Residents can comment on proposed redistricting maps during the public comment meeting scheduled for 6 p.m. Tuesday, March 22, in the Council Chamber at City Hall, 200 Texas St. The City Council is currently considering three proposed redistricting maps, but welcomes comments on any proposed map that meets the Council’s redistricting criteria.

This is a regularly scheduled Public Comment Meeting, and comments can be made on multiple topics, including redistricting.   

The Fort Worth City Council is nearing the conclusion of a redistricting process that will increase the size of the council from nine to 11 members. View the maps being considered on the city's redistricting webpage.

Advance registration to speak at Tuesday's public comment meeting is required and must be received no later than two hours before the posted start time of the public meeting. How to register:

• Online using the speaker card. To register online, click on the agenda for the meeting date; open the document and then click on Speaker/Comment card.
• Call the City Secretary’s Office at 817-392-6150.
• Complete a speaker card in-person in the City Secretary’s Office at City Hall at least two hours before the state of the meeting.

At 8:30 a.m. March 23, the City Council will conduct a special work session for redistricting map drawing in Room 2020 at City Hall.

A final redistricting map is expected to be approved this spring ahead of the May 2023 municipal elections.

Learn more about redistricting in Fort Worth. Sign up for updates.

Ahead of the first-ever Professional Bull Riders World Finals in Fort Worth in May, the PBR announced a slate of free events that will accompany bull riding’s most prestigious event and bring an unprecedented, two-week Western lifestyle festival.

The 2022 PBR World Finals will buck into Fort Worth on May 13-22 at Dickies Arena. The opening rounds of competition will be held May 13-15, with the action coming to a climactic end May 19-22 when the 2022 PBR World Champion will be crowned, earning the coveted gold buckle and accompanying $1 million bonus.

Among the family-friendly, action-packed lineup of programming, PBR will launch the newly created PBR Cowboy Experience and Expo, bringing the sport’s history and Western way of living to life via interactive exhibits and more. The PBR Parade of Champions is a weekend celebration held May 14 and 21 to kickstart festivities.

Additionally, fans can attend the newly announced ticketed events at Cowtown Coliseum in the historic Stockyards, including the 2022 World Champions Rodeo Alliance Women’s Rodeo World Championship and the late-night entertainment antics of Bulls Gone Wild.

Learn more about events during the Professional Bull Riders World Finals in Fort Worth. 

The federal mask requirement has been extended through April 18. That means everyone will continue wearing masks when on board any of Trinity Metro’s vehicles and when inside Fort Worth Central Station and Fort Worth T&P Station. Masks are not required on the platforms or while waiting at a bus stop.

The mask mandate originally went into effect on Feb. 1, 2021, and was extended three times in 2021. The implementation is intended to help prevent the spread of COVID-19. Other safety measures include social distancing, handwashing and vaccinations.

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.

Locals greet Biden

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:

1. The Population Trends, Economic Trends, and Financial Trends chapters have been updated to reflect the latest statistical information available for these chapters.
2. The following chapters have been redesigned and fully updated for the first time since 2012 to include updated data, new project and program information, new policy direction from recently adopted plans, and graphic enhancements intended to improve the user experience:
   1. Chapter 8: Human Services
   2. Chapter 9: Neighborhood Capacity Building
   3. Chapter 12: Education
   4. Chapter 15: Arts and Culture
   5. Chapter 19: Public Health
   6. Chapter 20: Municipal Facilities
   7. Chapter 21: Capital Improvements
   8. Chapter 22: Development Regulations
   9. Chapter 25: Intergovernmental Cooperation
3. New information and map updates have been added to other chapters as well.
4. Appendix C: Future Land Use by Sector has been updated to reflect approved zoning changes and new development plans.
5. Appendix D: Proposed Capital Improvements has been updated to include the adopted FY2022-2026 Five-Year Capital Improvement Plan, along with a graphic summary of major expenditures described in the plan.
6. Appendix F: Annexation Plan, Policy, and Program has been updated to reflect changes to the annexation program.

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.