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TDPH FINES COB $1MILLION FOR DEFICIENT EMS PROTOCOLS

October 5, 2016, 9:42 am
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By Juan Montoya
The Brownsville Fire Department has been assessed around $1 million in penalties by the Texas Department of Public Health's Emergency Medical Services inspection section for its failure to maintain an acceptable medicine protocol in its EMS mobile units.
These are the medicines that are critical for the treatment and stabilization of patients the units pick up.

The original citation by TDPH was nearly $2.5 million, but negotiations between the city administration and the department resulted in a negotiated settlement of nearly half that.
The problem stemmed from a TDHS audit that showed that five medicines that should always be carried in the EMS units at all times to provide first aid to patients were missing from the units. In a follow-up audit, the auditors found that the medicine protocol was still not being followed by the city's EMS units.

Sources say that the auditors first notified the city that they were assessing a $7,500 fine per day from January 1 to the middle of last week, around Sept. 25, around 269 days.

At $7,500 a pop, that would amount to more than $2 million in fines.
However, the city negotiated with the TDHS contending that current Fire Chief Carlos Elizondo was not responsible for the performance of past fire chief Lenny Perez who was in charge of the department at the beginning of 2016. The state auditors relented and only fined the city for the 136 days after May 15 when Elizondo was appointed chief.

Those 136 days at $7,500 a day total $1,020,000 in fines that the city has to pay.
This is going to put the city in a quandary since Elizondo is under pressure to reduce the $1.5 million that the department spends yearly on overtime pay for its firefighters/EMTs.

In the new contract, the city will not have to pay firefighters on parity with the police department or other city employees. They also don;t have to abide by minimum staffing agreements with the union and lower overtime payments.

Former chief Perez had allowed for EMS charges to patients to accumulate and did not press for collections of that debt. However, with the city hoping to establish a new fire and police academy site on the abandoned Casa del Nylon building it purchased for $2.3 million, those collections have taken on a critical importance.

However, with the new $1 million hit in fines against the department, it is likely that city residents will now see emergency "transfers" from PUB to offset the fines or the fire department will see further cutbacks on firefighters' overtime pay and a cutback in services.

How was it that the fire department chief and the administration overlook the looming penalties from its failures to adhere to the medicine protocols?
The city administration seems to be more preoccupied with staging self-congratulatory PSAs to paste on to the city channel to make itself look good while Elizondo seems to be stretched too thinly between being a trustee of the Brownsville Independent School District and fire chief to keep his eye on the department's business.

Either way, it's the residents who will end up pay for these shortcomings in the city and fire department administration.
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MERCHANTS BIGGEST LOSERS IN CITY STAFF PARKING

October 5, 2016, 11:18 am
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By Juan Montoya
Much has been said and discussed about the need for downtown parking.
But even with at least two bi-level (or is it tri-level now?) parking structures available for shoppers, merchants, workers, city commissioners and city employees, it's still difficult to find an empty parking space close to do business there.

This morning we got a few photos sent to us portraying the exasperation that some shoppers face when they go downtown.
It appears that one of our readers was trying to do some business in the area around city hall (the old federal building) and was trying to park as close as possible to do it. She said she went around then block at least twice and then had to go find a parking space at a distance from her destination.

When she was walking on the half block on 10th Street before she reached city hall (on the left in the first graphic), she noticed a car with a City Plaza sticker for free parking to city staff. The City Plaza parking lot is but two blocks away from city hall.

While there, she noticed a city employee hurrying down the steps of city hall to throw quarters into the parking meter to buy more time.
This set her off to no end an in an email, she got a few things off her chest.
"How do you expect customers to purchase merchandise in an already poor city if you can't park near your store?," she asked.
"That's because city employees take the best spots. Don't they have reserved areas for them already?  How are the business owners able to provide easy access parking to their customers if city staff are too lazy to walk the two blocks to the free parking?

"Even if they feed the meter they have to be constantly leaving the office to walk to put money. Do you think it's more expensive for an employee to constantly leave work to go insert money to the meter?

"This person now has to constantly keep an eye on the time of the meter to go insert money. How much do you think it costs the tax payers for the convenience of a lazy person? Maybe this is why no one is working at city hall, they're to busy putting money into the meter."
She also reminded us that a little bit of exercise might not be a bad thing for some of our more obese city staffers.

"They ought to give a prize as the Biggest Losers to the city merchants because customers will just as soon drive away and do their shopping somewhere else if they have to compete for parking with city workers when they are already provided with free parking by the taxpayers just two blocks away." 
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WHITTEMORE, BISD PLACE 6 CANDIDATE HAS MEET-N-GREET

October 6, 2016, 5:53 am
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JOHN WAYNE GACY WAS THE ORIGINAL KILLER CLOWN

October 6, 2016, 6:30 am
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(The recent arrest of a Porter High School student and investigation of two others for perpetrating a hoax on social media about killer clowns threatening students there brought memories of the original killer clown John Wayne Gacy. We reprint this well-researched piece about Gacy to remind our of the horrific crimes committed by a man in a clown suit.)

By Troy Taylor

To everyone who met him, John Wayne Gacy seemed a likable and affable man. He was widely respected in the community, charming and easy to get along with. 
He was a good Catholic and sharp businessman who, when not running his construction company was active in the Jaycees and was also a Democratic Party precinct captain, when he had his photo taken with then First Lady, Rosalynn Carter. 
Image result for john wayne gacy

He also spent much of his free time hosting elaborate street parties for his friends and neighbors, serving in community groups and entertaining children as "Pogo the Clown". 

He was a generous, hard working, friendly, devoted family man, everyone knew that -- but that was the side of John Wayne Gacy that he allowed people to see.

Underneath the smiling mask of the clown was the face of depraved fiend.
John Wayne Gacy was a born on St. Patrick’s Day 1942 at Edgewater Hospital in Chicago. Johnny was the second of three children. His older sister Joanne had preceded him by two years and two years after his birth came that of sister Karen.

The Gacy children were raised as Catholics and all three attended Catholic schools where they lived on the north side. Growing up, Gacy was a quiet boy who worked odd jobs for spending money, like newspaper routes and bagging groceries, and busied himself with Boy Scout activities. 
He was never a particularly popular boy but he was well-liked by his teachers, co-workers and friends from school and the Boy Scouts. He seemed to have a normal childhood, except for his relationship with his father and a series of health problems that he developed.

When Gacy was 11, he was playing on a swing set and was hit in the head with one of the swings. The accident caused a blood clot in his brain that was not discovered until he was 16. Between the time of the accident and the diagnosis, Gacy suffered from blackouts that were caused by the clot. They were finally treated with medication. 

At 17, he was also diagnosed with a heart ailment that he was hospitalized for several times during his life. He complained frequently about it over the years but no one could ever find a cause for the pain that he claimed to be suffering. In his late teens, he began to experience problems with his father, although his relationship with his mother and sisters remained strong. His father was an alcoholic who physically abused his wife and berated his children.

His family problems extended out into his schoolwork and after attending four high schools during his senior year and never graduating, Gacy dropped out and left home for Las Vegas. He worked part time as a janitor in a funeral home and saved his money to buy a ticket back to Chicago. Lonely and depressed, he spent three months trying to get the money together. His mother and sisters were thrilled to see him when he returned.

After his return, Gacy enrolled in business college and eventually graduated. While in school, he gained a real talent for salesmanship and he put these talents to work in a job with the Nunn-Bush Shoe Company. He excelled as a management trainee and he was soon transferred to a men’s clothing outlet in Springfield, Illinois. 

Soon after his move, Gacy’s health took a turn for the worse. He gained a great deal of weight and began to suffer more from his mysterious heart ailment. He was hospitalized and soon after getting out, was back in the hospital again, this time with back problems.

While living in Springfield, Gacy became involved in several organizations that served the community, including the Jaycees, to which Gacy devoted most of his efforts and was eventually a vice-president and named "Man of the Year". 

Many who knew Gacy considered him to be ambitious and working to make a name for himself in the community. In September 1964, Gacy met and married a co-worker named Marlynn Myers, whose parents owned a number of Kentucky Fried Chicken restaurants in Iowa. 

Gacy’s new father-in-law offered him a position with the company and soon the newlyweds were moving to Iowa. Life seemed to hold great promise for Gacy and there was no foreshadowing of the horrific events to come.
Gacy began learning the restaurant business from the ground up, working 12 to 14 hours each day. He was enthusiastic and eager to learn and hoped to take over the franchises one day. When not working, he was active with the Waterloo, Iowa Jaycees. 

He worked tirelessly performing volunteer work and he made many friends. Marlynn gave birth to a son shortly after they moved to Iowa and not long after, added a daughter to the happy family. They seemed to have the picture perfect life -- a loving and healthy family, a good job, a house in the suburbs -- and it seemed almost too good to be true. And it was…

Rumors were starting to spread around town, and among Jaycees members, about Gacy’s sexual preferences.

To read entire story, click on link: http://www.prairieghosts.com/gacy.html
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RECRIMINATIONS BEGIN ON MARCO GONZALEZ SENTENCE

October 6, 2016, 8:41 am
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By Juan Montoya
The finger-pointing has begun on the absurd sentence handed down by a jury (and issued by a judge) for Marco Antonio Gonzalez after he was convicted on nine counts of aggravated assault on a public servant and one count of aggravated assault in retaliation.
If we are to believe the jury members who have spoken to the media, they were confused by 404th District Judge Elia Cornejo-Lopez's instructions and between the words "consecutive" and "concurrent" in rendering their verdict.

The majority of the jurors – including the foreman – say they meant to issue five-year sentences on each of the counts, totaling 45years in prison for Gonzalez, who previously had been acquitted of a murder charge in the death of Ivan Reyes, a co-worker at the Rucker-Carrizales county jail in Olmito.
Instead, Cornejo-Lopez said that since all the charges stemmed from the same incident, Gonzalez would serve five years with credit for the 840 days he had already served at the jail.

The prosecutors and defense attorney Ernesto Gamez agreed to drop the retaliation charge to avoid an appeal based on double jeopardy. Gamez has beaten the DA's office three times in court in this same case. Once he got a mistrial, the next he got an acquittal on a murder charge and this third time he got him only five years for a standoff and shootout with local law enforcement officers.

The sentence issued would mean that he had already served half his time and would have only the other two and one-half years to serve.
Cameron County District Attorney Luis Saenz – who did not try the case but left in in the disabled hands of Pete Gilman – said he understood the at jury wanted to send him for 45 years, and not the five years issued by Cornejo-Lopez.
Saenz, who was misidentified as Hidalgo County DA by Channel 5, and later as "Sateen," told the station's reporter that he was not satisfied with the outcome.
Image result for ernesto gamez brownsville
"Sateen said the jury that sentenced Marco Antonio Gonzalez allegedly wanted him behind bars for 45 years not the five years he was given.
Gonzalez has been through three trials on multiple charges stemming from a standoff with police in 2014.
The former Cameron County jailer shot and killed Ivan Reyes. He then held his ex-girlfriend, Monica Robles, hostage for seven hours at a Brownsville home on Orchid Path.
The first trial for the murder of Reyes was declared a mistrial. During the second trial, Gonzalez was acquitted of murder for shooting Reyes in self-defense.
The third trial wrapped up last week. On Monday, Gonzalez was convicted of nine counts of aggravated assault on a public servant for shooting at police officers during the standoff."

The mistake-prone television station also reported that "Judge Eli (sic) Cornelio-Lopez showed us the paperwork the jury fills out when making their final decision on sentencing.
“All I’m allowed to do is read it word for word. I cannot interpret this for the jury, that’s not my job,” she said. “If I interpret this for the jury, it could be considered a comment on what they should do. It could be considered a suggestion and as I told you I’m neutral on the bench.”

As far as the trial process and sentencing policies of the state, Cornejo-Lopez said that she was proud of the job the court and the jury had performed and that Gonzalez could be out as soon as Friday (tomorrow).

"I think that we did a good job. I respect the jury and the jury’s verdict,” she said. “If there’s going to be any objection, they need to be on the record.”
The judge also explained Gonzalez could be out soon. She said the state of Texas awards credit for time served behind bars.

For every day in state prison, convicts can get up to two days credit. In Gonzalez case, he spent two years and a half behind bars already. She said that earned him enough time that he could be out as early as Friday.

Robles, who was held hostage after Gonzalez killed her boyfriend and then held her hostage during the shootout with police while the body lay in her living room, told the station she feared for her life.

“Him getting out of jail… He’s going to have trouble finding a job, just getting on with life. He’s going to come finish the job,” she said.

So it's now nobody's fault. Not the jury's, not the judge's, not the DA's. And it will be no one's fault when a killer is freed and goes on to live his life among the rest of us.
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..............."LOS MARIACHIS CALLARON............."

October 6, 2016, 9:21 am
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By Juan Montoya
Somehow, the death of a musician always brings a discord of sadness to the song of life.
Whether they sang, played an instrument, or interpreted some form of our culture, they are held in a special place because – while some of us may harbor some fantasy that we could perform – they actually do it, and sometimes do it well.
So was the case with my tocayo Juan Antonio Araujo Medoza, who at the too-young age of 42, took his last bow on this worldly stage and departed from among us.

Mi tocayo played a trumpet in a mariachi and was well known in local artistic circles. They were a working-class mariachi who would turn up at birthday parties, store openings, quinceañeras, Mothers Day serenades, political pachangas, and other celebrations. Often they would alight from their van in some barrio and give the people attending the event that touch of lujo that can only come from the strains of violins, a bajo sexto, a requinte, and the trumpets played by elegantly dressed men in the traditional mariachi outfits.

They might have been carpenters, waiters, mechanics, or even unemployed during the day, but once they were in their mariachi get-up, a certain change came over them and they assumed a regal air and there was an air of confidence in their walk.

When  push came to shove – in those old days now long gone by – they would cruise the downtown and 14th Street bars playing the favorites of the people.
They knew that they were not going to get rich playing in these events, but the endeavor they put into their performances would have led you to believe that they were playing at a venue like Bellas Artes. They could belt out all the traditional celebration songs, romantic ballads, a song or two from "Chente," and even some old stuff from Javier Solis, Pedro Infante and even a Jorge Negrete song like "Yo Soy de San Luis Potosi..." And, of course, the crowd favorite "El Mariachi Loco."

I went to see mi tocayo and say my goodbyes yesterday at the Garza Memorial Funeral Home in downtown Brownsville and to pay my condolences to wife Norma and his children and mom. Mi tocayo was all dressed up to go away decked out in his black mariachi outfit with silver trim and with his now eternal smile on his handsome face.

"Los mariachis callaron..."
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FIREFIGHTERS SOLD DOWN THE RIVER WITH NEW CONTRACT

October 7, 2016, 6:18 am
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By Juan Montoya
We understand that Brownsville Fire Department Chief Carlos Elizondo is going around telling people that the posts we publish here are "BS" and that it's all because some people don't like him.
While we don't have the luxury of having  a popularity meter to measure the  degree of likability of any public official, we do take umbrage with being called fibbers and want to know what is not true about these recent posts.

1. The Brownsville Firefighters Association Local #970 on Sept. 29 vote to approve (by a 74-52 vote) a collective bargaining agreement that, among other things:

a. Does away with the Me-Too clause that required the city to give raises to firefighters commensurate with those given the Brownsville Police Officers Association. This is the same clause that Elizondo himself negotiated in past contracts and which the union defended all the way to the court of appeals which upheld the clause and resulted in a $2.7 million award to the union members.

b. Did away with police-firefighters parity in ranks and salary, another benefit championed by Elizondo when he was union president, but one he abandoned when he became part of management.

c. Also did away with minimum staffing requirements for fire stations, allowing the city to chip away at the $1.5 million in overtime paid to union members

Elizondo also cannot deny that he campaigned through his proxies in the ranks for the young crop of firefighters to approve the contract doing away with these hard-gained benefits by telling them that they would get a 3 percent raise over the next five years, a 15 percent raise which might have been achieved through the Cost Of Living Adjustments (COLA) which might actually have amounted to more than 15 percent over the same time. In fact, there is no raise at all this year and it will be until 2017 that the first 3 percent kicks in.

By delaying the negotiations between the city and the union while he was the association president, he was able to force the contract down the throats of the rank-and-file or face the possibility of working without a contract.

He also convinced his hand-picked new union president Eugenio Cardenas to sign on the dotted line to give up the benefits so many veterans had fought for and gone to court to defend in the past.
How?

They say a picture is worth a 1,000 words. Take a gander at the photo at right.
Starting at left with Elizondo, Deputy Chief Ernesto Estrada with straw hat, city manager Charlie Cabler, Firefighter Union Vice president Roy Lerma in dark glasses and President Eugenio Cardenas with pink bracelet.

The picture, appropriately, was taken at the Paella Festival Cook-Off Event on September 24 at the Charles Stillman Laureles Ranch House Museum. That's the ranch house that Stillman built on the King Ranch to relax after the rigors of dispossessing the rightful owners of their lands with the assistance of the Texas Rangers. In this case, this bunch dispossessed the rank-and-file firefighters of benefits earned over decades for a chance to grab a piece of the pie and rub elbows and sit at the main table with the Big Boys. The agreement was signed by Cabler for the city and Cardenas for the firefighters a scant five days later (Sept. 29) after the union leaders partied with management.

Elizondo And he cannot deny that he knew of Article 9 of the new agreement which specifically allowed him as fire chief to appoint two deputy chiefs immediately below him in rank. He also cannot deny that he was authorized under the agreement, to appoint one of these persons even of they did not meet the Texas Local Government Code Section 143,014 (e) requirements that they have a permanent classification in at least one officer level.

We now know that this exemption from the Texas Local Government Code was the reason that firefighter Ernesto Estrada (in the cowboy hat in the photo above), the close friend and favorite of City Manager Charlie Cabler,  was able to vault from a simple firefighter over the civil service ranks of driver, lieutenant, captain, and assistant fire chief, to deputy chief – all without having to pass any of the civil service examinations or competing with other applicants as is required for all others seeking the position.

And, the agreement notwithstanding, how can one justify the promotion of this firefighter to one rank just below the chief contrary to the civil service rules in which individuals are employed (hired) on the basis of professional merit as proven by competitive examinations? Then, in another contradiction, if the Estrada is removed from that position, he is required to be reinstated to the same position he had before the appointment and regain all the rights and seniority he had under civil service.

Additionally, if Estrada is charged with an offense in violation of civil service rules and indefinitely suspended, he has the same rights and privileges of a hearing before the City Civil Service Commission as a classified employee. If he is found not guilty, he will be restored to his classification he had before the appointment.

So, while on the one hand removing this position from the requirements of civil service, this same person's civil service rights and privileges are restored once he leaves or is removed from the position.
By signing the agreement, the union agreed to this anomaly of civil service application, but is the Civil Service Commission bound by the alterations that the union agreed to even if they go counter to the requirements for examinations and promotions?  In other words, do the union and the city have the authority to violate civil service rules merely because they included it in a labor agreement?  

It's also true that the Texas Department of Health auditors fined the City of Brownsville about $1 million for the EMS units not complying with the medicine protocols that require at least five essential medicines aboard the units to treat emergency health cases. The total was actually more than $2 million, but the TDH relented and limited their $7,500 daily fine to the time that Elizondo had been head of the department (about 136 days).

A cynic might say that Elizondo as union president deliberately delayed city-firefighter contract negotiations to the point where the firefighters would have to accept the city's terms doing away with their benefits in exchange for his appointment to fire chief by Cabler and the city commission.

We'd love to be set straight on these points by the chief. Who is BSing who?
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SUDDENLY, THE DA's OFFICE MORPHS INTO POLITICAL MACHINE

October 7, 2016, 10:07 am
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By Juan Montoya
When Estela Chavez-Vasquez got herself elected as a new County Court-at-Law judge, everyone's jaw dropped in amazement.

Here was Chavez, who had never tried a jury case – the quintessential neophyte lawyer whose legal acumen ranked just below a freshman at Thurgood Marshall Law School even after a few years practicing law – running against Chuy Garcia, a savvy lawyer who has more than a few cases under his belt and the respect of the local bar. Somehow, Chavez won in the runoff.

The dust hadn't settled yet when in rushed Mario Saenz – Cameron County DA Luis V. Saenz's brother – claiming that it had been Team Saenz (an umbrella designation for all their friends) – which had pulled the nifty trick.

And, among the Team Saenz Facebook photos posted prominently on the Internet, were photos of the DA glad-handing and posing with the candidate. So if you're a defense attorney and you have a case where Luis gets personally involved that is heard before Chavez's court, don't expect a level playing field. That's just the realpolitik.

Most political activists and observers expected that once elected to another four-year term, Luis Saenz would be content to sit back and prosecute criminals and leave the politics to his bro. And, with the commensurate political risk inherent in involvement in other races not his own, one would think Saenz (the DA) would stay out of local races and counsel his brother to do the same.
Instead, the directly opposite tack has been taken by Saenz, for whatever reason.


He has been prominent in the races for Brownsville Independent School District with his support of Rigo Bocanegra for trustee for Place 7 against incumbent Hector Chirinos. Others in that race include Dr. Sylvia Atkinson, Orlando Treviño, and Norberto Rangel.


He has also been involved in the Victor Cortez candidacy as a Republican against incumbent Omar Lucio, to the point where Cortez has an open invite to the political functions and private parties hosted by Team Saenz.

Erasmo Castro may be the first and only candidate who actually received a $100 donation from Saenz, a known tightwad. When and if (Erasmo) Castro should eke out a victory de panzazo, would his opponents' protests that Castro's past felony conviction for forgery makes ineligible to run or hold office be a priority for the DA?

Castro is trying to unseat Place 5 incumbent Caty Presas-Garcia. Also on the Place 5 ballot is Laura Perez-Reyes and newcomer (and Bernie Sanders supporter) Laura Castro.
Over the weekend, Team Saenz hosted a private birthday party for Bocanegra.  In the graphic above, Cortez is seen at the party.
Some bloggers have said that Saenz has been seen walking the streets campaigning for his former head of the DA's Office Public Integrity Unit.
Other candidates in the Place 5 race include Laura Perez-Reyes, and Laura Castro, a Bernite who took his advice and entered civic engagement at the bottom rung of school board politics,

Our point here, however, is that by embracing these school board candidates under the Team Saenz mantle, the DA and his bro Mario are making it clear that these are the candidates they support and encourage their followers to take heed.

Maybe. Or maybe not.

Another cog in the Team Saenz political machine is none other than Jesse Vallejo, the manager of a local Dairy Queen who has hosted pachangas for Cortez at his place of business and for all we know donated the birthday cake for Bocanegra.

Saenz apparently believes in redemption because Vallejo carries among his baggage a felony conviction in 2006.
In that year he was accused of taking bribes from defendants in exchange for offering to clear their criminal cases. He was accused of accepting more than $17,000 from people who had pending criminal cases with the District Attorneys Office (under Armando Villalobos) and were looking to have them cleared. Vallejo worked for a local attorney. By that measure, Zeke Silva's felony DWI makes him a petty criminal.
(In the photo at bottom right, Vallejo is talking with DQ customers. Cortez, his trademark Stetson visible at deep right, politics with another.)

Now, the question becomes, why would a DA get involved in these races? Is he in the BIS race supporting Castro to gather supporters for his other candidates. We know he doesn't like Carlos Elizondo and his support for Bocanegra may work out just fine under the Arab dictum, that "the enemy of my enemy is my friend."

Elizondo, you'll remember, supported Carlos Masso, Saenz's opponent in the DA's race.
Regardless, involvement in politics by any U.S. citizen – including the seated DA –is a right.
But there is something ominous in the power behind the DA's Office that makes its holder's political involvement in local races downright dangerous. If he's not with you, dare you cross him?
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NEXT HISPANIC HERITAGE MONTH LECTURE IS SATURDAY

October 7, 2016, 10:11 am
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October 8 Saturday 6th Lecture: “The State of Hispanics in the Rio Grande Valley” by Dr. Lloyd B. Potter, Texas Demographic Center, UT-San Antonio, CAMILLE PLAYHOUSE, DeSTAFANO ROOM, Dean Porter Park, 11:30a-2p.

October12 Wednesday 7th Lecture: “The State of Hispanics in Texas: 2016,” by Dr. Rogelio
Saenz, Dean, College of Public Policy, UT- San Antonio, CAMILLE PLAYHOUSE, DeSTAFANO Room, 11:30a-2p.
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GOT PROBLEMS BELIEVING STILLMAN STOLE MEXICAN LAND?

October 8, 2016, 8:54 am
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By Manuel Callahan
"Mexican Border Troubles: Social War, Settler Colonialism and the Production of Frontier Discourses, 1848-1880"
Callahan, B.A, M.A. Dissertation, 2003,
The University of Texas, Austin

"Anglo violence continued long after the US-Mexico War had ended. An example of Anglo impunity took place in January of 1850 when Charles Stillman and 15 associates rode into the Palmito Ranch.

Stillman had been robbed earlier and he and his men were determined to recover his stolen property and punish the culprits.
Stillman “got together a force of Americans” from Brownsville and rounded up the entire population of the ranch, ordering them tied and whipped until they delivered the malefactors. Stillman’s interrogation revealed that the guilty party was Juan Chapa Guerra and that he was at Ranchito.

Once Stillman’s men found the man they believed to be responsible for the theft, he informed them that they could “do what they pleased with him.”
 It was not until after Chapa had been “whipped and then killed” at the hands of Stillman’s associates that an investigation not only “disclosed the horrible proceedings of the murder” but also uncovered that Stillman and his men had incorrectly identified the accused victim.

The confusion resulted from a lethal cultural barrier. The one guilty of the original theft was allegedly one Juan Chapa Garcia, not Juan Chapa Guerra.
The outraged family of the wronged Juan Chapa Guerra sought legal remedy, but they could find no lawyers in Brownsville willing to challenge Stillman.

Much later, the 1873 Mexican Committee of Investigation concluded that as a notable person of considerable resources Stillman “exercised a controlling influence in Brownsville,” explaining, in part, why such a grave miscarriage of justice remained unpunished.
Stillman could boast of a great deal of influence in Brownsville as a result of a number of successful commercial ventures in the region.

During the US-Mexican War Stillman supplied General Zachary Taylor’s army with goods delivered from the Gulf of Mexico up the Rio Grande. Following the war, Stillman continued to profit. His success was due, to some extent, on the purchase of large tracts of disputed lands made available to him by Sabas Cavazos.
In Texas courts, Anglos such as Stillman were able to take advantage of the diminished legal standing of the Spanish and Mexican legal apparatus adjudicating communally held lands.
Stillman, for example, profited handsomely by establishing the Brownsville Town Company with the land he so easily acquired with Cavazos aid.

After converting the property into lots, he easily disposed of most the tracts for a considerable profit. As a result of his early successes, Stillman developed “a trade and manufacturing nexus” throughout Northeastern Mexico and South Texas, dominating “large scale trade, finance, and landholding in the Rio Grande Valley.”

At one point, Stillman and associate Richard King hoped to further solidify their investments and holdings by supporting Jose Maria Carvajal’s unsuccessful attempt to establish the Republic of the Sierra Madre.

Later, as Mexican liberals struggled to rid themselves of the occupying French forces through a widespread guerrilla war, John Hart adds that Stillman and other prominent Anglos such as Richard King established their commercial empires through their effective use of paramilitary force.

“From the 1850s to the mid 1870s,” John Hart explains, “their controversial claims to these properties were backed up by the Texas Rangers, the U.S. Army, and their own private armies.

For years their militias fought the Mexicans who confiscated cattle and burned ranches in retaliation for their displacement. The titles were still in dispute in Texas courtrooms at the end of the twentieth century.”
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OP 10.33 MIGHT JUST BE PUTTING MEAT ON THE TABLE

October 8, 2016, 9:51 am
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By Juan Montoya
Remember us bellyaching about the fact that the state and federal governments have coordinated hunts for nilgai and feral hogs in Cameron County and then donated the meat to the hungry in San Antonio and even in Mexico as if there were no hungry people here?
Image result for good neighbor settlement house

This last time around, instead of contracting a private harvester such as the Broken Arrow Ranch to perform the butchering process for them, the Texas Department of Agriculture and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife hooked up with the Trinity Oaks non-profit to distribute the processed meat to the hungry.

The animals were culled, ostensibly, to fight the spread of fever tick spread
on cattle at the Laguna Atascosa Wildlife Refuge and contiguous ranches.

Unfortunately, most of the meat – 24,000 pounds of choice Texas Antelope (nilgai) – and an unknown number of pounds of feral hog meat was handed out to diverse soup kitchens in the state, and, according to Trinity Oaks spokesmen, the hungry in Mexico.
Amounts of the pork was said to have been distributed to soup kitchens like Loves and Fishes in Harlingen across the border in Reynosa and Matamoros.

Well, our bellyaching apparently reached the ear of Mike Hernandez and his OP 10.33 outfit and – using well-paid consultant (and state rep) Eddie Lucio III – he set about to look into the situation.
We have now learned through third parties that some influential state people reached out and touched the Trinity Oaks outfit and that moves are under way for the non-profit to begin providing the fruits of the harvest to places like the Good Neighbor Settlement House and the Ozanam Center in Brownsville.

That only makes sense. After all, the animals are harvested in Cameron County – continuously ranked among the poorest regions in the country – and now those needy here have a place at the table as well.

trinity oaksIt's no secret that we've had our differences with OP 10.33's ham-fisted political strategies and thin skin as it relates to social media, but if true, their interceedeing for the hungry in Brownsville is worth noting.

The nilgai culls this year are not the first for Laguna Atascosa National Wildlife Refuge, refuge manager Boyd Blihovde told the Valley Morning Star.

But what is different now is how the meat is used.

“Previously the meat was going to a private enterprise, and they were getting between $22 and $28 per pound,” Blihovde said as he tossed frozen nilgai packages into a Yeti cooler. “This meat is going to the needy for free.”

We are awaiting further confirmation from E3 and Hernandez's OP 10.33 outfit to find out just how much of the annual harvests will stay to feed the hungry here. If, in fact, Hernandez and his bunch's efforts results in some needy person in Brownsville getting a meal, that's not necessarily a bad deal.

Among charities receiving nilgai meat are:
Loaves and Fishes
Harlingen Food Pantry
Con mi Manos, a Deaf Education Center and ministry located in Matamoros
Casa Amparo orphanage in Reynosa
Isaiah 55, serving deaf and marginalized people Mexico
Iglesia del Dios
Good neighbor Settlement House of Brownsville
Order of Naucratious

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SPRUCING UP DA CAPITOL FOR LATIN JAZZ FEST

October 10, 2016, 7:38 am
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APB: LA CHISQUIADA ROSE GOWEN'S CHISCAS RIPPED OFF: CHIEF ORLANDO RODRIGUEZ PUTS P.D. ON THE CASE

October 10, 2016, 1:26 pm
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By Juan Montoya
The adage of the squeaking wheel getting the grease could be altered to say that in the case of city commissioner Rose Gowen, it was the theft of six bicycles (count 'em, six) from her front yard that got Police Chief Orlando Rodriguez back-pedaling to hold a meeting to address this most serious issue.
Did Gowen use a different bike for every day of the week except for the Sabbath?

The outbreak of burglaries in the posh Rio Viejo Subdivision has neighbors of this silk-stocking area starting a "neighborhood chat" to alert each other of potential miscreants that might be victimizing the neighborhood.
And to add muscle the to the event, the local daily sent in a crack reporter and photog to document the fine example of civic engagement.

This drew some rebukes from local Facebook denizens who wanted to know what was newsworthy about six stolen bikes, why the city's top cop personally attended the event to soothe the commish's frayed nerves and to give his best elementary school lecture on how to prevent burglaries.


Since Gowen left the bikes out in the open in the front yard, it could have been just about anyone who passed by who could have taken them.
Gowen said she approached Rodriguez, who delivered a presentation along with community affairs officer Mike Tovar regarding community safety.

The daily said that  according to Rodriguez, they covered safety tips such as not leaving valuables in plain sight, leaving cars locked, neighborhood lighting and alarm systems.
As a result of the meeting, Gowen says neighbors feel more informed and therefore secure all-the-more.

Marsletta Knapp questioned the importance given the issue and wondered why the theft of bicycles warranted a front-page story and a visit by the chief to the neighborhood to impart gems of wisdom in the continuous fight against crime.
Now, that sounds like pretty basic stuff. But when you bring down the police chief after your bikes get stolen, it lends a certain importance to those burglaries.
The event was held at the St. Joseph Academy, the traditional bastion of the well-heeled in the city.

City commissioner Ricardo Longoria also questioned the participation of Rodriguez and said that in the Southmost area they do things a bit differently.
There, Longoria said, "we did recon" and had them back in four hours.

Does this mean that they took matters into their own hands and confronted the thieves, something that police tell you never to do to prevent potential violence.
"Don't have time to be waiting for a report to be filed and investigated. They'll be sold and
gone forever," he wrote.

As far as Gowen was concerned, though, the meeting was  a la Trump – a HUGE success
“It really raised awareness in everyone’s mind. There were a lot of people who answered on the chat,” Gowen said. “That they thought the meeting was productive … they learned something from it.”

Zeke Silva, who has had his share of burglaries, also questioned the importance of the heisted bikes.
"Talk about a double standard," he opined. "One commissioner gets burglarized and she gets the BPD Chief of police to do a presentation while making the front page...We have a commissioner that gets bicycles stolen and the city is put on alert."

Longoria took the opportunity to give himself a few pats on the back for his quiet  – but he says efficient – style of public service.
"Some people like being in a newspaper, yet some of prefer to go on with our responsibilities in a more quiet manner.

"Unfortunately, for the people I do help, I forget to bring the Brownsville Herald and the department head to write a front-page story." 

  

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ANTI-LNG RALLY AT WASHINGTON PARK AT 6 P.M.

October 11, 2016, 6:27 am
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Image result for NO LNG
When: Tuesday, October 11th at 6:00 p.m.
Where: Washington Park, corner of 7th street and Madison street in Brownsville, TX.

Residents from Brownsville, South Padre Island,and the Port Isabel communities will hold banners, signs, and speak out about the hazards of the proposed LNG industrial complex. If built, the LNG facilities would be the largest polluter in Cameron County.

After the rally, the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ) will hold a public meeting for the Texas LNG Air Quality Permit inside the Historic Brownsville Museum at 7:00 p.m., located across the street from Washington Park on 641 E. Madison St. This is a very important opportunity for Valley residents to make a public comment opposing any air pollution permits for LNG.

Yes, I will attend the Rally and TCEQ Public Meeting. (click here to commit to attending.)

Children are welcome. Please invite family, friends, and neighbors.
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PROBE WIDENS INTO HARVESTING OF MEXICAN-AMERICAN, BLACK VOTES IN TARRANT COUNTY

October 11, 2016, 8:23 am
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By Ross Kecseg
From Texas Scorecard
A massive investigation is underway in Tarrant County as law enforcement officers from the Texas Attorney General’s Office investigate a vote-harvesting scheme alleged to involve as many as 20,000 ballots.
Last month, Texas Scorecard reported that Tarrant County Elections administrator Frank Phillips disclosed the AG's Office had launched a criminal investigation into voting abnormalities in Tarrant County.

The investigation was the result of a complaint filed by Aaron Harris, of Direct Action Texas, an organization that also uncovered significant errors in HIll County's primary election results.

Today, Harris confirmed that AG investigators have been spotted on the ground in Tarrant County interviewing witnesses. In a statement released online, Harris claimed the investigation is into a vote harvesting scheme involving as many as 20,000 ballots.
"We have heard rumors for years of manipulation of the elections system in Tarrant County and thought it was time for someone to look into the facts. Direct Action Texas spent countless hours analyzing open records requests, noticing patterns and discovering Fort Worth voters whose voice was stolen. This vote harvesting operation preys on the elderly and the economically disadvantaged, who are among our most vulnerable neighbors. 
Our research has shined a light on a covert, yet pervasive network – to the tune of 20,000 ballots, over four years, primarily within the African-American and Hispanic communities. All indications are this is the largest investigation related to voter fraud the Attorney General’s office has ever seen. This research has uncovered major flaws in the election code and its enforcement. We were happy to assist the AG’s office in their investigation, which led to today’s developments. Given the magnitude of this issue, we must reform the election code to restore the integrity of the process"
During an exchange with the Tarrant County Elections Committee, Phillips suggested the AG investigation was related to suspicious activity surrounding mail-in ballots. At the time, the magnitude of the investigation was unknown.

To read rest of article, click on link:
http://www.empowertexans.com/around-texas/largest-voter-fraud-investigation-in-texas-history-underway-in-tarrant-county/
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WILL IT BE LA PALANCA OR LEGAL PERFORMANCE AT 445TH?

October 11, 2016, 12:37 pm
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(We received this in the email today in support of Rene De Coss. We have met him and he is the real deal. He is facing an uphill fight against the palanca so we will see how that goes. We would hope that history doesn’t repeat itself by electing a woman lawyer that wants to play judge over someone far more qualified. Anyone come to mind?)
IT'S ALL ABOUT GETTING IT RIGHT

As a judge, one carries an enormous responsibility to assure that the law is applied fairly and impartially and – most importantly – correctly.
The law may be an abstract, but every decision we make affects breathing, living human beings. It may send someone to prison for many years for a crime. Or it may free wrongfully accused persons.

We can't afford to get something "partially" right, or wrong. Every "i" has to be dotted and "t" crossed to give all the parties in a trial an even playing field.

When judges fail in the application of the law, it mocks the concept of a fair and impartial legal process that can result in a murderer walking our streets, kidnappers thumbing their nose at their victims, criminals attacking our la enforcement officers without facing any consequences, and brings dishonor to our profession.

I am proud to say that in the 1,000 or more cases over which I have presided, only two have had appeals filed regarding procedure and one already came back upholding my decision, finding no error. There is only one still in the appeals process.

We're all humans and no one's perfect. But rest assured that if you decide to keep me on the bench of the 445th District Court as your judge this November 8, every decision that I make will be based on sound legal principals that will prevent such grievous miscarriages of justice.

Let's get it right the first time.
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TEXAS AG SUES BROWNSVILLE OVER PLASTIC BAG BAN

October 13, 2016, 7:07 am
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From Valley News Central 
Attorney General Ken Paxton filed a lawsuit Wednesday against the city of Brownsville to permanently ban the "environmental fee" for plastic bags, according to a news release from his office.

Shoppers are charged $1 per plastic bag at the checkout counter if they do not provide their own bags. Paxton says the fee is an illegal sales tax.

Plastic checkout bags are considered "containers and packages," according to the Texas Health & Safety Code. Since state law requires local governments to manage waste from taxes already collected, the law does not allow the assessment of taxes or fees at the cash register.

“No local government has the authority to violate Texas law just because it feels like it,” Paxton said. “Clearly, Brownsville is raising taxes on its citizens through this unlawful bag fee. The rule of law must be upheld, and state law is clear –- bags may not be taxed.”

Shoppers in the city of Brownsville pay nearly $71,000 per month in the environmental fees, according to the news release.

The City of Brownsville responded with a press release that doesn't address Paxton's assertions and instead defends the plastic bag ban by saying it has proven environmental friendly and has been emulated by other cities. (Click on graphic to enlarge)
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LUIS V. SAENZ: SOME COURT, SOMEWHERE WILL SET THINGS RIGHT IN GONZALEZ DEBACLE

October 13, 2016, 9:07 am
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By Juan Montoya
In an extraordinary bit of reporting direct from the court trial transcript, the Brownsville Herald is now saying that the comments made by Cameron County District Attorney
Luis V. Saenz that "miscommunication" by the court and jury resulted in a paltry five year sentence for Marco Antonio Gonzalez were expressly false.

In its reporting, the daily states that "The court record indicates that the prosecution had a chance to let the Cameron County jury know Marco Antonio Gonzalez’s sentencing would be 'concurrent' but did not fight for it."

The court (404th District Judge Elia Cornejo-Lopez) expressly asked Asst. D.A. Peter Gilman if the state was to willing go along with the language of the defense charge (Ernesto Gamez). That carried a single sentence that the state said it could live with and did not object.

“All the punishment you assess will run concurrent since all of these allegations were tried at the same time.”
“Hold on. You’re willing Mr. Gilman — the state is willing to remove that sentence and go with the defense charge?” Cornejo-Lopez asked of Gilman.

Gilman said he would have “no objection to the defense charge.”
Gonzalez was found guilty of nine counts of aggravated assault against a public servant and one count of aggravated assault in retaliation, was sentenced to prison for five years.

Because of the time he spent in prison (840 days), Gonzalez will be a free man in less than three years.

He previously was acquitted of capital murder in the shooting death of Ivan Reyes.
The reason, Gilman later explained via email to the daily, is because in cases such as that of Gonzalez, it would be improper for the court to instruct the jury on the consecutive sentencing law or to inform them of the effect the law would have on the punishment.

 “… Once Mr. (Ernesto) Gamez objected to our language in the jury charge, the defense would have had a lower burden of merely showing some harm, on appeal, as a result of this improper instruction.”
Now, even after his initial comments on the so-called "miscommunication" between the court and the jury have been proven not to be true, Saenz said he is hoping that "a court somewhere" will hear the case because of its 'extraordinary situation." 

Guess what Mr. D.A.? The case is over. It's water under the bridge that will see this defendant pull a mere three years for shooting a man, holding a woman at gunpoint for six hours, and shooting it out with law enforcement officers.

"Still doing a good job?"
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CORTEZ'S PLATFORM: OMAR IS AN OLD MAN AND I'M NOT

October 13, 2016, 10:34 am
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By Juan Montoya
A cursory look at the campaign platform of Republican candidate for Cameron County Sheriff Victor Rodriguez can be summed up in a simple sentence: Vote for me because Omar Lucio is old and I'm not."
Simplistic, perhaps.

But Cortez takes it to another level. In his Facebook page, he downloaded a clip of himself doing 22 push ups for 22 days to somehow prevent suicides among military veterans.
That's a noble cause, we're sure, but the subliminal message is that he can do push ups and Lucio has outlived his productive years.

Accompanying his posts, he included a "before and after" photo of Lucio as a young man and one from today.
We're not sure how many grandfathers are out in Cameron County or how many grandsons, granddaughters, or sons and daughters would take such an assessment kindly. Lucio cannot turn back the years, nor for that matter can Cortez, himself no spring chicken.

This in itself seems to be more of a campaign ploy than anything else. Since when has age mattered in experienced law enforcement officials. You'd think the more mature the person is holding the office the better.

Now some are questioning whether the make up of his campaign signs that use small letters in the word "for" Sheriff is deliberately misleading the public. In the Texas Election Code Section 255. 066,  C (2), the use of the word "for" is specifically called to be at least half the font point size of the office held.


The law states that use of these lettering "with the intent to represent to an ordinary and prudent person that a candidate holds a public office that the candidate does not hold at the time the agreement is made" is not legal.
It is readily apparent to anyone who has seen Cortez's signs that the word "for" is much smaller than half the size of the word "sheriff."
If no one is "above the law," shouldn't they set an example? Or doesn't the law apply to Victor?
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FORMER BISD FOOD SERVICE ACCOUNTANT SENTENCED

October 13, 2016, 11:28 am
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Various Sources

A former Brownsville ISD food services staffer is going to prison for two years for stealing more than $300,000 in cafeteria concession sales.

Image result for BISD food and nutrition serviceBrownsville federal judge Rolando Olvera handed down the sentence Wednesday against Leticia Arreola, 39. Arreola had pleaded guilty to embezzlement in June, just a week after she’d been indicted.

Arreola worked as the school district’s nutrition services accountant and was in charge of collecting and depositing concession funds. But an investigation found she’d been pocketing the money – for up to six years. 
Also as part of her sentence, Arreola must pay back the money she stole. The 39-year-old Arreola has been given 30 days to report to federal prison.

Arreola was an accounting clerk in the Food and Nutrition Services Division of the Brownsville Independent School District (BISD) and admitted to stealing cash proceeds from concessions sales at four schools for nearly six years, announced U.S. Attorney Kenneth Magidson. Arreola, of Los Fresnos, entered a guilty plea to a one-count criminal information to theft concerning programs receiving federal funds.

From at least 2010 until January 2016, Arreola used her position to embezzle approximately $332,571.46. The embezzled money represented cash proceeds from the concessions sales at Faulk Elementary, Brownsville Early College High School (BECHS), Brownsville Learning Academy (BLA) and the Brownsville Academic Center (BAC).

BISD utilizes substantial federal funding each year to help provide cafeteria lunches for its’ students. This funding is well in excess of $10,000 yearly. Besides providing cafeteria lunches, BISD also receives cash payments from students for concession style food, such as ice cream and cookies.

Schools that perform concession services are required to send their cash proceeds to the BISD affiliated bank for proper accounting and deposit. The cash deposits are supposed to be placed in a deposit bag and then delivered on a daily or weekly basis via armored car to the BISD affiliated bank. At times, however, schools would miss their scheduled time to provide the deposits to the armored car. In those instances, the deposit bags were delivered to Arreola who would then steal the money for her own purposes.

Eventually, Arreola was able to arrange for cash deposits from Faulk, BECHS, BLA and the BAC to be delivered directly to her. When money came in from these schools, she would simply take the money out of the deposit bags and place them in her purse until she left at the end of her work-day. Ultimately, Arreola was asked to provide documentation about the receipt of money from these schools over time and she was unable to do so.

A review of the Arreola’s bank records from 2010 to 2016 demonstrated the extent of the embezzling scheme. While her legitimate salary with BISD was approximately $20,000 annually, records reflect that she embezzled more than $48,000 in 2010, $46,538 in 2011, $35,561 in 2012, more than $63,000 in both 2013 and 2014, another $71,532 in 2015 and a final $4,712 in 2016.

Arreola would spend proceeds from the $332,571.46 she stole on living expenses, vacations, entertainment and shopping.

She was permitted to remain on bond pending that hearing.

The BISD Police Department and the FBI investigated with assistance from the Cameron County District Attorney’s Office and cooperation of BISD. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Jody Young and Israel Cano are prosecuting the case.
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