This week we spoke with Chris Tackett from See It Name It Fight It to break down the data around primary voting in Tarrant County, how that compared to Texas, and past elections, and what that means for the future of our county & state in the coming November midterm election.

Read "The March Signal" by Chris Tackett.

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SHORT STORY 1: Election Results Breakdown

Party leaders forecast energetic election season in Tarrant County heading out of primaries

SHORT STORY 2: Karen Molinar replaced as FWISD Superintendent

As Superintendent Karen Molinar exits takeover, Texas signals a hard reset for Fort Worth ISD

Fort Worth ISD Superintendent Karen Molinar ousted amid TEA takeover

Fort Worth ISD community calls again for immigration policy to protect students

SHORT STORY 3: Data Centers

Tax breaks considered for waterless data center in far west Fort Worth

WINS:

Give me an F: Fort Worth’s 10-foot public art gateway project installed after 20-year wait

Rose-colored Latino-themed bus route announced for south Fort Worth / Visit Fort Worth celebrates convention center’s flying saucer, outgoing leader

‘Transformative’ $1.7B Westside Village mixed-use project officially breaks ground

Land around Farrington Field for sale as FWISD seeks $250M mixed-use project

LOSSES:

Manny Ramirez: Lower the Temperature in Politics and Return to Results

Banning Islam, deporting Muslims discussed at Fort Worth church after primary elections

ACTIONS:

March 9 - Fort Worth Report votes to unionize (Sign the letter)

March 10 - Data center vote at Fort Worth City Council (Sign the letter)

March 15 - 817 Gather at 10am (Join us)

March 21 - FWAAMFEST (Get tickets)

March 31 - Waterless Data Center vote

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Brandi Waller-Pace is the founder of Decolonizing the Music Room and the Fort Worth African-American Roots Music Festival which will be in its 6th year on March 21st.

For more information, visit fwaamfest.com.

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SHORT STORY 1: Union busting at Fort Worth Report

Fort Worth Reporter's Guild response to union busting

SHORT STORY 2: PACs funding Republican precinct chairs

Newly formed Tarrant shadow PACs turbocharge hyperlocal GOP precinct chair races

SHORT STORY 3: Prairieland Defendant updates

• Alvarado ICE facility ambush trial: Jurors view evidence, deputy body camera footage
• Surveillance video and cell phone evidence, day three of ICE Prairieland shooting trial continues

WINS:

Arts Forward

Long-awaited Palo Pinto Mountains State Park opens

Panther Island gets taxing district to pay for improvements, services

Construction for $63M Historic Southside urban village could start in summer

North Texas Community Foundation Awards $250K to Historic North Side Main Street Pilot

FWISD votes no to school prayer period

Black Women Lawyers Association honors Mary Ellen Hicks

Mosier Valley Park transformation will commemorate one of Texas’ first all-Black communities

LOSSES:

Oversight of Tarrant County purchasing questioned as lead role shifts

Digital checkouts at Fort Worth Public Library exceed those of physical materials for first time

ACTIONS:

Tarrant County seeks 200 more election clerks to staff March 3 primary polls

TXDOT Master Plan Survey

March 3 - Election day for Primaries

March 4 - 817 Gather at the Table

March 10 - Data center vote at Fort Worth City Council

March 15 - 817 Gather (Join us)

March 21 - FWAAMFEST (Get tickets)

Join the 817 Gather Discord, and follow us on Instagram & TikTok.

For our very first live episode, we recorded at the VIP party for Tarrant County Democratic Party's annual fundraiser, Beyond Darkness.

We spoke with Texas State Representatives Salman Bhojani & Ramon Romero Jr about harnessing the power of diverse communities to build a progressive future.

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BIG STORY: Nydia Cardenas, candidate for Tarrant County Commissioner Precinct 4.

SHORT STORY 1: Early Voting turnout

Tarrant County’s 2026 Primary: Democrats Are Showing Up

SHORT STORY 2: Resistance to ICE in North Texas

• No ICE Detention Center in Hutchins, TX
• UNT art students protest exhibit’s removal with a funeral for freedom of speech
• Man brandishes guns at Boswell High School students during ICE protest
• PrairielandDefendants.com
• Arlington man in ICE custody will return to Jordan after son’s death

SHORT STORY 3: Transit Progress

• DART's compromise gives money back to cities to avoid withdrawal elections
• Irving to consider calling off DART withdrawal election as transit agency weighs key changes
• Regional council votes to fund public transit as part of plan to save DART
• ‘Expand it, not abandon it’

WINS:

Progressive Texas organizers hail shock win as far-right Republicans left reeling

Taylor Rehmet sworn into Texas Senate District 9

7 Tarrant County districts reject daily prayer period in public schools under Texas law

FWISD students see gains

Panther Island bypass project moves forward after Trinity River dams, flood storage delays

LOSSES:

Hand-counted audit of Senate runoff election draws scrutiny ahead of Tarrant County primaries

Tarrant judge needs to learn that hearing public dissent is part of job

ACTIONS:

Now - Early Voting for Primaries (Polling locations & hours)

February 28 - Arts Forward summit (Get tickets)

March 3 - Election day for Primaries

March 4 - 817 Gather at the Table

March 10 - Data center vote at Fort Worth City Council

March 15 - 817 Gather

March 21 - FWAAMFEST (Get tickets)

Join the 817 Gather Discord, and follow us on Instagram & TikTok.

SHORT STORY 1: ICE in North Texas

• New rules limit public speaking, discussion topics at Tarrant County Commissioners Court
• Free speech concerns raised as Tarrant County judge removes meeting attendees
• Texas “Antifa Cell” Terror Trial Takes On Tough Questions About Guns at Protests Against ICE
• They Say They’re Protesters. The DOJ Says They’re Terrorists
• ICE Just Bought a Massive Warehouse in Hutchins

SHORT STORY 2: Charter Amendments

• Fort Worth voters asked to give city manager more autonomy, increase council’s pay in May election

SHORT STORY 3: Data Centers

• $10B data center hits wall after Fort Worth leaders cite resources, land usage concerns
• Texas county rejects a moratorium on data center development amid AI boom

WINS:

Walk for Peace Buddhist monks arrive in Fort Worth for homecoming celebration

Tarrant Area Food Bank building a $3.5M Community Resource Center

Jury awards over $600K to former Tarrant sheriff’s deputy in retaliation case

LOSSES:

Gyna Bivens & Carol Ivey passed away

North Texas needs signature music festival to become major hub (Brandi’s Take)

ACTIONS:

February 17 - Early Voting begins for Primaries (Polling locations & hours)

February 20 - 817 Live recording at Tarrant County Democratic Party fundraising

Now - March 1 - Bull in a China Shop at Amphibian Stage (Buy tickets)

March 3 - Election day for Primaries

March 10 - Data center vote at Fort Worth City Council

March 21 - FWAAMFEST (Buy tickets)

Join the 817 Gather Discord, and follow us on Instagram & TikTok.

We spoke with grassroots organizer, Alexander Montalvo, the co-founder of Tarrant 4 Change and The Catalyst Project LLC. He shared with us why this moment in Fort Worth & Tarrant County is so crucial as a key moment of change that requires bold, upapologetic progressive leaders to meet the moment. He also spoke about how one of the best ways that we can bring about the change we need is to uplift diverse voices, and local support grassroot organizers who are doing this work every day.

Join the 817 Gather Discord, and follow us on Instagram & TikTok.