Save Jerry McHale

Saturday, October 27, 2012

Brownsville Noise

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

---------------------------------------------------------------
â™¥ â™¥ BFFs â™¥ â™¥
---------------------------------------------------------------
<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

RSS URL: http://brownsvillenoise.blogspot.com/feeds/posts/default?alt=rss

This email sponsored by:

1&1 Internet - 6 Months Free on new Hosting packages
http://www.1and1.com/?k_id=7538907

This email is a service of QuickThreads.com.
To manage your subscriptions, login here:
http://www.quickthreads.com/myaccount.php
--------------------------------------------------------------------------

Friday, October 26, 2012

Rrun Rrun

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

---------------------------------------------------------------
NORTH TO ALASKA! A PHOTO REMEMBRANCE
---------------------------------------------------------------
By <b>Juan Montoya</b><br />About five years ago I ran into a friend of mine at the Stripes (or was it Valero then?). I had met him when I used to work in Minnesota as did he.<br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnFKgujajyc6ImdUIvlU9-lz4bZf-88b76Kz9EmQ0n0tk3uidkagbJ0WFRwjG_VF7eOZbbdQhwEznsddQFktTarNiJseKd1Ofr0PhbX6nrXKAmhSR4WyRlfsd8iHUbG3J8TrO-TEVELMc/s1600/ak2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="163" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnFKgujajyc6ImdUIvlU9-lz4bZf-88b76Kz9EmQ0n0tk3uidkagbJ0WFRwjG_VF7eOZbbdQhwEznsddQFktTarNiJseKd1Ofr0PhbX6nrXKAmhSR4WyRlfsd8iHUbG3J8TrO-TEVELMc/s320/ak2.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHu8t-kIPySrwiIGNlmMzUMswBLYT_EiCmj7abRyZ2XuSk0GcZO_wqBPZN1ZAs__51qyhVwpHN9q9MEtzBH6SdglvYdO4zQiqTXzPdJqDPTN-zAYRKgfbpA0_qYL7cBb4mFWKZiHn_6hg/s1600/ak1.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/AVvXsEhHu8t-kIPySrwiIGNlmMzUMswBLYT_EiCmj7abRyZ2XuSk0GcZO_wqBPZN1ZAs__51qyhVwpHN9q9MEtzBH6SdglvYdO4zQiqTXzPdJqDPTN-zAYRKgfbpA0_qYL7cBb4mFWKZiHn_6hg/s200/ak1.jpg" width="183" /></a>We sat and talked over coffee. Then he asked if I had ever to Alaska. I thought that weird, but I said I hadn't.<br />"So how'd you like to go up there for a couple of months?," he asked. "Kind of like a vacation."<br />It was late June and the heat was oppressive outside the air-conditioned shelter of the convenience store. "What are you going to do over there?," I asked.<br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5iNgREKTm56RJnwrvwRjRTCCrdLtOKWu0q_snylyu7Ut6lT9vLGiJfdnFmkmWNpsjxC-mcDXBye5ioHOx6CyEv5Ix2bVUmC-D925Pgz-Y0Lti6bhoU-3udEsO_MWles-OIWuxA-fnGmA/s1600/ak.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5iNgREKTm56RJnwrvwRjRTCCrdLtOKWu0q_snylyu7Ut6lT9vLGiJfdnFmkmWNpsjxC-mcDXBye5ioHOx6CyEv5Ix2bVUmC-D925Pgz-Y0Lti6bhoU-3udEsO_MWles-OIWuxA-fnGmA/s320/ak.jpg" width="240" /></a></div>"We'll go salmon fishing," he said. "The company will pay for room and board, all we have to do is get there."<br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKZa3QqnQ4iv9VBd5XFb92XqdsI6ZHaYoX84Xisje4dB9RtrVlsnhrUbRxmfh0kAlHRS3emvd6A2C94_AU0vmNE13T0xck3AasHYJOBjH7k4AGivGJYUKBTTyqcb5FaofBaDpGqGGVKm4/s1600/ak3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="135" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKZa3QqnQ4iv9VBd5XFb92XqdsI6ZHaYoX84Xisje4dB9RtrVlsnhrUbRxmfh0kAlHRS3emvd6A2C94_AU0vmNE13T0xck3AasHYJOBjH7k4AGivGJYUKBTTyqcb5FaofBaDpGqGGVKm4/s200/ak3.jpg" width="200" /></a>I had a few bucks saved up so that wasn't a problem. The kids were out of school and had someone to watch them. I probed a bit more.<br />"You mean out in the ocean?," I asked.<br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDP0M2T4q4coganS2mEKZbH4Ru0BJZU2GQMn5wpKsAB-tn2-7014dJW1GHHphbf_97cdF5Z8dbkeNtpZZQjj7cjdvdnnBT2CQpLENfLUr6PlkOw2rWn3fnK9YUchfKCcVqGs2XES73eSs/s1600/ak8.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; display: inline !important; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="95" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDP0M2T4q4coganS2mEKZbH4Ru0BJZU2GQMn5wpKsAB-tn2-7014dJW1GHHphbf_97cdF5Z8dbkeNtpZZQjj7cjdvdnnBT2CQpLENfLUr6PlkOw2rWn3fnK9YUchfKCcVqGs2XES73eSs/s320/ak8.jpg" width="320" /></a>"No, man. On land. The boats come in and we just unload them and then they're processed. It's a lot of fun and you meet a lot of people from southern Mexico and Europe who go there for the season."<br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgUVb0jvZnHEPp0CGh7tiFz8y5wKsxIatvgrFiCgIiGp-3bvqaM7CzLncjw5Af8iFauLOV1ZzAN209JoYDT60e9KGE6fkYAWbvRvre1uLR7ailE67Y3YGg4j2coibblSY_nZNvi332aX5o/s1600/ak5.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgUVb0jvZnHEPp0CGh7tiFz8y5wKsxIatvgrFiCgIiGp-3bvqaM7CzLncjw5Af8iFauLOV1ZzAN209JoYDT60e9KGE6fkYAWbvRvre1uLR7ailE67Y3YGg4j2coibblSY_nZNvi332aX5o/s320/ak5.jpg" width="240" /></a></div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPlD6Fx2HN93JKSnSK3aPttmOu-gT9nd7g5McAJ9F7QHwtObX0tEOygUu0i9iiMBG4_6EGrvUWeXs9Jz9fcV4lL6v6igE71kWXuJXs4Tm-YBqNPax2VuJ3ToZQqrQvkz2TW_6cL-QeMt8/s1600/ak11.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPlD6Fx2HN93JKSnSK3aPttmOu-gT9nd7g5McAJ9F7QHwtObX0tEOygUu0i9iiMBG4_6EGrvUWeXs9Jz9fcV4lL6v6igE71kWXuJXs4Tm-YBqNPax2VuJ3ToZQqrQvkz2TW_6cL-QeMt8/s320/ak11.jpg" width="256" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiogu5RkYJnnWRoWfyxGu_76FJyfoyih-4HMkfwDKzXOfMrk1IEYMdAa5s__K2wVmhdX9qvUjL84s4o_MfodHipKYKmjcnyyWmi33R-BRACeu5Vim8VbvNyBdS7h-QHkgcj1ybFsNw7iZQ/s1600/ak13.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="211" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiogu5RkYJnnWRoWfyxGu_76FJyfoyih-4HMkfwDKzXOfMrk1IEYMdAa5s__K2wVmhdX9qvUjL84s4o_MfodHipKYKmjcnyyWmi33R-BRACeu5Vim8VbvNyBdS7h-QHkgcj1ybFsNw7iZQ/s320/ak13.jpg" width="320" /></a>To make the long story short, we arrived in Seattle and boarded a plane (you can only get there flying or by ferry) to Petersburg, Alaska, off the Canadian British Colombia coast. We took off from Seattle and after a stop in Ketchekan, we arrived in a totally different world.<br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh95PpG8WD5BQ0khmyGwq8dliSY1hXDKAJnJKZHU7XxZCzzJBGJ1B3V8w9X1BxRiefgRt6gBAmKPs9NegwKj-ps0RDB5Z_pBzqM8NbiCZwNYn1wmy9nWr86oaDYhQ9YThTK12Bi58AmdW0/s1600/ak10.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh95PpG8WD5BQ0khmyGwq8dliSY1hXDKAJnJKZHU7XxZCzzJBGJ1B3V8w9X1BxRiefgRt6gBAmKPs9NegwKj-ps0RDB5Z_pBzqM8NbiCZwNYn1wmy9nWr86oaDYhQ9YThTK12Bi58AmdW0/s320/ak10.jpg" width="188" /></a>Texans have always had a kind of penis envy about Alaska. Now I knew why. On the flight from Seattle to Petersburg, the Alaska Airline jet soared over vast stretches of virgin coastline. Snowy peaks stretched ut below as far as the eye could see, even in midsummer. That alone made the trip worthwhile.<br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbnjN_zvPftY04Imj-6JHRKbap0FAUQa_Gu3qufSCgivx4jxeRv5ZxSBTBufes8uAUrkj8p5AvsnkgQ3MThZV_Qf2QsOxyOXcG6BF74McWb_4Ic_Sm921F0r5HwvxkPkeOdHblVuP4_uI/s1600/ak7.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="152" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbnjN_zvPftY04Imj-6JHRKbap0FAUQa_Gu3qufSCgivx4jxeRv5ZxSBTBufes8uAUrkj8p5AvsnkgQ3MThZV_Qf2QsOxyOXcG6BF74McWb_4Ic_Sm921F0r5HwvxkPkeOdHblVuP4_uI/s320/ak7.jpg" width="320" /></a>But there more wonders to behold. A vista of water, plant life, and animals awaited us. Here are some of the photos that I brought back with me. I'll let the images speak for themselves.<br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgU9rVgCMAEJpbbEtJkao7QwyzirZv_rd5cZSYBAGgGniwAC2vFAY83cF1L8AtdaE_jAZDvNHH_q-lEvPykrSNJ_TQAHx_qFSzld1EqALxoJHFlAwUFNKRPZyFmLgJIYStvplHjOriaSgo/s1600/ak14.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="386" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgU9rVgCMAEJpbbEtJkao7QwyzirZv_rd5cZSYBAGgGniwAC2vFAY83cF1L8AtdaE_jAZDvNHH_q-lEvPykrSNJ_TQAHx_qFSzld1EqALxoJHFlAwUFNKRPZyFmLgJIYStvplHjOriaSgo/s640/ak14.jpg" width="640" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg51a1vBuG13hVsxwAg99o464qHX3stWo-JYgUpMxqulCpzcdacSsklEGtPIgogAoXT9V4qX0AatEPcSOgG_dR0-pExFtIg2JyEncuMjuF4jRAfOFLWo2xy9JOZHkx75Hl98A0mj3hJtVI/s1600/ak4.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="384" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg51a1vBuG13hVsxwAg99o464qHX3stWo-JYgUpMxqulCpzcdacSsklEGtPIgogAoXT9V4qX0AatEPcSOgG_dR0-pExFtIg2JyEncuMjuF4jRAfOFLWo2xy9JOZHkx75Hl98A0mj3hJtVI/s640/ak4.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_fzwg2qu0iXYuU5FYaFXngs-f1HhY-KB8e_7k7GmRWwukVUzB330X8NjHOVZS2mPUHfkYOvUUbHIa3lJbufsYmRXHE91AaMH18zv_H6v-_AIRlS9EF4d7SlYvozN96fWG776RQnBz600/s1600/ak15.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="296" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_fzwg2qu0iXYuU5FYaFXngs-f1HhY-KB8e_7k7GmRWwukVUzB330X8NjHOVZS2mPUHfkYOvUUbHIa3lJbufsYmRXHE91AaMH18zv_H6v-_AIRlS9EF4d7SlYvozN96fWG776RQnBz600/s640/ak15.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>.<br /><br /><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/6016803033174468094-5913230972874816691?l=rrunrrun.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>
LINK: http://rrunrrun.blogspot.com/2012/10/north-to-alaska-photo-remembrance.html

---------------------------------------------------------------
CHUCKZZZNOOZES: YOUR TAX DOLLARS HARD AT WORK
---------------------------------------------------------------
By <strong>Juan Montoya</strong><br />They say a picture is worth a thousand words and there it is.ï»¿ï»¿ï»¿ï»¿ï»¿ï»¿<br />The man who says he has been putting criminals in prison since 1996 must know that it is also a crime to waste taxpayer's money by being asleep on the job.<br /><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; text-align: right;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrgpWVdDiWO1Qw6gNpxN3CbuKPaA29N2-YQVvJ4xT6L4x1ZuQEIImIDwmUplNndAh4VdbyGBO8IklgOTKmujCFNUhu_VRWuhtIN_ayIUcqTWrPcykIED5EFmwOXci4Pwg9F4mpu40gCAI/s1600/chuckzz.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrgpWVdDiWO1Qw6gNpxN3CbuKPaA29N2-YQVvJ4xT6L4x1ZuQEIImIDwmUplNndAh4VdbyGBO8IklgOTKmujCFNUhu_VRWuhtIN_ayIUcqTWrPcykIED5EFmwOXci4Pwg9F4mpu40gCAI/s400/chuckzz.JPG" width="237" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td></tr></tbody></table>It is probably Morpheus who is saying "I'm with Chuck" at the moment this picture was taken.<br />The portly barrister who is running against Luis Saenz for Cameron County District Attorney got caught napping in an empty courtroom by an unknown photographer. This happened before he was shunted off to San Benito after the cantankerous candidate got to be a pain with his underlings who refused to sing the praises about his candidacy. While there he was a constant no-show to the point that his boss put him on leave without pay.<br />He, of course, called it pure politics. But pictures don't lie and we promise we didn't Photoshop this.<br />But after months of grumbling from those who had to work around him, the The DA's Office placed Mattingly, once its its top prosecutor, on leave just a scant two weeks before the election.<br />There's even a rumor that he has been terminated, which we can't confirm.<br /><div>DA's Office spokesman Jason Moody confirmed that Mattingly, a Republican, was placed on leave from his job , but said at the time that Mattingly is still an employee with the office.<br />Rumors have run rampant throughout the campaign of Mattingly's absence from his position after he was sent to San Benito because of his "disruptive" behavior with his underlings. Some even claimed that Chuck would grow irate if the DA's staff would not support him politically.</div><div>Staff members also grumbled about his extended absence from the office after he broke his leg. His being placed on leave without pay now frees him to campaign without pretense of holding down his job.<br />Sweet dreams, Chuck.</div><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/6016803033174468094-4797237692485719352?l=rrunrrun.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>
LINK: http://rrunrrun.blogspot.com/2012/10/chuckzzznoozes-your-tax-dollars-hard-at.html

RSS URL: http://rrunrrun.blogspot.com/feeds/posts/default?alt=rss

This email sponsored by:

1&1 Internet - 6 Months Free on new Hosting packages
http://www.1and1.com/?k_id=7538907

This email is a service of QuickThreads.com.
To manage your subscriptions, login here:
http://www.quickthreads.com/myaccount.php
--------------------------------------------------------------------------

Thursday, October 25, 2012

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

---------------------------------------------------------------
POWERS FOR SALE? FROM THE HORSE'S MOUTH
---------------------------------------------------------------
<br /><div style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTqZ5mnMa9LHSEpEvc0_Qtln9sxX6i5v0kyIpu1ACv3jrRg3tt0udQMmEbXnP3TPUJtUK9NwmGV-UrXSs7UmmA4PrzQyTARvbdTPdWdDuCny6t_QXTlvsAxMOz5v55PxT9Tnw7XD1grLA/s1600/otisforsale.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTqZ5mnMa9LHSEpEvc0_Qtln9sxX6i5v0kyIpu1ACv3jrRg3tt0udQMmEbXnP3TPUJtUK9NwmGV-UrXSs7UmmA4PrzQyTARvbdTPdWdDuCny6t_QXTlvsAxMOz5v55PxT9Tnw7XD1grLA/s640/otisforsale.jpg" width="536" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://itismybusinesstoknow.blogspot.com/2009/07/i-talked-to-all-of-them.html" target="_blank">http://itismybusinesstoknow.<wbr></wbr>blogspot.com/2009/07/i-talked-<wbr></wbr>to-all-of-them.html</a></div><br /><a href="http://itismybusinesstoknow.blogspot.com/2009/07/otis-powers-talks-to-joe-colunga.html" target="_blank">http://itismybusinesstoknow.<wbr></wbr>blogspot.com/2009/07/otis-<wbr></wbr>powers-talks-to-joe-colunga.<wbr></wbr>html</a><br /><br /><a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Svw3taAQeWM&feature=player_embedded" target="_blank">http://www.youtube.com/watch?<wbr></wbr>v=Svw3taAQeWM&feature=player_<wbr></wbr>embedded</a><br /><br /><br />(Ed.'s note: We were combing though our files and came across snippets of the taped conversation between Place 3 BISD candidate Otis Powers and Chief Financial Officer Tony Juarez. As Powers makes his bid for another term on the BISD board, it might be well to remember that this tape was allowed to enter into evidence by Federal Judge Andrew Hanen in determining whether a conspiracy existed to deprive both Juarez and former Sup. Hector Gonzales of their constitutional rights.<br />In the first snippet, Powers tells Juarez how he's "talked to all of them" (board members Rick Zayas, Joe Colunga Rolando Aguilar, etc.) about whether Juarez should file a bogus grievance against Gonzales to give the others a justification for firing him.<br />In the second, Powers is talking to Colunga over the phone about having his attorney Mark Sossi file a lawsuit and serve Caty Presas-Garcia during a board meeting. Powers said that after Presas-Garcia was served, she wouldn't think about Colunga anymore when she went into executive session.<br />In the third, Powers tells of how he received advice from former blogger Bobby Wightman to sue Presas-Garcia for alleged offenses relating to privacy FERPA guidelines.<br />It should be interesting to note that Powers had been defeated for the board of trustees but still maintained communications related to ongoing matters of the BISD board. Powers is a candidate for the BISD board against Argelia Miller in Place 3.)<br /><div style="text-align: right;"></div><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/6016803033174468094-5826308177587223043?l=rrunrrun.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>
LINK: http://rrunrrun.blogspot.com/2012/10/powers-for-sale-from-horses-mouth.html

---------------------------------------------------------------
THE PLOT THICKENS: ZAYAS, PENA, COSTILLA(?) VS. CATY
---------------------------------------------------------------
By <strong>Juan Montoya</strong><br />Just when we thought we had heard of all the skulldrudgery we could bear in school board politics, we now learn that one of the the two people former Brownsville Independent School District trustee Rick Zayas is representing in his late-minute lawsuit against Catalina Presas-Garcia was represented by Lou Costilla, a local attorney associated with the delinquent tax collection firm of Enrique PeÃ±a.<br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwu-osdv_zHqinPT3z-p_XrTbCCKxXdnb7DgLhS4NKR4pvirHQtJX9CIqrx3xtvflgM-nlDNEU9YvKIc-dJTzU0jcjYOOck5sKRxmrz4ARGq2X5f0GpWYNVilpsx22eRQ0J5s9-BxzMUk/s1600/catypresas.png" 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/AVvXsEiwu-osdv_zHqinPT3z-p_XrTbCCKxXdnb7DgLhS4NKR4pvirHQtJX9CIqrx3xtvflgM-nlDNEU9YvKIc-dJTzU0jcjYOOck5sKRxmrz4ARGq2X5f0GpWYNVilpsx22eRQ0J5s9-BxzMUk/s200/catypresas.png" width="120" /></a>You remember Enrique. His company was not picked by a majority of the school board to collect delinquent taxes for the district.<br />Then it was revealed that his $150,000-plus home had been off the tax rolls for some 10 years. In the end, state law called for him to pay back taxes only on three years. Partly based on that fact, the BISD board voted not to award the delinquent -tax collection to PeÃ±a and his law firm.<br />The seller of the property, Juan Figeroa, was having trouble selling the home on 113 Lucylle because a divorce decree signed by a local judge gave rights to his wife Maria Ridriguez and their minor daughter. Costilla was representing Figeroa to try to modify the decree to allow for the transaction. As a result, the sale was delayed and fell through when Presas-Garcia tried to make the sale to buyer Miguel Salinas.<br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYSry0ScP-XJo2cj7sdJPjMNh4U0xl3CwPuc1xUBIufDu2OT67mj0QME6thunQY8xJfk9GopTdiFQbLq_-Ze5qgym-JT2i8Rln0TMaMxRGJSyZM5q5O1vIwF8jJ16uTDOD_X0veBiUYSE/s1600/P1020260.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYSry0ScP-XJo2cj7sdJPjMNh4U0xl3CwPuc1xUBIufDu2OT67mj0QME6thunQY8xJfk9GopTdiFQbLq_-Ze5qgym-JT2i8Rln0TMaMxRGJSyZM5q5O1vIwF8jJ16uTDOD_X0veBiUYSE/s400/P1020260.JPG" width="400" /></a>It was after the deal fell through that on Jan. 19, Figeroa called Presas-Garcia to meet with him and where she said he offered her money if she would vote to award the delinquent-tax collection BISD contract to the PeÃ±a law firm. He also is said to have threatened Presas-Garcia that he would file a lawsuit if she did not.When she refused to take the money and voted instead against the firm, Figeroa made good on his promise to file the lawsuit and â€" coincidence of coincidences â€" chose Zayas as his attorney.<br />So is it any wonder then, that at the very home that had been left off the tax rolls and belonged to the principal of the law firm large signs supporting Presas-Garcia's opponent Butch Barbosa, Minerva PeÃ±a and Jose Hector Chirinos.<br />Presas-Garcia â€" after the meeting and extortion threat by Figeroa â€" went to BISD attorney Arturo Michel and both went to the Cameron County District Attorney's Office and spoke to an investigator named Lopez. Nine months later, they have discovered that there had been no progress made in the extortion complaint.<br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzfGqP_s7U_IAPVoi6xYHPIg6E3fCUTou6EDF4SI8MaEAH3YcGRUna64LgRTU8MmwM9D8q0hEscTI20c_y0SOMBk8k3nV1SdEMM5P_mHCqCyVufiQP_UjB-oV64fT28xr2H8AohXH-lJo/s1600/zayas.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/AVvXsEgzfGqP_s7U_IAPVoi6xYHPIg6E3fCUTou6EDF4SI8MaEAH3YcGRUna64LgRTU8MmwM9D8q0hEscTI20c_y0SOMBk8k3nV1SdEMM5P_mHCqCyVufiQP_UjB-oV64fT28xr2H8AohXH-lJo/s1600/zayas.jpg" /></a>Meanwhile, Presas-Garcia and her attorney have secured the receipts from the title company records to disprove the allegations of fraud that Zayas has listed on his complaint.<br />Presas-Garcia has remained defiant in the face of the second Zayas-filed lawsuits attacking her reputation.<br />"How strange that on the very afternoon when the lawsuit was filed, Zayas was at Costilla's office touching base with her," she said. "This man has been engaged in a campaign against me ever since he and Ruben Cortez lost the election two years ago. Everything in those lawsuits will get nowhere. This is being done for political purposes and nothing else."  <br /><br /><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/6016803033174468094-4598328799662205117?l=rrunrrun.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>
LINK: http://rrunrrun.blogspot.com/2012/10/the-plot-thickens-zayas-pena-costilla.html

RSS URL: http://rrunrrun.blogspot.com/feeds/posts/default?alt=rss

This email sponsored by:

1&1 Internet - 6 Months Free on new Hosting packages
http://www.1and1.com/?k_id=7538907

This email is a service of QuickThreads.com.
To manage your subscriptions, login here:
http://www.quickthreads.com/myaccount.php
--------------------------------------------------------------------------

Brownsville Noise

Wednesday, October 24, 2012

Rrun Rrun

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

---------------------------------------------------------------
ZAYAS TRIES ANOTHER PRE-ELECTION ANTI-CATY GAMBIT: SHE FILES HARRASSMENT AND EXTORTION REPORTS
---------------------------------------------------------------
By <b>Juan Montoya</b><br />Does he ever know when to quit?<br />Two days after the start of early voting â€" and 13 days before Nov. 6 election day â€" former BISD trustee Rick Zayas has filed yet another lawsuit which seeks to discredit incumbent Catalina Presas-Garcia.<br />This time, Zayas is representing the seller of a property where the sale fell through when the title company found that he could not sell the property because he did not have the approval of his spouse or protected the rights of his offspring.<br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZRQYfZEGMYV8MaI07eJBs-gQKTm6D3lmil_Ye0_GNmKhT6JS7Fe3QHhI4vkskRrBfa93Mb7JWmFWFdtdTSYk9TTUdR2c1IkQiISFdU3Y_khW6fS1rxBN2WXFsIwUPeDBOcpxgBBHnk8g/s1600/cata11.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="164" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZRQYfZEGMYV8MaI07eJBs-gQKTm6D3lmil_Ye0_GNmKhT6JS7Fe3QHhI4vkskRrBfa93Mb7JWmFWFdtdTSYk9TTUdR2c1IkQiISFdU3Y_khW6fS1rxBN2WXFsIwUPeDBOcpxgBBHnk8g/s200/cata11.jpg" width="200" /></a></div>The last lawsuit Zayas filed was in late August ostensibly against Danny Defenbaugh and Associates of Dallas  where he represents former BISD Athletic Director Joe Rodriguez and Rivera coach Tom Chavez for allegedly defaming them with the release of a wide-ranging forensic audit.<br />And even though most legal observers say that a court will probably order that Zayas remove himself from the lawsuit because he was a BISD trustee at some time during the course of the events in the lawsuit, the public impact of the lawsuit before the election was the main objective of it being filed.<br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVnROF1pmCfi5FazSGHeHkqpLopc0wARA-bd6jittk9X6JgxTZr2BWgs76UoqHeJx9Vbe7MULoeGCoBYjkeK1aKBNFQg7pMCu8oc8QlmEsEKQjUmWHYGyagafw3cBZ4AWEMxg2zdfQ8Kk/s1600/rick1.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/AVvXsEjVnROF1pmCfi5FazSGHeHkqpLopc0wARA-bd6jittk9X6JgxTZr2BWgs76UoqHeJx9Vbe7MULoeGCoBYjkeK1aKBNFQg7pMCu8oc8QlmEsEKQjUmWHYGyagafw3cBZ4AWEMxg2zdfQ8Kk/s1600/rick1.jpg" /></a>For example, even though the lawsuit ostensibly names Defenbaugh as the defendant, the "facts" of the case are built entirely around the alleged illegal relationship between trustee Catalina Presas-Garcia and the forensic investigators and her attorney John Barr â€" and even more far-reaching â€" with HealthSmart, the former third-party administrator for the BISD.<br />The new legal gambit was filed today â€" Oct. 24 â€" and was served upon Presas-Garcia just minutes later after it was filed the same day.<br />This one, also, is even more sinister, alleging that even though the sale did not go through and the buyer got all their money back, Presas-Garcia violated Texas real estate law by not depositing the money with the title company within a given period of time (two days).<br />However, the lawsuit does not explain that the title company in question â€" Sierra Title â€" would not receive the funds to process the sale because the rights of the seller's spouse and her son were not taken into account.<br />The filing of the lawsuit led Presas-Garcia to file a harassment complaint against Zayas Wednesday, charging that the local attorney and former trustee who was defeated in 2010 by trustee Lucy Longoria, has become obsessed with her both personally and politically.<br />She said that the plot is even thicker, with the buyer staging a meeting where he offered her money to vote on behalf of PeÃ±a and Associates, a delinquent tax-collection firm, or else the lawsuit alleging the real estate law violations would be filed.<br />According to Presas-Garcia, the man offered her a manila envelope with money. She said she immediately went to BISD attorney Arturo Michel and they both went to the Cameron County District Attorneys' Office where they filed a report on the attempted extortion.<br />A majority of the board, including Presas-Garcia, voted to award the contract to Linebarger Goggan Blair & Sampson, LLP instead.<br />"I've just about had enough of this man," said Presas-Garcia of Zayas. "He is obsessed with me and blames me for having lost his election for the BISD. Does anybody really believe that the filing of these lawsuits is a coincidence? They are going to make this available immediately to their reporter Gary Long at the <i>Brownsville Herald</i> so it can affect the election. I already know how they work."<br />Presas-Garcia said she was not ruling out filing of a counter suit against both Zayas and his client.<div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/6016803033174468094-8299860414071828165?l=rrunrrun.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>
LINK: http://rrunrrun.blogspot.com/2012/10/zayas-tries-another-pre-election-anti.html

---------------------------------------------------------------
THE PAC'S TRUE COLORS: ERNIE, BUTCH AND THE GANG
---------------------------------------------------------------
By <strong>Juan Montoya</strong><br />The SAVEBISD PAC started as a host of Bobby Wightman's Brownsville Voice blog.<br />Now it has reemerged as the voice of a Ernie Hernandez politiquero Joey Garza. <br />Obviously, Norma and Ernie Hernandez didn't appreciate the fact that Brownsville Independent School District trustee Catalina Presas-Garcia was seen speaking with their daughter Erin Hernandez Garcia's opponent Yolanda Begum. <br />In fact, we have from a good source that Ernie himself told Presas-Garcia that she could forget about the 1,500 votes he controls when she ran for the board again.<br />So, in true form, the Hernandezes have loaned their flunky Garza to the Butch Barbosa camp to use his name in political advertising on behalf of "Butch," who can issue a plausible denial of any involvement.<br />Now, with the ad in today's <em>Herald</em>, it has also revealed itself to be the vehicle of vengeance against  Presas-Garcia from the Joe Rodriguez camp for her role in stopping the BISD from being used as the private ATM machine for him and his toadies.<br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgu5rq6eLTWkZiFHnP4vw3PGANw2PD9AjXk_BSJfksa_7rDeMjJHv_N9Qch1UGkzbvT8MZ9kB2_uYG4SB8vc20CP-2DNOb_gfgp2nlMmx7pxUQ9-zwV1v5Oz7v0QnXyOq841Tuu439d_ko/s1600/butch+and+ernie.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="251" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgu5rq6eLTWkZiFHnP4vw3PGANw2PD9AjXk_BSJfksa_7rDeMjJHv_N9Qch1UGkzbvT8MZ9kB2_uYG4SB8vc20CP-2DNOb_gfgp2nlMmx7pxUQ9-zwV1v5Oz7v0QnXyOq841Tuu439d_ko/s320/butch+and+ernie.jpg" width="320" /></a>The SAVEBISD PAC makes much ado over the $26,581.21 that Presas-Garcia has spent traveling on 8 trips on behalf of the district to attend National School Board Association meetings and Council of Urban Board of Education (CUBE) conferences over the last four years.<br />The cities where she traveled, Washington, D.C., San Diego, Orlando, Baltimore, San Francisco, New Orleans, Boston and New York City, have all been sites for these national organizations' conferences. The BISD, after all, is an urban district even though some of us still want to think of ourselves as some sort of backwater and are content to let compadrismo and favoritism guide our policies.<br />If you average it out over four years, it come to a grand total of $6,645.28 per year, hardly enough to equip "our children," as the PAC ad claims, with "basic school supplies" they allegedly don't have.<br />In fact, what <strong><em>Coach Joe</em></strong> g<strong><em>ot </em></strong>at the end of his illustrious career at the BISD was <strong><em>a $90,000 golden parachute as a goodbye present</em></strong> from the former board majority who thought nothing of handing out BISD money like it was theirs. That's almost four times as much as the travel money and it happened in one fell swoop.<br />And also conveniently missing from their critique was the fact former BISD trustee<em><strong> Ruben Cortez logged more than 25 trips in two years and spent an astronomical $35,874.</strong></em> Now Ruben is running for the Texas State School Board of Education. Where is the hue and cry from the SAVEBISD PAC?<br />How do we know the Rodriguezes are behind the PAC ad? Those who went on the Atlanta trip included Presas-Garcia, Hector Gonzales, Supt. Carl Montoya and Dr. Christina Saavedra. Minerva PeÃ±a was scheduled to leave with them from the Harlingen airport and cancelled at the last minute. While at the airport, the group saw that Coach Joe and nephew Mike Rodriguez were taking pictures. Were those pictures supposed to have been on the <em>Herald</em> ad but was cancelled when they were outed?<br />By the way, PeÃ±a â€" after conveniently missing the Harlingen flight with the group â€" showed up in Atlanta nonetheless. Funny how the PAC makes no mention of PeÃ±a. After all, she is also running for reelection, isn't she?<br />Now we can see that the perfect political storm against Presas-GArcia is being pushed along by these usual suspects. And Butch is more than willing to align himself with politiqueros and embittered sacred cows of this ilk? Theres' nothing more that Ernie wouldn't love than to have a toady on the board of the BISD board that has control of a $509 million budget. That is almost five times as much as the county's, where he has just about run out slots with which to hand out his patronage.<br />Oour district faces the urban problems faced by larger cities in the country: unemployment, urban decay, teen age pregnancies, dropout rates, crime, and drug violence that results in a large percentage of our Latino and poor white students ending up behind bars.<br />These issues should not be overlooked when we elect trustees to the BISD board.<br />The fact that Ernie is looking for another source of patronage and has been handed the opportunity to line up at the BISD feeding tough should give everyone reason to pause. The octopus is spreading his tentacles and using prejudices fueled against Presas-Garcia by the Likes of Rodriguez and the previous majority to beguile the unwary voters.<div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/6016803033174468094-373206420704273320?l=rrunrrun.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>
LINK: http://rrunrrun.blogspot.com/2012/10/the-pacs-true-colors-ernie-butch-and.html

RSS URL: http://rrunrrun.blogspot.com/feeds/posts/default?alt=rss

This email sponsored by:

1&1 Internet - 6 Months Free on new Hosting packages
http://www.1and1.com/?k_id=7538907

This email is a service of QuickThreads.com.
To manage your subscriptions, login here:
http://www.quickthreads.com/myaccount.php
--------------------------------------------------------------------------

Brownsville Noise

Tuesday, October 23, 2012

Maclovio OMalley

The Maclovio O'Malley Show
http://www.spreaker.com/show/the_maclovio_o_malley_show

---------------------------------------------------------------
Episode 52 - October 23, 2012
---------------------------------------------------------------

LINK: http://www.spreaker.com/user/maclovioomalley/episode_52_october_23_2012_2

Copyright Maclovio O'Malley

RSS URL: http://www.spreaker.com/show/224320/episodes/feed

This email sponsored by:

1&1 Internet - 6 Months Free on new Hosting packages
http://www.1and1.com/?k_id=7538907

This email is a service of QuickThreads.com.
To manage your subscriptions, login here:
http://www.quickthreads.com/myaccount.php
--------------------------------------------------------------------------

Rrun Rrun

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

---------------------------------------------------------------
MARTINEZ BANNERGATE CONTINUES WITHOUT QUESTIONS
---------------------------------------------------------------
By <b>Juan Montoya</b><br /><b> </b><br />How long will the saga of an obviously illegal contract that Mayor Tony Martinez inked with a salesman from New York committing the city to a three-year "agreement" while at a mayor's conference in Orlando, Fla., go unquestioned by the city commissioners?<br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhi4mH6WLikjWN5eWec8-MKu031XEEz-Vajo-LQ1w0SkuXi385UXXLPllw_uouN2hfjdrLo5sRY6nI9yXUDHG5VUeGQ4J_ZYxuJijdqc-NzrNHbX1DY48anx_KIIJnVco2oClDDc574rXo/s1600/tmi.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhi4mH6WLikjWN5eWec8-MKu031XEEz-Vajo-LQ1w0SkuXi385UXXLPllw_uouN2hfjdrLo5sRY6nI9yXUDHG5VUeGQ4J_ZYxuJijdqc-NzrNHbX1DY48anx_KIIJnVco2oClDDc574rXo/s400/tmi.JPG" width="321" /></a>Even though a thorough search of the city's agendas for the past six months has failed to show that the one-page agreement between the City of Brownsville and Community Showcase Banners, of Chicago, Illinois, the company is doing business at the invitation of the mayor.<br />The company also has a website that states its offices are in Warsaw, N.Y.<br />The agreement indicates that it was signed by Martinez June 15, 2012, while at the mayors' conference and commits the city to a three-year period when the company can do business selling advertising banners to local businesses that will include the city logo on top and an ad from buyers on the lower third of the banner.<br />The agreement states that the company headed by CEO David McCarthy will be responsible for designing, marketing, production, printing and distribution "at no cost to the City of Brownsville."<br />It also commits the city to furnish the company with "preferred pole locations" for it to place the banners it sells.<br />Already, several small business owners have been approached by Community Showcase Banner representatives and urged to purchase space on the banners for their business.<br />The salesmen carry a letter of introduction from City Manager Charlie Cabler bearing the city letterhead as per the agreement. The agreement also calls for the city to provide Community Showcase Banners "all necessary brackets, hardware, installation and maintenance of the banners.The city also agreed to give the right to use organization's name in connection with the representation, production, and marketing of the program...<br />The agreement also calls for the city to provide "identification of, and access to the preferred pole sites for proper banner placement, monitoring and maintenance of banners as needed throughout their display and installation of replacement banners as needed (and hand scribbled) "and no cost to the City of Brownsville."<br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggGxcaOfbOtHzPXwn77Xz4VKahNu0ct7E97v5KKTimIIAeagM9cGfjPzsMFMaO0hY-nWeLe90p5WqgtDyWXAHO4wEPr52ydmLNWr7P0m5i9H-7WimgeyHGmiKTbgEIp-V1whKUfS-Wzhs/s1600/nappy.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggGxcaOfbOtHzPXwn77Xz4VKahNu0ct7E97v5KKTimIIAeagM9cGfjPzsMFMaO0hY-nWeLe90p5WqgtDyWXAHO4wEPr52ydmLNWr7P0m5i9H-7WimgeyHGmiKTbgEIp-V1whKUfS-Wzhs/s320/nappy.png" width="254" /></a>Soon, we at <i>El Rrun-Rrun</i> and other blogs began to hear of the approach of local businesses by Mountain Man McCarthy, who sported a Super Bowl ring and told business owners he had played as backup quarterback to Jim Plunkett when he was with the Raiders. Working in tandem with McCarthy was Itza Peña, a local beauty with close ties to City Attorney Mark Sossi.<br />According to the account in <i>MeanMisterBrownsville.blogspot</i>, a local businessman whose wife is employed by the city, was approached by McCarthy and Pena. McCarthy represented himself as a close friend of Mayor Martinez, saying "he and Tony went way back." <br />He told the businessman that "Tony needed him." When the businessman looked over the selection of packages, he said he might be able to spring for the $600 offering since cash flow was a problem. He was told that package was only for churches and non-profits and was pushed toward the $4,000 selection. Perplexed, the business owner said the only way he could go the four grand would be with a post-dated check. McCarthy at first rejected that offer, but seeing it was the only way he could make the sale, he accepted a post-dated check for the amount.<br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgifYyExyPgg6hctkuT84NaVs6jRnBBUxVPtcHjWKlaIkpyfdDIGHs-YmVR196BCJIsVGTq0Snk48HPrMd8QCGP1kMfcHO27AYbe500gVYWNY9FqWiG2D-YhBIAxoPG31lu-HQ6ZgSBXOc/s1600/cabler.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgifYyExyPgg6hctkuT84NaVs6jRnBBUxVPtcHjWKlaIkpyfdDIGHs-YmVR196BCJIsVGTq0Snk48HPrMd8QCGP1kMfcHO27AYbe500gVYWNY9FqWiG2D-YhBIAxoPG31lu-HQ6ZgSBXOc/s400/cabler.jpg" width="365" /></a>When the business owner called his wife to tell her about the purchase of promotional materials with a post-dated check, she paid City Manager Charlie Cabler a visit to ask what was going on. While in Cabler's office, she noticed some <i>Community Showcase Banners </i>paperwork and spotted the name of Ms. Pena whom she recognized as having close ties to Sossi. <br />"Does Sossi have anything to do with this?" the city employee asked Cabler. "I don't know. Call him." was Cabler's response. <br />"My name was NOT EVER to be used on this! NOT EVER!" Sossi could be heard to say on the other end. <br />So what's going on here? Was Martinez hoodwinked into doing the company's bidding by McCarthy in Orlando and then got Cabler to send a letter or introduction/recommendation to local business owners misrepresenting that the company had been approved by an act of the city commission?<br />Do Martinez and Cabler (and Sossi, apparently) know that they have bypassed every requirement for contracts and agreements between vendors and the city in violation of every law and regulation?<br />Why were there no call Requests For Proposals to give local advertising agencies (are you listening Melissa?) a chance at the business?<br />Was the Public Utilities Board ever told that a private company was going to use its electric poles for advertising? Does the mayor know about our sign ordinances?<br />Now, Hizzoner Da Mayor Tony Martinez did attend the 80th Annual Conference of Mayors in Orlando June 13-16 where this great once-in-a-lifetime prestigious "award" was said to have been made. But try as we might, we can find nothing on the city agendas since that the city commission had "accepted" the award.<br />The agreement indicates that it was signed a day before the conference ended in Orlando. Does Martinez know that he cannot commit the city to any contract or agreement unless it is vetted by the different departments (legal included, Sossi)? And how did Sossi get involved in this subterfuge?<br />All these questions need to be answered to assure the residents of Brownsville that everything done with this company that commits the city to a three-year agreement was not just Martinez's temporary letdown of his guard and signing off at the whim of the moment?<br />Where is the rest of the commission?<br /><br /><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/6016803033174468094-912951702687848883?l=rrunrrun.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>
LINK: http://rrunrrun.blogspot.com/2012/10/martinez-bannergate-continues-without.html

RSS URL: http://rrunrrun.blogspot.com/feeds/posts/default?alt=rss

This email sponsored by:

1&1 Internet - 6 Months Free on new Hosting packages
http://www.1and1.com/?k_id=7538907

This email is a service of QuickThreads.com.
To manage your subscriptions, login here:
http://www.quickthreads.com/myaccount.php
--------------------------------------------------------------------------

Brownsville Noise

Monday, October 22, 2012

Brownsville Noise

Rrun Rrun

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

---------------------------------------------------------------
H. MATAMOROS: TWO CENTURIES OF HISTORY
---------------------------------------------------------------
<iframe width="420" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/Yw2tDKeUq1I" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/6016803033174468094-4315315087353035690?l=rrunrrun.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>
LINK: http://rrunrrun.blogspot.com/2012/10/h-matamoros-two-centuries-of-history.html

---------------------------------------------------------------
YES, IT'S TRUE: CATY 'BLUNT AND OUTSPOKEN'
---------------------------------------------------------------
<iframe src="http://player.vimeo.com/video/51818316?title=0&byline=0&portrait=0" width="420" height="315" frameborder="0" webkitAllowFullScreen mozallowfullscreen allowFullScreen></iframe> <div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/6016803033174468094-1307556206065181334?l=rrunrrun.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>
LINK: http://rrunrrun.blogspot.com/2012/10/yes-its-true-caty-blunt-and-outspoken.html

---------------------------------------------------------------
ONE HAND WASHES THE OTHER; TREVINO REPLACES RODRIGUEZ
---------------------------------------------------------------
By <strong>Juan Montoya</strong><br />Some may have been surprised, but others may have said that it was predictable that the legal counsel plum of the Brownsville Public Utilities Board was handed over to the law firm of former City of Brownsville mayor Eddie TreviÃ±o, of the TreviÃ±o and Boden Law Firm.<br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgm-9I_Tts7wWfZhxgSLOx7QWb4B7NwGoGMXqoqal8TSt4Hcjc-LqSrqpGjOpLfKaeOWfYkJcuVLku0UFSQiUNBBdcHgOXK-bPXW0OXfFmYBFpCeGBMhQIFFPpJip5_TC97_k5Vsz1u_RU/s1600/eddie.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/AVvXsEgm-9I_Tts7wWfZhxgSLOx7QWb4B7NwGoGMXqoqal8TSt4Hcjc-LqSrqpGjOpLfKaeOWfYkJcuVLku0UFSQiUNBBdcHgOXK-bPXW0OXfFmYBFpCeGBMhQIFFPpJip5_TC97_k5Vsz1u_RU/s1600/eddie.jpg" /></a>For several years, the <em>papita</em> gig was in the hands of another Eddie, this one Rodriguez, of Colvin, Chaney, Saenz & Rodriguez. We have not learned the details of the switch, but it appears to be poetic justice after the coup d'etat that TreviÃ±o pulled off when he appointed Emmanuel Vasquez to succeed Cris Valadez on the PUB board. The PUB board had just announced they would be replacing Rodriguez as legal counsel when TreviÃ±o rushed to have Vasquez sworn in and ruled that the board's vote to replace the law firm was not done legally since the term of Valadez had expired. <br />(In the picture above, TreviÃ±o is flanked by Vasquez, with mustache, and local attorney Ruben Herrera).<br />A court ruled in TreviÃ±o's favor and Vasquez was in, and Pee-Wee remained as counsel.<br />Now, with TreviÃ±o taking over the job, the clock has gone full circle.<br />With Dr. Dr. David S. Morales as Chairman, Enrique G. NÃ¡jera, Vice-Chairman, Oscar D. Garcia, Secretary/Treasurer, Arturo R. FarÃas and Vasquez as members, and Mayor Tony Martinez as Ex-Officio member, the board still has one vacancie left open when Raymond Hinojosa's term expired in July and was not reappointed by the city commission.<br />About the only item that even remotely addresses the issue of a legal counsel was in the Oct. 10 meeting for "Consideration and Approval of a Loca1 Board Counsel~J. Bruciak."<div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/6016803033174468094-3852737285306301533?l=rrunrrun.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>
LINK: http://rrunrrun.blogspot.com/2012/10/one-hand-washes-other-trevino-replaces.html

---------------------------------------------------------------
CHUCK OUT AT DA'S OFFICE; PLACED ON LEAVE WITHOUT $
---------------------------------------------------------------
By<b> Juan Montoya</b><div>Well, the other shoe has finally dropped.</div><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0T6dIxbmJhew2feeZO3CkpSXUJTF2HxBXIg9Db3ciXrjuzFQ2bmAASWxaQiYnUdkT8xq_5kI2gtJcEHz65sBDUw6-VROnOENxh2YzsCwCkLoVapLg6cNl0u5R2NbrU4ZQr-aWI5YRUxw/s1600/ChuckMattinglyFilePhoto.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/AVvXsEg0T6dIxbmJhew2feeZO3CkpSXUJTF2HxBXIg9Db3ciXrjuzFQ2bmAASWxaQiYnUdkT8xq_5kI2gtJcEHz65sBDUw6-VROnOENxh2YzsCwCkLoVapLg6cNl0u5R2NbrU4ZQr-aWI5YRUxw/s320/ChuckMattinglyFilePhoto.jpg" width="320" /></a>After months of grumbling from those who had to work around him, the The Cameron County District Attorney's Office has placed Chuck Mattingly, its its top prosecutor, on leave just weeks before an election where he is seeking the post.</div><div>Cameron County District Attorney's Office spokesman Jason Moody confirmed that Mattingly, a Republican, was placed on leave from his job at the DA's office. Mattingly is still an employee with the office but is classified as being "on leave."</div><div>Mattingly is facing Democrat Luis Saenz in the election.</div><div>Rumors have run rampant throughout the campaign of Mattingly's absence from his position after he was sent to San Benito because of his "disruptive" behavior with his underlings. Some even claimed that Chuck would grow irate if the DA's staff would not support him politically.</div><div>Staff members also grumbled about his extended absence from the office after he broke his leg. His being placed on leave without pay now frees him to campaign without pretense of holding down his $106,000 salary.</div><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/6016803033174468094-20152170832919177?l=rrunrrun.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>
LINK: http://rrunrrun.blogspot.com/2012/10/chuck-out-at-das-office-placed-on-leave.html

---------------------------------------------------------------
BARBOSA'S SUNDAY AD "BUTCH"ERED THE FACTS
---------------------------------------------------------------
By <b>Juan Montoya</b><br />The Butch Barbosa campaign has shown by the placing of their political advertisement Sunday that they are not going to let a few facts get in the way of a good story.<br />As if airing dirty laundry, the Barbosa camp pulled out a list of alleged wrongdoings by incumbent Caty Presas-Garcia that â€" if true â€" would guarantee her stoning in an Arab country. But of course, a fib is much juicier than the truth.<br />For example, the Barbosa ad claims that the BISD has a $504 million budget. That is incorrect sand out of date. This year, it reached $509 million. The ;last $504 million budget was passed two years ago.<br />Presas-Garcia is not in the process of declaring bankruptcy. That, in fact, happened years ago. But of course, by stating that she "has declared" leads the reader to believe that the bankruptcy ins ongoing .The proceedings are over<br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjS7j3dZZ4qOGNxkNVJaVZj4Imp-9GziCN4Mvk3w0O6jIQBZUInNF2OsDgVrgM8gITJdfqJ-xXuxJgTH5O72Jz1KrwSXDuYjcHDJbFIyyg7EQ1NU2Yph9S2xu_0uPZIGh1UpK5j7q2ZWp8/s1600/toy-19th-century-butchers.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="267" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjS7j3dZZ4qOGNxkNVJaVZj4Imp-9GziCN4Mvk3w0O6jIQBZUInNF2OsDgVrgM8gITJdfqJ-xXuxJgTH5O72Jz1KrwSXDuYjcHDJbFIyyg7EQ1NU2Yph9S2xu_0uPZIGh1UpK5j7q2ZWp8/s400/toy-19th-century-butchers.jpg" width="400" /></a>And no, $80 million is not required by BISD policy to be in the fund balance. Policy requires that there be enough there to operate for 75 days. Those who have actually followed BISD proceedings know that the figure used in discussing this $1 million a day to operate the district, and thus say the fund minimum should be at least $75 million.<br />Part of the reason the fund is below the minimum level is reduced funding from the sate of Texas. To work within the budget caused by those reductions, the district chose a middle path. that path included some drawing down from the fund balance savings and voluntary retirement/resignations from employees.<br />What was utilized from the fund balance prevented any layoffs of personnel. Yes the fund balance is lower, but no employee families have been thrown into crisis and the community has not been financially impacted by layoffs. If anything, Presas-Garcia and the board majority should be praised for a good use of savings.<br />When Barbosa also points out that two years ago the district was Recognized status, insinuating that academic performance has dropped. That, at the very minimum is misleading and at worst, dishonest. When presented out of context, it is also inflammatory.<br />Students take a different state test than they did two years ago. At that time the state was giving students credit for some incorrect answers on the tests (since discontinued) thus inflating scores. Test scores are always lower when a new test is first introduced. He could have pointed out that 56 percent of all districts in Texas did not meet AYP this year and 80 percent of the districts in the state, including BISD, have signed a petition asking the state for a more fair system.<br /> The explanation for the lower scores includes actions from both the state and federal governments in financial and academic areas and cannot be attributed entirely to local administration as is suggested in this ad.<br />But let's forgive that and ascribe it to ignorance of the facts. But the next part of the ad is plain inflammatory. The ad says 28 of 54 schools failed to meet minimum standards. There are many categories for each campus that must ALL be passed to meet standards. It is a disservice to these schools to call them failing when they have not met one of many bureaucratic categories. Is this how our students will be regarded if Barbosa gets to be a trustee?<br />And, then, of course, Barbosa could not pass the chance to bring up the Hector Gonzales-Antonio Juarez lawsuit settlement. Why did Caty vote for the Gonzales settlement? the ad asks. Would Barbosa have voted not to pout an end to the costly litigation brought on by the action of the previous bard majority after the insurers and the district had gone through $.2.3 million even before a single word of testimony had been heard in court.<br />With no end in sight, she opted to put an end to the excessive litigation costs and the district paid $700,000 when it could have paid three or four times as much had the district lost in court as its lawyers said it would. Are we to understand that Butch would have continued to throw good money after bad to defend the illegal  conduct of the defendant trustees (Rick Zayas, Ruben Cortez, Joe Colunga and Rolando Aguilar) even after two federal courts said enough evidence had been presented for a jury to deliberate whether they had conspired to violate the men's civil rights?<br />Oh, by the way, Danny's last name is Defenbaugh not "Defendbaugh."<br />"The public deserves truthful answers, " the ad says.<br />They might have added that the public also deserves more truthful questions than this advertisement asks. If anything, Barbosa's ad indicates that he doesn't know facts, had not been following BISD issues before deciding to run at the last minute, presents info out of context to mislead, and â€" perhaps this is most important â€" offers absolutely no solutions.<div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/6016803033174468094-5351024886369349199?l=rrunrrun.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>
LINK: http://rrunrrun.blogspot.com/2012/10/barbosas-sunday-ad-butchered-facts.html

---------------------------------------------------------------
EARLY VOTING ON, AND SOROLA IS STILL ON THE BALLOT
---------------------------------------------------------------
By <strong>Juan Montoya</strong><br />The voters are turning out in droves this presidential election year and one can only hope that a large outpouring of democratic fervor will wash out the politiquero-tainted voting outcomes this year.<br />And even though Moses Sorola announced he had suspended his campaign for the Cameron County Tax Assessor-Collector post, his name is still on the ballot on the Republican ballot.<br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEipHwtvds5y6oZrsZV1vv2kYe0mgZfRVoztj7vwgEtoS064D7gURuwzPKrsvq54rlqBJqM9SDpFdAxU3pUTwO0rfeMU2HOsmwnagSZn7B9E_xK0mwF7hPIGZHvrpB0Jt4lYhL6H71uiGuc/s1600/0.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEipHwtvds5y6oZrsZV1vv2kYe0mgZfRVoztj7vwgEtoS064D7gURuwzPKrsvq54rlqBJqM9SDpFdAxU3pUTwO0rfeMU2HOsmwnagSZn7B9E_xK0mwF7hPIGZHvrpB0Jt4lYhL6H71uiGuc/s320/0.jpg" width="320" /></a>Sorola cited health concerns when he suspended his campaign, but there are some that suspect other motives were behind the announcement. Regardless, we caught up with him the other day when he was removing some of his signs and he said that even after he stopped campaigning, outpouring of support has continued.<br />"There's people calling me saying that they were going to vote for me," he said. "Some of them haven't even heard that I stopped campaigning."<br />Sorola has earned the wrath of previous City of Brownsville commissioners and mayors when he demanded that the elected officials stop taking benefits not specifically stated in the city charter. A lawsuit in Judge Janet Leal's court vindicated his stand and the benefits stopped. However, the city stopped short of asking the commissioners to return the funds they had illegally accepted.<br />Among some of those were some political heavyweights, including the former Mayor Eddie TreviÃ±o. After the Sorola lawsuit was decided, future mayors such as Pat Ahumada had the option of buying into the city's health insurance at cost. Later, he was also party to a lawsuit that tries to stop the issuance of Certificates of Obligation by the city without voter approval.<br />While his gadfly maneuvers have not endeared him to the politicians, it has clearly resounded in the electorate.<br />"Moses is my dog," said a voter standing in line at the City Central Library early voting site. "He may not be campaigning, but I can still vote for him, can't I?"<br />Will Sorola's truncated campaign grow new legs and possibly even beat incumbent Tony Yzaguirre? Only the voters can decide.<div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/6016803033174468094-1232442333172231077?l=rrunrrun.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>
LINK: http://rrunrrun.blogspot.com/2012/10/early-voting-on-and-sorola-is-still-on.html

RSS URL: http://rrunrrun.blogspot.com/feeds/posts/default?alt=rss

This email sponsored by:

1&1 Internet - 6 Months Free on new Hosting packages
http://www.1and1.com/?k_id=7538907

This email is a service of QuickThreads.com.
To manage your subscriptions, login here:
http://www.quickthreads.com/myaccount.php
--------------------------------------------------------------------------