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CARAVAN GETS A PLANE; WELL, SO MUCH FOR THE WALL...
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IT'S GETTING TO BE WHERE YOU CAN'T CALL A DEMO A GOP
(Ed.'s Note: Let's see if we got this right. The Cameron County Democratic Party not long ago admonished its members to either cut bait or fish. That is, if you are a Democratic party elected official or a party member, you should vote for and support Democratic party candidates.
But in a county that gave rise to the crossover Democratic vote to elect the likes of Tony Garza, and later, Carlos Cascos, to Cameron County Judge, the party lines get a bit blurred. What we had not seen was a countywide Democrat like Cameron County District Attorney Luis V. Saenz list himself in the Cameron County Republican Party online Bulletin Board. In fact, it was Saenz who swore in Cascos into office the last time he got elected county judge before he left to become Texas Secretary of State.
However, joining the online Republican bulletin board seems a bit brazen being that Saenz has already announced that he will be seeking reelection to that position and will be a Democratic party candidate in the upcoming primaries of that party.
Things are a bit different here, podnah. Locally, personal friendships – party officials' admonitions notwithstanding – Democrats mix with Republicans and vice-versa. We have not seen a Republican crossover vote for Democrats, however, and it is unlikely that we ever will.
In South Texas, someone once said, a moderate republican like Cascos (a former Democrat) can chum it up with Sanez, member of a yellow-dog Democratic family that includes former district clerk Aurora de la Garza, a die-hard Democrat as they come. Oh, well, let the voters sort it out.
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WORLD'S GREATEST LETTERS: LINCOLN TO JOSHUA F. SPEED
(Abraham Lincoln and Joshua Speed met in Springfield, Illinois, during the 1830s. Although Speed returned to his native Kentucky, they remained friends throughout life. In this letter, Lincoln expresses his thinking about slavery, which contrasted with Speed, who grew up on a plantation and owned slaves. The year before Lincoln wrote this letter, the Kansas-Nebraska Act passed Congress, repealing the Missouri Compromise of 1820, and opened the territories to slavery. The passage of this bill proved a turning point in Lincoln's career. As he observed, "I was losing interest in politics, when the repeal of the Missouri Compromise aroused me again.")
Springfield, Illinois
August 24, 1855
Dear Speed:
"...You know I dislike slavery; and you fully admit the abstract wrong of it. So far there is no cause of difference. But you say that sooner than yield your legal right to the slave – especially at the bidding of those who are not themselves interested, you would see the Union dissolved. I am not aware that any one is bidding you to yield that right; very certainly I am not. I leave that matter entirely to yourself.
![Image result for father abraham lincoln with slaves]()
"...I confess I hate to see the poor creatures hunted down, and caught, and carried back to their stripes, and unrewarded toils; but I bite my lip and keep quiet. In 1841 you and I had together a tedious low-water trip, on a Steam Boat from Louisville to St. Louis. You may remember, as I well do, that from Louisville to the mouth of the Ohio, there were, on board, ten or a dozen slaves, shackled together with irons."
"...I do oppose the extension of slavery, because my judgment and feelings so prompt me; and I am under no obligation to the contrary. If for this you and I must differ, differ we must...By every principle of law, ever held by any court, North or South, every negro taken to Kansas is free; yet, in utter disregard of this – in the spirit of violence merely – that beautiful Legislature gravely passes a law to hang men who shall venture to inform a negro of his legal rights..."
I...do not admit that good faith, in taking a negro to Kansas, to be held in slavery, is a possibility with any man. Any man who has sense enough to be the controller of his own property, has too much sense to misunderstand the outrageous character of this whole Nebraska business. But I digress. In my opposition to the admission of Kansas I shall have some company; but we may be beaten. If we are, I shall not, on that account, attempt to dissolve the Union."
"....The slave-breeders and slave-traders, are a small, odious and detested class, among you; and yet in politics, they dictate the course of all of you, and are as completely your masters, as you are the master of your own negroes. You inquire where I now stand. That is a disputed point – I think I am a whig; but others say there are no whigs, and that I am an abolitionist. When I was in Washington I voted for the Wilmot Proviso as good as forty times, and I never heard of any one attempting to unwhig me for that. I now do no more than oppose the extension of slavery.
I am not a Know-Nothing. That is certain. How could I be? How can any one who abhors the oppression of negroes, be in favor or degrading classes of white people? Our progress in degeneracy appears to me to be pretty rapid. As a nation, we began by declaring that "all men are created equal." We now practically read it "all men are created equal, except negroes" When the Know-Nothings get control, it will read "all men are created equal, except negroes, and foreigners, and Catholics." When it comes to this I should prefer emigrating to some country where they make no pretense of loving liberty – to Russia, for instance, where despotism can be taken pure, and without the base alloy of hypocracy [sic]."
Springfield, Illinois
August 24, 1855
Dear Speed:
"...You know I dislike slavery; and you fully admit the abstract wrong of it. So far there is no cause of difference. But you say that sooner than yield your legal right to the slave – especially at the bidding of those who are not themselves interested, you would see the Union dissolved. I am not aware that any one is bidding you to yield that right; very certainly I am not. I leave that matter entirely to yourself.
"...I confess I hate to see the poor creatures hunted down, and caught, and carried back to their stripes, and unrewarded toils; but I bite my lip and keep quiet. In 1841 you and I had together a tedious low-water trip, on a Steam Boat from Louisville to St. Louis. You may remember, as I well do, that from Louisville to the mouth of the Ohio, there were, on board, ten or a dozen slaves, shackled together with irons.""...I do oppose the extension of slavery, because my judgment and feelings so prompt me; and I am under no obligation to the contrary. If for this you and I must differ, differ we must...By every principle of law, ever held by any court, North or South, every negro taken to Kansas is free; yet, in utter disregard of this – in the spirit of violence merely – that beautiful Legislature gravely passes a law to hang men who shall venture to inform a negro of his legal rights..."
I...do not admit that good faith, in taking a negro to Kansas, to be held in slavery, is a possibility with any man. Any man who has sense enough to be the controller of his own property, has too much sense to misunderstand the outrageous character of this whole Nebraska business. But I digress. In my opposition to the admission of Kansas I shall have some company; but we may be beaten. If we are, I shall not, on that account, attempt to dissolve the Union."
"....The slave-breeders and slave-traders, are a small, odious and detested class, among you; and yet in politics, they dictate the course of all of you, and are as completely your masters, as you are the master of your own negroes. You inquire where I now stand. That is a disputed point – I think I am a whig; but others say there are no whigs, and that I am an abolitionist. When I was in Washington I voted for the Wilmot Proviso as good as forty times, and I never heard of any one attempting to unwhig me for that. I now do no more than oppose the extension of slavery.
I am not a Know-Nothing. That is certain. How could I be? How can any one who abhors the oppression of negroes, be in favor or degrading classes of white people? Our progress in degeneracy appears to me to be pretty rapid. As a nation, we began by declaring that "all men are created equal." We now practically read it "all men are created equal, except negroes" When the Know-Nothings get control, it will read "all men are created equal, except negroes, and foreigners, and Catholics." When it comes to this I should prefer emigrating to some country where they make no pretense of loving liberty – to Russia, for instance, where despotism can be taken pure, and without the base alloy of hypocracy [sic]."
And yet let me say I am
Yours friend forever
A. Lincoln
Yours friend forever
A. Lincoln
To read entire letter, click on link: http://www.abrahamlincolnonline.org/lincoln/speeches/speed.htm
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COURT TO WHITE HOUSE: REINSTATE ACOSTA'S CREDENTIALS
By Alayna Treene
Axios
U.S. District Judge Timothy Kelly issued a temporary restraining order Friday forcing the White House to reinstate CNN correspondent Jim Acosta’s press credentials.
The big picture: Judge Kelly said it is likely that Acosta’s first and fifth amendment rights were violated when the White House suspended his press pass, saying he believes CNN and Acosta are likely to prevail in the case.
Why it matters: In his ruling, Judge Kelly is setting a precedent that future White House administrations and other elected officials need clear evidence of a security threat or operational burden created by reporters' actions in order to have the justification to revoke a press pass.
What they're saying:
U.S. District Judge Timothy Kelly issued a temporary restraining order Friday forcing the White House to reinstate CNN correspondent Jim Acosta’s press credentials.
The big picture: Judge Kelly said it is likely that Acosta’s first and fifth amendment rights were violated when the White House suspended his press pass, saying he believes CNN and Acosta are likely to prevail in the case.
Why it matters: In his ruling, Judge Kelly is setting a precedent that future White House administrations and other elected officials need clear evidence of a security threat or operational burden created by reporters' actions in order to have the justification to revoke a press pass.
What they're saying:
Judge Kelly: "Whatever process occurred within the government is still so shrouded in mystery that the government could not tell me at oral argument who made the initial decision to revoke Mr. Acosta's press pass," according to Washington Post reporter Erik Wemple.
CNN statement: “We are gratified with this result and we look forward to a full resolution in the coming days. Our sincere thanks to all who have supported not just CNN, but a free, strong and independent American press.”
White House statement: “Today, the court made clear that there is no absolute First Amendment right to access the White House. In response to the court, we will temporarily reinstate the reporter’s hard pass. We will also further develop rules and processes to ensure fair and orderly press conferences in the future. There must be decorum at the White House.”
President Trump: "People have to behave. We're writing up rules and regulations ... you have to practice decorum ... we want total freedom of the press, that's very important to me. But you have to act with respect, you're at the White House."
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99.9 FM AIRS INTERVIEWS OF OFFICIALS, PERSONALITIES
In what promises to be a continuing coverage of people who make up the community of elected officials official and local leaders, Gerardo Danache, a veteran of the Mexican diplomatic corps has launched a radio program that will explore local issues, goings-on and personalities.
Danache started hosting an hour-long program divided into two half-hour interviews to be aired live starting today and then rebroadcast Saturday.
The first half hour of Ecos Fronterizos – was broadcast live over 99.9 FM (Tu Estación) today starting at 12:00 to 12:30 p.m. – featured City of Brownsville commission attorney Rene DeCoss.
De Coss is a former district judge who until recently was also a judge on the municipal court. He had plenty to tell about the judicial process and the issues facing city government. It was interesting, informative radio.
The other interview, from 12:30 to 1 p.m., featured yours truly, the publisher of El Rrun-Rrun blog. I had ample opportunity to butcher the beautiful Spanish language and address some issues on local history, politics and culture.
We touched upon the origin of the Rrun-Rrun blog name, tidbits of local corruption and a bit of local history and lore. The La Casa del Nylon scandal came up, of course, as well as the disappointing performance of self-serving city mayor Toy Martinez, the Brownsville Independent School District elections, and the upcoming city elections in May 2019.
We're not sure why Danache included us in the starting lineup, but we gave it the old college try.
You can hear the two interviews on rebroadcast Saturday on Tu Estacion (99.9 FM) at the same time.
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BETO PALANCA IN TEXAS SWAMPED GOP ON BORDER, CITIES
(Ed.'s Note: Four days into the 11-day early-voting period prior to the Nov. 6 general election, we made a prediction: that Betomania (O'Rourke) would boost straight-ticket turnout among Democrats and that the Carlos Cascos (and SBOE Tad Hasse) candidacies that depended on low Demo turnout and crossover to the Republican side would be swept away. https://rrunrrun.blogspot.com/2018/10/prediction-beto-blue-wave-dooms-cascos.htmlIt was only after the returns came in that other pundits began talking about the Beto Blue Wave propelling Democratic candidates past their GOP opponents across the state, especially along the border and in urban centers like Austin, Houston and San Antonio even if he didn't beat Sen. Ted Cruz. This phenomenon is explored in the Texas Tribune story below.)
Texas Tribune
As Harris County judge, Ed Emmett led the state’s biggest county – 4.7 million people – through its most devastating natural disaster. That work won the moderate Republican bipartisan support, even in a county that overwhelmingly went blue in 2016.
But last week, Emmett lost his re-election bid in a close race – the closest in the county. And come January, the incumbent will turn his job over to Democrat Lina Hidalgo, a 27-year-old political newcomer who had never attended a meeting of the commissioners court she will now lead (she has, she said, watched them online).At the top of the ticket, U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz lost the county by more than 200,000 votes; Emmett’s race – midway down the longest ballot in the country – was decided by a margin of about 19,000 votes.
That result, strategists say, makes Emmett the latest casualty of straight-ticket voting in Texas. In Harris County, more than half a million voters pulled one lever to support every Democrat on the ballot, and just over 400,000 Republicans did the same. Emmett – a moderate who had focused his campaign on persuading the Democrats who favor him to make their way far enough down the ballot to back him – made up much of that difference, but he couldn’t quite eke out a win.
“Keeping the straight ticket option for 1 more election cycle turned out to be a disaster for all Republicans,” Emmett tweeted the day after the election. “Making up the deficit was just not possible.”
Straight-ticket voting will end before the 2020 elections, bringing Texas into line with the vast majority of states. But the change didn’t come early enough to save Emmett – or a host of other down-ballot Republican candidates like judges, who are disproportionately affected by the practice by virtue of their low profiles and low ballot placement.
Republicans – who lost numerous down-ballot officials, a dozen state House members and scores of judges, particularly in big cities – in some ways brought those losses upon themselves: The law that ended straight-ticket voting was written and approved by GOP lawmakers. It was originally set to go into effect before this year’s elections, but was at the last minute delayed until 2020.
“2018 will not be the same as 2014”
If the top culprit for down-ballot Republican losses last week is a certain El Paso Democrat credited with drawing flocks of new voters to the polls, the second spot might go to straight-ticket voting. Yes, the argument goes, a lot of new Democrats came to the polls to cast their ballots for U.S. Rep. Beto O’Rourke in his campaign for U.S. Senate. In the process, many voted for other Democrats down the ballot who they knew little or nothing about. But without the one-punch option, GOP operatives argue, many of those voters would have walked out before dooming Republicans at the bottom of the ballot.
Straight-party voting “is the story” of this year’s election, said Dallas County GOP Chair Missy Shorey, whose county saw a rout of local Republicans.
Among the casualties: 12 members of the Texas House, many of them in the Dallas area; two state senators representing North Texas districts; down-ballot county officials in a host of purpling regions; and nearly two dozen Republican judges on state appeals courts.
After the 2020 elections, when straight-ticket voting ends, candidates will still appear beside their party affiliations, but most strategists expect fewer voters will make it all the way down to the local races. It’s hard to say what the statewide impact of that will be — many Republicans straight-ticket vote, too, and voters can still choose to select all the candidates in their chosen party manually — but in the wake of a tough election for down-ballot Republicans, especially on the fringes of the state’s biggest cities, some are wishing the option had ended in 2018.
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In any other election cycle, the crossover vote – between 20 to 22 percent – would propel Carlos Cascos to victory over any Democrat. But this was not your usual election-year cycle. This was the year of Betomania.
In a sense, the last year of palanca votes plus the Betomania enthusiasm will doom this very Cameron County-unique crossover phenomenon that has propelled Carlos to the top county seat at the Dancy Building.
We had not seen this type of mania exhibited across South Texas since the Tony Garza days when three Democratic Party commissioners crossed party lines to defeat Ray Ramon. Before that, it was the Viva Kennedy clubs.
The Beto phenomenon is very real, especially here in South Texas. He may not win the statewide race north of Sarita, but the local races along the Rio Grande will be affected by the mid-term turnout. Like I said, before, we hope we are wrong. But the indices are all there.
In fact, Cascos supporters – also reading the writing on the wall – went as far as publicizing lawn signs for Beto and Carlos as if to show the dichotomy in Brownsville.The massive voter registration effort by the Democrats combining with Betomania were the makings of a Perfect Storm that might just wipe out the crossover vote that has made Cascos county judge time and time again.
We know we are going out on a limb with this, Cameron County being Cameron County. Let's see what the voters finally say.
And they did.
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BROKEN SEWER FORCE MAIN ON LOS EBANOS JUST GOT BIGGER
By Juan Montoya
A sink hole created Tuesday when a broken force sewer main spewed sewage effluent under pressure that ate away at the road base near the intersection of Los Ebanos and Paredes Line Road just got a little stickier.
Nearby businesses say they have had to close because they lack running water. And the stench of raw sewage permeates the area of the break. Even though the Brownsville Public Utility Board workers appear to have replaced the broken main (behind the plywood board), yet more of the noxious liquid is filling the cavity, indicating that there are more breaks under the road surface. The five PUB employees in the photo seem to be keeping a close eye on the sewer lake.
Nearby businesses say they have had to close because they lack running water. And the stench of raw sewage permeates the area of the break. Even though the Brownsville Public Utility Board workers appear to have replaced the broken main (behind the plywood board), yet more of the noxious liquid is filling the cavity, indicating that there are more breaks under the road surface. The five PUB employees in the photo seem to be keeping a close eye on the sewer lake.
Pipes extending from the broken main site have been placed leading down Los Ebanos toward McKintosh just before the frontage road to US 77-83 and workers are breaking through the asphalt there to investigate whether other breaks are present along the main force sewer line.
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![Image result for brownsville pub logo]()
At the other sewer manhole, a crew of PUB (Primos, Uncles and Brothers) strike the familiar pose of leaning on shovels, hands in pockets, as one man directs the backhoe operator to scrape the pavement while the others stand around and watch. It kind of reminds us of the PUB logo above, where the dots represent the workers and the lines represent a water break. And on overtime, we're sure.
With Thanksgiving week just around the corner, the repairs could linger into the week after. If the restaurant owner at the corner planned on any business Turkey Day, he may have to forgo the profits until the parientes finish their work.)
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DID OLIVEIRA GET USED CAR TO EVADE IGNITION INTERLOCK?
But the photos just keep on coming. The last time we received some they showed that Oliveira was at Cobbleheads, his favorite watering hole and the last place he was seen before his DWI arrest when he rammed a woman's car from behind and left the scene.Those photos were given to the Cameron County District Attorney and resulted in 445th District Judge Gloria Rincones imposing stricter bond requirements on Oliveira, including the installation of an ignition interlock device that wold prevent Oliveira's car from starting if he blew into it and it registered alcohol.
Rincones also imposed a 200-feet restriction on the former Mrs. Sanchez – now romantically involved with Oliveira – on Jacaranda Street where both Rene and Capt. Bob's parents reside. In fact, they are neighbors. Now a certain resident of that same street has sent us this grainy night photo allegedly depicting Oliveira walking toward an older blue car that the sender alleges he uses to bypass the court restrictions on Oliveira's driving.
"There is a used blue car he now uses to bypass the breathalyzer in his Cadillac in front of his houce," the sender writes. "He is also bypassing the DA's orders and the Gloria Rincones orders wher Lorri Garza cannot come into the neighborhood. He got that other car and I saw him drive off."
Will the pictures and report of the use by Oliveira of a car without the ignition interlock end up in court as the Cobbleheads photos did?
Stay tuned.
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QUESTIONS LINGER: IS ERASMO ELIGIBLE TO HOLD OFFICE?
By Juan Montoya
Well, everyone knew that the Brownsville Independent School District would have to confront the issue sooner or later.
Now, with the election victory of Erasmo Castro as self-described patient resource specialist and Head Cheeze of Cheezmeh, the issue of his felony conviction has come to the fore. Castro beat out incumbent trustee Carlos Elizondo and former trustee Otis Powers and incumbent Carlos Elizondo for the Position 2 seat on the BISD board. The board is scheduled to canvass the vote next Thursday and administer the oath of office to Castro, Drue Brown and Prisci Roca Tipton.
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But now some of these candidates' supporters are saying that the BISD failed to do its due diligence to verify that what Castro swore under oath – that he had not been finally convicted of a felony for which he had not been pardoned or had his full rights of citizenship restored by other official action – was true and correct. (See graphic top right. Click to enlarge.)
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The only mention of that issue during the election campaign was in an anonymous hoja suelta, saying he was a convicted felon. (Right)
A cursory Google search under his name – Erasmo Castro Dragustinovis – shows that he was convicted on two counts of forgery, adult felonies, in 1994.
Further, a search of the court records shows that he was sentenced to the Texas Department of Corrections to concurrent five-year terms on the convictions which were modified to five years probation. The docket sheet shows that he never complied satisfactorily with the probation. Nor was there ever an expunction of the convictions granted by any court, records show.
Way back in 2015 when this issue first came up, we ambled over to the Cameron County District Clerk's Office and had Eriz Garza look for the case file (94-CR)75-B. He found it in the county warehouse and scanned all of it, including the case docket for us. One year later, another public information request was done for another person and the file was again reproduced.
What we found – in a nutshell – was that after his conviction on two counts of forgery before then-Judge Robert Garza, his lawyer, Angel Castro, filed a motion for reconsideration of the sentence and asked for deferred adjudication where his conviction would be erased if he complied with the conditions of probation imposed by the court. At the time, Cameron County District Attorney Luis V. Saenz filed a motion opposing the deferment but his motion was denied by the court.
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Ironically, Saenz endorsed Castro in this BISD election. (Right)
Nonetheless, Garza granted it and Castro was off on his merry way promising not to sin again and to comply with probation. But the last entry in the court docket copies that we – and the other person who requested a copy of the entire file – was an order signed by Judge Arturo Nelson in the 138th District Court "unsatisfactorily discharging defendant from probation."
It stands to reason then, to our viewpoint, that since Castro did not comply wiht the conditions of his probation and was "unsatisfactorily" discharged from probation, then the conviction still stands and Castro cannot possibly hold a public office. Or can he? Let's take a stroll down memory lane.
On January 12, 1994, Erasmo Castro was indicted by a Cameron County grand jury on two charges of forgery.
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The charges involved a friend signing over a car to keep it from going to his wife in a divorce and then Castro forging a Brownsville Police Department officer signature to have it released to him from the Cardenas Motor impound lot after it had been seized by police.
According to the docket sheet, Castro waived a jury trial and was convicted in a bench trial and – after a pre-sentence investigation report was considered by the court – sentenced on April 28, 1994 to 10 years in the Texas Department of Corrections probated to five years by Judge Robert Garza in the 138th District Court with the
usual number of restrictions, fines and court costs.
On May 13, 1994 – barely over two weeks after he was sentenced – his lawyer Angel Castro filed a petition in Garza's court asking that the judge reconsider the sentence and grant Castro deferred adjudication.
On June 3, Garza heard the motion, denied the state's objection (by Saenz) to reconsider the sentence, granted deferred adjudication – and signed Castro's petition on June 22 with the same conditions of probation for five years.
After that, Castro's conviction would be erased from his record and his full rights restored, including running for office.
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The deferred adjudication order included the former restrictions and a fine of $1,000 in equal monthly installments, $500 in restitution to Petra Mancillas (the owner of the car) at $10 per month, court costs at $10 per month, $25 in monthly probation fees, a one-time $50 CrimeStoppers fee within six months, $350 for the pre-sentence investigation, at $10 a month, and 350 hours of community service.
On June 15, Garza signed the order denying the DA's objections. On June 22, he signed the order for deferred adjudication.
Castro asked and was allowed his request that his probation be removed to Titus County ( Mt. Pleasant, Texas). If he satisfied all the requirements of Garza's assessed five-year probationary period, the sentence would be deferred.
Then a flurry of events occurred. The state filed a Motion for Adjudication of Guilt against Castro and the Garza ordered both the state and the defendant to a hearing to show cause for the motion on March 22, 1999.
On March 11, 11 days before the hearing where the state's motion to Adjudicate Guilt was to be heard, an assistant district attorney wrote the court that Castro "has violated the conditions of said probation since it was granted"...and was in arrears $581.38 of the $1,000 fine, $875 of the $1,500 probation fees, $310 of the $500 in restitution to the victim, and $85 on the $350 pre-sentence investigation fee.
The Asst. DA also wrote the court that he had performed only 214 of the court-ordered 350 hours of community service. She asked that the court to revoke his probation.
When Castro failed to appear Garza ordered that a warrant for his arrest be issued and that a $500,000 bond be placed upon him at the time of his arrest.
The docket's next entry appears on February 7, 2008 – eight years later – when now-138th District Judge Arturo Nelson issued an order to the state to show cause why the case should not be dismissed for want of prosecution and set the date of the hearing for March 12, 2008.
On March 3, 2008, Delia Fierro, a community supervision officer, wrote Nelson that Titus County had accepted Castro for supervision on November 14,1994 and that he was employed, sending payments and complying with his probation. However, Fierro wrote, on Aug. 16, 1995, "he was charged with fraud, a charge that was later dropped."
She also said that a TCIC/NCIC record check on September 2007, revealed that the defendant "has been arrested five (5) other times. He was charged with thee (3) times with Theft by Check, of which two counts were dismissed, and he was convicted on the third of two (2) counts and ordered to pay $167 and $204 in court costs; and restitution in the amount os $23.31 and $47.43.
On October 19, 1997, he was arrested and charged with Hindering Secured Creditors in Mount Pleasant, Texas. These charges were later dismissed. On May 29, he was arrested by the Camp County Sheriff's Office and charged with Forgery; these charges were dismissed on April 12, 2007.
On September 22, 1998, courtesy supervision was rejected by Titus County, after the defendant failed to report April, July, August, and September 1988. "
The defendant's whereabouts shave been unknown since then. Attempts have been made to contact defendant at the last known address, to no avail."
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The docket indicates that the hearing was reset for March 28 when the state's Motion to Adjudicate was dismissed with no objection from the the DA's office headed by Armando Villalobos and the warrant was recalled.
The motion from the state for an Order Unsatisfactorily Discharging Defendant From Probation was denied and signed by Nelson on March 22, 2008 and the case was closed.
Castro' critics say that the unsatisfactory order means his felony conviction stands and he cannot hold public office. They say that Garza erred in reconsidering Castro's sentence and granting deferred adjudication since the court had no further jurisdiction on his case.
They claim that Garza could no longer correct the sentence because "A trial court has inherent power to correct, modify, vacate, or amend its own rulings, and, as long as it does not by its ruling divest itself of jurisdiction or exceed a statutory time limit, it can simply change its mind on a ruling."
An appeals court in Riles v. State, 216 S.W.3d 836 (2006), quotes precedent that a court is within its authority to change a sentence "only a few moments after it had initially sentenced
defendant and before it had adjourned for day," not two weeks later. Castro, his opponents say, could have moved for a new trial or appealed his conviction.
The Texas Election code states that a person can hold public office only if they "have not been finally convicted of a felony from which the person has not been pardoned or otherwise released from the resulting disabilities."
Some sources have told us that there were other documents – a letter from Garza to Nelson and an order by Nelson exonerating Castro – in the case file. District Clerk Garza did not find it in the case file he pulled from the warehouse and copied for us in 2015 or for the other person who asked for a true copy in 2016. Nor does it show up in the case docket. How can that be? If they exist, why aren't they in the case file or the docket entries?
Will it ultimately take a court to decide the legitimacy of his election win or his ability to take office? And will anybody raise the issue?
Well, everyone knew that the Brownsville Independent School District would have to confront the issue sooner or later.
Now, with the election victory of Erasmo Castro as self-described patient resource specialist and Head Cheeze of Cheezmeh, the issue of his felony conviction has come to the fore. Castro beat out incumbent trustee Carlos Elizondo and former trustee Otis Powers and incumbent Carlos Elizondo for the Position 2 seat on the BISD board. The board is scheduled to canvass the vote next Thursday and administer the oath of office to Castro, Drue Brown and Prisci Roca Tipton.
But now some of these candidates' supporters are saying that the BISD failed to do its due diligence to verify that what Castro swore under oath – that he had not been finally convicted of a felony for which he had not been pardoned or had his full rights of citizenship restored by other official action – was true and correct. (See graphic top right. Click to enlarge.)
The only mention of that issue during the election campaign was in an anonymous hoja suelta, saying he was a convicted felon. (Right)A cursory Google search under his name – Erasmo Castro Dragustinovis – shows that he was convicted on two counts of forgery, adult felonies, in 1994.
Further, a search of the court records shows that he was sentenced to the Texas Department of Corrections to concurrent five-year terms on the convictions which were modified to five years probation. The docket sheet shows that he never complied satisfactorily with the probation. Nor was there ever an expunction of the convictions granted by any court, records show.
Way back in 2015 when this issue first came up, we ambled over to the Cameron County District Clerk's Office and had Eriz Garza look for the case file (94-CR)75-B. He found it in the county warehouse and scanned all of it, including the case docket for us. One year later, another public information request was done for another person and the file was again reproduced.
What we found – in a nutshell – was that after his conviction on two counts of forgery before then-Judge Robert Garza, his lawyer, Angel Castro, filed a motion for reconsideration of the sentence and asked for deferred adjudication where his conviction would be erased if he complied with the conditions of probation imposed by the court. At the time, Cameron County District Attorney Luis V. Saenz filed a motion opposing the deferment but his motion was denied by the court.
Ironically, Saenz endorsed Castro in this BISD election. (Right)Nonetheless, Garza granted it and Castro was off on his merry way promising not to sin again and to comply with probation. But the last entry in the court docket copies that we – and the other person who requested a copy of the entire file – was an order signed by Judge Arturo Nelson in the 138th District Court "unsatisfactorily discharging defendant from probation."
It stands to reason then, to our viewpoint, that since Castro did not comply wiht the conditions of his probation and was "unsatisfactorily" discharged from probation, then the conviction still stands and Castro cannot possibly hold a public office. Or can he? Let's take a stroll down memory lane.
On January 12, 1994, Erasmo Castro was indicted by a Cameron County grand jury on two charges of forgery.
The charges involved a friend signing over a car to keep it from going to his wife in a divorce and then Castro forging a Brownsville Police Department officer signature to have it released to him from the Cardenas Motor impound lot after it had been seized by police.
According to the docket sheet, Castro waived a jury trial and was convicted in a bench trial and – after a pre-sentence investigation report was considered by the court – sentenced on April 28, 1994 to 10 years in the Texas Department of Corrections probated to five years by Judge Robert Garza in the 138th District Court with the
usual number of restrictions, fines and court costs.
On May 13, 1994 – barely over two weeks after he was sentenced – his lawyer Angel Castro filed a petition in Garza's court asking that the judge reconsider the sentence and grant Castro deferred adjudication.
On June 3, Garza heard the motion, denied the state's objection (by Saenz) to reconsider the sentence, granted deferred adjudication – and signed Castro's petition on June 22 with the same conditions of probation for five years.
After that, Castro's conviction would be erased from his record and his full rights restored, including running for office.
The deferred adjudication order included the former restrictions and a fine of $1,000 in equal monthly installments, $500 in restitution to Petra Mancillas (the owner of the car) at $10 per month, court costs at $10 per month, $25 in monthly probation fees, a one-time $50 CrimeStoppers fee within six months, $350 for the pre-sentence investigation, at $10 a month, and 350 hours of community service.On June 15, Garza signed the order denying the DA's objections. On June 22, he signed the order for deferred adjudication.
Castro asked and was allowed his request that his probation be removed to Titus County ( Mt. Pleasant, Texas). If he satisfied all the requirements of Garza's assessed five-year probationary period, the sentence would be deferred.
Then a flurry of events occurred. The state filed a Motion for Adjudication of Guilt against Castro and the Garza ordered both the state and the defendant to a hearing to show cause for the motion on March 22, 1999.
On March 11, 11 days before the hearing where the state's motion to Adjudicate Guilt was to be heard, an assistant district attorney wrote the court that Castro "has violated the conditions of said probation since it was granted"...and was in arrears $581.38 of the $1,000 fine, $875 of the $1,500 probation fees, $310 of the $500 in restitution to the victim, and $85 on the $350 pre-sentence investigation fee.
The Asst. DA also wrote the court that he had performed only 214 of the court-ordered 350 hours of community service. She asked that the court to revoke his probation.
When Castro failed to appear Garza ordered that a warrant for his arrest be issued and that a $500,000 bond be placed upon him at the time of his arrest.
The docket's next entry appears on February 7, 2008 – eight years later – when now-138th District Judge Arturo Nelson issued an order to the state to show cause why the case should not be dismissed for want of prosecution and set the date of the hearing for March 12, 2008.
On March 3, 2008, Delia Fierro, a community supervision officer, wrote Nelson that Titus County had accepted Castro for supervision on November 14,1994 and that he was employed, sending payments and complying with his probation. However, Fierro wrote, on Aug. 16, 1995, "he was charged with fraud, a charge that was later dropped."
She also said that a TCIC/NCIC record check on September 2007, revealed that the defendant "has been arrested five (5) other times. He was charged with thee (3) times with Theft by Check, of which two counts were dismissed, and he was convicted on the third of two (2) counts and ordered to pay $167 and $204 in court costs; and restitution in the amount os $23.31 and $47.43.
On October 19, 1997, he was arrested and charged with Hindering Secured Creditors in Mount Pleasant, Texas. These charges were later dismissed. On May 29, he was arrested by the Camp County Sheriff's Office and charged with Forgery; these charges were dismissed on April 12, 2007.
On September 22, 1998, courtesy supervision was rejected by Titus County, after the defendant failed to report April, July, August, and September 1988. "
The defendant's whereabouts shave been unknown since then. Attempts have been made to contact defendant at the last known address, to no avail."
The docket indicates that the hearing was reset for March 28 when the state's Motion to Adjudicate was dismissed with no objection from the the DA's office headed by Armando Villalobos and the warrant was recalled.The motion from the state for an Order Unsatisfactorily Discharging Defendant From Probation was denied and signed by Nelson on March 22, 2008 and the case was closed.
Castro' critics say that the unsatisfactory order means his felony conviction stands and he cannot hold public office. They say that Garza erred in reconsidering Castro's sentence and granting deferred adjudication since the court had no further jurisdiction on his case.
They claim that Garza could no longer correct the sentence because "A trial court has inherent power to correct, modify, vacate, or amend its own rulings, and, as long as it does not by its ruling divest itself of jurisdiction or exceed a statutory time limit, it can simply change its mind on a ruling."
An appeals court in Riles v. State, 216 S.W.3d 836 (2006), quotes precedent that a court is within its authority to change a sentence "only a few moments after it had initially sentenced
defendant and before it had adjourned for day," not two weeks later. Castro, his opponents say, could have moved for a new trial or appealed his conviction.
The Texas Election code states that a person can hold public office only if they "have not been finally convicted of a felony from which the person has not been pardoned or otherwise released from the resulting disabilities."
Some sources have told us that there were other documents – a letter from Garza to Nelson and an order by Nelson exonerating Castro – in the case file. District Clerk Garza did not find it in the case file he pulled from the warehouse and copied for us in 2015 or for the other person who asked for a true copy in 2016. Nor does it show up in the case docket. How can that be? If they exist, why aren't they in the case file or the docket entries?
Will it ultimately take a court to decide the legitimacy of his election win or his ability to take office? And will anybody raise the issue?
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CORTINAS' PRONUNCIAMIENTO FOUND IN YALE U. LIBRARY
An event of grave importance, in which it has fallen to my lot to figure as the principal actor since the morning of the 28th instant; doubtless keeps you in suspense with regard to the progress of its consequences. There is no need of fear. Orderly people and honest citizens are inviolable to us in their persons and interests.
Our object, as you have seen, has been to chastise the villainy of our enemies, which heretofore has gone unpunished. These have connived with each other, and form, so to speak, a perfidious inquisitorial lodge to persecute and rob us, without any cause, and for no other crime on our part than that of being of Mexican origin, considering us, doubtless, destitute of those gifts which they themselves do not possess.
To defend ourselves, and making use of the sacred right of self-preservation, we have assembled in a popular meeting with a view of discussing a means by which to put an end to our misfortunes.
Our identity of origin, our relationship, and the community of our sufferings, has been, as it appears, the cause of our embracing, directly, the proposed object which led us to enter your beautiful city, clothes with the imposing aspect of our exasperation.
The assembly organized, and headed by your humble servant, (thanks to the confidence which he inspired as one of the most aggrieved,) we have careered over the streets of the city in search of our adversaries, inasmuch as justice, being administered by their own hands, the supremacy of the law has failed to accomplish its object.
Some of them, rashly remiss in complying with our demand, have perished for having sought to carry their animosity beyond the limits allowed by their precarious position. Three of them have died - all criminal, wicked men, notorious among the people for their misdeeds.
The others, still more unworthy and wretched, dragged themselves through the mire to escape our anger, and now, perhaps, with their usual bravado, pretend to be the cause of an infinity of evils, which might have been avoided but for their cowardice.
They concealed themselves, and we were loath to attack them within the dwellings of others, fearing that their cause might be confounded with that of respectable persons, as at last, to our sorrow, did happen.
On the other hand, it behooves us to maintain that it was unjust to give the affair such a terrible aspect, and to represent it as of a character foreboding evil; some having carried their blindness so far as to implore the aid of Mexico, alleging as a reason that their persons and property were exposed to vandalism.
Were any outrages committed by us during the time we had possession of the city, when we had it in our power to become the arbiters of its fate? Will our enemies be so blind, base, or unthinking, as to deny the evidence of facts? Will there be one to say the he was molested, or that is house was robbed or burned down.
The unfortunate Viviano Garcia fell a victim to his generous behavior; and with such a lamentable occurrence before us on our very outset, we abstained from our purpose, horrified at the thought of having to shed innocent blood without even the assurance that the vile men whom we sought would put aside their cowardice to accept our defiance.
These, as we have said, form, with a multitude of lawyers, a secret conclave, with all its ramifications, for the sole purpose of despoiling the Mexicans of the lands and usurp them afterwards. This is clearly proven by the conduct of one Adolph Glavecke, who, invested with the character of deputy sheriff, and in collusion with the said lawyers, has spread terror among the unwary, making them believe that he will hang the Mexicans and burn their ranches, &c., that by this means he might compel them to abandon the country, and thus accomplish their object.
This is not a supposition - it is a reality; and notwithstanding the want of better proof, if this threat were not publicly known, all would feel persuaded that of this, and even more, are capable such criminal men as the one last mentioned, the marshal, the jailer, Morris, Neal, &c.
The first of these, in his history and behavior, has ever been infamous and traitorous. He is the assassin of the ill-starred Colonel Cross, Captain Woolsey, and Antonia Mireles, murdered by him at the rancho de las Prietas, the theatre of all his assassinations. It is he who instigated some, and aiding others, has been the author of a thousand misdeeds; and to put down the finger of scorn that ever points at him, and do away with the witnesses of his crimes, he has been foremost in persecuting us to death. The others are more or less stamped with ignominy, and we will tolerate them no longer in our midst, because they are obnoxious to tranquillity and to our own welfare.
They concealed themselves, and we were loath to attack them within the dwellings of others, fearing that their cause might be confounded with that of respectable persons, as at last, to our sorrow, did happen.
On the other hand, it behooves us to maintain that it was unjust to give the affair such a terrible aspect, and to represent it as of a character foreboding evil; some having carried their blindness so far as to implore the aid of Mexico, alleging as a reason that their persons and property were exposed to vandalism.
Were any outrages committed by us during the time we had possession of the city, when we had it in our power to become the arbiters of its fate? Will our enemies be so blind, base, or unthinking, as to deny the evidence of facts? Will there be one to say the he was molested, or that is house was robbed or burned down.
The unfortunate Viviano Garcia fell a victim to his generous behavior; and with such a lamentable occurrence before us on our very outset, we abstained from our purpose, horrified at the thought of having to shed innocent blood without even the assurance that the vile men whom we sought would put aside their cowardice to accept our defiance.
These, as we have said, form, with a multitude of lawyers, a secret conclave, with all its ramifications, for the sole purpose of despoiling the Mexicans of the lands and usurp them afterwards. This is clearly proven by the conduct of one Adolph Glavecke, who, invested with the character of deputy sheriff, and in collusion with the said lawyers, has spread terror among the unwary, making them believe that he will hang the Mexicans and burn their ranches, &c., that by this means he might compel them to abandon the country, and thus accomplish their object.
This is not a supposition - it is a reality; and notwithstanding the want of better proof, if this threat were not publicly known, all would feel persuaded that of this, and even more, are capable such criminal men as the one last mentioned, the marshal, the jailer, Morris, Neal, &c.
The first of these, in his history and behavior, has ever been infamous and traitorous. He is the assassin of the ill-starred Colonel Cross, Captain Woolsey, and Antonia Mireles, murdered by him at the rancho de las Prietas, the theatre of all his assassinations. It is he who instigated some, and aiding others, has been the author of a thousand misdeeds; and to put down the finger of scorn that ever points at him, and do away with the witnesses of his crimes, he has been foremost in persecuting us to death. The others are more or less stamped with ignominy, and we will tolerate them no longer in our midst, because they are obnoxious to tranquillity and to our own welfare.
All truce between them and us is at an end, from the fact alone of our holding upon this soil our interests and property. And how can it be otherwise, when the ills that weigh upon the unfortunate republic of Mexico have obliged us for many heart-touching causes to abandon it and our possessions in it, or else become the victims of our principles or of the indigence to which its intestine disturbances had reduced us since the treaty of Guadalupe?
When, every diligent and industrious, and desirous of enjoying the longed-for boon of liberty within the classic country of its origin, we were induced to naturalize ourselves in it and form a part of the confederacy, flattered by the bright and peaceful prospect of living therein and inculcating in the bosoms of our children a feeling of gratitude towards a country beneath whose aegis we would have wrought their felicity and contributed with our conduct to give evidence to the whole world that all the aspirations of the Mexicans are confined to one only, that of being freemen; and that having secured this ourselves, those of the old country, notwithstanding their misfortunes, might have nothing to regret save the loss of a section of territory, but with the sweet satisfaction that their old fellow citizens lived therein, enjoying tranquility, as if Providence had so ordained to set them an example of the advantages to be derived from public peace and quietude; when, in fine, all has been but the baseless fabric of a dream, and our hopes having been defrauded in the most cruel manner in which disappointment can strike, there can be found no other solution to our problem than to make one effort, and at one blow destroy the obstacles to our prosperity.
It is necessary. The hour has arrived. Our oppressors number but six or eight. Hospitality and other noble sentiments shield them at present from our wrath, and such, as you have seen, are inviolable to us.
Innocent persons shall not suffer - no. But, if necessary, we will lead a wandering life, awaiting our opportunity to purge society of men so base that they degrade it with their opprobrium. Our families have returned as strangers to their old country to beg for an asylum. Our lands, if they are to be sacrificed to the avaricious covetousness of our enemies, will be rather so on account of our own vicissitudes.
As to land, Nature will always grant us sufficient to support our frames, and we accept the consequences that may arise. Further, our personal enemies shall not possess our lands until they have fattened it with their own gore.
It remains for me to say that, separated as we are, by accident alone, from the other citizens of the city, and not having renounced our rights as North American citizens, we disapprove and energetically protest against the act of having caused a force of the national guards from Mexico to cross unto this side to ingraft themselves in a question so foreign to their country that there is no excusing such weakness on the part of those who implored their aid.
Rancho Del Carmen,
County of Cameron, September 30, 1859
When, every diligent and industrious, and desirous of enjoying the longed-for boon of liberty within the classic country of its origin, we were induced to naturalize ourselves in it and form a part of the confederacy, flattered by the bright and peaceful prospect of living therein and inculcating in the bosoms of our children a feeling of gratitude towards a country beneath whose aegis we would have wrought their felicity and contributed with our conduct to give evidence to the whole world that all the aspirations of the Mexicans are confined to one only, that of being freemen; and that having secured this ourselves, those of the old country, notwithstanding their misfortunes, might have nothing to regret save the loss of a section of territory, but with the sweet satisfaction that their old fellow citizens lived therein, enjoying tranquility, as if Providence had so ordained to set them an example of the advantages to be derived from public peace and quietude; when, in fine, all has been but the baseless fabric of a dream, and our hopes having been defrauded in the most cruel manner in which disappointment can strike, there can be found no other solution to our problem than to make one effort, and at one blow destroy the obstacles to our prosperity.
It is necessary. The hour has arrived. Our oppressors number but six or eight. Hospitality and other noble sentiments shield them at present from our wrath, and such, as you have seen, are inviolable to us.
Innocent persons shall not suffer - no. But, if necessary, we will lead a wandering life, awaiting our opportunity to purge society of men so base that they degrade it with their opprobrium. Our families have returned as strangers to their old country to beg for an asylum. Our lands, if they are to be sacrificed to the avaricious covetousness of our enemies, will be rather so on account of our own vicissitudes.
As to land, Nature will always grant us sufficient to support our frames, and we accept the consequences that may arise. Further, our personal enemies shall not possess our lands until they have fattened it with their own gore.
It remains for me to say that, separated as we are, by accident alone, from the other citizens of the city, and not having renounced our rights as North American citizens, we disapprove and energetically protest against the act of having caused a force of the national guards from Mexico to cross unto this side to ingraft themselves in a question so foreign to their country that there is no excusing such weakness on the part of those who implored their aid.
Rancho Del Carmen,
County of Cameron, September 30, 1859
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DID BISD POLITICS RUN OUT PATTERSON TO HIDALGO, U OF M?
By Juan Montoya
Shea Patterson, a former five-star and top pro-style quarterback in the country who is leading the University of Michigan toward a national title, once lived in Brownsville and attended local schools before his family packed up and left to Hidalgo.
Patterson, who then went on to play with the Hidalgo Pirates, was named the 2012 RGVSorts.com All-Valley Newcomer of the Year and would have stayed in the valley except for troubles in that city's school board. Local sources say that the family also had a discouraging experience with the Brownsville Independent School District.
The Pattersons spent five years in the Valley, two in Brownsville and three in Hidalgo. During that time, Shea rose to prominence, making his name as one of the top prospects for the class of 2016.
During their stay in Brownsville, She's father Sean, a vendor for Vector Concepts, that sold sports flooring to local school districts, encountered alleged bias in obtaining contacts with the BISD., former board members said.
In at least one occasion, Vector Concepts thought they had won an award for building additions to the Porter Early College High School only to have it awarded to a company with close political ties to a former board trustee. Discouraged, and with BISD coaches eyeing his son's obvious talents, Sean Patterson decided to move his family to Hidalgo.
There, apparently, things didn't fare any better and the Pattersons left the valley for Louisiana citing business considerations.
The McAllen Monitor reported that after Vector Concepts took away the company’s territory in San Antonio, where most of the business came from, Sean was forced to look elsewhere to broaden his sales, something Shea understood.
“The first thing you think of is all your friends and all the things you’ve done for football and all the great relationships I’ve built with everyone here,” Shea said. “But you have to do what’s best for your family. It’s a great opportunity for us and it’s really hard to pass up.”
Sean’s brother, Christopher, was the director of the Brownsville Parks and Recreation Department and resigned in 2015 saying he wanted to pursue career opportunities closer to his family.
While at Hidalgo, The 6-foot-1, 180-pound Patterson threw for 1,386 yards and 18 touchdowns and rushed for 414 yards and four scores in leading the Pirates to a 7-4 overall record and a district championship this season.
But as is usually the case, political discord in Hidalgo that prevented the board from appointing a football coach likely played a part in the Pattersons' departure from the valley.
“Those types of things are just on the side,” Sean told The Monitor. “Whenever things negative are going on, it makes it a bit easier to make that move. Whatever happens with the (school) board, those are their issues. Right now, there’s no football coach in place, so stuff like that makes it easier (to leave).
Now, Bleacher Report's Matt Miller reported on Friday that Patterson – along with Ohio State's Dwayne Haskins – are two of several juniors expected to declare after the season. The Wolverines' quarterback told The Monitor several years back that a strong work ethic and perseverance will inevitably show. The whole thing boils down to hard work.
“It doesn’t matter where you go to school,” Shea said. “If you work hard, every single day, and take care of academics, it will show. People will notice you.
“There’s so much talent in the Valley that hasn’t been seen yet.”
"What a shame that quality players like Patterson had to leave because of the political climate in Brownsville and in Hidalgo," said a former BISD trustee. "People from other parts of the country look at us and laugh at some of the things that happen here. They say, oh, well, Brownsville is Brownsville."
Shea Patterson, a former five-star and top pro-style quarterback in the country who is leading the University of Michigan toward a national title, once lived in Brownsville and attended local schools before his family packed up and left to Hidalgo.
Patterson, who then went on to play with the Hidalgo Pirates, was named the 2012 RGVSorts.com All-Valley Newcomer of the Year and would have stayed in the valley except for troubles in that city's school board. Local sources say that the family also had a discouraging experience with the Brownsville Independent School District.
The Pattersons spent five years in the Valley, two in Brownsville and three in Hidalgo. During that time, Shea rose to prominence, making his name as one of the top prospects for the class of 2016.
During their stay in Brownsville, She's father Sean, a vendor for Vector Concepts, that sold sports flooring to local school districts, encountered alleged bias in obtaining contacts with the BISD., former board members said.
In at least one occasion, Vector Concepts thought they had won an award for building additions to the Porter Early College High School only to have it awarded to a company with close political ties to a former board trustee. Discouraged, and with BISD coaches eyeing his son's obvious talents, Sean Patterson decided to move his family to Hidalgo.
There, apparently, things didn't fare any better and the Pattersons left the valley for Louisiana citing business considerations.
The McAllen Monitor reported that after Vector Concepts took away the company’s territory in San Antonio, where most of the business came from, Sean was forced to look elsewhere to broaden his sales, something Shea understood.
“The first thing you think of is all your friends and all the things you’ve done for football and all the great relationships I’ve built with everyone here,” Shea said. “But you have to do what’s best for your family. It’s a great opportunity for us and it’s really hard to pass up.”
Sean’s brother, Christopher, was the director of the Brownsville Parks and Recreation Department and resigned in 2015 saying he wanted to pursue career opportunities closer to his family.
While at Hidalgo, The 6-foot-1, 180-pound Patterson threw for 1,386 yards and 18 touchdowns and rushed for 414 yards and four scores in leading the Pirates to a 7-4 overall record and a district championship this season.
But as is usually the case, political discord in Hidalgo that prevented the board from appointing a football coach likely played a part in the Pattersons' departure from the valley.
“Those types of things are just on the side,” Sean told The Monitor. “Whenever things negative are going on, it makes it a bit easier to make that move. Whatever happens with the (school) board, those are their issues. Right now, there’s no football coach in place, so stuff like that makes it easier (to leave).
Now, Bleacher Report's Matt Miller reported on Friday that Patterson – along with Ohio State's Dwayne Haskins – are two of several juniors expected to declare after the season. The Wolverines' quarterback told The Monitor several years back that a strong work ethic and perseverance will inevitably show. The whole thing boils down to hard work.
“It doesn’t matter where you go to school,” Shea said. “If you work hard, every single day, and take care of academics, it will show. People will notice you.
“There’s so much talent in the Valley that hasn’t been seen yet.”
"What a shame that quality players like Patterson had to leave because of the political climate in Brownsville and in Hidalgo," said a former BISD trustee. "People from other parts of the country look at us and laugh at some of the things that happen here. They say, oh, well, Brownsville is Brownsville."
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A CONTAGIOUS MALADY: POTENTIAL CONFLICTS OF INTEREST
By Juan Montoya
It happens way too often.
Elected and appointed officials – ignoring the fact that their personal business matters or relationships may pose a conflict of interest – ignore the fact and participate in their entity's discussion and votes on the issues.
It happens in the city, the county, and at the local school board and various districts.
Sometimes it is thinly veiled, but other times it is brazen.
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The latest case involved now-former Brownsville Independent School District trustee Carlos Elizondo when he was told he could not second an agenda item that involved his wife's job with the school district. Cindy Elizondo was one of four BISD staffers who were placed by the administration on a board agenda to receive back-pay stipends for four years because they had been overlooked.
When another trustee questioned Elizondo's ability to second or vote on the issue, he said that as a board member he could "second and abstain on that one if I want to."
BISD legal counsel Baltazar Salazar – who has twisted a rule here and there himself – had to put his foot down and tell Elizondo he could not vote. In the end, Elizondo voted on the three other items
but had to abstain in the item related to his wife.
![Image result for joe rodriguez, herff jones rings]()
Sitting one member removed from Elizondo was now-former board trustee "coach" Joe Rodriguez. Rodriguez is listed as a vendor with BSN Sports, a sister company under University Brands with ring-maker Herff Jones.
During a controversy surrounding the purchase of $895 rings for the player of the Porter Early College High School soccer team, Rodriguez spoke forcefully about the propriety of paying for the rings even though Porter did not have the money to pay for the rings.
In the ensuing brouhaha that lasted for months (the rings were given out to the players in April, invoiced in June, and not paid until the following November after an audit was performed to see who had ordered them), no one admitted to ordering the rings despite emails from the administration informing competitors the school had chosen another vendor, Herff Jones, only five days after the team won the championship.
![Image result for joe rodriguez, herff jones rings]()
But despite the fact that Rodriguez's company was the sister company t the ring-maker, he not only participated in the discussion but also voted to allow the superintendent to pay for them. The audit never answered the question on who ordered them.
![Image result for tony martinez votes on tax resale property]()
Even after he was told he might be in a conflict, he nonetheless ignored the admonition from legal counsel and persisted in sealing the deal himself. After the maneuver, he was able to sell his old law building and make a neat profit.
![Image result for tony martinez votes on tax resale property]()
And just lately, during the tug-of-war between the Greater Brownville Incentives Corporation and the Community Development Corporation of Brownsville over a tract of land where the housing organization wanted to build homes, news coverage indicated that a GBIC member who came out against the purchase of the land may have had a conflict since she owned property there.
![Image result for nurith galonsky]()
Galonsky said she objected because no price was specified and because it would deplete the GBIC's budget for future projects. However, further down in the same article, Galonsky told the Herald reporter that a steel company was interested in building a steel plant in the area, "according to Galonsky, who owns property there."
It happens way too often.
Elected and appointed officials – ignoring the fact that their personal business matters or relationships may pose a conflict of interest – ignore the fact and participate in their entity's discussion and votes on the issues.
It happens in the city, the county, and at the local school board and various districts.
Sometimes it is thinly veiled, but other times it is brazen.
The latest case involved now-former Brownsville Independent School District trustee Carlos Elizondo when he was told he could not second an agenda item that involved his wife's job with the school district. Cindy Elizondo was one of four BISD staffers who were placed by the administration on a board agenda to receive back-pay stipends for four years because they had been overlooked.
When another trustee questioned Elizondo's ability to second or vote on the issue, he said that as a board member he could "second and abstain on that one if I want to."
BISD legal counsel Baltazar Salazar – who has twisted a rule here and there himself – had to put his foot down and tell Elizondo he could not vote. In the end, Elizondo voted on the three other items
but had to abstain in the item related to his wife.
Sitting one member removed from Elizondo was now-former board trustee "coach" Joe Rodriguez. Rodriguez is listed as a vendor with BSN Sports, a sister company under University Brands with ring-maker Herff Jones.During a controversy surrounding the purchase of $895 rings for the player of the Porter Early College High School soccer team, Rodriguez spoke forcefully about the propriety of paying for the rings even though Porter did not have the money to pay for the rings.
In the ensuing brouhaha that lasted for months (the rings were given out to the players in April, invoiced in June, and not paid until the following November after an audit was performed to see who had ordered them), no one admitted to ordering the rings despite emails from the administration informing competitors the school had chosen another vendor, Herff Jones, only five days after the team won the championship.
Da Mayor Tony Martinez is not far removed from these shenanigans either. We have described how he participated in a discussion in executive session and voted during the open meeting to sell himself a parcel of land he obtained in a tax-delinquent sale which would make his old law office more marketable to a buyer because it needed more parking space..
Even after he was told he might be in a conflict, he nonetheless ignored the admonition from legal counsel and persisted in sealing the deal himself. After the maneuver, he was able to sell his old law building and make a neat profit.
And just lately, during the tug-of-war between the Greater Brownville Incentives Corporation and the Community Development Corporation of Brownsville over a tract of land where the housing organization wanted to build homes, news coverage indicated that a GBIC member who came out against the purchase of the land may have had a conflict since she owned property there.Nurith Galonsky, who has since been removed from the GBIC board by an ordinance change, told the Brownsville Herald that she was one of two GBIC board members who refused to sign a letter to the CDCB that they intended to buy 200 acres of the property they planned to use for housing. The GBIC said that plans formulated seven years earlier projected the implementation of plans for an industrial corridor, not housing.
Galonsky said she objected because no price was specified and because it would deplete the GBIC's budget for future projects. However, further down in the same article, Galonsky told the Herald reporter that a steel company was interested in building a steel plant in the area, "according to Galonsky, who owns property there."Being that she, or her family, has personal business interest in the development of that land, should she have recused herself from participating in any discussion or vote on the matter? El Rrun-Rrun has inquired whether she had filed an affidavit of conflict of interest with the GBIC over her property interests but no one there could recall her filing such a document or anyone on the board for that matter.
"Actually, the city commission did Galonsky a favor by passing the ordinance limiting an individual to serve on only one board or else she would have been conflicted out of participating in discussion or voting on the GBIC-CDCB dispute," said a former GBIC member. "It's very easy to blur the lines, and also very convenient."
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ANOTHER TAMAULIPAS GOVERNOR BITES THE DUST
(Ed.'s Note: First it was Gov. Tomas Yarrington was brought back to Brownsville from Italy to face money laundering and organized crime links to the Gulf Cartel, and now it's his successor Eugenio Hernandez Flores on his way to Cd. Victoyia, the state's capital, for internment in the Altiplano corrections facility, a high-security prison, for security reasons.
Tamaulipas sources say that is the first step before the ex-governor is extradited to the United States to face money laundering and Gulf Cartel ties just as Yarrington is facing in Brownsville now.
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FROM ALL OF US, TO ALL OF YOU, HAPPY THANKSGIVING
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THIS THANKSGIVING, THANK THE NATIVE AMERICANS, TOO
By Juan Montoya
Just over 526 years ago, natives of a Caribbean island woke up to find three boatloads of hungry (and lost) Europeans announcing to them that they had been discovered. What’s more, they said the land now belonged to them and their king.
The next five centuries would be devastating for the natives, who shared their food and resources with the new arrivals.
From the very start, no matter how generous the natives (whom the Europeans called Indians in the mistaken belief they had reached India) were, the white visitors always seemed to want more.Over time, the leader, one Christopher Columbus, not only took their food and shelter, but he also implemented a system of tribute. The natives were perplexed at why the Europeans were so greedy for the yellow shiny metae avaricious in the quest for gold, they started demanding that thl they used as decorations.
As the Europeans become more natives dedicate their entire days working in mines and river beds to search for the shiny metal. As time went on, the natives begin dying off from over work, new diseases against which they had no immunity, and at the hands of their cruel new masters.
Needing more labor as the gentle tribes were decimated at the hands of the avaricious conquistadores, they persuaded Queen Isabella to issue a writ ordering that any so-called caribs, or cannibals, could be used as slave labor in their mines. Any native who resisted, it turned out, could be classified as a carib.
Further north, the story would be repeated against the natives there. This time, the new arrivals ostensibly came seeking religious freedom. But while they were seeking tolerance for their views, they afforded the natives little, if any.
Illustrative of this missionary zeal to convert the heathens into Christians is Henry Wordsworth Longfellow's Hiawatha, where toward the end of the poem Hiawatha hosts a missionary who tells them about their white God. In the morning, the missionaries wake up go find themselves alone in the empty lodge.
Now, that Hiawatha knew something.
Now, that Hiawatha knew something.
Columbus died convinced he had discovered India and that China was not too far over the next mountain range. Subsequent conquistadores spread across the face of a land they called America and laid waste to entire tribes looking for treasure and plunder. The annals of the conquista are full of narratives where natives were torn apart by war dogs or burned alive when Spaniards thought they were holding out on gold deposits.
In one relato, a burial area that was on a platform was torn apart and the remains relieved of their gold burial ornaments.Mexico City was leveled, as was the Inca nation. Unspeakable cruelty was perpetrated in the name of God, King, and civilization.
The so-called “Columbian Exchange” was a lopsided affair. The Old World got the riches of these nations, and “America” got disease and slaughter in return. The Old World got unimaginable wealth in the form of foodstuffs that saved entire European nations from famine (potatoes) gave humanity a crop that would in time become the most important addition to the world’s granary – corn.
Today, corn, a wild grass domesticated by the natives some 15,000 years ago, is now the biggest cash crop in the United States, if not the world. The native nations had no immigration policies, a slight oversight in retrospect.
The United States, in turn, also adopted a policy of genocide against its natives. Those it could not kill outright, were dispossessed of their ancestral lands and forcibly moved across the country to unimaginably uninhabitable terrain.
The Cherokees and Seminoles were moved from the semitropical Southeast to the arid plains of Oklahoma. The eastern tribes were moved into the Black Hills and plains of South Dakota.
The rest were packed into squalid reservations. To this day, some Native activists will not accept a $20 bill because it bears the face of Andrew Jackson, the president who defied the U.S. Supreme Court and removed the people from their lands at huge cost in lives of the old and young alike.
Somehow, the native people have been able to survive and their Great Spirit looked over them.
The Cherokees in Oklahoma found out that their reservations lay atop underground oceans of oil. And in the Black Hills, uranium and gold were discovered. And, as they were sovereign nations in treaty with the United States, they could have gaming on their squalid reservations. And they built casinos, and the people came. And they are still coming.
Next time you’re in Indian country and have a chance to visit one of their pow-wows, do yourself a favor and go. The beat of the drum and the chanting of the dancers resonate as one with the very rhythm of their Mother Earth just as it has since long before Columbus stumbled upon this continent and made his “discovery.”
It's not only Turkey Day. It's time to be appreciative of the native peoples that made all we have possible. M'gwetch.
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GO OUT OF TOWN FOR A FEW DAYS, AND HELL BREAKS LOOSE
During that campaign, some of his past postings were widely distributed where he called some students "hood rats," and "little whores" and he realized that once you fall into the placid-looking pool of Facebook, it is extremely difficult – if not impossible – to get out.Now, as an elected official to a position of respect where his every move is associated with the school district he represents, he is finding that perhaps the Facebook limelight isn't all it's cut out to be. Yeah, Erasmo might get his jollies out of posting pictures of cockroaches in his oatmeal at one of the Brownsville barrio coffee shops, or dirty dishes at a panaderia (Keep it Clean!), but when other cyber sleuths start posting shots like the ones above, the tables get turned and it's not pretty.
What would any reasonably sane person say if the guy in the photos was trustee Minerva Peña, or say, Dr. Sylvia Atkinson, for example? On the first picture – and apparently earlier that night – the lone male representative on the BISD board is seen toasting a Jaigerbomb with unseen revelers, and later (he's wearing the same clothes), passed out on a booth at a Whataburger restaurant, the same Whataburger, by the way, where TSC losing candidate Carlos Rios passed out while in the drive-through.
Could it be, as some of his supporters have said, that the drink Castro is quaffing in the photo is actually tea, and that da dude is just worn out after along night of fraternizing with the electorate? Others would say, hey, the guy deserves some privacy. True, but the guy we're talking about actively sought and spent money to attract the public's attention and got himself elected to a position of public trust. If someone found Tony Martinez in a hotel room with a chicken, wouldn't they immediately recognize him not as Martinez, the individual, but simultaneously as Tony Martinez, City of Brownsville mayor?
Same goes for any elected official, now including Mr. Castro. No, that isn't a chicken, maybe spicy chicken or a taco de huevo con tocino. We can't tell, but you get the point. He – and other elected and public officials – sought the public's trust to represent them not only during board meetings, but in every aspect of their lives 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
It's a heavy responsibility and pitiful few know how to live with it and up to it. Some never do. But Erasmo, it's time you do. After all, the first public meeting where you are a board member is looming on the horizon and all eyes will be on your comportment. Will you be up to stepping to the plate?
If not, get ready to take some shots, and they're not going to be as pleasant as the Jaigerbombs you had that night.)
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STOP THE PRESSES: MATA COPS DEMAND BRIBES FROM MIGRANTS
Asylum seekers Elvis Gonzalez Rodriguez, 23, left, of Havana and Robert Richard Braganca of Rio de Janeiro, with his toddler son, Mario, wait on the Matamoros and Brownsville International Bridge in Matamoros, Mexico. (Gary Coronado / Los Angeles Times)
By Molly Hennessy-Fiske
La Times
Asylum seekers funneled to bridge crossings at the Texas border are being blocked from approaching the U.S. side, forced onto waiting lists overseen by Mexican officials.
The asylum seekers and immigrant-rights advocates say that has put them at risk of extortion, discrimination and deportation, with many telling of Mexican officials demanding money to let them pass and of watching others, further down the list, cross ahead of them.
In Matamoros, a city across from Brownsville, Texas, the list is kept on a clipboard in an opaque blue plastic case on the newer of two border bridges. Though Mexican officials maintain the list, U.S. officers decide how many asylum seekers cross. An individual familiar with the Mexican immigration system who asked not to be identified for safety reasons said U.S. officials choose who crosses based on nationality and other characteristics.
Last week, Mexican immigration officials notified four asylum seekers camped at the foot of the bridge for more than a month that it was their turn to cross. They had been near the top of the waiting list for days but had watched others jump ahead of them. Now they said teary goodbyes to about 20 migrants they had been staying with on cots under tarps.
Mexican officials escorted the four — a pregnant woman, her boyfriend, a mother and her 16-year-old son — to a U.S. customs officers’ station at the center of the covered bridge.
“How many are you, and from what countries?” one of the U.S. officials asked in Spanish.
The migrants identified themselves, and the U.S. officials counted aloud: two Cubans, two Guatemalans. Mexican officials nodded. Then they allowed the four to enter the U.S.
U.S. law says immigrants can present themselves to request asylum at border crossings or inside the country after entering illegally. But as thousands of Central Americans approached the border this month, President Trump announced that those crossing illegally would be denied asylum. This week, a federal judge in San Francisco blocked that asylum ban.
But the judge’s ruling didn’t address the administration’s efforts to stop asylum seekers at southern border bridges. U.S. Customs and Border Protection officials say they have run out of space to process them at border holding areas, most of which they said house fewer than a hundred people.
The agency has stationed officers at bridge midpoints to prevent asylum seekers from entering the U.S. The migrants must add their names to waiting lists in Mexico, a process U.S. officials call “queue management.”
A list was first used two years ago in Tijuana, prompting immigrant advocates to sue in California federal court, arguing the process illegally blocked asylum seekers. With the lawsuit pending, U.S. immigration officials expanded the system to busy crossings in Arizona and Texas.
As of last week, waiting lists were being used at all major crossings in Texas, said Rick Pauza, a Laredo, Texas-based spokesman for U.S. Customs and Border Protection.
Across the border from El Paso, Mexican officials in Ciudad Juarez cleared 300 migrants from border bridges last week, sent them to shelters and created a waiting list, said Shaw Drake, a lawyer with the American Civil Liberties Union of Texas. Asylum seekers’ numbers on the list were written in marker on their arms.
“They’re creating the circumstances under which that’s necessary,” said Drake, adding that about 20 of the asylum seekers were being admitted to the U.S. daily from Juarez. “It’s illegal to be turning these people away and making them wait.”
To the east, where Texas’ Rio Grande Valley borders the Mexican state of Tamaulipas, U.S. and Mexican immigration officials launched a joint campaign in September against cartel violence and corruption. But U.S. authorities delegated management of asylum seeker waiting lists to Mexican counterparts. The lists are not made public, and they are not monitored by U.S. officials, Customs and Border Protection said.
In Matamoros last week, officials from Grupos Beta, the humanitarian arm of Mexican immigration services, could be seen using the list to record the names of 80 asylum seekers. Two weeks before, the list contained 165 names, said migrants who saw it. It was unclear how many of those removed from the list had been allowed to cross. Mexican officials refused requests to review it.
Officials at Mexico’s National Institute of Migration office at the city’s new bridge declined to comment, as did the institute’s Grupos Beta Matamoros. Institute officials in Mexico City did not respond to requests for comment, including about extortion allegations.
U.S. Customs and Border Protection said it “processes undocumented persons as expeditiously as possible,” and denied it was involved in selecting who enters from the lists.
“Nationality has absolutely no bearing on the processing” of asylum seekers, and those on the lists are “processed on a first-come, first-serve basis,” the agency said.
The agency said it “does take into consideration persons with medical emergencies, unaccompanied alien children, the disabled, and gives priority as we can, bearing in mind the day-to-day availability of resources, case complexity, holding space, port volume and enforcement actions.”
Jessica Zamora, 18, of Havana, who is pregnant and seeking political asylum, eats a meal while camping alongside other immigrants in Matamoros. (Gary Coronado / Los Angeles Times)
Jessica Zamora, an 18-year-old Cuban who is seven months pregnant, was still waiting at the foot of the Matamoros bridge last week, more than 25 days after U.S. officials allowed her mother and 13-year-old brother across. The officials didn’t consider her part of the same family, Zamora said. Two other pregnant women were also waiting to cross.
“We wait here while others pass because we don’t have money,” Zamora said.
Mexican immigration officials in Matamoros said they try to limit the number of asylum seekers waiting at the new bridge to 10, ferrying the rest to a shelter across town, but the number swelled recently as migrants refused to leave, afraid of missing a chance to cross.
An additional 39 asylum seekers waited at the shelter, including some families stuck there for more than a month. Their temporary Mexican visas had expired, and they worried they could be deported.
“There are weeks they don’t call anyone” to cross, said asylum seeker Yoveni Torres, 37. His family left Nicaragua after being persecuted for joining the Catholic resistance to the country’s authoritarian government, he said. He was still waiting this week after a month at the shelter with his wife and three children.
Two dozen migrants from Central America, Cuba, Africa, Brazil, Colombia, Ethiopia, Mexico, Russia and Venezuela camped at the foot of the bridge last week without food, water or medical care beyond occasional visits by the Mexican Red Cross, even as temperatures dipped to freezing.
They said immigration officials had failed to secure the bridges, leaving them vulnerable to extortion. When they complained, Mexican immigration officials threatened to force them to leave, including when they were being interviewed by The Times.
“See how they talk to us? ‘Go’ like dogs,” said Yaneisi Jinarte, a teacher from Cuba.
Jinarte said she complained to U.S. immigration officials. Others said they had tried, but Mexican officials barred them from reaching the bridge’s midpoint.
Two other Cuban asylum seekers said Mexican immigration officials demanded they pay to cross the city’s older bridge this fall. They refused and were still waiting to cross last week.
Their claims were being investigated, according to the Mexican individual who requested anonymity. He said that immigrants are not supposed to cross on the older bridge, where their names are not added to the list, and that U.S. officials should stop allowing them to sneak onto the bridge and cross. U.S. Customs and Border Protection said it was up to Mexican officials to manage the flow of asylum seekers at the bridges.
Cuban asylum seeker Elvis Gonzalez Rodriguez said that when he arrived at the old bridge last week, a uniformed Mexican immigration official demanded he pay $1,000 to cross. Gonzalez, 23, refused, and the official made him leave. At the newer bridge, a backpack containing his passport and cash was stolen, he said. He returned to the old bridge and was forced off by Mexican immigration officials three more times.
“There’s a lot of corruption here. It’s the responsibility of Mexican officials to protect immigrants. I want to come the correct, legal way,” the electrician from Havana said as he sat on the old bridge again on Nov. 14, a few feet from two U.S. customs officers.
To read rest of story, click on link: https://www.latimes.com/nation/la-fg-asylum-list-border-2018-story.html
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GONE, JOSE MARTI'S MONUMENT, AND A PIECE OF OUR HEART
By Juan Montoya
They will never read some of the most moving passages written by Cuban-born Jose Marti, a dedicated intellectual leader of the revolution against the Spanish empire.
A monument to his struggle once stood in the park along Seventh Street for all to see. There were inscriptions on its white marble facade – passages of his poems – which spoke of man's highest ideals of freedom, struggle, and the noblest human values.
The monument was gift to the city by the local Cuban community. Now, after years of vandalism and negligence, the monument no longer stands there, only an empty spot.
I often walked by the Cuban community's tribute to this hero and read the quotes of his poems. Not only were they enlightening for their elegance and style, but also for the depth and breadth of content that showed Marti's love for his fellow men and freedom of the human race.
His writing was not one of hate, human enslavement, secession, or division. If anything, he spoke of men's yearning for freedom, self-determination and the uplifting of all.
I, for one, was grateful to them for presenting this elegant (and eloquent) monument to the city of Brownsville.
But a brutish element of our city opted to destroy, rather than build and vandalized their gift to us. This is the epitome of putting pearls before swine. It's a small consolation to know that others' gifts to our city have suffered the same fate. The willful damage doe to the paintings by art students on the Capitol Theater is but one example, as is the hateful graffiti on the walls around downtown.
When the Jefferson Davis Highway Memorial was defaced with red spray paint, the city moved to clean it up and remove the slogans someone painted on it. In the case of the monument to Marti, the city did nothing to repair it or to seek the perpetrators. Instead, it has been allowed to remain broken and in pieces, with its plaques missing. Marti's bust was a long time ago stolen and never replaced.
Now, even what was left is gone.
This is a curious and instructive contrast.
In Marti's case, the monument honors a man's struggle – and his martyrdom – to free an entire people from the oppression of a colonial power. It belonged in Washington Park with the monuments to George Washington and Padre Miguel Hidalgo y Costilla, men who struggled to overthrow the yoke of oppression on their people from the colonial powers that were.
In the Davis memorial, it honors a man who was the president of a breakaway group which battled, committed treason against their homeland, killed their brothers, and died trying to maintain their way of life (they call it heritage) of which enslaving black people – our brothers – and keeping them as property was a cornerstone.
Our moral compass seems to have gone awry a bit here.
One can't really blame the Cuban community's wish to remove their gift to our city to a place where it would be more appreciated, like the Brownsville Country Club, for example. But the loss is that it will no longer be in a central forum of the city to instruct our fellow citizens that men were willing to die for a people to be free.
This is a curious and instructive contrast.
In Marti's case, the monument honors a man's struggle – and his martyrdom – to free an entire people from the oppression of a colonial power. It belonged in Washington Park with the monuments to George Washington and Padre Miguel Hidalgo y Costilla, men who struggled to overthrow the yoke of oppression on their people from the colonial powers that were.
In the Davis memorial, it honors a man who was the president of a breakaway group which battled, committed treason against their homeland, killed their brothers, and died trying to maintain their way of life (they call it heritage) of which enslaving black people – our brothers – and keeping them as property was a cornerstone.
Our moral compass seems to have gone awry a bit here.
One can't really blame the Cuban community's wish to remove their gift to our city to a place where it would be more appreciated, like the Brownsville Country Club, for example. But the loss is that it will no longer be in a central forum of the city to instruct our fellow citizens that men were willing to die for a people to be free.
Instead, our city and its leaders continue to provide a soapbox for neo-confederates to glorify a man who fought to keep other people enslaved.
There's an empty spot not only in Washington Park, but in our city's heart as well.
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BOWSER ALERT: DOES YOUR NEIGHBOR HAVE A NEW HUSKY?
Special to El RrunRrun
That adorable husky above is missing and its owner suspects someone stole him. He is now asking for the public's help to find his pet. The dog was stolen from the Land-O-Lakes area November 18th. If you feel that you have seen him, please report to police or call 956-572-8172. It is more than a pet to its owner and those of you who have one will understand him wanting to have him back. Please help if you can.
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WHY EXACTLY WAS IT CALLED THE NEGRO BRIDGE?
(Ed.'s Note: Please excuse the use of the offensive "N" word, but the fact is that the terms was widely used here in the past. However, we have also heard that 1.) Black workers built the bridge, 2) that black soldiers camped here, 3) that black soldiers were hung there, and a myriad of other versions of how it got its name.
In the postscript by Schmelling above (click on graphic to enlarge), he gives lie to those versions and says the reference to blacks was the fact that when local Mexican workers were building it, they came in contact with black loam dirt and that they appeared to be black. Which version do you believe?
For a deeper treatment on the subject, see Bronsbil Estacion Javier Garcia's post at http://bronsbilestacion.blogspot.com/2015/08/legends-and-myths-from-nigger-bridge.html from which we took these graphics.)
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