(Continued from Part I)
We also need to address the issue of how Brownsville is continuously being taken advantage of.
We also need to address the issue of how Brownsville is continuously being taken advantage of.
We need to stop allowing companies to come to Brownsville, save millions of dollars on tax abatements with nothing being given back to the community. For all of the times the mayor mentions his business acumen, and investors, and stakeholders, and money, you’d think he would want these companies to start investing in the PEOPLE of Brownsville.
Titan Tire, that Italian tractor company, and SpaceX are just a few examples of companies that have come into town, taken millions in tax abatements, and haven’t given Brownsville a whole lot of anythingSpaceX has broken promise after promise after promise. They said there would be hundreds of well-paying jobs created for Brownsville locals.
They said there would be many more jobs created because of all the people visiting to see these rocket launches. To date, none of these things have happened. They’ve even screwed over the county and the people of South Padre Island.
They thought building an amphitheater so people could see all these rocket launches would benefit them. Now there aren’t any launches and the amphitheater was still built.
All these companies have done is leave Brownsville’s landscape dotted with half-abandoned warehouses and broken promises (like the stacks of tires left behind at the old Titan Tire warehouse at graphic on right).
Soon, if SpaceX have their way, they’ll probably close off access to Boca Chica Beach permanently and displace a beachside community that has existed for generations.
Education should also be a priority for the mayor.
All these companies have done is leave Brownsville’s landscape dotted with half-abandoned warehouses and broken promises (like the stacks of tires left behind at the old Titan Tire warehouse at graphic on right).
Soon, if SpaceX have their way, they’ll probably close off access to Boca Chica Beach permanently and displace a beachside community that has existed for generations.Education should also be a priority for the mayor.
The UTRGV debacle should have NEVER happened, and it happened while the mayor was a member of the TSC board. The entire TSC campus could have moved to the Amigoland Mall and the UT System could have paid TSC for all the property on their current campus and UT Brownsville could have remained UT Brownsville.
The majority of the undergraduate programs and almost all the graduate programs are being run out of Edinburg. The day will soon come when UTRGV completely relocates to the old UT-Pan Am campus and leaves Brownsville high and dry. I’m sure if the university leaders had their way, the move would have happened a long time ago.
Local politicians should be doing their best to bring as many institutions of higher learning to Brownsville, not asking them to leave and never come back. The mayor’s connections to TSC would make him the perfect person to try and fix the problems with the university and the college.
You also have to work with the local school district to improve relations between the community and the district to preserve Brownsville’s rich history.
It would be good if the mayor could intervene and put all the drama that is currently going on at the Brownsville Historic Association to rest.
We need to put all of the petty bickering and hidden agendas aside and move forward in educating the community just how historically significant Brownsville is. Brownsville has played a major role in the development of Texas and in the development of the United States.
We have a rich history that spans all kinds of ethnic groups, and we should honor that. We are very fortunate to be at the crossroads of several different cultures. We should celebrate those cultures coming together. The city needs to take a more active role in promoting Charro Days as that cultural celebration. We do not need a new annual celebration in February. We already have one.
We need to make Charro Days what it once was instead of what it has become. We need less beer festivals and less wine tastings and more celebrations of our history and our cultural uniqueness.
We need to make Charro Days what it once was instead of what it has become. We need less beer festivals and less wine tastings and more celebrations of our history and our cultural uniqueness.
I understand that the mayor has a vested interest in seeing downtown flourish, but the simple fact is there are more important things to worry about rather than hike and bike trails and beautification pet-projects.
He should be working to bring legitimate companies to town that are going to be a part of the community, lay down roots, and bring good paying jobs to the people of Brownsville. Politicians often forget their job is to serve their constituents and do things that are in the community’s best interest. Being mayor is not a vanity exercise.
Brownsville needs fixing. Brownsville needs healing. Brownsville needs a leader who is capable of listening to the people and doing the right thing to fix all the problems that currently ail us. Brownsville was once the crown jewel of Deep South Texas.
We were the anchor of the Magic Valley. We can be that once again. If you are willing to set your business interests and gentrification projects aside, we can fix and breathe life into the city.
Brownsville needs fixing. Brownsville needs healing. Brownsville needs a leader who is capable of listening to the people and doing the right thing to fix all the problems that currently ail us. Brownsville was once the crown jewel of Deep South Texas.
We were the anchor of the Magic Valley. We can be that once again. If you are willing to set your business interests and gentrification projects aside, we can fix and breathe life into the city.
Brownsville can absolutely be beautiful — Brownsville can absolutely be strong.
Listen to the people. Listen to Brownsville’s native sons and daughters. Listen to the people who are crying out for real, legitimate change.
Put down the fiddle. Lead us. We can be the Valley’s shining city upon a hill once again.
Listen to the people. Listen to Brownsville’s native sons and daughters. Listen to the people who are crying out for real, legitimate change.
Put down the fiddle. Lead us. We can be the Valley’s shining city upon a hill once again.
32 comments:
As I wrote in an earlier comment, most of this has been written in the Blogs. The fact that this Bozo comes anonymously soils his argument. If you're gonna come all-balls, then show your face and give your name. Sucker punches only work at 14th Street cantinas, bro.
El pueblo vencido...nunca sera unido!
El pueblo vencido...nunca sera unido!
That ending on this posting is amateursville! Corny and sort of Middle School. In the hands of a better writer, this might have been interesting.
I understand some people will probably read what I’ve written and say, “Well, what are your solutions to all of these things you’re complaining about? It’s one thing to complain and another to offer solutions.”
Respectfully, I submit a plan that can start us on the way to success. One of the things we need to do is look into securing funding for a lot of these projects. The mayor, and the rest of the city commission, need to go to Austin and to Washington D.C. and go with the hustle. They need to present our case to the state and federal governments. We need to swallow our pride and ask them for help. There have to be several state and federal grants that we can apply for to help us get the infrastructure improvements we so desperately need. Grants can be applied for almost everything we need, from road and sidewalk improvements, to road lighting and everything else. Grants can be had for improvements to the library, and I’m certain some of them would be approved. This is where we need to lean on our state and federal legislators. The Lucios, Alex Dominguez, and Filemon Vela can be instrumental in helping us secure some of those grants.
Where grants run out, we can lean on our mayor for help. It appears one of the mayor’s strengths is his business acumen. Brownsville can use that to its advantage. The mayor and the rest of the city commissioners can keep on going with the hustle and try to secure corporate sponsorship for some of the projects he’s proposing. When big companies become rich, they want to become respectable. They want their public image to make them look good instead of looking like a bunch of greedy money-hungry suits. There are several projects that would benefit from corporate sponsorship. A massive zoo refurbishing and renovation project could be funded this way. The mayor’s “Brownsville’s Bountiful Broadband” project (I just came up with that in case someone else wants to take credit for it) slated to bring broadband internet to more people in town could also benefit from corporate sponsors. There are also plenty of wealthy people in Brownsville who we could lean on. Lots of Brownsville’s ruling class don’t pay taxes on the historic mansions they live in. There are people who have made millions in their business ventures. Perhaps instead of trying to create a political machine that controls local politicians (OP 10.33), some of those funds can be diverted into some of these projects.
In other cases, we may be able to go directly to the manufacturers of equipment we may need. Brownsville is in desperate need of better and brighter street lights. Maybe there’s a company that is working on a new generation of LED street lights, and they would be interested in using Brownsville as a test city to see how their products work. Chicago and their Department of Innovation & Technology is undertaking a massive project to install “better quality, more reliable LED fixtures on streets, alleys and viaducts to increase safety, reduce energy, and improve the environment. The city wide lighting initiative will replace over 270,000 existing outdated High Pressure Sodium light fixtures with new energy-efficient LED lights…” There is absolutely no reason why we can’t have a department of innovation and technology to think of ideas like this.
*continued*
*continuation*
Speaking of energy, Brownsville needs to seriously revisit the structure and organization of the Public Utilities Board. There are definitely advantages to having the PUB structured the way it is. In other cities, their water, light, and garbage collecting bills are all separate. I like the idea of having to pay one bill for all of those services. That said, the rates we are paying are too high. Brownsville needs to be at the forefront of alternative sources of energy. The mayor and the city commission should be looking towards encouraging new homeowners to consider the possibility of installing solar panels on their property. We should also be looking into the possibility of building wind farms here in town. These wind turbines already come into South Texas via the Port of Brownsville. There’s no reason why Brownsville can’t have a wind farm somewhere in the city limits. All that said, the city needs to look into the whole Tenaska power plant debacle and why we’re still paying exorbitant amounts of money on our energy bill for a power plant that will probably never be built. We need to figure out a way to start reducing the electrical rates and giving that money back to the consumers in the form of discounts and credits on their PUB bills. If Brownsville is going to stay in the utility business, they should figure out a way to make the power affordable for all the residents of the city. Struggling for basic necessities like light, water, and garbage collection should be absolutely unacceptable in an industrialized nation.
We don’t need more taxes. There is more than one way to skin a cat. We can figure out how to improve this city without bleeding its citizens dry. THIS is what city leadership should be trying to do. They should be concentrating on trying to figure out how to fix the real, legitimate problems we have here rather than trying to figure out how to give cyclists more access to bike trails. We need to learn how to prioritize. To quote Friedrich Nietzsche, “He who would learn to fly one day must first learn to stand and walk and run and climb and dance; one cannot fly into flying.”
Mr. Mayor, we’re still learning how to stand, walk, and run. Don’t fly us into flying.
Book this guy on Whine with Cheez. What a whiner!
Unmask this Whistleblower! Quien es este Guey?!
Kinda like those certain few that flaunt money in el valle. You might be ballin, but debt on mortgage, car note, student loans, credit card payments, que juanito needs his meds, all shit that is costly. Pero quiero estar a mis anchas looking rich. All that shit adds up, bunch of perpetrators. There is a reason el valle is poorest area in the US, hell brownsville.
Now for the city, we all know its just posing and saying you have this title and that. Change also come with the people that demand it. We all can bicker and babble about whats wrong, but its up to us to choose the right people. Esta bien miserable brownsville, Im gone for a year and a half and it just gets worst. Being from el barrio you see it. Unlike the newer "side" from ruben torres and up. Its difficult seeing your area stay the same while you get older. Of course lets be honest no one wants to invest in the ghetto. Its like purposely done to keep us that way. Trey aint our mayor, he's just a roleplaying politico. I thought his "new blood" would give us more opportunities to prosper in this community, who knows only time will tell. Think about this, you people must have some sort of common sense. Do you really think our "leaders" are out to see our best interests or fill their pockets. estamos bien jodios asi como nuestra ciudad....
If Browntown is going to be a "shining city" once again, put the gringos back in charge. The various Mexicans have made a terrible botch of this town.
El Consentido,
Sorry you didn't like the ending. I guess Jesus Christ and President Ronald Reagan were also amateurs, since the reference comes from Jesus' Sermon on the Mount which President Reagan also used.
I mean, what did he know, he only defeated Communism and the Soviet Union.
I don't see anything wrong with being an amateur. I made no claim to be a great writer, nor do I think I'm a professional anything. That said, maybe amateurs are exactly what the city needs, because it sure seems like the professional politicians haven't done a good job at all.
And to October 25, 2019 at 10:17 AM, I don't think you know what a whistleblower actually is. I'm not accusing anybody of anything.
And to October 25, 2019 at 7:58 AM, funny you call me out for not posting my name, yet you're on here doing the exact same thing. My name is irrelevant. I am not running for political office. I am not seeking anything. I am merely sharing my opinion on what I think is wrong with the city.
Classic, let's act all offended and attack the messenger.
Este Guey! As you name him makes sense. And who are you to say otherwise? Unmask yourself if you have balls GUEY!!
@10:06
@10:17
What are your thoughts on fixing the problems of Brownsville?
All you scumbags do is complain and ridicule others.
Please, take up the pen and write out your thoughts and what you feel should be done with our city.
I would love to peruse your writings. I'm sure they come complete with cartoons and references of a Southmost pitada on sunday
"Sucker punches only work at 14th Street cantinas, bro." WRONG it happens more at the cob and cc and BISD and even those boards, and the port. So seas guey guey.
This commenter cries out for a leader, only in Brownsville there are no leaders - just users and takers and do-nothings. Look it up.
-- thank you for writing this. Haterz can eat dix
DG, i agree with you there are many grants out there but the BIG Question is???? Does the City of Brownsville have a or any GOOD grant writers on staff? or maybe el new cm manager N Bernal can do some of these? Si ese Chingon o NO ese chingon?
Nothing wrong with a little criticism. Commenter choosing to go anonymous seems to be the reason for the attacks. Identify yourself and maybe that will help your case. You either stand behind what you write, or you are not really a person of any conviction.
9:52 a.m., bunch of BS, the 3 stooges of Brownsville cannot even care what happens in this city. The city government have destroyed almost all the historic buildings and the only historical events are only on paper. The 3 stooges have plenty of money and they don't even give a penny to help the citizens of Brownsville.. Brownsville is dead and it's not a matter of time for Brownsville to die. TSC is a lying education institution of leaderless people of stupidity. BISD is house of peyton place in both the trustees to all the teachers. Teachers only know one date, 25th of each month. Brownsville doesn't have BND or sea port, it belongs to Port Isabel and citizens of Brownsville pay the port the taxes. In short order, 9:52 a.m. person, face the truth, this mayor and new city commissioners have no balls to fire employees and corrupt police department and fire department. Brownsville is control by political families and fire department hires family first and that is the truth. Every employee in the city complain about low wages and having to work dangerous jobs? These lazy people need to learn how to really know how to work and not be wasting their time on their cell phones. The zoo is dying and if McAllen is smart, McAllen can build a zoo of south texas and northern Mexico, very low cost zoo but very educational for the public. A space needle (500 plus feet high) share by three cities, Pharr, McAllen and Edinburg. These cities can work together but Brownsville is fighting with harlingen, San Benito, port Isabel, Los Fresno and other cities over city boundaries. The list goes on but the future of Brownsville is bike and hike trails? LOL Ask the citizens of Brownsville and they sick and tried of bike and hike trails taking priority over motor transportation systems of paying taxpayers. Framers market is a waste of money and it costing the taxpayers hundreds of thousands of dollars to pay for this setup every month. Brownsville has a framers market call the flea market on hwy 77. Flea market is the biggest drawing of tourists to Brownsville not the zoo. The real problem is stupidity of the voters for believing this mayor and commissioners. Trey mendez did nothing for TSC but sit on his ass. Brownsville is also is sitting on its ass too.
And fuckthat that new planning director. He's the one talking about Federal grant money.
The poorest county in Texas will never shine. You bring all the federal money you want unless city and county officials start to get to work nothing will change. They can't fix potholes you think they're going to make it shine.
You make it sound like it's going to be fixed next year it's going to take browns with 30 years before they change and the new generation of kidswill have to fix it.
It's been the same since the 1970s
Cameron County
Fix this problem for the city of Brownsville
Population: 415,103
At the southern tip of the state, 34.5 percent of Cameron County's residents are poor. Home to Brownsville and Harlingen, the county also has the highest child poverty rate in the state with 47 percent of children living in poverty.
Did you know that there is some persons charging $1000.00 to get you a job at Space X in Boca Chica location.
starts with the schools
why are there so many special ed students?
do parents label them for the check?
do schools label them for money?
is it lack of parenting;
or over parenting?
what will become of those students and our city if they are our future?
Que ormigrero y rojas, faltan las avispas y las aranas!!! Y las vivoras riendose.
DG, I agree with all the points in both of your posts.
The city is pretty much screwed and the upper Casta of Brownsville is the only one that hasn't realized it. Us the poor, know it, but most aren't legal citizens and can't vote.
We need Harvard to open a campus down here, there are too many geniuses and our higher educations system sucks.
Brownsville is a shining example of why Mexicans will never rule the world. They can't even run this shit hole town on the ass end of nowhere.
Nobody can rule the world estupido pinches gringos invented the crap syndrome and are at it all the time. Honkys
On the pic I don't see any whites picking up shit from the horses what? They pawned their shovels? pendejos.
Still crying about the same old shit. People constantly bitching about the constant negative state of Brownsville but never truly offering any solutions. I for one, choose to stop ONLY focusing on the negative and appreciate everything that Brownsville is, was, and will continue to be. My guess is that you are one of two different types of people. First, the individual who never participates in any type of local government or has ever run for office. The same type of person who opines about change, the manner of change that someone can believe in, and never runs for office, or is civically engaged. Or the second category of person, that this “writer” seems to come across as, a jaded former government official. No one criticizes or abhors a new administration more than the person who was forced to relinquish their reign.
Mr. or Mrs know it all at 12:03pm you need to go to san bene and help those people they seem to be heading OUR guay
DG, I disagree about PUB being too expensive. I have compared my rates to people who live in surrounding areas like south padre, and we seem to be way cheaper. That said, the problem at PUB is the annual funds transfer to the City. We pay a little extra, just so they can give it to the City. Why doesn't PUB lower the rates a little, and the City raise taxes a little? The biggest problem with this scenario is that not everyone in Brownsville is a PUB customer. Some pay to El Jardin for water, or to AEP or MVEC for electricity. So basically, us PUB ratepayers are subsidizing those non PUB rate payers every year when the money is handed over....
Post a Comment