Valley In Exile

What's the deal ...

2007-06-21T20:25:00.000-07:00

... with Earn My Vote's blog?

Is he/she on sabbatical?

I'm Back ...

2007-06-17T15:44:00.000-07:00

... did I miss anything while I was gone?

Editors Swat Down Subpoenas

2007-04-05T09:49:00.000-07:00

Interesting news item concerning my previous employer, The Monitor, and a couple of my former bosses:

The region's presiding judge Thursday dismissed subpoenas ordering the top two editors at The Monitor newspaper in McAllen to appear in court over an editorial that called for a judge to recuse himself from a case against another judge. ...
The hearing was to determine whether District Judge Bobby Flores can be blocked from hearing the case against District Judge Rudy Delgado. Delgado has been suspended amid charges he evaded arrest and misused official information during a 2002 arrest on suspicion of driving while intoxicated.

When The Monitor revamped its website, readers apparently lost the old web archives. But thanks to the miraculous workings of the Wayback Machine, you can read the original editorial from March 2005. Oh, and here's an earlier editorial with more details on Delgado's case from January '05.

One Protester = Three Cop Cars

2007-03-26T14:48:00.000-07:00

An activist stages a one-man march to protest immingrant jails in South Texas -- including jails for children -- and receives a trio of police vehicles as an escort in Port Isabel:

The protest walker had been walking alone all day, without a single reporter or photographer. But there were three cars that had fallen in behind the truck of John Neck[,] who always follows [Jay] Johnson-Castro to keep him protected from traffic. So the feds had the protesters outnumbered.

Johnson-Castro's no stranger to protest walks in the Rio Grande Valley: he recently completed a 200-mile trek to protest the proposed border wall (with Neck driving slowly behind him).

Now the demonstrator wants to bring attention to the fact that our government throws children into prison. In addition to protesting RGV facilities in March, he marched against the Haskell prison last month. Inside these jails, children are treated like inmates, with little to no schooling or play time.

Bitch all you want about "but they took ar jerbs" or "whut part uv illeegul dont u unnerstand?" regarding adults charged with immigration violations -- but don't hold these kids responsible for their parents' actions. To throw them in jail and treat them like criminals is unconscionable.

Not only are children punished like adults, but allegations of sexual abuse by staff members surface at one of these facilities:

The last child left the state-licensed Away From Home Inc. shelter in Nixon, southeast of San Antonio, on March 7. The FBI is investigating reports that young detainees, all illegal immigrant children traveling alone, have been sexually abused.

Of course, no one doesanything at first, other than remove the kids from the facility, in an out-of-sight, out-of-mind move. Now, perhaps, anyone responsible for sexual abuse will be punished.

Meanwhile, Johnson-Castro marches on, hitting Harlingen on his way to the country's largest detention center, a tent prison in Raymondville (a.k.a. "Ritmo") where he concludes the protest walk.

Other than that Action 4 News report, the Valley media fall strangely silent, prompting the editor of the Texas Civil Rights Review to conclude in this blog post that "[t]he newspapers here are basically anti-immigrant and we are not going to get any coverage" thanks to either politics or apathy.

I don't think politics are behind the lack of coverage -- the local dalies' parent company, Freedom Communications, holds a libertarian editorial outlook , and that philosophy includes open borders and immigration reform (I should know; I used to be the opinion editor at The Monitor)-- but rather a lack of resources or lack of knowledge about the event.

Anyway, let's see if this issue gets some more Valley coverage.

Astute Reporting

2007-03-22T16:41:00.000-07:00

Over at Grits for Breakfast, blogger Scott Henson gives a shout-out to the Valley daily newspapers' Austin correspondent, Elizabeth Pierson, calling her "perhaps the most astute reporter covering problems at the Texas Youth Commission over the last few years."

He mentions her work in this post on the latest troubles concerning the scandal-plagued Texas Youth Commission -- something Pierson (whom I've known for several years) has followed since the beginning.

Way to go, Liz!

PSJA Arrests

2007-03-21T14:27:00.000-07:00

I just saw this on The Monitor's website:

FBI agents arrested PSJA school board member Roy Rodriguez and two McAllen contractors early this morning in connection with the raids of PSJA school offices and board members’ homes in January 2005.

In addition to Rodriguez, the feds charged Joe Lopez and Pedro Armando Gutierrez, who they say paid the school trustee in exchange for favorable votes and influence on district contracts. Sez NewsChanel 5:

We're told the charges involve Rodriguez's work on the school board and school construction projects

This isn't the first bribery case concerning PSJA. Back in 2005, a federal grand jury charged board member Jaime Santa Maria and contractor Alonso Cardenas Jr. They later pleaded guilty -- and it turns out that Cardenas taped his conversations with the board member, which led to evidence against Santa Maria.

Any bets on whether that case or the current prosecution will lead to more indictments of PSJA officials?

UPDATE: The Monitor (whose archives disappeared when it remodeled its website) has posted its 2004 two-part series on Joe Lopez:

In addition, the U.S. Attorney has details on the charges:

The indictment, returned under seal on February 27, 2007 and unsealed today, charges all the defendants with conspiracy to commit extortion, mail fraud, and bribery concerning a federally funded governmental agency, and interstate travel in aid of a bribery scheme. PSJA-ISD, a large school district which receives substantial federal funds, is located in Hidalgo County, Texas. Rodriguez is accused of receiving cash payments totaling $65,000 from his co-defendants between 1997 and 2004 in exchange for the use of the official power of his elected office to arrange and assiste Lopez and Gutierrez with bids the submitted for PSJA-ISD design and construction contracts.

Omar Hits the Streets (Soon)

2007-02-23T12:33:00.000-08:00

The Running Man gets out on bail.

That's right; Real Man of Genius Omar Guerrero, charged with aggravated sexual assault of a minor and retaliation, who was on the run for two months, who got kicked out of Mexico, will soon be out of jail:

A district court judge granted Omar Guerrero a $1 million bond Thursday, but a technicality will probably keep the former Hidalgo County district clerk in jail over the weekend.

This is a Law & Order twist as applied to a Jerry Springer episode.

As Rio Grande Valley blogger Truth Be Told said in a comment in my previous post, "Hope he doesn't embarrass the valley anymore and just stays put this time."

For more local takes on this embarrassment to Hidalgo County, check out what Earn My Vote has to say at Edinburg Politics.

BONUS JERRY SPRINGER MOMENT: Omar's former wife tells NewsChannel 5 that she still supports her ex, and "she doesn't count out the possibility that she and Omar might some day get back together."

Heeeeeeeere's Omar!

2007-02-18T09:36:00.000-08:00

Wanted fugitive and Rio Grande Valley embarrassment Omar Guerrero gets caught in Reynosa and marched back to the United States:

The FBI brought Guerrero across the Hidalgo-Reynosa International Bridge about 11:45 p.m. Saturday, Mission police officials said. Guerrero was cooperative with authorities, according to [Mission police chief Leo] Longoria.

Action 4 News has breaking news of the extradition, including a long video clip. (at about 5 minutes into the first "Omar Guerrero Extradited" video link, you can see the skinny, goatee-wearing, yellow shirt-clad Real Man of Genius get booked into the Mission city jail.

This has been a bizarre story. In case you've forgotten some of the wierdness, this Monitor story gives a nice recap of the former Hidalgo County District Clerk's antics:

Since he disappeared in early December, police have found a large amount of marijuana and cocaine in Guerrero’s North McAllen home; a justice of the peace said Guerrero threatened her; Guerrero lost his job; his wife divorced him; and he turned 30.

That's in addition to the charges of sexual assault of a child, DWI, marijuana possession, and a civil suit over a defaulted loan.

Nice work, Omar. Now let's see if any judge would be stupid enough to let you out on bond.

Remembering Molly Ivins

2007-01-31T21:50:00.000-08:00

Liberal columnist Molly Ivins dies of cancer at age 62. Her old employer, the Texas Observer, has an obituary -- but the site's experiencing capacity problems as I post this, so good luck reading it. QUICK UPDATE: The Associated Press collects some of her quips; Molly's editor reminisces; and even Shrub (as she called him) weighs in on Molly Ivins.

I met Molly Ivins for the first time in 1992 at a student journalism convention in Houston. This was right after the publication of her book, Molly Ivins Can't Say That, Can She? The political columnist spoke to us about how the media obsessed too much over politicians' personal lives -- I recall her talking about how she once saw John Tower so drunk he was face-down in a bowl of chili, but that didn't stop him from being an effective politician. What I remember even more, however, is when she and several other journalism professionals retired to the hotel bar and swapped war stories, as we wide-eyed students sat and listend.

Molly Ivins made an appearance down in the Rio Grande Valley a couple of years ago, at a fundraiser at Cine El Rey. Before the event, at a meet-and-greet at a nearby club, she made her way to all the tables and introduced herself to everyone in the room. Very gracious.

She influenced me in my journalism, making me realize that I shouldn't be afraid to call bullshit when I saw it -- and that colorful prose is more effective than the usual bland newspaperese.

I ran her columns in The Monitor when I was opinion editor, and boy she knew how to piss off people. Damn, I'll miss her attitude and her perspective.

Rest in Peace, Molly.

Scaremongering

2007-01-24T14:15:00.000-08:00

Here's something from a couple of weeks ago that you might find interesting:

U.S. Attorney General Alberto Gonzales tours the border and announces a law enforcement grant for South Texas. As a reader pointed out, the AG addressed and discounted concerns about terrorists infiltrating the United States via the southern border, a claim the hysterical anti-immigrant crowd loves to make.

Gonzales, who was born in San Antonio, also responded to media reports that Middle Eastern terrorists were training to cross the southern border illegally into the United States. The possibility of terrorists sneaking through the Mexican border is a concern, but there's no specific or credible intelligence to say it is happening, he said. [emphasis added]

Cue NewsChannel 5's Will Ripley, who mentions the $300,000 grant but then, about a minute-and-a-half into the broadcast report about the visit, invokes "Homeland Security" and asks Gonzales if he thinks there's a real danger of terrorists sneaking across the border. "We are concerned about terrorists coming into our country."

But as my correspondent pointed out, the TV station ended the sound bite and omitted the part about "no specific or credible intelligence to say it is happening." To quote the reader (who will remain anonymous until I hear otherwise):

Ripley cut the AG's sentence in half to feed the terror monster he created.

Of course, this isn't the first time Rio Grande Valley broadcasters tried to grab viewers by crying "Terrorist!" Remember that South African woman arrested at the McAllen airport? TV made a huge deal about the "suspected al Qaida operative" right here at home. Turns out there was no connection to any terrorist groups.

So take what television reporters (or print journalists -- or bloggers, for that matter) tell you with a grain of salt.

Valley In Exile presents ... Real Men of Genius

2006-12-16T12:21:00.000-08:00

Real Men of Genius

Today we salute you, Mr. Embarrassment to Hidalgo County

Mr. Embarrassment to Hidalgo County

Some county officials get arrested for drinking and driving. You, oh Villian of the Valley, get charged with drinking and driving and marijuana possession, and domestic violence, and statutory rape.

At least I didn't jaywalk

Not only that, but you try to use your religion as a shield. But the voters don't buy it, and you get your ass kicked in the primary election.

I still got 13 percent

This sort of personal crisis would cause anyone to question their faith. But you, oh True Believer, do more than question: You switch religions like you're changing clothes.

Can I get an Amen?

And when it comes time to pay the piper, you're nowhere to be found. Your lawyer says you'll turn yourself in tomorrow, but that was yesterday. Now, the feds think you're on the lam.

Nyah, nyah, nyah, can't catch me

So keep on running, oh Coward of the County, because this dud is you.

Mr. Embarrassment to Hidalgo County

Valley In Exile Blogging Company, San Antonio, Texas.

Newroom Operations

2006-11-10T08:22:00.000-08:00

For all you non-journalists out there, here's a graphical representation of how newsrooms really work (compared to how editors think they work).

You journalists are already familiar with this model of operation. It's funny because it's true.

By the way, Romenesko is a media blog referenced in the chart -- and it's also where I found the link. Circular, huh?

Election Aftermath

2006-11-08T16:34:00.000-08:00

By now everyone knows about the Dems routing the GOP in Tuesday's elections. An unforeseen consequence of the power-shift: because Texas lost a bunch of long-serving Democratic congresscritters after the Tom DeLay-inspired gerrymandering, in the Democratically controlled House of Representatives, the Lone Star State will come up short when the D's hand out the committee chairs in January. Thanks, Tom!

Closer to home, a Republican candidate pulled an upset in the perennially Democratic Rio Grande Valley: GOP challenger Carlos Cascos ousted incumbent Cameron County Judge Gilberto Hinojosa. Perhaps it's karmic payback for how Hinojosa gave away Isla Blanca Park to fat-cat developers.

Also locally -- and unsurprisingly -- a computer glitch screwed up the vote count in Hidalgo County, according to the Associated Press:

The county's top election official discovered the mistake when early voting results in House District 28 put long-shot Constitution Party candidate Ron Avery ahead of popular Democratic incumbent Henry Cuellar by almost 2,000 votes with roughly 2,200 tabulated. ...
Election Systems and Software, which employs the programmer, provides voting equipment to 145 of the 254 counties in Texas, according to the secretary of state.

No word on electronic voting problems anywhere else in the state.

For another RGV blogger's take on Tuesday's turn of events, check out Rico Politico's election wrapup over at Rio Grande Valley Politics.

Baptist Church Fraud

2006-11-01T09:24:00.000-08:00

The investigation into mishandling of startup money for Baptist churches in the Rio Grande Valley reveals that more than $1.3 million in donations was misused to create churches that existed only on paper:

The 2.5 million-member denomination missed numerous red flags -- including an FBI probe -- that should have prompted an internal investigation earlier, the report showed.

Furthermore, officials with the Baptist General Convention of Texas ignored warnings from other pastors:

Investigators noted BGCT leaders failed to investigate thoroughly charges of impropriety, even though some staff knew about irregularities in the church-starting program in the Valley.

Even an FBI investigation in 2000-2001 regarding allegations of fraud failed to prompt a serious internal investigation, the report noted. Investigators said they determined the FBI terminated the investigation because the BGCT—as the injured party—did not pursue the complaint.

The investigative team, including Brownsville lawyer Diane Dillard, offers some suggestions to prevent financial abuse in the future. Last, but not least, they suggest "trust but verify." If anyone wants more details, the complete report is available online.

The Valley: where corruption flourishes among every faith.

R.I.P. Freddy Fender

2006-10-14T16:46:00.000-07:00

UPDATE: The San Antonio Express-News posts an obituary of Freddy Fender (see also the discography (scroll down) and this story from 1993 on one of the SAEN's blogs, and reader comments); The Monitor's Andres R. Martinez interviews local music personalities about the musician; and the Valley Morning Star's Bruce Lee Smith has a story as well.

South Texas music legend Freddy Fender died today in Corpus Christi at age 69. From the Associated Press article:

Fender, who was diagnosed with lung cancer in early 2006, died at noon at his Corpus Christi home with his family at his bedside, said Ron Rogers, a family spokesman. ...
"I feel very comfortable in my life," Fender told the Corpus Christi Caller-Times in August. "I'm one year away from 70 and I've had a good run. I really believe I'm OK. In my mind and in my heart, I feel OK. I cannot complain that I haven't lived long enough, but I'd like to live longer."

Fender, who was born in San Benito, leaves a great musical legacy not just for the Valley, but for the world. Austin American-Statesman music writer Michael Corcoran provides a more detailed obituary. You can read more about the musician in blog posts here, here, here, and here, and see a pic of him from the 1996 SXSW show. Oh, and I had forgotten that Freddy played a role in The Milagro Beanfield War.

Museum Update

2006-10-02T17:08:00.000-07:00

Viva La Revolucion, the person in charge of the blog At The Museum, offers an update on the IMAS situation in a comment on my previous post about the International Museum of Art and Science.

According to Viva, the annual IMAS fundraiser was "a failure with only 150 attendees including staff," and the museum board president is unhappy with The Monitor's article last month about the facility's current status.

For more about what's up with the (partially) taxpayer-funded IMAS, see Viva's post from last week.

One Million Hits

2006-09-07T16:00:00.000-07:00

The Paper of South Texas, the Rio Grande Valley's latest and greatest alternative weekly (and a publication I freelance for), received the one-millionth hit on its website today.

This comes on the heels of The Paper's political cartoon lampooning McAllen's mayor and the city commission over their refusal to negotiate with the police union. That image by cartoonist Ramon Ramirez ran on the cover of last week's issue.

The drawing proved extremely popular (at least outside City Hall), prompting television Channel 4 to do a news story on the cartoon and KURV 710 Talk Radio to run a People Poll (scroll down) asking if the 'toon upset listeners (78 percent said no).

Word is getting out that there's a new source of information in town. Congrats to the folks at The Paper of South Texas!

IMAS Audit

2006-09-03T10:57:00.000-07:00

The International Museum of Art & Science passed recent audits, but The Monitor's Marc Gellar reports that it's not all roses and sunshine at the McAllen facility.

According to the story in the Sunday paper, IMAS has climbed out of its hole two years after a 2004 city audit revealed cash-flow problems, misuse of museum property, and other problems. However, the audit also said "management needs to pay more attention to certain cash accounts to ensure the funds are used properly and in a timely manner." Furthermore,

The auditor also noted that inventory records didn’t match up with the general ledger; the museum didn’t have a written purchasing policy; some purchase orders weren’t prepared in a timely manner or didn’t have authorized signatures; and electronic membership records didn’t match up with manually recorded membership records.

This finding comes as IMAS wants the city of McAllen to bump its contribution to the museum by $100 grand, to about $772,000.

The story also mentions the huge amount of turnover at the museum. For an insider's perspective on what's happening at IMAS, check out the blog At The Museum, especially the comments in this post, which points out that IMAS doesn't even offer any art classes or programs.

Current and former museum employees and volunteers, what do you think of this newspaper article?

Meet the New Boss ...

2006-08-27T11:42:00.000-07:00

... Same as the old boss:

LA JOYA — The La Joya school board’s three newest members campaigned last spring against what they called a long tradition of cronyism and corruption in the school district.

But since Rita Garza-Uresti, J.A. "Fito" Salinas and Johnn Valente Alaniz took office in mid-May, the seven-member board has installed several people with close family and political ties to board members.

Pete Townsend was right.

Local Bloggers

2006-08-22T08:04:00.000-07:00

The Monitor offers a story on Rio Grande Valley bloggers from recently departed reporter Victoria Hirschberg. The article mentions some local blogs, including Shaine Mata's RGV Life and state Rep. Aaron Peña's A Capitol Blog:

Blogging for Mata has been an off-shoot of his journal writing, which he started after he recently enrolled in classes at the University of Texas – Pan American. Mata’s inspiration to start blogging came from a radio interview with state Rep. Aaron Peña, D-Edinburg, who started his own blog in January 2005.

What, no mention of Valley In Exile? Victoria, I'm hurt. (just kidding)

By the way, Shaine has another site, Spin RGV, which rounds up posts from several South Texas blogs and newspapers. It's a daily must-read for anyone who wants to keep up with the local chisme.

Message for Journalists

2006-08-03T10:53:00.000-07:00

A writer for the New Times Broward-Palm Beach, an alternative weekly, blogs about the media in South Florida (Miami, Fort Lauderdale, Palm Beach). In that region, just like in the Rio Grande Valley, a lot of corruption takes place. Also like in South Texas, those bastards keep getting away with it.

At the end of this post on local corruption, the writer has a message for his fellow reporters, one that every journalist should hear:

I want every reporter who reads this thing to make a vow today to uncover some corruption this year. Go all the way. Don’t just touch it and say you’re finished. Close the fucking deal. And then fight for it against the sap-headed editor who quit living years ago and doesn’t want to actually feel anything like adrenaline touch his or her tepid bloodstream. It’s time to wake up.

Community watchdog groups and a few local bloggers try to keep an eye on public officials who are up to no good, but think how much more gets done when someone (that is, a reporter) gets paid to root out corruption full-time.

That's why I'm glad the Valley has its own alternative weekly, The Paper of South Texas (which I freelance for). That's one more guardian looking out for taxpayers. Let's hope other RGV reporters wake up and heed this call to uncover corruption in their own backyard.

School Drama

2006-08-02T11:39:00.000-07:00

A McAllen ISD high school principal loses her legal bid opposing her transfer to Central Office. But what was the reason for the transfer in the first place?

The Paper of South Texas (DISCLOSURE: I do freelance work for this publication) fills in the blanks that the mainstream media left empty:

The McHi principal fires the head boys basketball coach.
Angry parents, who like the coach, call for the principal's head.
But a behind-the-scenes player in McAllen politics comes out in the principal's corner.
So the superintendent tries to please both sides by creating a new administrative position for the ousted principal -- something the principal's lawyers say goes against state law.
A district trustee tells The Paper that as far as he knows, the board hasn't created such a position.

Which brings us to where we are now.

Oh, the person advocating to keep the principal? Accused head-butter J.J. Avila, who said McAllen superintendent Yolanda Chapa "owes me big time" for his lobbying for last year's $98 million bond issue.

I'm not sure how this will all play out, but if Avila doesn't get his way, maybe Chapa should start wearing a goalie's mask.

School Accountability

2006-08-01T12:20:00.000-07:00

The Texas Education Agency releases its 2006 accountability ratings for public schools throughout the Lone Star State.

How did your district perform this year? Look it up yourself; I'm feeling lazy today.

Meanwhile, the TEA will investigate several school districts where suspected TAKS cheating occurred, including the Brownsville and Rio Grande City districts.

And Dallas Morning News columnist Macarena Hernandez, who taught high school in the Valley, says the focus on standardized testing hurts our children's education:

[Tests are] completely changing the way teachers teach and students learn. Practice-test drills are common, teachers tell me, and they also complain they have to suppress their creative juices as supervisors demand they play it safe with dumbed-down, rigid curriculums. ...

But something even more troubling than these misplaced priorities is happening in our schools — a growing culture of cheating. And it's contaminating not only students, but also teachers, principals and higher-ups. ...

I've said it before: We're graduating kids who don't know anything but how to game the system on a standardized test. And until state legislators decide to do something about it, the situation will only deteriorate.

Two New Blogs

2006-08-01T11:32:00.000-07:00

A couple of new weblogs spring up, and Rio Grande Valley readers might find them of interest:

CAMERON COUNTY

The first site, Bloggin' All Things Brownsville, aims to "shine a spotlight on those dark corners where political and social issues ... lurk untouched." The author, going by the nom de screen The Spotlight, says local media fail to do their jobs and wants to lend a hand:

... I say, because I've been there, that Brownsville is saturated with news, and a small, overworked, underpaid reporting staff is spread too thin to cover it all. ...
Still, there are couple of standouts in the press here annually garnering top investigative reporting awards in the state, and I want to help. When I mean I want to help, I mean, I want to help aim that spotlight.

The Spotlight delivers, with a post on campaign donations to city commissioners from a law firm that landed a bill collecting contract with Brownsville. In addition, the firm has contracts with several local school districts, including McAllen ISD -- and "board members Javier Farias and Myrna Garcia each received $1,000 in campaign contributions from the firm."

There are more recent stories on the Lucios and other items of interest to Brownsville taxpayers.

HIDALGO COUNTY

The second blog, Valley No Car Tolls, proclaims "Working people of Hidalgo County don't need toll roads!" The author says support for the companies that build and operate these tollways will eclipse the public interest.

It is time to raise the awareness of the Valley community in order to keep the Texas Department of Transportation in line with OUR interests! This community’s interests do not include car tolls.

No recent updates on the blog, but more eyes on government are always welcome.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

Thanks to El Rocinante and Spin RGV for tipping readers like me to this pair of recent additions to the South Texas blogosphere.

The Endorsers

2006-07-26T20:18:00.000-07:00

***UPDATE: The Monitor doesn't have the story online (even though its reporter covered the event), but the Brownsville Herald has the article on its website.***

Straight from the campaign website of my fellow Aggie, the list of Rio Grande Valley politicians supporting Gov. Rick Perry for re-election:

DONNA: Mayor Ric Morales
EDCOUCH: Mayor Ramiro Silva
ELSA: Commissioner Cain Cazares
HARLINGEN: Mayor Rick Rodriquez
HIDALGO: Mayor John David Franz
LA VILLA: Mayor Rene Castillo
MISSION: Mayor Norberto “Beto” Salinas
McALLEN: Mayor Richard Cortez
PHARR: Mayor Polo Palacios
PALMHURST: Mayor Ramiro Rodriguez
PROGRESO: Mayor Omar Vela
RIO GRANDE CITY: Mayor Kevin Hines

Perhaps unaware of the irony, Gov. Goodhair's campaign news release states:

Perry said that this endorsement sends an important message to Valley voters that regardless of what party they belong to, Texas needs a governor that can put partisanship aside for the good of Texas and will seek common ground whenever possible.

Am I wrong when I say this endorsement will hurt these local politicians come Election Day?

For more on the group's support of the Republican candidate for governor, check out Hector Gomez's post at RGV Politics, Valley Politico's thoughts at Rio Grande Valley Politics, and state Rep. Aaron Peña's observations at A Capitol Blog.

You Gotta Be Kidding Me

2006-07-26T12:06:00.000-07:00

From the Rio Grande Guardian:

At least 11 mayors from Rio Grande Valley cities will today publicly endorse Gov. Rick Perry, a top Valley Republican tells the Guardian. Perry holds a press conference at the Club at Cimarron in Mission later this afternoon.

Valley Politico at Rio Grande Valley Politics reports that the group includes the mayors of Brownsville, Edcouch, Elsa, Harlingen, Hidalgo, La Villa, McAllen, Mission, Palmhurst, and Rio Grande City and says, "No wonder Chris Bell cannot get any money from the Valley."

If this mass endorsement is true, it explains the reason for Perry's trip to the Valley, which Aaron Peña told us about last night on his blog.

Considering Perry's hand in cramming an unconstitutional redistricting plan down the Valley's throat -- he called all those special sessions on the topic -- I gotta wonder what these politicians are thinking.

Folks, remember Roberto Gutierrez? When most every other Democrat in the Texas House left the state to fight this Republican-led congressional redistricting, Gutierrez stayed home and became Tom Craddick's bitch. Voters remembered this, and booted his ass out of office in the next primary.

I'm sure voters won't forget if their mayor endorses the man who called those redistricting special sessions.

RGV (Migrant) Life

2006-07-25T12:33:00.000-07:00

Many Rio Grande Valley residents live in South Texas only part-time. During the summer, they leave the state to follow the jobs.

For those of us who don't know what it's like to travel north for work each year, Mission blogger Shaine Mata offers a firsthand glimpse of the migrant experience on his blog RGV Life.

He and his family agonize over whether to tough things out in the RGV or take a chance and leave:

My wife, whose opinion matters to me, has effectively given me her blessing. There are other people who matter to me who are opposed to my leaving the RGV. The reason why I believe that my future lies outside of the RGV is that most of the people with whom I grew up have left and made something of themselves. ... The point is, nobody who wasn't already connected has "made it" here. They made it somewhere else and came back.

Shaine describes the fiddly little details that you have to take care of when you travel more than a thousand miles to the other side of the country:

Other things we did included paying our Post Net mailbox through November, depositing the money from the sale of my wife's van, cancel our car insurance, and other little errands for family. My son and I got haircuts. ... Tomorrow, we need to do laundry. ... We also need to pay CPL and T-Mobile.

He shares details of the journey, including a quick post about how they "got pulled over by border patrol north of san manuel because they saw our luggage in plastic bags." There's also photos from a trip to the Mall of America.

Once Shaine arrives in Wisconsin, he begins working for Head Start, leaves that for a better-paying job at a canning facility, and then rejoins Head Start, which really needs bilingual teachers.

Best of all, Shaine lets us know what migrant life is like from an insider's perspective. He describes work at the green bean processing plant:

At first, work was sporadic. We'd work a day or two and have a day or two off. It appears that we are now entering full production. ... The thinking amongst the migrant workers here is "nomas son tres meses". Three months of 80 hour work weeks. Some people are earning minimum wage, which is $6.50/hr in Wisconsin; others are earning more. The work is easy and boring. If you can stand the monotony, there is plenty of overtime available.

In the same post, Shaine tells readers about his coworkers, legal and illegal, from Texas and Mexico:

There are hard workers; and there are some who make you wonder why they came at all, if they don't want to work. There are even families that come to work here together and then go back to Texas or Mexico to live off their earnings. Even at minimum wage, they can earn about $2,400/month each. Those who are returning workers or have jobs higher on the pay scale can take home much more than that.

RGV Life has much more about the migrant experience than I can do justice to in one post, so go check it out for yourselves. Shaine, thanks for giving readers like me an idea of what some families go through, and the best of luck in your endeavors.

Cash To Go

2006-07-18T12:12:00.000-07:00

Remember that missing money from La Joya's municipal court? The sheriff busts someone for the theft, The Monitor reports, and it probably won't be the only one:

Angela Flores, the city’s finance department assistant, was charged with stealing between $8,000 and $10,000 in cash payments for fines and fee made to the municipal court. She posted bond about a month ago but remains suspended from her job while the sheriff’s office investigation continues, her supervisor said.

Flores’ arrest will be the first of several, the sheriff predicted. (emphasis added)

In response to the missing money, La Joya won't accept cash payments. While this is understandable from an anti-fraud standpoint, it's also hard on those who don't have bank accounts, although the city is making certain exceptions for the elderly.

But back to what spurred that policy, I wonder who else might be a suspect in this case. Who at La Joya City Hall looks nervous these days?

Flunking the Ethics Test

2006-07-16T10:22:00.000-07:00

Watchdog group Texans for Public Justice releases a report on just how carefully politicians comply with a 2003 law calling for candidates to report their donors' jobs and who those contributors work for, and legislators fail miserably:

Texas lawmakers collectively flunked a test of their own campaign reform law, which requires state candidates to use their “best efforts” to report the employers and occupations of individual donors of $500 or more, a Texans for Public Justice report card found.

So how do Rio Grande Valley politicians end up looking in this report card?

Pretty crappy.

Just one of the people we elect from South Texas scores as good as a C. At the head of the class is state Rep. Ryan Guillen of Roma, with a score of 72.2%. Fellow blogger state Rep. Aaron Peña Jr. earns a D with 67.5%. Most of the rest have scores that sound like what Dean Wormer would give to the members of Delta House ("Zero point zero, Mr. Blutarski.").

SENATE: First, our senators show their ability to ignore the rules, as the report card shows:

The Senate’s weakest performances came from Sens. Jon Lindsay (R-Houston), Eddie Lucio (D-Brownsville) and Judith Zaffirini (D-Laredo). These senators collectively reported a total of 306 large contributions totaling $412,150. Yet they left the occupation and employer field blank for every one of their large donors. (emphasis added)

And the one Valley senator who bothers to fill in all the blanks still earns an abysmal score:

Eddie Lucio Jr. (Brownsville): 0.0%
Judith Zaffirini (Laredo): 0.0%
Chuy Hinojosa (McAllen): 22.0%

HOUSE: Next, our representatives -- two of whom didn't even bother to fill in the blanks. As the report card points out:

An extraordinary 28 members of the House (19 percent) not only flunked disclosure but left the occupation and employer fields blank for every one of their large donors. Three members accomplished this feat while raising more than $100,000 apiece in large contributions. They are Reps. Kino Flores (D-Palmview), Veronica Gonzales (D-McAllen) and Sylvester Turner (D-Houston). (emphasis added)

Anyway, the dishonor roll for Valley members of the Texas House:

Kino Flores (Mission): 0.0%
Veronica Gonzales (McAllen): 0.0%
Jim Solis (Harlingen): 0.0%
Juan Escobar (Kingsville): 39.0%
Mando Martinez (Weslaco): 42.6%
Aaron Peña (Edinburg): 67.5%
Rene Oliveira (Brownsville): 69.2%
Ryan Guillen (Roma): 72.2%

Get this: House Speaker Tom Craddick (74.9%) scores higher than any of our South Texas legislators! In fact, the Republicans beat the Democrats overall, 64% to 48%.

From a section of the report about mystery donors (contributors who are incompletely or misleadingly identified, like calling Wal-Mart heiress Alice Walton a "self-employed rancher or investor") comes this tidbit:

Sen. Judith Zaffirini (D-Laredo), a champion of tobacco-control legislation, failed to identify the employers or occupations of three trial lawyers who litigated Texas’ $15 billion lawsuit against the tobacco industry.

To be fair to Zaffirini, she explains in this San Antonio Express-News story that she didn't know about the law and is hiring someone to catch up with all the paperwork. And some politicians take issue with how TPJ scored the report, because the law doesn't say you have to list a person's previous occupation or family tree.

Still, this report shows our elected officials have a long way to go when it comes to complying with campaign donation reporting requirements.

Saving the Park

2006-07-13T12:04:00.000-07:00

Cameron County commissioners back off from their plan to hand over public land to developers.

NewsChannel 5 reports that public outcry over the deal (which would have given the developers a 50-year lease that allowed them to do pretty much anything to Isla Blanca Park) makes county officials to change their minds:

Today, commissioners asked legal counsel to keep Isla Blanca on South Padre Island available to the public. After months of lobbying, county commissioners agreed to back out of the controversial project.

Cameron County residents weren't happy with how the commissioners court tried to sneak the plan past them, and began a grassroots effort to keep the park out of developers' hands. It looks like that work might have paid off.

The Object of Objectivity

2006-07-09T21:30:00.000-07:00

A while back, someone with the screen name Fair & Balanced queried me in the comments section of this post:

Hello Mack Harrision. I would like to ask you one simple question? Are you objective?

SHORT ANSWER: No.

MEDIUM ANSWER: I call bullshit when I see it, and if that makes me unobjective in some people's eyes, then so be it.

LONG ANSWER: When I was opinion editor at The Monitor (and in my years as a reporter before that), whenever readers agreed with what I wrote, then according to them I was objective and fair. Whenever they didn't agree with what I wrote, I was horribly, horribly biased.

In other words, if you like what I have to say, you won't complain about lack of objectivity. On the other hand, if you hate what I'm telling you, it means I must have some sort of slant against your beliefs.

So if I slaughter someone's sacred cow, it must be because I'm not objective -- not because their beloved institution or individual screwed up.

LAWYER ANSWER: My dictionary (Webster's II New Riverside University Dictionary, 1984) defines the word "objective" (adj.) as "Uninfluenced by emotion, surmise or personal opinion."

Since the whole point of this blog is for me to rant about "the political idiocy" taking place in the Rio Grande Valley, of course it's influenced by my emotions (I do some of my best writing when I'm pissed off), conjectures (it's easy to put two and two together and make an educated guess about what's going on) and opinions (supplemented by my education and experience). So no, I'm not objective according to that definition.

But.

The dictionary lists another definition for objectivity as "Based on observable phenomena (an objective forecast)." I try to base my posts on facts, whether obtained from the media, other sources on the Internet or my own personal knowledge. However, I also have more than a dozen years experience as a journalist, as well as my time in South Texas and my education and other life experience (including somewhat obscure pop culture references) upon which to draw. So I take what I see and factor all this other stuff into the observation to come up with something (hopefully) relevant.

Just like the weatherman applies his knowledge, observations and experience to make a report, I use what's already in my head to offer a new take on what's going on in the world (after all, a forecast is just the meteorologist's opinion on what the weather holds). I try to add to the conversation, not just parrot what everyone else is saying.

So if you want to apply the second definition of "objective," then yes, I am objective. If that's stretching it a little too far, then see my short answer above.

Mexico picks PAN

2006-07-06T20:18:00.000-07:00

At least, that's what the official count in the Mexican presidential election says, according to the Associated Press, but the losing candidate refuses to back down:

With the 41 million votes counted, [Felipe] Calderón of President Vicente Fox's National Action Party [PAN] had 35.89 percent or 15,000,284, to 35.31 percent or 14,756,350, for [Andres Manuel] Lopez Obrador of the Democratic Revolution Party [PRI].

Calderón edges out Lopez Obrador by less than 0.6 percent of the vote, so you know this race is about as settled as Bush v. Gore in 2000.

The best news about this contest: Partido Revolucionario Institucional (PRI), the notoriously corrupt former ruling party, gathered less than 23 percent.

The San Antonio Express-News has a blog about Mexico, Beyond the Border, with more information on the election.

The American Revolution in One Paragraph

2006-07-04T12:15:00.000-07:00

"So this Jefferson dude was like, 'Look, the reason we left this England place is 'cause it was so bogus. So if we don't get some primo rules ourselves, pronto -- then we're just gonna be bogus, too.' "

-- Jeff Spiccoli

HAPPY INDEPENDENCE DAY!

Too Close To Call

2006-07-03T00:30:00.000-07:00

Mexico takes a page from the U.S. playbook, with a tight presidential race that won't be resolved on Election Day. (At least, that's what the wire services are saying at 2:30 in the morning. This could all be resolved by the time you read this.)

It's down to two candidates, current President Vicente Fox's fellow rightie, Partido Acción Nacional (PAN) member Felipe Calderón, and left-winger Andrés Manuel López Obrador of Partido de la Revolución Democrática (PRD). Both claim victory. From the Mexico City bureau of the San Antonio Express-News:

The Federal Electoral Institute said counting could continue until Wednesday, leaving the nation on edge.

The election — largely cast as a battle over whether the next president should represent the interests of the rich or the poor — was expected to be tight as Mexicans decide whether this nation should join Latin America's shift to the political left.

Meanwhile, Mexican citizens in the U.S., who had the chance to cast absentee ballots for the first time, ignore the opportunity, Reuters news service tells us:

Of the estimated 6 million to 7 million Mexicans of voting age in the United States, only 40,000 registered to vote by mail in Mexico's presidential election on Sunday -- a lower number than expected after years of calls for a foreign vote.

So what does the winner have to look forward to? He inherits Mexico's bloody (and ultimately unwinnable) drug war.

Anyway, it should prove interesting. Let's just hope Mexico has better election workers than Florida did in 2000.

The Rules of Evidence

2006-07-02T08:59:00.000-07:00

That's what occupied my time for the past week -- studying for the final exam in my Evidence class. That sense of panic over a looming final kept me from posting to this blog.

Not only did we need to know the Texas Rules of Evidence for this course, but the Federal Rules of Evidence as well. It's a four-credit-hour class, and the test was four hours as well. But it's a required class, so I'm glad I got it out of the way. And it was pretty interesting.

Still, after the test, I needed a few days to just relax and not worry about SICs, privileges or hearsay. So I played StarCraft, a real-time strategy game. Got to the end, too.

Anyway, I'm back, and I noticed that my previous post generated the most comments ever on this blog. A couple of people had questions, and I will answer those queries shortly.

More on La Joya ISD

2006-06-23T11:48:00.000-07:00

Rio Grande Valley media outlets follow up on the La Joya schools superintendent's paid suspension (the best kind for public employees, but not for taxpayers), which board members OK'd on Wednesday:

Filomena Leo's lawyer tells The Monitor that the board pulled her for "political motives." However, board secretary J.A. "Fito" Salinas says members question her competency and her qualifications. Trustees plan to hire an independent lawyer to conduct an investigation.
The superintendent herself tells Newschannel 5 that she had no idea the suspension was coming. Of course, if you take a look at the agenda for Wednesday's board meeting (which was posted June 15), you can see Filomena Leo's signature at the end of the agenda. That document mentions deliberation and action on "Job Duties, Performance, Responsibilities, Assignment of Superintendent," so if she got blindsided, I do have to wonder whether she should be in charge of a school district.
The board votes 6-1 to suspend Leo, Channel 4 reports. Leo again says, "I was not given any formal notice of any kind from the board president or the board of trustees." Except for that whole meeting agenda thing.

Also, please note: when I gave props to the blog Rio Grande Valley Politics for breaking the story of Leo's suspension, I unintentionally slighted The Paper of South Texas.

This publication (which I freelance for) first reported the questions about the school district's insurance contract and the fact that La Joya ISD is a quarter-million bucks behind in its insurance payments. It's for these and other reasons that the board is upset with Leo's performance, and it's The Paper that brought them to light.

DoJ looks at TYC

2006-06-22T15:28:00.000-07:00

The U.S. Department of Justice will investigate "conditions of confinement and treatment of residents" at the Evins Regional Juvenile Center in Edinburg, State Rep. Aaron Peña announces on his blog:

This office has been monitoring the situation at Evins since receiving complaints from guards and parents regarding issues of abuse, unsafe working conditions and other concerns about the facility. ...

This office welcomes the investigation by the US Department of Justice and will provide any assistance and cooperation in completing this inquiry.

The Texas Observer recently published an article on the facility, and you can find more stories from Freedom Newspapers on the problems at Evins in my earlier post.

La Joya ISD Boss Suspended

2006-06-22T10:17:00.000-07:00

The La Joya ISD school board yanks Superintendent Filomena Leo from her duties, suspending her with pay. Blogger Rico Politico over at Rio Grande Valley Politics beats local media outlets (nice job) with this scoop:

That's right. The La Joya School Board reviewed her job duties and assignments, and after a lengthy executive session, the board voted to supsend her with pay. They did name an interim Superintendent to resume the role and her name is Dr. Alda Benevidez.

The move took place Wednesday night during a specially called board meeting. The agenda for that meeting, under Section H. Personnel, Subsection 1, Employment of Professional Personnel, lists "Action on Job Duties, Performance, Responsibilities, Assignment of Superintendent."

So what's behind this suspension? Here's an educated guess:

The district's supplemental insurance policy falls under scrutiny after the recommendation that reaches the school board names an insurance company different from the one administrators recommended to the superintendent.
A trio of challengers sweep the incumbents from office in the May 13 school board elections.
The new board members ask why teachers aren't getting their disability payments under the policy in question.

In case you'd forgotten, there's also the incestuous relationship between the old La Joya school board and the troubled La Joya Water Suppy Corporation. Not that it has anything to do with Leo's suspension, but it does illustrate the cronyism problems that plague the district.

Thanks again to Rio Grande Valley Politics for delivering this story.

Another Domino Falls

2006-06-20T22:15:00.000-07:00

More proof that the agents at the McAllen FBI office are earning their paychecks: Disgraced former Edcouch-Elsa school board president Aaron Gonzalez pleads guilty to extortion in federal court.

He faces up to 20 years as a guest of the feds (no parole in the federal system). His crime? Accepting kickbacks from Daniel Rodriguez, a McAllen architect firm employee who showed an undercover FBI agent how to bribe local officials.

From the U.S. Attorney's Office press release on Tuesday:

Today, Gonzalez pleaded guilty to extortion involving a $1,500 cash payment he accepted from an individual interested in bidding for a contract for furniture to be used in a new building then being built by EE-ISD. In turn, Gonzalez promised to use the official powers of his elected office in assisting this individual in the bid for an EE-ISD contract.

Tip one domino over, and the rest in line soon will fall. Since Gonzalez copped a plea, you have to wonder if he traded information in hope of a lighter sentence. I'm sure his cronies in the Delta area are sweating right now. Remember, his business serves as insurance agent for the city of Elsa.

Holy War

2006-06-20T09:09:00.000-07:00

Three years ago this month, a new pastor at Holy Spirit Parish in McAllen fired four church workers who belonged to the United Farm Workers union. This angered church members, who say the firings were ultimately the decision of Bishop Raymundo Peña.

The workers eventually reached a settlement, but critics say the union busting continues.

Churchgoers at Holy Spirit haven't forgotten that incident, as the blog Reflections of the Spirit shows (WARNING: web page plays annoying song). There's a post on the anniversary of the firings, complete with some of Ramon Ramirez's editorial cartoons from that time that skewer Peña. There's an exhortation for parishioners to wear red when the bishop visits.

To this day, parishioners still battle it out with the Diocese of Brownsville over issues like the unionized church workers, a church raffle, and the ousting of the parish's Peace and Justice Committee.

The diocese has done some pretty crappy things over the years -- like stonewall investigators and tell a sexual abuse suspect to flee the country -- so it's nice to see members try to hold diocese officials accountable.

Informing the Community? Priceless

2006-06-19T10:11:00.000-07:00

The company that owns the Rio Grande Valley's NBC television affiliate files for bankruptcy. As radio station KURV 710 reports:

Communications Corporation of America has filed under Chapter Eleven in U-S Bankrtupcy Court in the Western District of Louisiana. In a written statement, C-C-A says the filing will not affect day-to-day operations of its television stations, and all employees will remain in place.

The privately held company owns 10 stations in Texas, Louisiana and Indiana, including Brownsville's KVEO NBC 23. Interestingly, CCA's owner has a son whose broadcasting company also is filing for bankruptcy.

The Brownsville Herald reports a statement from the parent company that "the filing will not affect the day-to-day operations of the company’s television stations."

Too bad. Channel 23 doesn't have a local news department, instead bringing South Texas audiences reruns of The Simpsons and Everybody Loves Raymond during those time slots. Maybe a local newscast would help boost ratings.

Sure, it's cheaper when you don't have a news staff to pay, but it obviously hurts a station in the long run. As The Daily Advertiser of Lafayette, Louisiana, points out, most of those stations CCA owns don't bother to produce news reports. However, local TV news builds viewer loyalty, which helps with ad revenue:

Most of the company's stations, including the two in Lafayette, lack a local news department - typically a big attraction for local advertisers. Court filings estimated the company's debts at more than $100 million.

The stations have been on the market since October, but no buyers. Maybe someone will step in and purchase Channel 23, and bring another English-language newscast to the Valley.

Allergic to Criticism

2006-06-18T21:05:00.000-07:00

Members of the McAllen school district's Community Capital Advisory Committee, which is supposed to make recommendations on how to spend MISD's $98 million bond issue, instead overreact to criticism and try to boot one of their own off the advisory board when he questions the district's spending habits.

I haven't seen any mention of this story yet, so I thought I'd go ahead and point it out. (DISCLOSURE: It's in The Paper of South Texas, and I do freelance work for that publication.)

Committee member John Phillips, who ran for the school board in the last election, thinks the district is spending too much to build the elementary schools that voters OK'd ($10 million in McAllen versus $7 million to $8 million elsewhere in Texas). That was his campaign platform, so the McAllen fat cats with a finger in the bond money pie began a smear campaign against him.

And then on May 2, two weeks before the school board election, [fellow advisory committee member] Nancy Welch proposed an amendment to the CCAC bylaws which would allow the group to kick out any member who presented “false or misleading information” about the bond,” an amendment that seemed aimed at Phillips’ open criticism of bond budget and administration.

Phillips tells 'em to go ahead and try to kick him off the CCAC for exercising his First Amendment rights, threatening a lawsuit. Welch and committee chairman Mike Blum back down, and Phillips stays on the committee, free to continue his criticism.

Voters gave McAllen ISD the keys to the vault, but that doesn't mean the district should be immune to criticism. The fact that they're so sensitive about things makes it look like they have something to hide. I said it before last year's bond election, and I will say it again:

Until we get a majority on the school board willing to stand up for taxpayers instead of their compadres, nothing will change. And until then, we shouldn’t give the school district any more of our money. I wouldn’t trust them with 50 cents for the Coke machine, much less a $98 million bond package.

So far, the McAllen school district has done nothing to prove me wrong.

Observing Evins

2006-06-17T09:22:00.000-07:00

State Rep. Aaron Peña points to a Texas Observer article on the abuse at Evins Regional Juvenile Center in Edinburg.

The story offers a detailed look at the Texas Youth Commission facility's many problems, which Freedom Valley Newspapers reporter Liz Pierson detailed earlier.

Peña, who's been scrutinizing the agency for some time, says the Observer article points out many TYC shortcomings that need to be fixed. One thing that stands out in the story: When staff members reported abuse to Hidalgo County authorities, nothing happened:

TYC investigators found evidence of abuse, unnecessary force, and other policy violations among 14 TYC staff. ... (Current Evins Supervisor Bart Caldwell says that when TYC investigators confirmed abuse, the agency turned the names of the alleged abusers over to Hidalgo County authorities. At the end of May, county records indicated none had been arrested or charged.)

Big surprise there. The article goes on to say that it's easy for TYC staff to cover up incidents of abuse, with reports or security videotapes disappearing.

Slap on the Wrist

2006-06-16T12:17:00.000-07:00

A politiquero gets a 30-day jail sentence, a $250 fine and two years deferred adjudication for his role in last summer's vote-buying scandal in McAllen.

Joey Lopez pleads guilty to theft for taking money for votes, then whines to Channel 4 that "he's taking the fall for all politiqueros who engage in illegal practices." He then bitches that he shouldn't get jail time because he has no prior record. He got lucky. Deferred adjudication means if he stays out of trouble for those two years, it won't go on his record.

Lopez goes on to tell the TV station and Rio Grande Valley citizens how screwed up elections really are in the Rio Grande Valley:

"You have to have money to win an election in Hidalgo County. If you don't have the cash you will not get elected. It's not about how honest you are or how your heart feels about serving that position or serving the public. That's a bunch of BS. It's about how much money you've got. And the only way you get money is by selling out to contractors and businesses, and wrecking companies and EMS services to give them the contracts. That's the way you win elections in Hidalgo County."

The recent raid on Alton City Hall in response to election complaints shows Lopez knows what he's talking about: dirty elections infest the county. And until we start seeing some harsh sentences for vote-stealers, the slime won't go away.

The Other Side of the Valley

2006-06-15T19:41:00.000-07:00

There are plenty of blogs focusing on the Rio Grande Valley, here's the first one I've seen focusing on what's going on in Mexico: El Otro Lado Del Valley.

South Texas blogger Tino Gallegos wants to start keeping an eye on events south of the border, as he says in his first post:

What a time to be alive and living in the Rio Grande Valley! It is an unprecedented historic time of transformation. I feel that this historic moment has to be captured right now. I hope to start posting about news stories from the other side of the valle, our southern neighbors in Mexico.

He's also got an interesting take on the deployment of military forces on the south border -- that's Mexican army forces on Mexico's southern boundary:

Fox has little room to criticize militarization of the U.S. border, because his own Southern border with Guatemala and Belize are in a much more advanced state of militarization since the 2001, "Plan Sur", implemented by his government. It should be noted that Fox himself claimed that the Mexican military would play a limited role in Plan Sur operations, but quickly assumed a much more central role in the border region.

Tino's blog hasn't had many visitors yet, so go check it out.

Small-Town Politics

2006-06-15T09:42:00.000-07:00

Deputies descend on Alton City Hall to confiscate the city's election records, as part of an investigation stemming from more than 20 complaints about Mayor Salvador Vela to the Hidalgo County Elections Department. As Channel 4 reports:

According to the impoundment order application filed by the DA's office, a candidate would enter the polling location and request a private meeting with elections workers and not permit the poll watchers to attend.

There are allegations the mail-in ballots were not secure and that the early voting clerk may have tampered with the absentee ballots.

According to The Monitor's report on the raid, Vela won the most recent election by just 42 out of more than 900 votes:

[Hidalgo County District Attorney Rene] Guerra also noted allegations that "a candidate" — which Navarro identified as Vela — promised voters "preferential treatment in receiving city services" for their vote, and that Vela requested private meetings with voting officials before and on Election Day.

This isn't a clean town. Alton, you might recall, saw its city manager receive a 41-month prison sentence after a federal jury convicted him of extortion and bribery. And, as the background info in The Monitor raid story indicates, the mayor's wife "pleaded no contest in 1993 to charges of elections fraud regarding mail-in ballots." In fact, the county elections administrator called for an investigation into the 2003 Alton city voting, but her plea fell upon deaf ears.

I'm glad the DA's doing something about the complaints this time, but from what he tells The Monitor, he's not too excited about it:

Regardless, Guerra downplayed the raid’s significance, calling securing documents in response to election complaints "nothing out of the ordinary."

"It doesn’t mean there was criminal wrongdoing," he said, adding that election fraud is notoriously difficult to prove.

Guerra has a history of finding excuses not to prosecute voter fraud; let's hope he instead follows through on this case.

Hell Yes

2006-06-14T09:18:00.000-07:00

McAllen adopts an ethics ordinance that requires public officials to disclose conflicts of interest and abstain from voting on those matters. The McAllen City Commission also says officials have to disclose travel, lodging and meals from anyone doing business with the city.

This will go a long way toward eliminating conflicts of interest like we see in the McAllen school board, but one commissioner tells The Monitor the ordinance doesn't go far enough:

"On a scale of one to 10, I’d probably rate it a five, as a minimum ordinance, but it’s going to take time to get it better," Commissioner Marcus Barrera said. "I think it needs to go farther, but the problem is that every time in the past when we’ve brought it up, it’s always been debated to the point where we just never pass anything."

However, Mayor Richard Cortez tells the daily newspaper that the new rules might discourage some people from serving on municipal boards:

"A lot of people are very private people," he said. "If I’m asked to serve the city, and then as a requirement of serving the city would have to make certain financial disclosures, then some people may elect to say, 'You know what? It’s just not worth it for me to do that. I want to continue to be a private citizen'."

But as another politician once said: "If you can't stand the heat, get out of the kitchen." Sure, some people just want to serve their community and give back to the city. But far too many are only in it for what they can get out of it.

This new policy is a good start at cutting down on the cronyism.

Prize Winner

2006-06-12T22:11:00.000-07:00

Congratulations, Pharr taxpayers! Your $100,000 pays off, as Pharr earns the All-America City designation from the National Civic League.

That's right, the city spends more some $100,000 to send 81 Pharr bigwigs to Anaheim, Calif. -- a move the mayor said was unnecessary last week in The Monitor.

“I didn’t see why the city should spend money on five nights in hotel, plus flights and meals for me and my wife. I think all of us should be more concerned with how we spend our money. For $100,000, I could hire a couple extra police officers.”

Mayor Polo Palacios stays home (and he deserves a pat on the back for that), but everyone else takes off for California. And they win. Pharr is one of 10 cities picked from a list of 34 finalists. So congrats, Pharr.

And just what does that All-America designation bring to the city of Pharr? Well, there's no cash prize. No big-screen TV or any other merchandise. The National Civic League website says "NCL will provide publicity placements for finalists" -- but that's ultimately up to the media, not the NCL. So what do you get?

All-America City logos.

All-America Cities are authorized to use the AAC logo in promoting their communities. This highly visible "stamp of approval" is widely recognized as evidence of a community of caring and dedicated individuals.

That's right -- that 100 grand gives you the privilege of putting up a sign that says Pharr is an All-America City.

Who needs cops when you have that?

La Joya ISD Insurance

2006-06-12T10:24:00.000-07:00

La Joya educators aren't getting the disability payments their insurance is supposed to provide. The Paper of South Texas (DISCLOSURE: I do freelance work for this publication) details the problems faced by school district employees like Cynthia Torres, whose disability insurance was supposed to pay her bills while she was unable to work:

But after the initial $1,000 check that she received in January, her disability insurance company, American United Life, farmed out its claims administration to a third party. The third-party administrator quickly cut Torres off from receiving a disability reimbursement for her disorder.

Now, after five months without a paycheck, Torres, who remains an assistant principal for La Joya Independent School District, has nowhere to turn.

She and thousands of other La Joya employees bought disability insurance just in case something terrible happened to prevent them from working. But Torres and a growing number of other LJISD employees complain that their disability insurance system simply isn’t functioning.

There's some funny business with how that company got the insurance contract. Administrators recommended a different firm to Superintendent Filomena Leo, but when the issue went before the school board, it had American United Life on it instead. And the guy who owns that company rented office space from the superintendent's husband, La Joya Mayor Billy Leo.

Three newly elected school board members promise to get to the bottom of the issue. It's nice to see some elected officials who want to uncover the truth instead of burying it.

TAKS Questions

2006-06-08T18:54:00.000-07:00

Texas education officials double-check 609 schools across the state for irregularities in students' answers on the overhyped and undereffective Texas Assessment of Knowledge and Skills, better known as the TAKS test.

The San Antonio Express-News says the Texas Education Agency hired a Utah-based company to examine schools. The business found red flags at 9 percent of the state's public educational facilities:

The firm, which was paid $533,334, flagged schools where individual students had big gains in test scores from year to year by using a formula to predict how a student is likely to do based on past test performance.

It also looked for similar test responses in the same classroom, a high number of erased answers and unusual response patterns, such as students missing very easy questions while answering more difficult ones correctly.

Nineteen school districts in the Rio Grande Valley have campuses that make the list of flagged schools:

Benavides ISD: 1 school, 1 flag
Brownsville ISD: 5 schools, 5 flags
Donna ISD: 2 schools, 3 flags
Edcouch-Elsa ISD: 2 schools, 2 flags
Harlingen CISD: 3 schools, 4 flags
Hidalgo ISD: 2 schools, 3 flags
La Joya ISD: 4 schools, 12 flags
Los Fresnos CISD: 1 school, 1 flag
McAllen ISD: 2 schools, 2 flags
Mission CISD: 2 schools, 2 flags
Pharr-San Juan-Alamo ISD: 4 schools, 4 flags
Point Isabel ISD: 1 school, 1 flag
Progreso ISD: 2 schools, 3 flags
Rio Grande City CISD: 3 schools, 7 flags
San Benito CISD: 1 school, 1 flag
Santa Rosa ISD: 1 school, 2 flags
Sharyland ISD: 1 school, 6 flags
Valley View ISD: 1 school, 2 flags
Weslaco ISD: 2 schools, 4 flags

Remember, all this study did was spot irregularities that might come from cheating or might just be statistical anamolies.

"Just because a school shows up on the list doesn't necessarily mean there's a problem," TEA spokeswoman Debbie Graves Ratcliffe said. "They could be there because of great teaching."

Of course, this misses the bigger picture: That all TAKS does is make educators teach to the test and churn out kids whose main skill is working the system while taking a standardized exam.

Because There's No Other Crime ...

2006-06-06T14:22:00.000-07:00

... cops can rid the Harlingen streets of that scourge of South Texas, pirated DVDs.

That's right: There must not be any burglaries, robberies, rapes or murders goin' down in that town. So police are free to mount an undercover sting operation, confiscating thousands of videos and making the city so much safer.

The bust was such a success that officers make an encore appearance the next day, even though the folks who got arrested aren't too happy about it.

Yes, selling pirated DVDs is against the law. And it is stealing someone's intellectual property, although you should take merchants' claims that it hurts their business with a grain of salt. But it's so easy to copy a DVD that these raids won't halt the practice, and people will keep buying the bootlegs.

Still, I'd rather see police focusing on crimes that directly harm people -- offenses like burglary, robbery, etc. But that's a lot harder than patrolling la pulga, I guess.

Who Will Take Over the Star?

2006-06-04T18:42:00.000-07:00

It's confirmed: Valley Morning Star editor George Cox is leaving the newspaper for South Padre Island (see my earlier post).

Once he crosses the causeway, Cox will take over as general manager for two publications that Freedom Communications, the VMS's parent company, owns:

The Island Breeze, a five-day-a-week tabloid produced by the Star.
The Coastal Current, a free arts and entertainment weekly that Freedom just purchased.

Freedom plans to combine operations of the two papers, with George at the helm.

Meanwhile, there's still speculation as to who will replace him at the Harlingen daily. Although some people favor former Brownsville Herald metro editor Melissa Zamora, there's also speculation (that sounds so much better than rumor) that ex-Herald boss Teclo Garcia might be in the running.

Teclo used to work at The Monitor and was spokesman for the city of McAllen before landing the Brownsville gig. Last I heard, he was editing ¡Extra!, a special section in the Arizona Republic geared toward English-speaking Hispanic readers.

My thanks to my former coworkers who helped get me up to speed on this issue.

Drug War Update

2006-06-04T12:03:00.000-07:00

Will internal squabbling among the Mexican drug cartels result in a decrease in violence along the border? U.S. and Mexican law enforcement officials tell the San Antonio Express-News there are some indications the killings might stop.

The rift is centered over control of the border cities of Reynosa and Matamoros but apparently also pits [Gulf] cartel leaders willing to cooperate with the rival Sinaloa Cartel against hardliners who will tolerate no such truce.

If the hardliners lose, and new leaders reach a deal with the Sinaloans, one result could be an end to the killings that have plagued Nuevo Laredo for 21/2 years.

Reporter Mariano Castillo also puts into perspective NewsChannel 5's interview with narco-mercenaries. Last week, two members claiming to be members of Los Zetas, a group of army deserters working for the Gulf Cartel, broke their silence in an interview with TV reporter Tony Castelan. The Express-News says

It was the first known news interview with Zetas — members of a group that has a history of silencing and censoring journalists through intimidation — on either side of the border.

"That in itself is suspect, that the Zetas would even allow someone to speak to the press," said Jorge Cisneros, an FBI special agent based in McAllen. ...

But U.S. officials agreed much of the information in the KRGV interview was "on the mark," as one of them put it.

The Zetas talk in the TV interview about taking land from property owners:

The Zetas explained how private property is simply seized by the gang, especially if it helps them smuggle the drugs of their employer - the powerful Gulf Cartel of Osiel Cardenas.

"If you have a ranch close to the river or near a place where they have an operation or safe house, they take it so you don't bother them. They take the ranch to pass their drugs."

These guys are scary, using military training, equipment and tactics in the service of the drug lords. Cops think they were involved in the 2003 hit on Guillermo González Calderoni, a corrupt Mexican anti-drug cop who fled that country to live in McAllen. That murder took place in broad daylight, outside his lawyer's office on busy North 10th Street.

Some members of the Zetas' original military unit received training from the U.S. Army at the School of the Americas, a facility infamous for training torturers for Latin American dictators.

Why do criminals fight so hard over control of the drug trade? Because there's so much money to be made on something the government tries to ban but people want anyway. You don't see them shooting it out over cigarettes and booze. Even some cops realize the drug war is a failure.

New Editor at the Star?

2006-06-03T12:25:00.000-07:00

The daily newspaper in Harlingen is looking for a new editor, according to the South Texas blog The Paz Files. Current Valley Morning Star editor George Cox is either leaving the paper or getting promoted out of the newsroom, the blog speculates. (DISCLOSURE: During my time at The Monitor, I worked with George Cox on a company task force.)

The Paz Files cites a notice on the media website JournalismJobs.com advertising "an immediate opening for a proven newsroom leader" at the Star, which Paz calls "a paste-up pasatiempo for the Winter Texans and a small insular gang of influential local Republicans."

The blog nominates former Brownsville Herald metro editor (and current South Padre Island Convention and Visitors Bureau spokeswoman) Melissa Zamora for the job. For a while Zamora published ¿Que Onda RGV?, a weekly bilingual entertainment guide that's no longer printing.

I'm curious why Cox is leaving the Star (if, in fact, he is). I'm out of the loop these days, so anybody at one of the Valley Freedom Newspapers who has some chisme on this, please email me.

More FBI Raids

2006-06-02T11:56:00.000-07:00

FBI agents raid two roofing contractors and a home in Cameron County, in a case resulting from a sealed federal indictment. According to Fernando Del Valle (cool name for an RGV reporter, by the way) of the Valley Morning Star:

Agents searched the offices of American Contracting USA Inc. in Combes and American Roofing in Rio Hondo, companies owned by Guadalupe Escobedo, according to Cameron County Appraisal District records.
In Combes, agents confiscated documents in the raid of a home off Rio Rancho Road that the appraisal district lists as owned by Leticia Escobedo.

A quick Google search shows American Contracting USA won a contract to fix the roof of the Cameron County courthouse five years ago (see the minutes from the June 26, 2001, county commissioners meeting; the link to the contract itself is broken). A company by that name has done roofing work for school districts elsewhere in the state as well.

Another cursory scan finds that American Roofing received a $300,000 contract from Brownsville for the Haggar building back in 1996 and a $68,000 contract for the county airport hangar in 1994.

The feds won't say what they're looking for in Combes and Rio Hondo, but the photo on the Star website shows an agent carrying a container labeled "bank statements." Given the trouble that another local contractor got into last year, I think we can make a pretty good guess as to the FBI's investigation.

Court Costs

2006-06-01T20:56:00.000-07:00

From eight to ten grand disappears from the municipal court in La Joya, and the Hidalgo County Sheriff's Office steps in to investigate:

[La Joya City] Commissioner [Roberto] Jackson says if a city employee is responsible, appropriate action will be taken. He says the results of the sheriff's department investigation will reveal their next move.

One La Joya resident (who probably thinks Santa Clause puts Easter Eggs under her pillow at night) tells KGBT 4 TV the missing money is the result of "a math mistake or just plain politics. ... It's like the (La Joya) Water Supply... it's just a bunch of bull."

The La Joya Water Supply Corporation, you might remember, incurred the wrath of the Texas Attorney General for its sloppy performance. The AG's office said the water company board's blantant cronyism with the La Joya school board created an "incestuous relationship" that prevented problems from being fixed.

A court-appointed receiver had to take over to start turning things around, and an investigation led to an indictment of the former general manager, who also happened to be La Joya ISD board president.

So that clueless La Joya resident might be more right than she realizes when she says the municipal court flap is like the water company scandal. We'll know if indictments start rolling in.

It's Getting Better

2006-05-30T13:41:00.000-07:00

South Texas' reputation as a "judicial hellhole" may be coming to a close, the Corpus Christi Caller-Times reports.

Citing a nationwide report by the Pacific Research Institute, the article says Texas now ranks No. 1 in the country in lowest tort costs. This comes after voters OK'd Proposition 12, which caps noneconomic damages in medical malpractice lawsuits at $750,000 per claimant.

The Association of Trial Lawyers of America, however, takes issue with the institute's work. ATLA president Ken Suggs slams the study as "just another phony report bought and paid for by CEOs and big corporations* intent on lining their pockets with no regard for its real world impact on people." PRI fires back, calling the ATLA statement "an over-the-top, purple prose press release."

CONFESSION TIME: As opinion editor at The Monitor, I wrote editorials in favor of limiting the amount of noneconomic damages in medical malpractice cases. As a law student, I now see the other side of the argument: What about the victim who's been injured in such cases? As my torts professor points out when talking about the concept of suing for damages in the first place, why should the innocent party have to bear the loss because someone else did something wrong?

(*Freedom Communications, The Monitor's parent company, is one of many corporations that contributes to the think tank. No, the company didn't have anything to with me writing those editorials; I came up with them on my own and the editor and publisher approved them. If you're curious about who else funds PRI, read about it in this SourceWatch entry.)

Museum Exhibit

2006-05-28T22:57:00.000-07:00

Thanks to blogs, anyone with a grudge and Internet access (like me, for example) now has a forum in which to vent. And the Rio Grande Valley has its share of blogs addressing local issues.

There's El Rocinante, the granddaddy of South Texas blogs, in which Dr. G.F. McHale-Scully was railing against Brownsville politicians and the Brownsville Herald before blogging became a verb. A more recent arrival is Edinburg Politics, Joe Ochoa critic Earn My Vote's attempt to hold the newly re-elected Edinburg mayor accountable.

The latest example of a one-issue blog is At The Museum, written by someone going by the screen name Viva la Revolucion. This blogger concentrates on the taxpayer-subsidized International Museum of Art and Science in McAllen. Viva's not too happy with the current leadership at IMAS.

The author cites huge employee turnover as a sign something's not right at the museum, and the comments -- mostly anonymous and some unverifiable -- cite that and more problems with the facility.

IMAS has seen its share of troubles in recent years:

A city audit in 2004 found problems with cash flow, personal charges on museum credit cards, employees taking IMAS vehicles home, and improperly stored Persian rugs and sculptures.
In the wake of this audit becoming public, McAllen refused to increase funding for the museum.
Then a local artist sued the museum over its refusal to show his sculpture.
A month later, the museum's director got busted for soliciting an undercover cop posing as a prostitute, resulting in him getting fired and all sorts of off-color jokes in local newsrooms.

Now IMAS is up for reaccreditation with the American Association of Museums, Viva tells us. Has the facility locked up its problems, or are they still on display? Since McAllen taxpayers are supporting this troubled institution, they might want to take a closer look at what's going on.

Another Brick in the Wall

2006-05-28T09:09:00.000-07:00

Reporter Sara Ines Calderon with the Brownsville Herald examines the congressional delusion of building a border fence at an estimated cost of $3.2 million per mile:

A 176-mile line of fencing between Brownsville and Laredo would cut through back yards, farmland, parks and downtown. Brownsville's border, unlike San Diego's, is integrated into city life. People live right on the border, go to parks on the border or work farmland there.

Hope Park, near downtown's Gateway International Bridge, is about 50 yards from the river. The proposed fence would stand inside it.

The Herald also fires off a great editorial on the immigration issue, slamming Texas' senators for not supporting Bush in his efforts to allow illegal immigrants to pursue citizenship:

We regret to say that this state's two senators, Kay Bailey Hutchison and John Cornyn, are siding with this extreme slice of their party. ...

What does this say about Hutchison and Cornyn when they choose to put party ideologue and pressure from the talk show crowd and conservative bloggers over a more balanced view of the immigration issue?

The editorial also points out how most of the wall-building hysteria comes from states that don't have a clue as to what border life is like:

It continues to amaze us how politicians from places like Alabama, Wisconsin and Iowa can be such ardent border fence builders when they know nothing about regions like the Rio Grande Valley, and even less about a community such as Brownsville.

If we really want to solve the immigration problem, we should allow free movement of citizens between Mexico, the United States and Canada -- just like NAFTA intended:

Free movement would be more secure than our current system, removing Mexican workers' incentive to swim across the Rio Grande and allowing U.S. Customs and Border Protection to track everybody who's entering the country legitimately, with 100% assurance that anybody who crosses the border in secret is up to no good. ...

In fact, an open borders policy encourages almost as many immigrants to go back home as to stay. Without the risk of being unable to reenter the United States, millions of undocumented workers would be free to return to Mexico.

However, don't expect a commonsense argument like this to convince the ideologues, fearmongers and racists. To them, the more we become like a police state, the better.

Safe -- For Now

2006-05-27T12:19:00.000-07:00

Remember that family the feds wanted to break up by deporting the father, mother and two oldest siblings? Well, it looks like they get a reprieve for the time being. Monitor reporter Travis Whitehead reports:

They were scheduled for a hearing Friday morning at the U.S. Department of Justice’s Immigration Court in Harlingen. But when Ruben and Maricela Gloria and their two older children, Ruben Jr. 15, and Blanca, 17, showed up, they learned the court had no documents on their case.

The feds, however, can still file the immigration charges, so the Glorias aren't out of the woods yet.

The couple brought their two kids to the U.S. 14 years ago and overstayed their visa. In the meantime, they had four more children and built a life for the family in Rio Grande City -- until an overzealous sheriff''s deputy accused the two oldest siblings of smuggling illegal immigrants. Starr County deputies called the Border Patrol, and pretty soon the two kids and their parents were looking at deportation.

On a related note, Hidalgo County Sheriff Lupe Treviño says deputies won't question anyone about their citizenship:

"Deputies shall not make inquiries as to the citizenship status of any person, nor will deputies detain or arrest persons solely on the belief that they are in this country illegally," the policy states.

This policy makes sense for several reasons:

If someone who's here illegally has to worry about local cops questioning their citizenship, they will be reluctant to talk to police if they're a crime victim, or even a witness.
Besides, immigration enforcement is a job for the feds, not local law enforcement. They're busy enough handling other crimes.
Local law enforcement asking people for identification papers is something that the former Soviet Union did. It shouldn't happen in the (supposedly) Land of the Free.

Futuro McAllen Founder Dies

2006-05-26T07:53:00.000-07:00

Rick De Julio, a longtime McAllen history buff and community advocate, died on Wednesday. De Julio, among other things, helped found the community watchdog group Futuro McAllen.

He was very interested in the history of McAllen and Hidalgo County. I met him when I was opinion editor at The Monitor; he wrote a guest column that I published.

As radio station KURV (where he once worked) notes:

Rick De Julio was the chairman of the McAllen Historical Center and the motivating force behind the creation of the McAllen Historical Commission. He was a founder of the community development group Futuro McAllen and worked tirelessly to preserve local building as historic sites. ...

Nedra Kinerk with Futuro McAllen credits De Julio's tenacity for ensuring that McAllen celebrated its Centennial on time ....

Among De Julio's achievements to preserve local history, he was able to list the Sam and Margerie Miller house on 15th St. in McAllen as a Texas Historic Landmark.

One thing that strikes me: I read his newspaper obituary (second from the top) and discovered he was almost 59 years old. But when we met, his appearance and personality led me to believe he was at least 15 years younger than that. My condolences to his family and friends.

Church Fraud in the Valley?

2006-05-25T12:21:00.000-07:00

A Brownsville lawyer investigates "alleged mishandling" of money for starting up Baptist churches in the Rio Grande Valley.

The Baptist General Convention of Texas hires business attorney Diane Dillard, who teaches business law at UT-Brownsville, to see whether the funds were "misapplied in the Valley either in a significant number of isolated instances or as a part of a more coordinated process," The Baptist Standard reports:

Suspicions surround the large number of cell-group missions reported as church-starts in the lower Rio Grande Valley from 1996 to 2003. Critics allege some church-starts that received financial assistance from the BGCT never existed, and some individuals profited by claiming to start multiple, nonexistent “mystery missions.”
In 1996, the BGCT Annual listed 92 churches and 38 missions in Rio Grande Valley Baptist Association. By 2003, the annual reported 105 churches and 240 missions in the association. Of those 240 missions, 151 listed as their sponsors six of the 10 churches that formed The Borderlands Baptist Association the following year. Listing as a mission in the BGCT Annual does not necessarily mean a congregation received BGCT funding.

Dillard has the help of another BrownTown lawyer, former U.S. prosecutor Michael Rodriguez, a partner in the law firm Rodriguez & Nicholas. The BGCT board OKs spending up to a hundred grand on the investigation, which a former pastor in Donna Donna has been requesting for years.

Well, at least the Diocese of Brownsville can point at another denomination and say, "See, Catholics aren't the only ones who are screwed up!"

No Vacancy

2006-05-24T10:35:00.000-07:00

San Juan City Commissioners reject the plan to buy the San Juan Hotel at Tuesday night's meeting, Hector Gomez at RGV Politics reports.

Both RGV Politics and the San Juanistas noted from the beginning how this deal stunk:

PSJA school board member Roy Rodriguez bought the structure. The hotel was appraised at less than $275,000.
Once Rodriguez couldn't get rid of the building, he wanted San Juan taxpayers to take the bad investment off his hands for $575,000.
The two then-commissioners who pushed his plan at meetings, Rick Rodriguez and Pete Contreras, work for the PSJA school district (that is, the hotel owner is the two commissioners' boss).

The community activists played a big role in holding their elected officials accountable by protesting the purchase. They made the hotel an election issue, causing a shift in power with the May 13 election.

As Hector Gomez wrote, "This is one case where if we're promised more of the same after tonight's meeting, it's definitely a step in the right direction."

He Knew Jack Kennedy

2006-05-23T09:32:00.000-07:00

Mission native Lloyd Bentsen, who fought in World War II and went on to make a name for himself in politics, has died, the Houston Chronicle reports:

Bentsen was a member of a prosperous Rio Grande Valley family, and almost everything he touched seemed to turn to gold, be it far-flung personal investments, the insurance company he founded in the 1950s or his political career, which stretched from being Hidalgo County judge immediately after World War II to taking a seat in the Cabinet during President Clinton's first administration in 1993.

Texas Gov. Rick Perry, who started out as a Democrat before switching to the GOP, orders flags lowered to half-staff to honor the Texas politician. Meanwhile, Republicans, Democrats and independents alike praise the former senator.

As Democratic presidential candidate Michael Dukakis' running mate, Bentson uttered the immortal smackdown against Republican VP candidate Dan Quayle, "Senator, you are no Jack Kennedy," during the 1988 vice-presidential debate.

Interestingly, Bentsen served as Hidalgo County judge from 1946-48 before getting elected to Congress. He became a senator in 1970 before resigning to serve as Clinton's Treasury secretary.

Frankly, he had been out of the public spotlight for so long that I thought he died some time ago.

This Part

2006-05-22T12:32:00.000-07:00

When members of the anti-immigrant crowd can't use facts or logic to back up their arguments, they trot out the snotty-sounding quip, "What part of 'illegal' do you not understand?"

Well, this part: How the federal government can tear apart a family of eight.

Maricela Gloria and her husband, Ruben Sr., immigrated here 14 years ago without getting legal paperwork. Four of their six children, Litzy; Daiyanara, 3; Keven, 6; and Larry, 11, are American citizens because they were born in the United States. They’ve never known any other life. Ruben Jr., 15, and Blanca, 17, although born in Mexico, were so young when they immigrated with their parents that they have no memory of that country. ...

Blanca Gloria, a junior at Rio Grande City High School, says they were driving home from a nearby store when they passed a Starr County sheriff’s deputy. Blanca Gloria says the deputy, who had caught several undocumented immigrants, stopped the two teenagers and accused them of being part of the smuggling operation. The youths didn’t have any identification; they were taken to their home just a few yards down the road, and the Border Patrol was called. Agents questioned them for several hours and learned the family was not part of the smuggling operation but were in the country illegally.

So now the feds want to deport Mom, Dad, Junior and Sis. These folks lived in Rio Grande City for years, working hard and paying taxes, not causing any trouble. If anyone thinks kicking two parents and two kids out of the country will make this nation safer or more prosperous, they're sadly mistaken.

Kudos to reporter Travis Whitehead of The Monitor for putting a human face on the immigration issue. (The Associated Press takes a look at the bigger picture today as well.)

ADDENDUM: The Washington Post mentions McAllen and Reynosa in a story on individuals and families whose lives straddle the border.

Just Like You Like It

2006-05-20T11:06:00.000-07:00

Here's a new way to buy votes: with Whataburger gift certificates.

An unsuccessful Weslaco school board candidate claims his opponent gave $5 restaurant gift certificates to voters, NewsChannel 5 reports:

The certificates were inside envelopes. "You can see it reads: To Supporter, From Committee to re-elect Raymond Givilancz," said [Emilio] de los Santos.

Givilancz, however, tells the TV station he didn't do it:

"I didn't purchase anything. I didn't give any out. If somebody was doing that on their own, that's up to them," he said.

Right. The candidate of a small-scale school board campaign had no idea what was going on. The complaints go to the Hidalgo County District Attorney's Office, so don't expect much to come of this.

In other voter fraud news, a jury acquits two San Juan women, buying the defense attorney's claim that "They're not all there, and these politiqueras took advantage of them."

The mother and daughter were taken to vote on Election Day after already casting ballots during the early voting period by Cindy Rodriguez, the wife of San Juan City Commissioner Bobby Rodriguez, and Vicki Loredo, the wife of former mayor and PSJA school district Assistant Superintendent Robert Loredo.

Of course, the politiqueras themselves never faced charges.

Your World. Delivered (to the NSA).

2006-05-19T19:32:00.000-07:00

The phone companies that violated customers' privacy -- and the law -- by giving phone records to the National Security Agency face a slew of lawsuits, including a couple of note here in Texas.

As the Nueces County-centric blog South Texas Chisme notes, high-powered Corpus Christi trial lawyer Mikal Watts (whose firm has branches in McAllen and Brownsville) takes on telecom giant AT&T (the company formerly known as Southwestern Bell), suing Ma Bell for turning our phone records over to the feds without a warrant. Two other Corpus firms and a Houston firm sign on to litigate the class-action claim against the San Antonio-based corporation, filed in a Corpus Christi federal court.

In another class action, out of Austin, Texas Civil Rights Project director Jim Harrington joins another lawyer, a financial advisor and the alternative weekly Austin Chronicle to take on AT&T.

For anyone naive enough to think that it's OK for the government to spy on everyone because they're looking for terrorists, think about this: Not only is this a gross intrusion on our privacy, but I guaran-goddam-tee that sooner or later the government will use this spying to track down and punish anyone who disagrees with it.

But How Will His Store Remain in Business?

2006-05-17T09:03:00.000-07:00

PSJA schools superintendent Arturo Guajardo says he'll retire this summer.** The six-year head of the Pharr-San Juan-Alamo Independent School District says he wants to spend more time with his wife and family.

Considering the FBI raided his home and office** -- along with those of several school board members -- Guajardo's smart to get in that quality time while he still can. After all, one board member, Guadalupe Jaime Santa Maria, already pleaded guilty to conspiring to receive bribes from contractor Alonso Cardenas in exchange for votes.

Of course, Guajardo still needs income. If he longer runs the district, he could rely on his hardware store, Screw & Bolt (wait ... it's San Juan Bolt & Supply -- screw & bolt is what he does to taxpayers), which somehow seemed to land all sorts of contracts** with the PSJA school district, sometimes coming in just pennies under competing bids.

The school board allowed Guajardo to profit from the district (and taxpayers) even though he had a clear conflict of interest. Meanwhile, PSJA voters give these chuckleheads $70 million more in tax money to piss away.

Now to see if PSJA board members actually look outside the district for a qualified replacement, or if they will follow McAllen ISD's example and appoint an unqualified crony as superintendent.

**WARNING: This Monitor article may contain an annoying Obra Homes video advertisement with obnoxious voiceover.

I'm Ba-aack!

2006-05-17T08:21:00.000-07:00

Sorry to go three weeks without an update to this blog, but law school finals tend to keep one busy. Yeah, I finished on Friday, but after five exams in two weeks I needed a few days of doing nothing.

I actually caught a movie in the theater for the first time since January. I saw Thank You For Smoking, a pretty funny satire about a guy who's the spokesman for Big Tobacco.

One thing I noticed that kind of bothered me: the movie's about the cigarette industry, but nowhere in the film does it depict people lighting up. In fact, the protagonist is supposed to be a smoker, but I couldn't even tell until the almost end of the movie. Considering that the movie makes a big statement about personal choice, it's kind of depressing that Thank You For Smoking bends to calls for self-censorship when it comes to showing smoking on screen.

Anyway, it's great to be back!

Vioxx Verdict

2006-04-24T13:10:00.000-07:00

As you probably know, the Vioxx lawsuit in Rio Grande City attracted national attention -- especially once jurors rendered a $32 million verdict ($7 million in actual damages and $25 million in punitive damages) against Merck, the maker of the now-recalled painkiller.

Over at PointofLaw.com, a legal blog, attorney Ted Frank, director of the pro-business American Enterprise Institute's Liability Project, mentions the lack of evidence that the medication even caused the death of the man whose family sued.

Not just that Leonel Garza was a 71-year-old smoker who was overweight, had high cholesterol, and previous had both a heart attack and a quadruple bypass, yet was awarded $7 million in "compensatory" damages.

But the fact of the matter is that there is no documentary evidence that Garza was even taking Vioxx. Garza never had a prescription for Vioxx [but had received samples of the drug from his doctor].

Frank also points out the plaintiff's political and family connections to the Starr County jury pool.

Mr. Garza's family was well-known in Starr County, where the case was tried; a huge percentage of the jury pool indicated they knew his family. But Merck failed in its efforts to remove the case to a federal court where the case could be tried fairly, because the plaintiffs had fraudulently joined the two doctors as defendants [link in the original post], even though they dropped them from the case.

Frank needs to understand that we do things a little bit differently in the Valley. Of course, an appeals court will likely reduce the verdict anyway.

Texas Taliban

2006-04-18T09:57:00.000-07:00

Before the United States toppled the Taliban government in Afghanistan, that country had a Ministry of Virtue and Vice to ensure the people didn't do anything immoral (that is, have fun).

Texas has its own version of the fun police, the Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission (motto: We're like Baptists, but with badges and guns).

The TABC made headlines recently for arresting people who were (horrors!) drunk in bars. Not driving or attempting to drive, mind you; just drunk. These Barney Fife-wannabes even arrested hotel guests at the hotel bar. Guess that allowing them to walk back to their rooms is too dangerous.

As the Austin American-Statesman said in an editorial last month, the operation "makes the agency look lazy and the state look silly." The Dallas Convention and Visitors Bureau rightly fears that this asinine program will drive away tourists and conventions.

And testimony from a recent legislative hearing on the TABC shows just how stupid this agency is. State Sen. John Whitmire -- who usually supports the agency -- called agents a bunch of "cowboys" for wearing combat fatigues in these bar roundups.

Let's go ahead and save the state some money by disbanding this waste of taxpayer dollars. Let local cops enforce drinking laws -- hopefully with a little more discretion and a lot less attitude than these goons at the TABC.

Colonia Enforcement

2006-04-13T07:51:00.000-07:00

San Antonio Express-News reporter Jesse Bogan takes a look at colonias in Cameron County. It turns out purchasers can't live on their land because colonia developers don't have the necessary infrastructure -- like water and sewage systems -- on the land they sell. One family bought a parcel of land and couldn't move in for a year because the land didn't have a septic tank.

Texas Rio Grande Legal Aid is helping this family with a lawsuit against the developer, but where are the state and county prosecutors?

The story says neither the Texas Attorney General's office nor the Cameron County District Attorney's office has done anything to enforce compliance with the regulations.

The subdivision is among the largest of 17 in Cameron County in which the seller failed to install water or wastewater utilities, leaving that expense to the buyer. No action has been taken against the sellers despite legal tools at the disposal of both the county and the state — and full awareness by both of what was happening.

"If it would have been enforced, we would have done it," the developer tells the Express-News. In other words, he will continue to get away with noncompliance.

Vote Fraud Cases Dismissed

2006-04-12T20:07:00.000-07:00

The day after he wins re-election, Hidalgo County District Attorney Rene Guerra asks the judge to drop the charges against two people indicted in last summer's voter fraud case in McAllen.

One of them is Othal Brand Jr., who managed his dad's 2005 campaign for mayor. The other is Jose "Joey" Eliseo Lopez, a politiquero. According to The Monitor:

Judge Rose Guerra Reyna, of the 206th state District Court, dismissed those charges Wednesday at the request of Hidalgo County’s top prosecutor, longtime District Attorney Rene Guerra, who made an unusual courtroom appearance to personally make the request for dismissal.

Guerra tells KURV 710 Talk Radio the cases had to go

"because I do not have a firm belief that I can prosecute either one on those charges. The recordings that were publicized were of such quality that I could not determine who was the solicitor and who was being solicited."

Big surprise. Guerra's never been slow to offer excuses when it comes to avoiding high-profile cases.

Now I'm glad to see the charge against Brand go away, seeing as how he videotaped the whole thing at the behest of the Texas Rangers. But then Guerra sinks the charges against Lopez, who was caught on that tape promising votes for money. And the DA does this AFTER the election. Now that his job is secure.

Frankly, it's a little insulting. Most politicians would wait at least a month or so, in order to keep it from looking so obvious to voters.

But what does Guerra care? He can coast to retirement now, and if we don't like it, too bad.

Lopez still faces a theft charge in relation to the scandal, and eight others still face charges as well.

Kinky on the Campaign Trail

2006-04-12T07:05:00.000-07:00

I get a chance to talk to independent candidate for Texas governor Kinky Friedman about immigration and the Valley (a little bit) during last week's appearance at St. Mary's University.

My interview with him appears in this week's edition of The Paper of South Texas.

He's got his act down pat. My favorite quip from the Kinkster: "How can you look at the Texas Legislature and still believe in intelligent design?"

Another Four Years of Indifference

2006-04-11T20:54:00.000-07:00

24-year incumbent Rene Guerra easily holds off challenger Alma Garza in Tuesday's Democratic primary runoff for district attorney. On election night, a musical tune drifts through the air in Hidalgo County along with ... another sound.

According to the county elections office, Guerra snagged 55.15 percent of the vote -- 12,461 ballots to Garza's 10,135 votes in a race that saw a whopping 8.31 percent voter turnout.

In a serious refusal to accept reality, Garza tells The Monitor she won't concede and is thinking about a recount. The newspaper also reports the Guerra campaign is "celebrating, dancing the evening away at The Echo Hotel in Edinburg." That would explain the music.

That other noise you hear? Irene Garza spinning in her grave.

Hidalgo County DA Election

2006-04-11T07:33:00.000-07:00

The runoff between Hidalgo County District Attorney Rene Guerra, an incumbent holding more baggage than the carousel at McAllen Miller International Airport, and challenger Alma Garza, a cadidate with enough issues of her own to fill the newsstand at the terminal, concludes today.

Some in Hidalgo County trot out the cliche, "Better the devil you know," as a reason to vote for Guerra. But after 24 years, maybe it's time for a new tormentor.

The Monitor reports some 10,000 voters cast ballots during the early voting period, while Hidalgo County Elections Administrator Teresa Navarro expects another 8-10K to show up at the polls today.

The McAllen newspaper also chimes in with an editorial on "Election Day Mud Slinging" with way too understated a conclusion:

Democracy in Hidalgo County has been noted for its occasional bad odor in the past, and the recent indictments of local politiqueras for alleged past misdeeds have done nothing to freshen the smell. But the actions of [County Sheriff Lupe] Treviño and Navarro are a hopeful sign that dirty tricks will not be tolerated this Election Day.

Politics in South Texas doesn't have an "occasional bad odor;" it stinks to high heaven. And we need more than just a sign that dirty tricks won't be tolerated. We need action. But that's not likely to come from within the county.

Maybe They Didn't Get the Memo

2006-04-10T12:24:00.000-07:00

Despite a report that Monday's immigration protest was canceled, some students in McAllen hit the streets today anyway.

Meanwhile, tens of thousands of people rally all over the U.S. to voice their disapproval of current immigration policies.

And for all the haters whining that illegal immigrants don't pay taxes and sponge off government social programs, talk show host Tony Snow shows how they actually help the economy:

Princeton University sociologist Douglas S. Massey reports that 62 percent of illegal immigrants pay income taxes (via withholding) and 66 percent contribute to Social Security. Forbes magazine notes that Mexican illegals aren't clogging up the social-services system: only 5 percent receive food stamps or unemployment assistance; 10 percent send kids to public schools.

So there.

See the blog South Texas Chisme for more about the immigration protests.

Local Protest Canceled

2006-04-10T07:15:00.000-07:00

Immigrant rights supporters across the country take to the streets today -- but not in McAllen. The organizer of the local event cancels the demonstration because he's worried that high school students might ditch class to join the protest. Sounds like another civics lesson to me.

Migrant Series Wins Award

2006-04-09T09:16:00.000-07:00

I know it's been a long time since my last post, but I've been kinda busy recently with school. But enough about me.

The Texas Associated Press Managing Editors announces its 2006 award winners, and some Rio Grande Valley journalists take home prizes. (The Texas APME awards are like the print version of the Texas Emmy awards.)

Most significantly, Victoria Hirschberg and Joel Martinez of The Monitor land top honors in the Class AAA Feature Series category for P'al Norte, their series of stories following migrant farmworkers from the Valley to Wisconsin. Congratulations to Joel and Victoria, who worked long and hard to bring us this story.

In addition, Juan Carlos Sanchez of El Nuevo Heraldo in Brownsville was a finalist for Star Designer of the Year and wins News Page Design by an Individual in Class A; the Brownsville Herald's Kevin Garcia earns top honors in the Short Feature category for Class AA; and the Herald's Kris Holland takes first in Feature Photography for that division.

Way to go, people!

ADDENDUM: I can't find anything about The Monitor online, but several other Herald staffers receive APME awards, including talented investigative journalists Sergio Chapa (second place for Star Investigative Report of the Year) and Emma Perez-Treviño (honorable mention in the same category). Also, Daniella Mugica of La Frontera (The Monitor's Spanish-language sister newspaper) earns first place for Feature Page Design by an Individual in Class A.

ADDENDUM 2: The Valley Morning Star brings home some prizes as well. Photo editor Joe Hermosa (spot news photo), reporter Fernando del Valle (short features) and graphics artist Albert Saldana (infographic) earn second-place honors, and regional health and environment reporter Melissa McEver garners honorable mention in Features.

ADDENDUM 3: The Monitor finally has a story in Monday's paper mentioning its staff members winning awards. In addition to Hirschberg and Martinez, graphics editor Eddie Mirza earns second place in infographics; book critic Martin Winchester takes second in commentary and criticism; Jason McDaniel gets honorable mention for spot sports story; Matt Whittaker earns HM in business reporting and La Frontera's Edgardo Gonzalez gets honorable mention for news page design.

Juvenile Justice

2006-03-20T15:04:00.000-08:00

Texas capitol reporter Elizabeth Pierson's articles about abuse of juveniles by Texas Youth Commission officers have the South Texas blogosphere buzzing.

Rio Grande Politics gave a heads up a couple of weeks ago that the series was in the works. Today the blog wonders, "who in fact is the criminal"?
South Texas Chisme asks, "Must a guard thump Johnny on the head to feel safe?"
Over at A Capitol Blog, state Rep. Aaron Peña says, "Texans should demand more in the care of our young .... We can not simply take the 'throw away the keys' attitude that many have regarding our adult [prison] populations."

Pierson covers state government in Austin for the Brownsville Herald, The Monitor and the Valley Morning Star. Her stories on the Texas Youth Commission document the doubling of abuse rates at TYC facilities in 2004. The articles include:

Little Boys, Big Time: "Rates of physical abuse in TYC have increased steadily for at least seven years. By 2005, three of every 100 detainees were abused by the employees who watch over them."
Guards on the Defensive: "Juvenile inmates are becoming more aggressive and injuring guards with greater frequency, Texas Youth Commission employees and union representatives say."
Trouble at Evins: "Leadership is new, and abuses have dwindled, but Edinburg’s juvenile prison is still recovering from a rash of beatings and altercations with juvenile prisoners in late 2004."
No Warm Welcome: "TYC investigators have confirmed physical abuse against youth by employees at the Marlin Orientation and Assessment Unit 62 times since 1999, more than any other TYC facility."
Elected officials express concern: "Already the House and Senate committees that oversee the TYC are investigating abuse in the agency, in part because of a string of abuses at the Evins Regional Juvenile Center in Edinburg in late 2004."

BACKGROUND: A TYC investigation confirmed cases of abuse at Evins in January 2005, prompting a legislative investigation. Advocates claimed the abuse problem extended statewide, and one mother spoke of her son's abuse that resulted in eight guards getting suspended. Two months later, the TYC director acknowledged there was a lack of oversight at the facility. Last fall, parents of three kids at Evins filed a lawsuit claiming abuse last year. Workers at Evins, on the other hand, say they're not safe while on the job.

RUMBO Scales Back

2006-03-20T13:34:00.000-08:00

Competition makes everyone better, especially in journalism, so when I see a media outlet cut back or go dark, I'm not just sad for the employees, but for the effect on news coverage.

So it's a bummer to see RUMBO, the Spanish-language newspaper chain, drop to three days a week in San Antonio and Houston, cut Valley publication to weekly and cease publication in Austin. The paper will offer issues for free instead of 25 cents per copy and increase the number of copies it distributes.

Rumbo calls it a "refocused strategy" but it really means people out of work and less diversity in reporting.

Election Investigation

2006-03-17T07:39:00.000-08:00

Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott puts the 2004 Hidalgo County Democratic primary under the microscope.

The AG's office wants mail-in ballots from the election of two years ago, KGBT Channel 4 reports. The station has a copy of the attorney general's memo requesting the documents.

According to the memo, the AG's office received "allegations of improprieties with an unknown number of absentee mail-in ballots in that election."

Hidalgo County Elections Administrator Teresa Navarro tells the TV station Abbott's looking into 11 other counties' elections as well.

I'm thrilled to see the AG investigate voter fraud at the county level. If only he would scrutinize city and school board elections as well. Maybe someday ...

In case you forgot, here are some election results of note from the 2004 Dem primary:

Challenger Mando Martinez dropped incumbent Weslaco state Rep. Miguel Wise.
McAllen state Rep. Roberto Gutierrez ended up in a runoff against Veronica Gonzalez.
Edinburg state Rep. Aaron Peña held off challenger Eddie Saenz.
Buddy de la Rosa and Juan Maldonado made it past the first round to vie for Hidalgo County Democratic Party chairman.
Lupe Treviño booted Henry Escalon from the Hidalgo County Sheriff's Office.

Shine On

2006-03-15T09:16:00.000-08:00

Celebrating Sunshine Week, an annual observance of the public's right to know what our government's up to.

Why should you care about access to government information? The introduction to the Texas Public Information Act answers that question:

... The people, in delegating authority, do not give their public servants the right to decide what is good for the people to know and what is not good for them to know. The people insist on remaining informed so that they may retain control over the instruments they have created.

In other words, we give the government power to enforce laws, levy taxes and so on. But that government is made up of individuals who must remain accountable to the rest of us.

The Legislature encourages this accountability with a law from last session. Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott, who enforces open government laws in the Lone Star State, praises local and state officials complying with this requirement for public employees to undergo open government training.

Hopefully this will cut down on some of the delays members of the public encounter when seeking public documents. Remember, they work for us.

Time for Some Sunshine

2006-03-14T09:09:00.000-08:00

It's kind of appropriate that as I catch some rays during my spring break, journalists everywhere observe Sunshine Week (March 12-18) in order to remind the public how vital open government is to our society.

All over Texas, news outlets remind us why governments should be forthcoming with public records. The Brownsville Herald links open government to a free country:

A nation that keeps its people informed of its actions generally pursues policies that the people support and are willing to defend. Secretive governments usually exist in the most tyrannical regimes, where paranoid leaders shroud themselves in secrecy. ...
All too often — especially in the Rio Grande Valley — ... [o]nce in office, controlling millions of dollars in tax funds and able to determine who gets chunks of it, many public officials become power brokers who steer public assets and contracts to friends, family and political allies.

Unfortunately, I haven't found much more from Valley media about Sunshine Week. Elsewhere in the state, the Houston Chronicle asks students to submit open records requests to their schools:

The project reflects the importance of such requests in professional reporting. Court filings, verdicts and salaries of public employees are all delicate materials that many in power would prefer to keep to themselves. But these data tell the public how their taxes are spent and laws administered. Public documents are often the only clues that resources are being misused.

The Dallas Morning News edititorializes about how open government laws protect ordinary Texans' right to know vital details such as police reports, school administrator salaries and pollution sites:

Texas' muscular open-records law is the citizen's biggest advocate in dealing with such matters of public interest, all of which would be documented for the common good by people paid with tax dollars.

The Jacksonville (Texas) Daily Progress explains the Texas Public Information Act and reminds us that taxpayers pay public employees' salaries, and therefore we have a right to know how our money gets spent:

If you have a problem with sharing your work and speaking to the public, there’s probably a job for you at Halliburton, but not with a city or school.

The Beamont Enterprise points out that open government laws apply to everybody, not just journalists:

While reporters file many of the requests government agencies receive, parents, teachers and everyone else have as much right to that information as the media.

And the alt weekly San Antonio Current offers some tips for filing open records requests because:

Citizens have a right to complete government information. Public federal, state, or local agencies should not be able to withhold information because it is embarrassing or inconvenient.

This post grows long because I hold this subject very dear to my heart. I'll post more later, but let me leave you with this:

Attention, public employees and elected officials: They are not YOUR records. Those documents belong to ALL OF US. We paid for 'em, so hand 'em over.

Font Size Matters

2006-03-09T08:51:00.000-08:00

Is former Edinburg mayor Joe Ochoa breaking Texas election rules? Anonymous blogger Earn My Vote at Edinburg Politics says Ochoa's mayoral campaign advertising violates state law.

Earn links to the Ethics Commission's "what you need to know" pamphlet on political advertising, which says candidates can't imply that they hold an elected position if they aren't actually the incumbent. If they're the challenger, they have to use the word "for" in their material:

The word "for" must be at least one-half the type size as the name of the office and should appear immediately before the name of the office. [emphasis added]

According to this image of Ochoa's campaign material (is it from an advertisement, a sign or a commercial?) that Earn provides, the letters spelling "for" appear less than one-fourth the size of the word "mayor."

Has it already been three years since voters ousted Mayor Joe, resulting in a huge turnover in Edinburg city government? This should be an interesting race to watch.

Arresting Development

2006-03-08T14:16:00.000-08:00

This week from the Valley's new independent weekly, The Paper of South Texas (DISCLOSURE: I do freelance editing for the publication): School police arrest a union organizer for trespass when she sets foot in the McAllen Independent School District bus barn.

Hortencia Armindariz works for Service Employees International Union. She says the district cops never warned her she was trespassing before slapping the cuffs on. The real reason for the arrest, district employees say, is that she's teaching school workers to stand up for their rights:

Throughout the past several months, Armendariz has been working closely with transportation and other MISD employees to help them learn how to inform the administration about problems that workers are faced with, explained Rosa Medina, an MISD school bus assistant and union member.

"We have problems with the distribution of hours, here in the transportation department. We don't have enough food-service staff to handle cooking food for all the schools," Medina said.

But the McAllen school district administration doesn't like being questioned. It extends to the supposedly open forum during board meetings, in which board members refuse to allow employees to talk. When non-employees try to bring up problems, they get muzzled as well:

A union organizer mentions an administrator's name, then a board member stops the discussion to proclaim that names can't be mentioned in open forum. An organizer mentions the phrase access to open forum, and a board member quickly states that the organizer is off topic. One organizer in the last school board meeting tried to circumvent restrictions by relating the district's silencing of speech to the history of the Chicano movement. The board allowed the organizer to mention the Chicano movement, but not to draw a connection with the district's public forum policy.

District officials don't want to respond to questions about this issue:

Phone calls placed last week by The Paper of South Texas to the MISD Information Office, as well as e-mails sent to superintendent Yolanda Chapa and board member Sara Tippit, remained unanswered as of press time.

The answer is clear -- McAllen school officials think they're above scrutiny.

Television Station Award Winners

2006-03-07T10:39:00.000-08:00

The Texas Associated Press Broadcasters also names two local English-language TV stations in this year's list of award winners. They competed in Division 2, which includes stations from Austin, El Paso and East Texas.

KGBT Channel 4 sports director Clay Williams wins second place in the Best Sportscast category for a May 24, 2005 spot. Rob Keltner brings home honorable mention in Best Feature Editing/General News for Streets of Speed/Hall of Shame.

KRGV NewsChannel 5 as a whole earns second place in Best Spot Coverage/Station for "Judge Resigns" (I assume this is the Aparicio resignation/suicide coverage). Reporter Tony Castelan and Everardo Chapa get an honorable mention in Best Feature/Serious for the report "La Santita." Anchor Will Ripley, Mireya Villarreal and Israel Alfaro take home a second-place award in Best Investigative for the report "Teacher Sex," and Ripley and Mel Sayavedra win first place in Best General Assignment for the report "Border Battle."

Congratulations to these broadcasters as well.

Radio Station Award Winners

2006-03-07T09:44:00.000-08:00

The Texas Associated Press Broadcasters announces the winners in the 2005-2006 contests for radio and TV broadcasts. Edinburg radio station KURV 710 brings home several awards, thanks to its news crew.

News anchor Sergio Sanchez earns second place for Best Newscast for "The Drive Home" (aired March 30, 2005); sportscaster Jeff Koch grabs second for Best Sportscast for "The Drive Home" (aired October 14, 2005); and news director Tim Sullivan gets top honors in Best Continuing Coverage for his reporting on the McAllen vote fraud and honorable mention for Best Reporter.

The station as a whole notches a second-place award for Best Spot News/Station for its coverage of Judge Aparicio's suicide and a No. 2 ribbon for Best Website.

Congratulations, guys.

Of Course Not

2006-03-07T09:03:00.000-08:00

The headline in The Monitor's latest story on politiqueras asks, "They say reform ... but do they mean it?"

Of course they mean it -- for the other candidates. Look how they try to weasel out when reporter James Osborne asks politicians about their own politiquera history:

Questions are referred to campaign treasurers or quickly cut off with something along the lines of, "I don’t really want to get into that," as former McAllen mayor and recent candidate Othal Brand recently replied.

The politiqueras themselves are pissed because Democratic Party chairman Juan Maldonado openly acknowledges the dirty little secret and is calling for a little reform.

"We were like, ‘How come he has to bring this all up in public? He can call us privately,’" said Rosa Peña, a politiquera from San Juan.

Right, how dare he try to put the brakes on this gravy train of looted ballots, intimidated voters and stolen elections? I guess politiqueras do have a sense of shame, if they don't like public scrutiny of their dishonest tactics.

Of course, Maldonado isn't too thrilled that these electioneering mercenaries might increase their price:

"Sooner or later it’s not going to be $1,500. It’s going to be $10,000 or $20,000," he said.

At least once the election's over, state investigators and citizen watchdog groups can pore over the campaign finance reports and voting records to catch some of the sloppier election thieves.

Politiquera History

2006-03-06T12:04:00.000-08:00

James Osborne of The Monitor has another story on politiqueras, this one discussing the history of the paid political operatives. Their power grew when the state laws expanded early voting rules, resulting in the abuses we see to this day.

I wonder what examination of Hidalgo County's mail-in and early voting ballots from this year will uncover.

Popular Politiqueras

2006-03-05T18:33:00.000-08:00

The Monitor's James Osborne looks at politiqueras in Hidalgo County, whom nobody says they like, but everybody hires. He notes that Democratic Party Chairman Juan Maldonado has taken steps to rein in these political mercenaries:

The longtime politico and former mayor of San Juan has since gotten agreements from virtually every Democrat running in Tuesday’s primary to pay politiqueras by check instead of cash, which he says will provide greater transparency and cut down on the fraud many officials are now calling endemic to the politiquera system.

The reporter also talks to some politiqueras, who say they're providing a valuable service and helping people perform their civic duty. Of course, they (and the candidates who buy their services) still manage to intimidate voters -- even longtime civic activists like Futuro McAllen member Nedra Kinerk:

When I was working as an election judge, I had politiqueras trying to intimidate us to get into the election area," she said. "I had one candidate who came in yelling at me and threatening me … I won’t say his name, but he’s still politically active."

I wish she would name this politician. The only way to halt this thuggish behavior is through public shaming of the bullying candidates.

Speaking of shameful behavior, The Paper of South Texas wrote about the politiqueras and their practices last week.

When Ads Attack

2006-03-04T19:05:00.000-08:00

The Hidalgo county judge race turns uglier, with challenger J.D. Salinas invoking the Mission chemical plant lawsuits to score points against incumbent Ramon Garcia.

The Salinas commercial says Garcia pocketed 75 percent of the settlement, and "that doesn't leave much for families exposed to banned pesticides."

The plaintiffs in that lawsuit want the ad taken off the air, they tell Channel 4.

"It's very upsetting especially for people who have lost loved ones. To be used for political game, it's just not right, it's not right," says Ginger Silva.

Garcia says the commercial is nothing but lies, and points out that he took a 15 percent commission. The Mission folks say they are cool with that.

The question is, why do candidates drop close to a half-million each in campaign spending for a job that pays less than $100,000 a year?

Politics as Usual

2006-03-04T18:47:00.000-08:00

With early voting over, we're in the home stretch to see who ends up in a position to reward their cronies and help themselves to taxpayers' money. And at such a critical time, it's interesting to see what politicians are up to right now.

A judge grants a restraining order against Democratic Party chair Juan Maldonado, preventing him from replacing election judges. A candidate had complained about those replacements.

The expected voter turnout on Tuesday? About 13 percent.

Here's Omar

2006-03-02T21:57:00.000-08:00

Hidalgo County's highest-ranking telecommuter, District Clerk Omar Guerrero, emerges from his secret hideout to chat with NewsChannel 5 (which "checked Omar Guerrero’s office six times in recent weeks and only found him in the office once").

Guerrero doesn't say too much about his arrest last fall on marijuana and DWI charges, because the case is still looming. He does, however, apologize:

"But I can tell you I am sorry for my bad judgment. And that I'm sorry to the people of Hidalgo county,” he said.

So the district clerk earns some respect for his apology. He then goes on to say that the bank suing him for failing to repay a loan is financing and endorsing his opponent's campaign. Make of that what you will.

(Finally) Doing the Right Thing

2006-03-02T16:58:00.000-08:00

Shame, or perhaps a sense of the inevitable, overtakes Aaron Gonzalez, who resigns from his position as Edcouch-Elsa school board president.

Gonzalez, of course, remains behind bars on charges of witness tampering after a judge denies him bond. The feds originally busted Gonzalez last December for conspiracy to commit extortion, mail fraud and bribery.

I called for Gonzalez to step down back then and last week. The blog South Texican predicted his resignation yesterday, and ST's source was right on the money.

Meanwhile, a second local blog, Republic of the Rio Grande, says the charges against Gonzalez may lead to trouble for other local candidates. Still another blog, RGV Politics, has an essay on the disgraced E-E leader from earlier this week.

The Battle for the Ballots

2006-03-01T20:37:00.000-08:00

The Rio Grande Valley's newest alternative media outlet, The Paper of South Texas, has its second issue out on the streets. (DISCLOSURE: I'm doing freelance editing for the publication.) This week, The Paper takes a look at politiqueras and how they browbeat votes out of the elderly.

Thanks to increased scrutiny of easily manipulated mail-in-ballots after the indictment of some political workers, politiqueras are taking a new approach to extracting votes, The Paper says:

In order to fill the mail-in ballot gap, politiqueras and the politicians who pay them are putting most of their resources into early voting at election sites - a technique that requires rental cars, precise mapping of political subdivisions, and big, big campaign budgets, explained Carmen De Leon, a political organizer and notary public in south McAllen who serves as a magnet for complaints of voter fraud.
The losers remain the elderly, and democracy itself, according to De Leon.“These elections are so dirty, it’s really just pathetic,” said De Leon - a person who has been involved with grassroot political campaigns most of her life and who has seen the development of the politiquera system throughout its four-decade history.

The result: manipulative campaign workers guiding clueless senior citizens to the polls, where they vote according to the politiqueras' orders. As I said yesterday, this blatant manipulation needs to stop. Perhaps advocacy groups like Proyecto Libertad, GRUPO Poder and others could send some members to keep an eye on thuggish behavior at polling places.

Elsewhere in this week's issue, The Paper endorses candidates in the upcoming election, earning some props over on state Rep. Aaron Peña's blog:

What proved to me that the folks over at The Paper were really serious is that their second edition has actual endorsements from their editorial board. That was refreshing and proved to me that these folks were not going to take the easy road. Look, because of the serious and personal nature of South Texas politics, the safer bet would be to stay away from endorsements, this is dangerous and uncharted territory.

Also in this issue: Is the Valley ready for The Vagina Monologues? Some RGV media outlets are a little uncomfortable listing that title in their events calendars.

Assault on Voters

2006-02-28T11:01:00.000-08:00

For the second time in a week, a pushy "election assistant" manhandles an elderly voter. The "assistant" (that is, a poltiquera) forces her way into the voting booth as a woman from an adult day care facility tries to cast her vote, NewsChannel 5 reports.

The first case happened in Pharr, when a woman yanked a potential voter out the door; this time the bullying took place in McAllen.

This is outrageous. These political parasites are depriving individuals of their right to vote. Why aren't election workers being more forceful in keeping these vote-stealing vermin out of our polling places?

Do we need police stationed at voting locations to stop this voter abuse? If so, the Hidalgo County Democratic Party should pick up the tab. Maybe if politicians had to pay for the cleanup, they would stop hiring people who make such a big mess.

Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott chases down voter fraud in Texarkana, Pecos, Corpus Christi, and North Texas. We need him to come hunt these criminals in the Rio Grande Valley.

Redistricting Redux

2006-02-28T09:15:00.000-08:00

The United States Supreme Court hears arguments over Texas redistricting starting tomorrow. If the justices toss the 2003 redistricting, it could mean new primary elections. According to the Houston Chronicle story:

Confused? Wait until Wednesday afternoon. In a special two-hour argument session, a newly reshaped high court is expected to ping-pong questions at lawyers on each side of the dispute. The justices' task is to dissect the finer points of four cases that challenge everything from the timing of the redistricting to the alleged dilution of minority voting strength to the inherently partisan nature of political gerrymandering to whether the court should even be deciding these matters.

Courts have pretty much always allowed gerrymandering -- the idea being that politicians, not judges, should make the rules for carving up congressional districts. In my nonlawyerly opinion, the question in this case is whether the redistricting goes too far and violates the Voting Rights Act. Some Justice Department lawyers agree that it does.

Here's hoping the Supremes do what's right and throw out the 2003 map.

"The Paper" Hits the Stands

2006-02-25T14:16:00.000-08:00

A new publication debuts in the Rio Grande Valley. The premier issue of The Paper of South Texas features a story on the Tripa Club coming to an end, earning a nod from state Rep. Aaron Peña on his blog. (DISCLOSURE: I have done and plan on doing freelance editing work for The Paper.)

The Paper of South Texas is an alternative weekly along the lines of the Dallas Observer or the Houston Press. These alt-weeklies often tackle edgy stories and controversial topics, and the new Valley publication declares in an editorial that it will do the same:

Unlike other news outlets, our news department is completely autonomous. We’re set up so that news can’t be molded, stifled, or silenced by anybody. Advertising or political considerations will never influence news content of The Paper. News decisions will be based on journalistic ethics and ideals, not by “influential” citizens or the almighty advertising dollar. We’ll be hard-hitting, accurate, relevant and in some cases, biting. Let the chips fall where they may.

The Paper of South Texas promises upcoming stories on "the McAllen politiquera scandal, a questionable arrest made recently by McAllen ISD police, a lawsuit filed against public officials in the mid-Valley, and many others." In addition, it offers coverage of entertainment, cultural events and restaurants.

Good luck to the Valley's newest publication.

Still Shoveling

2006-02-24T10:37:00.000-08:00

When you're in a hole, the first thing you do to get out of it is stop digging. But Edcouch-Elsa school board president Aaron Luis Gonzalez won't put down the shovel.

Gonzalez already faces federal bribery charges. Now he goes and gets arrested for witness tampering. The feds say he tried to get two E-E school district employees to give false statements for his defense in the bribery case.

If Edcouch and Elsa community members have any sense of embarrassment, they should demand Gonzalez's resignation. Instead, the school district has students write him thank-you notes.