By Juan Montoya
It was the wailing of the saxophone and the lament of the blues guitar that filled the night in downtown Browntown last night at George Ramirez and Ben Neece's Half Moon Saloon.
Premont-based Ramirez alternated with his instruments and the original Connectors – Albert Besteiro Jr. on lead, Freddie Longoria on Bass and Joey Tamayo on drums (out of the photo) – rounded off the quartet.
Those of us who grew up with the Brownsville boys and those who grew acquainted with Ramirez in Austin, were delighted to see them perform live here in what is fast becoming the premier venue for live jazz, rock and roll and reggae music, and even classical guitar (on Wednesdays nights) in town.
We remember going to see them perform at the tiny Amber Lounge that was in a motel where the Central Library is now located. That was many half and full moons ago, we must add.
Ramirez and the Connectors belted out the group's trademark classics such as "Rice and Beans" and "La Migra" among others. Their album "Rice and Beans" is available in local clubs such as Cobbleheads where they perform regularly.
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A shoplifting suspect at the La Plaza Mall drowned in a nearby canal, police said Sunday. Despite some witness accounts, the man suspect not zapped by a Taser before he bolted, police spokesman Alvaro Zabaleta said. The man’s body was pulled out of the canal by rescue divers on Saturday evening. Police did not release the name of the man. The Homicide Bureau is handling the case. Investigators say the shoplifter ran out of the north side of the mall after security alerted an officer working in the mall. He then jumped into the canal behind the mall. The officer lost him and called city Fire Rescue divers, who pulled the suspect out of the water. La Plaza Mall security declined to comment. This is the second drowning this year involving a suspect on the run.
Multiple reports say there is a rise in clown-related crimes sweeping parts of the Upper Valley with disturbing reports of people being harassed and chased by the painted perps. Once incident involved a teen boy’s claim to police that a balloon wielding clown tried to snatch him, the Star reported. The alleged snatch attempt right out of the Stephen King horror film, "It," is the rubber nosed tip of 19 (count ‘em) clown-related crimes handled by police. Last November, a clown brandishing a knife reputedly swiped a bike amid other disturbing reports of a man dressed like a clown following small children to school.
Rice and Beans? More like Beans & Beans - all of these guys are Mexicans.
Finally the weather is warming up in most places across the country. That means more time outdoors and potentially more insect stings. One researcher created a pain index scale; now another has determined which places on the body the stings hurt most. The answers shouldn’t shock. The Pain Index Scale Justin Schmidt, a researcher from the Tucson-based Southwestern Biological Institute, created rates stings from 0 to 4. A 1 elicits minimal reaction. “You’re out at the pool and you’re drinking your favorite beverage and a little sweat bee lands on the crook of your elbow,” Schmidt says. “She stings you, it’s a little bit of a sharp pain, but it’s not enough to make you drop your glass. It’s a pretty minor thing.” Fours, on the other hand — those critters are Schmidt’s favorites. Getting stung by a tarantula hawk, for example, feels like a cattle prod or 20,000 volts. “It’s instantaneous. If you have your beverage glass in your hand, you will drop it,” he says. “Most of us, it would probably not only drop [it], it would be flying.”
The Vagina Club of Brownsville is pleased to announce its 2014 award winner in the field of sexual relations. He is local blogger and educator Jerry McHale, who will be honored during a gifting ceremony at the Half Moon Saloon on Saturday, April 26. "Mr. McHale's life in our town and his writings about romance, love, marriage and marital break-up symbolize the essence of what this organization stand for here in the new millenium," said club President Frank Copenhaver. McHale, editor of the Brownsville Blues blog known far and wide as the conscience of Brownsville, will be presented with a representation of a marbled vagina of the sort found in Hispanic women. The award id the first for the club, which in the past has chosen to bestow tributes on women clubmembers see as doing their best for local manfolk, added Copenhaver. McHale was unavailable for comment. The Vagina Club is employing local celebrity/guitarist Dave Handelman as emcee for the event, which will also see poor man's blogger Juan Montoya hand-carry McHale's award onstage for presentation. Admission to the ceremony will be $75 per person.
Former Hidalgo County Sheriff Lupe Treviño pleaded guilty Monday to a federal charge related to money laundering, a little more than two weeks since abruptly resigning and just days after a former aide pleaded guilty to one count of misprison of a felony, federal prosecutors said. Treviño, who resigned March 28 after nine years as the county's top law enforcement officer, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit money laundering involving a campaign contribution from suspected drug trafficker Tomas “El Gallo” Gonzalez. The charge carries a maximum of 20 years in prison and a $500,000 fine. On Friday, Patricia Medina, Treviño's former chief of staff and campaign treasurer during his 2012 re-election, admitted to helping him conceal the money by falsifying election records. Medina faces up to three years in federal prison and $250,000 in fines. For the past year and half, the sheriff's office has been the target of federal investigations that have thrust the misdeeds of its officers into the public glare. Treviño has said his troubles began in December 2012, when his son, Jonathan, a Mission police officer, was arrested for his role in a drug-trafficking conspiracy, involving a joint drug task force comprised of the Mission Police Department and the sheriff's department. Six sheriff's deputies and other law enforcement officers, all members of the so-called Panama Unit, have either pleaded guilty or been convicted.
You problably a Mexican too
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