(Beatles) Come Together - Sungha Jung

Luis Saenz Press Conference on Amit Livingston Capture in India

Cameron County District Attorney Press Release on Amit Livingston Apprehension in India

Candidate Kesha Rogers Sings at Pastor Brad Burke's Faith Church, Brownsville, TX

Democratic U.S. Senate Candidate Kesha Rogers, Shunned by County Democratic Party, Shares Message Locally

U.S. Senate Candidate Kesha Rogers is spending a few days in the Rio Grande Valley, spreading a message she shares with longtime political candidate and economist Lyndon LaRouche, that President Obama should be impeached immediately and Wall Street bankrupted with a reinstatement of the Glass-Steagall Act.  

"How is your call for Obama to be impeached accepted in the African-American community?" was my question to Rogers, herself a 37 year old African- American from Houston.

"Well, it's better accepted now, than at first.  Obama currently has a 37 per cent approval rating, so, many people are not happy with his performance as President," Rogers stated.  (Of course, among African Americans, that approval rating would likely be much higher.)

"Is Obama the first President you've wanted impeached?" I asked.

"Oh, no.  I called for the impeachment of George W. Bush and (Vice President) Dick Cheney," replied Rogers.

The articulate Ms. Rogers, a 2001 graduate of Texas State University, fielded questions with ease in our Wednesday morning interview.  Former Presidents Franklin D. Roosevelt and John F. Kennedy are her political heroes, because they fought against British imperialism.  She views British Queen Elizabeth, her husband Prince Philip and son, Prince Charles, as real threats to the United States.

When I stated that I viewed Queen Elizabeth as an old lady who drank tea and her husband, Prince Phillip, as a man who simply walked three steps behind her, Rogers whipped out a chart detailing the vast control of the old British empire. British Prime Minister Winston Churchill, initially wanted a concord with Adolph Hitler, Rogers explained, but was persuaded by President Roosevelt to oppose Hitler's push to control Europe.

"Are there any of the teachings of Lyndon LaRouche with which you disagree?"  I asked.  Ms. Rogers pondered for a moment.  She was sure there were some areas of disagreement, but she couldn't think of any at that moment.  

Then, pointing to her husband, Ian Overton, and another associate, I asked:  "Do you ever disagree with these folks on political issues?"  

"We had a political disagreement just this morning," her husband stated.  

Lyndon LaRouche, now 91

Rogers states that Obama has been dismissive about technology available to destroy asteroids before they enter the earth's atmosphere.  Global warming, CO2 emissions into the atmosphere are not legitimate scientific issues in Roger's view.

Rogers, who Sunday gave "musical testimony" at a Brownsville church, is scheduled to appear at the monthly meeting of the local Tea Party at Antonio's Restaurant on Paredes Line Road at 6:30 PM Wednesday night.  

Efforts to meet with Cameron County Democratic officials have been rebuffed.  "Amber won't meet with me," stated Rogers, in reference to Cameron County Democratic Chair, Amber Medina.  Rogers suspected this was due to the influence of Gilberto Hinojosa, the Texas State Democratic Chair, who has tried to undermine the Rogers candidacy.

Rogers finished 2nd among 5 candidates in the Texas Democratic Primary March 4, 2014.  She faces millionaire David Alameel in the May 27 runoff election.
  

City Commission Meeting, 5/6/14~More Spending From the AEP Texas Settlement Fund

Pastor Brad Burke

After the U.S. and Texas flags had received their pledges of allegiance, Pastor Brad asked "the Lord God" to bless the City Commission, after which he basked in the glow of a successful "prayer night for our country, city and state" at Sam's Stadium.  Not one to hog the credit, Brad made it clear that "others" had worked long hours to get God's attention at that event held May 1.

After Brad's prayer, the City Commission stuck a knife deeply in the backs of Brownsville taxpayers, more than doubling their parking meter fees downtown and giving away the development of the Port of Brownsville railway line to OmniTRAX, owned by a Denver high roller.  The railway giveaway was in the form of Resolution 2014-039, while the parking meter raise was cleverly concealed in the "Consent Agenda '"a" through "m."  It was Item "d," passed, without a whimper, despite 18 out of 20 speaking at a town hall forum being against it.(This City Commission does not listen to the citizens nor and blocks the broadcast of Public Comment.)  

Two higher ticket items dipped back into the AEP Texas Settlement Fund: The $115,000 earmarked for the remodeling of 609. 611 and 615 E. 11th Street, to be turned into a museum, a Downtown Revitalization Headquarters and a Brownsville Police Department substation.  I suspect the lease on the old Downtown Brownsville Revitalization Information Office at 1101-A E. Washington Street, leased from October 8, 2013 will not be renewed.  Also, $175,000 for the city's part in the shortfall on Brownsville Metro's downtown parking garage.

Commissioner Debbie Portillo

Commissioner Debbie Portillo asked Assistant Finance Director Lupe Granado how much was left in the AEP Texas Refund balance after the two large expenditures. Inexplicably, Lupe didn't know. Commissioner Ricardo Longoria, lately grandstanding, said:  "Well, we need to know," but didn't actually press the matter. It's just subtraction, Lupe, but subtraction the commissioners themselves should have been able to do.  Remember, it was Portillo, along with Commissioner Villarreal, who had questioned the mayor's spending from the $3,060,000 AEP Texas Fund January 27 with this agenda item:
2. Consideration and ACTION to acknowledge the expenditures paid from the AEP lawsuit settlement proceeds and to approve an expenditure budget from the remaining proceeds.(Commissioners J. Villarreal/D. Portillo)

At that time, the Mayor had spent nearly $400,000 our of the fund, so last night's two expenditures removed another $290,000, leaving about $2.37 million.  

Mayor Tony Martinez

Martinez seemed unclear as to which downtown parking garage was being funded, unless he was simply asking a rhetorical question:   "So, this is for the parking garage to be built across from the multi-modal facility?" he asked.  Actually, Martinez was probably jet-lagged as he was pictured on Facebook May 5th with outgoing UTB President Juliet Garcia in Washington D.C.  

Assistant Brownsville Metro Director Andrew Munoz, explained that the additional funds for the parking garage were "owner items," for "testing the concrete, the welds," etc. procedures not covered by the buildings initial funding.  He described the future garage as "4 stories, with the lower story committed to retail shops and restaurants."

Brownsville's Elite Celebrate Cinco de Mayo in Washington D.C.

Cinco de Mayo 2014, Downtown Brownsville, Texas

609, 611 & 615 E. 11th St.  Monies for remodeling these properties is on the

5/6/14 City Commission agenda:  

Action Items

11.  Consideration and ACTION on Resolution Number 2014-038 to amend the General Fund Budget to provide $115,000 for the E. 11th Street Buildings Renovations (Lupe Granado-Finance)

Two of these properties were purchased during the City Commission's real estate buying spree of 2012 with a third bought with money from the $3,060,000 AEP Texas Refund.  The original plan called for a "central, downtown mayor's office and police substation."  That was later changed to a "substation and community room."  The latest revised plan calls for a police substation, museum and "Downtown Revitalization Headquarters."  Interestingly, a Downtown Brownsville Revitalization Information Office sits across the street at 1101-A E. Washington that has hardly been used since the taxpayers were put on the hook for a lease October 8, 2013.(The money for the lease also came out of the AEP Texas Refund.)

Sign in front of City-Annexed El Tapiz Building

Announcing "May Is Bike Month"

Downtown Dance

Brownsville/South Padre Island International Airport Revenue Surges~Is This Due to I.C.E. Flights of Deportees Now Flying Out of Brownsville?

Hunt Pan Am at Brownsville Airport

At last Wednesday's meeting of the Airport Advisory Board, a report was read indicating the projected revenue for the fiscal year had already been achieved.  By year's end actual revenue would nearly double projections.  No further explanation was given.

Since the meeting we've learned that U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, I.C.E., has terminated their relationship with the Harlingen International Airport to send deportees back to Central and South America and is using the Brownsville/South Padre Island International Airport, at least on a trial basis for the last 60 days.  

Buses of deportees surrounded by armed I.C.E. agents have been observed around the Hunt-Pan Am building as early as 7:00 AM.  We're told that airport personnel are not involved with everything being handled by I.C.E.  

A call to Hunt-Pan Am this morning verified the company indeed has a relationship with Immigration and Customs, but they would not give out details. When I mentioned that airport revenue seemed to be up considerable because of this operation, the agent said:  "Of course."  

Both Hunt-Pan Am and the airport are likely beneficiaries of what has been reported as a trial relationship.  Hunt-Pan Am is what is known as a Fixed Base Operator, providing services for a fee while the airport collects landing fees and other revenue.

Bobby Wightman-Cervantes Explains His Relationship with DA Information Officer Melissa Zamora and District Attorney Saenz

From the editor:  We've featured blog comments in the past by E.F. Muhammed Martinez, Pat Ahumada and others, because they raised issues that begged discussion.  

This article features a comment by Bobby Wightman-Cervantes, publisher of the BROWNSVILLE VOICE blog, a must read for those interested in the courts, BISD and local politics.  Bobby's self-described "document-driven" blog is frequently unreadable, as he himself explains he's more content oriented than a slave to syntax, spelling, grammar or sentence structure.  "The reader must use discernment," or, in other words, focus on what the man is trying to say.

When I've said in the past that "Bobby finds the dots, just can't connect them," that wasn't meant unkindly.  The research is irrefutable, such as the administrative address of the fly-by-night, make believe airlines, Fly Frontera, being the home address of convicted RICO felon, Carlos Quintanilla or the political maneuvering leading to BISD's dismissal of the Healthsmart lawsuit.

Evidence gathering is one skill.  Forming a conclusion, based on that evidence, is another. Wightman's unique gift is in the former.  

This particular comment of Bobby's deals with my cry of foul that he was getting press releases from the District Attorney's Information Officer Melissa Zamora while Melissa failed to even respond to my request.  

Bobby admits below that he was getting press releases from Melissa until he refused to publish all of District Attorney Saenz' "propaganda."  He encourages me to use my feeble people skills to cultivate more "contacts' within the District Attorney's Office, something I'm not likely to do.

Following Bobby's comment, I will print an anonymous response that responds to issues raised by Bobby.  I will leave it to the readers to dissect Bobby's statement and those of the anonymous responder.

BobbyWCMay 2, 2014 at 11:35 AM

Jim your claims about my relationship with Melissa are simply false. Since it was made clear to Saenz I

Blogger Bobby Wightman-Cervantes

would not print all of his propaganda I have received nothing from Melissa - before that I was on the list - you seem to think it is Melissa's fault you did not ask earlier to be placed on the list. After Saenz ordered me cut off everything has been done as a public information request. _ something you yourself can do.

Instead of playing the game of saying I am Melissa's voice because you have no sources willing to talk to you at the DA's office - you might want to learn to nurture relationships with ADA's instead of doing the blame game and blaming Melissa Zamora.

Also you statement insults Saenz in ways I would not even insult Saenz. You are suggesting my negative coverage is Melissa's voice - that is shameful. Saenz is many things - but being totally stupid is no one of them. He is very artful at the game of politics. He would never tolerate Melissa feeding me or anyone else negative information on him.

My sources are county employees and ADA's who have come to trust me. It takes time to nurture those type relationships - you might try working at it instead of defaming Melissa and saying I am her voice - shameful is all I can say. And again not even I would insult Saenz with such an insult of incompetence to not know Melissa is feeding me information.

Bobby WC

Below is an anomymous commenter's response to Wightman:

AnonymousMay 2, 2014 at 1:48 PM

Anyone notice a pattern here? First, our friend, denies the charges but in an oblique manner that does not directly address the charge of his receiving inside information from Zamora. He states that he was cut off from the official list when he would not "print" propaganda. Then he states: "After Saenz ordered me cut off everything has been done as a public information request. _ something you yourself can do." What does everything mean? Because later in his comment he gloats about his nurtured sources within the DA's office. Or, does he mean that a PIR is the only contact he has had with Zamora since he was removed from the list?

But of course, he must bring in an attack on Saenz by way of Jim "insulting" the DA by thinking he could be so stupid as to allow Zamora to feed negative information. Notice that he does not say that Zamora did not feed him negative information, only that the DA would not be so stupid as to allow it.

Next, he works on the old self aggrandizement by pointing out that he has nurtured sources within the DA's office.

Then comes the attack on Jim for not "working" on said nurturing instead of "defaming" Zamora.

Why does he not just come flat out and say he has never received any DA office information from Zamora that was not included in official press releases or requested by a PIR? I will leave it to the reader to ponder the question.

Melissa Zamora Responds Finally to Our Request for Press Releases~The Answer is "No!"

From the editor:  We did finally receive a response from Public Information Officer Melissa Zamora to our email sent 4/25/14 requesting to be placed on the press release list.  This reply came only after we mentioned her unresponsiveness in a blog article published this morning.  She claims the District Attorney's Office has a policy of NOT furnishing such releases to bloggers, only "media outlets." Would it be petty to point out the spelling error in her letter? Probably.  I highlighted it anyway just as I would have done for any "media outlet" failing to proofread their work.

Actually, young Ms. Zamora's list includes two Harlingen bloggers, My Leader News by Jerry Deal and My Harlingen News by Tony Chapa, featuring a daily Bible verse.  The list of official "media outlets" also includes the UTB Collegian and the political website Rio Grande Guardian.

Perhaps, it's time the District Attorney's Office thought this policy out more clearly and shared information more evenhandedly.  Information is conveyed differently than just a few years ago.  

Juan Montoya's El Rrun Rrun blog passed the 5,000,000 mark in all-time page views recently, while, in a short time of operation, Mean Mister Brownsville has gone well past 1,000,000.  These are numbers probably staggering to Melissa, who used to pen the seldom read Blogging All Things Brownsville.





Press Releases‏
Actions
Melissa Zamora
11:38 AM
Photos


To: Jim Barton


Good morning,

It is the policy of the DA’s Office to not include bloggers on the official media distribution list. However, all press released are available to the public via the DA Web site which are immediately posted upon distribution. I re-designed the DA Web site early last year to make it user-friendly. Prior to January 2013, press releases were not posted and much of the information now available on our Web site was unavailable.

Below is a list of media outlets I e-mail press releases to:
The Brownsville Herald
The Valley Morning Star
The Monitor
San Benito News
La Feria News
Los Fresnos News
Rio Hondo News
Port Isabel Press
The Collegian
The Raymondville Chronicle
Edinburg Review
Houston Chronicle
San Antonio Express News
The Associate Press
El Bravo
Periodico Expreso
Periodico El Manana
KVEO News Center 23
Ch. 4 (CBS)
Ch. 5 (ABC)
Fox (RGV)
Univision
Telemundo
Televisa
Telemundo
KURV
My Leader News
My Harlingen News
Rio Grande Guardian

Thank you,

Melissa Zamora
Public Information Officer/Special Projects
Cameron County District Attorney’s Office
District Attorney Luis V. Saenz
www.cameroncountyda.com
(956) 550-1414

District Attorney Information Officer Ignores Our Request for Press Releases

From the editor:  The press release below, shared by Bobby Wightman of the Brownsville Voice, got my attention.  It just seemed inappropriate that Wightman would receive these press releases while the actual Cameron County District Attorney website was pitifully at least a year behind on press releases.  

Melissa Zamora, Public Information
Officer for District Attorney Office

While understanding that Bobby Wightman-Cervantes and Melissa Zamora have a special bond, I sent an email April 25, 2014 to the District Attorney's Public Information Director Zamora, asking that I be included in the press release distribution.  

Bobby Wightman-Cervantes

That request was ignored which leaves the public at a disadvantage.  Wightman and Zamora will certainly have a viewpoint, but this blog usually sees things those two miss.  I sincerely doubt the readership of the Brownsville Voice approaches this blog, but that's irrelevant.  Why is it that Wightman gets special treatment with respect to press releases simply because he and Zamora are cozy?

Juan Montoya of El Rrun Rrun blog enjoys a close access to District Attorney Saenz and presents the view of the district attorney on his blog.

So, we have Luis Saenz and Melissa Zamora represented on the blogs.  What about an independent view?  

Just send us the press releases Melissa as requested.  We will go over them with a fine tooth comb and share our viewpoint with Brownsville.

Below is the most recent press releases listed on the District Attorney's website.  Obviously, Melissa Zamora is at least one year behind in updating the blog.

Please find a list of the most recent press releases.

Press Releases:

2/4/13 - Valdez Pleads Guilty to Aggravated Assault Family Violence

1/29/13 - Fears Sentenced to 50 Years for Sexual Abuse of a Child

1/23/13 - Fears Found Guilty of Continuous Sexual Abuse of a Child

Gilberto Hinojosa, the Dangerous Undercurrent in the Cameron County Judge Race

Texas Democrats looked longingly at the border in 2012, seeing substantial blocks of blue in an essentially red state.  

Without due diligence, the state party, using a so-called logical fallacy, chose Gilberto Hinojosa, the former Cameron County Democratic Chair, to work his magic statewide as chairman of the Texas Democratic Party.  State officials, aware of the uphill battle Democrats faced in their communities, figured Hinojosa must have been doing something right, not understanding the deeply rooted Democratic tradition in hispanic areas.  

Cindy, Gilberto Hinojosa

Had state party officials called south of the Arroyo Colorado, they would have learned that Gilberto Hinojosa is widely viewed  as a pariah, associated with election manipulation, backdoor deals and the kind of political corruption being dealt with slowly, feebly in Cameron County.  Truthfully, many Cameron County Democrats breathed a sigh of relief when Hinojosa was elected as state chair, hoping against hope that he would be sufficiently occupied in his new job so as not to stick his nose into individual races in Cameron County between Democrats.

Sylvia Garza-Perez

Those entertaining such hope were proved wrong, when, this past fall, Hinojosa interjected himself into the Cameron County Judge and Clerk races, and, by default, the eventual appointee to run Cameron County's troubled Human Resources Department.

After inappropriately endorsing and actually introducing Sylvia Garza-Perez as a candidate for County Judge, Gilberto began to have second thoughts.  Was Sylvia, should she get past fellow Democrat Ruben Pena, a strong enough candidate to defeat Republican Carlos Cascos?  Evidently, Hinojosa didn't think so as he approached County Clerk Joe Rivera about running for County Judge and Garza-Perez filing for County Clerk to replace Joe.  

County Clerk Joe Rivera

Even after the brokered deal was in place, Rivera continued to deny:  "Very few have stayed 40 years in one position.  I'd like to reach 40 as County Clerk." That proved untrue as Rivera indeed filed for County Judge.  Sylvia Garza-Perez placed "Clerk" stickers over the word "Judge" on her campaign signs. 

Motivating Hinojosa in this intervention in local Democratic races goes beyond simply promoting the Democratic Party, after all County Judge Candidates Ruben Pena, Martin Arambula are T. Rivera are Democrats, as are clerk candidates Letty Perez-Garzoria, George Kowalski, Don De Leon and Arnold Flores, Jr. Hinojosa's motivation is the deep butthurt he still feels from losing the county judgeship to Carlos Cascos in 2006, then seeing his boy, John Wood, also fall to Cascos in 2010.  In actuality, whether 2006, 2010 or 2014, regardless of the name on the ballot, the reality is it's Gilberto Hinojosa vs. Carlos Cascos.