Wednesday, October 19, 2022

NOT FIRST TIME SBCISD TRIES TO CENSOR NEWS COVERAGE

By Tomas Montemayor
San Benito Concerned Citizen

Dear Editor,

On Friday Oct. 14, 2022 a story in the VMS cited board member Orlando Lopez complaining because the district hired an attorney to look into the media coverage of the district. He complained that the board was "using taxpayer money to pay a lawyer to scrutinize the district's news coverage." 

Apparently he or VMS even contacted Kelley Shannon, executive director of the Freedom of Information Foundation of Texas to get her opinion on this. What a hypocrite he is!!!

Wasn't he president of the board when then Supt. Carman hired the Law Office of Thomas G. Rayfield and boycotted the use of the San Benito News by any department in the district for "defamatory statements published in the SBN April 24-30, 2020 regarding Dr. Nate Carman and the SBCISD?"

Where was Kelley Shannon, executive director of the Freedom of Information Foundation of Texas when Nate Carman hired these attorneys to send cease and desist letters in 2020 to the San Benito News for its coverage of the district's questionable decisions? 

 From the VMS story, she states, "In nearly 10 years as the foundation's director, she said she had never come across a case in which public officials hired a lawyer to monitor news coverage. I have not heard of a public entity hiring an attorney to scour stories looking for problems."

Well Kelley, you will be receiving this letter and all the evidence of Supt. Nate Carman and President Orlando Lopez's dealings with attorneys to end business with the San Benito News in order to force the newspaper to stop investigating and writing stories about that former board's nefarious activities.

Let's recall the headline in the August 31, 2020 San Benito News which reads," SBCISD Carman Threaten S.B. News with Libel Lawsuit." 

The story continues, "Ed.'s Note: True to form, just as the board members of the SBCISD have limited public comment only to items on their agenda, its lawyers have now put the SB News on notice that they will be sued for libel if the board and administration think they have published information they believe is unfair to them and to the district and its administration and staff..... And were the lawyers acting on behalf of the entire board when they fired off the missive? Transparency has never been this board's forte. 

Did Supt. Nate Carman and the board instruct the lawyers to write the demand letter and threaten it with the lawsuit? Was there a vote to do this? Attorneys for the San Benito CISD have demanded that the San Benito News and its corporate parent New Horizon Publishers 'Cease and Desist' allegedly libeling the district and its Supt. Nate Carman or face a libel suit."

So, when he had the majority on the board, did Orlando think it was OK to hire lawyers to limit and stop news coverage at taxpayers expense? Of course he did. And for over a year, the SB News received no advertising or news stories from the district. Does Orlando remember this, because the public does.

Sincerely,
Tomas Montemayor

21 comments:

Anonymous said...

Little town with big ambitions. Concern yourself why there are no stores open in the downtown area or why are are so many cantinas, and pulgas open every weekend. little town

Anonymous said...


Montoya, you are annoying San Benito people. Why don't you clean up your dirty, ugly town first, bro? What - you'd rather throw pedo at other towns? Get lost, pachuco!!


Turner Ramirez


Anonymous said...

I have tried to avoid politics, as it invites invective and abuse on an unparalleled scale. It’s hard to stay in the middle. Self-righteous indignation, so satisfying to the ego, seems to rule the day.

I am a proud citizen of what I consider, despite setbacks, a shining example of greatness to the rest of the world. The American tale is distinct and special. There have been dark periods: systemic exploitation of American Indians simply because they were here first, slavery, Jim Crow era, McCarthyism, Vietnam, Afghanistan. But the tapestry of America has always had a thread of greatness running through it. It gave us “the greatest generation.”

So what do the MAGA adherents refer to when they say “Make America Great Again?” When was that? Or is it just a tired campaign slogan used since 1940 to appeal to the unhappy and disenchanted which, sadly, must be a number of our fellow citizens.

I just don’t think the answer to any of our problems is an all-knowing, uncompromising messiah. We must try to let old grievances lose their sting and work together. I feel America’s tribulations in the past were due to arrogance born of ignorance. I’m afraid the social order of today is the opposite: ignorance born of arrogance.




Anonymous said...

BISD candidate Phil Cowen is too old!

today's kids are different and smarter, most of them smarter than Old School Phil!!!

BISD is looking forward, not backward.

Go back to your retirement couch, Cowen.

Anonymous said...

Mayra's fellow Republicans -

A Republican candidate running for an Arizona college district’s governing board was arrested on a charge of public sexual indecency after an officer allegedly caught him masturbating in his truck near a preschool.

Randy Kaufman was arrested Oct. 4 but suspended his campaign Tuesday following media reports of his arrest. Kaufman is running for the governing board of the Maricopa County Community College District, and was allegedly caught masturbating by the county’s community college police.

“I fucked up,” Kaufman told an officer during his arrest, according to a police report.


- Mayra better be glad she wasn't anywhere near there.



Anonymous said...

Turner Ramirez

Pinche coco mamon wanna be white but can't pinche idiota. los pinches gringos no te pasan, you're mexican y un nombre gringo ain't gonna change any thing, los repubicanos don't like your ass either. Estas solo estupido, mamon y lambiscon... TURNER hahahahaha pinche mamon....
WANNA BE GRINGO BUT THE GRINGOS DON'T LET YOU PINCHE MAMON

Anonymous said...

El CLOWN TOWN SEN BENE.

Anonymous said...

Students learning that free speech does not apply in SBCISD.

Anonymous said...

Turner

coco

Anonymous said...

Turner Ramirez,
you are as stupid as you can be. You can't get more stupid than that.

Anonymous said...

Idiotas wait when this country becomes a russian protected property and covers nuclear retaliation if attacked. Trumputo is negotiating to sell this joint.

Anonymous said...

Orlando López, Nate Carmen and all others involved in the multi million dollar fleecing of the San Benito School District’s budget to enrich all those contractors should be hiring legal counsel before all the good criminal defense attorneys are all taken. Doesn’t take much to imagine the Feds will soon be involved if they are not involved already. Sonso.

Anonymous said...

cowen vs drue. cowen is better to have on the board because he questions. Drue follows attorney salazar and wants to hire him back. cowen hired the hinojosa architect, he has hinder the speed of work in the maintenance dept. paying him lots of money. drue turned her back of the people that elected her in the first place. no loyalty. both candidates have people working for them that should be let go but the supt does not have what it takes. the supt is now sending his people to promote drue. that is no good. san bene has its problems and so does bisd. no winners here

Anonymous said...

Why does bisd have an architect?

Bisd with less students has added atty, architect, deputies, and taken away help to middle schools. You don’t create great schools by adding to central office…

Anonymous said...

October 19, 2022 at 4:27 PM

STUPID IS CORRECT how can a meskin have a gringo name, only stupid meskin people have gringo names and are meskins STUPID, or in your tongue:
E S T U P I D O !!!

Anonymous said...

October 19, 2022 at 10:37 AM

ANNOYING? Annoying is when a stupid meskin has a gringo name and lives in a stupid small pueblito. NOW THAT'S STUPID AND ANNOYING...

Anonymous said...

October 19, 2022 at 8:16 PM

That BISD post is reserved for gringos only.

Anonymous said...

get lost pinche gringo mamon wanna be white but can't cause you're meskin and the gringos don't like you (behind your back of course).

Turner Ramirez hahahahahaha turner hahahahahahahaha mamon

BobbyWC said...

WARNING OF VOTER FRAUD

Because I am in the process of cancelling my voter registration in Texas, I returned my mail ballot marked void. They called me to insure it was me who voided it. I said yes. I was then told someone has been trying to register me to vote at various addresses. They have the addresses. I have requested a formal criminal investigation. Now Cameron County never changed my address because the requests were incomplete.

This appears to be the new way to steal mail ballots. There has to be a formal criminal investigation. Of course maybe the worker misread what came up under my name. The request for an investigation has been made. They will decide if the worker made a mistake.

Especially if you are getting a mail ballot go to the elections page and make sure your listed address is real.

Oh BTY. There is no real healthcare in the LRGV. We still do not know for sure what happened that caused me to be hospitalized. But a blood pressure of 200/97, body tempt of 95.7, and unable to move other than sitting is not good. But I learned I was being over medicated, and with an adjustment I am doing a lot better. I have two more weeks of physical therapy. The BP although on 3 medications remains high. They have no explanation. Medicare is around the corner and the VA is not happy I have left them.

FYI the cost of Medicare supplements are different from state to state. Texas has some of the worst rates. Where I am moving has very good rates, which are lower than Texas. They also have one of the best rated VA hospitals, so maybe I will give them a chance.

Things are still slow, but getting better every day.

Bobby WC

Anonymous said...

The city is passing a resolution renaming San Benito. It will soon be named DeLaRosaville. I Honor of the Best city manager to ever walk though San Benito city Hall.

Anonymous said...

Where is the game changing Epicenter Mr. Fix it Manny ?? Bunch of Bologna or should I say all you can eat steak.

rita