Category: Dallas, Texas Local News

The Tarrant County GOP are clearly in a frightened state, even if they are still campaigning in a red one.

The first eight days of early voting have totaled 75,357 ballots for the Dems while Republicans cast only 54,299 in the same timeframe, based on analysis by data journalist Chris Tackett. The energy is clearly one-sided. Early voting goes through Friday. Election Day is Tue, Mar 3.

Then there’s the embarrassing loss the elephant party took just a couple of weeks ago, when Democrat Taylor Rehmet defeated Republican Leigh Wambsganss in a special election for the State Senate’s Ninth District by double digits in a deep red part of an already deep red state. The loss was so bad for the GOP and so surprising for everyone else that it gained national attention as a possible early indicator that voters everywhere have had enough of MAGA and its heavy-handed, iron-fisted, murderous policies on just about everything.

This is a moment for the local GOP and the Republican party as a whole to really reflect about how the average voter is responding to its national party’s dangerous rhetoric and reckless policies on immigration, the economy, education, and more. Will conservatives take advantage of this chance to see the benefit and not always reach for the red meat and become a more encompassing party for its people?

Uh, no. The local Republican party is instead trying to get the most hardcore parts of its base to come out and vote early. The Tarrant County GOP is taking the red meat and making red-meat sandwiches by replacing the bread with more red meat.

From 4 to 7pm today/Thu, the Tarrant County GOP will afford voters of all parties at the Fort Worth Public Library’s Summerglen branch (4205 Basswood Blvd, Fort Worth, 817-392-5970) the chance to meet and greet Rep. David Lowe, who is running for a second term in Texas House District 91, and right-wing gun advocate Kyle Rittenhouse. Yes, that Kyle Rittenhouse.

In the ad for the meet-and-greet which has appeared all over social media, Lowe and Rittenhouse sport assault-weapon pin lapels. Rittenhouse, who became infamous for murdering two unarmed men and injuring a third during a Black Lives Matter protest in Kenosha, Wisconsin, in 2021 — and was, after shedding many crocodile tears in the courtroom, acquitted for it — is also brandishing a handgun in the image.

It’s a jarring way for a candidate for public office to get people to come out and vote for him, but it feels particularly menacing to do this at a public polling place. For starters, the matching lapel pins don’t really display a message of unity. All they do is remind us how far we’ve come from the ridiculous days of the President Obama flag-pin controversy.

Politically speaking, the pairing of Lowe and Rittenhouse couldn’t be more perfect if you’re likely to vote for Lowe. He’s being primaried by newcomer Kyle Morris, who picked up an endorsement from the Star-Telegram due to Lowe’s “reactionary conservatism and allegiance to the farthest-right agenda.”

Lowe has been getting headlines of his own — but not for the reasons he’d prefer, especially during a primary election. Last year, he channeled his inner Jesse Helms by proposing an embarrassing bill that would fine museums up to $500,000 in civil penalties and injunctive punishments for displaying “certain obscene or harmful material.” Last month, the Fort Worth Police Officers Association openly condemned Lowe’s appearance in a forensic investigation, revealing him as more than a “passive buyer of web domains as he claimed, but a participant in industries that prey on the vulnerable.” The report revealed Lowe actively operated “domain capture” schemes designed to redirect web traffic to adult content and offshore gambling sites.

It’s very clear that the Tarrant County GOP is trying to bring out the big guns to get its base to get out and vote this election season. Let’s hope that’s all their voters bring to the polls during this early election cycle.

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.

Thursday, February 26, 2026

At 8pm at the Grackle Art Gallery (4621 El Campo Av, Fort Worth, 817-615-0681), F#CK THIS!: A Raw Storytelling Show promises some much-needed collective catharsis as we celebrate that universal feeling many of us share right now. Featured performers include local artist Jordan Jeffreys, singer-songwriter Gabby Minton, and Portland performance artist ZigZag Rhae. Doors are at 7:30pm. As for the cover, simply pay what you can.

Speaking of stuff screwing off, Fort Worth aggro-popster Jeff Zero has really had enough of the “chilling weather” and has gone all in with his new protest song. Read all about “F*ck ‘Ice’ ” in this week’s Music section.

Friday – Sunday, February 27 – March 1, 2026

At Amphibian Stage (120 S Main St, Fort Worth, 817-923-3012), the queer romantic comedy Bull in a China Shop is set amid the fight for women’s rights, spanning a four-decade relationship between Mary Woolley and Jeannette Mark, teachers at Mount Holyoke. Tickets start at $17 at AmphibianStage.com.

Also running this weekend, the Fort Worth Symphony Orchestra and Dallas Theater Center have collaborated to bring a new Theater of a Concert concept to Bass Performance Hall (330 E 4th St, Ste 200, Fort Worth, 817-665-6000). Shakespeare at the Symphony will feature selections from Mendelssohn’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream and Prokofiev’s Romeo and Juliet. Acting and music will intertwine as musicians and actors share the stage. Tickets start at $31.50 at FWSymphony.org.

Saturday, February 28, 2026

Sledge Distillery (8210 Paluxy Hwy, Tolar, 817-888-8119) has another Hootenanny. From 2pm to 10pm, enjoy spirits, food (3pm-9pm), and entertainment, including an arts-and-crafts session where you’ll build your own hexagon-shaped plant propagation station (3pm-5pm), and live music by Shotgun Josephine (6pm-9pm). Admission is free, but the class is $37.50 per person. For more information, visit SledgeDistillery.com/our-events.html.

Sunday, March 1, 2026

Today marks the inaugural Maverick Con. UTA’s first-ever pop-culture convention with a cosplay competition, gaming tournaments, and panels with voice actors, including Daman Mills (Frieza in anime series Dragon Ball Super), and much more, is at E.H. Hereford University Center (300 W 1st St, Arlington, 817-272-2929) 11am-7pm. Tickets are $21.25 at UTATickets.com.

Monday, March 2, 2026

The UFC has partnered with Paramount+ for 2026, meaning pay-per-view screenings are a thing of the past. I’m sure sports bars will still be hosting UFC parties, but now you can too without spending a lot of extra money, as long as you’re a subscriber.

Meanwhile, Call Dad Real Estate is hosting a meet-and-greet with professional MMA fighters at Son of a Butcher (9649 Sage Meadow Trl, Fort Worth, 817-482-8998). From 6:30pm to 7:30pm, Ramiz Brahimaj (UFC welterweight), Macy Chiasson (Top 10 UFC bantamweight), Quinton Perez (Fury FC welterweight), and the undefeated Ramsey Brahimaj (XKO lightweight) will appear as part of Call Dad’s Sliders & Fighters. There is no cost to attend.

Tuesday, March 3, 2026

Get your fix of post-Olympics hockey at a Dallas Stars watch party at Rusty Nickel IceHouse (2836 Stanley Av, Fort Worth, 817-528-1682). There will be chances to win prizes, including autographed memorabilia, and food and drink specials throughout the game. Plus, it’s Steak Night with a featured menu by Chef David Hollister. The puck drops at 8pm. No cover.

Wednesday, March 4, 2026

Did we do that? Rumor has it that after our cover story about the popular mystery movie night events (“Weird Wednesday,” Dec 30, 2025), the evil overlords at a corporation that shall remain nameless contacted the organizers about naming rights. The newly rechristened Mutant Bazaar is back with its next awesome (and still weird) Wednesday event at Southside Preservation Hall (1519 Lipscomb St, Fort Worth, 817-926-2800). The night market is at 5pm, followed by a vintage video preshow at 7pm, and the secret movie screening at 8pm. Tonight’s mystery movie is a surreal fantasy adventure. The event is BYOB, but food vendors will be on-site. Parking is free, but you’ll need cash for vendors and donations. Admission is on a pay-what-you-can basis. For more info, visit FWCinema.org/MB52/.

Sunday, March 29, 2026

Save the date! We finally have some details for our annual Fort Worth Weekly Music Awards Ceremony. It will be on the last Sunday in March at Ridglea Theater (6025 Camp Bowie Blvd, Fort Worth, 817-738-9500), where we will celebrate our 2025 winners and new Hall of Fame inductees. What time does it start? Don’t know yet. Who’s playing? We’ll see. For more details, follow us at Facebook.com/FortWorthWeekly and RSVP on the event page there.

If you’ve spent any time at all on the Aussie gambling scene, you know the drill. You find a sleek-looking site, the pokies look crisp, but then you hit the cashier and realize your only deposit options are some dodgy voucher or a credit card that your bank is going to flag faster than a red light in Sydney traffic.

That’s exactly why PayID has become the “golden child” for us lately. It’s basically just using the Osko system we already use to pay back mates for a pub lunch, but for your casino account. But before you go clicking every “Join Now” button you see, there’s a bit of nuance to this. It isn’t just about speed; it’s about knowing which traps to avoid so you actually see your winnings at the end of the session.

Why PayID is (Usually) the Better Move

The house always has an edge, that’s just the math, but you don’t need to give them an extra edge by paying fees or waiting five days for a bank transfer.

Instant Gratification: Deposits hit your balance in about 30 to 60 seconds. If it takes longer, something is usually wrong with the casino’s API or your bank is “reviewing” the transaction.

Privacy (Sort of): You aren’t handing over your CVV or long card numbers to a site licensed in Curacao. You’re just using an email or phone number.

No Fees: Most decent Aussie-facing casinos won’t charge you for a PayID transfer. If they do, honestly, find a different place to play.

I’ve tested plenty of these, and the mobile experience is where it shines. You can swap between your banking app and the casino in two taps. However, I’ve noticed the spin buttons on some newer mobile interfaces are getting smaller and more annoying to hit, just a heads up for the fat-fingered among us.

The Fine Print Nobody Reads

We all want to get straight to the “Big Bass” or “Wolf Treasure,” but skipping the terms is how you get burned. Here is what actually matters for your bankroll:

I’ve had cases where the “Instant Withdrawal” was actually a 48-hour wait because the “finance team” was off for the weekend. Always check if they process payouts 24/7. For more info on which sites actually stick to their word regarding payout times, it’s worth checking out dedicated comparison hubs that track these stats in real-time.

Common Roadblocks (And How to Unstick Them)

It isn’t always sunshine and rainbows. I’ve seen my fair share of “Transaction Declined” messages that make you want to put your phone through a wall.

1. The “First-Time” Delay:  Your bank might put a 24-hour hold on your very first PayID payment to a new recipient. It’s annoying, but it’s a fraud prevention thing. Don’t panic; the money isn’t lost in the ether.

2. The Reference Number Trap: Most casinos give you a specific reference code to put in your bank’s “description” field. If you forget this, your funds will be floating in limbo for hours while a support agent named “Steve” tries to manually find your transaction. Copy and paste is your friend here.

3. KYC is Unavoidable: Even with PayID, you’ll eventually have to send a photo of your ID and a utility bill. I usually do this immediately after signing up. There’s nothing worse than hitting a nice AU $500 win and then realizing that you can’t touch it for three days because you haven’t verified your account.

A Savvy Player’s Perspective on Bonuses

Let’s be real: those “300% Match” headlines are bait. I’m not saying don’t take them, but know what you’re signing up for.

If you’re a casual player, a massive bonus might actually be a burden. You’ll be stuck grinding out thousands of dollars in “turnover” before you can withdraw a cent. Personally, I prefer a smaller bonus with lower wagering (under 30x) or, even better, a 10% daily cashback offer. It feels less like a chore and more like a safety net.

Responsible Play (The “Boring” but Vital Part)

I’ve been around the block, and I’ve seen people lose more than they intended because the “Instant Deposit” made it too easy to chase a loss.

Set a limit: Use the casino’s built-in tools. Set a daily deposit limit.

The “Friday Night” Rule: If you’ve had a few too many beers, stay off the live dealer tables. Trust me, your bank account will thank you on Saturday morning.

Know when to walk: If you’ve doubled your session budget, just hit the withdraw button. The house always wins in the long run, so take your small victories when you can get them.

PayID is a tool, and like any tool, it’s only as good as the person using it. It makes the logistics easier, but the odds remain the same. Stick to reputable sites, ideally ones tested by people who actually play, and keep your expectations realistic.

Nearly 250 fabulous folks packed Southside Preservation Hall this past weekend and raised more than $18,000 to support LGBTQ+ community and art programs in Fort Worth.

The Celestial Ball, a fundraiser that blends cocktail-lounge elegance with the disco-era sparkle of Studio 54, offered both a safe space for queer people and allies to party while also building long-term community sustainability.

The ball was presented and hosted by Trinity Pride, Fort Worth’s local LGBTQ+ advocacy group. Trinity Pride President Roger Calderon kicked off the evening by talking about “creating a strong foundation, so that for years to come, there is a community that can keep Trinity Pride running for all of us, all of you, and for everyone else that comes after us.”

Funds raised from the gala’s ticket sales will partially go toward the revitalization of Q Cinema, Fort Worth’s historic queer film festival co-founded by Todd Camp and Shawn A. Moore in 1998. Hosted by Amphibian Stage in South Main Village, the fest is slated to make its return in November, bringing back the platform for queer filmmakers and audiences in a city where few LGBTQ+ dedicated art spaces remain.

Remaining funds from the night will go toward Trinity Pride Fest, which will return to South Main on Saturday, June 27, following last year’s successful turnout of 7,000-plus people, as well as additional LGBTQ+ community programming and resources.

Calderon, who moved back to Texas in 2019 after nearly two decades in New York, told the crowd that he originally left the state because he “didn’t want to be gay in Texas,” reflecting the long-standing political and cultural struggles for LGBTQ+ rights and visibility here. Calderon went on to express gratitude for the local community, saying, “This is what Texas is now and what we will fight to keep.”

The projects funded by Trinity Pride will support the overall mission: “to create safe spaces that celebrate authenticity, creativity, and belonging” in Fort Worth and all of North Texas.

The entertainment for the evening featured performances from August Edwards, Mystique Summers, and Deja Dubois, who began their performances with a choreographed dance to the song “This Little Light of Mine,” followed by solo dance and drag acts.

In between performances, partygoers took to the dance floor under the Southside Preservation Hall disco ball with music provided by DJ Amy H. Graves.

Trinity Pride hopes to continue hosting fundraising events like the Celestial Ball in the years ahead. Given the sold-out crowd and waitlist, the gala is likely to become a recurring fixture on Fort Worth’s LGBTQ+ community calendar.

Well, well. If you’d come up to me during the run of Harry Potter movies and asked me which of the kid actors outside of the leads would have a burgeoning career as an adult, I wouldn’t have picked the fat kid who played Dudley Dursley. Here we are, though, and it is going good for Harry Melling (in many roles for Netflix, interestingly enough), who boasts a fascinating face with eyes set so close together that he resembles a figurine from a Nick Park stop-motion movie. The Coen brothers cast him as an amputee Shakespearean actor in The Ballad of Buster Scruggs, and then he played a grandiloquent Edgar Allan Poe in The Pale Blue Eye. In between those, he was the state chess champion who loses to Anya Taylor-Joy on The Queen’s Gambit.

He’s now the best thing about Pillion, a British gay S&M romance that I alluded to in my review of Wuthering Heights. Adapted from Adam Mars-Jones’ novel Box Hill, the movie popped up on some other critics’ top 10 lists for 2025, though I’m considering it a 2026 film. It opens in three Tarrant County theaters one week later than originally scheduled, but it is worth the wait, and not just for viewers who are gay or into BDSM.

Unlike the novel, the movie is set in the present day. Melling portrays Colin Smith, an officer with London’s Metropolitan Police who takes a lot of abuse because he’s basically a meter maid, patrolling busy city parking garages and writing out tickets. His only social life is singing in a barbershop quartet founded by his dad (Douglas Hodge), which is how he meets Ray (Alexander Skarsgård), a member of a gay biker gang who wears immaculate white outfits while riding when all the other gay bikers are wearing black. Motorcycle enthusiasts know that a pillion is the cycle’s back seat, and Colin is so happy sitting there with his arms around Ray that he no longer cares about motorists cursing at him.

The way he takes the abuse from Ray is somewhat understandable, since Colin’s amazed that such a good-looking and confident man would be interested in him. Thus he agrees to a wrestling match in Ray’s living room while wearing an assless singlet, which leads to rough sex that’s the best of his life. Problem is, Ray spends the rest of the time acting like a less likable version of Christian Grey, ordering Colin to cut off all his long hair and wear a heavy chain with a padlock around his neck to signify that Colin is his. He marks Colin’s birthday by making him cook dinner for him even though he tells people that he hates Colin’s cooking. No wonder Colin’s terminally ill mother (Lesley Sharp) pronounces Ray a creep upon meeting him, which is the last time Colin speaks to her before she dies.

Watching this one-sided relationship meant that I spent much of the movie feeling like Colin when he’s taken to a biker orgy and everyone studiously ignores him. First-time filmmaker Harry Lighton directs all this with a reasonable degree of proficiency, but what really saves the movie is the climax, when Colin finally starts chafing against Ray’s strictures and Ray proposes a “day off” where they do what Colin wants. It’s a blissful day of the sort that other couples (gay and straight) have, and it reveals that Ray is actually the weak link in the relationship. The prospect of a carefree day without him giving orders freaks him out so much that he breaks things off.

So Pillion is a gay male version of Babygirl and The Chronology of Water, where the sub’s experience with S&M teaches them to ask for the things they want in the bedroom and in the relationship. Except, Lighton’s movie is better than those because its observations about BDSM come paired with psychological insight, as well as genuine chemistry between the two leads. It’s all good enough that when I start compiling my list of the best movies of 2026 some 10 months hence, I’ll give serious consideration to this.

Pillion
Starring Harry Melling and Alexander Skarsgård. Written and directed by Harry Lighton, based on Adam Mars-Jones’ novel. Rated R.

A bipartisan advocacy group met with Luzerne County Election Director Emily Cook and County Manager Romilda Crocamo on Wednesday to hear election-related concerns that will be pitched to state legislators for suggested change.

The nonprofit group — the Democracy Defense Project — was established in Pennsylvania and seven other battleground states (Arizona, Georgia, Michigan, Nevada, New Hampshire, Ohio, and Wisconsin) before the 2024 election to promote election integrity, defend the democratic process, and work to “restore lost faith in our electoral system.”

Its Pennsylvania Board members met in-person and virtually with Cook and Crocamo at the county Operations Building in Wyoming, with the media invited to a post-meeting briefing. The Board members: former Pennsylvania House Speaker Keith McCall (D), former state Gov. Ed Rendell (D), and former U.S. Reps. Jim Gerlach (R) and Melissa Hart (R).

McCall said the visit here is the latest in a series of approximately 10 meetings held to date to obtain county election feedback across the state.

The issues Cook and Crocamo raised on Wednesday mirror those other counties want addressed, McCall said, citing the following:

• Allowing counties to perform the initial unsealing and processing of mail ballots, known as pre-canvassing, two or three days before Election Day instead of requiring them to wait until Election Day. This would ensure they are caught up, so the tallying of results is not delayed. Counties cannot start recording and reporting mail ballot results until after the polls close at 8 p.m.

• Moving back the deadline for voters to apply for mail ballots. It is currently a week before an election — a window, election officials argue, that is too short for voters to receive and return their ballots. Democracy Defense suggests an application deadline two weeks before an election, but McCall emphasized that is a decision for legislators.

• Updating the state voter database used by all 67 counties, known as the Statewide Uniform Registry of Electors, or SURE, system. This is already underway because the state had announced plans in March 2025 to implement a new streamlined elections management system that will eventually replace SURE and other current elections-related programs.

• Imposing a certification process or some other form of regulation for third-party entities that conduct mass voter registration drives. McCall said it’s common for these entities to drop off batches of hundreds of registrations that contain numerous applications from voters who do not exist, are not residents of the applicable county or have other flagged issues.

• Providing legislative clarity on curing, which is the process of providing advance notice of fatal mail ballot defects to voters so they can ensure their vote is counted. This county provides such notice, a practice the nonprofit supports, but some do not, McCall said.

• Enacting legislative authorization on mail ballot drop boxes.

“If we’re going to have drop boxes, it should be in the law one way or the other. It’s just not clear, and so voting from one county to the next is somewhat different,” Hart said.

Since the enactment of the 2019 bipartisan state legislation authorizing no-excuse-required mail ballot voting, multiple lawsuits have been filed, resulting in changing Supreme Court rulings regarding issues such as curing and ballot signatures and dates, Hart said.

“Yet the legislature has never gone back and fixed the law,” Hart said.

In addition to serving in the U.S. House of Representatives, Hart said she was a state Senator for a decade and recalls legislators reexamining and amending laws after Supreme Court rulings, so there was no confusion.

Hart said she is making the legislature the “responsible party” to respond to “these real practical concerns that all of these counties have been facing now for the last six elections.”

“It’s just not right. It is their responsibility to address them, and we’re trying to encourage them to do that,” she said.

The nonprofit also wants to further explore advocating for voter ID legislation, with McCall and Hart noting their group’s polling showed strong bipartisan support on the matter.

McCall said the state election law is “antiquated” and needs to be changed.

“We’re listening and are going to try to help advocate for that change,” he said.

In addition, Democracy Defense is aiming to dispel “misrepresentations that have been made about election fraud,” McCall said. The 2020 election in Pennsylvania was the “perfect storm” because it coincided with the implementation of mail ballot voting and the coronavirus pandemic, he said. Many election offices inundated with mail ballots took days after the election to tally them, causing changes in Election Day results, he said.

“There was a lot of confusion and a lot of mistrust in the elections, like there was all this massive fraud, when in fact there wasn’t,” McCall said, noting elections are run by local citizens and are “not rigged.”