WHAT HAPPENED TO BROWNSVILLE'S PLANNING AND CODE ENFORCEMENT? ALSO, INTERNET COVERAGE, CHARLIE CABLER

Jesus' Auto Service

For those of us who view Brownsville's Central Boulevard as one of the city's main arteries, once the "Welcome to Brownsville" promenade off Old Highway 77, seeing the construction of a hastily-built lean-to, utilizing not even standard plywood, but particle board, quickly covered with gray paint, seems out of character for a city trying to pull itself up by its own bootstraps.

Nothing recently built in Southmost, Matamoros or even the Philippines seems this substandard.

Yet, once the four walls were up and paint slapped on, cars began to be service and used tires mounted at Jesus' Auto Service, close to where Central Boulevard meets W. Elizabeth Street.

It would be a total shock if this newly-constructed edifice survived a strong gust of wind.  

City of Brownsville:  Did this new construction pass code?  Really?

While Wednesday's meeting of the Metropolitan Planning Organization was routine, something stated by GBIC Director Marion Losoya captured our attention, an internet report stating that Brownsville was the "least connected community in the country."

Speaking with Losoya(pictured above) and Assistant City Manager Dr. Arturo Rodriguez after the meeting, Losoya shared the site on his phone, indicating that over 60% of Brownsville homes do not have internet.(Another study puts the number at 45%.)

Rodriguez, just back from a trip to San Antonio, offered that the San Antonio Housing Authority has installed wifi in all its housing projects.

"I'm looking into what it would take to get wifi into our housing projects.  Since homework can be now done online, I don't want these children at a disadvantage," added Rodriguez.

After a missed connection last week, Mayoral Candidate Charlie Cabler has agreed to appear on Erasmo Castro's Whine and Cheez podcast, livestreamed Sunday for Angelita's Casa de Cafe on Boca Chica Blvd.