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| Brownsville Street Department "offered this solution" to three potholes on Pablo Kisel Rd. |
"And Jim, in the future, can you offer some solutions to some of these festering problems? It's not enough to just bitch and moan in an eloquent fashion. You're in danger of becoming just another blowhard . Why waste your spirit. Use your writing talents more effectively."
Constructive criticism is like dollar draft. You just can't get enough. But, in the case of the Brownsville/South Padre International Airport, there is no magic plan needed. Someone, anyone just has to care that the place looks like shit. The old adage "you never get a second chance to make a first impression" fits the hundreds who land at Brownsville for the first time expecting a subtropical paradise and find a rundown 60's vintage terminal and the smell of dirty sock syndrome. As reported this past October, the lobby's main terminal had two recent smoke incidents resulting in a call to the fire department. The culprit? A smoldering and defective part in the HVAC.
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| Leaking, moldy jetways at airport |
Ok, Barton, enough! You've reported this stuff before. What's the solution? Well, it's so simple it's mindblowing. Let me illustrate: If Tony Martinez walks into the restroom of Lola's Bake Shop on Palm Blvd., his place of business, and the soap dispenser doesn't work, how many milliseconds will it be before he barks out orders for an underling to take action? Or, if the awning out front is leaking buckets during a thunderstorm and customers seeking shelter there are getting drenched, how many stone ages before workmen are replacing or repairing the damn thing? Why the quick action? Because he gives a shit about his business, the clientele and the bottom line. For Mayor Tony to reportedly be a frequent customer of the local airport, walking past the daily mess is proof positive he doesn't have the same regard for the City of Brownsville or its facilities.
But, what about Aviation Director Larry Brown? He's been involved in one position or another in city government for four decades and is part of the furniture at the airport. Exactly! When you walk past the same thing day after day, smell the same smells, see the same decor, you become acclimated, comfy. Like Nelson Mandela in the same cell for 28 years, redecorating is not your main concern.
So, here's my goofy plan. Cancel the next meeting of the Airport Advisory Board, but have all the board members meet with a commercial building inspector in front of the terminal. Issue each board member a yellow legal pad and a ballpoint pen. Tour the grounds and facilities, making note of each dead plant, inoperative sprinkler, clogged soap dispenser, dated wall decor and missing air-start unit.
Call the Brownsville Beautification Committee Chairperson. Ask that they devise a landscaping plan that will make first time visitors feel they've landed in a subtropical paradise, not a dusty oil field in West Texas. Fix the damn HVAC system and fix it correctly. Fix the leaky jetways. Order a damn air-start unit, yes, a new one! Find out which city S. Iowa Avenue is in and have them pave the damn thing post-haste.
I don't want to hear about money. It won't even be that much anyway. We're not talking about extending the runway to 12,000 feet as should have been two decades ago. If Tony can find $3,500,000 to buy old downtown buildings the city hasn't even used or has stated plans for, he can find the money to bring our "international" airport into at least the twentieth, if not twenty-first century.
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I have an observation. Why does the airport penny pinch at every waking turn if they are a public enterprise? Shouldn't they be exhausting their coffers every year in order to gain more funds the next year, maybe even increased funds? I have another observation. The soap dispensers are watered down frequently and there is no hot water. Isn't this a liability? An international port of entry should have measures to prevent the spread of disease. Lastly, the cooling/heating situation is laughable. After the new chiller was installed this summer, everything was great, but then when the temperatures dipped into the 40s and the airport lobby was freezing, that was unholy. I guess this is how they prevent the spread of disease when the soap runs dry?
ReplyDeleteThank you, Jim. Now that's an effective and common sense plan for improving the airport so that it can make a good " first impression" and serve and accommodate the passengers well. Now if we can only get any of these insufferable, self-serving, small minded dingbats we call public servants to oblige the wishes of the citizens of Brownsville, maybe more tangible improvements will ensue. But, I ain't going to hold my breath. People need to vote in this town or nothing is going to change all that much. Once again,thank you for your undying interest and concerns for the betterment of Brownsville and its public servants.
ReplyDeleteI think the airport should be left exactly as is. Why build up visitors expectations, only to see them crushed when leave the airport and see the rest of the poorest city in America? Actually, they should let it deteriorate more to prevent over expectations.
ReplyDelete(I'm going to repeat the same previous post I did at another link here as a viable solution to the problem at hand. So please my nay sayers..., do not even go there!)
ReplyDeleteEFMohammedMartinezJanuary 3, 2014 at 6:29 AM Wrote:
The few times I have landed there coming home to visit my family, I feel this "airport" could be expanded to accommodate a bigger of influx of ever growing people coming to Brownsville and the rest of the RGV, especially during holidays and most particularly during "El Dia de los Charros" in February. This "airport" has the potential to bring Brownsville more commerce and to service bigger aircraft..., if only it was updated and also expand its runways if at all possible. This can be done, only if the people of Brownsville attended their city council meetings regularly and demanded it! A petition drive to back up the concerned citizens of Brownsville to improve the airport conditions would be a good start. If no one pressures those politicos at city hall, they could care less what YOU think! Yes folks! Start a petition drive first and foremost! Thereafter, then hand them these petitions and if they do not act on this, then start putting pressure about their own re-election day! Trust me gente, this is what scares them the most..., "re-election time"! ...And finally, get the media involved. If its one thing these politicos hate the most..., its bad publicity with the media! I should know..., I work in the media myself! Helloooo....?!
E.F. Mohammed Martinez - Journalist/Writer/Community Activist
BOOOOOO...! LMAOFF!
ReplyDelete"...What's the solution? Well, it's so simple it's mindblowing..."
ReplyDeleteSTOP ELECTING DUMBOCRATS to run and manage this city!!!!
In case you all haven't noticed every city, county, state, and now our country, that dumbocRATS are in control go south very quickly, many already bankrupt. Pay attention now that NYC has elected it first dumbocRAT AND AN EXTREMIST COMMIE TO BOOT see how fast the city will take a nose dive and start to decay.
AnonymousJanuary 4, 2014 at 12:39 AM Wrote:
ReplyDelete"...What's the solution? Well, it's so simple it's mindblowing...
STOP ELECTING DUMBOCRATS to run and manage this city!!!!
In case you all haven't noticed every city, county, state, and now our country, that dumbocRATS are in control go south very quickly, many already bankrupt. Pay attention now that NYC has elected it first dumbocRAT AND AN EXTREMIST COMMIE TO BOOT see how fast the city will take a nose dive and start to decay."
My Reply:
Hey you no name COWARDLY no huevos "Anonymous"! Most of YA'LL rightwing extremist GOP (Grand Ole Pendejos) Tea Party RepublicKKKlansmen have already lost 2014 BIG TIME! YA'LL Neanderthals cut your own throats and self-hung yourselves, thanks to your poster boy darling boot licking "Cuban" Canadian immigrant, Ted "The GUSANO" Cruz!
YA'LL RepublicsKKKumbags wanted to show how bad good ole American fascism worked while in power when YA'LL RepublicsKKKumbags decided to shut down this nation and hurt almost the entire people of this nation without regards to the rest of the American people in general! Well, 2014 is payback time and its going to be a bitch alright when your Republicscam Party goes down in flames and flushed down the toilet bowls when the VOTERS will turn YA'LL out and send YA'LL to your own hell holes where YOU belong once and for all!
...And the ONLY reason YA'LL RepublicsKKKumbags went to such fascist rightwing extremes was for ONLY one reason and one reason ONLY ..., (Whispering in low voice) ...WE elected a Black man for President and YA'LL cannot handle it! So Billy Bob, YOU can shout to the four winds, but no one is going to hear ya now boy!
"WHEN THE WOLVES HOWL TO THE FOUR WINDS..., ITS BECAUSE THEY ARE HURT, SCARED, CONFUSED AND LOST!"
E.F. Mohammed Martinez - Journalist/Writer/Community Activist
Mohammed isn't that a TERRORIST NAME LIKE b HUSSEIN obammie the CLOSET GAY ILLEGAL ALIEN?????? LMAO LMAO LMAO
DeleteEs joto ese bato.
DeleteDags.
I agree that our airport needs updating bad. I hate to see buckets catching water when it does rain in Brownsville. I hate to see the loading bridges smell like mold. When ive taken the United flights, the jet bridge smells like feet and sweaty ass. The carpet all the way down to the plane is lifted off the actual floor. And i got wet the last time i walked off the plane. I asked the employee why the extention wasnt being used. She said that the "canopy is broke" and if they use it the bridge goes down. The American jet bridge is no better. The carpet is actually good but you need a tetanus shot from all the rust from it. I frequent both airlines as I try to alternate and have gotten to know both loading bridges well. From what I hear now is that American airlines has been having problems with theirs and have to borrow United's. When I asked another employee why he said that that brige had been down for 2 weeks.....again. I remember this past year that same employee told me that that same bridge had been down almost half of last year and that ths airport admins do nothing to fix it. All they do is nickle and dime it and half ass fix it. I recently found out what goes on here. When that bridge goes down the admins send their maintinence crew ( 2 guys that really do nothing refered to Timone from The Lion King and the other who is about to retire and only use him to change lightbulbs oh and that know nothing about those bridges). They (after 2 weeks ) eventually find out what is wrong and send a list of parts to the admins. The admins then have to get bids to see who has the cheapest parts available. That takes about a month. Then they take bids on who will repair the bridge which takes another month. Finally they have to take bids on who is gonna get the parts to the airport....another month.
ReplyDeleteNow they say they dont have money. Well I have been parking in the metered parking on and off for the last year. A week at a time. I never once have recieved a sitation. I asked another employee (they are actually pretty friendly) if they ever check the meters. She said no one ever comes to check and it is rare for the city to give parking tickets. If they need money that bad they would enforce this. From what I hear the security there now is actually BPD. Why cant they enforce the meters.
I love this city, its home. I just hate to see how it has fallen behind so much compared to the rest of the valley. Ow well at least they paved part of Iowa.