COB ENGINEERING SURVIVOR SEEKING GREENER PASTURES

Special to El Rrun-Rrun

Just last week, after surviving the treacherous City of Brownsville bureaucracy and emerging as the top dog at the City Engineering Director after 17 years, Carlos Lastra is said to have handed in his two weeks notice.

The word around the city is that an opportunity awaits him in the city employee recycling center known as Cameron County.

For ill or bad, former city employees whose horizons have closed at the COB somehow end on the county payroll. The county's Public Works and Engineering Dept. often end up as the repository for these recycled public employees. Often, they tend to bring their bad habits with them.

After Armando Gutierrez was brought in as the new city engineering and public works director, Lastra saw the writing on the wall.

If you remember, Lastra had approved and had installed plastic yellow speed bumps installed instead of concrete curb at 1100 E. Saint Charles Street next to the old Greyhound building.

After the yellow bumps were mentioned in local social media, 

new concrete sidewalk and curbs were installed.

As Engineering Director, Lastra had two assistants directors.

What remains to be seen will be if the new public works/Engineering director will also need both assistant engineers for such a small department? Which other similarly-sized city in the region has two engineering assistants?