BARTON TAKES MARTINEZ, SOSSI, TO WOODSHED ON GAG

By Jim Barton
Meanmisterbrownsville.blogspot
Certainly, Argelia Miller had no idea of the far-reaching effects her August 25, 2010 letter to City Manager Charlie Cabler about a $167,323 judgement awarded to City Attorney Mark Sossi' former employer, Willette & Guerra for theft of funds.
 What Miller was upset about was that the City of Brownsville seemed to be paying off Sossi's debt by utilizing Sossi's old firm to represent the city in legal matters.

When this obviously compounded conflict of interest was later mentioned during the Public Comment section of a subsequent City Commission meeting, Sossi had heard enough and issued the ludicrous legal opinion to Mayor Pat Ahumada and the City Commission that the continued broadcast of public comments on City of Brownsville's Channel 12 would make the city vulnerable to lawsuits.

Sossi knows a thing or two about lawsuits, being on the receiving end of, not only the Willette & Guerra judgement, but a $20,711.66 judgement from theTexas Workforce for stealing monies, a $100,000 lien from theInternal Revenue Service and two malpractice lawsuits from locals who wrongfully assumed a City Attorney might be someone to engage for personal legal matters.

In hindsight, perhaps the City of Brownsville should have considered a banishing of the City Attorney instead of banning the broadcast of public comment. 

 But, no, Sossi hangs on as a Tony Martinez lap dog, facilitating the mayor's backdoor deals on a $10,000 per month contract basis, also netting $5,000 per month from the Greater Brownsville Incentives Corporation for a net of $180,000 annually.(Ironically, the payee for Sossi's payroll checks is The Good Government Firm. Lol!)

A couple months into the Tony Martinez tenure as mayor, former City Commissioner Melissa Landin(Zamora) introduced an agenda item to consider rescinding the ban on the broadcast of public comment. Shocking those who thought they'd voted for a democratically-oriented mayor, Martinez voiced his opposition to lifting the ban: "I'd like to continue doing things the way the previous administration did them. It's been working pretty good so far. I don't want to change that."

The former commissioner was set to introduce the agenda item to restore the broadcast, but behind the scenes Mayor Martinez and City Attorney had worked up a little surprise for Lindin. Sossi, who could never seem to find 15 minutes to work on an ethics code, something this city of 200,000 doesn't have, had spent all week working up his infamous pie chart to demonstrate to the City Commission audience how pulling the switch on the broadcast of public comment had actually enhanced representative democracy, not stifled and choked the life out of it. Here is our reporting of the incident from 2011:

"Melissa Hernandez-Zamora seemed dumbstruck when City Attorney Sossi stood up to give opposition testimony concerning the broadcast of public comment item she had placed on the agenda. It was obvious that Commissioner Zamora had not been advised of the behind-the-scenes manipulation by Mayor Martinez and his eager cohort Sossi. Sossi, afterall, had the most to lose from public comment broadcast since it was comments about his questionable ethics that triggered the ban in the first place.

As Zamora got her bearings, Martinez waved Sossi the "go ahead". Sossi made no attempt in his feeble, highs-choolish power point to express a legal opinion. There was no mention of free speech, the first amendment, the constitution or even the phony liability issues he has pretended previously. Those might have been worthy legal issues. Instead he expressed only viewpoints, unscientific at best, but most likely simply wrong. With a straight face he used a pie chart to illustrate the greater "diversity" of commenters since the ban, not even having the honesty to acknowledge that many of those new participants were speaking out against the anti-democratic ban. He also railed against grandstanding as he grandstanded."

To read the rest of Barton's post, click on: http://meanmisterbrownsville.blogspot.com/

HERALD GIVES LONGORIA SOPABOX TO SHOWCASE INEPTNESS

By Juan Montoya
This Sunday's Herald gave front-page treatment to the failure of the City of Brownsville Commission – particularly District 1 commissioner Rick Longoria – to provide hurricane protection for its most vulnerable residents.
Reporter Ty Johnson overlooked the public record and gave Longoria his soapbox to complain that his fellow commissioners and the administration had taken the money "from my people" and had given him money to pave streets instead just in time for his reelection.

Johnson outlines how the city administration blew its chances of building three domes in the city with more than $6 million in appropriations from FEMA starting back in 2012.
Yet, by the summer of 2014 – even with a two-year extension to complete them – the city couldn't meet the deadline. So the city administration scrapped two domes and finally axed the one for Southmost in March.
Plans to construct one at the First Baptist School on Boca Chica and Old Alice Road was abandoned after silk-stocking neighbors of the church (Rio Viejo) complained that a torrent of low-income residents would flood their swanky neighborhood and the dome would hurt the value of their homes.
Then, with deadlines approaching, City Information Director (Jerry Hedgecock) once again demonstrated his astounding ineptness by failing to nail one at the central campus as well. That was also abandoned and commissioners settled on one single dome at the Brownsville Sports Park.
And where was District 1 commissioner Longoria all this time that "his people" were getting the shaft?
This is the record Ty:

On May 25, 2013 – almost two years ago – the city commission, with Longoria present, voted on this item:

8. FIRST Public Hearing for the proposed 2012/2013 HUD Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) Program Funding allocation. (Stephanie Reyes – Grants)
The "substantial" part of that amendment was the proposal to shift $535,000 from a construction of the planned Southmost Community Center (Dome) to provide hurricane protection to that community and add $300,000 to John Villarreal's District 4 Oliveira Skate Park's $150,000 and another $235,000 to meet the needs of additional amenities to District 2 Jessica Tetreau's Portway Acres Park which was originally programmed for $107,692.
According ot the minutes of that meeting:
"Commissioner Estela C. Vasquez moved that the proposed 2nd Substantial Amendment to the
Fiscal Year 2012/2013 HUD Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) Program Funding
allocation, be approved. The motion was seconded by Commissioner Jessica Tetreau and carried
unanimously.

Longoria had another chance to protect "his people" on December 12, 2014 when the commission considered delaying the construction once again. The minutes of that meeting state:

9. Consideration and ACTION to request that the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) grant the City of Brownsville a 12-month extension to complete construction of  the Community Safe Room project (DR-1791-361), located at the Southmost Library. Commissioner Ricardo Longoria Jr. moved that the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) grant to the City of Brownsville, for a 12-month extension to complete construction of the Community Safe Room project (DR-1791-361), located at the Southmost Library, be approved. The motion was seconded by Commissioner Jessica Tetreau and carried unanimously.

On March 17,  the minutes will reflect that the commission voted on Item 27 on a motion by commissioner Rose Gowen that  the proposals received for the RFP #CSS-0301215 Texas Safe Shelter Initiative (TSSI) (DR-1791-361, DR-1791-362), be rejected. The motion carried unanimously.

Then, on Item 18 (the commission took action on these items out of order) Commissioner Rose M. Z. Gowen moved that City of Brownsville’s recommendation regarding the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s (FEMA) Community Safe Rooms, Proposals II, to reallocate funds for Southmost Library Dome to Street & Drainage Improvements, be accepted and approved. The motion carried unanimously.

However, at that March meeting, Longoria did speak out.
He spoke out in the form of issuing yet three more proclamations to recognize: to Gowen  in recognition of physicians’ contributions, the care they provide and advances made in the field of medicine; a proclamation in designating March 28, 2015, as Nuts 4 Nutrition Day, and a proclamation in designating March 24, 2015, as Diabetes Alert Day,

And just down the road, those hayseeds in Los Fresnos were given the same chance by FEMA to build  dome for "their people" at the Consolidated Independent School District's United campus just north of Olmito and achieved starkly different results.

LFCISD split its $600,000 local share of the $2.4 million dome with the cities of Los Fresnos and South Padre Island. FEMA provided 75 percent of the cost, or $1.8 million. The dome should be ready by this August.

Longoria is up for reelection in a runoff with Roman Perez, a candidate that has also failed to capitalize on Ricks sexual foibles, alleged illegal campaign contributions, and his demonstrated ineffectiveness. But compared to the documented ineptness shown by Longoria on this huuricane protection for "his people," anything would be better.

HEAR THAT GNAWING? HINOJOSA NIBBLES AT THE EDGES..

By Juan Montoya
Fresh from his defeat at the hands of Republicans here and in Austin in last year's general elections, Texas Democratic Chairman Gilbert Hinojosa has latched on to the position of city attorney at Port Isabel.
The Port Isabel-South Padre Press reported May 22 that Port Isabel City Attorney Robert Collins and City Manager Ed Meza were voted out by the city commission during a special meeting which was filled to capacity with local residents.
The commission previously had voted to remove commissioners Juan Jose “J.J.” Zamora and Martin C. Cantu from office, but a court-ordered decision allowed them to participate and vote on the session’s items.
The narrow 3 to 2 vote effectively terminated the legal services between Robert Collins and the City of Port Isabel.

Cantu, Zamora and newly elected commissioner, Jeffery D. Martinez voted in favor of the motion while Mayor Joe E. Vega and Commissioner Maria de Jesus Garza voted against. 

Hinojosa, who represented Cantu and Zamora during last month’s court proceedings, was appointed as the replacement city attorney. Collins was not present at the meeting.
Meza was then quickly replaced by former county judge assistant and acting county Democratic chair Jared Hockema as an interim. 

Hockema has always been a good Democratic Party soldier under Hinojosa. He was county vice chair from 2007 to 2012, treasurer of the party from 2004 to 2012, and has been precinct 52 chair from
2002 to the present.
Once in office, Hockema and Hinojosa have moved fast. At the May 26 meeting, several items leap off the page.
First, there is the item replacing the delinquent tax collecting firm. Item 3 on the first meeting was "Discussion and possible action to issue notice of termination to E. Pena and Associates, PC for the current month-to-month contract for delinquent tax collection services, and to utilize the delinquent tax collection services contracted by Cameron County."
Now, that wold be none other that Linebarger Goggan Blair and Sampson LLP, a firm that has been more than generous to Hinojosa over the years.
Item 6 on the agenda was placed there by Hinojosa and it reads: Discussion and possible action to rescind any severance policy for the city manager, effective July 6, 2010. That fits in nicely with an item that was discussed in closed session. That was "2. Deliberation regarding claim or potential claim of Mr. Edward Pro Meza, former employee (city manager), pursuant to Texas Government Code, 551.074, personnel.
Things, we imagine, are not boding well for old Ed.
The meeting also saw the appointment or reappointment of four members of the Port Isabel Economic Development Board,  four members of the Port Isabel Board of Adjustments, and an item by Hockema for "10. Discussion and possible action on the compensation of the city attorney," which would be his former boss Gilbert Hinojosa.
Now, ain't that neat?
Hinojosa apparently has isolated Mayor Joe Vega, who coincidentally is also the Cameron County Parks Director. With the blessing of the Ochoa clan, he has taken over Port Isabel. With his other former assistant Remi Garza as the county interim elections administrator, the pieces are all falling into place for his gradual reentry into the heart of county politics now that Carlos Cascos, his nemesis, is gone.
Do you hear the gnawing?

THE FLYING SANCHEZ BROTHERS ROCK ON AND ON AND ON

By Juan Montoya
We were making our rounds at the Cameron County courthouse this Friday when we ran into an old friend of ours.
An old political type, we won't embarrass him by divulging his name. Let's just say he know his way around politics in the county.
What he told us about the antics of Cameron County Pct. 4 commissioner Dan Sanchez and brother Dan, a district judge, left us intrigued with the overweening ambition of this duo.
It seems that both Dan and Dave went up to see Sen. Eddie Lucio so he could submit a bill in the Texas Legislature which would allow counties to include two county commissioners with the district judges to appoint the county auditor.
Under the Texas Government Code (Sec. 84.002. APPOINTMENT OF COUNTY AUDITOR) it states that "In a county with a population of 10,200 or more, the district judges shall appoint a county auditor."
Now, Lucio was made to believe that the two Cameron County bros were there representing the county commissioners and district judges and proceeded to round up support for a possible bill to be submitted. As we hear it, there were about 10 other counties who were willing to go along with it.
Then people started hearing about it and word got back to the folks in Cameron County who grew alarmed at the plan. To make the story short, once Lucio was reached by judges here and by the other commissioners on the court, he backpedalled as did the other counties who were lined up to support the measure.
It is no secret that Dan has always nurtured dreams of being the county judge and this last time his supporters were pushing for him to be appointed by the commissioners court when Carlos Cascos left for Austin to become Texas Secretary of State. There were rallies staged by his supporters in Harlingen and elsewhere in his precinct to urge the commissioners to vote for Dan. The only catch was that he would have to resign as commissioner without a guarantee that he had the votes. Understandably, Dan demurred.
But now, as the two-year appointment of former county administrator Pete Sepulveda as county judge draws to an end, don't be surprised to see Dan throw his hat in the ring for the spot. Others named as potential candidates include Pct. 3 commissioner David Garza and even Pct. 2 commissioner Alex Dominguez. Dominguez – who was named county judge pro tem – was also considered for the appointment for judge before Sepulveda nailed it.
Our friend also said that Dan's brother, David, the district judge, also harbors aspirations to lead. He said that at the beginning of the year he was quietly lobbying the other district judges to choose him to replace judge Ben Euresti as administrative judge. But someone let the cat out of the bag and not only Euresti, but other judges got wind of it and the plan fizzled. Nonetheless, the mere attempt to overthrow Euresti didn't make him any friends, he said.
It takes a certain amount of chutzpah, if not ambition, to run for office. And it takes a certain amount of gumption to move around political circles and get your way. Apparently, the Sanchez boys certainly emerged from the county's hinterland with plenty to spare.

THE MOVING FRINGER WRITES, AND HAVING WRIT, MOVES ON

"I defy Juanito to post this so called non-existed complaint filed by me."

Robert Wightman, Friday, May 29

"The Moving Finger writes; and, having writ, Moves on: nor all thy Piety nor Wit. Shall lure it back to cancel half a Line, Nor all thy Tears wash out a Word of it."

The Rubáiyát of Omar Khayyam

By Juan Montoya

I usually don't suffer fools gladly, but when a gauntlet is thrown once in a while I take the dare.

And so – with great reluctance and trepidation – I will engage Robert Wightman, a known cyberbuffon, and will attempt to establish the link between the failed grievance he helped his nephew file against local attorney Louis Sorola with the Texas State Bar and his Rotundness.

Wightman is one of those malingering malcontents who throws the proverbial verbal stone and hides behind the cyberwall of his megaphone from where he proclaims "It is me, the giant" and – when he falls flat on his face – denies he ever said anything.

I was able to talk our blog's accountant into hiring renown handwriting expert E. Scribe Feo to examine the handwriting on the state bar complaint he helped his nephew Emilio Montes file against Sorola and compare it to a document filled out by Wightman some time back.

The State Bar complaint (left) is number 201502393 - Emilio Montes - Louis Sorola and was sent April 20, 2015. The other document (right) is an application Wightman filed with the United States District Court of Columbia (DC) March 22, 2008 to proceed In Forma Pauperis without prepayment of fees and affidavit. Wightman was able to claim penury so he could have petition the U.S. Dept.of Education forgive his student loans ($40,000+) claiming he was a disabled veteran.

(Actually, Wightman was in the peacetime U.S. Army from 1981 to March 31, 1983, just a little over a year and a half and was discharged for a psychiatric disorder. Apparently, that's the basis for his claim for a "service-connected" disability for which he also claims a property tax discount on his $109,000 home. He also suffered from ulcerative colitis and depression as a result of his gay lifestyle.)

But we digress. Handwriting, yeah that's the ticket.

Experts like Mr. Feo say that "handwriting comparison requires the meticulous comparison of each and every character and can only be carried out in a like for like fashion (e.g. comparing block capitals with block capitals, numerals with numerals etc.).

Additionally, "it is important to obtain the original documents for examination where these are available."

Ditto for that. So let's get to it. Did Wightman – based on comparison of handwriting on both of these original documents – participate in the State Bar grievance his nephew filed?
The "B" at left is from the state bar complaint. The "B" at right is from Wightman's 2008 application to have the taxpayers pay for his student loans. Notice the small "r"s are also identical.
Not convinced?
Let's try another block letter, as the experts suggest. Mr. E. Scribe Feo saw another index letter in the way Wightman writes his "D"s.
On the left, a "D" from the state bar complaint. On the right, a "D" from his application for loans forgiveness.
Well, we could go on and on, but we tire of this foolishness, just as you, dear reader, must be tired of this as well.
Sorola is not the only successful attorney that Wightman (who by the way, was disbarred back in Jan. 11, 2002) has bedeviled. He is in good company. He has  – at one time or another – gone after Alex Begum, Luis Saenz, Ed Cyganiewicz, Alex Dominguez, Ben Neece, David Gonzalez, Rick Zayas, Arturo Nelson, Art McDonald, Jim Hunter, Art McDonald, Andrew Hanen, etc., and called upon the them the wrath of the FBI, the Dept. of Justice (sending their files to the DOJ is his favorite threat), and the Almighty Himself (Yeshua, with whom he claims he is still is in good terms and has not sued...yet).
In fact, in one of his lawsuits he told a DC federal court that he was the victim of a conspiracy extending from the Texas Supreme Court, the FBI, George W. Bush, the FBI director, the U.S. Attorney General, Barack Obama, because he received an offer for a credit card in the mail.
Given this pedigree, it ain't too far-fetched to think that Wightman was behind the State Bar grievance filed under his nephew's name.
Anyway, that's the conclusion reached by E. Scribe Feo. What do you think?

SOROLA WHIPS BOBBY AT STATE BAR; WILL HE WANT MORE?

By Juan Montoya
A complaint filed with the Chief Disciplinary Counsel of the Texas State Bar by Brownsville resident Emilio Montes against local attorney Louis Sorola has been dismissed.
State Bar Assistant Disciplinary Counsel K.W. Morgan notified the parties May 18 that "this office has examined the the grievance (filed April 20 against Sorola) and determined that the information alleged does not demonstrate professional misconduct or a disability. Pursuant to the Texas Rules of Disciplinary Procedure, this matter has therefore been classified as an inquiry and has been dismissed."
The complaint stems from a case where Sorola was appointed to represent Hector Negrete by 138th District Judge Arturo Nelson on a felony charge of criminal mischief.
The record shows that Nelson appointed Sorola "out of order" – not an unusual occurrence – and both he and Cameron County Asst. District Attorney Gustavo Gus Garza concurred that trying the defendant twice for an offense arising from the same criminal act constituted double jeopardy.
Garza filed for the dismissal
Negrete had already been ordered to spend 76 days in jail for a previous misdemeanor conviction of criminal mischief arising out of the same offense.
Although the grievance against Sorola was signed by Montes, it was no secret that the paperwork and the grievance narrative was written by looney local blogger – and disbarred attorney – Robert Wightman.
Wightman has railed against Sorola for his appointment by Nelson and the filing for dismissal by Garza. He charged in the grievance that a $500 campaign contribution by Sorola to Cameron County District Attorney Luis V. Saenz indicated that there was "the same level of corruption which occurred under now convicted former Cameron County DA Armando Villalobos. After cases are dismissed money is donated to the DA's campaign."
So Sorola made a $500 contribution for a fee that wouldn;t amount to half that much?
Wightman did not tell the State Bar that Montes just happens to be his nephew and that he and a friend were trying to get victims compensation from the Texas Attorney General's Victim's Compensation Unit for the losses that they said Negrete caused when their Harley Davidson motorcycles were damaged.
Montes and a friend were at the Sportsmans Lounge when Negrete was kicked out of the bar after he assaulted a waitress. He was locked out of the bar and then arrested by police. In interviews with police, Montes and his friend said they had not seen Negrete damage their bikes. The friend also told police that he was not drinking in the bar, merely "bullshitting" with friends.
Montes said damage to his Harley was somewhere above $3,000 and his friend told police his bike's damage was about $300.

Wightman's narrative, as he is wont to do, is filled with assumptions of a conspiracy between Nelson, Sorola, and Asst. DA Garza in the case. He alleged that the former court-appointed attorney Letty Barguiarena, withdrew from the case because "she refused to be a party to the fraud" and because "she knew there was no basis for the double jeopardy claim."
There was no such statement from Barguiarena in the grievance filed with the state bar and no indication she would testify to Wightman's claims.
And then, the usual claim by drama queen Wightman, his imagined coup-de-grace: "I know for a fact the DOJ (U.S. Department of Justice) is investigating our current DA on two other bribe claims so I'm copying this State Bar Complaint to the FBI/DOJ."
Ooooh! Signature Wightman. And then he has the unmitigated gall to say he was not behind it? What wagon of green wood do you think our readers came in on?
Sorry, Charlie, said the Texas State Bar. Not good enough for prime time.

ZENDEJAS LANDS ON FEET TO DO BISD MAJORITY'S WORK

By Juan Montoya
Her last job was running a small charter school in McAllen.
And her applications for counselor jobs at Pace High School and the Special Needs Department at the Brownsville Independent School District were nixed by the principal and the department head.
So how was it that former BISD superintendent Esperanza Zendejas ended up being chosen as the interim superintendent with a very likely possibility that she will be hired for another year or two even after the board promised the public that they would hire a consultant, conduct a nationwide search and even appoint 14 members of nthe community to a search advisory board?
Suddenly, in a most incongruous turn of events, the woman who last headed a small charter school is in charge of a $500 million system with 7,000 employees and 40,000 students.
"It's easy," said a BISD administrator. "She is doing what the majority on the board headed by Minerva Peña, Joe Rodriguez, Jose Chirinos and Cesar Lopez want her to."
The role, that of hatchet woman and scorched-earth personnel directives, has served Zendejas well following her departure from the BISD.
When Zendejas was hired by the board of trustees of the Brownsville Independent School District in 1992, she came in wielding an ax provided her by a majority on the board of the district.
Over time, these changes she instituted resulted in widespread turmoil among the staff, teacher and administrators of the district. Soon, even her staunches supporters like then-board president Peter Gilman could not convince the board majority that they should keep her until the end of her contract in 1998. Gilman was the sole trustee voting not to release her from her contract in 1995.
It's ironic that one of the reasons that Zendejas gave at the time she informed the board she was considering a job with the Indianapolis (Indiana) Pubic Schools was because she didn't think that the incoming board majority would keep her around for long.
However, during her short reign at the BISD, she performed admirably for the majority that hired her, removing principals and administrators hurly-burly as the board majority which kept her at her job wished.
Once the center didn't hold, she could see the writing on the blackboard and knew it was time to move on.
The same thing happened at Indianapolis.
When she arrived there in May 1995 with a four-year contract, it took all of one month for her to kow-tow to the wishes of that board majority. She announced that 63 of its top administrators and staff members would have to re-apply  and interview for their positions because the district was "in crisis."
"The crisis deals with financial resources. It deals with accountability. And it deals with community perception."
Predictably, she ended her relationship with Indianapolis with one year left on her four-year contract amid charges that she had worked to dismantle the district, instead of improving it.
"There is a groundswell of opposition to this board, to this woman (Zendejas) who someone recently described as  'Goldsmith in a dress,'" commented one of her critics in a letter to WIBC Radio in Indianapolis.
"She has no intention of improving or expanding IPS," he wrote the station. "Her agenda was to dismantle it, piece by piece. I am here to tell you that business as usual is no longer acceptable; you'll sees results in the next school election...Zendejas will be out of here shortly, and the rest of us will have to pick up the pieces."
The Brownsville and Indianapolis experience of signing a contract, implementing aggressive polices and shaking up the staff and administration protected by the current majority, and then sensing that the district's voters would elect a new board majority that would not support her policies, and taking a payout before the ax came down, has been a Zendejas hallmark wherever she has gone.
The Indianapolis board paid her $158,100 – a year's salary and benefits – for her early departure.
It's a pattern that has followed her since.
In San Jose, California, Zendejas resigned two years before the end of her contract with the East Side Union High School District over criticism of her management style. According to Zendejas’ contract in San Jose, she made $225,000 a year. The board also paid her a portion of her salary when she left the district.  She continued working for the district as a consultant until Jan. 31, 2011 and collected a monthly payment of $14,000 (about $168,000 a year) plus benefits, according to the consulting agreement
At the Alisal Union School District in Salinas, Calif., Zendejas left in 2010 but stayed on as a consultant with the district paying each administrator $168,000 a year to do the same job.
Now the BISD has her until they find another candidate.
In 1995, Herald writer Anthony Gray said Zendejas knows a thing or two about school boards. Her doctoral thesis at Stanford University was titled: "The recruitment and selection of female school board candidates for rural districts in California." That shows that she was familiar with their political workings, being how she was a board member in California, he wrote.
After she does as she is told by the current BISD board majority of Rodriguez, Peña, Chirinos and Lopez, will she be given the superintendent's gig until the next board is elected?
And will history repeat itself and – as the Indianapolis critic said – : "...you'll see results in the next school election...Zendejas will be out of here shortly, and the rest of us will have to pick up the pieces."

JURY FINDS SANTOS GUILTY IN 17-YEAR-OLD COLD CASE

By Juan Montoya

In a verdict tat stunned seasoned court observers and attorneys, an eight-woman, four man jury returned a guilty verdict against Antonio Santos, accused of killing his wife Evelyn Santos back on October 12, 1998.
The jury, which was polled by 138th District Court Judge Arturo Nelson after he read their verdict, were apparently convinced by the case made against Santos by Assistant District Attorney Gustavo “Gus” Garza.
There were no outward shows of emotion after Nelson read the jury's verdict, but relatives of the woman hugged and cried outside in the court corridor.
According to the original police report, officers found no signs of a forced entry but a bloody crime scene inside their home. They reported finding blood and clumps of hair in what what looked like the scene of a domestic disturbance. 

Santos claimed he gave her CPR and tried to revive her by slapping her, shaking her and throwing water in her face but nothing worked. He said that he even tried to carry her but ended up having to pull her by her hair because she became heavy.

Prosecutors believed that Santos used his hand to suffocate his wife.
Nelson instructed the jury to take an hour-long break after the verdict was delivered and told them to prepare for the punishment phase of the trial.
Prior to the 1998 murder accusations, Santos was under investigation by the federal government for money laundering, a crime to which he pleaded guilty. He served time in prison from 2001 until 2006.

Santos had since remarried, lived in San Antonio, and was making $90,000 a year plus bonuses before his arrest and subsequent trial cost him his job.
The jury was to return to set his sentence later today.

PALMITO HILL: WHERE FOUR NATIONS MADE A FUTILE WAR

By Juan Montoya
For years, Cameron County Pct. 1 commissioner Sofia Benavides has been trying to stir interest in the historical tourist attractions that exist in her corner of the county.
And there a plenty.
Not only is the entire southern boundary abutting Mexico, but the original Ft. Brown with all its links to the U.S.-Mexican War is situated there as is the airport where Charles Lindbergh initiated air mail to Latin America and was seen off by Amelia Earhardt,
William Crawford Gorgas had his first bout with yellow fever, and our buddy Rene Torres swears that the first baseball game was played by soldiers stationed with Abner Doubleday at Ft. Brown.
The infamous Brownsville Raid blamed on black soldiers took place downtown as did the takeover of the city by Juan Nepomuceno Cortina.
Charles Stillman, whose fortune was made running the Union blockade with Richard King and Mifflin Kenedy, went on to establish Citibank with the fortune made in smuggled cotton and real estate.
The home where Stillman lived was later used by Mexican dictator Porfirio Diaz when he was trying to overthrow Benito Juarez as Mexico's president.
Yet, one of the most intriguing historical sites is Palmito Hill which is tagged as the last battle of the Civil War although the war had been over for more than a month. Even though it was militarily insignificant, the fact that there were four forces involved in what a historian called a "meaningless little splatter" makes for an intriguing chapter in local history.
Even though Robert E. Lee had surrendered to Ulysses Grant at Appomattox, Va. on April 9, 1865, on May 13, more than a month later, Union, Confederate, Mexican and French Imperial forces were involved in the skirmish on the bluff overlooking the Rio Grande
This was after on May 1, 1865, a passenger on a steamer heading up the Rio Grande towards Brownsville tossed a copy of the New Orleans Times to some Confederates at Palmito Ranch. The paper contained the news of Lee's surrender, Lincoln's death, and the surrender negotiations. After the news reached the mouth of the Rio Grande, many Confederate defenders left and went home.Robert E. Lee and Ulysses Grant had signed the peace in Appomattox, Va. on April 9, 1865, and yet, on May 13, more than a month later, Union, Confederate, Mexican and French forces were involved in the skirmish on the bluff overlooking the Rio Grande.
Even though Col. Theodore H. Barrett, the Union commander of the blockade detail was refused permission to take Brownsville, ordered 250 men of the Sixty-second United States Colored Infantry and fifty men of the Second Texas United States Cavalry (dismounted) to cross to the mainland from Brazos Island at Boca Chica Pass to occupy Brownsville.
He was spotted by French soldiers on the Mexican side of the river and they alerted the Confederate forces on the U.S. side. After the main Confederate officer declined to fight, those under Col. John Salmon (Rip) Ford, commander of the southern division of the Western Sub-District of Texas vowed to defend the city. With him was  Col. Santos Benavides' Texas Cavalry Regiment, and a six-gun battery of field artillery borrowed from the French Foreign Legionnaires occupying Mexico. In fact, some of the Union casualties were said to have been killed by the French border guards when they tried to swim across the river.
Benavides, the highest ranking Hispanic in either army, led between 100 and 150 Hispanic soldiers in the Brownsville Campaign in May 1865.
Even the participation of Juan Cortina and his lieutenant Servando Canales, who occupied Matamoros has been documented. Cortina had wanted to assist the Union in the taking of Brownsville and planned to assit them with arms and men as the Imperial troops closed in on him from San Fernando and La Burrita, on the road to Bagdad. Canales violently disagreed and did not follow Cortinas' orders.
At this time, the French controlled the area on the Mexican side of the Rio Grande and the customs house at Puerto Bagdad and by eight or nine in the morning their patrols had spotted the Union troops hiding along the river. This information soon found its way to the Confederate troops north of the river, and french troops suddenly began appearing across the river from Branson and his men.
When the Cortinistas and the Union cavalry detachment clashed with Confederates near Palmito Ranch the French troops at Bagdad reacted angrily and joined with the Confederates in pledging to treat Cortina and his men as renegades rather than soldiers.
Fighting in the battle involved Caucasian, African-American, Hispanic, and Native American troops. Reports of shots from the Mexican side, the sounding of a warning to the Confederates of the Union approach, the crossing of the French Imperial cavalry into Texas, and the participation by several among Ford's troops have been reported by historians.
Not long after the nUnion was beaten back to Brazos Island, the Confederates negotiated a surrender with the Union forces and peace was established.
There were Unionists and Confederates battling on one side of the river, the French and Mexican imperialists fighting president-in-internal-exile Benito Juarez and Mexican republicans on the other, with Indians and bandits in between.
But the "meaningless little splatter" at Palmito Hill belies the international character of the affair.

IS PUBLIC PAYING P.I.O. TO RUN DA'S REELECTION CAMPAIGN?

By Juan Montoya
By now we're used to seeing the work of Cameron County District Attorney Pubic Information Officer Melissa Landin adorn the pages of DA Luis Saenz private (non-official) website.
Landin, whose publicly-paid salary tops at $44,000 last time we looked at the DA's salary schedule, often appears on the pages of Saenz's Facebook page that has nothing to do with that office's official duties.
Now, as far as we know, no other county office has a public information officer.
The county judge's office doesn't have one.
No judges have one.
The county sheriff's department doesn't have one.
No county commissioner has one.
The district clerk doesn't have one and neither does the county clerk.


In fact, during the campaign against Carlos Masso, Saenz used to complain about the existence of that office and got rid of Jason Moody as soon as he got in and replaced him with Landin. It could be that Moody just happened to be supporting Masso against Saenz. But once in, Saenz apparently had a change of heart and kept the office.
He fund money to pay her in his budget ($33,000) , the pre-trial diversion fund (($3,500), and another $7,500 from the forfeiture fund.
(Before she was Landin, Melissa was Zamora. She was employed by then-County Judge Carlos Cascos until she demanded that she be put in charge of the office when he was out of town. Cascos demurred and she left.)
Some people have pointed out a recent posting by Saenz on his non-official site is about a visit to the Dora Romero Elementary School Career Day. These visits have been usually attended by the Crime Victims Unit of the DA's Office, not by the DA himself. In fact, the CVU is funded by a grant from the Texas Attorney General, and not from the DA's budget.
That the posting appeared on Saenz's private FB page and featured a photo of Landin indicates that the DA's full-court reelection press is on and that county employees are being used to help it during county time.
Is this a legitimate use of county (or TAG) funds?

WAS CC ADMIN. GARCIA ON HIS CELL WHEN HE CRASHED?

By Juan Montoya
Motorists who were southbound on US 77-83 (I-69) at about 7:30 a.m. Tuesday noticed a small pickup truck with its emergency lights blinking parked on the shoulder near the off ramp to Boca Chica Boulevard.
Most drove to the around it to avoid the vehicle.
One man said that for the most part, motorists could see the truck plainly since it was a clear morning and the traffic was not that heavy then.

"The visibility was good when I passed," he said. "The truck was partially on the road and on the shoulder because the ramp was just starting. It had a big (Dallas) Cowboys star on the side."
One person who apparently did not see the stricken vehicle or its driver standing to the side was newly-named Cameron County Administrator David Garcia. He crashed into the truck with such force that it bent the chassis and left a sag between the cab and the pickup bed. The effects of the impact caused his large county truck to flip over on its top and slide down the center lane of the highway.
Accounts from people who saw the aftermath of the crash say there were pieces of both trucks scattered all over the lanes. Garcia, miraculously, was able to walk away from the truck and can be seen in videos and still photos taken by passing motorists on their cell phones as he speaks into his own cell phone.
Could it be that Garcia did not see the stricken pickup until he was upon it because he was either speaking or texting on his cell phone at the time?
Investigators could find out soon enough if they ascertain the time of the accident (between 7:20 and 7:30 a.m.) and check the phone records of Garcia's cell phone (956) 574-8771.  None other than Erasmo Castro posted a photo at 8:22 a.m. posted by Claudia Ledezma 55 minutes before (7:27 a.m.) which showed the immediate aftermath of the mishap.
Now, we understand that after the accident, Garcia had refused medical treatment and can be seen in the top photo standing at the front of the pickup truck. Later, during the say, we are told that he began complaining of pain in his back.
According to the county policy, all employees involved in a vehicle accident must accompany the safety officer and take a drug test (urinalysis, blood, etc.) within two hours of the accident. According to our sources, instead of accompanying the officer, Garcia asked what clinic the county had hired and declined to be accompanied by anyone.
There are other troubling aspects to this accident which left the county vehicle totaled. In the minutes of the October 13, 2011 meeting, then County Supervisor (now county judge) Pete Sepulveda addressed the subject of county vehicle use by employees and stated that all Bridge System employees were parking their county vehicles. In the discussion at that meeting, Pct. 1 commissioner Sofia Benavides that commissioners keep in  mind that some employees need use of the county vehicle during emergency situations.
Then-commissioner Ernie Hernandez said that supervisors in the four precincts in Public Works be allowed to take their vehicles home.
So, was Garcia in an emergency? Was he a precinct Public Works supervisor? And, was his use of the county vehicle authorized by his immediate superior (the county commissioners or county judge)?
And if county policy dealing with the drug testing and vehicle use by employees not followed, why not? Does his position make him exempt from the ruels that apply to everyone else?
Garcia is making $185,000 a year to work for the residents of this county. He is, we believe, expected to set an example for the rest of the county employees, is he not?

IS FRACKING COMING TO A NEIGHBORHOOD NEAR YOU?

By Brett Crandall

ValleyCentral.com

A Corpus Christi based oil company mailed hundreds of notices to Edinburg homeowners regarding a deep oil and gas well it wants to drill in the middle of the city.

The Royal Production Company has multiple oil wells across the city of Edinburg, including some near the intersection of Canton and Jackson roads.

The company wants to drill another one, nearly 15,000 feet deep, but some who live nearby are a little concerned.

Mario Peña received a notice that Royal Production Company applied for a permit to drill a new oil and gas well behind his house.

"My concern will be the value of the property in the future," Peña said.

When Peña moved into his home five years ago, there were already a number of wells in the plot of land behind his house.

However, he's concerned about something going wrong during the drilling of a new well.

"If for whatever reason there will be an explosion, how will that affect us? How far will it go around the neighborhood? I am concerned about that," he said.

The new well would be the deepest well within city limits, said Hamilton Rogers, the land manager for Royal Production Company.

"That's where we think the next level of production comes from,” Hamilton said. “We've been producing other wells in the area at shallower depths. We just need to take this formation a little deeper."

If the permit is approved, it will take about 50 to 60 days to drill the well.

Although the permit is not for horizontal drilling, Rogers isn't ruling out the controversial method of drilling known as fracking.

For the rest of this story, click mon  link: http://www.valleycentral.com/news/story.aspx?id=1209843#.VWc-j89VhBf

SUPER FELL THU THE CRACKS: OR JUST FOOLING THE PEOPLE?

(Ed's Note: In the Feb. 16, 2015 meeting of the Brownsville Independent School District board of trustees, a lengthy discussion took place outlining the process that would be used to choose a permanent superintendent to replace interim super Esperanza Zendejas. What the trustees or administrators didn't tell the public was that there would be a parallel hiring track that would not use a consultant, a nationwide search or a 14-member community citizen advisory board. Instead the BISD advertised and the application period was closed March 24. Only internal applicants were being accepted, almost guaranteeing that Zendejas will remain a superintendent for at least the next two years, citizen participation be damned. The following is an abbreviated synopsis of the Feb. 16 minutes of the meeting)

ITEM 4: Discussion, consideration and possible action regarding appointment for Search Committee and/or firm to replace Superintendent of Schools.


Ms. MINERVA PEÑA, Board President: OK. I will start on our left side, Mr. (Carlos) Elizondo, any discussion or suggestions or recommendation?

ELIZONDO: The only thing I recommend, I don;t even know who we use, is there a particular agency that we recommend or anything like that?

PEÑA: Have we ever sued anyone? When was the last time we used someone?

(OTIS) POWERS: Basically what we can do is have the , it's a great idea. first and foremost having community involvement, it's going to be transparent. I suggest that each of us pick two people and if they decide they need a consultant to help them out, let them bring it to us and we pick two members of the community and I think that is going to, they bring us the top three. I know when we went through superintendent search , we did it ourselves as board members, let the community themselves decide how they're going to do it and bring it to us.

(CESAR) LOPEZ: So this would be community members, not BISD employees, correct?

(CATALINA) PRESAS-GARCIA: No

PEÑA: And if I may suggest, I understand and I respect your point of view, but I think we would be, a more responsible thing to do is to having a consultant to bring in names or to help us search so we could do a national search be cause if we do community members, it's going to be more difficult for them to be able do a national search , and then this way we have, I know it's saying something is pricey, we want to do this transparently and make sure that every candidate possible that would be  a good fit for us, come to us, cause we can each appoint two members and that's fine, but I don't want, let's say, if we are how many, seven, that's 14 people running left, right and very which way. I would be more comfortable that we get a consultant that would bring the names in and then we have the community members per se, vet the person and they they recommend to the board their three picks, that's how I would see.

(JOE) RODRIGUEZ: I would recommend George McShan. He was a National School Board President, Texas School Board President; that's what he does. He has brought lot of people. As a matter of fact, he had a, he was the guy that recommended you Dr. (Zendejas)...

PEÑA: He was instrumental in taking you away from us, sir.

RODRIGUEZ: But anyway, that's the name that's out there. He has given us in-services, he knows the community well and I think Otis has a good point that at that point in time he should confer and everybody name one person or maybe we all can select three people of community members to look at  that, that's not uncommon to do and I think it's good. But let this guy that has the experience to spearhead this deal.

LOPEZ: Yeah, I think that McShan has been at this game for, I don't know, like 150 years or something like that.

 PEÑA: He looks 40.

LOPEZ: He is well versed, He is very experienced in this situation. I mean, I know that there is other agencies, but he's local.

PEÑA: He knows the culture...

LOPEZ: Yeah, he knows. I believe he used to teach here back in like 1960 or something like that. I think he would bring something good to the table so I support that.

(JOSE HECTOR) CHIRINOS: On this person, on this person you're talking about, yes, I mean, we just need not to close our doors so fast, we need to look around, different agencies, different things, what's the best for the district and the students. And yes, I am of the agreement that we do a committee from the community, it could be one, it could be two. I think it is something that needs to be set for the next board meeting that we discuss, you know, in detail, how exactly we want to do this and the search is going tom take time if we are going to go that route. So I do agree with the rest of the rest of the broad members that we need to start finalizing the details as to the committee, as to who will represent the district, if we need to, as a consultant.

PEÑA: One thing that I would like to say and itr's excellent, we do need community members because this school district does belong to the community, but before we leave the meeting today, I would like to get of how many members, per, how many committee members per board member; I don't want to leave that up in the air, that way when we come back in March, you already have the names. If it's only one, if it's two, that way we don't have to run around like that.

POWERS: I would like two because sometimes one don't show up and the other will.

PEÑA: I like two, I like two, too.

RODRIGUEZ: Two or three is fine, whatever the board wants but I think I think it needs community input, I mean, you know.

PRESAS-GARCIA: Well, I move to approve. Were you going to hire already the consultant, I mean we have, Mr. McShan?

PEÑA: We are just going to discuss that...we are going to make a motion.

PRESAS-GARCIA: OK. Well, I agree with hiring the consultant and then two people from the community to participate on the selection.

PEÑA: Do I have a motion to hire a consultant to help us with this search for the superintendent?

ELIZONDO: Yes.

LOPEZ: Yes, but we're going to finalize everything on the March 3 meeting.

PEÑA: Yes, right now we just have the motion for us to start getting the names of the people in for consultant, bringing the names before the board for consultant, bringing the names for the board for the committee members. That I want to establish now. Do we want to do one or two? I agree with Mr. Powers, two is better because if one fails, you have the other.

ELIZONDO: I make the motion that, which is to go ahead and start looking for someone, a consultant so they can help us through the process and make it two members per each board that are appointed from the community so they can make this decision with the consultant and then and bring back to the board for a decision.

PEÑA: And nothing will be finalized as far as the committee or the consultant till the March agenda.

ELIZONDO: Correct.

PRESAS-GARCIA: Second it.

PEÑA: OK. I will tell you when you can vote.

RODRIGUEZ: Are we voting on McShan?

PEÑA: No. We are voting on getting a consultant name before us on March 3 and the names of the committee members on March 3 will be finalized, a consultant and the members.

RODRIGUEZ: How many committee members?

PEÑA: Two.

RODRIGUEZ: Two, total?

PEÑA: Two per, two each.

PRESAS-GARCIA: Two per board member.

PEÑA:  That's 14 people.

RODRIGUEZ: That's a lot to sit.

PEÑA: And it's really is a lot of people sir but if you stop to think ab out it, sometimes people don't show to these meetings.

RODRIGUEZ: Yeah, but I mean, they're going to show up to this deal because the consultant isn't going to come back with say, three names or four names and at that point in time is when the committee comes because we don;t expect 14 people to come here and be meeting. I mean the committee goes statewide, you know, wherever they go and whatever they do or whatever the contract says.

PEÑA: Or that person can come to us.

RODRIGUEZ: Or they bring people up, but two per, to me that's a lot but I will go with whatever you all want, I mean 14 people.

LOPEZ: Coach, Coach, do you think, would you I mean, I can read you my motion.

PEÑA: I like two. I like two.

ELIZONDO: If one doesn't come in the other one could show up, you know. I would think this person brings in three or four choices and then at that time you can have whatever number you want...

RODRIGUEZ: I mean but because they are going to be all at the same time.

ELIZONDO: The thing is, we want more community involvement so we can pick the right person.

PEÑA: Yes. Yes.

ELIZONDO: Especially if it will be the people's choice and that way they can at least hold ownership and try to make it for BISD, I mean, this is.

PEÑA: Two is good, that's the motion on the floor.

RODRIGUEZ: That's fine with me.

Final vote: Motion: ELIZONDO
Second: PRESAS-GARCIA
Vote: 7-0 (Unanimous) To be brought back to finalize March 3 meeting.
March 3 meeting: Was never brought back and vacancy posted to hire internally hiring instead. 

BASTROP STATE PARK BECOMES TEXAS LAKE BEGONE

(Ed.'s Note: As if the devastating fires of a few years ago that razed entire subdivisions in the Bastrop area weren't enough,Central Texas was hit by severe thunderstorms and subsequent flooding. Here's a video of the state park's fishing lake dam breaking and spilling over. The lake is gone.)

TO DA SAENZ, ET AL, ILLEGAL CONTRIBUTIONS SMALL SPUDS

By Juan Montoya
By now the story involving the thousands of dollars in alleged illegal contributions has deteriorated into a he-says, she-says account where the principals who could throw light into the matter are keeping mum.
Is it true, as District 1 City Commissioner Rick Longora's former paramour claimed when she caught him consorting with another girlfriend, that the commish was the recipient of money from Ambiotec's Carlos Marin and American Surveillance Jaime Escobedo?
Both have done extensive work for the City of Brownsville, the school district, the Port of Brownsville, and just about every entity that requires environmental studies or security for their entities.

Julie Olvera, before she became disenchanted with Longoria, Brownsville's version of Lothario, the unscrupulous seducer of women, said he had told her of receiving thousands from these two gents. They kept the money (at least $4,000 that she remembered) in a dresser drawer at his home on Carolina Street not far from where she grew up with her parents.
When she walked in on Longoria and "the other woman," she grew livid and returned wsith the police to claim "her money." Instead of the $4,000, however, she said that she could only recover $1,300, a sum which Longoria allowed her to keep in a fit of generosity.
We understand that when Longoria was asked where the money came from, he told the cops it was fro campaign contributions.
There have been investigations launched for less than this.
Just as Olvera has gone silent of the claims involving Marin and Escobedo, she has also gone mum on the $240 she says she saw Mariano "Bean" Ayala hand Longoria at the front of his house when she was present.
We examined the contribution reports the Friday after Olvera reached out to bloggers and made her accusations and could find nothing reported in them.
With a babbling witness, a public official involved, and the potential for election campaign violations influencing the outcome of the District 1 election, any other prosecuting attorney in the State of Texas or the United States would certainly have launched a probe to either get to the bottom of the sorry mess, or put the matter to rest.
In Cameron County, we shouldn't hold out breath. It doesn't matter how much semantic or mental contortions anyone makes to justify the insertion of illegal donations from vendors doing business with the city or from public officials in their employ, the stench of a serious conflict of interest lingers.
But then again, when Baltazar Salazar, the general counsel for the Brownsville School District was hired, he promised in his contract that he would not make any gifts or money to any of the board members or public servants.
 In fact, the last election campaign report of the BISD's November 2014 election indicates that he gave incumbent Cesar Lopez $4,000 in campaign contributions despite that clause.
And getting closer to the marrow, numerous county residents who were there, have told us of contributions made to the sitting DA that were never reported in his campaign reports. Some of these people were involved in the bail bond business or in the operation of eight-liner arcades, a target of the DA's Office after he was elected.
The only negative feedback so far is that Saenz should not expect financial support from these quarters in his reelection campaign.
In the current runoff between Longoria and challenger Roman Perez for the District 1 seat, it is obvious that the local daily is going to turn a blind eye to the obvious: that vendors doing business with the city and public officials are buying candidates with illegal campaign contributions and its no skin off their nose – or the DA's – as far they are concerned.

BARTON: CONNECT THE RUSTEBERG-UB-GARCIA-MARIN DOTS

By Jim Barton

MeanMisterBrownsville blog

While the Imagine Brownsville Comprehensive Plan, so vigorously pushed by former Brownsville Mayor Eddie Trevino, Jr. at a cost of $900,000 to the taxpayers, sits on the shelf like a dusty vintage comic book, never implemented, now totally obsolete, the inertia created by that publication and the vacuous meetings it recommended have resulted in a dramatic shift in control of public assets.

Out of initial thrust came the United Brownsville Coordinating Board with no initial idea what it would be coordinating.

For those connecting the dots, it appears that coordinating board, primarily including Fred Rusteberg, Carlos Marin and Juliet Garcia is now rearing its ugly, carnivorous head with the proposed FIVE liquefied natural gas plants to extend from the Port of Brownsville to the city limits of Port Isabel, destined to spew millions of gallons of hot effluent daily into the Bahia Grande while mercury, hydrogen sulfide, helium, carbon dioxide, hydrocarbons would be "dispersed" into our air supply.

It was interesting that mayoral candidate Pat Ahumada, responding to our question about the proposed assortment of liquefied natural gas plants at the Port of Brownsville, stated that "you know the city has no jurisdiction in the Port of Brownsville governance, which is where these proposed plants are to be built."

While the City of Brownsville may have no jurisdiction at the Port of Brownsville, the City Commission yielded in resolution control of a so-called "Bi-ned Zone," including the port, the industrial corridor along FM 511 as well as manufacturing entities across the river to a "Bi-ned Co-ordinating Board" including the City of Harlingen, 

United Brownsville and Imagina Matamoros. Here is a resolution relinquishing control, actually ceding control of the industrial corridor to Harlingen and two non-governmental entities that was actually passed by the mayor and city commission:

Consideration and ACTION on Resolution Number 2014-034, in support of the creation of a Bioned(sic) Coordinating Board to be made up by Equal Representation from United Brownsville, Imagina Matamoros, and the City of Harlingen in order to promote and plan the development of the Bi-Ned Zone. (Commissioners D. Portillo/R. Gowen)

This resolution, coupled with Congressman Vela's participation in the Bi-ned Conference held at UTB in 2012 and representation at United Brownsville meetings since, has added credibility to the shadow government, once described by City Attorney Mark Sossi as "informal," not subject to the Public Information Act.

Of course, United Brownsville has always been more than willing to have a young city commissioner serve as an out-of-the-financial loop tri-chair of the coordinating board. Lol!

It was actually the Greater Brownsville Incentives Corporationthat approved a $454,000 study for development of the industrial corridor, then $180,000 more to allow Jacobs Engineering to proceed with Phase 1 of the implementation of the initial plan. While BEDC Director Jason Hilts insisted that Jacobs Engineering was the only one to bid on the $750,000 plan to implement the $454,000 study, Jacobs Engineering named young Oscar Garcia, Jr., Juliet Garcia's son, with no experience in such things, as Project Manager  Are you having fun at home connecting the dots?

While young Oscar Garcia, Jr. left his service on the Brownsville Public Utilities Board to accept the new challenge at Jacob's Engineering, it was not before he and PUB Board member Tony Martinez help seal the purchase of a quarter interest in an 800 megawatt power plant to be built, yes on the FM 511 industrial corridor by the Tenaska Corporation. Many in Brownsville, as well as the internationally acclaimed Fitch Bond Rating firm viewed that purchase as an extremely poor financial deal, especially when financed by a $350,000,000 burden on the ratepayers.

To read rest of story, click on link: http://meanmisterbrownsville.blogspot.com/

MATA CITY BUREAUCRAT LEADS BUS DRIVERS IN DEMANDS

By Juan Montoya
In the classic case of the tail wagging the dog, more than 214 bus drivers have sent a letter to the Brownsville Independent School District trustees and administration demanding higher wages and full-time employment.
The letter lista three basic demands:
1. All Bus Drivers and Monitors a $1 raise in their salary.
2. All Bus Drivers and Monitors should be considered full-time and given 40 hours weekly.
3. All Bus Drivers and monitors should be changed from a level six classification from the level 4 which they have now.
The demands were aired recently during t a meeting bus monitors and bus drivers held at the parking lot of the Brownsville Events Center.
In a letter sent by Zendejas to the trustees, she said the Transportation Dept. employees had requested a meeting with her and the entire board.
When Zendejas explained to them that a full board could not meet without calling a special meeting, they relented and requested that they meet with her and trustee Jose Hector Chirinos. The request from the drivers to meet with Chirinos is understandable. Chirinos is the former Trasporation department director and under his watch the overtime salaries for bus drivers and monitors was climbing past $2 million in two years. At the time of a forensic audit, Chirinos said he had expressed some concerns about it but that the unions and the BISD administration were steadfast in keeping the situation as it was.
Prominent among those leading the drivers anad monitors is none other than than Rafael Vasquez Cardenas, a bus driver who has worked for about seven years with the BISD. He is the man holding the microphone in the white shirt at the center of the photo above and his signature is the first one on the petition.. How can he work full time here when he is a public official in Matamoros?
But what his passengers and employer might not have known is that when new Matamoros mayor Norma Leticia Salazar Vázquez took over the reins of power in Matamoros in July 2013, Cardenas was named director of one of that city's departments as a reward for his political work on her behalf.
He was named the the director of "social concentration," in charge of controlling the hundreds of vendors who ply their wares in the city streets.
If you buy elotes, candy, etc., you are dealing with one of his charges.
Media organs in Matamoros have published pictures of Cardenas' house at 1784 El Astro in Brownsville, and of him wearing his Matamoros department's polo shirt.
BISD bus administrators were reluctant to talk to us about his employment in Matamoros, telling us only that he is a full-time employee with the transportation department and earns about $18,000 annually.
Josue Martinez, a reporter for the TMP Noticias news magazine, said he conducted a special investigation into Cardenas' status as a full-time employee on both sides of the river and was told by BISD Human Resources employees that Vázquez has been employed by the district for about seven years and enjoys all the benefits of a full-time job here.
When Salazar took over the reins of power in Matamoros, she pledged that all of her officials would reside in that city. How Cardenas can be both a full-time bus driver and director of a city department in Matamoros is difficult to explain.
Vázquez is directly under the supervision of  Luis Alfredo Biasi, the director of the Department of Social Development (SEDESO) who is out on bail from the high-security prison in Nayarit on charges of money laundering.
Contrary to the promises by Salazar, the news magazine indicates that the majority of the administrators for the city of Matamoros reside in Brownsville.
The  directorship of the BISD Transportation Dept. has undergone many changes since Art Rendon was removed and transferred to Food Service. First, Hector Zamarripa was moved there and bolted after only three weeks. He was replaced by Jimmy Hayens, and then Carlos Guerra was sent to assist him. now, Zendejas has announced that she has assigned Eliud Ornelas to take over the troubled department. She says in her memo to trustees that Ornelas was an assistant to Brenda Fernandez. She also states that Fernandez and Ornelas "ran the department a few years back."
Well, not exactly. Administrators remember that Ornelas was a clerk inside the bus office and was not engaged in the day-to-day operations.
What kind of surprises are in store for school bus riders and district administrators with one of Matamoros mayor Salazar's cabinet members leading the bus drivers and monitors? Will we see the familiar black and red banners announcing strikes that we see across the Rio Grande? And will Salazar move to remove Vasquez once it becomes obvious that one of her administration's bureaucrats lives in Brownsville and is asking for full-time work here?

ADMINISTRATOR STRIKES PICKUP, FLIPS COUNTY TRUCK

(Ed.'s Note: Despite the horrific sight above of a Cameron County truck that flipped over when it struck a stalled compact pickup (at right) County Administrator David Garcia was not injured and was able to call for assistance after the accident. The accident occurred on the overpass of U.S. 77-83 right before the Boca Chica exit. If you look closely at the middle picture, 

Garcia can be seen standing (in white shirt) at the front of the pickup talking into his cell phone. Was he on the cell phone when he inadvertently struck the stalled vehicle? 

Garcia, who was named as permanent county administrator Thursday to replace Pete Sepulveda after he was appointed county judge, apparently did not see the stalled vehicle and did not pass around it as other motorists did. Garcia was named interim county adminitrator and the commissioners promised to conduct a search for a new administrator. Appretnly, they did not, much like their counterparts at the Brownsville Indpendent School District with interim superintendetn Esperanza Zendejas

This is not the first time that vehicle-challenged county employees have been involved in accidents. Former Risk Management director Gilbert Galvan was involved in at least three accidents before he departed. Like Galvan, Garcia was not injured. Now we'll see whether Garcia – commanding a hefty $185,000 salary – will have to undergo the mandatory substance detection exams as is required by county Human Resource rules. We had been under the impression that county employees had been stopped from taking their vehicles home, but apparently this doesn't apply to people like Garcia. Despite the malas lenguas, there is no evidence that HR Director Arnold Flores had any involvement in the mishap.)   

WE HONOR AND THANK THOSE WHO WENT BEFORE US, FOR US