Fort Worth Weekly // November 17-23, 2021

November 17-23, 2021 FREE fwweekly.com

BIG TICKET Let us help you with your Thanksgiving plans.

BY JENNIFER BOVEE

EATS & DRINKS Los Tacos Way is the right way to celebrate the birria trend.

BY LAURIE JAMES

STUFF Cowboys tell the Falcons to take it like a man.

BY BO JACKSBORO

MUSIC The partytastic flow of the Rivercrest Yacht Club comes alive in their new LP.

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

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November 17-23, 2021

It’s that time of year, when we celebrate the worst of the worst in local politics, media, sports, and … traffic?

By Fort Worth Weekly Writers

Cowboy Up

No power-bottom, the silver and blue are taking charge.

By Bo Jacksboro

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Beezlebooty Rockin’

The Rivercrest Yacht Club is back, and if you didn’t know white-boy gospel hiphop was a thing, well …

By Patrick Higgins

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Taco, Taco, Burrito

Out in Arlington, little Los Tacos Way is serving up some big-time Tex-Mex.

By Laurie James

Cover illustration by Craig Winzer

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C o u r t e s y R i v e r c r e s t Ya c h t C l u b

Turkeys, Baby

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Anthony Mariani, Editor Lee Newquist, Publisher Bob Niehoff, General Manager Ryan Burger, Art Director Jim Erickson, Circulation Director

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

Emmy Smith, Proofreader

EDITORIAL

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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INSIDE

STAFF

NOVEMBER 17-23, 2021

Number 33

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

Vo lum e 17

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

NOVEMBER 17-23, 2021

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W

e really wish we didn’t have to do this. We really wish we were back to 2010 or thereabouts, when life seemed so much kinder, gentler, easier.

Now, it’s nonstop political bullshit, all because one side of the aisle is trying to turn our free country into a church-state.

From all the wonders of the Obama years — forcing health-care and Wall Street reform, signing the stimulus, ending the Iraq War, killing bin Laden — one stupid, poorly timed headline before a pretty significant presidential election five years ago launched what will surely become decades of social, economic, cultural strife.

One side wants equality, freedom, fairness, justice, and peace. The other wants … I’m not quite sure what the other wants, other than to say that they would be A-OK with AR-15-armed deacons watching over our every move in our homes to make sure what we were doing gibed with the Bible.

Sorry, lefthanded people. Y’all are going straight to hell. What does the Bible say about conception? That’s right. Nothing.

And yet here we are.

It’s funny. Even during the Obama years, we had no problem coming up with deserving Turkey Award recipients, including many Democrats and Independents, and we still don’t, thanks to the fact that we live in the reddest big city in one of the reddest states in the union.

As with previous years, our cup runneth over with grisly gravy. If our 2021 Turkey Awards issue were 500 pages long, I still don’t think we’d have enough room to properly acknowledge all of the mean, evil-spirited jerks making decisions on our behalf or in our communities here in North Texas. The tragedy is that some folks are cool with this. They want chaos.

They want the strife. They want a civil war.

It’s so bad I spend my nights praying for Anonymous to do something, anything.

Lord knows the Democraps in Congress won’t lift a withered finger.

These are treacherous times. On the one side, you have freedom lovers like us, and on the other, you have mostly white,

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mostly wealthy, and mostly uneducated white people clamoring for a church-state.

At this magazine, we will continue to fight for freedom. What that means is that you’re going to see the same kinds of biting editorials from me, and our board, and the same kinds of hardnosed investigative coverage that we’ve been offering since our first day 25 years ago only amped to the max. Edward Brown — who covered the #BLM marches every single day last summer and is now digging into the DA’s office and the county jail — is the best print gumshoe working in North Texas.

Period. Show him some love.

Someone in this one-horse town needs to tell it like it is. The Star-T has no balls, the Business Press and Fort Worth Report are even less inclined to piss anyone off, especially their advertisers and well-off owners, and Fort Worth magazine actually craves a church-state — but only one for well-off whites and well-off POC who are so desperate to be white-adjacent they turn their backs on their own heritage. The truth hurts, and I’d be lying if I said it wasn’t hurting us. Any of you who’ve lived in Fort Worth for longer than a minute know that that’s the (hurtful) truth. Still, we persist.

That’s why the Weekly is here, to speak truth to power, and your support would be appreciated now more than ever. You can help by showing our advertisers lots of love and by sharing our stories on social media.

And maybe by firing back in the comments section after the 500th troll has told us we suck, can’t form sentences, and are going to hell for supporting equality and peace. I hate to say it, but if there comes a day when we have to close up shop — taking with us our 2.5 million monthly views, our 40,000 Instagram followers, and our 20,000 Facebook followers that we did not buy like some other publications but that we earned the hard way, one good story at a time — then there’ll be nothing left. And certainly nothing left.

I know we’ve made some cringy, “nonwoke” mistakes in the past — one or two on my watch over the past couple of years, at least one I can think of under my own

damn name a decade ago — and if you’re still tuning us out despite our sincere apologies, we totally understand. All the best to you, regardless. For those of you who remain, we thank you and appreciate you, especially now. Sheer numbers are what we need: registering voters, writing letters, door knocking, block walking, backtalking, voting. Now is the time to come together to defeat the great enemy baring down on us. And he’s orange and obese and superrapey, and if he and his millions of cultish followers aren’t stopped — including the ones in our own neighborhoods, in our own houses! — then democracy as we know it will die. We will be living The Handmaid’s Tale. Spoiler alert: It’s super not fun.

Now is the time to put aside our minor differences in key. Now is the time to join voices and fight.

Welcome to our 25th Annual Turkey Awards. — Anthony Mariani

And the Golden Gobbler Goes to …

Congratulations to Texas’ governor and chief numbskull for winning this award for, like, the 500th time in a row. Greg Abbott certainly doesn’t live in Fort Worth, but because his seemingly endless streams of asinine policies rain down brown times upon us, too, we can’t help but serve him some puke pie yet again.

Of all of his past victories, this one appears to be his most deserving yet, and that’s saying something coming from the state that petulantly sued Obama every day *nostalgic sigh* and routinely lost and that still refuses to expand Medicaid as millions of seniors continue struggling with healthcare costs, but hey — they’re probably the same old folks who should have sacrificed themselves at the urging of Texas’ lieutenant governor, world-class got-nothing-betterto-do shit-heel Dan Patrick, to keep Donald J. Trump’s #sad #lowenergy lockdownravaged economy afloat. Fuck them oldtimers, right, Greg? But as it turns out, all we had to do to get the economy humming again was take the COVID threat seriously and inspire more than half of the country to get vaccinated. Just ask Grandpa Joe. Overseeing rising jobs, wages, and home values, craning his neck to watch the stock market soar, sinking personal debt, demolishing unemployment, ending the Afghan war — the very same war TFG promised to get us out of but didn’t — passing Infrastructure Decade with bipartisan support, not attacking the Capitol, and all the rest of GoodTimin’ Joe’s successes are why Republican legislatures like ours are wigging out over no-brainer shit and bending voting rules to ensure a Democrat never wins another election in our lifetimes. If the Democraps in Congress don’t wake up, and there’s little indication that they will, then Democratic voters here and in dozens of other states might as well toss their ballots into the river every two years.

Greg Abbott will be overseeing all our funerals, our bodies rendered lifeless probably from an energy grid that still — still — has not been fixed or from COVID-19 because the governor believes our “right” to harm others with our hacking, maskless coughs is more important than the public’s right to be protected from maskless coughers. Though he says the vaccine is safe and effective, and though he’s been vaccinated himself, he is still pushing snake oil treatments and arguing against mask/vaccine mandates in some perverse political danse macabre. In much the same way TFG should be held responsible for the hundreds of thousands of deaths he caused by playing down the deadliness of the virus, Greg Abbott should be thrown in jail for the very same reasons.

Even if his rhetoric led to one death, that’s one death too many.

Funny, but the same people who claim, “My body, my choice” when it comes to masks are the same reactionary bozos who see no problem with Texas’ draconian new anti-abortion law. It’s exactly the kind of cultural bullshit that Republicans like Abbott and company stir up to distract voters from the GOP’s one and only goal: to slash taxes on the rich to keep Republican politicians in power … to continue slashing taxes on the rich … to continue allowing the rich to live lavishly and do things like raise money for Republican politicians and jerk off to Back the Blue bumper stickers and to not go to jail for murdering people with illegal AR-15s.

I’ll give Greg Abbott this: He knows how to play to his always angry supporters, and by giving them red meat to bitch and whine about like the true snowflakes that they are — girls and boys playing sports together! schoolbooks mentioning slavery! vaccines with normal side effects! — Abbott and every other GOP operative in the country is saying that while we wealthy, well taken care of white folks may be living extremely comfortable, nicely vaccinated lives and you uneducated whites may be struggling to survive in B.F., Idaho — or Arizona or West Virginia or Oklahoma or wherever — we are all united by one thing: our hatred of abortion (which is legal) and our hatred of the coloreds and the gays.

Come. Let us thank the Lord for this hatefilled Chick-fil-A feast that we are about to eat. Amen.

Riders of the Purple Sage (and Onion)

Sometimes eating the same traditional meal year after year is boring. We all have our favorites, but after 21 years, even cornbread stuffing and pumpkin pie are tiresome. This year, let’s switch it up and order delivery from one of the only places open during the holiday! What could go wrong?

Everything. Everything could go wrong.

The Horned Frog football team haven’t been up to their previous world-beating

Kiddie Table

Sports are horrible everywhere. The Las Vegas Raiders and Washington Football Team are embarrassing in everything they

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One can almost picture squeaky-clean, uber-Christian Matt Krause decked out in a blood-red galero delivering his own take on an old Monty Python line: “Nobody expects the Texas Inquisition!” Then he will go on to enumerate why his side will triumph in the end: fear, surprise, ruthless efficiency, fanatical devotion to 45, and tons of dark money.

District 93 Rep. Krause has certainly upped his profile of late, a necessity after throwing his galero into the state attorney general ring, hoping to best the venal and indicted Ken Paxton and the last of the Bushes. Krause is a founding member of the Texas House’s Freedom Caucus, which evidently isn’t interested in the freedom of teachers to teach their subjects without political interference or, just as important, the freedom of students to learn the truth about our shared history.

Krause is lately infamous for his 16page list of 850 book titles he sent to school districts as chair of the House Committee on General Investigating, which you have to admit does sound vaguely menacing and Spanish Inquisition-ish. Such books as Ta- Nehisi Coates’ Between the World and Me and Leanne K. Currie-McGhee’s LGBT Families are on his s-list because they exemplify a changing world that conservatives can demagogue against.

Why, oh why, can’t we go back to the 1950s, when schools were segregated and gays were in the closet? Krause and his ilk scream. But we can’t for the simple reason that times have changed. We live in a diverse, multiracial democracy where everyone, regardless of gender, skin color, or sexual orientation, deserves respect, and, if every poll is to be believed, most of us want it that way.

After the Republican victory in Virginia, Krause smells blood. Encouraging fear of Critical Race Theory and trans students excites his base, already overdosing

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

Jenna Ryan stormed the Capitol on January 6. So did many other people, but the Frisco real estate broker used Twitter to distinguish herself as a particularly loathsome member of that treasonous mob.

When one tweeter taunted her about going to jail, she fired back, “Definitely not going to jail. Sorry I have blonde hair white skin a great job a great future and I’m not going to jail [sic]. Sorry to rain on your hater parade.” Judge Christopher Cooper read that tweet back to her two weeks ago when he sentenced her to two months in the slammer. Exhibiting that particular blend of victimhood and hate-laced entitlement that a certain breed of white woman has down pat, she complained about going through hell and being a victim of “cancel culture,” whatever that’s supposed to be.

We’ll give her some barely done turkey and happily deliver it to her prison cell.

Sour Krause

S

Pass the Bottle Blonde

do, the Phoenix Suns’ owner seems to think his team is a Virginia plantation circa 1840, the Chicago Blackhawks kept a serial predator employed during their Stanley Cup run, and the new owners of Newcastle United are straight-up murderers. How hard would it have been for the Dallas Mavericks to stay out of this company?

Yet they hired Jason Kidd and his history of wife-beating to be their head coach after owner Mark Cuban vowed to stay away from employees with that kind of history.

It’s not even like Kidd’s on-court record justifies that hire, since he had talented teams in New Jersey and Milwaukee that didn’t do anything. Factor in the recent infighting in the Mavs’ front office and the Terdema Ussery debacle, and it’s starting to look like the team won that NBA title in spite of management rather than because of it. Real turkeys don’t look up to see the rain, but as long as this group is in charge, the turkeys in Mavericks gear will be looking up at the Suns, Clippers, and Warriors.

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selves in a while. Fans and, more importantly, boosters grew tired of the continued losing, especially after sinking serious money into multiple stadium renovation$ and facility upgrade$, so now we’ve parted ways with the architect of everything that is TCU football in the 21st century and are looking for the next great candidate to do what literally no one before Gary Patterson has. Except former Boise State coach Chris Petersen. He accomplished similar feats, and he said he’s not interested in coming to the Fort.

Sometimes the grass isn’t always greener, and the ease of delivery isn’t always tastier than the home-burned turkey. Just ask former Frog athletic director and now Longhorn headman Chris Del Conte.

When UT announced their impending move to the SEC, pundits lauded him as one of the smartest administrators in football. Well, his Bevos are on a six-game losing streak that includes a home loss against lowly Kansas and will finish near the bottom of the conference. Del Conte probably has one more head coach hire ahead of him to rekindle success before he’s shown the door in Austin.

His protégé at TCU, Jeremiah Donati, also has one hire to get it right, but the process is happening now. It’s going to need to be a damn good substitution for Mom’s traditional afternoon feast, and, by God, it’d better not be second-rate, warmed-over takeout you gotta pick up yourself.

TCU administration had grown discontent with a fine meal after watching too many episodes of Master Chef: SEC Edition. Realistically, most Patterson replacements are going to seem like canned green beans and store-bought pie. Might as well get drunk, purple people lovers, because Thanksgiving dinner is going to taste like crap for who knows how long.

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on the outrage du jour machinations of Fox News, though my hat’s off to anybody who can stare at a screen filled with Tucker Carlson doing his best imitation of a constipated cow and not vomit.

One point of Krause’s list is to intimidate districts and teachers, so they censor themselves. Failing that, I’m sure Krause can raise an evangelical army of zombie Trumplicans who would be all too happy to bring fuel and matches to any book burnings, so long as only the “left” books are burned.

Krause’s chief aim is do what today’s Republicans have to do to get elected: outcrazy each other in their primaries. And Krause might well succeed, unless U.S. Rep. Louie Gohmert gets $1 million in campaign contributions in the next week.

Then he’ll throw his tinfoil hat into the ring. Sorry, Matt. I don’t think anyone alive can out-crazy Gohmert.

Sure, every American has the right to protest, but if you find yourself not only showing up to read Bible verses through a megaphone to drown out speakers at a rally but also waiting around an hour for the march to come back to the courthouse to continue heckling them, well, you just might be a Turkey.

Thanks to a bunch of other Turkeys, as of September of this year, abortion after detectable fetal heart activity is illegal in Texas.

The anti-abortion movement has a special love for protesting. At least one or two people show up outside of Whole Woman’s Health of Fort Worth daily. Some protestors stand quietly with a sign and give out pamphlets full of propaganda. Others run to the edge of the property line to shout, “Stop murdering babies” at employees as they walk into work. Some protestors are there so frequently they know the faces and cars of specific employees.

People who believe abortion is murder believe any action that might stop an abortion is justified. However, their time would be better served offering actual help to women (like wider access to birth control) before they find themselves needing an abortion in the first place.

NOVEMBER 17-23, 2021

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St. Thomas Aq-whine-us

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

Gavel, Gavel

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Racism and dumbassery abound in our local courts. Danny Rodgers, Fort Worth’s chief municipal judge, is an affirmed racist who pines about the good ol’ days when his white ancestors owned Black slaves, according to a 2019 complaint filed against him with the city. City officials apparently found that to be a minor offense — they said Rodgers was investigated and disciplined for his actions and for being an all-around bully and general ass. Seeing as Rodgers is still the top turkey in his department, we imagine he was given what amounted to a slap on the wrist.

Pending disciplinary action by the State Commission on Judicial Conduct (CJC) may

reawaken public alarm over why Rodgers is allowed to remain in a position of power over his staff and Fort Worth’s public.

Rodgers is just part of a flock of local judges who openly spew racist rhetoric or treat defendants inhumanely. Judge George Gallagher of our 396th Judicial District Court was recently publicly admonished

by CJC for activating a stun cuff on a defendant’s ankle three times during a trial in 2016, which spurred a criminal investigation that eventually cleared Gallagher of civil rights violations — judges are rarely held accountable for actions that send non-judges like us to prison.

Judges are also rarely held accountable for being racist jerks. In a series of social media posts, Patricia Bennett from Tarrant’s 360th Judicial District Court equated folks with Hispanic surnames as being fit only for food service work.

According to CJC, she publicly mocked a Hispanic politician who lost his party’s primary as being able to find work elsewhere because “there are lots of local opportunities in both the hotel and food service industry.” Anyone who appears before Bennett’s court should justifiably be horrified that she is allowed to hold any position of power, let alone a judgeship.

And yet these cases are nothing compared to the conduct of Josh Burgess and Susan McCoy, two Republican Tarrant County judges who recently ruled favorably for the plaintiff in an ongoing lawsuit against the Carroll school district after accepting thousands of dollars in donations from the plaintiff ’s pals.

Burgess and McCoy attended a fundraiser in Southlake that was organized by the founders of Southlake Families, a PAC that is bankrolling the lawsuit that seeks to block the inclusion of much-needed racial equity language in the school district’s student code of conduct. Burgess and McCoy have done the public a favor by reminding Tarrant County that our local justice system is purely transactional in nature. Donate money to the right judges, and you can buy the golden keys to our civil and criminal justice systems.

Racist Birds of a Feather Flock Together

Contemporary racism hides behind paranoia over “woke” terms like microaggressions and pseudo-intellectual attempts to tie Marxist philosophies to modern social justice movements. In the end, what separates the hate-filled Southerners who readily segregated and lynched Black men and women and a frighteningly large portion of Southlake parents is one thing and one thing only — wealth.

Three years ago, videos of white Southlake high school students gleefully chanting the n-word to rap songs surfaced.

Following those viral videos were dozens of first-hand accounts by Black students and LGBTQ+ youth in the Carroll school

district that serves Southlake confirming what was known locally but not nationally — that many Southlakers openly held racist views.

When Carroll school district leadership took steps to adopt the types of equity language that Fort Worth public schools enjoy, white wealthy parents shot back with Trumped-up conspiracy theories generated by the alt-right. Pass student conduct rules that don’t allow little Jordann or little Brooklynne to tell their Black friend that he’s pretty smart for a Black guy?

Why, that’s Marxist Critical Race Theory infiltrating our schools! Not on my watch!

John Huffman, Southlake’s mayor, recently lashed out at well-researched and accurate reporting on his city that found Southlake to be a cesspool of backwater conspiracy theories that are designed to prolong white supremacy’s historic role of governing economic and civic life in this country. His public statement that “national media appears to be designed to tear down the hard-working” people of Southlake harks to reactionary Southern leaders who were appalled by how they were portrayed in Northern newspapers for violently attacking unarmed Black protesters in the 1950s and ’60s.

Southlake, it’s time to take a long, hard look in the mirror.

Gobbling Up Vapid Conspiracy Theories

Wealth-worshiping evangelicals seem at peace with a value system that conflicts with the basic tenant of Christianity — that money, like a gold statue or McMansion or Mercedes-Benz, is a false idol that is not to be worshiped. Evangelical Republicans like Tim O’Hare espouse values that could not be more anti-Christian, and yet it’s a ploy that draws flocks of followers who want to feel that their bigoted worldviews are somehow in line with a higher benevolent power.

O’Hare is the former head of Tarrant’s Republican party and a current candidate for county judge, the confusingly named title for Tarrant County’s lead elected position.

As the nation watches the dumpster fire that is Southlake politics slowly smolder as it clings to conspiracy theories over Critical Race Theory as a means of justifying pushing back on racial equity, it is important to remember that the whole debacle was started and continues to be fueled by O’Hare and his base of powerful Republican donors.

O’Hare is the self-described founder of a PAC, Southlake Families, that funds the campaigns of “religious liberty” supporters who are pushing for a real-life version of The Handmaid’s Tale in tony Southlake.

O’Hare’s press releases are alarming if not horrifying. He levies baseless lies at his Republican opponent, former Mayor Betsy Price, describing her loving abortions and somehow being a leftist. For her part, the former mayor has pledged to run an honest campaign. Politically, it’s a smart move.

Price is widely expected to trounce O’Hare and his minions in March’s Republican primary. *fingers crossed* Tarrant County voters, by all means, vote for your values. Just remember that the turkeys who cluck the loudest about their faith are often the ones who aren’t living it out.

Critical Rice Theory

Like the ones we know every year, the best Thanksgiving dinners are alive with erudite and polite political, religious, and extremely detailed, almost narrative sexual conversations among caring and understanding family members. When talks hit a lull (oh, darn!), be sure to atomicknee-drop your views on ColleyvilleHeritage High School’s firing of their first-ever Black principal for brainwashing students with Critical Race Theory. Oh, he also took some fully clothed photos with his white wife on a beach 10 years ago. Da hell this guy think he is?!

James Whitfield, said former principal, was dismissed by Colleyville’s school board “due to deficiencies in his performance,” the board claims, and while we could say that about any principal anywhere, it seems that the little community by the airport is simply trying to out-Southlake their neighbors to the north, the ones with the nicer houses, better high school sports, better shopping and dining options, and bigger national profile now that most Southlakers are basically donning white Prada hoods at this point to show how fraidy-waidy they are of big, scary CRT, a.k.a. Freddy Kreuger in blackface, which isn’t even taught in schools.

Being openly racist is Southlake’s bag, C-ville. Get your own bit!

The curdled whip cream atop this moldy pie of local shame is Stetson Clark.

The Colleyville board member who serves professionally as an operations manager for a wealth management firm first made news by publicly naming Whitfield during a meeting, which is against established rules and procedures. Clark promised, during his campaign, that his auditing experience would make sure residents received the most from every dollar they invested. Well, now that Whitfield has challenged his dismissal, the good citizens of Colleyville and Grapevine are paying a former principal’s salary until his contract expires in 2023. Money well spent, right?

Just to get rid of that ooooh-so-scary CRT stuff. But since Clark once worked for Goldman Sachs, you can’t expect him to follow rules or keep any financial promises.

Just the Tip

In a group of diners, it’s pretty easy to tell those who have served their time in restaurants from those who have never known the pain of running out of forks at 6 p.m. on a Friday night. The second group gripes about the service while the first group tries to make friends with the overworked, underpaid staff.

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What the Cluck, TRWD?

For some reason, 2021 was the year that everyone started paying attention to malfeasance at the Tarrant Regional Water District (TRWD). We say that not to be coy but because TRWD, the governmental group tasked with flood control and supplying us with drinking water, has been the source of shady dealings for decades. In 2006, our news magazine published a story about extravagant personal spending by TRWD staffers — all on the taxpayers’ dime. Was anyone reprimanded? Of course not. That wouldn’t be the “Fort Worth Way.” At the time, we tallied roughly $10,000 in tabs at restaurants, clubs, and bars that were charged to then-general manager Jim Oliver’s district credit card, even though none of the expenses complied with TRWD’s expense policy at the time. TRWD officials lived it up like drunken Vikings, and our newspaper has documented instances of nepotism, graft, and shady dealings pretty much every year since then. TRWD’s biggest boondoggle, the entertainment project masquerading as some sort of flood control measure called Panther Island, continues to be mired in unrealized federal dollars that the $1.2 billion project’s cheerleader, U.S. Rep. Kay Granger, has long promised.

This year saw Oliver part ways with TRWD after 35 years as the top staffer. His departure was caught in the same ethical morass that has made TRWD the poster child for local public malfeasance. In a classic good-ol’-boy gesture, former TRWD board president Jack Stevens promised Oliver a cool $300,000 as a farewell gift tied to supposed unpaid time off. When TRWD’s current board took office this summer, the five members nixed that lavish golden parachute. Oliver lawyered up, claiming age-

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Imagine volunteering for your community, both on and off the local school board, for several years with the aim of helping children and teenagers of all races and sexual orientations experience a top-notch public education. Then, imagine that you find yourself indicted by a Tarrant County grand jury for Texas Open Meetings Act violations that the local DA had never sought before and was only seeking because you, the school board member, were pushing back on a powerful group of wellconnected parents who sought to perpetuate our country’s sordid history of racism.

That is exactly what happened in April in Southlake. The upscale suburb is the birthplace of the Tarrant County Tea Party and home to the most influential political donors in the county. When Southlake’s conservative powers-that-be decided that it was politically expedient to embarrass school board members Todd Carlton and Michelle Moore, who were expressing support for the adoption of racial equity language for the school district, DA Sharen Wilson brought the full weight of the criminal justice system on the two.

...because people talk to you in the morning.

NOVEMBER 17-23, 2021

Fowl Ethics

Politically motivated grand jury investigations have become a thing in Tarrant County. More recently, Wilson opened a grand jury investigation into the Tarrant Regional Water District (TRWD) for acts of cronyism that have been going on there for literally decades. The timing couldn’t have been more suspicious. The investigation was launched just weeks before a $160 million bond for new DA facilities and equipment.

If Wilson thought the investigation would earn her public support ahead of the bond vote, her plan backfired. Voters said no to the proposition — an act that left her department disgraced and likely underfunded for many years to come.

Shortly after news of the failed bond proposal became public, Wilson announced that she would not seek reelection in 2022.

Tarrant’s county prosecutors are ethically obligated to drop the misdemeanor charges against Carlton and Moore. The acts of malicious prosecution undermine the work of the district attorney’s office and the criminal justice system writ large.

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From owning to managing to working the line to busing tables — all aspects of the “essential” restaurant industry are essentially thankless. The pandemic and subsequent fallout have turned an already difficult industry into a hellscape.

Many restaurants bit the dust during COVID-19, and those that remain face new challenges. Employees are overworked and emotionally beat up.

And yet people still have the gall to sit there and whine about their free bread or tortilla chips taking longer than usual to get to the table or about restaurants having inconsistent hours. For months, right-wing idiots railed against essential workers for not having better-paying jobs. Well, maybe now these same workers got better-paying jobs. For the ones who are left behind — maybe young, perhaps inexperienced — why mistreat them? Many of them could use all the support you can give. Waaa, right-wingers whine (freaking babies).

Burgers cost 75 cents more now. As wage warrior Dan Price puts it, the argument is always that inflation is up because “essential” workers are being paid more than $7.25 an hour and never because of the following: stock buybacks and dividends doubled in the last decade to a record $1.5 trillion per year, the Fed printed a record $3 trillion for companies last year, median CEO pay rose 1,322% in the last 40 years to a record $24.2 million, billionaire wealth is up 70% during the pandemic to a record $5 trillion, and corporate profits are up 11% in the last year to a record $2.8 trillion and have been up 40% over the last five years.

But, please, blame that extra 75 cents on your cheeseburger or that extra dollar on your tank of gas on Grandpa Joe. Perfect conservative logic: circular.

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related discrimination, and the water district recently settled the dispute for $161,647.20.

(Why the 20 cents?)

Recent reporting by the Fort Worth Report found that Oliver hired his girlfriend Valerie Jay last year without posting a job opening. It was a final middle finger by a general manager who never seemed to care about ethics or how his behavior might negatively impact how TRWD and its hard-working employees are viewed by the wider public.

A TAD Overcooked

One of the most powerful local governmental groups is also the least understood by the general public, and the leadership at the

Tarrant Appraisal District (TAD) seems pretty OK with that. Right now, TAD’s election cycle is running its course. By the end of December, five new board members will be heading the group that sends us those heartburn-inducing property tax notices.

And while you, the taxpayer, have the most at stake in the outcome of that election, TAD’s board is not elected by local citizens but rather by elected officials who represent “taxing entities,” i.e., counties, cities, towns, community colleges, and any large group that is funded by property tax revenue. Those elected officials have a vested interest in gobbling up ever-higher property taxes, which is why the murky election process needs to be transparent

and fair. Our suggestion: Maintain updated election dashboards that tally taxing entity votes and candidate profiles.

Local Realtor Chandler Crouch did the community a solid when he recently pushed for House Bill 988. The new state law forces large taxing entities like Tarrant County to vote on TAD board candidates early.

That seemingly small rule makes a huge difference because Tarrant’s commissioners court has historically waited until the end of the year to leverage their high number of votes to maximum effect.

Now that our commissioners have to play fair, non-establishment TAD candidates theoretically have a better chance of being elected.

Whoever takes over TAD’s leadership next year will be governing an appraisal district that has a recent history of doing favors to powerful law firms and letting nepotism go unchecked. To the second point, TAD’s policy on nepotism allows its chief appraiser, Jeff Law, to determine when familial relationships at TAD are allowable. The legal caveat was added two years after Law was hired in 2008 in direct violation of previous nepotism guidelines that did not allow any exceptions to the rules. Law’s first cousin, David Law, was already the longtime head of commercial appraisals when Jeff came on. When TAD says its staff is family, it’s literally true.

The aforementioned favors to powerful legal firms involved Wendy Burgess, Tarrant County’s tax assessorcollector, who pushed to award the law firm Linebarger a lucrative contract to look for abuses of exemptions even though Planobased Tyler Technologies had topped Linebarger in TAD’s own evaluations.

Could it have been because Linebarger donated substantially to Burgess in the months leading up to the vote? Sure does look that way. Beyond a handful of articles by us, Burgess has largely escaped punishment.

Public schools and community colleges need to be properly funded. Dirty dealings by TAD staff and taxing entities who too frequently collude as a means of placing this or that board member in power undermine the credibility of an appraisal district that continues to be mired in controversy and accusations of cronyism.

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Deworm Up by the Fire

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Where does it come from? This ability and willingness to not trust science and instead do your own “research,” which is really just you flittering around on your phone until you come up with the right “answer” to fit your suppositions? When your life is on the line, why would you believe one train of thought when there are millions of trains of thought going in the complete opposite direction? When there are studies and reems and reems of data yelling at you to “stop!”?

This is what it must be like for Jason Jones, the 48-year-old sheriff ’s deputy on a ventilator whose family is suing the hospital where he is occupying a bed for not treating him with snake oil. We understand the desperation. When there’s no cure (only a vaccine that has allowed us to bust out of lockdown and that has saved countless American lives), we’re willing to try anything.

What could it hurt, right? Actually, based on science and data, taking the dewormer Ivermectin could hurt a lot (seemingly nonstop nausea and diarrhea) while not doing a single thing to combat the actual virus.

Jones’ wife is suing the hospital to allow Houston’s Mary Talley Bowden to treat him with the snake oil, and the hospital has filed an appeal to pause a trial court’s order from Nov 8 that would have

By George, He’ll Have Some Giblets

It was all going so well before Darien George decided to run for city council this past spring. His Twitter profile reads, “Focused on my family,” which is about par for the course for a guy accused by numerous sources of unwanted sexual advances. He wouldn’t respond to those allegations when we asked him about them, but he did portray his 2000 misdemeanor conviction of pointing a gun at someone as a youthful one-off. Then multiple witnesses heard him unleash a profane tirade at fellow candidate Jordan Mims at a public forum. Way to prove that you’re not some out-of-control rage case. Not sure how he still has his job as president of Mackenzie Eason & Associates, but tonight, he’ll be eating turkey chili with extra spice, angry food for an angry young fella.

Mustang Burgers

There’s really no one to award here, though I guess you could throw a wishbone to every

Beak Republican

If you’ve never heard of Allen West, a Republican who wants to be our next governor, congratulations for missing out on his disgusting displays of aggressive, disrespectful, and all-around asinine behavior.

West acts as if he’s taking private lessons from the master of rudeness, The Former Guy. West, who has served as the state Republican party chair, is attempting to promote himself by challenging fellow dipshit Gov. Greg Abbott in the 2022 primary election. Again, the only tact is to out-crazy each other.

To get there, West must first bypass the possibility of criminal charges related to a recent confrontation with a man at the airport.

West boasted about the encounter on

Buns in the Oven

It takes a certain kind of cruelty to enact a law like the new anti-abortion law signed

by Gov. Greg Abbott in May and enacted in September. The law bans nearly all abortions after a fetal heartbeat can be detected, generally about six weeks. There are no exceptions for rape or incest. The only abortions allowed after the six-week period are those in which a woman’s health is endangered by continuing to carry the fetus.

Here is the cruel kicker: The law calls for citizens to sue anyone who helped a woman obtain an abortion, from the taxi driver who brought her to the clinic, to the doctor and nurses involved in the procedure. If the snitch wins the lawsuit, each defendant can be forced to cough up as much as $10,000.

OK, it’s bad enough that the law tries to turn you and me into snitches for money, but how about this scenario: Dad or Uncle rapes daughter or niece. She gets pregnant. After she misses her second period, she talks to Mom, who arranges an abortion. Dad or Uncle turn in Mom and the clinic and enjoys a fine payday. This is for real. This is Texas.

Six weeks. I spoke with my sisters, exwife, friends. Not one said they would be thinking about being pregnant if they were just two weeks late, so this law effectively makes abortion completely illegal. And every Republican in both the House and Senate voted for it along with one Dem rep and one Dem senator.

We’ve got to do better. No one likes abortions, but things happen: condoms break, IUDs slip, the pill simply stops working. It would be even a little different if conservative lawmakers gave a damn about babies once they are born, but they don’t. Abbott and his gestapo just want to punish women, mostly poor women of color, and now they are. l

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When City Councilmember Brian Byrd ran for mayor this year, he ran on a platform of “stopping corruption.” The guy has nerve, we’ll give him that. He compiled the biggest war chest of any candidate in the mayoral race, thanks in part to large sums from donors who then received millions in city contracts (but not only because of him). One could argue that the donations didn’t really matter, since the representative of District 3 with all that cash didn’t even make the runoff election. Even so, it looks like a really sweet deal to be his friend, with campaign donations paying off like they do. It’s too perfect giving a turkey to someone with his name, but this Byrd is definitely a species.

Nov 3 on Twitter, writing, “This morning at the airport a man starts yelling at me and tells me to put my mask on and calls me an idiot. I walked over to him and asked if he called me an idiot, he continued to yell at me. I pulled down his mask and said see, nothing happened [sic].”

His actions are more mind-boggling when you consider West announced in early October that he had COVID-related pneumonia.

According to published reports and social media statements, West had a low-grade fever and slight body aches.

He knows that COVID-19 is real, yet he ripped off another man’s mask. West has also said he is not vaccinated.

Now the man whose mask he ripped off is seeking criminal charges, alleging that West “violently” ripped it off.

But this is nothing new for this guy.

In July, The Texas Tribune reported that West exited his party chair post with “an explosion of the kind of intraparty drama he has become known for throughout his tenure.”

In a tirade over a party committee project, Allen called his party’s vice chair, Cat Parks, a “cancer” and “delusional and apparently deranged,” according to the report. Parks has had cancer.

West is too thin-skinned and volatile to serve as governor or in any other role that involves working with the public.

Politicians and anyone else in the public eye will get plenty of insults and cat calls.

Sometimes they’re even assaulted by rude, entitled jackasses like West.

If all of that isn’t enough, West ended his tirade about masks with a statement that could well be used for a master class in gaslighting: “West will not tolerate abusive agitators. Rule of law and common decency will be defended.”

Really? Maybe West should start with a little rule of law and common decency himself.

NOVEMBER 17-23, 2021

A Little Byrd Told Me

elected leader for not looking beyond their next election. You’d think that after all the time and money our region has spent on promoting itself, that maybe, just maybe, we’d be prepared for a few more neighbors.

We aren’t, and this is just judging by the traffic alone. Pick a part of the city, any part, and we guarantee you that between the hours of 6:30-9:30am and 3-6:30pm, the main thoroughfares are going to be jammed. The scary thing is: What if we are now at only the beginning of a population boom? What if all the road construction going on now is happening at the right time, before our neighborhoods get really, authentically crowded? What if as soon as we’re done widening 35, we’re just going to have to widen it again? With no true winner here, let’s just award all the bad drivers out there: road-raging, swerving, speeding, braking, not using turn signals, pulling all sorts of sometimes passiveaggressive, sometimes simply aggressive maneuvers because, clearly, these folks are better than everyone else and don’t deserve to wait in line like us normies. Go choke on a gizzard.

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granted her temporary privileges there.

The lengths the self-righteous right will go through to prove they hate science …

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“A roaring, wondrous whirlpool of a show”

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NOVEMBER 17-23, 2021

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– The Guardian

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October 17, 2021–February 6, 2022 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.

Promotional support provided by

Dinner with the Modern Lights Cour tesy Facebook

NIGHT &DAY

Spend your Friendsgiving Eve with Aaron Copeland Wed.

Every Friday from 7pm to 10pm thru Fri, Dec 31, Bankhead Brewing Friday (611 University Dr, 817439-9223) hosts Live Jazz Fridays with Darwin Martin & The Band. Along with house-brewed craft beer and specialty cocktails, Bankhead offers a full food menu, so stick around for dinner. Start with “A” for avocados and try the brisketstuffed appetizer. It’s my personal favorite!

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Tonight is fight night.

If you have ESPN, stay home, order pizza, and Saturday tune it at 8pm to watch current WBO Welterweight Champion Terence Crawford face off against former champion Shawn Porter. If you don’t have ESPN, either get it (see our services listings back in Classifieds) or get out on the town.

Both the Buffalo Bros in Sundance Square (415 Throckmorton St, 817-887-9533) and TCU (3015 S University Dr, 817-3869601), plus the Rabbit Hole Pub (3237 White Settlement Rd, 817-744-7160), are all screening it for free.

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From 11am to 4pm today or 10am-5pm Sat, head to the 12th Annual Funky Sunday Finds Holiday Shopping Experience at Will Rogers Memorial Center (3401 W Lancaster Av, 817-3927469), where you can purchase handmade and vintage holiday gifts from nearly 200 crafters, antique sellers, and the like. There

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If you ask the folks in Grapevine — the selfproclaimed Christmas Monday Capital of Texas — the Christmas season starts today. From 4pm to 9pm, come kick off the holiday season by watching Mayor William “flip the switch” and officially illuminate the community tree at City Hall (200 S Main St, Grapevine, 817410-3000). The family-friendly activities — like taking photos with live reindeer, enjoying free bounce houses, doing seasonal crafts, and purchasing snacks from food vendors — start at 4pm. The main event (including the tree lighting and fireworks) begins at 7pm. This event is free to attend.

For more info, visit GoGrapevine.com/ Events/CarolofLights.

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At 5pm today and Tue, Dec 28, Fort Worth’s Central Library (500 W Tuesday 3rd St, 817-392-7715) hosts Unbored Board Games. This adult game night is free to attend, and while board games are provided, feel free to bring your own as well.

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Corsicana native Aaron Copeland learned to play Wednesday guitar and piano at a young age and joined the Casey Donahew Band right out of high school and toured with them for six years. Now he’s settled his own brand of rock/country music in Fort Worth, including at his own Aaron Copeland Annual Friendsgiving Party at 8pm at Fat Daddy’s (781 W Debbie Ln, Mansfield, 817-453-0188). There’s no cover to attend. Drink specials from 2pm to 7pm include $2 wells and domestics, $3 house wines, and $3 margaritas, so you may want to get there early.

By Jennifer Bovee

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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will be live entertainment by musicians Grace Hamm and Philip Nance. Saving Hope Rescue will be on hand for you to meet-and-greet adoptable pets. This event is free to attend, but a donation of pet food for the animal nonprofit Don’t Forget To Feed Me — or an unwrapped toy for Toys for Tots — is suggested. Parking is $10.

NOVEMBER 17-23, 2021

When it comes to your pantry for Thanksgiving week, do you need a Thursday helping hand? Tarrant Area Food Bank (2600 Cullen St, 817-8577100) is hosting some mobile food giveaway events in the area. From 8am to noon Thu, head to the Thanksgiving Mega Mobile Market at AT&T Stadium (1 AT&T Way, Arlington, 817-892-4000). Don’t let the word “market” confuse you. Everyone is welcome to receive food on this distribution day. No identification or documentation is required.

For other upcoming event dates, follow TAFB at Facebook.com/TAFoodBank.

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• Mike McCarthy deserves credit. He managed this game like a symphony conductor. The players came out clearly motivated and ready to play. His clock management was virtuosic. I’m not sure how to judge McCarthy, since he doesn’t even sit in on the offensive meetings, apparently, but the dudes on the field are playing hard and unselfishly. Even the penalties that have plagued the team all year were down last week.

STUFF NFLBDSM

• Speaking of the head coach, throughout the week, the Dallas coaching staff passed out Monkey Butt brand chafing powder to each player for what McCarthy dubbed “Red-Ass Week” — because they had been spanked the week before. (In BDSM, that’s called “After Care.”)

The Cowboys’ dominance over the Falcons was downright kinky.

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J A C K S B O R O

• Conner Williams has committed at least one costly penalty in every game.

Though his very unscientific Pro Football Focus score is above 70 for the season, he is the perpetual turd in the Cowboys’ punchbowl. That guy is a drive killer, and his replacement is already on the roster in Conner McGovern.

Cour tesy of Creative Commons

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In the BDSM world, a dominant, or “dom,” exercises physical control and psychological power over a sub, or “submissive.” In the topsy-turvy NFL, sometimes you don the ball-gag, and other times, you wield the horse whip.

Last week, the Broncos snubbed out their metaphorical cigarette in the Cowboys’ butthole. (They call that “Edge Play” in BDSM.) For long-suffering Cowboys fans, the game conjured a few familiar trauma responses: Was the team we’d just watched win six straight games another imposter whose high expectations served only to make the fall hurt more?

Was Mike McCarthy the huckster we all suspected he would be? Was Dak’s injury worse than the front office had let on?

I can pinpoint the exact moment in Sunday’s 43-3 victory over Atlanta that football fans all over North Texas finally believed. When much-maligned defensive end Dorance Armstrong lifted his mighty paw and blocked a punt at the end of the second quarter when the score was only 28-3 — and then rookie corner Nashon Wright recovered — a loud unclenching of buttocks shook the local topography like a jittery fault line.

This game was destined to go the Cowboys’ way. It was, after all, the young cornerback whose gaff on a blocked punt all but sealed the deal for the Broncos a week prior. That redemptive moment against the Falcons was a wink from the football gods: Go ahead and crack open another four or five beers (or, for those west of Weatherford, enjoy a bracing hit of meth). This one is going to be a laugher.

After a week of hearing about how Denver’s head coach, Old Man Fangio, figured out the secret sauce to top the vaunted Dallas offense, the boys in silver and blue bound, gagged, and choked a Falcons team that seemed to be learning

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Just a week ago, the Cowboys were completely submissive to the Broncos, but they turned it around against Atlanta.

how to win. As bad as the ’Boys were in Week 9, they were proportionately dominant in Week 10.

Below are my thoughts in no particular order.

• Dak was nearly perfect. He was 18-of-23 passing for 219 yards, two touchdowns, no interceptions, and a 135.3 passer rating in the first half alone. He would later add a rushing touchdown that most fans watched between their fingers. That was a little risky for my taste, especially in a blowout, but I think it sent an important message to the rest of the league: Dak is back to playing God-level QB. • Without their two best pass rushers, the Dallas D kept Falcons QB Matt Ryan uncomfortable all day. Rookies Micah Parsons and Osa Odighizuwa continue to overstay their welcome in opponents’ backfields. Those two will only continue to improve. When D-Law and Randy Gregory return, look out.

• The unsung guys dropped a verse.

Dorance Armstrong was but one among a cast of middling-to-decent rotation dudes

who stepped up. Both he and cornerback Jordan Lewis enjoyed their best games as pros. That’s huge because …

• In prior years, this team would have buckled without its stars. Hell, for a decade, the defense couldn’t hold opponents to fewer than 35 points without just Sean Lee. Zero Cowboys fans have to be reminded about what happened the last time tackle Tyron Smith was hurt against Atlanta. This team has young depth on both sides of the ball, and that alone makes them unique in modern Cowboys history.

• The defense continues to shine on third down and in creating turnovers. Via The Athletic: “Through the first nine games last season, Dallas had seven takeaways and allowed opponents to convert 58 of 120 third-down attempts. That thirddown percentage (48.3%) and takeaway total would both currently rank second from last in the NFL. This year’s Cowboys have 17 takeaways, tied for fourth best in the NFL, and have held opponents to 35 of 109 on third downs (32.1%), third-best in the league.” Is that sustainable? Shhh. Just enjoy the ride, baby.

• Is Terence Steele the team’s MVP? That’s a serious question. Obviously, he’s not even close to being the best player on the roster, but where would this team be without him?

He single-handedly exorcized the ghost of Chaz Green on Sunday by allowing only one pressure.

• This secondary is *checks notes* good.

We all know about Trevon Diggs and his turnovers, but it’s time to talk about Anthony F-ing Brown as a serious Pro Bowl candidate. That sentence felt so strange to type. It’s not that he’s been bad during his tenure as a Cowboy, just that he hasn’t done anything up until this season to suggest that he could be this reliable.

Jerry is looking like a genius for buying low on him.

• I may have to reconsider my take on special teams coach John Fassel. I’ve never liked him as a coach or over-the-top attention-seeking personality, but it’s hard to argue with what his unit is doing. Sure, his weird devotion to Greg “The Leg” Zuerlein suggests the over-the-hill kicker has some juicy blackmail photos of the one-time head coach, but the man can dial up a punt-block scheme.

I hope the Cowboys enjoy their time as a dom as much as I’ve enjoyed watching them there. (In BDSM, that would make me a “Dungeon Monitor.”) l

STAGE Elf-Sized Fun for the Family

“Watch out for glitter. It’s everywhere,” I was half-jokingly warned as I stepped onto the set of The Elf on the Shelf’s Magical Holiday Journey. Work crews were busily hanging lights and setting out Christmas trees just one week ahead of the immersive show’s opening at Arlington’s Choctaw Stadium.

Starting Thursday, kids and adults will navigate a magical world where scout elves perform acrobatics, juggle, and interact with audience members — all as part of an unfolding adventure to save Christmas. Scout elves, as I learned during my visit, are tasked with spreading Christmas joy to families (as opposed to working in the North Pole).

The venture by Constellation Immersive has local connections. Fort Worth-based set designing company Wheelhouse Innovations built the large props that bring to life the Elf on the Shelf story that began in 2005 with the publication of The Elf on the Shelf: A Christmas Tradition.

The Elf on the Shelf: A Christmas Tradition Thru Jan 2 at Choctaw Stadium, 1000 Ballpark Way, Arlington. $20-25.

Dallas@ElfontheShelfJourney.com

Director David Alpert said local actors are thrilled to be performing for live audiences once again.

Director David Alpert said audiences will start their journey at the Christmas Kingdom Market, where they can shop, grab a hot chocolate, and write a letter to Santa. Then the real fun begins.

Audiences will “shrink down to elf-size,” Alpert said, referring to the larger-than-life stage props that give participants the perspective of being 6 inches tall. “Then they get to go through different experiences that allow them to see the elves at work. There is a lot of storytelling going on. This is a storydriven experience. Hopefully, the scout elves will save Christmas. We think they will. Then the audience unshrinks before seeing Santa and Miss Claus.”

Bringing the fantastical world of Elf on the Shelf to real life fell largely on native Fort Worthian Julie Curtis, who founded Wheelhouse Innovations.

For the past several months, her team designed and fabricated the props needed for the interactive performance.

Alpert, who has extensive experience directing shows on and off Broadway, said he chose a local company to ensure that the show looked and felt as authentic as possible.

“There is something magical knowing that it is being created for the audience by the local population,” he said. “There is something exciting when it feels homegrown. Families can see their friends performing.”

Last year, live theater was one of the hardest-hit industries following the outbreak of the pandemic, Alpert noted.

There was a visceral excitement in the job applications that he reviewed.

“Theater people are so resilient,” he continued. “We love doing this work.

It will be exciting when the cast joins us in a few days. It is all about making the experience joyful for the people who experience it.”

Curtis said she was given great leeway when designing and creating

the set. Over the past several years, her company has evolved from a marketing and PR firm to a business that builds installations for a range of events.

“We were tired of no one else being able to make what we were thinking in our minds,” she said. “We are always trying to think of something that would stop you in your tracks.”

Audiences can walk through the magic experiences at their own pace, Alpert said. The show features original music that alternates with Christmas classics, he added.

“It’s not just for the kids,” he said.

“It is also for the young at heart. The magic that we are creating is not based on one age demographic. If you can just enter the experience and allow yourself that child-like imagination, joy, and fantasy, you are going to have a good time. We want to bring people together.

That’s what we need in this world more than ever.” l

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E D W A R D

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Cour tesy of Endicott PR

A holiday-themed immersive production opens this week at Arlington’s Choctaw Stadium.

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Important Facts About DOVATO

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This is only a brief summary of important information about DOVATO and does not replace talking to your healthcare provider about your condition and treatment.

What is the most important information I should know about DOVATO? If you have both human immunodeficiency virus-1 (HIV-1) infection and Hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection, DOVATO can cause serious side effects, including: • Resistant HBV. Your healthcare provider will test you for HBV infection before you start treatment with DOVATO. If you have HIV-1 and hepatitis B, the HBV can change (mutate) during your treatment with DOVATO and become harder to treat (resistant). It is not known if DOVATO is safe and effective in people who have HIV-1 and HBV infection.

• Worsening of HBV infection. If you have HBV infection and take DOVATO, your HBV may get worse (flare-up) if you stop taking DOVATO. A “flare-up” is when your HBV infection suddenly returns in a worse way than before. ° Do not run out of DOVATO. Refill your prescription or talk to your healthcare provider before your DOVATO is all gone. ° Do not stop DOVATO without first talking to your healthcare provider. ° If you stop taking DOVATO, your healthcare provider will need to check your health often and do blood tests regularly for several months to check your liver function and monitor your HBV infection. It may be necessary to give you a medicine to treat hepatitis B. Tell your healthcare provider about any new or unusual symptoms you may have after you stop taking DOVATO. For more information about side effects, see “What are possible side effects of DOVATO?” What is DOVATO? DOVATO is a prescription medicine that is used without other HIV-1 medicines to treat human immunodeficiency virus-1 (HIV-1) infection in adults: who have not received HIV-1 medicines in the past, or to replace their current HIV-1 medicines when their healthcare provider determines that they meet certain requirements. HIV-1 is the virus that causes Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (AIDS). It is not known if DOVATO is safe and effective in children.

Who should not take DOVATO? Do not take DOVATO if you: • have ever had an allergic reaction to a medicine that contains dolutegravir or lamivudine.

• take dofetilide. Taking DOVATO and dofetilide can cause side effects that may be serious or life-threatening.

What should I tell my healthcare provider before using DOVATO? Tell your healthcare provider about all of your medical conditions, including if you: • have or have had liver problems, including hepatitis B or C infection.

• have kidney problems.

• are pregnant or plan to become pregnant. One of the medicines in DOVATO (dolutegravir) may harm your unborn baby. ° Your healthcare provider may prescribe a different medicine than DOVATO if you are planning to become pregnant or if pregnancy is confirmed during the first 12 weeks of pregnancy. ° If you can become pregnant, your healthcare provider may perform a pregnancy test before you start treatment with DOVATO. ° If you can become pregnant, you and your healthcare provider should talk about the use of effective birth control (contraception) during treatment with DOVATO. ° Tell your healthcare provider right away if you are planning to become pregnant, you become pregnant, or think you may be pregnant during treatment with DOVATO. • are breastfeeding or plan to breastfeed. Do not breastfeed if you take DOVATO. ° You should not breastfeed if you have HIV-1 because of the risk of passing HIV-1 to your baby. ° One of the medicines in DOVATO (lamivudine) passes into your breastmilk. ° Talk with your healthcare provider about the best way to feed your baby. ©2021 ViiV Healthcare or licensor.

DLLADVT210008 March 2021 Produced in USA.

Tell your healthcare provider about all the medicines you take, including prescription and over-the-counter medicines, vitamins, and herbal supplements.

Some medicines interact with DOVATO. Keep a list of your medicines and show it to your healthcare provider and pharmacist when you get a new medicine.

• You can ask your healthcare provider or pharmacist for a list of medicines that interact with DOVATO. • Do not start taking a new medicine without telling your healthcare provider. Your healthcare provider can tell you if it is safe to take DOVATO with other medicines.

What are possible side effects of DOVATO? DOVATO can cause serious side effects, including: • See “What is the most important information I should know about DOVATO?” • Allergic reactions. Call your healthcare provider right away if you develop a rash with DOVATO. Stop taking DOVATO and get medical help right away if you develop a rash with any of the following signs or symptoms: fever; generally ill feeling; tiredness; muscle or joint aches; blisters or sores in mouth; blisters or peeling of the skin; redness or swelling of the eyes; swelling of the mouth, face, lips, or tongue; problems breathing.

• Liver problems. People with a history of hepatitis B or C virus may have an increased risk of developing new or worsening changes in certain liver tests during treatment with DOVATO. Liver problems, including liver failure, have also happened in people without a history of liver disease or other risk factors. Your healthcare provider may do blood tests to check your liver. Tell your healthcare provider right away if you get any of the following signs or symptoms of liver problems: your skin or the white part of your eyes turns yellow (jaundice); dark or “tea-colored” urine; light-colored stools (bowel movements); nausea or vomiting; loss of appetite; and/or pain, aching, or tenderness on the right side of your stomach area.

• Too much lactic acid in your blood (lactic acidosis). Too much lactic acid is a serious medical emergency that can lead to death. Tell your healthcare provider right away if you get any of the following symptoms that could be signs of lactic acidosis: feel very weak or tired; unusual (not normal) muscle pain; trouble breathing; stomach pain with nausea and vomiting; feel cold, especially in your arms and legs; feel dizzy or lightheaded; and/or a fast or irregular heartbeat.

• Lactic acidosis can also lead to severe liver problems, which can lead to death. Your liver may become large (hepatomegaly) and you may develop fat in your liver (steatosis). Tell your healthcare provider right away if you get any of the signs or symptoms of liver problems which are listed above under “Liver problems.”

• You may be more likely to get lactic acidosis or severe liver problems if you are female or very overweight (obese).

• Changes in your immune system (Immune Reconstitution Syndrome) can happen when you start taking HIV-1 medicines. Your immune system may get stronger and begin to fight infections that have been hidden in your body for a long time. Tell your healthcare provider right away if you start having new symptoms after you start taking DOVATO. • The most common side effects of DOVATO include: headache; nausea; diarrhea; trouble sleeping; tiredness; and anxiety.

These are not all the possible side effects of DOVATO. Call your doctor for medical advice about side effects.

SO MUCH GOES INTO WHO I AM HIV MEDICINE IS ONE PART OF IT. Why could DOVATO be right for you? DOVATO is proven to help control HIV with just 2 medicines in 1 pill. That means fewer medicines* in your body while taking DOVATO. It’s proven as effective as an HIV treatment with 3 or 4 medicines.

Learn more about fewer medicines at DOVATO.com DOVATO is a complete prescription regimen to treat HIV-1 in adults who have not received HIV-1 medicines in the past or to replace their current HIV-1 medicines when their doctor determines they meet certain requirements.

Results may vary. *As compared with 3- or 4-drug regimens.

New to treatment? Considering a switch?

Ask your doctor about DOVATO.

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

NOVEMBER 17-23, 2021

Trademark is owned by or licensed to the ViiV Healthcare group of companies.

March 2021 DVT:6PIL

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You are encouraged to report negative side effects of prescription drugs to the FDA. Visit www.fda.gov/medwatch, or call 1-800-FDA-1088.

Where can I find more information?

• Talk to your healthcare provider or pharmacist.

• Go to DOVATO.com or call 1-877-844-8872, where you can also get FDA-approved labeling.

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

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orange relish, sausage-sage cornbread dressing, creamed potatoes, maple-glazed yams, and roasted autumn vegetables.

Add-ons include a III Forks salad for $26 and a whole Kentucky bourbon chocolatepecan pie or pumpkin pie, each for $50.

Preorders will be accepted thru Friday for pickup on Wed, Nov 24.

Along with chef-prepared Thanksgiving meal options ranging from $109.99 to $349.99 serving 4-6 on up to 12-16 people[,] respectively, grocer Central Market (4651 W Fwy, 817-9894700) has all its fan-favorite sides, main dishes, tamales, and pies, plus five different types of brie en croute, available a la carte to enhance (or replace) your home-cooking tablescape.

The pies alone are worth looking into.

This year, Central Market has 11 holiday pie flavors, including four seasons, honeycrisp and pear, raspberry peach, wild Maine blueberry, pumpkin chiffon, pumpkin cream cheese, bourbon pecan, and chocolate pecan, plus traditional apple, cherry, and pecan pies. To order, visit CentralMarket.com/Holiday.

Finally, let’s talk #FauxTurkey.

Spiral Diner & Bakery (1314 W Magnolia Av, 817-332-8834) — everyone’s favorite vegan go-to — is offering a Holiday Plate for $22.99 that includes two slices of vegan roast with brown gravy, green bean casserole, cornbread stuffing, and a dinner roll, plus a piece of house-made sweet potato pie. Whole roasts, pans of side dishes, and baked goods are also available for purchase. Orders must be placed 72 hours in advance for pickup on Tue, Nov 23, or Wed, Nov 24, at Shop.

SpiralDiner.com.

NOVEMBER 17-23, 2021

F

or an expanded look at dining options for the upcoming Thanksgiving holiday, visit FWWeekly.com and read last week’s ATE DAY8 a Week column. If you are interested in fine dining, here are some choices in varying DIY levels.

For a “do nothing” option, I suggest Chamas Do Brazil. Having once occupied two addresses in the area, it’s now just one location in Arlington (4606 S Cooper St, 817-375-0250) that’s still going strong.

It will be open all day on Thu, Nov 25, serving both Brazilian-style steakhouse meats and sides and traditional Thanksgiving items for dine-in.

Chamas meats — including beef, chicken, lamb, and pork — are pierced on rods, roasted over open flame pits in the Gaucho tradition of churrasco, and then carved tableside, but first, you’ll make a trip to the salad bar for hot appetizers, cold fruits and salads, seasonal vegetables, and Brazilian specialty items, all designed to complement the meats at Chamas. Goodies abound at the dessert bar, should you happen to leave room.

The price is $49.99 per person. Call for reservations.

Neighborhood steakhouse Silver Fox Steakhouse (1651 S University, 817-3329060) is another dine-in option, offering a traditional Thanksgiving dinner with soup, salad, entree, dessert, coffee, and iced tea for $56 per person ($18 for children 12 and younger) on Thu, Nov 25, from noon until 6pm. This dinner is also available for curbside carry-out if you order by this Friday. Call for a reservation.

Silver Fox is also offering a Family Meal Pack that feeds three to four people at home for $160 that includes a spicerubbed turkey with gravy, fresh cranberry-

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

NOVEMBER 17-23, 2021

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EATS & drinks

Way Down Los Tacos Way This loud tacos y mas restaurant in Arlington is bombastic in more, um, ways than one.

FIRST BLUE ZONES APPROVED THAI RESTAURANTS IN FW!

of Tex-Mex and real Mex options from which to choose.

Los Tacos Way offers plates of three, four, or five quesatacos (with well-done cheese between corn tortillas to better stand up to the dipping) along with a birria quesadilla plate and something

“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

called birria fries. All the plates come with savory rice that was better than average and some deliciously lardy-tasting refried beans. The accompanying salad of raw cucumber, onion and cilantro, and a blistered jalapeno pepper added a nice, continued on page 21

SPICE

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You can hear the conjunto music from the parking lot. Los Tacos Way is the new kid on Cooper Street, and the management is announcing their presence with authority, apparently. Fair warning: The nine-table

dining area is pocket-sized, and at the time I visited on a Saturday at lunch, the place was staffed by only a couple of ladies.

Because everything is made to order, you’ll need to allow time or plan ahead better than I did. If you know nothing about birria, it won’t matter. There’s a plethora

NOVEMBER 17-23, 2021

S T O R Y A N D P H O T O S B Y L A U R I E J A M E S

Looking for birria? Look no further than Los Tacos Way.

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

Los Tacos Way, 3701 S Cooper St, Ste 141, Arlington. 817-576-2626. 11am-9pm Tue-Sat. All major credit cards accepted.

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NOVEMBER 17-23, 2021 FO R T WO R T H W E E K LY 20

Serving Tacos, Quesadillas & More!

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fresh bite to the cheesy goodness. And there are no words to do the beefy, spicy consommé justice. Strip the broth of the onion and cilantro, and the flavor was still exceptionally deep and rich. There was a bit of rice in the bottom of the Styrofoam container, and we scooped out every bite because the carb-loaded grains were so enjoyable with the au jus.

The well-toasted, gooey quesadilla was a little more difficult to eat than a birria taco, but quartering it helped.

The consommé livened up just about everything else, and when all the food was gone, I might have saved the remains and made gravy the next day.

Order your tacos a la carte or grab three with your choice of protein plus rice and beans for under $10. The corn tortillas come double-wrapped to hold in the goodies, and, of course, they come with the traditional assortment of shredded lettuce, cilantro, and chopped white onions.

The pollo tacos were a little dry, and the seasonings were present if not particularly resounding. The luscious barbacoa taco turned out to be amazing: The soft, well-seasoned beef swaddled in the sturdy tortillas with a little lime and onion was absolute street-food perfection.

Los Tacos Way Birria quesadillas . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $9.99 Burrito . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $8.99 Three tacos w/beans and rice . . . . . $9.99 Carne asada fries . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $9.99

The knife-and-fork burrito veered more toward the Tex-Mex side of things, even though my dining companion picked the barbacoa for protein. The soft meat, combined with rice, beans, gooey flour tortilla, a little bit of shredded lettuce, and half a cow’s worth of sour cream, was all just too texturally similar. Picking the pastor or carnitas might have been a better option.

For no reason other than novelty, we opted for a side of the carne asada fries.

They’re essentially plain fries covered nacho-style in good, goopy cheese, flavorful Aaada meat, and more onion, tomato, and peppers, along with generous dabs of sour cream. Was it the best side of fries ever?

No, but as potato nachos, the fries served a purpose: to assist in shoveling in the tasty queso and bits of meat and veg.

While you wait for your order at Los Tacos Way, you’ll have time to peruse the slightly condensation-blurry ’fridge full of Jarritos sodas and a small selection of pastries and flan from the semi-legendary La Paloma panaderia in Irving. All the La Paloma goodies are house-made and well worth the calories.

The birria joint is ensconced in the same strip mall as Arlington’s Puerto Rican El Mofongo and the Cuban Havana Bar & Grill (both survived the ’Rona, to my pleasant surprise). It’s a veritable United Nations-style culinary crossroads when you throw in the venerable Thai House, which has held down its chunk of real estate for as long as I can remember.

Los Tacos Way is shiny and loud, but if you’re looking for birria, they’ve got you covered. l

NOVEMBER 17-23, 2021

continued from page 19

817-349-9387 WWW.EAGLESPOINTSAGINAW.COM Coming from 820, exit Saginaw- Main exit towards Saginaw.

About 2 miles down we are located in a shopping center on the left.

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

Eats & Drinks

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It’s loud and lighthearted at this tiny taco spot in Arlington.

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D R I NeK of th Month

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

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ry Tues $2 oFF eve

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Happy Hour Mon - Fri

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MUSIC

H I G G I N S

The moniker “party band” and which groups it’s applied to often carries an undue negative connotation. Somehow, not being “serious” can translate into not being taken seriously. As if laughter, fun, and people dancing carefree are any

continued on page 24

fwweekly.com

P A T R I C K

NOVEMBER 17-23, 2021

B Y

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

The quirky party-hoppers dust off the mics to document the feel of their famous live shows on latest LP.

C o u r t e s y R i v e r c r e s t Ya c h t C l u b

Rivercrest Yacht Club Raises Anchor

less worthy human reactions to elicit from music than what the more “artistic” outfits typically get in the form of blankfaced dudes in skinny jeans standing arms-crossed, nodding along in time. It’s unfair to assume Bootsy Collins didn’t care as much about his music and what he was singing about as did Bob Dylan just because Bootsy chose to get people moving rather than writing mind-bending musical poetry a la “Mr. Tambourine Man.” It also bears noting that humor can be as meritorious as heartache for subject matter.

All one must do is look at the average door receipts of a show with a band that focuses on fun versus another with your standard sad sack singer-songwriter.

One Fort Worth group that proves the previous point is the now near-legendary Rivercrest Yacht Club. The nerdcorebefore-nerdcore rap trio recently dropped its third LP. Beezlebooty attempts to bring the energy of the Yacht Club’s notoriously raucous full-band live shows to standard digital listening formats for the first time.

“We started performing live in 2006/2007,” rapper/beatmaker Heffminster De La Roca explained. “A little bit later,

23

C o u r t e s y R i v e r c r e s t Ya c h t C l u b

De La Roca (second from left): “There are things in the hopper. There’s tracks and things in various stages of completion.”

Music

we brought in Lee Zur Ly and The Rear Admiral and Mars Trillion [to play with us live]. They are just these god-tier musicians and added so much. They translated my crude beats and loops into some really magnificent songs and compositions, but we never had any record of that. For people who liked our live shows, the albums just weren’t indicative of that.”

Initially, the trio of De La Roca and fellow mic-masons Eric “Generic” Griffey and MC DJ DDS wanted to just release a recording of an actual live show, but they were never satisfied with the sound quality of the tracking. Then, when trying to recapture that live essence in the studio, it became apparent it wouldn’t be as simple as hitting “record” and laying down the songs as they would onstage.

“I just didn’t fully appreciate how much work went into post-production,” De La Roca said. To [keyboardist and producer] Mars’ credit, he spent hundreds of hours with each track getting the beats to line up and fixing all the little things.”

With work and family obligations, compounded by Griffey’s description of the group as being “absolutely and incredibly lazy,” a brief tracking session over one summer would drag postproduction on for a couple of years before Beelzebooty would be finished. Though far from being captured with the spontaneous documentation typically required to recreate a live feel, the album does a fair job of providing the energetic boom and pop of the band’s performances as they trade verses about Star Trek, Steven Segal movies, and silly sexual innuendo.

“We didn’t perform the songs the way we would if we were tracking them for a regular album,” Griffey said of trying to

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

NOVEMBER 17-23, 2021

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continued from page 23

24

retain a live spirit despite all the work involved. “We tried to make them a little more energetic than you might normally in the studio, especially for hip-hop.

Particularly on the vocals. We used live microphones and weren’t concerned with getting every detail exactly right, and that made it much more like it would be live.”

Though many of the album’s 13 tracks date all the way back to the group’s inception 15 years ago, the title track is a brand new one. The accompanying album art of a crude literal butt demon was, as happenstance, one of the last drawings of the late renowned painter Ron Tomlinson, Griffey’s father-in-law.

Though uncharacteristic of the work Tomlinson was known for, as a big fan of the silly, often nonsensical Yacht Club, the cover stands as a fitting tribute.

“He basically scrawled it on a napkin,” Griffey explained. “Though I doubt he would have considered it one of his works, it is his last one. When I played him the song, I’ve never heard anyone laugh so hard.”

Though it’s been a couple of years since RYC would sell out Lola’s Saloon on any given Saturday, the new album could mark the beginning of new collaborations or even a potential return to the stage for the famously rousing hip-hop band, though De La Roca and Generic are unsure about when and in what form that could take.

“There are things in the hopper,” De La Roca said. “There’s tracks and things in various stages of completion.”

Griffey is a bit less committal.

“I mean, never say never,” he said, “but I’m not sure that we’re ever going to be the band that releases a new album and plays a bunch of shows. But in some form or fashion, there will likely be some version of the Yacht Club in perpetuity.” l

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

NOVEMBER 17-23, 2021

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Cour tesy of Facebook

Hearsay

NOTEWORTHY

Thanksgiving Eve Par-tay Next Week

Next Wednesday night, the 24th, is Thanksgiving Eve, which is probably one of the best going-out nights of the year, and if you want an excuse to leave the house that’s better than “I have to see my folks tomorrow, and I need a drink tonight,” head to Prekindle and grab tickets to Joshua Ray Walker’s show at Lola’s Saloon (2736 6th St, 817-759-9100).

Walker, who also plays in opening band the Ottoman Turks, is one of the brightest stars to shine out of Dallas’ country scene, well, since ever, to be honest. If you know, you know, and if you don’t, don’t miss this show. Ottoman Turks’ garage-rock-dusted country is worth your attention, too. What a way to tie one on before Turkey Day! Doors are at 8pm, and tickets are $20-50 at Prekindle.com.

— Steve Steward Contact HearSay at Anthony@FWWeekly.com.

Happy Birthday, Tulips!

The one-year anniversary of Tulips FTW (112 St Louis Ave, 817-367-9798)

Cour tesy of Facebook

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Welp, after watching Uncle Toasty blow the roof off MASS on Friday, I can confirm that they do indeed induce a good time. Their Fastbacks-inspired riffage churned the packed house into a kinetic, buzzy party, and, honestly, they renewed my faith in guitar-rock’s power to thrill.

So here’s to them, and here’s to people showing up to shows en masse, checking out new bands, and tipping bartenders phatly. As a longtime scene participant/ observer/advocate, thank you, attendees, for doing your part to make that show really fun to be at.

I’d also like to encourage you, The Crowd, not to sit back and chill and to continue to get out of the house and see bands on the regular, and to that end, I’d like to suggest checking out songwriter Tom Fleischer’s mellow, melancholy country-rock vehicle the T-Totalers at Lola’s Trailer Park (2735 W 5th St, 817759-9100) on Friday. I say “mellow” because the two tracks on his website evince the kind of mid-tempo, lonelyroad reverb rock that comes from the Neil Young playbook, but as we all know, ol’ Uncle Neil was more than capable of turning an ambling low-key jam into a full-on barn-burner, so expect the same from the T-Totalers. UberDuber opens the show at 8pm, followed by Vinyl Review at 9, with Big T (a.k.a. Fleischer) and the T-Totalers closing out the night.

Cover is $10.

Cour tesy of Facebook

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

NOVEMBER 17-23, 2021

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T-Totalers Friday at Lola’s

rolls around Saturday, and part of the celebration includes a performance by the Nashville-based indie-folk quintet Birdtalker, as well as an auction of handpainted cowboy hats, courtesy Cavender’s and decorated by local artists. All proceeds from the hat auction will benefit local podcaster, bon vivant, and food-trucker Henry Abuto (ByWasonga is his catering biz), who recently suffered a heart attack and faces the exorbitant bills concomitant with such an ordeal. Doors are at 7pm, and tickets are $18-40 at Prekindle.com.

Mouser Electronics 1000 N Main, Mansfield Careers.Mouser.com 817-804-3800 Critic’s Choice for Best Place to Work in Best Of 2021: “Having started out as a family business in a small three-story building in Mansfield, Mouser Electronics is now a multimillion-dollar company doing business around the globe.

Anyone in the area who has a friend that works at Mouser knows it’s a great place to be. Their employees actively bring them new recruits and are rewarded for doing so with referral bonuses.

Does that motivate them to praise the company? Perhaps. But no one stays at a crappy job for an extended amount of time just to earn a referral bonus. Mouser is simply taking care of its own people first. They take care of the community as well...

(Read more at FWWeekly.com.)

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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.

Hannah in Hurst 817-590-2257 MasseuseToTheStars.com Alternative Health Sessions available immediately by remote with SKYPE, Zoom online or by cell phone. Services include Hypnosis for Health, Reiki, Engergetic Healing Techniques, Guided Medication. Call for a consultation. MT#004747 MUSIC XCHANGE Music Junkie Studios 1617 Park Place #106, Fort Worth www.MusicJunkieStudios.com We offer lessons on voice, piano, guitar, bass, ukulele, violin, viola, drums, recording, and music for littles!

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.)

Trojan Commercial Real Estate Services TrojanCRE.com 817-632-6252 Full-service company specializing in consulting, leasing, property management, real estate, and sales. Call today!

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EMPLOYMENT JLC Watchmaker (Forth Worth, TX) Serve as primary resource for after sales servicing & complex repairs & reconditioning of Jaeger-LeCoultre, Panerai, Vacheron Constantin & IWC watches. Perform repair & maintenance of advanced complications. Analyze & determine source of watch malfunction, diagnosis, polishing, dismantle watch movement components. Assess damage to watch components or casing. Reqts: Watchmaking Cert & 5 yrs exp in position offered or related, incl 5 yrs exp w/: all steps of watch repair, incl dismantling, polishing, case preparing, dismantling/cleaning/repairing movement components, regulating free sprung balances, dial/hand setting, regulating & adjusting the movement, encasing, water/air resistance testing & final quality control; assembly of mech manual & automatic winding & movements, incl working on complications (calendar, moon phase, power reserve) & chronographs; diagnosing watch probs by analyzing all checkpoints, id’ing abnormalities & implementing appropriate path of action to rehabilitate the movement w/in brand specs & giving accurate cost est; working in a boutique, incl contacting customers & listening & analyzing indications given by customer & providing complete service; using SAP sw for watch history, repairs, cost ests & warranties. Send resume to Richemont North America, Inc. at Jobs@richemont.com & ref position title in subject.

INDUSTRIAL MECHANIC NEEDED IN MIDLAND TX, HOUSTON TX AND PRYOR OK Position Summary: Applicant must be able to troubleshoot, repair and maintain the following: small diesel/gas engines, centrifugal pumps, generators, electrical circuits and hydraulic/pneumatic systems.

• Maintain records of service, repairs and • Previous experience with computers for order scheduled maintenance entry, parts ordering, and email a plus • Performs other related duties as assigned.

• Complete 24 hour check-ins and machine checklists • Applicant should possess ability to meet • Enter and maintain records of rental equipment deadlines, work flexible hours, and work in a in computer system team environment. Applicants need to have • Prepare repair quotes for customers; basic computer skills. Physical demands: write repair orders occasional lifting, standing, climbing are frequently • Locate required parts utilizing local vendor and/ required. ISCO is a drug free workplace. Job requires or vendor websites the ability to use independent judgement and work • Prepare equipment for shipping • May also be expected to repair Fabrication shop both independently and in a team setting.

• Experience in a leadership role is preferred. equipment as needed and provide field support for trouble shooting equipment repairs

ENTRY LEVEL WELDER NEEDED IN CEDAR HILL TX Position Summary: Fit and weld natural gas delivery products built from raw materials according to blue print specifications in accordance with API 1104 certification standards and procedures.

• Receive project raw materials and match to corresponding blue prints/drawings • Fit and weld project in accordance to blue print/ drawing specification and API 1104 standards • Responsible to maintain production schedule to ensure minimum ‘reworks’ so that product is delivered to the client on time • Accurately maintain required records and documentation for each project as outlined by • • • Fabrication Foreman and/or Manager • Maintain a clean and safe work area • Report any maintenance requirements needed for equipment in your work area timely so that production schedule is not affected

• Follow ALL corporate safety requirements and standards including but not limited to welder safety equipment, protective clothing, protective lenses/goggles, steel toed boots, etc.

• Safely operate a forklift • Minimum of one year of experience in welding and pipe fitting. Must pass 6G Butt and Tee Branch welding tests Must test to API 1104 certification and have an understanding of API 1104 certification standards and procedures. • • • • Must have the ability to read and interpret blue prints and mechanical drawings

CHECK OUR WEBSITE FOR ALL POSITIONS AVAILABLE AT MULTIPLE LOCATIONS Equal Opportunity Employer/Protected Veterans/Individuals with Disabilities

For more information on these positions or to apply go to: isco-pipe.com

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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

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Dickies Arena Open House & HIRING EVENT! Thurs 11/18,

Dickies Arena 1911 Montgomery Street Fort Worth, TX 76107 at 4 – 7:30 PM Join us for a free and exciting event for our community and staff! This free event will include a food tasting from our Food and Beverage team, raffles and giveaways, games, and so much more! Arena tours will be offered for you and your family to experience behind the scenes at our venue. If you love what you see, we will have on-site hiring available so you can be a part of our incredible upcoming events! ! Register today! Eventbrite.com/e/dickies-arena-open-housetickets-191929394987

EMPLOYMENT:

Operations Coordinator (Mansfield, TX) sought

by Construction co., with exp. in all of the following: (i) overseeing financial and operational effectiveness to maximize operations and ensure profitability, (ii) ensuring all company procedures, processes, and policies, such as safety measures, are followed according to company standards, and (iii) establishing company goals and objectives, as well as tracking project’s progress and providing efficient, dynamic, and precise solutions. Associate’s Degree in Business or Engineering related field (or foreign equiv.) + 1Y exp. in the job duties. No travel or lang. fluency req. Please send resumes by postal mail only to: Aubrey Hope, Managing Partner, DFW Constructors Holdings LLC, 1217 Remington Ranch Rd., Mansfield, TX 76063.

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