La Cebolla
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth announced a new policy to test testosterone levels of service members aged 30 and above as part of their annual health assessment, with medical teams recommending hormone therapy for those found to be deficient. What do you think?
After we broke the story Monday on District 3 commissioner's' proposed settlement for "damages" done on his family's trust property which was put before the city commission during the July 7 meeting (see agenda item above graphic) where they considered his $1 million litigation threat, mainstream media has covered this news item.
And lo and behold!, there is nothing in the coverage by KVEO, CBS 4, or KRGV Channel 5 News that mentions the documented fact that De Leon personally has negotiated with the City Manager Alan Gard and City Attorney Will Treviño (who as commissioner he has the power to hire and fire) to reach what many criticize as an inflated "settlement" which can reach as high as $700,000 to $900,000.
In the news coverage, De Leon said that no one had authorized the city "in writing" to build the road and that they had used it to dump asphalt millings on it.
Was thera an informal "micha micha" verbal agreement working here? We'll use your property and we'll kick in some material to fix the road. It's done all the time.
Disingenuously, he insinuated that the millings spread on the road would increase the value of the property resulting in higher property taxes valuations for improvements from the Cameron County Appraisal District.
An onsite survey indicated that no "new" road was built, and that the city crews used the millings to fill in ruts on the existing road leading to the Border Wall under construction and to level the pothole-filled entrance to the property.
His late father, former city commissioner Ernesto de Leon Sr., had authorized Border Patrol agents use the road to patrol the nearby river banks as a civic gesture toward law enforcement. Ironically, Gus de Leon is a retired U.S. Customs officer but shows little regard for assisting the Border Patrol agents perform their duties.
Obviously, he's after something else: city bucks.
City crews had reportedly been using the property as a staging area to work on downtown alleys from which they gathered the asphalt millings.
De Leon told the news media that the road will remain in place until the dispute is resolved. He wants the property restored to its original condition.
"And it will be done, and everything that was thrown on our property will be removed, but it comes at a cost we shouldn't have incurred in the first place," De Leon said.
How much cost have you "incurred" and how much money do you want from the city taxpayers you represent Gus? We'll find out in the July 21 meeting where your "settlement" offer will again be considered.
But if the scuttlebutt is true, the city commission has been told by legal counsel that the city administration and city attorney are considering settling with a trust of the De Leon family – of which City of Brownsville commissioner Gus De Leon is a beneficiary – and award them anywhere between $750,000 to $900,000 for alleged damages to a property used by the city as a staging area for construction.
No city administrators or commission members would confirm, or deny, that in the last city commission meeting July 7 the city's legal counsel informed them that the trust – under the name of Nora De Leon Ramirez, Executrix, – had sent the city a pre-litigation demand letter in which they charged that the city had caused damage to the property located immediately west of the Brownsville & Matamoros International Bridge, also known as B&M International and Express Bridge (or the Old Bridge).
It has been left up to commission members to decide whether to fight the claim in court or to dish out the cash to the estate at their next meeting July 21.
The letter – not available to the public – reportedly wants for the the city pay close to $1 million to mitigate the alleged damage to the property.
At the last meeting July 7, the item for the proposed settlement was in the executive session agenda without any backup to indicate its location or its relationship to De Leon. It was merely listed as:
A Mississipi man's proposal to rename Boca Chica Beach as "a nod to the Tesla Cybertruck" will be considered today on whether to change South Texas’ Boca Chica Beach to Cyber Beach is being vehemently opposed by residents and local, state and federal officials, including city administrators of Elon Musk's City of Starbase.
Along with Starbase, Cameron County, Texas Geographic Names Committee and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service all oppose the proposal. The Texas Geographic Names Committee with the U.S. Board on Geographic Names will meet at 2 p.m. today in Austin to consider the proposal.
The affected area encompasses parts of the city of Starbase and private land as well as parts of the Lower Rio Grande Valley National Wildlife Refuge and Boca Chica State Park, according to the Board on Geographic Names.
According to news reports, the proposal to rename the beach was submitted to the committee by Josh Hazel of Hattiesburg, Miss. November 2024, and it made the body’s quarterly review list in January. Hazel is said to be of SpaceX and Musk fans who meet up at the beach with their Austin-made Tesla pickups in the days leading up to Starship launches. They camp at the beach and have hosted light shows with the stainless-steel trucks.
Those same reports indicate that Hazel wrote that the Cybertruck is made of the same material as SpaceX’s Starship and also has “often been likened to a ‘vehicle from Mars.'"
The announcement that a name change was to be considered today caught several lawmakers by surprise and they fired off letters opposing the name change.
Texas D-27 Senator Adam Hinojosa wrote that "The proposed name, Cyber Beach, does not reflect the history, culture, or identity of Cameron County. Boca Chica Beach has identified this stretch of the Texas coast for nearly a century. It is part of our local heritage and remains meaningful to the people who call this region home.
"As the elected State Senator for this area, I respectfully urge the Committee to reject the proposal to rename Boca Chica Beach as Cyber Beach. Historic place names should not be set aside when they continue to hold deep significance for the communities they represent. Preserving the name Boca Chica Beach respects the history of Cameron County while ensuring that future generations inherit the same connection to this place that generations before them have known."
Likewise, Texas Representative Erin Gamez (D-38), Brownsville, wrote the committee that "Boca Chica Beach has been known by that name for generations. According to U.S. government records, the name dates back at least to 1936, and to my knowledge the beach has never been officially known by any other name. While many residents affectionately refer to it as 'the People's Beach,' that nickname complements rather than replaces its historic name.
"Boca Chica Beach is part of the cultural and historical identity of our community, and that identity deserves to be preserved."
Bekah Hinojosa of the South Texas Environmental Justice Network, also fired of a response to the proposal. “Renaming Boca Chica Beach is an insult to the families with deep cultural ties to the region, who have been swimming, fishing, and recreating there for generations. It’s an insult to my mother and my grandfather, who grew up visiting and swimming on Boca Chica...Boca Chica Beach is meant for the people, not for Elon Musk and his fanatics to colonize, pollute with rockets, and push out long-time local families. We reject Cyber Beach."
They urge that residents contact the committee by emailing their dissent to the change at:
Environmental activists have also launched a petition to stop the name change. So far – at 4:51 a.m., they report that 4,445 letters have been sent to the committee, just short of their 6,400 goal. To join the petition, click on link below. El Rrun-Rrun sent ours a few minutes ago. Update: By 9 a.m., they had exceeded the 6,400 and were shooting for 12,800. By 1:15 p.m. the count stood at 14,760.
