Fort Worth Weekly // May 31 - June 6, 2023

Pride Month 2023

BIG TICKET

See why we celebrate pride month in June and where to do so here in North Texas.

NIGHT & DAY

Downtown Arlington has a lot to offer this month, including a car show and Arlington Pride Fest on June 10 and much more.

See page 15

HIGHER PURPOSE

Everyone has a higher purpose. Find yours with Higher Purpose Emporium owner Ivy Garcia at the annual LGBTQ+ Pagan Pride Fair on June 11.

Politics as Usual

Small D Energy

By Patrick Higgins

Anthony Mariani,

Lee Newquist, Publisher

Bob Niehoff, General Manager

Ryan Burger, Art Director

Jim Erickson, Circulation Director

Edward Brown, Staff Writer

Emmy Smith, Proofreader

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

Christina Berger, E.R. Bills, Jason Brimmer, Buck D. Elliott, Juan R. Govea, Patrick Higgins, Laurie James, Kristian Lin, Vishal Malhotra, Cody Neathery, Wyatt Newquist, Madison Simmons, Teri Webster, Ken Wheatcroft-Pardue, Cole Williams

FEATURE

Texas has seven virtual public elementary schools, and for this dad, the in-person alternative was great — for his child.

BY ANTHONY MARIANI

BY STEVE STEWARD

METROPOLIS

Why does a FWISD powerbroker want to oust her protégé before the runoff?

BY EDWARD BROWN

EATS & DRINKS

Martin House Brewing welcomes the scrumptious Barley by Rye food trailer.

BY EDWARD BROWN

STUFF

Blame the Stars’ subpar D and goaltending instead of the “Benncident” for VGK’s victory.

BY PATRICK HIGGINS

The former incarnation of Kevin Aldridge & The Appraisers is way less rootsier but no less catchy.

METROPOLIS

Still in Control?

Why is a Fort Worth kingmaker backing a political newcomer for school board?

BY STATIC

Fort Worth school board members have a history of pandering to outside interests. Former trustee Ashley Paz told us in 2018 that, during the 2015 search for former superintendent Kent Scribner, several vendors tried to sway her vote toward candidates who would favor the businesses, and in 2017, trustee Tobi Jackson gutted the board’s ethics policy allegedly as a favor to a wealthy and influential law firm (“Ethics for Sale?” May 2018) that donates heavily to political campaigns.

The undue influence of powerbrokers, as we’ve been told by multiple FWISD insiders, may be shaping the runoff between incumbent trustee Carin “CJ” Evans and political newcomer Kevin Lynch. Kingmaker Judy Needham, a longtime former trustee, is pouring time and resources into Lynch’s campaign, including a $10,000 donation through her 2-year-old PAC, Great City Great Schools. Over her nearly 24-year tenure that ended in 2019, Needham built a reputation as a powerbroker who consistently swayed board elections and vendor contract awards, and she apparently can’t kick the habit.

Needham’s heir apparent was Evans, who filled Needham’s vacated seat, but the kingmaker soon lost control of her former protege. The story can be traced to one transaction — or lack thereof — between 2019 and 2020, when Fort Worth ISD leaders wanted to generate some easy cashflow by selling several older and underused properties. The board voted to sell the Central Administration Building for $5 million to private equity firm Keystone Group in 2020, but Evans asked her colleagues to hold back on selling several other buildings until her request for an opinion by the State Attorney General was fulfilled. The topic? Whether trustees could lawfully lease district properties and buildings. The move, we’re told, miffed Needham, whose personal friends would have benefited from the purchase of the school buildings.

Needham’s departure from the board didn’t end her alleged efforts to control trustee elections. She was a staunch supporter of former trustee Daphne Brookins, who died from COVID-19 in late 2021, and sought to have Brookins’ then-political opponent, Wallace Bridges, gerrymandered out of Brookins’ district by leaning on certain board members. That effort failed, and Evans is widely credited with spoiling Needham’s wayward redistricting plans.

Lynch enjoys the endorsement of former mayor Betsy Price, a known friend of Needham. Lynch, a youth football coach who, based on his campaign website, “helped bring lifesaving medical services to local hospitals,” parrots Evans’ established messaging: academic excellence, fiscal responsibility, and property tax relief. The two candidates are nearly identical, which makes you wonder why Needham would flip her support to a political newcomer after only four years. (Answer: Needham supports only candidates she can influence.)

Needham’s political puppeteering comes at a time when our school district is in crisis, largely from political infight-

ing that distracts from FWISD’s mission to train young minds and from dwindling enrollment. Based on school district data, FWISD is losing an average of 2,400 students per year to charter, private, and home schools. The current enrollment of around 72,000 is projected to diminish to 66,000 by 2026. Those losses mean less public funding, which is allocated largely by student population and financial need.

In March, the school board voted to cut several high-level administrative positions as well as dozens of low-level jobs in response to the student exodus. In a public statement, school leaders said FWISD will eventually flatten out to around 55,000 students.

Even with waning enrollment, the district (which recently received a voter-approved $1.5 billion bond package) remains a lucrative target for grift and mismanagement. Voters should cut ties with any candidate, trustee, or former trustee who even hints at favoring contractors and vendors based on personal connections. Self-serving actions mar the credibility of an already embattled public school system. If Needham is

so obsessed with clinging to power by ousting a board member whose first term has been scandal-free, she should run for office again so locals can decide whether she deserves influence in local school dealings.

Speaking at a recent candidate forum organized by the Fort Worth Report, Lynch said that no contribution will influence how he votes if elected.

Evans questioned whether Lynch was an independent candidate or a pawn groomed by Price and Needham.

“When I talk with voters, I ask them, ‘Is my opponent this far in the race standing on his own?’ ” Evans said. Or is he here “because he’s backed by historical political figures in this town?”

Early voting runs through Tuesday, June 6. Election Day is Saturday, June 10. l

This column reflects the opinions of the editorial board and not the Fort Worth Weekly. To submit a column, please email Editor Anthony Mariani at Anthony@FWWeekly. com. He will gently edit it for clarity and concision.

Carin “CJ” Evans’ four-year tenure has not been marred by controversy, so why is former trustee Judy Needham gunning to boot her?

Courtesy Facebook

FRIDAY,

SATURDAY,

TIMELESS MELODIES TRINITY METRO

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Teams Effort

Oh, but I am. I am.

The rain twinkled across the puddles in our sinking backyard. Our foundation is cracking. Add it to the list. I could see them through the window where I was now standing, breathing in, breathing out, tensing, loosening, breathing in, breathing out. I grew up in shitty weather. In my barbaric youth in Pittsburgh, it rained every weekend. Monday through Thursday was sparkling, sunny, gorgeous. Friday through Sunday afternoon, it shit-poured.

“Hey, buddy,” I said. “Dance party? To get us back to normal?”

BY ANTHONY MARIANI

As I let loose with an honest “What the fuck are you doing?!,” I snatched the pencil from my son’s hand and began to untangle the division problem myself.

“Four goes into 27 six times, and you put that here!,” rage writing on the mushy math notebook belonging to my sweet, dear 11-year-old, who was coasting, I swear, “and then you drop the three, and you put that here!,” more rage writing — I was pressing so hard the pencil could have cut through metal.

Silent, patient tears cleaved A.’s beautiful onyx cheeks, a mask of innocence cracking.

“I hate this,” he growled from our spot at the kitchen table.

“Yeah?!” I snapped, my tired, unshaven face hot and red, “you think I wanna be doing this?!”

It was almost 1 p.m. on a workday, and I had taken only two sips from my coffee that was still sitting cold and dejected by my side, taunting me with the memory of the morning’s bright promise. “I’ve already been through fifth grade, paly,” now channeling the Rat Pack for some extremely weird reason, probably because, when you break it down, I’m just another dumb dago, “and I’m sure as hell not going through it again!”

A. shook his head.

“OK, come here a sec.”

“Fine,” he spat, dragging himself to a standing position, his shoulders slumped and head tilted to one side.

“Hey,” I said.

And we hugged, which was more like me wrapping my arms around him and him barely touching me. I squeezed tighter. He patted me on the back. Tap, tap. I took it as a win, considering he was probably a little freaked the fuck out. With my arms still wrapped around his skinny frame and his hands still hovering above my dadtastic waist, I felt us rise above the anxiety and stress of the word problems in which we were drowning. I stepped back and looked him in the eyes. “I’m sorry, sweet boy. I’ll do better. I promise.”

Three rules of fucking up: apologize, promise to do better, do better. I learned this from my wife D., and, apparently — hahaha! — I’m still learning! Always with the learning. It’s like a bad toothache or a broken foot, all this nonstop learning that I’ve been doing as pain’s pincushion.

A. said “OK” and sat back down as I stood there in my ridiculous cargo shorts that I hadn’t changed since December and a stupid Pittsburgh Penguins T-shirt (they also stink), enumerating to myself all the

reasons we opted for virtual school this year. The biggest is that we don’t want our only child mowed down by a weapon of war because our craven state government and half our federal legislators are beholden to the gun lobby. Equally important, A., whom D. and I adopted from a third-world orphanage when he was about 2, is developmentally delayed, which leads to some drama in and out of the brick-and-mortar classroom. Basically, while his grades are decent, decent-plus in some cases, his ability to handle frustration is not. When something doesn’t go his way, he bolts, just unsticks himself from whatever uncomfortable situation he happens to be in — quickly. From fight, flight, or freeze, A. is choosing flight every time. This is a huge problem, especially when you live in a state full of small-dicked fucktards cruising campuses and all of them have access to AR-15s and no one in power is doing anything to stop them.

The only remedy is, simply, for A. to make better decisions. To keep the frustration from spreading throughout the house — D. and I work from home with A. on Teams Monday through Friday — we have been having impromptu dance parties. That’s when the three of us get together and shake, shake, shake our booties to some disco, old-school hip-hop, or *groan* Huey Lewis (strictly A.’s choice). Subtract the frustration, and maybe the better decisions will follow. We will see.

As much pressure as it can put on those of us who agree to be available to help our kids with independent work and homework, virtual school has been good for our family and apparently a lot of others. Across 10 states in 2021-22, K-12 enrollment in virtual school rose 176% since pre-pandemic levels of 170% (2020-21), based on data crunched by The

continued on page 7

May 7–September 3

Virtual public elementary school was great this year — for the boy. For his sadsack “learning coach”? Not so much. But nothing ever really is.

Anthony Mariani

The exhibition is organized by the The Metropolitan Museum of Art and Kimbell Art Museum. It is supported in part by the William and Catherine Bryce Memorial Fund, the Texas Commission on the Arts, and the Fort Worth Tourism Public Improvement District. Promotional support provided by

74, an education news outlet. In Texas, the TEA (Texas Education Agency) has accredited seven fully virtual schools. All of them are free, including A.’s Texas Virtual Academy at Hallsville (TVAH), and all of them participate in the STAAR exams. Serving grades 3 through 12, TVAH has more than 10,000 students, including the members of A.’s reasonably sized fifth-grade class (about 30 total).

Number of attempted school shootings at TVAH: 0. Number of book bans at TVAH: 0. Number of attempted classroom escapes by A.: also 0. Number of dance parties: at least one a week. As basic math would indicate, we are winning.

Fifth-grade math says something else.

My first act of recompense was to help A. reassemble his workspace. Maybe some implements had been thrown. Maybe some others had been snapped in half. Perhaps Inside Out & Back Again and Hidden Figures had been scattered onto the floor. Perhaps even a chair was kicked out of place. The kid and I worked together, rebuilding, then we settled ourselves and gingerly turned to his laptop whose bright, open face seemed to be … was it? … it was mocking us. Holy shit. Onto Problem 2.

The mass in kilograms of an ice chest is shown in expanded notation.

(1 × 10) + (3 × 1) + (6 × 0.1) + (1 × 0.01)

What is this mass in kilograms, written as a numeral?

“I think we should punt on this one,” I said. “So, we skip it?”

In its absurdity, Problem No. 2 coaxed A. and me into a simple, powerful species of harmony, the two of us against math.

“Yeah, sweet boy,” I said. “We’ll hit the next ones hard, though, OK?”

As with every time my news app populates with tragedy, this time with the anniversary of the Uvalde shooting, I was anxious and off-kilter. And pissed. I could not unclench my teeth or fists. Their object was not my wonderful son — I put him over my knee and spanked him a couple times when he was younger, and because he had grown so much bigger and stronger in just a couple of years, our most recent exchange was so emotionally draining for both of us that I vowed never to touch him in anger again. No, my throwing hands were aimed thousands of miles away at the highly punchable face of the no-name Republican politician who said that nothing more can be done to stop school shootings and that he’s not too worried about it because his kids are homeschooled as if that’s a viable option for everyone. And once again I was confronted with the reality that people actually vote for these evil, stupid twats.

Virtual school is not only safer than in-person. For my family, it’s also way less cruel and heartbreaking. At A.’s brick-and-mortar, he was surrounded by people — children and also adults — who judged him based on his bad classroom decisions when he was younger. He felt powerless, that no matter how well he did — and he brought home a few 100% daily behavior report cards — he was still that wild child who ran out of class or threw a book or chair every time he was overwhelmed by frustration. He also brought home some 70s.

With virtual school, there’s no more KISS.

Robert Motherwell: Pure Painting

June 4–September 17

There’s no more G.D. Paul Stanley singing at me. I had grown so weary of the chorus to “Lick It Up” that I started to hate the former me, the dumbass who assigned that ringtone to A.’s in-person school to remind me to take life less seriously, to be as cheesy and fun-loving as that idiotic song. KISS soon came to represent despair. And worse. “Yeah, Mr. Mariani,” one call went, “A. ran out again. Can you talk to him?” “Mr. Mariani,” went another, “it’s about A.” And another: “Mr. Mariani, he just destroyed the bookshelf.” Every time “Lick It Up” pops up on my beloved “Cum on Feel the Noize” playlist even now, I skip it. The wounds are still too raw — and it ain’t a crime to be good to yourself.

Our fear is/was not misplaced. Based on data from the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ), “Black students are suspended and expelled at a rate three times greater than white students,” and “students with disabilities” — like A. — “are twice as likely to be suspended than their non-disabled peers.”

Combine the totality of the risk factors, the DOJ says, and “you’re talking about a child who might as well stay home.”

Which is what we are doing — except school and some really stupid math are involved.

Ms. Fitzgerald had 2 1/4 gallons of fruit punch. She served 3/8 gallon of the fruit punch to her family at lunch. How many gallons of fruit punch did Ms. Fitzgerald have left after lunch?

F. 2 1/3 gal

G. 1 6/8 gal

H. 1 1/2 gal

J. 1 7/8 gal

What the fresh hell is this bullsh?

“OK, paly,” I said. “I think we’re gonna have to punt on this one, too.”

“Uh, OK?”

“We can always come back to it, right?”

As A. explained — again — TVAH students need to score an 80% or higher on every quiz, or they must retake it. The questions on the repeats are the same — or same-ish — but in a different order, and you have only three tries to reach 80. You say “virtual school.” I say “virtual fun!” (Please kick me in the nuts.)

As parents of an easy type of special-needs kid, patience, as you slowly, perhaps painfully realize, is not the problem. Your patience is not always the only component of the concept of one, big happy family that’s tested. Your man-/womanhood is also questioned. By a child? Yes. The stomping of feet. The utter lack of movement when prompt movement is requested or demanded by an authority figure or situation. The next “whatever” 10 minutes after you just told him to stop saying that irritating, disrespectful word. Since launching our offspring into the sun is apparently frowned upon, you must hold yourself back, and if you’re as stubborn as I am, that takes some doing.

continued on page 8

Robert Motherwell: Pure Painting is the first presentation in more than a quarter century to fully examine the mastery of Robert Motherwell (1915–1991), a major figure who shaped postwar art.

The exhibition features a selection of visually compelling works chosen from throughout the artist’s lengthy and influential career. Beginning with the abstracted-figurative works that dominated Motherwell’s first decade of painting as he emerged in the New York art world in the early 1940s, the exhibition highlights the subsequent key series that defined his oeuvre, offering new insights into his evolution as an artist.

MODERN ART MUSEUM OF FORT WORTH

3200 Darnell Street, Fort Worth, Texas 76107 • 817.738.9215

www.themodern.org

Courtesy Wikimedia Commons

D. and I have the added bonus of raising a Black male in a sad, warped culture that sees them only as athletes or entertainers and absolutely nothing else. The shiitake he pulls, I got away with 10 times that as a young punk back in the day, a young white punk. In seventh grade, I broke the door on a bathroom stall just for yuks. Wild oats and such, as my coaches said. Sr. John paddled me three times in her office. That’s it. Whack, whack, whack, say three “Hail Mary”s and two “Our Father”s, and you’re on your way, stunad

Black kids like A. are not afforded nearly the same degree of deference from authority. Black kids like A. are often deposited directly into the schoolto-prison pipeline. Black kids like A. are often killed by rogue cops for next to nothing. In a text thread with my ridiculously conservative older brother and sister the other day, I said cops need to stop killing everyone but especially Blacks because cops kill Blacks at a higher rate than every other demographic, which was a pretty reasonable statement, right? Bro and sis disagreed. They whatabouted me for nearly 15 minutes. Blah blah blah Black-on-Black violence blah blah blah Chicago blah blah blah California. Into their ignorant eyeholes, I, my thumbs ablaze, threw “1619,” “redlining,” “ghettoization,” and some choice — and highly appropriate — profanity. My siblings did some more whatabouting until I simply silenced my phone. That’s the thing about these reactionaries. Since they’re wrong all of the time, they’ll never respond directly to the truth. Instead, they’ll just say “what about this?” or “what about that?” until you realize you’re probably better off flipping to DND or dumping some rum into your cold coffee.

Black students, the DOJ says, “do not ‘act out’ in class more frequently than their white peers.” The discrepancy is that most teachers are white, and as whites, they’ve been groomed by conservative talking points and talking heads over decades into thinking that Black children — Black people — are inherently bad. Everyone must have conveniently forgotten that after slavery, the country’s white power system that not only still exists but is thriving ghettoized Blacks, hamstringing or often completely neutering their upward mobility. The slums in America are just as unsafe as the slums in Mexico, India, and Pakistan. The problem is not skin color. It’s poverty.

I don’t recall all the details and am too lazy to look them up (and I’m the person who filled out all the paperwork), but just know that we aren’t paying one dime for virtual school and that the curriculum is rigorous and well-taught. (Shout out to Ms. Jill.

You rock!) For the first time, A. is grasping concepts, even parts of his super-stupid math, when he understood only the basics before. Our son is our son, and we know him as well as we know ourselves. Maybe your child learns better in an in-person setting. For A., in-person was a nightmare of sensory overload and random strictures that rubbed against his, to be polite, hard-headedness. And also his sense of justice (that I hope he can channel into positive change one day). Or maybe this is just what the tween years look like. Who knows. We’re talking boners now. (Rule No. 1: Don’t touch it. No. 2: Do jumping jacks. Rule No. 3: Do more jumping jacks.) The gist is that, despite his jerkwad of a learning coach, virtual school is working out pretty well for him. So far.

I’d had enough of Adam Ant. And Bryan Ferry. And Grace Jones. And Richard Butler. And Let’s Danceera Bowie. It’s like this: A couple of days ago, I had created a playlist of hits from high school, and from what started as a glorious all-you-can-click buffet of acid-washed, Polo-rocking nostalgia, “I Want My MTV” soured into a tuna-on-wheat left out in the rain. Cutting through the warm fuzzies that tickled me after the first few spins of “Slave to the Rhythm”

and “Angel Eyes” and “A Million Miles Away” and “Love Plus One” and all 49 other, carefully curated-by-me monster jams from the decade of decadence — pain and regret, and a massing, tentacled species of despair from all the bad shit that went down in my life circa 1985-1989, reminded me why I hadn’t started an MTV-influenced playlist earlier. I don’t blame my parents, and I don’t blame myself. In the words of one fictional high school philosopher, life comes at you fast. And if you’re middle- to lower-class like we were, it’s your head that’s going through the windshield — repeatedly.

Virtual school was important for us for a lot of reasons but most of all for the fragility of A.’s childhood. Like most parents, D. and I want his adult self to have good memories of our brief time together.

We also know that re-traumatizing him, even in a way that may seem trivial to us, like spanking him or spewing frustration all over him while “helping” him with school, isn’t going to be good for anyone — not for him, not for us, and definitely not for society.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) say that adverse childhood experiences, or ACEs, “can have a tremendous impact on future violence victimization and perpetration and lifelong health and opportunity.”

ACEs, the National Child Traumatic Stress Network says, “have been linked to increased medical conditions throughout the individuals’ lives.”

A.’s trauma is beyond his linguistic reach. The neglect or worse that he suffered as an abandoned infant in a third-world country imprinted itself in his DNA and lies deep within his amygdala. It’s all preverbal — other than in his oversized reactions and overall depression, which are a language all their own. A.’s psychiatrist and play therapist and The Body Keeps Score are teaching D. and me how to speak to him. Most of the time, we connect. Other times, it’s me trying to help with math. It’s that bad. Onto Problem No. 4.

What is the value of this expression?

10[3 + (7 + 5) ÷ 3]

A. 14

B. 34

C. 50

D. 70

“Bro,” I said. “Let’s take a little break, OK? Then we’ll hit the rest hard. Sound good?”

As soon as I flipped open my laptop to tackle some work emails that I knew were piling up, I was hit by “Under the Milky Way.” I popped right back up and like a robot marched to the back window. An Adam song. Fuck this. The rain had quieted a little, falling like snow now, sort of swirling around instead of dropping in hazy rows. “Sometimes when this place gets kind of empty / Sound of their breath fades with the light.” I inhaled deeply. I exhaled long. I struggled to unknot my stiffened neck and shoulders. In and out, in and out. Almost every year growing up, some older neighborhood kid rented a grove at a nice public park in a fancy neighborhood for a Memorial Day party. Burgers and hot dogs, volleyball, frisbee, girls in shorts, and, most importantly, beer — Joey “Bloop” did it right. Since Adam, my lovably cranky, completely neurotic older brother, refused to be responsible for me with all his friends and so many potential flings around, I had to A.) find a ride to and from North Park on my own and B.) avoid Adam while there. I never made it to one party, and on the first Memorial Day weekend to come

when I was legally able to drive — and when I had snuck the keys to my old man’s Buick Century with 180,000-plus miles on it — it shit-poured. “Wish I knew what you were looking for / Might have known what you would find.” These four cracking walls are going to bury us, aren’t they?

Joey “Bloop”’s epic picnics aside, I suppose I have my own trauma to work through. By the time that I, the youngest of four, had come along, Mummy and Daddy had totally checked out on parenting. I managed elementary school OK. Other than having to sign myself up for sports and forge my mom’s signature on waivers, I did not really struggle socially. High school was the opposite. My dad’s drywall business was going under, sunk by a series of risky property investments, and as he was drinking his unwanted free time away, he took out all his frustration on Adam, who was stuck still living at home, working at the men’s shoe store up the street to pay for college nearby and trying to piece together some kind of adult life. I advanced from signing “Ann Mariani” on waivers to doing it on report cards. I don’t know how I graduated. My dad died of cancer a few years later at 63, and my dear Adam, who was also an alcoholic, killed himself five years ago. He was 52, the same age I am now. This is partly why “I Want My MTV” is so ridiculously sour. I clicked off Spotify and actually welcomed rude fifth-grade math. Problem No. 5.

An elementary school had 90 boxes of glue sticks. Each box had 36 glue sticks. Teachers put all of the glue sticks into bags to give to the students. They put 6 glue sticks into each bag.

Which equation can be used to find b, the number of bags the teachers can fill with these glue sticks?

A. 90 × 36 ÷ 6 = b

B. 90 ÷ 6 + 36 = b

C. 36 × 90 + 6 = b

D. 36 × 6 × 90 = b continued on page 9

SATURDAY 9am - 5pm

“Punt?”

“Punt.”

It seems that all of A.’s classmates agree that virtual school is the way for them. Early in the year when their teacher allowed them to talk a little about themselves, most of these sweet babies said they chose virtual school because they had been bullied at their in-person schools. That was the reason these children were learning from home: mother-fucking bullies. It was heartbreaking. I felt a kinship with these parents. Over the past few years, as I was dreading being informed by Paul Stanley that my child had another meltdown and was storming the halls or roaming the campus, these moms and dads were spending their entire days worrying whether their children had been hit or teased again. Our problems were the same but shaped differently. There were days during in-person when I couldn’t even shower for fear of being away from my phone when Paul Stanley came howling at me. More than wanting to be able to comfort my son instantly, I wanted to save his teachers from A.’s furious explosivity. Though I haven’t interviewed every fifth-grade TVAH parent, I feel pretty confident saying that virtual school probably added a few years back onto our lives.

Number of bullying incidents in A.’s class at TVAH: 0.

I had a bully in grade school. His nickname was Swat, and he was a year or two older than me and, while an inch or two shorter, with straw hair, pink skin, and a pronounced stutter, he was stronger, and a lot nastier, than I was. He lived next door off and on, and he made my summers hell. Sometimes I fought him off. Other times, he got me to submit. And everyone just watched. All of my friends/“friends.” Just let it happen. Adam would have been no help. He was five years older and twice the size of Swat and would have been seen as a bully himself trying to intervene. Fuck, why can’t I have my MTV? I deserve it. And isn’t that what Adam would have wanted? For his little brother?

As I’ve told my wife an annoying number of times since virtual school started, fifth-grade math was way easier back in the day. All this fraction bullsh? And this “expanded notion” nonsense? I know I wasn’t doing any of that crap until seventh or eighth grade. As the father of a super-coder who builds entire playable baseball stadiums line by line, I’m not necessarily complaining. Please, challenge him. As his “learning coach” with a demanding full-time job, I feel like I’m going through seventh grade all over again minus — and here’s the important part — the sunny hope I had for the future. I love my family and friends and shit. I’m just not ready for Civil War II and World War III. Onto Problem No. 6.

Kendra earned a total of $625 selling jewelry.

• She sold 7 necklaces for $55 each.

• She sold 8 rings.

• Each ring was sold for the same price.

The equation shown can be used to find r, the amount of money in dollars she earned for each ring sold.

r = [625 − (7 × 55)] ÷ 8

What was the amount of money in dollars Kendra earned for each ring sold?

A. $30

B. $240

C. $45

D. None of these

I looked at A. He actively ignored me. He was working something out in his notebook with a new pencil — maybe the previous one had been trashed. I had conveniently forgotten. Following PMDAS (Parens, Multiplication, Division, Addition, Subtraction), he first solved 7 x 55 before subtracting the resulting 385 from 625 and dividing it by eight, arriving at 30, so the answer was A. My son clicked on it.

“OK, now hit the ‘check answer’ button,” I said, giving A.’s tiny shoulders a squeeze. They’re so tiny. He’s still such a little boy, a little soul. What kind of absolute ghoul do you have to be to have spanked him? Or have ever even raised your voice at him? I’m a monster.

“Correct,” the screen said in white block letters on a green rectangle.

A. and I hoorayed at the same time, then we did that silly fist-bump thing we do, when I give him a tight fist and he just gives me a limp hand because he’s either embarrassed or being a little shithead. D. had eased into the kitchen.

“Good job, guys,” she said, sailing past to the fridge to refill her water.

“Yeah, that was all A.,” I answered. “He didn’t even need my help, right, sweet boy?”

“Yep,” he said, closing his laptop and notebook.

“Wait,” I said. “Don’t we have to go over those ones we punted on?”

“The assignment isn’t due until Friday.”

It was Wednesday.

“I’d get it done today,” D. said flatly, screwing the cap back onto her full bottle. “Friday, there’s no school, and I know you’re not going to want to do any homework on your day off.”

I searched A.’s face for a prompt. He looked contented, comfortable actually.

“It’s OK,” he said. “We can do it now.”

“OK,” I said, taking my place over his shoulder. “Let’s get back to it.”

“And remember, Dad. If you’re feeling frustrated, just relax.”

Relax. Yeah, I thought. Just relax. Maybe I do want my MTV.

“Before we get back to it,” I said to A., “dance party?”

Without answering me verbally, he jumped up and sped from the cramped kitchen into the open family room and started bouncing.

“Alexa,” I said, stretching my hammies, twirling my neck, my arms akimbo, “play Frankie Goes to Hollywood.” l

This column reflects the opinions of the editorial board and not the Fort Worth Weekly. To submit a column, please email Editor Anthony Mariani at Anthony@FWWeekly.com. He will gently edit it for clarity and concision.

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TO ALL INTERESTED PERSONS AND PARTIES:

Polycoat Products, LLC, has applied to the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ) for:

Amendment of Permit 138221

This application would authorize construction of a new building at the Paint and Coatings Manufacturing Facility located at 2100 Reliance Parkway, Bedford, Tarrant County, Texas 76021. Additional information concerning this application is contained in the public notice section of this newspaper.

STUFF

Lights Out

After a pair of gutsy wins to overcome the “Benncident,” the Stars’ season ends with a whimper in Game 6 of the Western Conference Finals.

BY PATRICK HIGGINS

Nearly three years ago, as we were all still trying to reconcile with a new, unrecognizable world due to an unprecedented international health crisis, with society eager for some sense of normality, the NHL playoffs managed to take place in a player-isolated “bubble” in Toronto. Once play resumed after the shutdown that paused the regular season, the Dallas Stars went on one heck of a run, ultimately beating the Vegas Golden Knights in the Western Conference Finals to advance to the franchise’s first Stanley Cup appearance in 20 years.

Fast forward to this week, and Vegas has returned the favor, eliminating the Stars in this year’s conference championship in six games. The handshakes took place on Memorial Day as Dallas faltered in phenomenally lackadaisical fashion, a drumming with a 6-0 final score. It was the Stars’ third straight potential elimination game after beginning the round down in a 0-3 hole to the Knights. It was a decidedly anticlimactic conclusion to what had previ-

ously been an exciting year for the boys in Victory Green™. Not only did Dallas’ normally high-flying offense offer a depressing goose egg on the scoreboard, with their season in jeopardy, and at home, they managed only 23 shots on goal in the effort and were outdrawn in the faceoff circle and outhit.

The team that showed so much life in the previous game while facing elimination in Vegas apparently missed the plane back to Big D. What happens in Vegas stays in Vegas indeed. In contrast to the previous tilt, here in front of their home crowd, they looked gassed, lifeless, and resigned to their fate. And just when they should have gotten a boost with the return of their captain.

Too much has likely already been said about the controversial cross-check to the jaw that Jamie Benn administered on

Vegas’ Mark Stone in Game 3. I have my own thoughts, but like any thoughts at all these days, sharing them will only piss off some people. Suffice to summarize that on what was Benn’s first shift of the game, the questionable blow drew a five-minute major penalty, a game misconduct, and a twogame suspension for the team leader. With Vegas scoring on the resulting power play to go up 2-0 in the game, which went a long way toward the win and securing their 3-0 series lead, many would point to that moment as the one that ultimately sank the Stars’ season.

I would argue that the true moment the Stars’ ship hit the proverbial iceberg actually occurred with 2:22 remaining in Game 2. That is when Vegas’ Jonathan Marchessault scored off an unbelievable pass by center

Jack Eichel, coming off a turnover, to tie a game the Stars had otherwise dominated from puck drop to that moment. The game would go to overtime, and as had been the trend with the Stars in this year’s playoffs, they would lose. The loss was devastating, and the team never fully recovered from it.

The play serves as a microcosm of Dallas’ season in general: great play through 95% of a game only to have self-inflicted mistakes lead to eventual downfall. It also highlights a massive vulnerability on the team’s roster as it is currently constructed. They are severely compromised on the point. They have one of the league’s absolute best defensemen in Miro Heiskanen, but there is very little behind him. Even with the Finnish superstar’s 12 points, the D core collectively finished the playoffs -24. Once stalwart blueline presence Esa Lindell was a staggering -10 alone, and Ryan Suter is quickly approaching “totally washed” status. The lack of shutdown D-men had a drastic effect on the team’s most important figure in keeping the puck out of their own net, who is, of course, goalie Jake Oettinger. The 24-year-old had an uncharacteristically forgetful playoff run, watching his goals against average balloon from a respectable 2.35 in the regular season to 3.06 in the postseason. He was pulled three separate times over the course of the Stars’ three playoff series. While you can’t legitimately lay much of the blame for Dallas coming up short at Otter’s skates, he certainly wasn’t the hero we hoped for or expected him to be after last season’s staggering 67-save performance in the gut punch Game 7 OT loss to Calgary a year ago. He made his name in the league that night. We might have been premature in crowning him the next Ed Belfour.

Despite the disappointing conclusion, Head Coach Pete DeBoer did an excellent job in his first year behind the Stars’ bench. He certainly opened up a lights-out offensive scheme, but the Vegas series proves that GM Jim Nill has a lot of work to do in the offseason to find some balance and help on the other side of the puck. Vegas’ calling card is boasting a big, bruising, lockdown D core, and it certainly was the difference in the series. Dallas must try to close the gap in that regard if they want to compete in a deep playoff run next year. l

Returning after his suspension for a rogue play in Game 3, Stars captain Jamie Benn makes nice with his counterpart for Vegas, Mark Stone, after the Golden Knights eliminated Dallas in Game 6 of the Western Conference Finals.

Courtesy

By Jennifer Bovee

From exhibits to sporting events and everything in between, there’s something special to do daily in Downtown Arlington, including these seven events. No wonder Mayor Ross has proclaimed June to be Downtown Arlington Month! For ideas about arts and culture, eats and drinks, living and working, shopping and playing, and how to get around during your visit, go to DownTownArlington.org.

be seen 10am-5pm daily thru Sun, Sept 24. Tickets are $20 at ArlingtonMuseum.org.

Saturday

JUNE 10

Fridays

As part of a "music-friendly community," Levitt Pavilion Arlington (100 W Abram St, 817-543-4308) hosts free concerts called Arlington Celebrates: Home Grown. Featured artists for June include Big Sam’s Funky Nation on 6/2, Dale Watson with Dusty Moats on 6/9, Sue Foley with Terraplane Rounders on 6/18, SqueezeBox Bandits with Shelby Bellender on 6/23, and Radney Foster with Gold Pine on 6/30. For more info, visit LevittPavilionArlington.org.

Presented by Chevrolet, the Downtown Arlington Classic Car Show is 11am-4pm Sat, June 10, at Vandergriff Town Center (200 N Mesquite St) and on surrounding streets. More than 150 cars from the early 1920s to the late 1970s will be showcased. You can register your car for $20 on Eventbrite.com, with proceeds going toward creating a Fire Station Museum. Along with the cars, you can enjoy food trucks, games, and vendors. This event is free to attend.

Saturday

JUNE 10

Saturday

Taylor Swift: The Eras Tour Collection at the Arlington Museum of Art (201 W Main St, 817-2754600) explores Swift as an evolving, boundary-pushing artist. The exhibition will feature original costumes, photographs, videos, and more representing several of her creative periods, or “eras.” The exhibit can

Arlington Pride 2023, presented by Frank Kent Cadillac and the HELP Center for LGBT Health & Wellness, is at the Levitt Pavilion (100 W Abram St, 817-543-4308) 6pm-11pm Sat, June 10. Featured performers from Ru Paul's Drag Race include Angeria Paris VanMichaels, Symone, and Kennedy Davenport, plus music by DJ Al Farb and a street fair full of vendors. Learn more at ArlingtonPride.org.

NOW

thru JUNE 13

The Let’s Get Small exhibit at Create Arlington (304 W Main St, 682-248-8424) offers a look into the world of miniature art (no larger than 8” in size)

continued on page 14

Levitt Pavilon has lots of shows, including free ones, this month.

Courtesy of Levitt Pavilion and Photography

N&D

continued from page 3

and showcases the incredible talent of the artists who create it. Visitors can expect to see everything from miniature sculptures and paintings to tiny installations and mixed-media pieces. There is no cost to attend.

want to find a tribute to Sir Elton. Arlington Music Hall (224 N Center St, 817-2264400) has just the thing. At 7:30pm, see The Elton Johns, an all-live music experience with a full band and string section. Fans of all ages and backgrounds can sing along to the amazing song catalog of one of the top-selling artists of all time. Tickets start at $20 on Eventbrite.com.

EVERY

Saturday NIGHT & DAY

JUNE 17

At 3pm, join the folks from Catalyst Creative Arts for a Plein Air Painting Session. (That's French for “outdoors.”) With some instruction, you will capture a downtown scene at Gene Allen Park (121 W Main St). Bring your own supplies, or rent them from Catalyst. This event is free, but advance registration is requested via Eventbrite.com.

Saturday

JUNE 24

With Elton John on his farewell tour and the last American stop in the rearview mirror, fans may

Downtown Arlington is where history lives and where locals play! Come discover the unexpected, from locally-brewed coffees and craft beers at the source, to patio hopping and award-winning dining destinations with Insta-worthy drinks and cuisine. Catch a show, see world-renowned art, and join us for festivals, concerts, and other popular annual events. It’s authentic. It’s creative. It’s home grown. And it’s thriving. For more information, visit Downtown Arlington.org.

PRESENTED BY DOWNTOWN ARLINGTON

Angeria Paris VanMichaels from RuPaul’s Drag Race will be at Arlington Pride Fest. Courtesy Billboard.com

Local favorites SqueezeBox Bandits will be at Levitt Pavilion in late June.

Courtesy Facebook

Happy Pride Month

Why do we celebrate Pride in June? As an ally, I had some research to do to find out.

The Library of Congress says Pride Month commemorates the 1969 uprising at the Stonewall in Manhattan. After a series of unjust police raids, bar patrons fought back, and the modern LGBTQ+ rights movement began.

In North Texas, we have several events Pride events coming up this month. Here are just a few.

From 2pm to 4pm Sat, Party with the Queens is a free brunch drag show hosted by Crystal Whitney at La Chingona (2800 Bledsoe St, Ste 200, Fort Worth, 817-8709997). Featured performers include Angelique Davenport, Veronica Reyes, and Venus Vogue. Brunch menus and specials will be available until 4:30pm. RSVP via EventBrite.com to receive one 1-cent mimosa upon entry. For a VIP experience, book a table with bottle service by calling 972-989-4474.

Arlington, Dallas, and Fort Worth are each hosting a Pride Fest. Read about Arlington in this week’s Night & Day. Over in the Big D, the Dallas Pride Music Festival is 11am-9pm Sat-Sun at Fair Park (3601 Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd, Dallas, 214764-7833) with headliner Allison Ponthier. Tickets are $10 at DallasPride.org.

As for the Fort, this year’s Trinity Pride Fest will be 6pm-10pm Sat, Jun 24, at Magnolia Green Park (1201 Lipscomb St, Fort Worth, @TrinityPrideFW). There will be an artisan vendor market by Wandering Roots, food available for purchase from assorted trucks, and live music by local queer artists and bands. Organizations that work directly with the LBGTQ+ community will be on hand as well. This event is free to attend.

Our friends in the Pagan community are also hosting a big event. The annual LBGTQ+ & Pagan Pride Fair is 3pm-9pm Sat, Jun 11, at Higher Purpose Emporium (505 W Northside Dr, Fort Worth, ShopHPE. com). There will be games, raffles, and vendors at this free happening, with a community afterparty to follow. “Bring your divination tools!” says shop owner Ivy Garcia. “Come enjoy some food and music with the community.”

By Jennifer Bovee

Love always wins. Courtesy Facebook

CREATED BY ROSS SOHO LYCHEE LIQUEUR, WHITE RUM, COCONUT CREAM, PINEAPPLE, LIME, & HOUSE MADE BLACKBERRY SYRUP

EATS & drinks

Hopped-Up Bites

Martin House Brewing welcomes a permanent food trailer, Barley by Rye, with delicious results.

Barley by Rye at Martin House Brewing Company, 220 S Sylvania Av, FW. 469-861-6223. Noon-5pm Sun, 4-8pm Wed-Fri, noon-8pm Sat.

STORY AND PHOTOS

BY EDWARD BROWN

Food trucks and brewery events are the perfect pairing. Locally, that fare tends toward greasier items like burgers and brats because, well, salads don’t quite go with a boozed-up IPA. While most craft beer events rotate food vendors, Martin House Brewing Company recently announced a permanent on-site dining option: Barley by Rye.

One recent morning, Martin House’s back patio echoed with yips and barks as canine owners shopped at dog-friendly vendors and considered adopted pups. Nearby, a long, slightly rusty light-green truck advertised Wagyu burgers, pork wings, and an assortment of small bites and entrees. Martin House recently said Barley by Rye un-

moored from Tupps Brewery in McKinney to resettle in the 817. The crowd that day seemed to dig the new noshes.

The Barley Burger came loaded with a mixture of thick queso and ranch which popped with peppery flavor. The cheesy ensemble anchored by a juicy beef patty was covered with caramelized onions, pickles, tomato, and arugula which together created a delightfully sweet-and-savory experience. (For two extra bucks, you can opt for a veggie patty.)

One of two hot dog options, The D.A.D. was a piquant delight. The toasted bun could hardly contain the massive, charred, Wagyu frankfurter topped with a

lively mix of spicy cheddar sauce, mustard, and chopped onions.

Hefty and golden-fried like tater tots, the cheese curds were wonderfully dense. The mild fromage benefitted from alternating dunks in the two accompanying sauces: a rich aioli and a fiery and mildly sweet Korean gochujang. Another appetizer, the Wagyu meatballs were stuffed with peppery queso, and the beef was slightly oily and packed with chile flavor. These bad boys were dressed in a bacon jam that made for a lovely blend of sweet and spicy, and the side of housemade sauce (similar to Thousand Island dressing) added another layer of complexity to the surprisingly filling bites.

Three large pork foreshanks (“Pig Wings” on the menu) glazed with a sweet and salty dressing wrapped up my afternoon outing. The succulent meat, garnished with thinly cut scallions, easily fell off the bone before I greedily dunked the chunks in the small pool of drippings that exploded with garlic, ginger, and brown sugar.

By giving Barley by Rye a permanent home at its Riverside location, Martin House is wagering that one dining option can satiate throngs of hopheads for the months or years ahead. With its deep menu and prompt service, the McKinney transplant appears more than up to the challenge. l continued on page 19

Martin House fans had a taste of newcomers Barley by Rye this weekend.

This food reviewer greedily devoured the juicy frankfurter.

MUSIC

Hotel Satellite

The former incarnation of Kevin Aldridge & The Appraisers is way less rootsier but no less catchy.

BY STEVE STEWARD

In the fall of 2019, after more than 20 years of performing on local stages, singer-songwriter Kevin Aldridge needed a break. At the time, Kevin Aldridge & The Appraisers were a regular fixture on local marquees, with a string of EPs and a loyal fanbase who

would show up most times to hear the band’s brand of heart-heavy Americana, but for the sake of his mental health, Aldridge knew he had to put the gigs on pause. He still intended to work on new music with the band, but then the pandemic rolled around, thereby cooling even those abridged ambitions.

As life moved on, Aldridge’s band drifted ever farther in the rearview mirror, yet he kept writing, and as time wore on, he began to jones to play live again.

With new material in hand, he hit up

some of his old bandmates. What might have been another iteration of the Appraisers soon became its own thing, the five-piece rock ’n’ roll outfit Hotel Satellite.

Like most artists, Aldridge has written songs as a way of dealing with the various emotional and mental malaises concomitant to being a human stuck on Planet Earth. More simply put, music is as much therapy for him as it is creative expression, so, for him, quitting performing was a big deal.

“I told the band my anxiety for being in

public was not in check and that I wanted to transition to writing a record with them instead of gigging,” Aldridge said. “We started doing that, but the world shut down, and we didn’t see each other for a long time. But when I got the group together again, I was really committed to writing and gigging. I had a lot of ideas and had maxed out what I could do on my own at home.”

Aldridge, along with guitarist Steffin Ratliff, keyboardist Robert “Maui” Miller, drummer Neil Saunders, and bassist Chuck Brown, began jamming again in the spring of 2022, though this time around, they weren’t just working out Aldridge’s solo songs into full-band versions.

“I didn’t want to feel like, ‘Oh, everyone is getting their band back together post-pandemic,’ ” he said. “I felt like it was an opportunity to try something new.”

For Aldridge, removing his name from the band’s moniker was a reflection of his desire for the project to be more of a group effort rather than his songs performed with backing musicians. “Honestly, we could’ve changed the band name into something more collaborative five years ago.”

And anyway, Hotel Satellite sounds distinctively different enough to qualify as a new project or at least the next logical progression from the Appraisers.

In the beginning, Aldridge said, Hotel Satellite was “a continuation of the Appraisers, but now we only play one of those songs. In some ways, it’s the same band because it’s most of the same guys, but we were way rootsier back then than we are now. [Ratliff]

continued on page 21

RIDGLEA THEATER

FRI 6/2 THAT TEXAS MESKIN TOUR

- THAT MEXICAN OT

SAT 6/3 ALLMO$T

MUSIC MIRACLE NIGHTS US TOUR

THU 6/8 BEATLES VS. STONES

- A MUSICAL SHOWDOWN

RIDGLEA ROOM

FRI 6/7 AC AND GUESTS

FRI 6/9

GIRL CAN’T HELP IT - JOURNEY TRIBUTE BAND

SAT 6/10 JIM SUHLER & MONKEY BEAT

SAT 6/17 MALICE IN EDEN, SLOW ROOSEVELT (SPECIAL PERFORMANCE), CRUSHPOINT & MORE!

RIDGLEA LOUNGE

SUN 6/18

DOG PARK DISSIDENTS

THE PINK AND BLACK TOUR

SAT 6/24 WELCOME TO THE PSYCHWARD

Aldridge: “In some ways, it’s the same band because it’s most of the same guys, but we were way rootsier back then than we are now.”

Jason Manriquez

Music

continued from page 20

and I have gone out of our way to write away from Americana, certainly when it comes to guitar textures.”

Still, the lush, stacked chords and heavily fussed-over guitar tones that fill Hotel Satellite’s songs will be familiar to anyone who’s followed Aldridge’s bands — before Hotel Satellite and the Appraisers, there was Chatterton and Brasco, and both expressed their melancholy in the vein of Tom Petty’s “You’re So Bad” filtered through the Jayhawks and R.E.M.

“It’s not unfair to say it’s a second phase of the Appraisers,” Aldridge said, but Hotel Satellite also reflects what he was doing during his break from playing shows: making music for his podcaster friends. “I did one for a pay-per-view wrestling show called Black Label Pro. It was a silly cover version of ‘Space Oddity’ because the host is an exUFC fighter named Filthy Tom.”

Essentially, the podcast tracks — Aldridge also knocked out a hilariously great version of “1-800-Bartend” for one of them — sharpened his ear for writing hooks. “It was like I was writing commercial jingles, but it made me play a lot of guitar, and that’s been a big part of what we’re doing” in Hotel Satellite.

Another big part: He and Ratliff are now writing partners. In the past, Aldridge’s songs would have been given heft by Ratliff’s solos, but these days, as Aldridge has become more confident in his own leads, Ratliff has been happy to turn his attention to rhythm parts.

Ratliff, Aldridge said, is “having more fun coming up with the supporting vibe. He’ll give me a demo and be like, ‘OK, this is where you play something fuzzy and out of control,’ and I’ll send him a demo with a lead, and he’ll work out his version or just be like, ‘I think you should just play it like that.’ At one point, he sent me something

with a slide part, and I don’t play slide, so I just slathered on the effects and learned to play my version. And the result is what it is. There’s no getting your feelings hurt about it.”

Four of those demos have found their way into a studio situation. Last year, Hotel Satellite recorded four tracks with Joel Raif at Niles City Sound, and the first, the single “I Don’t Know Where to Start,” will be released to streaming services on June 16. The band’s live sets draw from almost 30 songs — some are covers, most are new, and only one is from the Appraisers’ days.

“I think we’ve gotten to the point now where we aren’t tinkering so much … where we don’t really want to revisit old stuff,” Aldridge said. “We have a lot of unrecorded Appraisers stuff, but we’ve kind of decided to just write new songs.”

Aldridge said he’s also going to release a video for “I Don’t Know Where to Start,” which is another first for him and also a little surprising from a musician born in the early ’70s who came up at the same time as MTV. But more than anything, he really wants to play live shows, an aspiration for which a Hotel Satellite single is particularly relevant.

“I wanted to put it out there because I want to play more shows,” Aldridge said. “It’s basically a booking tool. It’s not like we’re putting a record out on a label. Touring isn’t really a thing with this, but I’d like to do more regional stuff and maybe some out-of-town gigs.”

At least for the next few weeks, Hotel Satellite’s calendar is well-marked, with shows at Lola’s on June 16 with the Taylor Young Band and Spring Palace; a three-set marathon of a gig on June 17 at the Jaxon Beer Garden in Dallas; and then the Double Wide in Dallas with Son of Stan on June 23. While nobody’s anxieties every truly go away, that Kevin Aldridge is hitting the stage with his band again is proof that they can at least be kept at bay by doing the thing you love the most. l

Aldridge: “When I got the group together again, I was really committed to writing and gigging.”

John Erwin

Texas Commission on environmenTal QualiTy

NOTICE OF RECEIPT OF APPLICATION AND INTENT TO OBTAIN AIR PERMIT (NORI) PROPOSED AIR QUALITY PERMIT NUMBER 138221

APPLICATION. Polycoat Products, LLC, has applied to the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ) for: Amendment of Permit 138221

This application would authorize construction of a new building at the Paint and Coatings Manufacturing Facility located at 2100 Reliance Parkway, Bedford, Tarrant County, Texas 76021

AVISO DE IDIOMA ALTERNATIVO. El aviso de idioma alternativo en espanol está disponible en https://www.tceq.texas.gov/permitting/air/newsourcereview/airpermits-pendingpermit-apps.

This link to an electronic map of the site or facility's general location is provided as a public courtesy and not part of the application or notice. For exact location, refer to application. https://gisweb.tceq.texas.gov/LocationMapper/?marker=-97.108766,32.843746&level=13. The amendment will authorize an increase in emissions of the following air contaminants: exempt solvents, organic compounds, toluene 2,4-diisocyanate, and particulate matter including particulate matter with diameters of 10 microns or less and 2.5 microns or less.

This application was submitted to the TCEQ on April 25, 2023. The application will be available for viewing and copying at the TCEQ central office, the TCEQ Dallas/Fort Worth regional office, and the Bedford Public Library Foundation, 2424 Forest Ridge Drive, Bedford, Tarrant County, Texas beginning the first day of publication of this notice. The facility’s compliance file, if any exists, is available for public review in the Dallas/Fort Worth regional office of the TCEQ.

The executive director has determined the application is administratively complete and will conduct a technical review of the application.

PUBLIC COMMENT. You may submit public comments to the Office of the Chief Clerk at the address below. The TCEQ will consider all public comments in developing a final decision on the application and the executive director will prepare a response to those comments.

PUBLIC MEETING. You may request a public meeting to the Office of the Chief Clerk at the address below. The purpose of a public meeting is to provide the opportunity to submit comments or ask questions about the application. A public meeting about the application will be held if requested by an interested person and the executive director determines that there is a significant degree of public interest in the application or if requested by a local legislator. A public meeting is not a contested case hearing.

NOTICE OF APPLICATION AND PRELIMINARY DECISION. In addition to this NORI, 30 Texas Administrative Code (TAC) § 39.419 requires this application to also have a Notice of Application and Preliminary Decision (NAPD) after the application is determined to be technically complete and a draft permit is prepared. Note: The TCEQ may act on this application without issuing a NAPD and without seeking further public comment or providing further opportunity for a contested case hearing if changes to representations in the application make the application no longer subject to the applicability requirements of 30 TAC § 39.402. In such cases, this NORI will be your final notice of this application and you will not have additional opportunities to make comments or request a contested case hearing. If a NAPD is required, it will be published and mailed to those who made comments, submitted hearing requests, or are on the mailing list for this application, and contain the final deadline for submitting public comments

NOW HIRING IN CORSICANA, TX

MACHINE OPERATOR 2ND SHIFT

Position Summary: The Machine Operator will fabricate and assemble polyethylene pipe (HDPE) to create a variety of customized structures such as; fittings, valves, T’s, Y’s, elbows, aqua-shields, geothermal vaults, manholes, dual containment units, pumps, gas aeration lines and similar structures that meet customer specifications by performing the following duties:

Read and interpret blueprints, product drawings and pic ticket orders to determine the materials, tools and equipment needed to complete work

Follow quality control procedures when fabricating and assembling products per customer specifications

Maintain accurate records of materials used on “ticket”; locate and pull required materials from inventory

Sustain clean work area and equipment; follow safety procedures concerning use of equipment and materials for safe working conditions

Operate ISCO’s fusion and fast fusion equipment, cranes, and forklifts

Utilize a variety of hand tools, saws and cutting equipment

Perform other related duties as assigned

FABRICATOR

Position Summary: Fabricators are responsible for fabricating and assembling polyethylene pipe to create a variety of customized structures such as: fittings, valves, T's, Y's, elbows, aqua shields, geothermal vaults, manholes, dual containment units, pumps, gas aeration lines and similar structures that meet customer specifications by performing the following duties:

Read and interpret blueprints, product drawings and pic ticket orders to determine materials, tools and equipment needed to complete work

Follows quality control procedures to ensure that the assembled, fabricated product meets customer specifications

Upholds accurate records of materials used on "ticket"; locates and pulls required materials from inventory

Maintains clean work area and equipment;

following safety procedures concerning use of equipment and materials to maintain safe working conditions

Operates ISCO's fusion and fast fusion equipment, cranes and forklifts

Utilizes a variety of hand tools, saws and cutting equipment and performs other related duties as assigned

Basic computer skills

Must be able to lift up to 40lbs on a regular basis and stand for long periods of time

NOW HIRING IN MANSFIELD TX

MECHANIC

OPPORTUNITY FOR A CONTESTED CASE HEARING

(1) your name (or for a group or association, an official representative), mailing address, and daytime phone number;

You may request a contested case hearing if you are a person who may be affected by emissions of air contaminants from the facility. If requesting a contested case hearing, you must submit the following:

(2) applicant’s name and permit number; (3) the statement “[I/we] request a contested case hearing”; (4) a specific description of how you would be adversely affected by the application and air emissions from the facility in a way not common to the general public; (5) the location and distance of your property relative to the facility; (6) a description of how you use the property which may be impacted by the facility; and (7) a list of all disputed issues of fact that you submit during the comment period. If the request is made by a group or an association, one or more members who have standing to request a hearing must be identified by name and physical address. The interests the group or association seeks to protect must also be identified. You may also submit your proposed adjustments to the application/permit which would satisfy your concerns.

The deadline to submit a request for a contested case hearing is 30 days after newspaper notice is published. If a request is timely filed, the deadline for requesting a contested case hearing will be extended to 30 days after the mailing of the response to comments.

If a hearing request is timely filed, following the close of all applicable comment and request periods, the Executive Director will forward the application and any requests for contested case hearing to the Commissioners for their consideration at a scheduled Commission meeting. The Commission may only grant a request for a contested case hearing on issues the requestor submitted in their timely comments that were not subsequently withdrawn. If a hearing is granted, the subject of a hearing will be limited to disputed issues of fact or mixed questions of fact and law relating to relevant and material air quality concerns submitted during the comment period. Issues such as property values, noise, traffic safety, and zoning are outside of the Commission’s jurisdiction to address in this proceeding.

MAILING LIST. In addition to submitting public comments, you may ask to be placed on a mailing list to receive future public notices for this specific application by sending a written request to the Office of the Chief Clerk at the address below.

AGENCY CONTACTS AND INFORMATION. Public comments and requests must be submitted either electronically at www14. tceq.texas.gov/epic/eComment/, or in writing to the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality, Office of the Chief Clerk, MC-105, P.O. Box 13087, Austin, Texas 78711-3087. Please be aware that any contact information you provide, including your name, phone number, email address and physical address will become part of the agency’s public record. For more information about this permit application or the permitting process, please call the Public Education Program toll free at 1-800-687-4040. Si desea información en Español, puede llamar al 1-800-687-4040.

Further information may also be obtained from Polycoat Products, LLC, 2100 Reliance Parkway, Bedford, Texas 76021-6102 or by calling Mr. Hitanshu Desai, EHS Specialist, AARC Environmental Southeast, LLC, at (713) 974-2272.

Notice Issuance Date: May 2, 2023

Position Summary: The Mechanic will be responsible for repairing and refurbishing fusion equipment in a distribution plant or field environment by performing the following duties:

Ability to troubleshoot and repair; small diesel/gas engines, centrifugal pumps, generators, electrical circuits and hydraulic/pneumatic systems

Maintain all rental fusion equipment to keep it in working order; troubleshoot and repair damaged equipment; perform scheduled maintenance

Maintain records of service, repairs and scheduled maintenance

Complete 24-hour check-ins and machine checklists

Enter and maintain records of rental equipment in computer system

Prepare equipment for shipping; repair quotes for customers; write repair orders

Locate required parts utilizing local vendor and/or vendor websites

May be expected to repair Fabrication shop equipment as needed and provide field support for trouble shooting equipment repairs

Previous experience with computers for order entry, parts ordering, and email is a plus

Perform other related duties as assigned.

Applicant may also be asked to work in the Shipping & Receiving area as needed. Responsibilities may include packing and loading customer orders of piping, valves, and fusion equipment, completing daily cycle counts, and receiving of product or equipment from vendors.

At ISCO, we put high value on appreciation and respect, and provide you with an opportunity to really make a difference. ISCO is a family owned and operated company born and raised in Louisville, KY that is focused on our team members’ growth. In addition to a standard benefits package of medical/ dental/vision, ISCO offers a 6% match on retirement! ISCO Industries is an end-to-end piping solutions provider that specializes in HDPE, working with leading edge technology that makes us a market leader.

CLASSIFIEDS

EMPLOYMENT

Charles Schwab (Westlake, TX & various unantcptd locns thru USA incldng telecmmtng) seeks:

Sr. Manager, Software Development & Engineering Senior: Rspnsble in dsgnng & maintnng Mble/Dsktp/Web S/W Tst Automtn frmwrks for all layrs of app. Reqs edu & exp. Req. ID: 2023-92254.

Sr. Specialist, Data Management: Est & govrn entrp-wide data govrnnce, data qlty & data mgmt rdmap, incl nec IT solns &/or extnl svcs. Reqs edu & exp. Req. ID: 2023-92614.

Sr. Manager, Software Development & Engineering Senior: Work clsly w/ Tech leads, Archs & buz ptrs to define & implmnt new capablts. Reqs edu & exp. Req. ID: 2023-92536.

Sr. Specialist - Software Development & Engineering: Respns for .Net Devlpmnt, SQL Devlpmnt, File messgng, perfrmnc & scalbl devlpmnt tuning, & Agile tm devlpmnt. Reqs edu & exp. Req. ID: 2023-92523.

Sr. Specialist, Software Development & Engineering: Advd dev, suprt & impl of cmplx wtkflw systs usng spclzd PEGA knwl & hhly-devd buz exprts. Reqs edu & exp. Req. ID: 2023-92521.

Sr Specialist - Software Development & Engineering: Respnsble for .Net Devlpmnt, SQL Devlpmnt, File messgng, perfrmnce & scalbl devlpmnt tunng, & Agile tm devlpmnt. Reqs edu & exp. Req. ID: 2023-92747. EOE. For full job details & to apply online, visit: https://www.schwabjobs.com/ & search Req. ID.

EMPLOYMENT

Charles Schwab (Westlake, TX & various unantcptd locns thru USA incldng telecmmtng) seeks:

Sr. Manager, Software Development & Engineering Senior - Invlv in Anlss, Dsgn, Arch, Develpmnt, & Deploymnt. Reqs edu & exp. Req ID: 2023-91596.

Sr. Specialist - Software Development & Engineering - Devlp App Modrnztn of Wires app usng .NET Core 3.0, ASP. NET Core Web API, SQL Server, Mongo DB & Pivotal Cloud Foundry. Reqs edu & exp. Req ID: 2023-91961.

Sr. Specialist, Software Development & Engineering - Work w/in & acrss Agile tms to dsgn, devlp, tst, implmnt & supprt technl solns acrss a full stck of devlpmnt tools & techs. Reqs edu & exp. Req ID: 2023-91609.

Sr. Specialist, Software Development & Engineering - Prfm QA tstng to Data & Analtcs solns devlped. Reqs edu & exp. Req ID: 2023-91605.

Sr. Manager, Software Development & Engineering Senior - SAvE/SRE Tech lead for BILLING and FLEX app pltfs. Reqs edu & exp. Req ID: 2023-91611.

EOE. For full job details & to apply online, visit: https://www.schwabjobs.com/ & search Req ID.

EMPLOYMENT

GM Financial currently has the following openings in Fort Worth, TX:

DATA SCIENTIST II – Implement the design, development, deployment, and maintenance of statistical models. Master’s in Statistics, Applied Mathematics, Econometrics, Economics, Operations Research, or related quantitative field + 1 year experience as a Data Scientist or similar quantitative role required. Reference DS-BL1.

DATA ANALYST I – CREDIT REVIEW - Perform independent assessments of funding, underwriting, and fraud detection activity through data analysis and reporting. Bachelor’s degree in Data Science, Finance, Mathematics, Statistics, or Economics + 1 year experience in a related financial analysis, data mining, or portfolio analysis role required. Reference DACR-SG1.

Send resume to recruitment@gmfinancial.com or by mail to Y. Castillo Valdivia, HR, 801 Cherry Street, Suite 3500, Fort Worth, TX 76102.

CATTLE BARN FLEA MARKET

EVERY Sat & Sun 9-5 Indoors

4445 River Oaks Blvd w/AC!

Dealers Dean, Billy, Juanita, Leonard, Mo, Earl and Joe. Come see us!

PLANNED PARENTHOOD

Care. No matter what.

WeArePlannedParenthood.org

EMPLOYMENT

Now Hiring CDL Drivers with Tanker & Hazmat preferred. Also hiring Laborers. Health Insurance and other benefits. Per diem paid. EOE. 830-833-4547.

EMPLOYMENT

CHIP SPREADER OPERATOR WANTED: Road construction crew. Paid Health insurance and other benefits. Per Diem. EOE. 830-833-4547

DISH Network: $59.99, 190 Channels!

Blazing Fast Internet, $19.99/mo. (where available.) Switch & Get a FREE $100 Visa Gift Card. FREE Voice Remote. FREE HD DVR. FREE Streaming on ALL Devices. (MB) call today! 1-855-701-3027

ERIE METAL ROOFS

Replace your roof with the best looking and longest lasting material steel from Erie Metal Roofs! Three styles and multiple colors available. Guaranteed to last a lifetime! Limited Time Offer: $500 Discount + Additional 10% off install for military, health workers, and 1st responders. Call Erie Metal Roofs today. (MB)

1-888-778-0566

DIRECTV for $64.99/mo

Get DIRECTV for $64.99/mo for 12 months with CHOICE Package. Save an additional $120 over 1st year. First 3 months of HBO Max, Cinemax, Showtime, Starz and Epix included! Directv is #1 in Customer Satisfaction (JD Power & Assoc.) Some restrictions apply. (MB) call 1-855-966-0520

DENTAL INSURANCE

Physicians Mutual Insurance Company covers 350+ procedures. Real dental insurance, NOT just a discount plan. Get your FREE Dental Info Kit with all the details by calling today or visiting Dental50Plus.com/FortWorth #6258. (MB)

1-888-361-7095

EARTHLINK INTERNET

Saving just got easier with EarthLink Internet. Get up to $30 off your monthly bill and unlimited data with the Affordable Connectivity Program. Apply without credit checks. Call 855-769-2689 now!

LIFE LINE SCREENINGS

Stroke and Cardiovascular disease are leading causes of death, according to the American Heart Association. Screenings can provide peace of mind or early detection! Contact Life Line to schedule yours. Special offer: 5 screenings for just $149. (MB) call 1-833-636-1757

Eliminate Gutter Cleaning Forever!

LeafFilter, the most advanced debris-blocking gutter protection. Schedule a FREE LeafFilter estimate today. 20% off Entire Purchase. Plus 10% Senior & Military Discounts. (MB) call 1-877-689-1687

EMPLOYMENT

Charles Schwab seeks in Westlake, TX (Telecommuting is acceptable) –

Sr. Specialist - Software Development & Engineering: Intgrte API on natve moble app. Reqs edu & exp. Req. ID: 2023-92533.

Sr. Specialist – Software Development & Engineering: Gathr prrfrmnc tsting reqs. Create perfrmnc tst plns. Reqs edu & exp. Req. ID: 2023-92522. EOE. For full job details & to apply online, visit: https:// www.schwabjobs.com/ & search Req. ID.

HISTORIC RIDGLEA THEATER

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

The Gas Pipe, The GAS PIPE, THE GAS PIPE, your Peace Love & Smoke Headquarters since 4/20/1970! SCORE a FREE GIFT on YOUR Birthday, FREE Scale Tuning and Lighter Refills on GAS PIPE goods, FREE Layaway, and all the safe, helpful service you expect from a 51 Years Young Joint. Plus, SCORE A FREE CBD HOLIDAZE GIFT With-A-Buy thru 12/31! Be Safe, Party Clean, Keep On Truckin’. More at thegaspipe.net

ADVERTISE HERE!

If you need to hire staff or promote your business, let us help you online and/or in print. For more info, call 817987-7689 or email stacey@fwweekly.com today.

Hannah in Hurst Pro Massage, private office. No outcalls. (MT#4797). Call 817.590.2257 (no texts, please)

EMPLOYMENT

Alcon Vision, LLC has openings for Pricing Architects for the Fort Worth, Texas office. The Pricing Architects partner with the ERP Business Leads, SMEs and ERP IT to create and update end-to-end value stream maps for critical processes; and Use agile methods to assist in the implementation of projects to improve SAP functionality, stop non-value added activities, or eliminate redundant systems where SAP functionality exists on a global basis. Job is 40 hours per week. Telecommuting work arrangement permitted: position may work in various unanticipated locations throughout the U.S. up to 25% of the time. Please send all resumes to Sylvia Cruz, Alcon Vision, LLC, 6201 South Freeway, Fort Worth, TX 76134, Ref. No. AC0523

EMPLOYMENT

Alcon Research, LLC has openings for Senior Specialist - Regulatory Affairs for the Fort Worth, Texas office.

The Senior Specialist - Regulatory Affairs supports the pharmaceutical labeling process including but not limited to Global Safety Label Change, Global Safety Label Tracking, and SPL Management and supports worldwide pharmaceutical safety submissions (Periodic Safety Update Reports (PSUR), PSUR Addendum Statements (AS), US Periodic Safety Reports (PSR), Addendum to Clinical Overviews (ACO), Development Safety Update Reports (DSURs) and Risk Management Plans (RMPs)). Job is 40 hours per week. Please send all resumes to Sylvia Cruz, Alcon Research, LLC, 6201 South Freeway, Fort Worth, TX 76134,Ref. No. SN0523

EMPLOYMENT

Alcon Vision, LLC has openings for Regional Pricing Managers SX LATAM for the Fort Worth, Texas office. The Regional Pricing Managers SX LATAM develops and communicates the strategic, financial, and administrative implications of proposed and/or implemented pricing policy and develops price recommendations to ensure compliance with policy. Job is 40 hours per week. Please send all resumes to Sylvia Cruz, Alcon Vision, LLC, 6201 South Freeway, Fort Worth, TX 76134, Ref. No. NC0523

682-301-1115

EMPLOYMENT

GM Financial currently has openings in these positions in Arlington, TX:

DEVOPS ENGINEER II – Develop solutions to enable developer productivity across the enterprise. Bachelor’s in Computer Science, Software Engineering, or related field + 2 years experience working in a global enterprise environment required. Reference CSA-VHC1.

GLOBAL ECM ARCHITECT II – Analyze, design, project estimation, as well as product support and systems administration. Bachelor’s in Computer Science, IT, or related field + 4 years analysis experience in an IT environment required. Reference GECMA-RN1.

GLOBAL IAM ENGINEERING – ENGINEER II - Support and develop IAM solutions for end user provisioning, authentication management and privilege access management. Bachelor’s in Computer Science, Computer Engineering, or related field + 1 year experience in an Identity or Access Management role. Reference GIAME-HN1.

AVP SOFTWARE SOLUTIONS - Plan and manage the technical implementation of software applications, as well as manage the technical functions of each application once in production. Bachelor’s in Computer Engineering, Computer Science, or related field + 6 years supervisory experience in a technical environment and project management experience. Reference AVPSS-AKS1.

SR. SITE RELIABILITY ENGINEER - Define and refine processes and procedures for the site reliability engineering practice. Bachelor’s degree in computer science, computer information science, computer engineering or related field + 5 years experience in an IT environment required. Reference SSRE-DV1.

All positions are hybrid office/home based. Send resume to recruitment@gmfinancial.com or by mail to Y. Castillo Valdivia, HR, 801 Cherry Street, Suite 3500, Fort Worth, TX 76102.