Taking That Nip Out of the Wintry Air As Jason Hilts Pumps Sunshine into the City of Brownsville

When Nena says she's "freezing," I grab the remote of the electric radiation heater and click the "temp" button until the wires behind the metal grate start to glow orange, kicking on the internal fan.  In only a moment or two, the indoor temperature climbs into the mid-seventies and shivering and teeth-chattering stop.

My neighbors on one side are from Ontario, those on the other side from Saskatchewan, both Canadian provinces where real, not pretend cold prevails.  The "Newfies," Ivan and Carol from Newfoundland-Labrador, normally stay two lots down, but are spending this winter in Merida, Mexico.  These deserving ones, having spent their adult lives scraping the ice off their windshields, then driving to work with hands frozen to the steering wheel for at least a dozen miles before their heaters/defrosters kicked in, have earned the adjective "Winter' attached to their temporary "Texan." Still, the reality of a mild Brownsville cold spell has to be dealt with straight-forwardly.

"No, Don, I don't think you can get a refund for December.  A cold spell like we've endured the last two weeks is considered 'an act of God,' " I explained.  For the umpteenth time, I offered my Miami/Brownsville comparison:  "Yes, we have nearly an identical latitude to Miami(actually Brownsville is 25.93 L, Miami is 25.79) and an almost identical annual mean temperature, but we are hotter in the summer and colder in the winter, so the yearly average is deceiving."  Of course, the real numbers sending thousands of Canadians and U.S. midwestern retirees to the RGV are in the cost of living, Miami is twice as expensive as South Texas for a winter stay.

Sunshine is pumped on a monthly basis by Jason Hilts, Director/CEO of the Brownsville Economic Development Council, the most loquacious player at GBIC meetings. Hilts routinely rattles off companies seriously considering Brownsville, and throws out numbers impressive enough to make the most cynical Brownsville unbeliever want to go out and get baptized with GBIC holy water.   Here is our May 24, 2013 observation on Hilts: 
"When Administrator Jason Hilts appears before the GBIC board, his mission is two-fold; tantalize the board with their favorite buzzwords indicating economic growth, increased revenue AND reassure the members that his tireless efforts on the city's behalf justify his six figure income and lavish travel. Hilts is a salesman and those in sales are always aware of the need to "sell themselves."

One company will provide "300 jobs immediately" but eventually need 600 full-time employees. Another firm will add "1300 jobs over 8 years." "100 machinists at $20,00 per hour" has a nice ring in this impoverished community. While the company's name may be somewhat obscure, we all learn the particulars, however overstated. Just to illustrate, think SpaceX. Even young Debbie Portillo is repeating the line "1000 jobs at a minimum of $55,000" although Elon Musk says nothing close to that in official company projections."

Jason Hilts

Of course, there is the Finnish Foundry(Hilts pronounces the word as "foundary") considering Brownsville to turn scrap into steel at the Port of Brownsville and send it to Monterrey, making Brownsville the "Pittsburgh of South Texas."  Actually, there is already a "Pittsburgh of Mexico;" Monclova, Coahuila, a city we chose not to enter 15 years ago as it seemed covered in a black cloud of pollution.

Perhaps, Hilts is on target and Brownsville will enter the steel industry two centuries late, but, then if Hilts spoke the truth, every Brownsville resident would have 3 jobs paying $15 or $20 dollars per hour.