EL RRUN RRUN

By Juan Montoya

On January 8, after hearing of alleged irregularities with Brownsville Independent School District vendor Grafik Spot, we filed a request for information with the district asking for the payments made to the company over the last five years (2013-2017).

At the time, the district said it was requesting an exemption from releasing the information because of what it claimed to be confidential information that was involved in an ongoing criminal investigation and sent its objection to the Texas General Attorney's Office.

The district's appeal to the Texas Attorney General's Office says it was taking 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 cited 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."

That was in January.

It is now almost May and we were pleasantly surprised when we saw the requested information in our email. So it wasn't exempt after all? We suspected half as much when BISD board general legal counsel Baltazar Salazar told board trustees during an open meeting that the company was a "vendor in good standing" and approved the district awarding it a contract for printing supplies in 2018.

Right then and then we knew the district (and specifically Salazar) was playing games with the public's right to know. Even before BISD released the requested info (after four month-delay), we had learned that in four months of 2015 alone (July to October), they had paid Grafik Spot $1,2562,120.

Apparently, that was only the tip of the iceberg. We did the math on the new information released and found that the BISD did business with the company to the tune of millions. They started up with a mere $18,093 in 2014, but quickly reached the millions the next year.

In 2013: $0

In 2014: $18,093

In 2015: $1,660,804

In 2016: $586, 415

In 2017: $7,849

2018: ???

Total to 2017: $2,256,961

The items purchased ranged from custom nugget boxes ($366,600) to food tray liners ($319,950) to Grafik Spot's "set-up" for the purchasing department ($4). How many of these purchases were part of the criminal investigation performed for the district? And what was the result of the investigation cited to keep these transactions from the public?

We'll be asking.

To see the entire list of purchase orders and the cost of the items, click on the link below:
https://mail.google.com/mail/u/0/?ui=2&ik=643034ff4a&view=att&th=162fd1b3764fcb0c&attid=0.1&disp=inline&safe=1&zw

FromThe Texas Tribune

Things just got a little more muddled in the seemingly-endless double Republican and Democratic parties' runoff for May 22 and the special election called by Texas Gov. Greg Abbott for June 30 to replace former Congressional District 27 U.S. Representative Blake Farenthold.

There are two Republican and two Democratic candidates in the runoff for their respective parties May 22. The two Republican candidates – Bech Bruun and Michael Cloud have already said they will run in the special election. Of the two Democrats who are in the runoff, Raul "Roy" Barrera and Eric Holguin, the latter said he will be running in the special election regardless of the outcome in the May 22 runoff.

The winners in the regular parties' runoffs will face each other on November 6.

On the other hand, the candidate filing deadline for the special election is Friday, and early voting will run from June 13-26. If no candidate of either party in the special election gets 50 percent plus one vote, the runoff will likely take place sometime in September and the general election before January. That means that whoever wins the special election – Democrat or Republican – will serve until January 2019, at most one or two months, until the winner in the November election takes office.

Confused?

In the weeks after Farenthold's resignation, Abbott said he wanted to fill the seat "as quickly as possible" because the Coastal Bend-area district is still recovering from Hurricane Harvey. Abbott sought an opinion from Attorney General Ken Paxton about whether the governor could suspend state law to speed up the timeline for the special election, citing his authority to set aside certain statutes if they interfere with disaster recovery.

Paxton promptly gave Abbott his blessing.

Now the possibility that the eventual winners in the regular election cycle runoff will run in the special election and face each other again in September before facing each other, one of them already elected, in the November general election.

Special to El Rrun-Rrun

When a local resident decided to vote early as he was passing by the Suthmost Public Library, he turned into the parking lot.

Reaching for his voting card and ID, he walked up to the table where the elections workers took it and looked him up and then took down his information.

"They told me that I could vote in the (Texas Southmost) College and Port (of Brownsville) election and asked me which one I wanted to vote in," he said. "I told them both. But they said I had to pick one."

This didn't seem right to him and he set about to convince them that he should be allowed in both races, which he eventually did. But the fact that early voting was already into the third day of five early voting days and that nearly 70 percent of the total vote in a race is cast during that period, concerned him.

"How many times has that happened to people who didn't protest and were deprived of voting in either race," he asked. "How can this happen?

"The McHale Report is endorsing incumbent Rene Oliveira for Texas State Representative. This is a no-brainer. This is a slam-dunk. This is about Brownsville.

Oliveira has the experience and expertise that would take his foe years to accumulate. As the fifth-ranking member in the State House of Representatives, Oliveira has clout. He has respect. His foe would be ranked 150th and we have no doubts that those Republicans rednecks would have about as much respect for him as they do for an undocumented gardener or maid.

Oliveira is a Brownsville boy and he takes care of Brownsville people without ignoring the needs of his constituents in Rio Hondo, Los Fresnos, Port Isabel, South Padre Island the other smaller communities and hamlets that are a part of his district."

AFTER 34 YEARS OF RENE OLIVEIRA, THIS IS WHAT BROWNSVILLE AND DISTRICT 37 FAMILIES HAVE TODAY:

*Number of people with less than high school education is 40,134, or about 41.7 percent compared to the statewide average of 18.4 percent.

*Persons in poverty numbered 65,090, or 39.1 percent compared to the statewide average of 7.7 percent.

*Likewise, per capita income was $13,416 compared to the statewide average of $26,513.

THIS TALK OF "SENIORITY" HAS GOTTEN OLD.

He boasts of ranking fifth in seniority in the Legislature. This is how his district ranks on family income with the other four:

1. Tom Craddick, Amarillo $32,938 10.9 percent in poverty

2. Sephonia Thompson , Houston $15,742 27.8 percent in poverty

3. Harold Dutton, Houston, $19,867 24.5 percent in poverty

4. John Smithee, Amarillo, $27,603 12.4 percent in poverty

5. Oliveira, Brownsville (SPI), $13,416 39.1 percent in poverty

Yet, he is asking for another two years to "finish" the job. Hasn't he done "enough?"

BUT MCAHLE, THE PACS, AND LOBBYISTS LOVE RENE

Out of 108 campaign contributors to his campaign from June 2017 to January 25, 2018, only three are from individuals living in his Brownsville district.

The rest are from industry and special-interest PACs and lobbyists.

And of the $162,163 in total cash donations to keep their boy in the state house, only $2,050 came from contributors from Brownsville, with $1,000 of that from his law firm of Roerig, Oliveira & Fisher, LLP, Brownsville. And yet, Oliveira says he's from here and that he represents Brownsville, or does he?

The contributions from people from Brownsville are just 1.26 percent of the total. A full 98.74 percent came from PACs and special interests outside of District 37.

This special interest money is buying Rene's vote to keep things just the way they are. McHale got his $500 and a peda. Look what we got. Haven't we had enough?

VOTE ALEX DOMINGUEZ: IT'S CHANGE OUR FAMILIES CAN'T LIVE WITHOUT!

By Juan Montoya
After months of doing without a director, the Cameron County Public Works Department has a new one.

It's Carlos Reyes, the former City of Brownsville Public Works director who will take over the equivalent position in Cameron County and replace the late Ruben Gonzalez who passed away last November.

Reyes started his new position March 12 and will earn a $70,000 salary and will have a six-month probation period.

Reyes, who has a high school diploma, comes after spending 26 years in the city as construction inspector supervisor with the City of Brownsville.

Before that, he had worked in a number of positions involving surveying and supervision dating back to 1981 when he stated with the city as a teen working with the Summer Youth Program.

He lists among his qualifications his professional membership in something called the American Public Works Association and numerous other certificates of attendance in road construction and surveying seminars. It also lists his certificate of appreciation from the city for his "tireless assistance in the city's awards banquet" and for being an "additional safety duty officer (?)."

He also lists "the defusing of irate citizens" as one of his "areas of expertise."

He listed three city employees as his references: Carlos Lastra and Teodoro Garcia, both engineers, and Kirk Massey, a police officer.

In his new job, he joins other recycled city employees the likes of supervisor Santana Vallejo, the employee who somehow managed to dodge several Cameron County Sheriff's Department investigations of theft involving the sale of concrete driveway pipes to rural residents. His attorneys scared those who were sold the pipes by saying they were just as guilty as Vallejo and they refused to testify (That's fun-loving Vallejo at right).

In the photo above, Reyes seems like a fun guy, just as Vallejo has posted pictures of his frolicking. County Public Works employees, get ready for the ride.

By Juan Montoya
How would you like to rent prime beachside property where you could build a bungalow and pay as little as $43?

Guess what? At least 13 renters – some from as far back as 1975 – have paid the Brownsville Navigation District that much ($518 per year) and enjoy pristine Boca Chica Beach compliments of the rest of the port's taxpayers.

The port's leasing office says there are a total of 17 fishing camp leases available to local residents, at a yearly cost of $518.

Of course, the best, those along Boca Chica Beach frontage, have been taken for years and there is a waiting list. There are 18 names on the waiting list for these prize spaces, and the first applicants on the list has been waiting since 2003 for a vacancy. That's 15 years.

However, some of the tenants such as Gary Williams, Shelin Monters and Amanda Burres (last on the tenant list graphic at right) have had theirs since 1975 and doesn't appear like they are about to give them up. In fact, some of these "fishing camp" lessees have grandfathered themselves and can sublease if they want, or if the price is right, sell their lease for as much as $25,000.

"All you have to do is renew the lease yearly and pay the $518 and you can do pretty much what you want with it," said an applicant on the list.

"We had someone offer us a fishing camp lease for $25,000 but we thought it was way too much. There are others who have made offers for $10,000."

Of course, without water or sanitary sewer, the camps are limited to bringing in drinking water and constructing above the sand dunes. Water for domestic purposes can be brought in and stored in tanks while the camp is being used.

"Some of these leases have been passed on from generation to generation and no one else can get their foot in the door unless someone give it up," said a local resident who looked into the availability of a fishing camp. "Everyone wants to have the beachfront lots, but there are others further back along the ship channel that are less desirable."

The port does not permit the structures to be permanent, but looking at the structures, it is obvious that a person could live in relative comfort as long as there is drinking water and stored water for domestic purposes.

But it is the "clubby" aspect of the way these fishing camps leases have been handled at the port which bothers people who want a chance to rent a prime space. Some suggest that the port should institute a lottery system open to all that could be drawn on a yearly basis and limited to a set time (1-3 years?) before there is another drawing for the spot.

"They ought to start a new method, otherwise it will be the same old connected individuals who will continue to enjoy these prime properties subsidized by the port taxpayers," said one. "Where can you go and get a place to stay on prime beachfront property for $43 a month? You can;t even get a motel room that cheap. You have to have connections to get one."

By Liam Stack

New York Times

Bill Cosby has not said much about the sexual assault accusations that have dogged him for years, but when he was convicted on Thursday of drugging and assaulting Andrea Constand he decided to say a few words in the Norristown, Pa., courtroom. Including a crass one aimed at the prosecutor.

The 80-year-old actor, a fixture in American family entertainment for decades, erupted in response to a suggestion by the Montgomery County district attorney, Kevin R. Steele, that his bail should be revoked because he was a potential flight risk and owned a plane.

“He doesn’t have a plane, you asshole!” Mr. Cosby shouted. It was all the more startling coming from a man once beloved as the mild Dr. Cliff Huxtable on his hit NBC sitcom, the Jell-O pudding pitchman and the whimsical creator and voice of the character Fat Albert.

Judge Steven T. O’Neill told Mr. Cosby to pipe down – “Enough of that!”

But he disagreed with the notion that the actor seemed likely to skip town. He said Mr. Cosby could be released on $1 million bail but should surrender his passport and stay in his home nearby.

To read rest of story, click on link: https://www.nytimes.com/2018/04/26/us/bill-cosby-rant.html

By Juan Montoya

Texas Southmost College President Dr. Jesus Roberto Rodriguez has disavowed the actions of his senior administrative assistant who – accompanied by two security guards – confronted a candidate who was campaigning with students on the campus Thursday.

The incident happened at about 4:30 p.m. Thursday and involved Place 6 candidate Carlos A. Rios – who is one of two challengers of incumbent Dr. Rey Garcia, the other being J.J. de Leon – and who was campaigning among the students well removed from the 100-foot restricted area around the polling place at the Ft. Brown Memorial Center.

Unbeknownst to him and the students he was talking to, someone was watching them from inside the president's office at the Gorgas Building across the street. That someone was President Rodriguez's Senior Administrative Assistant Max E. Roca and the office secretary.

According to reports, Roca felt Rios should not be campaigning on college grounds and grabbing two uniformed American Surveillance security guards, went out to where Rios was talking to the students and told the candidate as much and said he could not continue to campaign there. Rios objected but deferred to Roca and left.

But his supporters questioned the propriety of Roca's actions and went to Edgar Chrnko, Director of Marketing and Community Relations, and also in charge of elections, to ask why Roca had told Rios he could not campaign on college grounds.

That Roca was accompanied by two American Surveillance security guards immediately fueled suspicions among Rios supporters that it could have been a response to Rios' platform plank calling for a college police department that would do away with the hiring of a private security firm.

To his credit, Chrnko told Rios' supporters that Roca was mistaken and that Rios and any other candidate was free to campaign at the college and interact with the students to encourage their participation in then college's elections.

This has left some people wondering whether Roca was acting on his own initiative or whether he was under the direction of Dr. Rodriguez.

When contacted, Rodriguez quickly nipped the suspicions in the bud and issued the following statement:

Texas Southmost College welcomes all candidates, in that it hosted a candidate open forum on
the TSC campus on April 17 to encourage student and community engagement with all
candidates. All of the candidates for the Texas Southmost College District Election were
present. (Click on graphic to enlarge.)

Candidates are able to interact with students and the community on the TSC campus, as long
as they adhere to the Elections Code requiring all candidates to remain at a minimum of 100
feet from an early voting and election day polling place.

We were recently informed that one of the campaign candidates was asked by Mr. Max Roca, an administrative assistant, to leave the TSC campus and to refrain from interacting with
students. Mr. Roca acted without authorization and direction and is not the designated elections
administrator at TSC.

Efforts were immediately made by the TSC Elections Administrator, Edgar Chrnko Salas, to
inform the candidate that he, as well as any other candidate, is welcome to proceed with
interacting with students and the community on the TSC campus.

After the meeting with Mr. Chrnko Salas, the candidate shared that he would continue to interact
and engage with students on the TSC campus on the same day. He also expressed
appreciation for the elections code clarification.

TSC board president Adela Garza also assured us that Roca's actions were mistaken and taken on his own initiative without authority from the TSC president or the board.

"TSC encourages civic engagement and political participation, freedom of speech and of expression," she said. "Mr. Roca's actions in no way reflect the policies or philosophy of TSC."

It is worth noting that of the seven early voting locations in the college election, the Ft. Brown polling place has drawn the least number of votes so far.

Anonymous said...

Did you notice how DA Luis Saenz positioned himself in the courtroom to get in the picture with the "Killer Grandmother". Luis is a DICK and a political HAM!APRIL 24, 2018 AT 4:14 PM

By Juan Montoya

Did Cameron County District Attorney Luis V. Saenz learn his public relations gimmicks too well from previous Public information Officers at his office?

In the top photo, Saenz is seen standing in the wings 197th District Court as alleged double killer Louis Riess sits in an extradition hearing where authorities from Florida petitioned the court for her to go back to that state and be tried for the murder of a woman she befriended.

Minnesota authorities also want her to face murder charges in that state after her husband was found shot to death at their worm farm in Blooming Prairie, Minn.

Riess had been captured in South Padre Island by U.S. Marshals and placed in the custody of Cameron County Sheriff Omar Lucio, the usual procedure involving a fugitive. The decision on whether to order the extradition based on Florida's request rests on the court, and not on the DA's Office. In fact, the DA has no role whatever in the extradition since Riess was not accused of any crime in Texas.

“Both Florida authorities will be speaking to Minnesota authorities and what we do in these cases is we’ll agree to one trying her and then take her after the first case is done,” Saenz explained to a television station.

We? Last time we heard, Saenz was not sitting on the bench and had no say in what happened to the woman and whether it was in Minnesota or Florida.

In the case of Amit Livingston, the same thing happened. U.S. Marshals captured the killer-fugitive in India and brought him back to serve his sentence in a Texas penitentiary, a sentence he had tried to keep from serving when he fled after he was allowed a 60-day period to "get his business" in order by former 404th District Judge Abel Limas.

When Livingston was returned to Cameron County, Sanez hopped on a plane to Houston and made sure he walked out in front of the prisoner and the sheriff investigator who received the prisoner from the marshals. Again, there was no logical reason for Saenz to intrude in the process.

When Livingston arrived at the airport in Harlingen, he was turned over to...Sheriff Omar Lucio.

With Cinco de Mayo in the horizon, will we see Sanez in Puebla during the reenactment of the battle taking custody of the defeated French soldiers?

Special to El Rrun-Rrun

The Brownsville Police Department has confirmed that Texas District 37 State Representative Rene Oliveira was arrested for driving while under the influence of alcohol after he struck another vehicle Friday night into Saturday morning.

Details are still sketchy pending the police report, but sources say that he was stopped and arrested by police officers after he had stuck another vehicle. Source say that he was transferred to Valley Baptist Hospital where his blood was drawn after he refused to have his breath tested with the Breathalyzer.

He was said to have been booked at the Brownsville Police Department. The blood samples will determine his alcohol level and possibly narcotics in his system. He was arrested on a charge of DWI Class B.

By Patrick Svitek

The Texas Tribune

State Rep. Rene Oliveira D-Brownsville, has been arrested and charged with driving while intoxicated, according to authorities.

Oliveira, chairman of the House Committee on Business and Industry, was arrested Friday night and charged with DWI, a class B misdemeanor, Brownsville jail officials said. He was released on $2,500 bail Saturday morning.

(Other reports indicate that he refused to take a breath test and that he was taken to Valley Baptist to have blood drawn. The results of that blood test will be available within a few days.)

"Last night I made a mistake in judgment, and thankfully, no one was injured. I sincerely apologize to my family, friends, colleagues, and most especially to my supporters," Oliveira said in a statement. "I am embarrassed, but grateful no one was hurt."

(Unconfirmed reports indicate that the incident occurred near the intersection of Central and Boca boulevards and that the car he struck was carrying a child in the back seat. We are awaiting the release of the police report to confirm this.)

He is currently fighting for re-election. Last month, Oliveira was forced into a May 22 runoff against primary opponent Alex Dominguez, a Cameron County commissioner.

To read rest of article, click on link: https://www.texastribune.org/2018/04/28/oliveira-arrested-charged-dwi/

Rene Dumpty

Swayed on a wall

Humpty Oliveira

Had a great fall

The Demo kingmakers

And his blogger friends

Couldn't get Rene Dumpty

Sober Again

By Juan Montoya
Local attorneys are still shaking their heads over District 37 Texas State Rep. Rene Oliveira's admission that he was driving drunk when he rear-ended a woman Friday night an then fled the scene of the accident, leaving his wife to lie to police that no accident had happened.

"Why on earth would he admit he was guilty?," asked an incredulous defense attorney. "He should just have kept his mouth shut and waited for court."

Then, to make matters worse, he refused to take a Breathalyzer test, forcing police to seek a warrant to draw his blood, opening himself to have whatever substances may have been in his system to authorities. He does look a bit bug-eyed in the booking photo taken some two hours after the accident.

Oliveira, in the heat of a runoff election with early voting set to begin two weeks from today (May 14), admitted he struck a car from behind as he made his way from an election campaign mixer at Cobbleheads Bar Friday and then drove away with two flat tires. His wife, the former Lorrie Sanchez, followed behind him in a silver Lexus.

Earlier, police had seen his Cadillac drive away from the scene of the accident and she had told them that no accident had happened. She, apparently, followed his car to their home on Jacaranda Street, about two to three miles from the scene of the accident.

Police did not file charges for fleeing from the scene, or for her making false statements. And they did not take possession of the Cadillac and had it hauled off by a tow truck. The photo of the car tilted to the right was taken the morning after the mishap.

They arrested him at the house, booked him at the police station down the road on Jackson Street, and then a $2,500 bond was set for him by a pliant municipal judge who got out of bed and had him released at about 4 a..m.

Normally, when defendants in DWI cases where an accident has occurred and they come before the judge, they are required to place an ignition interlock device on their car to prevent them from turning on the car if there is alcohol detected in their breath. That was not done here. Oliveira could have easily climbed into the car and headed for Matamoros to have an eye-opener and no one would have been the wiser, unless he hit someone again, of course.

If it had been you or me (we, unfortunately, speak from experience), you would have had to wait until the judge arrived in the morning (at about 10 a.m. or later), stand before him in your socks, and the cool your heels as the rest of the drunk tank crowd was processed and their bail set.

Then, after the paperwork was finished and you had your black coffee and day-old pan dulce, you would finally be released into the bright (and hot) glare of the midday sun.

Later, in a statement, Oliveira pontifically said he received the same treatment as anyone else.

Getottahere!

(Ed's Note: Despite the shakeup at the top of the Special Needs Dept. of the Brownsville Independent School District, the obvious shortcomings there have directly affected special needs kids. The parents of this child – who is autistic and attends Hanna High School – said he had one of his nervous tics and tried to rip the skin off fingers in anxiety.

The student was not being monitored properly and the parents were not notified until late in the day. "This is how my child came home. This is completely unacceptable to me and my family. These kids need more than what they're getting. Yes, me too. I'm not trying to exploit my child, but now it has affected me personally. All this talk about BISD special services having many issues and the board not taking a priority in it has come to this.I hope somewhere along the line things will change."

(Ed.'s Note: One of our eight readers sent us the photo above of the 1948 Brownsville High School Freshmen Favorites Dana Dew and Dagoberto Barrera.

Barrera has since passed and we suspect his companion has as well, but we have no knowledge in fact. Barrera was known as a die-hard conservative who was quite a boxer in his day and was often seen waving the American flag by the expressway on Price Road on the Fourth of July and other patriotic holidays.

He was also a frequent speaker at City Hall and the Cameron County Commissioners Court, mainly against higher taxes. Whether you agreed with him or not, he will remain in our memories as a sincere defender of his country and his city. Thanks for sharing the memories of this remarkable man.)

"But of that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels of heaven, but My Father only...

ADIOS, MARIA
(Requiem for a friend)

As a young girl coming of age

In the Las Prietas hood

You learned to throw

To make it,

And get respect

You grew all too quickly there

And had your kids

When you were just a child, too

And leaving school, to fend off life

And earn the daily bread

You worked in bars, en los congales, too

Rough days, the hurly-burly of

Cantina pleitos

You endured, and sometimes grew inured

Bar brawls, and botellasos,

Y los plomasos

Were a part of life

As were conjuntos, chancles,y las movidas;

The one-night romances, the furtive eye

Then you found him

And settled down

Sentates cabeza, mi Maria

Like most cantina girls will never do

And then that day, in peace

And home and hearth

Watching TV, with him

You felt your breath come short

And choked, and wheezed

And despite all that he did

To clear your breath,

It was for naught

And you met death

After the knife fights, shootouts

And brawls that you survived

In countless tawdry joints...

A piece of onion clogging your air

Is how you died

Adios, mi linda

Adios Maria

Descansa en paz

Cause no one knows...

By Juan Montoya
In looking over the social and mass media advertisements by the candidates of the Brownsville Navigation District, it is evident that some have chosen to weasel-word their claims of their concerns for the Port.

There's for example, Place 4 candidate Javier Vera, the employee of John Cowen at Rose and J. Cowen brokers. That firm does extensive business with the port and the principal's brother, John Cowen, also on the Grater Brownsville Incentives Corporation, is none other than sitting commissioner Ralph Cowen.

Yet, he says he's "The only independent candidate, not beholden to any individual or interest group." Really? He must not remember who he works for.

With that obvious self-interest of the Cowens at the port, it is improbable that Vera will have the independence to cast a vote on an issue which will affect the interest of his boss, the guy who signs his paycheck.

The major stevedore at the port that does extensive business with broker Cowen (commissioner Cowen's bro) is none other than Gulf Stream Marine managed by Mark Hoskins, the bother-in-law of commissioner John Reed. Gulf Stream Marine broke the longshoremen's union and drove wages down for the workers at this dangerous occupation.

Everybody – brokers, stevedores, Reed, and CPAs like Vera – pocket their profits while workers get paid the lowest of all on the Gulf Coast and suffer fatal accidents periodically. How clubby can you get?

The issue of independence notwithstanding, Vera is running ads vaunting his accounting prowess, but also taking credit for the coming of Big River Steel to the port. Let's get this right off the table. Vera had nothing to do with Big Steel accepting the offer on the option to lease 800 from the port for its steel plant, if it ever decides to move here.

It is not a done deal. In its press release, the port (not the company) said Big River still has to do its "due diligence" before making its decision to come to Brownsville. Vera's slogan that it's time for us to elect him so he can get going and "now the real work begins." sounds hollow because it was the port who offered them the option, not the other way around.

And Vera, as the Cowens' boy, can't "start working" on anything until the papers are signed. In fact, the leasing department has not even started negotiations with the company over the "option"they gave the port. Vera is running against Los Fresnos ISD teacher Patrick Anderson and local businessman Steve Guerra.

Likewise, Anderson, a teacher who should know better than to fudge the truth, has been sending post messages (and his supporters) claiming that if your property taxes from the port seem higher, maybe they wouldn't have if the LNG companies at the port of Brownsville paid their fair share of taxes.

Like Vera, Anderson and his supporters are placing the cart before the horse. As far as we know, there is no LNG plant construction underway at the port and if taxes went up, it might have been because the commissioners – for the first time in more than a decade – passed a slight tax increase to be eligible for federal funds and debt service.

The tax abatements that were passed by the Cameron County Commissioners Court and do not kick in until there is actually something out at the port to tax. To scare the voters with a tax scare is not legit.

It is these claims made by these candidates that are muddying the port waters and stirring the silty channel. With Cowen lapdog Vera declaring his prowess bring Big River here and Anderson claiming the LNGs are driving up your taxes, this is a disservice to the voters, who might be gullible enough to believe their claims.

If they are doing this now, what can we expect down the road?

Special to El Rrun-Rrun

Guy Bailey's dirty deeds began as soon as he became president in 2014 and led to the school being put on probation by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools (SACS). Now, it seems that he gets lot of help covering up his dirty deeds and political biases towards the Edinburg campus from everyone from the UT System to the Texas Tribune.

Before the merger, both UTB and UTPA complied with the Texas Tribune’s open records request for all employee salaries that they published on their website. Since the merger, UTRGV has failed to submit their employee salary info to the Tribune. There are several individuals who have been waiting for the data so they can see the changes in employees’ salaries from when they were employees at the legacy institutions vs. the new UT Rio Grande Valley.

We know several employees from UTB at all levels who had to take significant pay cuts to keep a position at UTRGV. Yet, at the same time, the top administrators gave themselves HEFTY raises. I have to wonder if Guy Bailey doesn’t want to keep all of this out of the public’s hands so Brownsville employees won’t be able to see the disparities in pay between (1) top administration and everyone else; and (2) the lower salaries that were assigned to UT Brownsville employees versus Pan Am employees.

I think many are particularly interested in individuals like Janna Arney (deputy President) who has seen a salary increase of at least $150,000 (though others speculate it might be as much as a $300,000 - $400,000 increase) since Bailey gave her the job.

There is not even an academic program at UTRGV for which Arney is eligible to be a tenured faculty member—she used to be faculty of a TSC associate’s degree program—not a UTB bachelor’s or higher program which makes her rapid rise to the top at UTRGV interesting to many (they say she resembles Bailey's deceased wife).

Then, she demoted the AVP she had hired shortly after UTRGV was formed to make room for a big administrative position for her husband, Doug Arney in Business Affairs. Speculation on the camus is that between the two of them they now make over half a million dollars.

Why won’t UTRGV release this data?

Why won't the Tribune make them comply with the open records request? What are they trying to hide?

We've heard of UTPA people who got $50,000-70,000 raises, but also UTB administrators who took from $10,000 to $30,000 pay cuts with the merger in order to keep a job.

We all know that Guy Bailey got the biggest bonus of all presidents in the UT System the same year he got the institution on probation with the SACS accreditor. This was troublesome. So, is UT System complicit in helping him hide the "win" experienced by Pan Am employees versus the "loss" experienced by Brownsville employees (except the Arneys)?

(Ed.'s Note: We are filing an Open Records Request to check into this. We will will not the them hide what they did to the Brownsville folks. We will ask for the salaries from the legacy institutions from 2014-2015 as well as the current 2017-2018 year and let's see how much changed in just 3 short years.)

Special to El Rrun-Rrun

As the 3:30 p.m. school class closing hour approached, numerous reports indicate that numerous drivers of the Brownsville Independent School District's Transportation Dept. were calling for a walkout in protest of their wage and labor demands.

Reports indicate the administration called on mechanics and dispatchers to try to avoid a disruption in taking students home before calling administrators.

Details on the extent of the threatened walkout remain sketchy, but we will monitor the situation as the afternoon progresses. If you have students riding the bus, there might be some delay in them getting home today.

YOU OUGHT TO SEE IT RACING WITH THE FRIDGE

T.A.G. TO BISD: RELEASE INFO ON VENDOR GRAFIK SPOT

THINGS GET CURIOUSER AND CURIOUSER IN CD-27 RACE

VOTING: ITS' NOT ONE OR THE OTHER; RATHER, IT'S BOTH

PAID HIS $500, MCHALE LAUDS OLIVERIA, CROWS "SENIORITY"

HAIL, HAIL, THE BROWNSVILLE PUBLIC WORKS GANG IS HERE!

FOR THE FAVORED FEW, PRINSTINE BEACH SPACES FOR $43

THE PUNDITS HAVE STARTED ON COSBY AFTER CONVICTION

TSC PRESIDENT DISAVOWS ASST.'S ACTIONS ON CAMPAIGNING

WHERE'S WALDO, AND WHY IS D.A. LUIS SAENZ THERE?

RENE OLIVEIRA BUSTED FOR DWI; STRUCK ANOTHER CAR

OLIVEIRA MAKES BAIL ON DWI, TESTS RESULTS PENDING

ALL THE KINGMAKERS, AND BLOGGER FRIENDS, COULDN'T...

HIT-AND-RUN ACCIDENT, LYING TO THE POLICE, YOU GO BOY

SPECIAL NEEDS DEPT. SHORTCOMINGS AFFECTING KIDS

1948: LOOKING BACK AT A PAGE IN LOCAL HISTORY, DAGO

NO ONE KNOWS THE TIME AND THE PLACE WHEN WE DEPART...

FUDGING THE TRUTH TO ELECTION DAY VICTORY AT THE PORT?

IS UTRGV-BROWNSVILLE STEPCHILD OF UT PAN AM AGAIN?

BULLETIN: BISD BUS DRIVERS THREATEN WALKOUT; STAFF, MECHANICS, DISPATCHERS CALLED IN TO FILL THE VOID