Two meetings tonight:
1) The Port Isabel School Board has a Annova LNG tax break request on it's agenda.
2) A hearing on a proposed reopening of a gas well in Edinburg.
Also: A petition asking the Cameron County Commissioners' court to vote no on Annova LNG's property tax break request.
Also: Please check the attached list of groups opposed to LNG, concerned about LNG, or keeping an open mind about LNG. Is the list complete? Is it correct?
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1) Tonight's Port Isabel School Board meeting, Sept 15, 6 pm (get there early if you want to sign up to make a public comment).
Point Isabel ISD will consider tax breaks for Annova LNG this Tuesday at 6:00 pm in the Central Administration Building Board Room located at 101 Port Road, Port Isabel, TX. Please arrive with your NO LNG signs early in order to sign up to speak in open forum. And let's make sure that their inboxes are full of (polite) letters urging them to reject tax breaks for LNG. Email the Board Members at:
See the articles listed below regarding Annova LNG's request for a tax break from the Cameron County Commissioners' Court. Read how it's legal for corporations to bribe school districts to get a reduction in their school taxes. And how corporations like Annova use a 1997 revision to the Texas property tax law to avoid paying their fair share of property taxes.
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2) Tonight's Edinburg City Council meeting, Sept 15, 6 pm (get there early if you want to sign up to make a public comment).
Stefanie Herweck says "Got my sticker and 100 more like it. Please come out to Edinburg City Hall, 415 West University Drive, at 6 pm TONIGHT and tell the City Council NO oil wells in residential neighborhoods!"
For additional information (including map), see "Public hearing set for natural gas well in Edinburg,"The Monitor, 09-01-2015, http://www.themonitor.com/
"A public hearing this month is set for a new natural gas well slated to be drilled inside city limits near the intersection of Sugar and Wisconsin roads"
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Petition asking Cameron County Commissioners' Court to say NO to Annova's tax cut request:
TELL OUR CAMERON COUNTY COMMISSIONERS COURT TO VOTE NO TO TAX ABATEMENTS FOR ANOVA LNG. Sign the petition (and add a comment) by going to saveRGVfromLNG on Facebook and clicking the link there.
Or email your comments directly to the Judge and Commissioners:
psepulveda@co.cameron.tx.us
sofia.benavides@co.cameron.tx.us
alex.dominguez@co.cameron.tx.us
dagarza@co.cameron.tx.us
dan.sanchez@co.cameron.tx.us
For information about the down side of such tax cuts for corporations, see:
Robbing “Robin Hood”: How Texas school districts subsidize wealthy corporations at the expense of the state’s public education fund, Part 1 of 2 in a Series, Texans for Public Justice, http://info.tpj.org/watchyourassets/robinhood/ Gulf Coast Polluters Dominate School-Tax Breaks, Part 2 of 2 in a Series, Texans for Public Justice, http://info.tpj.org/watchyourassets/robinhood/ parttwo/ "Shortfall: How an obscure amendment to the state’s property tax code helps corporations leave counties—and citizens—stretched thin" by Brenda Bell, Texas Observer, 01-14-2015, http://www.texasobserver.org/property-taxes-texas-corporatio ns-citizen-stretched-thin/
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LNG: GROUPS OPPOSED TO, SERIOUSLY CONCERNED, OR AT LEAST UNDECIDED
[Last Reviewed 09-14-2015. Additions? Corrections?]
OPPOSED:
On 08-07-2015 the Laguna Madre Water District voted against LNG! http://elibrary.ferc.gov/
On 08-11-2015 the Surfrider Foundation, South Texas Chapter, sent a comment to FERC opposing LNG! http://elibrary.ferc.gov/
On 08-25-2015 the Port Isabel City Commission voted to oppose LNG!
On 08-26-2015 the South Padre Island Business Owners Association voted to oppose LNG!
On 09-01-2015 the Laguna Vista Town Council voted to oppose LNG!
On 09-02-2015 the South Padre Island City Commission voted to oppose LNG!
On 09-03-2015, the RGV Hispanic Chamber of Commerce submitted a letter to FERC opposing LNG! http://elibrary.ferc.gov/
On 09-03-2015, the LRGV Sierra Club Chapter submitted a letter to FERC opposing LNG!http://elibrary.ferc.gov/
CONCERNED:
On 08-24-2015 Texas Parks & Wildlife submitted a three page comment to FERC listing 26 concerns about the LNG proposals. http://elibrary.ferc.gov/
On 08-27-2015 Sea Turtle, Inc sent a letter of concern to FERC regarding LNG. http://elibrary.ferc.gov/
On 09-03-2015 Defenders of Wildlife sent a letter of concern to FERC regarding LNG. http://elibrary.ferc.gov/
On 09-04-2015, the Lone Star Chapter of the Sierra Club and saveRGVfromLNG submitted a letter of concern to FERC regarding LNG. http://elibrary.ferc.gov/
UNDECIDED:
On 08-18-2015 the South Padre Island Economic Development Corporation rejected a Texas LNG request for a Letter of Support. Mentioned in passing at http://www.themonitor.com/
On 09-02-2015 the Brownsville Chamber of Commerce CEO stated that the Chamber has made no official or formal endorsements of the proposed LNG facilities. http://riograndeguardian.com/
On 09-08-2015 the Cameron County Commissioners' Court tabled an item regarding an Annova LNG property tax abatement request pending advice from an outside financial expert to determine the true cost of the proposed abatement to the county. http://www.brownsvilleherald.
Add the Port Isabel EDC to the list of those voting NO.
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