A big announcement!

(Edit: Apparently, the Star-Telegram did not run our story today, so the S-T welcome portion of this post has been removed, to be re-posted when the story does run.)

Our city is changing. I do my part in covering the urban development aspect of it, but we’re also becoming a tech savvy, wired, funkier and cooler city as the urban revolution steams ahead. We’re not Cowtown anymore. People are looking to connect with each other and their city in new ways, and many of our traditional forms of news and information delivery aren’t filling all the needs of the people.

As you’ve read about in the Star-Telegram, there’s a Fort Worth blogging boom underway, and as of today the five biggest Fort Worth bloggers, The Bastard Sons of Amon Carter:

• Yours truly here at Fort Worthology
• Steve Smith of The Caravan Of Dreams
• Pete Wann of Cowtown Chronicles
• Bernie Scheffler, District 9 City Council Candidate, owner of Panther City Bicycles, and the man behind the Vote Bernie! blog and the Panther City Bikes blog
• Pete Geniella of 1/3 Stop Vignette and Pete Geniella Photography

…have combined forces, and are very, very proud to announce the birth of Fort Worth’s first “superblog.”

Fort Worth, meet West and Clear.

West and Clear is a new Fort Worth blog that aims to talk about what the mainstream media isn’t. Each of us brings our own perspectives and our own talents to the site, and together we hope to talk about Fort Worth with voices that haven’t been heard. We’ll be covering a wide range of topics, some of which we’ve talked about on our own and some that will be new ones as well (ever wondered what a Fort Worth-spun beer column would be like? Say hello to Beer Abbey). Pete W.’s West and Clear introduction post sums it up well:

Like the city we love, and the river forks that give us our name, this blog is something that’s happened at the confluence of several powerful streams of creativity. We love Fort Worth, and we don’t feel like it gets the coverage it deserves from the usual suspects in the mainstream media. Too often those outlets are busy looking for fluff to squeeze into their pages or minutes between the ads.

Our goal is to change that. We want to be the voice of the regular folks. We don’t want to issue “news” from our secluded tower downtown, we’d rather have a conversation with the people in Fort Worth who are actually doing the things that everyone’s talking about.

Along the way, maybe we can help you find a new favorite restaurant or pub. Perhaps you always wondered what the deal was with a particular building or bit of Fort Worth history. Or maybe you’re just looking for something to do this weekend, and you want a little more info than just a two sentence blurb.

Well, you’ll find all of that and more here, as well as the chance for YOU to be involved by sending us tips about newsworthy things happening that everyone should know about, events coming up that deserve our support, and that great new little restaurant around the corner that no one’s heard of.

We’re looking forward to the conversation, and we hope you make West and Clear a part of your online life.

Now, some of you might be wondering if that means that Fort Worthology is passing by the wayside. NOT A CHANCE! Personally, I think West and Clear is a great introduction to the Fort Worth blogosphere, and that Fort Worthology and the other component blogs only serve to make the experience even richer. So let me be blunt, Fort Worthology fans: you will be seeing no changes to Fort Worthology as a result of West and Clear. Fort Worthology is going to keep on doing what it does best - covering urban Fort Worth to a greater depth than anybody else. That’s my passion, and I’m never giving it up. West and Clear will have some elements similar to Fort Worthology - urban development, history, and architecture are my thing, and I’m proud to be behind several West and Clear departments such as Pantherphile, the Fort Worth history series. It’s also going to give me the chance to branch out into other areas of writing, which is cool. West and Clear doesn’t replace any of its authors’ blogs - they’ll only make each other stronger.

Oh, and you may be wondering: “what’s the deal with that name?” I’ll let the West and Clear about page speak for itself:

In 1849, the United States Army set up a strategic camp near the confluence of the West and Clear forks of the Trinity River. This location proved unwise; sitting as it was between the two forks, the camp was soon wiped out by a flood. Out of respect for the occasional violence of the river, the camp was subsequently moved up to the bluff overlooking the Trinity forks and fortified. This bluff became the present-day north end of downtown Fort Worth.

Today, the Trinity River runs through the heart of this great city. The great Texas writer John Graves once wrote that a whole river is too much to comprehend, but you can understand a piece of a river. A piece of a river has meaning. This piece of the Trinity - where the West and the Clear forks become one–has meaning to us.

So now that you’ve found us, pull up a chair and crack open a cold Rahr beer. Stay and surf awhile. We love Fort Worth, and want to tell you why. Join us as we seek to understand our piece of the river.