Save Jerry McHale: December 2012

Wednesday, December 5, 2012

Brownsville Noise

Brownsville Noise
http://brownsvillenoise.blogspot.com/

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â™¥ â™¥ BFFs â™¥ â™¥
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiuTW6vSITIWPsKkuoumenechNTUUwraeokw7C-5ABOqNzfhdx4yznexCezVkondI1Y33NIxoZkp7-rPSbvx12qxSj75nPV5C7w_m3nM35QWWqjDHKxZUK84IeatQYJVIOHOhAmNk200oIK/s1600/bff.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="278" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiuTW6vSITIWPsKkuoumenechNTUUwraeokw7C-5ABOqNzfhdx4yznexCezVkondI1Y33NIxoZkp7-rPSbvx12qxSj75nPV5C7w_m3nM35QWWqjDHKxZUK84IeatQYJVIOHOhAmNk200oIK/s400/bff.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>Rick congratulates his BFF Charlie on his Turd Place showing in the recent valleycentral.com poll.<div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/7460924536583987444-8997923795881558037?l=brownsvillenoise.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>
LINK: http://brownsvillenoise.blogspot.com/2011/03/bffs.html

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HERNANDEZ, MARTINEZ AND BARRERA: THE UNHOLY ALLIANCE
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By <strong>Juan Montoya</strong><br />By now it has become abundantly clear to all but those who choose to hide their head in the sand that the Second Coming of Tony Martinez was nothing short of the coming of the Antichrist.<br />We should have known it when his partner Horacio Barrera defended Erin Hernandez Garcia (Ernie Hernandez's daughter) on the charges of voter fraud brought by the Yolanda Begum campaign. Barrera himself admitted that he did this pro bono, that is, free of charge for his buddy Ernie.<br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZzSH95rEw8ts2wh8F516xSIMmososBSy273divS3Jy3s4pNA_nzr2VQpcGBhs4zO0azxuyXGlLVIBqy4CHMUf9pNdj90IzHJnUuRHXRR_azIhshaYxBOqoPq9ZhxNLiV58GCvWg-dKF0/s1600/Wolfsheep.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="194" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZzSH95rEw8ts2wh8F516xSIMmososBSy273divS3Jy3s4pNA_nzr2VQpcGBhs4zO0azxuyXGlLVIBqy4CHMUf9pNdj90IzHJnUuRHXRR_azIhshaYxBOqoPq9ZhxNLiV58GCvWg-dKF0/s320/Wolfsheep.png" width="320" /></a>Now we know that it was Barrera who negotiated with the city over the $2.3 million purchase of the Casa del Nylon and a smaller adjacent property.<br />With these kind of connections, can anyone really doubt that Tony is a deals man who will not flinch when handing out the public's money to his buddies?<br />With his pious Catholic connections and holier-than-thou attitude toward city government, Martinez has slid under the radar of public scrutiny. It won't be until he has raided the candy store and given it over to the United Brownsville shadow government under the tutelage of Juliet Garcia and Fred Rusteberg that we may wake up to find Brownsville no longer belongs to the people, but to the schemers behind the scenes aided and abetted by Hizzoner.<br />Commissioner Ricardo Longoria, the Southmost representative who has been relegated to the role of a commission doorman, stated it best when he wrote that:<br /> <em>"There are many things going on in this city that had not happened in a very long time. Many dealings are going on behind closed doors, contracts are being signed by an elected official without the consent of the City Commission or City Manager (Bannergate), and micromanagement with a bullying effect is occurring that has our directors and staff showing up to work wondering when their last day might be. We meet and it is an 'Oh I'm sorry I forgot to tell you guys about this, my mistake, you know I just didn't think that I had to tell you,' and the best one, '"I've been working on this on my own time and money so that this can happen, so I ask you to support it.' Yet at no time were any of us involved or at the meetings.<br />There are many things going on during this administration and I am saddened to see that at a time when the people of Brownsville should be going up in an uproar about the way this City Commission is running the city they are not. Yet, at times when commissions of the past were doing well for its citizens you had to sit there and take the insults and false accusations."</em><br />Welcome to the club, Ricky.<div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/6016803033174468094-8115272439163616362?l=rrunrrun.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>
LINK: http://rrunrrun.blogspot.com/2012/12/heranandez-martinez-and-barrera-unholy.html

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Brownsville Noise

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Tuesday, December 4, 2012

Brownsville Noise

Rrun Rrun

EL RRUN RRUN
http://rrunrrun.blogspot.com/

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RIO VIEJO'S NEW COMMANDMENT: HATE THY NEIGHBOR
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By <b>Juan Montoya</b><br />Among the items that will be contained in the city's $13.056 million Certificates of Obligation is included one to pitch in $600,000 as a local share to build a Texas Safe Shelter at the Sports park or other city location.<br />That seems a bit curious since there are another $3 million included in the CO issuance toward the local share of constructing a Texas Safe Shelter at the Main Library.<br />Why two, you might ask? Well, with Brownsville and South Texas being a prime target for hurricanes and other natural calamities, it stands to reason that the city should provide for safe shelters for local residents who don't trust their humble abodes to withstand hurricane-force winds or prolonged frigid weather.<br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEir7YzmWaqaeQ_Rz8UOp-EPDIBnfSNmnqZQ7k4q05yYVXxvLnIc8r8a3XX522pCkFUmektQzPXg_gM9O8mfB65dPX9J_egT3wz1CVKNhzfUnNFJwstXyHBn6lbU8sISC9P0tCMZVYFqtlU/s1600/gates.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="280" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEir7YzmWaqaeQ_Rz8UOp-EPDIBnfSNmnqZQ7k4q05yYVXxvLnIc8r8a3XX522pCkFUmektQzPXg_gM9O8mfB65dPX9J_egT3wz1CVKNhzfUnNFJwstXyHBn6lbU8sISC9P0tCMZVYFqtlU/s400/gates.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>Other fiscally conservative voices might say that local institutions such as churches sand charities could well provide the poor with these necessities instead of local governments and taxpayers.<br />Well, a funny thing happened on the way to the altar.<br />It seems that the Baptist Church at 1600 Boca Chica Boulevard near the once-exclusive Ceniso and Calle Jacaranda neighborhoods had planned â€" at no cost to the city â€" to set up such a Texas Safe Shelter on their property. When the residents of the once-silk-stocking neighborhoods got wind of the project, they let well-meaning folks at the church and city officials that they wanted no part of it.<br />"This was a shelter that was going to be used for a day or maybe two at a time by people who needed to take shelter from a hurricane or some other disaster, and the people in the neighborhood didn't want them there," said a city official. "Now, instead of having the church bear the costs as they had wanted to on their own, the city has to pay for it. It's hard to understand."<br />Old-time Brownsville residents remember when the gates at the corner of Ringgold and Roosevelt across on Palm Boulevard across the street from Sharp Elementary used to be shut at dusk to prevent the rabble from intruding into the inner sanctum of the fine folks living on the residences from Ringgold to Boca Chica on Palm. If you look closely, the bases of the stone pillars that anchored the gates are still there.<br />Now, if you look closely into the souls of the people that didn't allow the Baptist brethren to provide shelter to their less fortunate brothers, those gates appear to be just as deeply rooted as well.<div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/6016803033174468094-5342174088686279725?l=rrunrrun.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>
LINK: http://rrunrrun.blogspot.com/2012/12/rio-viejos-new-commandment-hate-thy.html

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HIZZONER BACKS OFF $1 A YEAR RENT DEAL WITH FIL JR.
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By <b>Juan Montoya</b><br />City Hall insiders say that Brownsville Mayor Tony Martinez â€" fresh from his taxpayer-funded China jaunt with the BEDC's Jason Hilts â€" will back off from pushing for the sweetheart $1 a year rental deal that he was said to be pushing for newly-elected congressman Filemon Vela Jr. at tonight's city commission meeting.<br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRIjc0w6ymy8_LpUx0BGoyKG6cDk3G2d22Cg4U_jy0z633YAfVjSQI8Nqd07pKQlEoD3y6B9ivMqfnhulU8Ngi74csqzc1InmnJWsHxGWsEn5FqpBBVqw1oF3qIr8oCrEPGEWaPtjd_0k/s1600/tonym.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRIjc0w6ymy8_LpUx0BGoyKG6cDk3G2d22Cg4U_jy0z633YAfVjSQI8Nqd07pKQlEoD3y6B9ivMqfnhulU8Ngi74csqzc1InmnJWsHxGWsEn5FqpBBVqw1oF3qIr8oCrEPGEWaPtjd_0k/s1600/tonym.jpg" /></a>The commissioners will discuss the rental agreement in executive session and emerge from behind closed doors to take action on the matter. But while insiders say that Martinez thought he could browbeat the rest of the herd into accepting his generous terms to Fil Jr., the tempest generated when bloggers divulged his proposal for a $1 a year rental agreement with the new congressman, the political will wasn't there to pull it off.<br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmsFBn-q_0FfKzGLzJRiAbbeGHSpvpUZHLq18TBfMoPnS_V88gcZmC0V0qrG7wNBs-qI5bhF4WQdJ30bEs-qL0hj1EEHBxIivK5ef7KAi6Tc5yh2vP9HAZ1bAy6Hq5hkNH_azIAIRoBI0/s1600/Filemon-Vela3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmsFBn-q_0FfKzGLzJRiAbbeGHSpvpUZHLq18TBfMoPnS_V88gcZmC0V0qrG7wNBs-qI5bhF4WQdJ30bEs-qL0hj1EEHBxIivK5ef7KAi6Tc5yh2vP9HAZ1bAy6Hq5hkNH_azIAIRoBI0/s200/Filemon-Vela3.jpg" width="171" /></a>"The majority vote isn't there for Tony to give away the store," said a City Hall watcher. "If no one had heard about ti, he might have pulled it off. As it is, people are wondering how he managed to use city workers and city resources to start remodeling the offices on the second floor of the Municipal Court on Levee without a contract in place. He's backing off from that now."<br />Another deal that won't go through tonight will be the vote on the $13.056 million issuance of Certificates of Obligation that will have to be tabled due to last-minute changes between the first and second reading scheduled for tonight. Insiders say that City Finance Director Pete Gonzales will ask the commission to table the second reading until the required notice and advertisements are done to address the changes in the issuance.<br />That means that Abraham Golonsky, the owner of the Case del Nylon on 1304 E. Madison and the adjacent lot at 655 E. 14th Street, will have to wait for at least another week for the second reading where the commission will approve the disbursal of the $2.3 million sale tag for the downtown properties.<br />"I guess Abraham is going to recoup the losses he had when the stock market crashed," quipped a local wag. "He is going to make up his losses thanks to the generosity of his friend Tony and the taxpayers of Brownsville."<br />Not only is the city acquiring a property that many feel is priced way beyond the market value, but they also point out that the upkeep and maintenance on the old buildings will also be a drain on the city budget.<br />"Those old buildings are heard to maintain," said a real estate broker. "Unless the city wants to buy them to lure the university into staying downtown, this doesn't seem to make much sense."<br />Included in the CO issuance that will be delayed until Dec. 11 meeting is included the $431,000 price tag for the Old Texas National Guard Armory Building, also said to be another of the properties that Martinez will try to use to get the University of Texas System to remain in the downtown area.<br />The list of the projects in the CO issuance are as follows:<br />Two million will go toward the city's share of the Westrail Relocation Project but will have to wait until a revised Inter-local Agreement between the city, Cameron County is adopted by both taxing entity that will include the city's 50-50 participation in the construction of the Flor De Mayo Bridge and other future bridges to be constructed within the city limits of Brownsville.<br />Another $3 million will go toward the local share of constructing a Texas Safe Shelter at the Main Library in case of hurricanes or other natural calamities, $1.1 million will go toward the city's share of constructing a hangar facility at the city airport, and $3 million will go toward streets, sidewalks, and bicycle trails.<br />The city's Brownsville Metro (BUS) maintenance yard building will get a much-needed upgrade with $625,000 and another $600,000 will be the local share of the construction of a Texas Safe Shelter at the Sports Park or other city location.<br />Of the total, $11.956 million are tax exempt, while $1.1 million for the airport hangar project is not.<div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/6016803033174468094-5445797762354994591?l=rrunrrun.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>
LINK: http://rrunrrun.blogspot.com/2012/12/hizzoner-backs-off-1-rent-deal-with-fil.html

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Brownsville Noise

Monday, December 3, 2012

Brownsville Noise

Rrun Rrun

EL RRUN RRUN
http://rrunrrun.blogspot.com/

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CHIRINOS BASH WILL FEATURE BLUE B-DAY CAKE
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By<b> Juan Montoya</b><br />Heard about the birthday cake being prepared for newly-elected Brownsville Independent School District trustee Jose Hector Chirinos by his large number of admirers?<br />It seems that everywhere he went, whether at the main office, Porter High School or the BISD Transportation Dept. the charismatic administrators nurtured a growing female fan base.<br />At the high school and main office they were called "Las Barbies" like the doll. At the transportation department, he called them 'Las Princesas." In each case, they were a loyal support group, especially after BISD administrators homed in his department after shortcomings were detected through cursory audits.<br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_T29zpW3qUb8j3tiQDnj7AzVzc8POPDCcZ7I4LBB-6hrtl8j_hWNWup2rnLiITqlR9hSFSmwDL7spBtWxyV87rDWKvSjPJTU_WtAXBDfedtkYQiA7oWHbbwMw7om9RT6SLSEbBUAfG_Y/s1600/birthdaycake.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_T29zpW3qUb8j3tiQDnj7AzVzc8POPDCcZ7I4LBB-6hrtl8j_hWNWup2rnLiITqlR9hSFSmwDL7spBtWxyV87rDWKvSjPJTU_WtAXBDfedtkYQiA7oWHbbwMw7om9RT6SLSEbBUAfG_Y/s200/birthdaycake.jpg" width="186" /></a>The final straw was the performance of the forensic audit which found that Chirinos openly admitted that the widespread abuse of overtime for bus drivers existed when he arrived and continued until he was removed to another position after the administration had had enough.<br />The forensic audit, for example, indicated that over the five or so years that the affable Casanova was at the helm more than $3 million in unjustified overtime was doled out to department employees. A new audit performed just recently indicated that the overstocking of inventory at the bus barn totaled into the hundreds of thousands of dollars. What's worse, some of the items overstocked are no longer of any use to the district or are may be obsolete.<br />Today, BISD administrators say they will save more than $106,000 monthly after they implemented cutbacks on the generous overtime practices kept in place by Chirinos.<br />Unfortunately, Chirinos is now a new BISD trustee and some BISD employees wonder whether he will attempt to get back at the administration that removed him from his loving followers.<br />For the moment, however, it is said that at his approaching birthday this month, the Princesas and Barbies will bake a cake for Chirinos in his favorite color, blue.<br /> <div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/6016803033174468094-4100029966887444182?l=rrunrrun.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>
LINK: http://rrunrrun.blogspot.com/2012/12/chirinos-bash-will-feature-blue-b-day.html

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ERNIE SETTING ALL THE DUCKS IN A ROW FOR HIS EMPIRE
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By <strong>Juan Montoya</strong><br />With the installation of his daughter Erin Hernandez Garcia as Justice of the Peace 2-2, Ernie Hernandez and his vote-harvesting machine have come one step closer to establishing his political empire.<br />Hernandez, the commissioner for Cameron County's Pct.2, took to handing out patronage and jobs like a duck to water. In fact, his former buddy and close associate John Wood did him the favor of hiring him as his assistant two months before he took office before Wood lost to Carlos Cascos for the position of county judge.<br />It was like letting a kid loose in the candy store. But he lacked finesse, as he found out when his ruse to give his brother-in-law a job as a security guard at the Veterans Memorial Bridge (Los Tomates) was foiled after an investigation disclosed that poor Roberto Cadriel couldn't pass his Civil Service exam and that someone else (an affidavit exists) that an employee at the Human Resources Dept. took it for him and he passed after tow dismal attempts to pass it.<br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFtTJKOMEz9EvIV4VjiwfZ6DHdomu2dyieY9mmE6Cq5FRc3ImWTh1qgcwrmNKNZCp5tOH51pUjsb8eb2GTU7E6JwcN6v99uE9kR40vil_cT8iz-79I18yp-8VKVWQRGFbpoz0O4Rytg_E/s1600/ernie.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="301" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFtTJKOMEz9EvIV4VjiwfZ6DHdomu2dyieY9mmE6Cq5FRc3ImWTh1qgcwrmNKNZCp5tOH51pUjsb8eb2GTU7E6JwcN6v99uE9kR40vil_cT8iz-79I18yp-8VKVWQRGFbpoz0O4Rytg_E/s400/ernie.png" width="400" /></a>As a result of the ensuing controversy, Cadriel resigned after one day as a security guard at Veteran's Memorial Bridge. Acting Human Resources director Robert Lopez resigned immediately after the story became public, right after Cadriel. That case is still being investigated by the county's District Attorney Armanado Villalobos, who himself has been indicted for racketeering and corruption in cases related to the Abel Limas scandal, among others.<br /> With Public Works Supervisor Louie Ara resigning for unspecified reasons, Ernie must now seek someone else to dispense his patronage. Ara had Santana Vallejo as his assistant there. You remember Vallejo, he used to to be streets supervisor with the City of Brownsville until management sniffed out something wrong with their neighborhood sidewalk program. Apparently, some of the cement being delivered to the program somehow found its way out of the city and ended up being used by individuals who then sold it to homeowners for driveways and sidewalks.<br />And just last year, a homeowner's complaint in rural Olmito filed with the Cameron County's Sheriff Department charged that Vallejo and his compadre Rosendo Rodriguez had sold them driveway pipes they were replacing as they performed ditchwork on the roads and keeping the money for themselves.<br />Sheriff Dept. officials said that the complaint against the two were dismissed on a "technicality," but insiders say that aggressive defense attorneys for the men scared them into withdrawing their charges telling them they were just as guilty as their clients because they knew the pipes were not legitimately acquired.<br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEieZ8GlNSOopdDLKtFEbZOy5hftCUfME-ZvwsY5xyYf89xAK1NMKyn_BsQdWwLz88LHUTkPEL4tApOKDtjlgwjAGFTb3zUowHF3wkWZFI7NjVKRxiNwMpHnhjEUa6cXP351TpELc0E0Gy4/s1600/ratas.gif"></a>With the charges withdrawn, the men returned to their positions free and clear.<br />And it just so happens that Rosendo's brother, Ricardo, is also working for the county in the colonia grants section and mostly in Cameron Park. Ara had put that crew under the supervision of inexperienced supervisor and one of his favorites, foreman Ruben Gonzalez, who showed immediately upon arrival at the project that he didn't know his keister from a bar ditch.<br />He had workers climb into deep trenches without the OSHA-mandated protection for workers in sloping ditches. OSHA mandates that entities doing the work may use a trench box or shield that is either designed or approved by a registered professional engineer or is based on tabulated data prepared or approved by a registered professional engineer. <br />Well, our Mr. Gonzalez knew nothing of this and had the workers climb into the trenches without the required protection. One, Javier Mendoza (Nuco), had the misfortune of suffering the predicable: the trench collapsed and trapped him under tons of dirt. He suffered serious injuries including damage to his internal organs and has now been declared disabled and can no longer work. As an afterthought, Ara suspended his appointee as foreman Gonzalez and now the county has been forced to pay for all the injured worker's medical and disability payments.<br />After Vallejo left the city, he ended up in the Cameron County Public Works department under Ara, who is under Pete Sepulveda, county administrator. But the incestuous nature of the Ara-Vallejo-Hernandez relationship didn't end there. <br />Ara's sister, Lavinia Ralston Long, who used to work at Fiesta graphics, Ernie's company, is now the receptionist for Hernandez's Precinct 2 office.<br />And remember Gilbert Galvan, the county's hapless safety officer who wrecked the county SUV when he failed to negotiate the curve at the intersection of FM 803 and Henderson Road? Well, apparently just after the truck was repaired, accident-prone Galvan had it hit by another car and the vehicle sustained some damage. Back to the repair garage!<br />Hi sister, Claudia Garza, by the way, works as receptionist at the county warehouse on 14th Street in Brownsville.<br />And Vallejos' wife, Linda C. Vallejo, also works for the county auditor's office.<br />Vallejo's brother was also found a spot on the Cameron Park colonia work crew.<br />Ernie is getting better at this all the time.<br />It is apparent that the colonia fund crews and county jobs had become the destination of Hernandez-Ara-Vallejo patronage ring with the predictable results. So what are a few thousands dollars in wasted road materials when they tried to pave Carmen Avenue and ended up botching the job? They just shrugged their shoulders, blamed the quality of the materials sold to the county by the Texas Department of Transportation and tried it again.<br />And who can forget Aroldo Cadriel, who as we well know is Ernie's wife Norman's cousin? He has been charged with murdering a young woman with whom he had a romantic relationship and dumping her body is a desolate rural area. Ernie sent Public Road crews at a cost of thousands of  in caliche and manpower to spread it past his firing range even though there were no residences more than a half mile from there. <br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiU7P8IyKdhlZlEGaJkhXGaEz4OSU-15UmY3djzrRRHAnv-28dl-Q7A2SrLXtVnKpTOhrcnaIOt9SPj4zAyBBI-EMTfG9mxNuAExdKRGgfhN6AS9a5qCDxYKDtJ825zmM8mOVU38jU_kbg/s1600/erin+h_+garcia.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5742112572988335650" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiU7P8IyKdhlZlEGaJkhXGaEz4OSU-15UmY3djzrRRHAnv-28dl-Q7A2SrLXtVnKpTOhrcnaIOt9SPj4zAyBBI-EMTfG9mxNuAExdKRGgfhN6AS9a5qCDxYKDtJ825zmM8mOVU38jU_kbg/s400/erin+h_+garcia.jpg" style="float: right; height: 267px; margin: 0px 0px 10px 10px; width: 400px;" /></a>Remember when Ernie's niece â€" the former Magistrate Patricia Edlestein â€" gave the commissioner's  daughter-in-law Daisy de la Fuente, a former receptionist with the Cameron County Sheriff's Department, a "get out of jail" card after she was arrested after being engaged in a drunken brawl in northern rural Los Fresnos?<br />De la Fuente, married to Evan Hernandez, Ernie' son, was said to have been clocked traveling more than 100 miles per hour on Highway 100 at <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0NGI9MTLIZ39m3PqTmxOYZRN_NiU1MW-AstMTJKmMkBqymMkM6j5CAOALIV1pGeh2cmWpMdaXObarIac2Qpt7g3xniNd9-DwWumi0y4L274riz78q_aCB0VY5OmFUxBsxyjHO_qmuxDA/s1600/daisy.jpg"></a>approximately 3 a.m. <br />Los Fresnos police chased her and she is reported to have ditched her car and taken off on foot through the bush to elude them,<br />She then called her friends at the sheriff's department to ask them for a ride. Police found her walking on the side of the road. Unfortunately for Daisy, she forgot that she had left her purse and ID in the car and when the Los Fresnos cops went though it, they found out her real identity.<br />Even with Ernie's pleading, Sheriff Omar Lucio decided he had had enough embarrassment from one of his employees and declined to keep her on board.<br />Now, as Ernie's daughter Erin Hernandez Garcia takes over the JP 2-2 helm, can we reasonably expect any different?<br />She is, after all, an important cog in the machine Hernandez and his extended family of politiqueras vote harvesters have built and none which county residents will have to contend with for years to come. Even should Ernie lose the next election, the pieces are all in place for him to pull the strings from behind the scenes and try to control the political life in this county.<br />ï»¿<div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/6016803033174468094-563660927878042145?l=rrunrrun.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>
LINK: http://rrunrrun.blogspot.com/2012/12/ernie-setting-all-ducks-in-row-for-his.html

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IS KALIFA-TETREAU LEAKING EXECUTIVE SESSION INFORMATION TO BLOGGERS?
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By <strong>Juan Montoya</strong><br />Has City Commissioner Jessica Tetreau-Kalifa been leaking the secret discussions held by the city commission in executive session?<br />If we are to believe a local blogger who fancies himself a kingmaker and local political mover and shaker, she apparently is.<br />\NO less than two mentions in Erasmo Castro's (the Head Cheez) Internet page indicate that someone is leaking confidential information to his site. Given his historical attachment to Klaifa-Tetreau, all indications seem to point to her as the potential leaker.<br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZue-pLM3VSZHa6Ja7kXxfrnPrmSbHwyMFpw8MNFiAjR_dCt4ykGEkUdNx5bFQy8rh4q1yb9m92ucMijcZUsG0p_sp78Kav2CFlXXFbjaAMsKW3DBvLXkpGjMJZ5peYphW-asRo4BMBgw/s1600/executiveleak.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZue-pLM3VSZHa6Ja7kXxfrnPrmSbHwyMFpw8MNFiAjR_dCt4ykGEkUdNx5bFQy8rh4q1yb9m92ucMijcZUsG0p_sp78Kav2CFlXXFbjaAMsKW3DBvLXkpGjMJZ5peYphW-asRo4BMBgw/s1600/executiveleak.jpg" /></a></div>In two posts, Castro flaunts the fact that he is privy to what goes on "behind closed doors" on a number of issues. If you'll remember, his group (Cheezmeh) took full credit for the victory of the feisty commissioner over hapless Charlie Atkinson. Since then, the fortunes of the group have fallen on hard times, so he obviously couldn't help himself but to flaunt the apparent acces to the halls of power though loose-lipped Jess.<br />Another blogger recently published the political scorecard of Cheezmeh, Jessica's main suppoters, and noted that it is not a shining one. Here, in their own words is the Cheezmeh political record.<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;">"Terry Vinson for Sherriff LOST</div><div style="text-align: center;">Alex Dominguez for State Reprsentative LOST</div><div style="text-align: center;">Carlos Masso for DA LOST</div><div style="text-align: center;">Chuck Mattingly for DA LOST</div><div style="text-align: center;">Tad Hasse for TSC LOST</div><div style="text-align: center;">Robert Uresti for TSC LOST</div><div style="text-align: center;">Dennis Blanchard for District 34 LOST</div><div style="text-align: center;">Jessica Bradshaw for District 34 LOST</div><div style="text-align: center;">Donald Clupper for BISD LOST</div><div style="text-align: center;">Linda Gill for BISD LOST</div><div style="text-align: center;">He even tried to push Mitt Romney but was skeptical because he was too far away to extort money from him and his contact outside of Brownsville, TX couldnâ€™t reach him through Facebook.</div><div style="text-align: center;">One Winner by Cheating Erin Hernandez</div><div style="text-align: center;"><b>The Score is 1-10 Â½</b></div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEib1FsdGnVvOH8M0uG2MFQD6s54m0-npTJCB-kUuz9-anYcQafODlh00rMkTzYHJU9C6YY3e5GdHVUEdCXixjQAsZ1F5Qh_nOojBm2ZrxMYRnM16NYLOwFnwg5t_jY4eEeUnUlbwIyH7xk/s1600/mail.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEib1FsdGnVvOH8M0uG2MFQD6s54m0-npTJCB-kUuz9-anYcQafODlh00rMkTzYHJU9C6YY3e5GdHVUEdCXixjQAsZ1F5Qh_nOojBm2ZrxMYRnM16NYLOwFnwg5t_jY4eEeUnUlbwIyH7xk/s1600/mail.jpg" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEimCVwoi-GNs38-n4vxLrd127rd4AnT5SAS7sZNfs0EggVbjIV0-24H4T1h-ZaVzzM1tEVmxkm7F-y1GgFkHXdQcZn8ZaAKjeVEq5f-zUFNjQ7hZhruZucbFwnVLh7wknNAQNDjnasVd_g/s1600/Jessica_Tetreau_BPD_400.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEimCVwoi-GNs38-n4vxLrd127rd4AnT5SAS7sZNfs0EggVbjIV0-24H4T1h-ZaVzzM1tEVmxkm7F-y1GgFkHXdQcZn8ZaAKjeVEq5f-zUFNjQ7hZhruZucbFwnVLh7wknNAQNDjnasVd_g/s320/Jessica_Tetreau_BPD_400.jpg" width="320" /></a>In the post shown here, Castro indicates that the commission was discussing an issue in executive session and that he was posting in real time (as we speak). In another, he chides a commenter who points out the illegality of disclosing the discussions held between commissioners in executive session. Castro describes this as "pathetic rantings" and defends the practice as an exercise in informing the public about what their elected officials are discussing in private (and may we point out, legally).<br />While some may find it daring and roguish to divulge the private conversations between elected officials, we may also add to the "pathetic rantings" of the commenter derided by Castro by merely saying that it is highly illegal to do what he is doing, and doubly so if the commissioner is the source of the leaks. Will this continue or will someone bring this to the commission's attention?<div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/6016803033174468094-1057501750079212279?l=rrunrrun.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>
LINK: http://rrunrrun.blogspot.com/2012/12/is-kalifa-tetreau-leaking-executive.html

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DOWNTOWN ECONOMY FLYING HIGH! IT'S IN THE BAG!
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj46c1kuE0Y-gx7IOCj3AMb2fpogmLvnRLPiF97HFNFiMof6pFTullfVCxKosNc-gpFO3BgJcGlQpv6PNj_mR-fUEJSRZ-AujskI3s15CEUpz2itaNl14it300mHzXh5XPdgWLKLdsy6t0/s1600/bags.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="372" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj46c1kuE0Y-gx7IOCj3AMb2fpogmLvnRLPiF97HFNFiMof6pFTullfVCxKosNc-gpFO3BgJcGlQpv6PNj_mR-fUEJSRZ-AujskI3s15CEUpz2itaNl14it300mHzXh5XPdgWLKLdsy6t0/s640/bags.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>By <strong>Juan Montoya</strong><br />We were having coffee with some of our friends at a downtown cafe within spitting distance of the Brownsville Municipal Court and City Hall when we noticed a profusion of small plastic bags often used by jewelers to pack small items for their customers.<br />As we stood by the door of the restaurant, one of our friends pointed to the curb by a parked truck and said that the crack and cocaine dealers are apparently doing a land-rush business by the number of plastic bags littering the street. We counted no less than nine or 10 bags on the curb, some of them still containing white residue.<br />While merchants complain of the lack of business downtown, it is obvious that some people are doing very well, thank you. The three bags you see above were just a small number of those that we co9uld see all up and down the curb. Business â€" someone's business â€" is apparently on the upswing.<div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/6016803033174468094-3670186178300688452?l=rrunrrun.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>
LINK: http://rrunrrun.blogspot.com/2012/12/downtown-economy-flying-high-its-in-bag.html

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Brownsville Noise

Sunday, December 2, 2012

Brownsville Noise

Saturday, December 1, 2012

Brownsville Noise

Rrun Rrun

EL RRUN RRUN
http://rrunrrun.blogspot.com/

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MAYOR TO B'VILLE: PICK UP MY $29,000 TAB, COULD YA?
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By<strong> Juan Montoya</strong><br />Even as the Brownsville City Commission is set to decide Tuesday whether to encumber city residents with $13.475 million in Certificates of Obligations without asking them, Mayor Tony Martinez â€" who should have been in the U.S. Navy the way he lavishly spends their money â€" is demanding that the city pay $29,000 for a "Better Communities" workshop he hosted.<br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhshU7hHoKt8TkJhOrWc84Gh1rkHC9Ds868n1BvlbEniigGjbDu9aE_DpBpnXcNPWfOIdvXO08cBO26wOeeLZ32d7OFoiRRAQ1pO2q-38I3da4nHM6OvozLMT2_05FNeZ2_xTyoyysOHjI/s1600/drunken-sailors.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhshU7hHoKt8TkJhOrWc84Gh1rkHC9Ds868n1BvlbEniigGjbDu9aE_DpBpnXcNPWfOIdvXO08cBO26wOeeLZ32d7OFoiRRAQ1pO2q-38I3da4nHM6OvozLMT2_05FNeZ2_xTyoyysOHjI/s1600/drunken-sailors.png" /></a></div>Word has it that the mayor â€" at the behest of Carlos Marin, his mentor and confidante â€" had scores of visitors flown in and housed in local swank hotels for the high-priced workshop. When the bill came in and the piper had to be paid, it is said Martinez sent the bill to Finance Director Pete Gonzales with the order to "pay it."<br />We are gathering more information as we acquire it and go through the lengthy information request process, but some of the details are already leaking through the sieve-like city fabric.<br />We never believed, or imagined, that when Martinez came into office he would set about to do and undo as he wished without the consent of the governed. But as we watch his doings, we are now thoroughly convinced that he won't hesistate to spend lavishly as long as it's not his money.<br />We will release the details of this latest splurge as we acquire them.<br />An apology to sailors, at least drunken sailors spend their own moolah.<div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/6016803033174468094-1735486834520147950?l=rrunrrun.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>
LINK: http://rrunrrun.blogspot.com/2012/12/mayor-to-bville-pick-up-my-29000-tab.html

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WILL FIL JR. PAY THE CITY RENT? COMMISSIONERS WILL DECIDE THE 4TH WHEN THEY ENCUMBERS US WITH YET $13.475 MILLION MORE IN CERTIFICATES OF OBLIGATIONS
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By <strong>Juan Montoya</strong><br />Only until after the Brownsville City Commission emerges from its executive session will the taxpayers of Brownsville know whether and how much newly-elected District 34 congressman Filemon Vela Jr. will be required to pay for his spacious new digs on the second floor of the Municipal Court.<br />The open secret that the city crews were already working on the facility prior to any agreement to give Vela a nice crib for his official duties have been known to city employees for more than two weeks. However, it wasn't until this Friday that the city's notice of the meeting and posted agenda that the public knew that the move had being contemplated.<br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhrfRcjulpmh9UKNgv-v5rp4yvY2li_WNYVNFeO_tIIVcJkizJ3K-WEYqa3Px50S686fBYe5uTpWTHD4zG5hIDal8M4zjAE9Rmgk4DVc-etWqewpKnCU_mhAVvyq0w2_ujxILRjx9zztas/s1600/tony.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhrfRcjulpmh9UKNgv-v5rp4yvY2li_WNYVNFeO_tIIVcJkizJ3K-WEYqa3Px50S686fBYe5uTpWTHD4zG5hIDal8M4zjAE9Rmgk4DVc-etWqewpKnCU_mhAVvyq0w2_ujxILRjx9zztas/s200/tony.jpg" width="200" /></a>In the polemic debate that followed, the leak that Vela was going to be charged a token $1 fee per year as rent has been debated by those pro and con on the issue. However, until the commissioners emerge, the exact rates to be charged remain unknown. Will the commission bite the bullet and go along with the $1 idea or not? <br />The lease agreement rules issued by the congressional administrative counsel and included in the meeting package indicate that they must be reviewed by that office before payment (if any) is approved. Until then, the agreement between Fil and the city will not be binding.<br />The contract before the commissioners has been left blank. There is no specific rental amount mentioned, and no mention of what other services will be provided (how many reserved parking spaces, etc.). The decision on those matters will be left up to the commission and Hizzoner Tony Martinez. This blog has posted that inside city sources had indicate that Martinez will try to get the commission to agree on the $1 token rent rate. How successful he will be now that that information is out before the public will determine his powers of persuasion.<br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiIJdVO5B3jxuwamnzos2ueR-nz5-RJweF2Dc3Kp2vrYrM-Xfhh3pIePZfmM7Z3qKsy7vHqg5usishZi7i9GWPS0squ4IWGg3B_gdULB4fAp0FLOo_EPwTjxBwcLXPyQnUmNJXP3_fto7c/s1600/tax-debt-460x278.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="192" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiIJdVO5B3jxuwamnzos2ueR-nz5-RJweF2Dc3Kp2vrYrM-Xfhh3pIePZfmM7Z3qKsy7vHqg5usishZi7i9GWPS0squ4IWGg3B_gdULB4fAp0FLOo_EPwTjxBwcLXPyQnUmNJXP3_fto7c/s320/tax-debt-460x278.jpg" width="320" /></a>However, be that as it may, there are other items on the Dec. 4 agenda that bear more scrutiny. Take for example, action items 11 and 12 that the commissioners will vote on whether to encumber yet another $13.475 million in new debt through the issuance of Certificates of Obligation based on property taxes and "certain surpluses" in the airport and landfill budgets.<br />The items do not include the purpose for the issuance of  the $13.475 million, only that the commissioners approve the issuance and purchase of the bonds. Will the funds be used to purchase yet more real estate by the Mayor to entice the oil-and-gas rich University of Texas System to remain downtown as he has been doing for the past six or so months? Or is it for some other purpose?<br />Doubtless, Martinez will let us know what he is using our money for when it suits him. Until then, we are expected to continue to beloieve that his intentions are good. Or should we?   <div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/6016803033174468094-6806053253319130672?l=rrunrrun.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>
LINK: http://rrunrrun.blogspot.com/2012/12/will-fil-jr-pay-city-rent-commissioners.html

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