The Office of the Police Oversight Monitor has introduced a new interactive online process for community members to share their comments, suggestions and commendations or file a complaint or concern about a Fort Worth Police officer.
Residents may access the new process online.
The complaint and commendation process are vital to the promotion of police accountability and transparency, and the office looks forward to hearing more about the successes and challenges of community police interactions in Fort Worth.
OPOM serves as a proactive leader in law enforcement accountability to the Fort Worth Police Department and the community it serves. The office is the designated community oversight agency empowered to act fairly and impartially, ensuring greater accountability of and public trust in Fort Worth law enforcement.
The office will continue to offer printable complaint and commendation forms.
To learn more about the office’s processes, call 817-392-6535 or email the office.
Movies That Matter, a film series program of the City of Fort Worth’s Human Relations Commission, will present A Fierce Green Fire at 7 p.m. April 7 at Modern Art Museum of Fort Worth, 3200 Darnell St.
Admission is free. Make reservations online.
A Fierce Green Fire is a film by Academy Award nominee Mark Kitchell and is the first big-picture exploration of the environmental movement, spanning 50 years of activism. It chronicles the largest movement of the 20th century by telling vivid stories about people fighting – and succeeding – against the odds, from the Grand Canyon to Love Canal, from the oceans to the Amazon.
View a trailer.
Movies That Matter was created in 2010 as a way to create awareness in the community about human rights issues affecting people in Fort Worth and worldwide. The series presents human rights-related film screenings and moderated discussions. The program is managed by the Diversity & Inclusion Department.
President Joe Biden made a presidential visit to the Fort Worth VA Clinic in southeast Fort Worth on Tuesday.
The president made the trip to the clinic “to speak with veterans, caregivers and survivors about addressing the health effects of environmental exposures such as burn pits,” according to a White House news release.
At the VA Clinic, Biden was briefed on the veterans' primary care and specialty health services. He also delivered remarks at the nearby Tarrant County Resource Connection about “expanding access to health care and benefits for veterans effected by environmental exposures,” the White House release said.
Burn pits, which were used extensively in Iraq and Afghanistan to dispose of tires, batteries, medical waste and other materials, have been a recent focus for Biden. In his State of the Union speech last week, Biden said his son, Beau, who died of cancer, may have been among the many veterans who suffered from toxic exposure injuries from the burn pits.
Last week, the U.S. House approved a bill that would dramatically boost health care services and disability benefits for veterans who were exposed to the burn pits. If passed into law, it would increase spending by more than $300 billion over the next decade, according to the Congressional Budget Office.
Among the Fort Worth residents who greeted Biden upon his arrival:
Zachary Briseno. The Fort Worth Police Department officer is the second known double amputee to become a police officer in the U.S. On his second tour in November 2007, Cpl. Briseno was riding in a Humvee in Fallujah when an IED detonated directly beneath his seat, blowing off his legs. Briseno graduated from the Fort Worth Police Academy on Dec. 11, 2020.
Vester Owens. The World War II veteran was born in South Carolina and drafted into the Army at age 19. He fought on the beaches of Normandy on D-Day. Owens transitioned to the U.S. Air Force, retiring after 27 years of service and made Texas his home. The retired businessman owned what is believed to be the first Black-owned vending company in Tarrant County. A tremendous advocate of upward mobility, Owens loves to share how he has sponsored a huge number of family members to relocate to Texas, scholarships for others to attend Texas colleges and universities or to make Texas their home.
Elizabeth Beck. The Fort Worth City Councilmember graduated from high school and joined the U.S. Army Reserves, where she spent eight and a half years in the 223rd Maintenance Company based in Grand Prairie. In 2005, she deployed as a sergeant to Taji, Iraq, in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom. Beck was elected to the Fort Worth City Council in June 2021 and serves District 9, which includes downtown Fort Worth.
Opal Lee. The Grandmother of Juneteenth is a retired Fort Worth ISD teacher and counselor and an activist in the movement to make Juneteenth a federally recognized holiday. Lee campaigned for the holiday by leading a 2.5-mile walk each year, representing the 2.5 years it took for news of the Emancipation Proclamation to reach Texas. In 2016, at age 89, she conducted a symbolic walk from Fort Worth to Washington, D.C. On June 17, 2021, Biden signed Senate Bill S. 475 making Juneteenth the 11th federal holiday. In February, 33 members of Congress, led by Congressman Marc Veasey, signed a letter nominating Lee for the 2022 Nobel Peace Prize.
Brad Hunstable. Linear Labs was founded by Brad Hunstable in 2014 with his father, Fred Hunstable. Linear Labs created an electric motor that operates more efficiently, costs less to manufacture and can be used in cars, scooters, robotics, wind turbines and more. Brad is also the co-founder and former CEO of UStream, which was sold to IBM in 2016 for $150 million. Ustream was born when the founders wanted a way for their friends in the Army, who were deployed overseas in Iraq during the war, to be able to communicate with their families back home. Hunstable served in various capacities around the world, working jobs both for the Army and the Department of Defense.
The City Council has approved a recommendation from the City Plan Commission and adopted the 2022 Comprehensive Plan.
The Comprehensive Plan is Fort Worth’s official guide for making decisions about growth and development. The plan is a summary of the goals, objectives, policies, strategies, programs and projects that will enable the city to achieve its mission of focusing on the future, working together to build strong neighborhoods, developing a sound economy and providing a safe community.
The Comprehensive Plan guides city programs and departments as well as budget priorities, capital improvements and land-use and development decisions.
Themes of the adopted 2022 Comprehensive Plan include promoting economic growth, meeting the needs of an expanding population, revitalizing the central city, developing multiple growth centers, and celebrating the Trinity River. The Comprehensive Plan is based on the City Council’s strategic goals and on values such as improved mobility, neighborhood vitality and conservation of natural resources.
The 2022 Comprehensive Plan is a significant update that includes these changes to the previous 2021 Comprehensive Plan:
On Jan. 26, the City Plan Commission conducted a public hearing on the draft 2022 Comprehensive Plan and voted unanimously to recommend adopting the plan.
To learn more, contact Eric Fladager, assistant director of Planning & Data Analytics, at 817-392-8011.
The newest Fort Worth Bike Sharing station is across the street from Dickies Arena. The Harley Avenue station is a prime spot in the Cultural District, making Fort Worth adventures even more bike-accessible.
The new location is part of an effort to expand the system coverage to more parts of Fort Worth. Be on the lookout for more station announcements in the future.
View all the stations on the Fort Worth Bike Share website.
The birds are back! The spring bird migration is underway and organizations across Texas are turning their lights out at night as we welcome hundreds of millions of birds migrating through the state.
Last fall, many downtown Fort Worth high-rise buildings joined the mission to help save the lives of migrating birds. This season, the City of Fort Worth is dimming its lights again in support of this mission.
As part of a nationwide initiative called Lights Out, the goal is to protect the billions of birds as they migrate across the United States — one of the largest migrations on the planet and one that occurs primarily at night. Light from buildings, especially in urban areas, attracts and disorients migrating birds, confusing and exhausting them and making them vulnerable to collisions with buildings.
All Texans are encouraged to turn off nonessential lights from 11 p.m. to 6 a.m. during the full spring migration, March 1-June 15.
According to research by the Cornell University Lab of Ornithology and Lights Out Texas, the state is globally important for birds. Approximately one of every three birds migrating through the U.S. fly through Texas.
“The Cornell Lab and our partners are the leaders in this effort,” said Cody Whittenburg, assistant director of the Fort Worth Code Compliance Department. “This is a great educational opportunity for our entire community to take one proactive step to protect these migrating bird populations. Turning the lights out in other populated areas of the city such as shopping centers and outdoor sports venues will also make a huge contribution.”
Whittenburg said it's not necessary to be downtown to take part – reduce light pollution at night for a few hours, where possible, to support this effort.
Now that construction is complete and traffic is flowing over the three Panther Island bridges, Fort Worth residents are encouraged to help name them.
The bridges will span the future Trinity River bypass channel as part of the Fort Worth Central City Flood Control Project being designed by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. Given the significance of the Central City project and bridges, Mayor Mattie Parker wants residents to help find the best name for each bridge.
“I am thrilled that we are taking advantage of the opportunity to give each of the brand new Trinity River bridges names that are meaningful to our community and allowing residents to lead the way on the decision,” Parker said. “Like every Fort Worth neighborhood, Panther Island is completely unique, and this process will let the creativity of Fort Worthians shine through and ensure we find names for each of the bridges that reflects that distinctiveness.”
View maps and submit your suggested name for each bridge. Proposed names should promote community pride and connectivity to the Trinity River while celebrating the culture and history of Fort Worth.
All submissions must be received by March 31. A committee will then select finalist names for each bridge. The committee will include representatives from the City of Fort Worth, Tarrant County, Tarrant Regional Water District, Streams & Valleys and Visit Fort Worth.
The public will then vote on the finalists to select the names.
Fort Worth’s historic Camp Bowie District Inc. has named Lydia Guajardo Rickard as the public improvement district’s (PID19) new executive director.
Rickard has been operating as the district’s interim leader since mid-October 2021 and has a previous four-year history of marketing the business corridor through her former agency, LComm Marketing and Public Relations. Rickard announced the closure of her marketing firm via social media on Jan. 27.
“We have grown the district to a place where it deserves the attention of fulltime staff and a vision for the next 20 years,” said board chairman J. Mark Harris, president of 8 Feet Development Inc. “The board of directors has faith that with Lydia’s past experiences and future plans, she will build a team dedicated to advancing small to mid-sized business while improving an already thriving boulevard.”
Camp Bowie District is comprised of two organizations -- a 501(C)(3) and a 501(c)(6) -- both engaged in a wide range of activities dedicated to the advancement and preservation of the historic boulevard. The nonprofit arm of the organization is focused on philanthropic and charitable initiatives providing program support, small-business focus and marketing efforts. The 501(C)(6) is the member-based arm of the organization that provides advocacy, development and PID management. Improvement efforts have included infrastructure refinement, beautification projects, hosting special events and serving as an advocate for all development.
“Camp Bowie District is the keeper of the boulevard. Our goal is to preserve the integrity of the historic area,” Rickard said. “We are dedicated to preserving the economic engine that is assembled of more than 400 small to mid-sized businesses, many of which are locally owned.”
Camp Bowie District strategically analyzes the historic corridor identifying improvements that are needed. By identifying projects and needs based on evaluations and feedback from businesses, Rickard will lead the delegation of assessments from property owners to fund future PID projects such as maintenance, landscaping and beautification, litter abatement, safety and security, marketing advocacy, communications, economic development and future planning
The Fort Worth Botanic Garden | Botanical Research Institute of Texas will bring to Fort Worth for the first time David Rogers’ Big Bugs, an exhibit of insect sculptures on a gigantic scale. The exhibit runs March 11-June 12.
Insects outnumber us 1 million to one. Many live in communal groups working as one for the common good of all. Their ranks include engineers, soldiers, weightlifters, weavers, hunters, stalkers, gatherers and even royalty.
“When you take this remarkable and diverse group of ‘hidden gardeners’ and re-create them on a gigantic scale using all-natural materials, you have Big Bugs,” said Patrick Newman CEO and president. “The stunning effect is a role reversal of dimension and perception that kids of all ages will absolutely love.”
The sculptures are created using various combinations of whole trees, cut green saplings, dry branches and other forest materials. Audiences will marvel or stand bug-eyed before the larger-than-life insect sculptures and gain an appreciation for these invaluable members of the animal kingdom.
Exhibit viewing is included with the price of Garden admission. Members receive free entry.
Learn more.
This year, guests to the Fort Worth Botanic Garden will notice construction work as several major projects get underway, thanks to the support of the City of Fort Worth and many generous donors.
This road has long served as a primary service route between the Garden Center and the historic Rock Springs Building; it connects the newer, northern sections of the garden with the southern, historic sections of the campus.
A $1.3 million renovation will convert Old Garden Road from a vehicular roadway to a generous 20-foot-wide pedestrian walk. Native and ornamental plantings, landscape boulders, ornamental curbs, benches and custom lighting inspired by the traditional WPA-era architecture of older sections of the Garden will complement new paving of native stone and finished concrete.
This structure in the Japanese Garden is one of the most recognized features of the Garden. Under the guiding expertise of David Sipos, a master carpenter and expert in Japanese woodworking, the current structure will be fully replaced with a new version utilizing traditional Japanese joinery and weatherization techniques.
The foundation will be improved and reinforced, and the original brass rail and finials will be retained and replaced on the new structure.
The Tea House in the Japanese Garden will be given a major facelift by Japanese garden expert John Powell. Improvements will include a tokonoma, the ceremonial niche for scrolls, floral arrangements and art pieces often included in traditional tea events. A new preparation area, improved lighting, traditional screens and furniture will also be added
Traditional Japanese stucco will be applied to the inside and outside walls of the teahouse, and improvements and repairs will be made to the exterior wood trim.
This key feature of the original Garden will have the foundations of the surrounding retaining walls stabilized. Additional renovations to trellises and other elements are also planned to protect this important part of the Garden’s history.
“We are excited to get these projects started,” said Executive Vice President Bob Byers. “Any inconvenience from construction will be more than made up by the years of enjoyment these completed projects will bring to guests.”
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