries on Monday, long-lived and loudly celebrated Southern rockers the Drive-By Truckers are at Tulips FTW (112 S Main St, 817367-9798). Tickets at Prekindle.com.

Certainly, all of these shows will be a better weekend recap than a long story about a short drive through some sleet.

— S.S. Contact HearSay at Anthony@FWWeekly.com.

With multiple locations to choose from, our program continues to help Tarrant County residents save and secure money this tax season!

FIND A TAX CENTER NEAR YOU!

VOLUNTEER INCOME TAX ASSISTANCE

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Our IRS-certified volunteers help taxpayers claim valuable tax credits to ensure they are maximizing their full refund potential—including the Child Tax Credit (CTC).

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United Way of Tarrant County’s Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA) program provides FREE tax preparation services for families and individuals whose household income is $60,000 or less.

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GET YOUR TAXES DONE FOR FREE!

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CLASSIFIEDS ADVERTISE WITH US

EMPLOYMENT Eagles Point Bar & Grill 1029 N Saginaw Blvd Looking for a fun place to make that coin? We are searching for fun, energetic cooks for full or parttime positions that always put their best food forward. Experience is a plus! More info at: Facebook.com/ EaglesPointBarGrill Ol’ South Pancake House New Year, New Career!

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Along with advice, eligible patients are also able to receive birth control, UTI treatments, and other healthcare appointments via the smartphone app and telehealth appointments. To chat, you can text PPNOW to 774-636.

MIND / BODY / SPIRIT Gateway Church Church time is the BEST time! Join us for online church each weekend. Online services start at 4 pm on Saturdays and are available to watch any time after at https:// gway.ch/GatewayPeople.

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PUBLIC NOTICES TDLR Complaints Any Texans who may be concerned that an unlicensed massage business may be in operation near them, or believe nail salon employees may be human trafficking victims, may now report those concerns directly to the Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation (TDLR) by emailing ReportHT@TDLR.Texas.gov.

RENTALS / REAL ESTATE Cyndy Reep, Realtor Berkshire Hathaway HA Alexander Chandler Realty 2900 S Hulen, FWTX 817-806-4100 Critic’s Choice for Best Realtor in Best Of 2021: “Here in North Texas, ladies — and gentleman, for that matter — tend to do what they want. Realtor Cyndi Reep is no exception. While she does have listings and can certainly help you sell your property, her true love is being a buyer’s agent. Whether it’s buying or leasing a commercial or residential space, she has a flair for helping clients find exactly what they want and need... (Read more at FWWeekly.com.)

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bulletin board Trojan Commercial Real Estate Services TrojanCRE.com Full-service company specializing in consulting, leasing, property management, real estate, and sales. Call today! 817-632-6252 PRODUCTS & SERVICES AT&T Wireless 1-877-384-1025 Two great new offers! Ask how to get the new iPhone 11 or Next Generation Samsung Galaxy S10e ON US with AT&T’s Buy one, Give One offer. While supplies last!

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SUBMISSIONS We’d Like To Hear From You! Do you have thoughts and feelings, or questions, comments or concerns about something you read in the Weekly? Please email Question@fwweekly.com. Do you have an upcoming event? For potential coverage in Night & Day, Big Ticket, Ate Day8 A Week, or CrosstownSounds, email the details to Jennifer@fwweekly.com.

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FREE VALENTINE GIFT Fort Worth

If you need to hire staff or promote your business, let us help you online and/or in print. For more info, call 817-987-7689 or email stacey@fwweekly.com today.

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EMPLOYMENT

Business Intelligence Analyst (Fort Worth, TX) Dvlp & manage business intelligence solutions for the Liquor Store. Create business intelligence tools, d/ bases, reports, & dashboards to operate the Store. Dvlp policies & procedures for data collection & analysis.

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Send resume in duplicate: Nandi K. Bhattarai, Manager, Tridevi Enterprises LLC, D/B/A Jamestic Liquor, 5601 McCart Ave, Ste#B, Fort Worth, TX 76133.

HISTORIC RIDGLEA THEATER

THE RIDGLEA is three great venues within one historic Fort Worth landmark. RIDGLEA THEATER has been restored to its authentic allure, recovering unique Spanish-Mediterranean elements. It is ideal for large audiences and special events. RIDGLEA ROOM and RIDGLEA LOUNGE have been making some of their own history, as connected adjuncts to RIDGLEA THEATER, or hosting their own smaller shows and gatherings. More at theRidglea.com

MINERAL RIGHTS WANTED EMPLOYMENT:

Private National Mortgage Acceptance Company, LLC seeks Sr. Application Developer in Fort Worth, TX to design & develop application architectural framework. Reqs. Master’s degree or foreign equiv in Computer Science, Computer Engineering or rel. field & 1-yr post-baccalaureate exp. as Application Developer, Software Developer or rel. role. Exp. must incl. Database Design & portal development to MVC framework & Dotnet core using ASP.NET framework, jQuery Data Tables, JavaScript, AJAX, Boot Strap 4.5 & MVC 4.0. Send resume to quyen.ha@pnmac.com.

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