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LOOKING EAST ON ADAMS AS THE COLD FRONT GETS HERE
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UNAWARE OF SCIENCE: TARANTUALAS VERSUS CHUPAHUESOS
By Juan Montoya
Rainy days like today sometimes take me back to when I was a boy attending Cromack Elementary.
We used to live literally on the other side of the railroad tracks (now gone) north of the old Lopez Supermarket where the new Melrose shopping center is going up. Today, there's a police substation across from Southmost Road from the spot I'm remembering.
In those days (1964?), there was no Lopez, no police substation. Nor was there the water tower soon to be torn down. In fact, there was only the old Ruenes Drive-In and an overgrown empty lot across Southmost that stretched out to the railroad (now abandoned), where the numbered streets (28th, 29th, 30th) continued after the interruption by the empty lot and railway grade.
We used to walk from our house on the north side of the railroad, through paths across the large empty lot, cross Southmost, and to Cromack. The subdivision where we lived was noteworthy because all the roofing was blue, so they were called las casas azules.
Joe Hinojosa (hey, coach!) used to live there as did the Walkers, the Zamarripas (Betin), Raul Salinas (ROTC), and Tony Rocha (Peca's son). When it rained, we would sometimes come across large tarantulas that crawled out of their flooded holes and onto the path. They were terrifying, some black, some with orange tints, others almost yellow. We would, of course, throw stones or dirt clods at them and kill them or scare them away.
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But soon, we noticed that large bluish, almost black wasps with rust colored wings would sometimes tangle with the tarantulas and were marveled that such a small wasp could take on and dominate the large scary spiders. We called them chupahuesos to indicate their lethal power.
Soon, as kids are wont to do, we developed a game to make them fight.
One of us (I don't remember who) got a clear glass container with a lid and used a branch to knock down one of the fearsome wasps and trapped it in the jar. Then we looked for a tarantula hole, opened the jar and turned it upside down to let the wasp crawl out and go into the hole. It didn't take long for the confrontation inside the hole to occur. Within minutes, the wasp would emerge dragging the comatose tarantula with it. We, of course, were thrilled and did it over and over until we grew tired of the game and went on to other things.
What we didn't know at the time was that the wasp going after the spider in the hole was as natural as mosquitoes biting you in the South Texas evenings. Much much later, while browsing through some book I got from a thrift store, I came upon an article that described the relationship between the wasp (called a digger wasp, of the genus Pepsis, not a chupahuesos) and tarantulas.
Alexander Petrunkevitch wrote in 1952 in an article called "The Spider and the Wasp" exactly why it was that this particular wasps hunted these particular tarantulas. Petrunkevitch in his article describes the natural relationship between these two insects. The digger wasp seeks only a particular species of tarantula (not all wasps seek the same species of tarantula) when it is time for her to lay her eggs (it is only female wasps that do this).
The wasp seeks the specific tarantula, goes into its hole and after inspecting it thoroughly make sure it's the right kind of spider, digs a hole (grave) while the spider stands nearby watching, and then seeks the soft spot where her leg joins her abdomen to pierce it with its stinger. Once it succeeds and the poison renders it immobile, the digger wasp drags it to the grave hole, lays one of her eggs and attaches it to the spider with a sticky secretion and then covers it up and tramples the ground to keep out prowlers.
The eggs hatches, the larvae lives off the spider (which is not dead, but immobile) until all that remains is the skeletal remains and her descendant gets safely started in life.
As kids, we had no idea of the natural relationship between the chupahuesos and the tarantula. We though it was great sport to watch the little wasp go against the big spider. In our ignorance, we made them fight, unaware that we were merely mimicking a relationship going back into the mists of millenia.
Rainy days like today sometimes take me back to when I was a boy attending Cromack Elementary.
We used to live literally on the other side of the railroad tracks (now gone) north of the old Lopez Supermarket where the new Melrose shopping center is going up. Today, there's a police substation across from Southmost Road from the spot I'm remembering.
In those days (1964?), there was no Lopez, no police substation. Nor was there the water tower soon to be torn down. In fact, there was only the old Ruenes Drive-In and an overgrown empty lot across Southmost that stretched out to the railroad (now abandoned), where the numbered streets (28th, 29th, 30th) continued after the interruption by the empty lot and railway grade.
We used to walk from our house on the north side of the railroad, through paths across the large empty lot, cross Southmost, and to Cromack. The subdivision where we lived was noteworthy because all the roofing was blue, so they were called las casas azules.
Joe Hinojosa (hey, coach!) used to live there as did the Walkers, the Zamarripas (Betin), Raul Salinas (ROTC), and Tony Rocha (Peca's son). When it rained, we would sometimes come across large tarantulas that crawled out of their flooded holes and onto the path. They were terrifying, some black, some with orange tints, others almost yellow. We would, of course, throw stones or dirt clods at them and kill them or scare them away.
But soon, we noticed that large bluish, almost black wasps with rust colored wings would sometimes tangle with the tarantulas and were marveled that such a small wasp could take on and dominate the large scary spiders. We called them chupahuesos to indicate their lethal power.
Soon, as kids are wont to do, we developed a game to make them fight.
One of us (I don't remember who) got a clear glass container with a lid and used a branch to knock down one of the fearsome wasps and trapped it in the jar. Then we looked for a tarantula hole, opened the jar and turned it upside down to let the wasp crawl out and go into the hole. It didn't take long for the confrontation inside the hole to occur. Within minutes, the wasp would emerge dragging the comatose tarantula with it. We, of course, were thrilled and did it over and over until we grew tired of the game and went on to other things.
What we didn't know at the time was that the wasp going after the spider in the hole was as natural as mosquitoes biting you in the South Texas evenings. Much much later, while browsing through some book I got from a thrift store, I came upon an article that described the relationship between the wasp (called a digger wasp, of the genus Pepsis, not a chupahuesos) and tarantulas.
Alexander Petrunkevitch wrote in 1952 in an article called "The Spider and the Wasp" exactly why it was that this particular wasps hunted these particular tarantulas. Petrunkevitch in his article describes the natural relationship between these two insects. The digger wasp seeks only a particular species of tarantula (not all wasps seek the same species of tarantula) when it is time for her to lay her eggs (it is only female wasps that do this).
The wasp seeks the specific tarantula, goes into its hole and after inspecting it thoroughly make sure it's the right kind of spider, digs a hole (grave) while the spider stands nearby watching, and then seeks the soft spot where her leg joins her abdomen to pierce it with its stinger. Once it succeeds and the poison renders it immobile, the digger wasp drags it to the grave hole, lays one of her eggs and attaches it to the spider with a sticky secretion and then covers it up and tramples the ground to keep out prowlers.
The eggs hatches, the larvae lives off the spider (which is not dead, but immobile) until all that remains is the skeletal remains and her descendant gets safely started in life.
As kids, we had no idea of the natural relationship between the chupahuesos and the tarantula. We though it was great sport to watch the little wasp go against the big spider. In our ignorance, we made them fight, unaware that we were merely mimicking a relationship going back into the mists of millenia.
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POBRECITO AGAPITO: SE SONABA,Y SE LO SONARON...
Pobrecito Agapito
He had no out
From "La Popu" de Mata
Su Colonia Popular
'Xcept for a little motita now and then,
His wife told El Bravo
He'd go for a mota break
En el montecito
To puff on his toquesito
Y así se distraía
De lo que vivía
Todos los dias
En "La Popu"
De lo que vivía
Todos los dias
En "La Popu"
Hacía lo mismo el domingo
Cuando salió de su house
Con su chaqüequito
En el montecito
En el montecito
En eso pasó la marina
Y lo devisó
Escondiendose en el monte
Y le dispararon...
Y lo mataron
Pobre Agapito
Se sonó y
Se lo sonaron
En "La Popu"...
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CBS MONEYWATCH: HARLINGEN CHEAPEST PLACE TO LIVE
By CBS MoneyWatch
Harlingen, TexasAs the tough economic times continue in the U.S., many people are looking to cut down on their expenses by moving to more affordable cities and towns.
But where to go?
The Council for Community and Economic Research, a nonprofit group that provides information on local economic trends, recently compared the cost of living in 306 urban areas in the U.S. Based on the price of housing, utilities, grocery items, transportation, health care, and miscellaneous goods and services, here is a look at the least expensive cities around the country to live in.
The town with the nation's lowest cost of living is Harlingen, Texas, located in the state's southernmost tip and with a population of 74,950.
The town with the nation's lowest cost of living is Harlingen, Texas, located in the state's southernmost tip and with a population of 74,950.
The after-tax cost to maintain a standard of living enjoyed by the average company manager or other professional is roughly 17 percent lower than the national average.
A pound of ground beef in Harlingen costs $2.35, compared with $3.30 nationally as of January, while a night out at the movies will run you $9. The average price of a home is $229,558.(Now, that guy using the bus shelter in Brownsville as his personal domicile might argue with MoneyWatch on having his city left out.)
Coming in third is:
McAllen, TexasThe average cost of a home in McAllen, Texas, the third-least expensive community in the country, is $178,000, while a two-bedroom/two-bath apartment rents for $708.
The cost of living in McAllen, population of 130,831, is 16.2 percent cheaper than the national average.
To see which cities made the Top 10, click on link below:
https://www.cbsnews.com/pictures/10-cheapest-places-to-live-in-the-us/
To see which cities made the Top 10, click on link below:
https://www.cbsnews.com/pictures/10-cheapest-places-to-live-in-the-us/
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BISD WON'T RELEASE GRAFIK SPOT INFO, CITES INVESTIGATION
By Juan Montoya
We are in receipt now of the Brownsville Independent School District objection to our information request on payments made to Grafik Spot over the past five years.
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After hearing continuing rumors that it was at the heart of an investigation by federal agencies overseeing funds for Food and Nutrition Services by local school districts, investigators said they found suspicious activity apart from the spoiled barbacoa purchased from the McAllen-based company Valco, which has since gone out of business.
That company came under scrutiny when cafeteria managers detected a large batch of the Mexican-processed meat that had spoiled. Only the timely intervention by alert cafeteria managers stopped the food from being fed to students.
In the case of the USDA investigation into Valco, the department director – the late Silverio Capsitran – was scheduled to meet with federal agents the morning after he was found with a bullet in his head sitting in his pickup truck in the parking lot of his apartment.
"(We were) scheduled to meet with Mr. Capistran the morning after," said one. "It was the school district who called (us) at 6:30 a.m. to let (us) know what happened."
"The FBI and Texas Rangers eventually took over the whole investigation," they confirmed. "(We) would assume one of them probably has (Capistran's) phone."
Relatives say that the phone contained detailed specifics about the dealings Capistran had within the department and that he kept a ledger of the outside business he was conducting in association with "investors" into the barbacoa meat and the cafeteria-oriented purchases with vendors.
That apparently included other cases of fraud such as shorting cases of produce like tomatoes by having the district pay for crates labeled as containing 25 pounds when they weighed 15 pounds instead. The "profits" on the extra non-existing 10 pounds were then split among the "investors."
The same happened when the "investors" purchased containers full of backpacks to be handed out to students, cafeteria tray liners, cardboard containers for chinese food, etc.
But agents looking into the BISD's district's relationship with Valco also uncovered other irregularities in their purchases fro other vendors, including Brownsville's Grafik Spot.
"(Our) role in the investigation (the USDA's) was solely on the meat product from Valco," said the source. "As the investigation went on (we) quickly realized there was a lot more going on than just meat from Mexico. The meat product was the least of their worries. The evidence was turned over to the FBI."
The district's appeal to the Texas Attorney General's Office says it is taxing exception to El Rrun-Rrun's because the information requested "Is part of a multi-agency investigation by several law-enforcement offices including the Brownsville Independent School District. The law-enforcement agencies are investigating potential criminal activity."
It cites Texas Government Code Section 552.105 which deals with "Law Enforcement, Corrections and Prosecutorial Information."
"As stated previously, the District's Police Force along with other State and Federal law enforcement agencies are investigating suspected criminal activity. The requested information is part of the criminal investigation. At this time, the investigation remains active by the BISD Police Department and the various law enforcement agencies.
The information made the subject of this request is part of the investigation and we believe are privileged and excepted from disclosure under the section of the Act."
We are in receipt now of the Brownsville Independent School District objection to our information request on payments made to Grafik Spot over the past five years.
After hearing continuing rumors that it was at the heart of an investigation by federal agencies overseeing funds for Food and Nutrition Services by local school districts, investigators said they found suspicious activity apart from the spoiled barbacoa purchased from the McAllen-based company Valco, which has since gone out of business.That company came under scrutiny when cafeteria managers detected a large batch of the Mexican-processed meat that had spoiled. Only the timely intervention by alert cafeteria managers stopped the food from being fed to students.
In the case of the USDA investigation into Valco, the department director – the late Silverio Capsitran – was scheduled to meet with federal agents the morning after he was found with a bullet in his head sitting in his pickup truck in the parking lot of his apartment.
"(We were) scheduled to meet with Mr. Capistran the morning after," said one. "It was the school district who called (us) at 6:30 a.m. to let (us) know what happened."
"The FBI and Texas Rangers eventually took over the whole investigation," they confirmed. "(We) would assume one of them probably has (Capistran's) phone."
Relatives say that the phone contained detailed specifics about the dealings Capistran had within the department and that he kept a ledger of the outside business he was conducting in association with "investors" into the barbacoa meat and the cafeteria-oriented purchases with vendors.
That apparently included other cases of fraud such as shorting cases of produce like tomatoes by having the district pay for crates labeled as containing 25 pounds when they weighed 15 pounds instead. The "profits" on the extra non-existing 10 pounds were then split among the "investors."
The same happened when the "investors" purchased containers full of backpacks to be handed out to students, cafeteria tray liners, cardboard containers for chinese food, etc.
But agents looking into the BISD's district's relationship with Valco also uncovered other irregularities in their purchases fro other vendors, including Brownsville's Grafik Spot.
"(Our) role in the investigation (the USDA's) was solely on the meat product from Valco," said the source. "As the investigation went on (we) quickly realized there was a lot more going on than just meat from Mexico. The meat product was the least of their worries. The evidence was turned over to the FBI."
The district's appeal to the Texas Attorney General's Office says it is taxing exception to El Rrun-Rrun's because the information requested "Is part of a multi-agency investigation by several law-enforcement offices including the Brownsville Independent School District. The law-enforcement agencies are investigating potential criminal activity."
It cites Texas Government Code Section 552.105 which deals with "Law Enforcement, Corrections and Prosecutorial Information."
"As stated previously, the District's Police Force along with other State and Federal law enforcement agencies are investigating suspected criminal activity. The requested information is part of the criminal investigation. At this time, the investigation remains active by the BISD Police Department and the various law enforcement agencies.
The information made the subject of this request is part of the investigation and we believe are privileged and excepted from disclosure under the section of the Act."
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MCHALE-SCULLY: ELIZONDO WILL CHALLENGE TETREAU AT COB
By Dr. G.F. McHale-Scully
![Image result for carlos elizondo, BISD]()
"That would be an impeachable offense," laughs a BISD watchdog. "She would lose her credibility if she backed him with all the skeletons in his closet. He has always put his wife, a BISD counselor, and his children ahead of BISD students. And he backstabbed his fellow firefighters in order to briefly reign as chief before greed and arrogance brought him down.
"Trustee Phil Cowen is risking his integrity as part of his bromance with this Matamoros product whose shady past has benighted his future. Cowen, a straight arrow in the tradition of his much-loved family, doesn't seem to understand that Elizondo, who is thin-skinned and burdened with a Trump temperament when criticized, precipitated his own downfall.
"Rather than hugging the trunk, he started to climb the tree crazed with an overweening ambition. He went from branch to limb to twig until grasping for the highest leaf he came crashing back to earth. Like a true loser, he blames everyone but himself. He went from a plump nice guy to a skinny bad guy."
With the contemptuous Ernie Hernandez, a poster child for Brownsville corruption, returning to politics as a rumored candidate for the Port of Brownsville, Elizondo reportedly wants to challenge City Commissioner Jessica Tetreau for her seat next May.
In her reelection bid in 2015 against businessman Sergio Zarate, the incumbent apparently convinced Elizondo to break with the majority of the firefighters and support her. The pathetic macho complained that Zarate had hurt his feelings by refusing to give him his unconditional support.
"Elizondo must be angry that Tetreau didn't pay her debt to him when he was being demoted from fire chief to janitor before he was suspended and finally terminated," says Scott Steinbeck, The McHale Report's managing editor. "He must think he is making a cameo appearance in the Netflix series Narcos and it's time to collect his pound of flesh.
"Elizondo has been humbled and humiliated. He groveled at the feet of those who could further his career and stepped on others in his quest for power. He is done. He is cooked. He stinks worse than the barbacoa the BISD once wanted to shovel down the mouths of its hungry kids in order to make sure an insider pocketed his kickback. I never thought I would vote for Jessica, but in this mano-a-mano she is a dandelion and Carlos is dung."
As we have mentioned in the past, Brownsville Independent School District Trustee Carlos Elizondo is a bully.
Is he trying to intimidate Superintendent Dr. Esperanza Zendejas into supporting him for board president?
"That would be an impeachable offense," laughs a BISD watchdog. "She would lose her credibility if she backed him with all the skeletons in his closet. He has always put his wife, a BISD counselor, and his children ahead of BISD students. And he backstabbed his fellow firefighters in order to briefly reign as chief before greed and arrogance brought him down."Trustee Phil Cowen is risking his integrity as part of his bromance with this Matamoros product whose shady past has benighted his future. Cowen, a straight arrow in the tradition of his much-loved family, doesn't seem to understand that Elizondo, who is thin-skinned and burdened with a Trump temperament when criticized, precipitated his own downfall.
"Rather than hugging the trunk, he started to climb the tree crazed with an overweening ambition. He went from branch to limb to twig until grasping for the highest leaf he came crashing back to earth. Like a true loser, he blames everyone but himself. He went from a plump nice guy to a skinny bad guy."
With the contemptuous Ernie Hernandez, a poster child for Brownsville corruption, returning to politics as a rumored candidate for the Port of Brownsville, Elizondo reportedly wants to challenge City Commissioner Jessica Tetreau for her seat next May.
In her reelection bid in 2015 against businessman Sergio Zarate, the incumbent apparently convinced Elizondo to break with the majority of the firefighters and support her. The pathetic macho complained that Zarate had hurt his feelings by refusing to give him his unconditional support.
"Elizondo must be angry that Tetreau didn't pay her debt to him when he was being demoted from fire chief to janitor before he was suspended and finally terminated," says Scott Steinbeck, The McHale Report's managing editor. "He must think he is making a cameo appearance in the Netflix series Narcos and it's time to collect his pound of flesh.
"Elizondo has been humbled and humiliated. He groveled at the feet of those who could further his career and stepped on others in his quest for power. He is done. He is cooked. He stinks worse than the barbacoa the BISD once wanted to shovel down the mouths of its hungry kids in order to make sure an insider pocketed his kickback. I never thought I would vote for Jessica, but in this mano-a-mano she is a dandelion and Carlos is dung."
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TETREAU BACK FROM DEAD: JUBILANT BROWNTOWN REJOICES
As can clearly be seen on the Facebook post at right, the city can breath a sigh of relief that City of Brownsville commissioner has mastered the ability to eat and inhale at the same time.
Facing death, Super Jess was – according to her – "about to die and making peace with it..."
And that darn Art was too busy listening to Donald Trump making America with the State of the Union great again and ran her out the room until – she said – he finally realized she was in real trouble and applied the maneuver to clear her airway.
With foam shooting out of her mouth, she said she could breathe again and thanked her husband for saving her life.
Is it just us or does the commissioner seem to have a propensity for cyber drama. We have been treated to all kinds of her personal melodramas from her in so many instances that it has become a continuing soap opera, starting with the unseemly family violence acts early in her tenure as commissioner.
If she and her business is not getting hauled into court to pay their workers a fair wage, she is flaunting her new diamond rings or Tesla cars. If she is not getting ogled at by perverts downtown, she is submitting affidavits to cancel a non-vote on a GBIC nominee only to cave in at a later meeting and voted unanimously for Nurith Galonsky.
Then there are the images of her in a SpaceX-motif outfit to lure Elon Musk to take his $25 million in subsidies. The launches were scheduled to start in 2013. We're in 2018, and none of the 600 jobs of $55,000 each that Musk promised have materialized. Ditto for the $325 million Tenaska plant that was supposed to be finished in the summer of 2017.
But so far, we have seen no action on these from the comish. Come to think about it, it does have a similarity to her choking episode above.
It's anyone's guess what the new drama will make her Facebook posts tomorrow or the day after. For now, we welcome Jess back from the Great Beyond just in time to allow Art to hear Trump finish his speech.
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LIES TEACHERS TOLD US: TEXAS RANGERS WEREN'T COWARDS
By Juan Montoya
“The Texas Rangers have historically been the bravest and most courageous fighters in Texas.”
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Everyone is familiar with the braggadocio associated with the Texas Rangers. They like to repeat the “One Riot, One Ranger” myth to show their toughness.
But not everyone is familiar with their real performance under fire.
Without resorting to pedantic academic book reviews, let’s just take a local example of their daring-do to illustrate the lies behind the Ranger myth.
Everyone knows that among their legendary feats was their running battle with local bad boy Juan Nepomuceno (Señor to you, Mister) Cortina. Cheno has been a much-maligned historical character by Texas historians. He has been called everything from a border bandit, a horse thief, and even the “Red Rogue of the Rio Grande.” Those guys can turn a phrase, can’t they?
Cortina confronted crooked businessmen and land thieves under the protection of recently-arrived government officials and the U.S. military. He rallied the local populace to battle those he saw as “vampires under the guise of men” who were quickly dispossessing the Mexican-(Americans) of their land.
Inevitably, these individuals appealed to state authorities and the governor sent the Rangers to quell the disturbances. Along the way they perpetrated outrages against local Mexicans and outright murdered innocent people to protect these crooked individuals.
But let’s not take these Mexicans’ word for it. Why not take the impartial account of a West Point graduate sent here by the U.S. Government at the request of the state to end the![]()
Cortina Wars?
Major Samuel Peter Heintzelman was sent to the border by the U.S. Army after
Cortina took over Brownsville on September 1859 and later laid siege to the town to settle scores with certain leading men he saw as enemies of his people.
Heintzelman kept a diary of his tour here and provides us with enlightening observations of the performance of the Texas Rangers under fire after they were attached to his unit to help him with Cortina. The excerpts below come directly from his book “Fifty Miles and a Fight.”
“Some 100 Rangers started out for Cortina’s camp,” he wrote Dec. 11, 1859. “They went out until they met the pickets and then after being fired upon, turned and came home. It is reported that one man had his gun shot out of his hand and then with a bullet through his hat.”
“I cannot get the Rangers to do anything effective in the way of scouting,” Heintzelman wrote Dec. 13, 1859, in page 138 of the book.
Then, several days later, while in hot pursuit of Cortina on Dec. 16, he wrote: “I halted and went near as proper with a small party and then tried to have the ground reconnoitered. With much delay I got a small party of Rangers, but they did not wish to move until daylight. The Rangers were not quite confident and held back, until I rode ahead and being joined by several officers we rode into the works and found them to be abandoned.”
That same day, Heintzelman wrote: “We passed on two miles or more. I all the time tried to keep the Rangers in advance and on the flanking, but with poor success.”
On page 139, the Major again comments on the brave Texans: “We entered a dense chaparral of ebony in what is called ‘El Ebonal.’ Here I dismounted most of the Rangers with orders to flank through the bushes. With the guns and wagons we passed slowly up the road. We soon left the Rangers behind.”
“A few of the enemy fled to the Rio Grande and crossed. The balance with their gun went up the road. Here the Rangers had an admirable opportunity for capturing the gun, but within 40 yards stopped and dismounted. The guns with the two horses and mules soon ran off.”
On page 141, Heintzelman again reported: “I am mystified at the little we have done with the near 300 men. It’s very mystifying to us, but no doubt it has had a depressing effect on the enemy. We would undoubtedly have done better without the Rangers.”
Again and again the![]()
professional soldier complains about the unscrupulousness and vindictiveness of the brutal Rangers.
On page 143, he writes: “On Cortina’s rancho there was a heavy fence that made an excellent cover for the enemy. I had that burned but strictly forbade burning anything without my express order. This is setting a very bad example to Cortina and the Rangers were burning all friends and foes.”
Heintzelman pointedly signals out Ranger William Tobin as one of the least effective and most brutal members of the Ranger commanders. He said: “Captain Tobin got in from Point Isabel this afternoon. Some of his men or stragglers hung a poor Mexican man. Tobin says he knew nothing about it and that it was done without his orders or knowledge. It will have a very bad effect.”
Tobin was in direct competition with John “Rip” Ford for command of the divided Ranger force.
Heintzelman refers to this by saying: “The Rangers are holding an election today for Major. William Tobin says if he is not elected, he will resign. If he doesn’t keep better order or do something I will write to the Governor and have the Rangers recalled. They are doing no service and bring only disservice to the country.”
Mythbuster:
The few times Texas Rangers have shown any of that legendary courage has been when their enemy was helpless and preferably unarmed. Professional soldiers like Zachary Taylor and Winfield Scott looked down upon them as undisciplined, cowardly criminals who murdered unarmed civilians for no apparent reason other than for the fact that they were Mexicans.
“The Texas Rangers have historically been the bravest and most courageous fighters in Texas.”
Everyone is familiar with the braggadocio associated with the Texas Rangers. They like to repeat the “One Riot, One Ranger” myth to show their toughness.
But not everyone is familiar with their real performance under fire.
Without resorting to pedantic academic book reviews, let’s just take a local example of their daring-do to illustrate the lies behind the Ranger myth.
Everyone knows that among their legendary feats was their running battle with local bad boy Juan Nepomuceno (Señor to you, Mister) Cortina. Cheno has been a much-maligned historical character by Texas historians. He has been called everything from a border bandit, a horse thief, and even the “Red Rogue of the Rio Grande.” Those guys can turn a phrase, can’t they?
Cortina confronted crooked businessmen and land thieves under the protection of recently-arrived government officials and the U.S. military. He rallied the local populace to battle those he saw as “vampires under the guise of men” who were quickly dispossessing the Mexican-(Americans) of their land.
Inevitably, these individuals appealed to state authorities and the governor sent the Rangers to quell the disturbances. Along the way they perpetrated outrages against local Mexicans and outright murdered innocent people to protect these crooked individuals.
But let’s not take these Mexicans’ word for it. Why not take the impartial account of a West Point graduate sent here by the U.S. Government at the request of the state to end the
Cortina Wars?Major Samuel Peter Heintzelman was sent to the border by the U.S. Army after
Cortina took over Brownsville on September 1859 and later laid siege to the town to settle scores with certain leading men he saw as enemies of his people.
Heintzelman kept a diary of his tour here and provides us with enlightening observations of the performance of the Texas Rangers under fire after they were attached to his unit to help him with Cortina. The excerpts below come directly from his book “Fifty Miles and a Fight.”
“Some 100 Rangers started out for Cortina’s camp,” he wrote Dec. 11, 1859. “They went out until they met the pickets and then after being fired upon, turned and came home. It is reported that one man had his gun shot out of his hand and then with a bullet through his hat.”
“I cannot get the Rangers to do anything effective in the way of scouting,” Heintzelman wrote Dec. 13, 1859, in page 138 of the book.
Then, several days later, while in hot pursuit of Cortina on Dec. 16, he wrote: “I halted and went near as proper with a small party and then tried to have the ground reconnoitered. With much delay I got a small party of Rangers, but they did not wish to move until daylight. The Rangers were not quite confident and held back, until I rode ahead and being joined by several officers we rode into the works and found them to be abandoned.”
That same day, Heintzelman wrote: “We passed on two miles or more. I all the time tried to keep the Rangers in advance and on the flanking, but with poor success.”
On page 139, the Major again comments on the brave Texans: “We entered a dense chaparral of ebony in what is called ‘El Ebonal.’ Here I dismounted most of the Rangers with orders to flank through the bushes. With the guns and wagons we passed slowly up the road. We soon left the Rangers behind.”
“A few of the enemy fled to the Rio Grande and crossed. The balance with their gun went up the road. Here the Rangers had an admirable opportunity for capturing the gun, but within 40 yards stopped and dismounted. The guns with the two horses and mules soon ran off.”
On page 141, Heintzelman again reported: “I am mystified at the little we have done with the near 300 men. It’s very mystifying to us, but no doubt it has had a depressing effect on the enemy. We would undoubtedly have done better without the Rangers.”
Again and again the
professional soldier complains about the unscrupulousness and vindictiveness of the brutal Rangers.On page 143, he writes: “On Cortina’s rancho there was a heavy fence that made an excellent cover for the enemy. I had that burned but strictly forbade burning anything without my express order. This is setting a very bad example to Cortina and the Rangers were burning all friends and foes.”
Heintzelman pointedly signals out Ranger William Tobin as one of the least effective and most brutal members of the Ranger commanders. He said: “Captain Tobin got in from Point Isabel this afternoon. Some of his men or stragglers hung a poor Mexican man. Tobin says he knew nothing about it and that it was done without his orders or knowledge. It will have a very bad effect.”
Tobin was in direct competition with John “Rip” Ford for command of the divided Ranger force.
Heintzelman refers to this by saying: “The Rangers are holding an election today for Major. William Tobin says if he is not elected, he will resign. If he doesn’t keep better order or do something I will write to the Governor and have the Rangers recalled. They are doing no service and bring only disservice to the country.”
Mythbuster:
The few times Texas Rangers have shown any of that legendary courage has been when their enemy was helpless and preferably unarmed. Professional soldiers like Zachary Taylor and Winfield Scott looked down upon them as undisciplined, cowardly criminals who murdered unarmed civilians for no apparent reason other than for the fact that they were Mexicans.
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CABOOSE IN LINEAR PARK NO LONGER DEDICATED TO MR. B?
By Juan Montoya
When Raul Besteiro died, his casket was carried aboard a two-engine convoy of locomotives that belonged to the Brownsville Rio Grande Railway that has its depot at the Port of Brownsville.
Local wags say the engines labored with their load.
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"Mr. B," a big railroad guy, was hired as port director partly because of his love for Lionel model trains and the intricate toy railroad he kept in his playroom. He was once featured in a Sunday front-page article in the Brownsville Herald playing with his trains just before he was named port director after he had retired as the superintendent of the Brownsville Independent School District. He even had a traditional striped train engineer's cap on while he played.
Apparently, the port trustees were so impressed with the deft skills he exhibited with the toy track that he was the natural choice to run the shipping port with its Brownsville Rio Grande Railroad. Go figure.
Just after he and Solomon Ortiz were pictured on the front page of the New York Times tallying votes and pushing for the North America Free Trade Agreement in Washington, the Bridge to Nowhere $21 million scandal broke out and Mr. B's fortunes dropped like the money did into Dannenbaum's Engineering in Houston pockets through transfers to money exchange houses in Mexico.
Anyway, after his death, the linear park on the old abandoned railroad right-of-way was established and a red caboose with the lettering "In Memory of Mr. B, Raul Besteiro" was placed next to the Brownsville Museum of Art.
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For years, the wicked and idle tongues in and around the city have been wagging saying to anyone within earshot that Mr. B is buried in a mausoleum inside the red caboose.
A friend of mine and I were speaking to the point on one of those Farmers' Market days (a Saturday morning) and a passerby overheard us. It turned out that the guy eavesdropping on our idle chatter was none other than a training engineer at the port who disabused us of the idea that Raul was entombed in the little red caboose.
Well, now that the caboose has been sandblasted and painted anew, the reference to Mr. B is no longer stenciled on the side of the wagon. It's been close to a month that the caboose was sand blasted and painted, and still no reference to the former port director.
Is the memorial to the former BISD superintendent and port director now a thing of the past or has it just slipped through the cracks?
When Raul Besteiro died, his casket was carried aboard a two-engine convoy of locomotives that belonged to the Brownsville Rio Grande Railway that has its depot at the Port of Brownsville.
Local wags say the engines labored with their load.
"Mr. B," a big railroad guy, was hired as port director partly because of his love for Lionel model trains and the intricate toy railroad he kept in his playroom. He was once featured in a Sunday front-page article in the Brownsville Herald playing with his trains just before he was named port director after he had retired as the superintendent of the Brownsville Independent School District. He even had a traditional striped train engineer's cap on while he played.
Apparently, the port trustees were so impressed with the deft skills he exhibited with the toy track that he was the natural choice to run the shipping port with its Brownsville Rio Grande Railroad. Go figure.
Just after he and Solomon Ortiz were pictured on the front page of the New York Times tallying votes and pushing for the North America Free Trade Agreement in Washington, the Bridge to Nowhere $21 million scandal broke out and Mr. B's fortunes dropped like the money did into Dannenbaum's Engineering in Houston pockets through transfers to money exchange houses in Mexico.
Anyway, after his death, the linear park on the old abandoned railroad right-of-way was established and a red caboose with the lettering "In Memory of Mr. B, Raul Besteiro" was placed next to the Brownsville Museum of Art.
For years, the wicked and idle tongues in and around the city have been wagging saying to anyone within earshot that Mr. B is buried in a mausoleum inside the red caboose.
A friend of mine and I were speaking to the point on one of those Farmers' Market days (a Saturday morning) and a passerby overheard us. It turned out that the guy eavesdropping on our idle chatter was none other than a training engineer at the port who disabused us of the idea that Raul was entombed in the little red caboose.
Well, now that the caboose has been sandblasted and painted anew, the reference to Mr. B is no longer stenciled on the side of the wagon. It's been close to a month that the caboose was sand blasted and painted, and still no reference to the former port director.
Is the memorial to the former BISD superintendent and port director now a thing of the past or has it just slipped through the cracks?
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LUNATICS CONVERGE ON COUNTY'S RUCKER-CARRIZALES CLINK
The lunatic is in my head
You raise the blade, you make the change
You re-arrange me 'til I'm sane.
You lock the door
And throw away the key
There's someone in my head but it's not me...
"Brain Damage"...Pink Floyd
Special to El Rrun-Rrun
This morning, the magistrate's office at the Cameron County Rucker-Carrizales Correction Facility in Olmito had a full house.
Awaiting the arrival of the magistrate, the staff was surprised to see the number of accused waiting to get their bonds set.
"There were 19 of them arrested last night," said an office staffer. "That's a record."
Was it a quirk? Or was it a sign, as the court staffer suggested that "the lunatics" were out last night?
Remember that it was last night and this morning that the planet has experience the rare convergence of the triple events – full moon, Super Blue moon, and lunar eclipse. Not since Andrew Johnson was President, the second dome on the U.S. Capitol was completed and Jesse James completed his first robbery will the skies experience an event like this.
Now what prompted James to begin his life of crime? Surely it was not the moon. Or was it?
The next rare super blue blood moon won't happen until 2037, so we'll know by then if we're still around.
The next rare super blue blood moon won't happen until 2037, so we'll know by then if we're still around.
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THE POWER TO TAX, AND GOUGE, IS THE POWER TO...
(Ed.'s Note: The house was full over at Tony Yzaguirre's Cameron County Tax-Assessor-Collector Office on the last day to pay taxes before penalties set in. More than one complained about the $5.95 "convenience fee" charged for using a credit card to pay for their property taxes. There is, the saying goes, nothing certain in life but death and taxes, so kicking and screaming county residents made the trek over to the new tax office in the refurbished county building in the old Wells Fargo Bank on Levee Street. The silver lining is that it only happens once a year.)
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NEW PCT. 1 WAREHOUSE TO BE NAMED FOR ANASTACIO GUILLEN
Special to El Rrun-Rrun
Guillen, who came from the old Road and Bridge school of county road crew experience, died in 2008.
But in those 40-odd years, he established a tradition of hard work, political savvy and a knowledge of the county road system unequaled in Cameron County.
With his trademark baseball cap and stubborn hard-work demeanor, he schooled several generations of county employees under his care.
Now, following the 2001 unanimous dedication by the Cameron County Commissioners’ Court of a resolution naming the new Precinct 1 Public Works Brownsville Warehouse in his honor, a ceremony to do so will be held 9 a.m. Friday (February 2) at the site of the new structure.
The new building is ocated at 2050 S. Browne Ave., across from the Pedro "Pete" Benavides Cunty Park.
In his 40-plus years of service to county residents, served under the following Pct. 1 Commissioners: Tony Tamayo, Johnny Cavazos, Ted Hunt, D.J. Lerma, Lucino Rosenbaum, and Pete Benavides. Current commissioner Sofia Benavides moved for the new warehouse to be named after Guillen.
After retiring, he owned and operated 20 acres of farmland some of which he later developed into Guillen Cemetery on Boca Chica Road just past Browne Road.He was also a longtime parishioner of Christ the King Catholic Church where he was involved with Valley Interfaith. His name will be affixed to the new building in honor and recognition of his long time service to the residents of Cameron County.
Guillen was born in McNeil, Texas on April 27, 1923. As a young boy his family moved to Valle Hermoso, Tamps., Mexico where he met and married his wife, Angela Chavira, from Olivia, Texas. He and his wife moved to Brownsville more than 50 years ago where they raised their family of 11 children. Many are teachers and professionals of which he would proudly talk about if given a chance.
As a young boy he moved to Valle Hermoso, Tamps., Mexico where he met and married his wife, Angela Chavira, from Olivia, Texas. He and his wife moved to Brownsville more than 50 years ago where they raised their family of 11 children.
He worked for Cameron County Pct. 1 as a Foreman for the Road Maintenance Dept. for over fur decades. During that time he served under the following Pct. 1 Commissioners: Tony Tamayo, Johnny Cavazos, Ted Hunt, D.J. Lerma, Lucino Rosenbaum, and Pete Benavides.
After retiring, he owned and operated 20 acres of farmland some of which he later developed into Guillen Cemetery. He was a longtime parishioner of Christ the King Catholic Church where he was involved with Valley Interfaith.
The new Anastacio Guillen Precinct 1 Public Works Building will be built on a 21-acre tract of land located at the intersection of California and Browne Road.
The building is 9,000 square feet and will house the Precinct #1 Public Works staff. It’s divided into two major functions: an Administrative Area consisting of an entry waiting lobby for visitors, staff offices, a meeting conference room/lounge, and building-mechanical spaces.
The second area is the crew vehicle storage bays which utilize some enclosed storage to protect large equipment, along with a wash bay for these vehicles.
This site also includes a parking area for visitors and employees. It also has a large lay-down area for public works stock materials with plenty of room for expansion.
The building utilizes a steel structure with metal studs and concrete masonry unit
(CMU) walls clad with grey and blue horizontal and vertical metal panels. The exposed steel columns and beams at the crew vehicle bays will be galvanized and have metal panel soffits to finish off the underside of the metal roof structure.
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AFTER A HORRIFIC CRASH, POLICE FIND NO ONE AT THE SCENE
(Ed.'s Note: We received some photos of a late-model car (Ford Mustang?) that had been left abandoned in the middle of the frontage road off U.S. Highway 77 a little after 2 a.m.
Judging by the damage to the car, it seems to have struck something at a great rate of speed. The most obvious impact is on the front driver's side that took the brunt of the impact. The other damage is to the front on the passenger's side.
The airbags were deployed, but there were no people around the vehicle when one of our readers came across it in the fog. Police told our reader at the scene that "I think we know about the driver.")
Judging by the damage to the car, it seems to have struck something at a great rate of speed. The most obvious impact is on the front driver's side that took the brunt of the impact. The other damage is to the front on the passenger's side.
The airbags were deployed, but there were no people around the vehicle when one of our readers came across it in the fog. Police told our reader at the scene that "I think we know about the driver.")
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LINDA'S FIRED CLERK: SHE MADE US LOOK FOR WEDDINGS..."
By Juan Montoya
In the picture above, two county workers for two justices of the peace are seen flipping a sign that had been placed on the lobby of the second floor by JP 2-1 Linda Salazar to snag couples seeking a judge to perform their wedding ceremony.
Their actions were captured on surveillance tapes Sept. 20, 2017.
As a result, a civil clerk from Salazar's office, one Angelica Castillo, was written up and fired for "insubordination and disrespect to her employer."
On January 29, Castillo appealed her termination before the board of the Cameron County Civil Service Commission.
On January 29, Castillo appealed her termination before the board of the Cameron County Civil Service Commission.
Salazar was represented by commissioner court legal counsel Juan Gonzalez who had three witnesses, including Castillo and her personnel records. The fired clerk told the commission her lawyer was out of town and that she had to defend herself in the hearing. Her appeal was denied and Castillo's termination was upheld. The placement of the sign in front of the second-floor elevator by Salazar irked the other two JPs to no end because she was competing for the ceremonies which pay anywhere between $200 to $350, money that the state allows JPs to keep for themselves. Salazar averages some 600 wedding ceremonies a year, hundreds more than the other two JPs combined. The women flipped the sign after 5 p.m. when the offices had closed and they were on their way out of the second floor of the county Levee Building where the JPs' offices are now located. When Salazar emerged from her office and saw the sign flipped upside down, she also flipped out and called her court administrator, Ana M. Sanchez, to ask the IT people on the third floor for the surveillance video to determine who was responsible."She was very concerned, she was hurt because she didn't know if it was a defendant who was upset with a judgment..." Sanchez said. After viewing the tape, Sanchez said Salazar "was hurt because it was one of her clerks that had done it."
After Gonzalez had questioned the witnesses at the hearing (and Castillo declined to question them), the civil commission upheld her dismissal. The flipping of the sign was a Level 3 disciplinary action that – coupled with two past warnings for absences and tardiness – counted toward termination, according to administrator Sanchez.
However, during the last part of the hearing, after Gonzalez had urged the commissioners to uphold the termination to allow Salazar to carry out the "statutory and constitutional" duties of her office, Castillo said the flipping of the sign did not compare to some of the things that Salazar had her staff do "stuff for her" on county time that was of a personal nature or benefit to Salazar.
Some of that "stuff" included:
1. Having them sell fundraiser candies for her grandkids during county time, including instructing them to sell them to attorneys coming to the court to represent their clients 2. Making Castillo personally tutor her granddaughter during county time 3. Having staff members look out for weddings for her and bring them to her so she could perform the ceremonies for the $200-$350 fee 4. Closed the JP 2-1 office and had the entire staff attend her ex-husband's funeral and burial and then had them serve the meal to her guests at the VFW off Price Road, all on county time.
(To listen to Castillo testify before the commission on these abuses, click on audio at right.)
(To listen to Castillo testify before the commission on these abuses, click on audio at right.)
At least one instance of Salazar soliciting weddings has been caught on the county's surveillance videos. She, of course, denied she was soliciting wedding ceremony business, but it is obvious that she was.
Click on link to view tape: http://rrunrrun.blogspot.com/2018/01/linda-salazar-in-action-soliciting.html
County Clerk Sylvia Garza-Perez denied that she allowed any JPS to solicit wedding ceremony business in her office and said that she had spoken to her clerks against recommending what JP to go to when they acquired their wedding licenses in her office.
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Even County Administrator David Garcia had her remove the offensing sign from the lobby and instructed the other two JPs not to place any other signs or posters in the lobby. He did so after JP Mary Esther Sorola – tired fo the quibbling over wedding ceremonies at the building – places signs advertising performing the ceremonies free of charge. Her signs were removed.
But rumors persist that – perhaps unbeknownst to Garza-Perez – either her clerks or those employed by Salazar have reached an understanding to steer couples her way.
That Castillo lost her job and her unemployment because Salazar "was hurt" over the flipped over sign despite her apologies and their long relationship as county co-workers indicates that Salzar is more concerned with the wedding ceremony business than with the livelihood of a mere civil clerk like Castillo.
Click on link to view tape: http://rrunrrun.blogspot.com/2018/01/linda-salazar-in-action-soliciting.html
County Clerk Sylvia Garza-Perez denied that she allowed any JPS to solicit wedding ceremony business in her office and said that she had spoken to her clerks against recommending what JP to go to when they acquired their wedding licenses in her office.
Even County Administrator David Garcia had her remove the offensing sign from the lobby and instructed the other two JPs not to place any other signs or posters in the lobby. He did so after JP Mary Esther Sorola – tired fo the quibbling over wedding ceremonies at the building – places signs advertising performing the ceremonies free of charge. Her signs were removed.But rumors persist that – perhaps unbeknownst to Garza-Perez – either her clerks or those employed by Salazar have reached an understanding to steer couples her way.
That Castillo lost her job and her unemployment because Salazar "was hurt" over the flipped over sign despite her apologies and their long relationship as county co-workers indicates that Salzar is more concerned with the wedding ceremony business than with the livelihood of a mere civil clerk like Castillo.
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WITH INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS IN A ROIL, SYLVAN PEACE
(Ed.'s Note: While the political uproar continues in Washington over the construction of a $25 billion wall and the granting a road to citizenship to 1.6 million "Dreamers," one couldn't tell by walking along the southern border, the Rio Grande in Brownsville, Texas across the charco from Matamoros, Mexico. Pedestrians walk and motorists drive across on the bridge while wildlife live in the tepid waters below.
The wading bird on top is hunting along the southern side of the river while the dove below pecks along the access road under the Gateway bridge on the U.S. side. We thank one of our seven readers for sharing these photos with us.)
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BISD PREPARES TO SPEND FACILITIES CASH, CHANGE OFFICERS
1. Discussion and action on motion taken by BISD Trustees on December 12, 2017 as it pertains to reorganization of the Board of Trustees and possible action for Board ReOrganization. (Board Member Request - JAR)
By Juan Montoya
These two items on the Brownsville Independent School District agenda for Tuesday, Feb. 6, may not seem at all related, but some sources in the district say they are.
The first deals with the forming of a public-private partnership related to the proposed $120 million facilities construction plan using a vehicle called the P-3 under the Texas Facilities Commission.
Under those guidelines, according to the Commission, "There are inadequate resources to develop new education facilities, technology and other public infrastructure, and government facilities for the benefit of the citizens of this state, and there is demonstrated evidence that partnerships between public entities and private entities or other persons can meet these needs by improving the schedule for delivery, lowering the cost, and providing other benefits to the public."
The Commission was passed through legislation dating back to 2015. There have been P-3 partnerships established across the country to finance affordable housing, roads, and other infrastructure, including educational facilities
A public-private partnership is a contractual agreement between a public agency (federal, state or local) and a private sector person or entity organized for the purpose of timely delivering services or facilities in a cost-effective manner that might not otherwise be possible using traditional sources of public financing.
Through this contractual agreement, the assets and professional skills of each sector (public and private) are shared to deliver a service or facility for the use of the general public, e.g., planning, designing, financing, constructing, operating, maintaining, and owning, and each sector shares in the potential risks of the timely and efficient delivery of the service or facility.
Sources in the district say that the adoption of these guidelines by the BISD board will bypass the traditional method of funding such as the issuance of bonds through the traditional financial consultants (Hinojosa, Estrada) and partner with pruvate lenders (such as Lone Star National Bank). The Lone Star National connection is through Noble General Contractors owner Rene Capsitran, a member of the Lone Star National Bank advisory board as is David Oliveira, the Brownsville attorney and cousin of District 37 State Rep. Rene Oliveira.Insiders say that Lone Star has been angling to be the lender to the BISD of up to $120 million over five years to construct a number of facilities in the district. To adopt the guidelines, the board only needs a majority to approve the establishment of the P-3 corporation.
That's where the reorganization of the board now being pushed by trustee Joe Rodriguez takes on a major importance. Before Rodriguez, it was trustee Phil Cowen who was pushing for the restructuring.
That was tabled, but the word is that both Cowen and Rodriguez want to make Carlos Elizondo, a former Brownsville Fire Department chief now under indictment, board president. They argue that Elizondo is next on the cycle to be board president. However, there have been some rumors indicating that he may have played a pivotal role in the acquisition of barbacoa meat processed in Mexico by a Region One Purchasing Cooperative vendor named Valco.
Elizondo, board president Cesar Lopez and unnamed "investors" were said to have traveled to Mexico to set up the deal for the BISD to purchase the meat. The matter was handed over to a local law firm which presented the board a report which it has declined to make public. El Rrun-Rrun has requested that it be given a copy of the report. The district is currently in a state district court trying to get some of its money back from the company which is now out of business.
As it is, with Elizondo charged with stealing funds from the firefighters union Political Action Committee, making him president of the BISD may not sit well with district residents. If Elizondo is not palatable, then Cowen may be tapped by Rodriguez, et al, to head the board.
But Rodriguez, Cowen and Lopez need Elizondo's vote to push forward the financing scheme through the P-3 corporation and start the facilities projects. The board in the past voted to increase ad valorem taxes on district properties by 11 cents to use as leverage to borrow the $120 million over a five-year period.
In a sense, Elizondo's vote may well be worth millions and Cowen and Rodriguez will hunker down and are prepared to weather any storm of criticism over Elizondo's current criminal status to get their plans passed. But with Lopez contemplating a run for port commissioner, he might not want to go through the reorganization and having to answer to the voters for placing an indicted criminal defendant to head the school district.
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ELIA RESCHEDULES GRIEVANCES HEARING WITH BISD, REPORTEDLY WANTS NINE STAFF MEMBERS "REMOVED"
By Juan Montoya
Soures in the Brownsville Independent School District say that a planned hearing on Elia Cornejo-Lopez's 13 grievances against the district has been rescheduled at her request.
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They also say that the 404th District Judge is going to ask the district administration that it "remove" at least nine staff members involved in the grievances.
Among those nine staff members are teachers and principals and even a golf coach who she has charged in federal court of violating the constitutional rights of her two children.
Cornejo-Lopez filed the lawsuit in federal court that was heard by federal judge Andrew Hanen. At the hearing in his court, lawyers for Cornjeo-Lopez and the BISD told Hanen they had reached a tentative agreement on a substantial number of issues including allowing Cornejo-Lopez to address the board on her grievances.
Hanen instructed the lawyers for both sides to negotiate over the hearing and to report back to him in mid March to see whether carrying the federal lawsuit forward was necessary. Some board members say that although the haring was cancelled for today, they have yet to receive the Cornejo-Lopez grievances.
Soures in the Brownsville Independent School District say that a planned hearing on Elia Cornejo-Lopez's 13 grievances against the district has been rescheduled at her request.
They also say that the 404th District Judge is going to ask the district administration that it "remove" at least nine staff members involved in the grievances.Among those nine staff members are teachers and principals and even a golf coach who she has charged in federal court of violating the constitutional rights of her two children.
Cornejo-Lopez filed the lawsuit in federal court that was heard by federal judge Andrew Hanen. At the hearing in his court, lawyers for Cornjeo-Lopez and the BISD told Hanen they had reached a tentative agreement on a substantial number of issues including allowing Cornejo-Lopez to address the board on her grievances.
Hanen instructed the lawyers for both sides to negotiate over the hearing and to report back to him in mid March to see whether carrying the federal lawsuit forward was necessary. Some board members say that although the haring was cancelled for today, they have yet to receive the Cornejo-Lopez grievances.
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WILL THE REAL RENE OLIVEIRA PLEASE STAND UP?
Well, someone pointed out that the recent newspaper ads run by District 37 Texas State Representative Rene Oliveira make him look a lot younger than he really is. Specifically, they point to the receding hair line obvious in the lower photo, but less receding in the upper mug shot of the state rep.
Oliveira is trying to stay in his position, one that he has held for 34 years and wants to make it 36. His opponent, Cameron County Pct. 2 commissioner Alex Dominguez has no such problem. As a matter of fact, he has no hair at all.)
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EAST LOOP PROJECT FINALLY GETTING UNDERWAY IN 2018
By Nadia Tamez-Robledo
The Brownsville Herald
After more than three decades of incremental progress, Cameron County and Brownsville officials anticipate the first phase of a road construction project to divert commercial vehicle traffic away from International Boulevard will break ground this year.
Pete Sepulveda Jr., executive director of the Cameron County Regional Mobility Authority, said his office is working with the Port of Brownsville on a wetland mitigation plan for a two-mile stretch of road that will connect State Highway 4 to docks on Ostos Road.
Once approved by state and federal agencies, he said, construction of the road will take about one year and $10 million.
The port connector is the first phase of the larger State Highway 32 construction project, also called the East Loop, which will route commercial trucks traveling between Veterans Bridge and the Port of Brownsville around the city’s southeast side. That phase will cost about $60 million, Sepulveda said.
Leadership of the complex project changed hands half a dozen times before it was put under the mobility authority’s stewardship, he said. The Cameron County Regional Mobility Authority works in tandem with the Brownsville and county governments, and approval by state and federal agencies must be sought at each stage.
Mark Lund, director of the Brownsville Metropolitan Planning Organization, said the East Loop has been discussed since he moved to the city in 1985. The mobility authority will put about $5.3 million toward the port connector, he said, and the MPO will, in turn, allocate a matching amount of its federally granted funds on future East Loop construction.
“The first two miles is unlikely to change traffic flows, but it’s more significant (because) this is a turning point in getting this project moving ahead,” Lund said. “We’re pleased to see progress on this project.”
Safety is among the chief concerns that will be addressed by the East Loop project. Lund said about 1,000 commercial vehicles travel between Veterans Bridge and the Port of Brownsville each day, passing schools, businesses and residential areas along the way. An environmental assessment brief by Lund stated that because of congestion along the corridor, “the last several years, there have been multiple fatalities along the route.”
“It’s a high priority for us,” Sepulveda said. “It’s not safe to have those vehicles driving down a residential boulevard.”
Commercial vehicles enteredorlefttheport147,802 times last year, according to Port of Brownsville data. Theportalsoissued32,131 permits for overweight truck loads, which are up to 120,000 pounds, Port of Brownsville Communications Director Patty Gonzales said. That represents a more than 29 percent increase in permits since 2013.
The East Loop will cut down significantly on the travel times of commercial vehicles, Lund said.
After more than three decades of incremental progress, Cameron County and Brownsville officials anticipate the first phase of a road construction project to divert commercial vehicle traffic away from International Boulevard will break ground this year.
Pete Sepulveda Jr., executive director of the Cameron County Regional Mobility Authority, said his office is working with the Port of Brownsville on a wetland mitigation plan for a two-mile stretch of road that will connect State Highway 4 to docks on Ostos Road.
Once approved by state and federal agencies, he said, construction of the road will take about one year and $10 million.
The port connector is the first phase of the larger State Highway 32 construction project, also called the East Loop, which will route commercial trucks traveling between Veterans Bridge and the Port of Brownsville around the city’s southeast side. That phase will cost about $60 million, Sepulveda said.
Leadership of the complex project changed hands half a dozen times before it was put under the mobility authority’s stewardship, he said. The Cameron County Regional Mobility Authority works in tandem with the Brownsville and county governments, and approval by state and federal agencies must be sought at each stage.
Mark Lund, director of the Brownsville Metropolitan Planning Organization, said the East Loop has been discussed since he moved to the city in 1985. The mobility authority will put about $5.3 million toward the port connector, he said, and the MPO will, in turn, allocate a matching amount of its federally granted funds on future East Loop construction.
“The first two miles is unlikely to change traffic flows, but it’s more significant (because) this is a turning point in getting this project moving ahead,” Lund said. “We’re pleased to see progress on this project.”
Safety is among the chief concerns that will be addressed by the East Loop project. Lund said about 1,000 commercial vehicles travel between Veterans Bridge and the Port of Brownsville each day, passing schools, businesses and residential areas along the way. An environmental assessment brief by Lund stated that because of congestion along the corridor, “the last several years, there have been multiple fatalities along the route.”
“It’s a high priority for us,” Sepulveda said. “It’s not safe to have those vehicles driving down a residential boulevard.”
Commercial vehicles enteredorlefttheport147,802 times last year, according to Port of Brownsville data. Theportalsoissued32,131 permits for overweight truck loads, which are up to 120,000 pounds, Port of Brownsville Communications Director Patty Gonzales said. That represents a more than 29 percent increase in permits since 2013.
The East Loop will cut down significantly on the travel times of commercial vehicles, Lund said.
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CAN RENO, BROWNSVILLE LEARN FROM NEW ORLEANS?
ON A sunny morning, downtown Reno (and Brownsville) is mostly empty, save for a handful of tourists.
Two women speaking Spanish ogle diamonds in one of many pawn shops; a Chinese couple snaps photos under the city’s archway with its inscription, “The biggest little city in the world”.
Residents avoid the area for fear that it is unsafe, says Boyd Cox, an affable veteran who owns a large antique shop downtown. Mr Cox sometimes finds homeless people sleeping under the overhang at the entrance. “When I recently asked one friend—a retired fireman—to stop by the store for a visit, he shook his head and said: ‘No, no, I don’t go downtown.’”
Although homelessness is hard to measure, available statistics suggest that Reno’s homeless population is on the rise even as America’s homeless population as a whole is declining. In 2011, 879 people lived on Reno’s streets, in shelters and in transitional housing.
Although homelessness is hard to measure, available statistics suggest that Reno’s homeless population is on the rise even as America’s homeless population as a whole is declining. In 2011, 879 people lived on Reno’s streets, in shelters and in transitional housing.
By January 2017 that number had increased to 1,106, meaning about 32 of every 10,000 residents is homeless (the national rate is 18 per 10,000 people).
To burnish downtown Reno’s reputation, the city council is considering several new ordinances, one of which would ban people from lying or sleeping on private or public property without permission. Such policies are increasingly common.
According to the National Law Centre on Homelessness & Poverty, 18 percent of the 187 American cities it surveyed in 2016 imposed citywide bans on sleeping in public, a significant increase since 2006.
In 2012 Apple announced that it would open a data centre in Reno’s arid outskirts. Tesla and Google have since followed. The infusion of wealth has transformed parts of the city; the Midtown area south of the Truckee river now boasts trendy restaurants, artisanal chocolate makers, and a renovated art-deco post-office building.
As the city’s fortunes have risen, so too have its rents, occupancy rates and house prices. Since 2012 the median price of a home has doubled; the average rental price jumped 17 percent between 2014 and 2016.
In 2012 Apple announced that it would open a data centre in Reno’s arid outskirts. Tesla and Google have since followed. The infusion of wealth has transformed parts of the city; the Midtown area south of the Truckee river now boasts trendy restaurants, artisanal chocolate makers, and a renovated art-deco post-office building.
As the city’s fortunes have risen, so too have its rents, occupancy rates and house prices. Since 2012 the median price of a home has doubled; the average rental price jumped 17 percent between 2014 and 2016.
In January the Reno Area Alliance for the Homeless counted nearly 4,000 people living in weekly motels, up from 2,560 in 2011. Those who cannot afford motels have moved into shelters or onto the street.
If the proposed ordinance to ban sleeping outside passes, Reno’s police officers will be directed to try persuading those living on the streets to move to shelters. If they have no space, the homeless living on the street will be left alone.
If the proposed ordinance to ban sleeping outside passes, Reno’s police officers will be directed to try persuading those living on the streets to move to shelters. If they have no space, the homeless living on the street will be left alone.
But if they do, anyone living outside who refuses to move in after a warning might be arrested.
An arrest record makes it harder for a homeless person to find employment or housing in the future. Many studies suggest there are cheaper ways to tackle the problem.
An arrest record makes it harder for a homeless person to find employment or housing in the future. Many studies suggest there are cheaper ways to tackle the problem.
The Central Florida Commission on Homelessness, a charity, found that the average costs associated with the incarceration and hospitalization of a chronically homeless person are about triple what it would cost to provide a chronically homeless person with housing.
Between 2007 and 2015, New Orleans reduced its homelessness rate by 85 percent, primarily by providing housing. Reno’s (and the Brownsville?) city government should take a look.
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