Bicycling Saturday Thread

Also, putting up more compost bins, picking up chicken plates, and doing laundry Saturday thread.

Furniture Windrows

Seems like a lot of people have been on a spring cleaning bender these last few weeks.  I've seen a lot of old furniture on city curbs.  It's unfortunate because pedestrians, or young bicyclists have an obstacle to overcome; And the items discarded are really not recyclable.  Then again, if you're Frank Sciaraffa, a barrier like the one pictured could come in handy against the threat of projectiles.  Still, it's an eyesore.

Laredo has had a problem with neatness lately.  And people have taken notice.

The Caller Sports crew bids you goodbye from Uni-Trade Stadium, aka the unfinished portion of Nakitomi Plaza.

It's a dig against Laredo, but I give it props for including a "Die Hard" reference.

After the natives attended the first Laredo Lemurs game, I thought people were going to be more vocal about the unfinished stadium, but nobody made a peep.  I was waiting for the Times' Op/Ed page to be flooded with disappointed comments on the condition of the facility.  But perhaps it's what the public has come to expect: big promises with little follow-up.  Poor planning.  Apathy. 

We've come to expect the grass along Zapata Hwy not being cut on a regular basis.  We've come to expect the city opening up a new animal shelter today while construction is still ongoing.  Poor customer service almost everywhere.  Lack of code enforcement.  Yadda yadda yadda.

We're not doing our image any good when people are comparing our landscape to the Dust Bowl era. 

 

C'mon, Man!

Pranks and vandalism are two separate things.  And the destruction of private/public property merits criminal charges, especially when you start chopping down mature trees to score points.  Broken windows can be replaced, and spray paint can be covered up, but trees are a precious commodity in a town that desperately needs shade and beautification. 

S(h)ock & Awe

The artist painted a wonderful portrait of George W. Bush for the White House.  My compliments.

Trending

Women are on a streak as of late in terms of winning judgeship seats.  Beckie Palomo won convincingly last night the office of 341st Dist. Court Judge.  Other recent winners include Rosie Cuellar-Castillo and Monica Zapata Notzon.  I don't know if there are any women out there who would challenge the current sitting male judges -- Joe Lopez, or Oscar Hale -- but if a female threw her hat into the ring, I know where I would place my bet.

Spot The Error

With all the voting hoopla happening yesterday, I left a couple of things for today.  Exhibit A:

And a follow-up:

Have a nice day.

Menso, Not Mensa

Just as stray dogs, dumped tires, and corn-in-a-cup stands are prevalent here in Laredo, so are law enforcement personnel getting into sticky situations.  And I give thanks for that as I needed a new subject for my continuing series, "Menso, Not Mensa." (copyright)

The latest recipient of this tremendous honor is John Jimenez, a young man who works at the county jail.  This blockhead thought it was a good idea to raise some hell at a northside club, and for good measure, shoot his firearm into the air.

Al bote, cabron!

Like Bordertown Blues suggests, I'll embrace that which makes Laredo special and unique.  Well, maybe not so unique, but law enforcement officials getting into trouble does seem like a consistent occurrence around here, a sport even.  And for that, I give thanks for all the Menso, Not Mensa candidates in our midst.

Over For Some

Even though Frank Sciaraffa didn't garner a majority of the vote for his commissioners seat, he appeared to be confident and calm for the cameras.  However, he managed to insert a couple of defamatory comments about his new runoff opponent. 

He was surprised the way the race ended up.

I would expect somebody from the precinct.

And the stinger.

We gotta see if he has a criminal record or not.

That's his way of raising red flags, I guess. 
His motto must be:  influence the electorate with a little doubt.
Gawd help him.

Did not like that Mike Montemayor, his runoff challenger, was not available for post-race commentary.  Again, it's things like that that kept me from the polls today.

And Here You Go

341st District Court
Rufino Lopez    8%
Rebecca Palomo   62%
Fernando Sanchez   30%

County Attorney
Anna Laura Cavazos-Ramirez   37%
Juan Garcia   15%
Marco Montemayor   48%

Commissioner Pct. 1
Louis Bruni   25%
Mike Montemayor   27%
Frank Sciaraffa   48%

Commissioner Pct. 3
George Altgelt   21%
Alfonso Casso    5%
Hector Cortez   5%
John Galo   53%
Daniel Lopez   16%

Constable Pct. 1
Abraham Diaz Jr.    26%
Rudy Rodriguez Jr.   59%
James Roycroft   15%

Constable Pct. 2
Rudy Gonzalez   12%
Ricardo Rangel Jr. 10%
Rick Rodriguez   31%
Ricky Salazar   5%
Mike Villarreal   42%

Constable Pct. 3
Adrian Cortez    41%
Salvador Johnson   45%
Annette Munoz   14%

Constable Pct. 4
Gerardo Carmona   13%
Harold Devally   21%
Jerry Gonzalez   14%
Tony Guardiola   10%
Jesus Ibarra   5%
Wayo Ruiz   37%

UPDATE:  Thanks to Pro8news for keeping us up to date on election numbers.

Final numbers are supposedly in.  Univision reported them on their Facebook page.  Here they are:

Apathy On Their Part

While a bunch of UISD students displayed a total disregard for school property yesterday, several county elected officials decided to show off their indifference today.  Via Twitter:

Commissioners Court is meeting today because of the Memorial Day holiday yesterday.  (3 "days" in a row)  Up for discussion is the appointment of a building maintenance director, seeking applicants for an information systems position, and approval of policies and procedures for volunteer fire fighters.  Trivial stuff.

Unfortunately, it's election day today, so the county attorney and two commissioners opted to tend to more pressing matters.  These are the same people who 'humbly ask you for your vote' but shirk their duties when they see fit.  Apparently two hours of their time is just too precious.  Why worry about county business when they could be out leading caravans across town?

If you recall from a previous post, Frank Sciaraffa, and Marco Montemayor skipped their recent debate appearances.  So not only is Frank not showing up for work, he's also not showing up for debates.  What good is he for then?

I was contemplating not voting this time around simply because of the lackluster list of candidates running for office.  Seriously, my son's former crossing guard has more charisma than the roster of people currently vying for a job.  But now I definitely know I'm not voting.  If candidates aren't going to have the courtesy, nay, the respect!!! to show up for work, then I'm not going to show up to vote.

And all you all out there telling me how important it is for me to vote, you can bite me!!!!! 

Stay Classy

Good to know that Laredo's image is on the mend.

Exciting in a train-wreck kind of way was Friday’s exit by Laredo manager and former Texas Rangers outfielder Pete Incaviglia, who tossed a garbage can onto the field after being ejected. He was suspended for Saturday’s game and his nephew, hitting coach Thomas Incaviglia, managed.
Saturday’s game saw an incident in the same category when the benches cleared after Laredo’s Ernie Banks Jr. was hit in the second inning by Sox reliever Trent Lare (yes, he was a reliever in the second inning).

Jorge Vera: Want To See If It Works

The city is looking at a big budget deficit this coming year but that doesn't mean that council can't stop looking for ways to spend more money.

Jorge Vera, at Monday's council meeting, proposed buying a three-acre piece of land to open up a parking facility for big rigs along Mines Rd.  His concern is that owner-operators who park their trucks at home pose a safety risk for the public as they have to maneuver through residential areas.  The roads also suffer significant wear and tear as they're not meant to handle the weight of the semis, he added.

His focus, however, was on the revenue stream this facility could generate.  At 80 percent capacity, the city could collect $171,000 monthly from truck parking fees.

The city would need to come up with nearly $1 million to acquire the land for the facility, money that the city doesn't have.  Councilman Mike Garza suggested leasing the property first so as not to have such a financial obstacle to tackle.  If the plan works as Mr. Vera suggests, then land acquisition could be accomplished.

A friend who used to drive a truck doesn't think people will pay the monthly fee to have a chance at a parking spot.  But to hear Mr. Vera explain it, people are already lining up. 

One thing I can get behind of is getting big trucks out of residential areas.  Pictured above is a truck that was parked along McPherson while the driver went to take care of business at the Credit Union.  Afterwards he got on Corpus Christi St. and went on about his day.  Oh the drawbacks of living in a trade-heavy town with poor zoning.
 

 

May 1978: J.C. Martin Indicted

A little Laredo history:

Beginning in 1977 Taxpayers Organized for Public Service, spearheaded by Lawrence Berry, a disgruntled, self-employed handyman, began examining city accounts and uncovered fraud in the street department. The resultant scandal spelled the end for the Independent Club. In November 1977 J. C. Martin, Jr., announced he would not seek reelection. In the April 1978 city election six candidates sought the office of mayor. Aldo Tatangelo, son of Italian immigrants and a political independent, was easily elected. A month after the elections Martin was indicted by a federal grand jury on one count of mail fraud and ordered to pay a $1,000 fine and $201,118 to the city in restitution, and was sentenced to serve thirty weekends in the Webb County Jail. In 1979, as a result of the strong mayoral system of government that had existed in Laredo for more than eighty years, the city council approved a new city charter establishing a city council-manager government.

J.C. Martin was indicted May 8, 1978, to be exact.

May is a pretty big month for Laredo.  Villa de San Agustin de Laredo was officially recognized May 15, 1755.


If there's some other significant fact about Laredo that occurred in the month of May, we could actually make it the official Month of Laredo.  What say you?

Operation: Que QUE?!!!

There are two words I don't have to deal with by living in the barrio:  homeowners association.  If I want to put up a satellite dish anywhere on my roof, or paint the house an un-gawdly shade of green, I don't have to run it through a neighborhood committee.  But living in the hood means I have to put up with certain things like big semis parked along the curb, or the occassional police sting (see above).  The good thing about the latter is that you could run into a Bordertown: Laredo celebrity and he could sign your paper license plates.

By the way, the arrest of the five men pictured above happened around the corner from my house.  Sleep tight, Laredo. 

What Was That?

This morning I heard a loud blast right before 6 a.m.  I didn't feel the house shake and no more noises followed so I just closed my eyes again.  People have been posting comments on Facebook about hearing the blast and feeling their houses shake.

Univision has been reporting that a Mexican helicopter has been patrolling the south side of Nuevo Laredo this morning.  And they've posted a picture of a structure that was set afire (above).

Pro8news at noon reported that a bomb was detonated at a south Nuevo Laredo hotel parking lot.  Bomb threats have been called in at several locations too.  They're waiting for an official statement from authorities later today.

Money Matters In The LDO

11 million.  Pfft!  Been there, done that.  But.....

Another $700,000 in spending will go toward the municipal animal shelter the city is set to open June 1.  This year, the city and the Laredo Animal Protective Society have operated month to month; in previous years, the shelter received $300,000 annually.

As long as staff doesn't feel the pinch, everything will be fine.

Indulge me this passage, as I think it's so appropriate to this post:

There was, as Squealer was never tired of explaining, endless work in the supervision and organisation of the farm.  Much of this work was of a kind that the other animals were too ignorant to understand.  For example, Squealer told them that the pigs had to expend enormous labours every day upon mysterious things called "files," "reports," "minutes," and "memoranda."

Hey Baby!!!

I don't mind competing for court space with babies in diapers as much as I do against show off amateurs who grip the racket with both hands for every stroke.  One begs for CPS to be called and the other is just annoying.

One thing I will say is that Laredo needs more tennis court facilities.  As it is, the only day you can go out to the Market Courts and be assured a spot is on Friday evenings.  The sunset and the solitude make for a pleasant workout.

Finally!!!

I've been known to be critical of the bozos (I use that term lovingly, of course) on city council but one Esteban Rangel actually brought up a brilliant idea at Monday's meeting:  dedicate a separate day for public recognitions.  Sir, you are getting a fruit basket from me, Laredo's Most Imposing Blogger, for making one of the most practical suggestions I've heard in a long time. 

Yes, citizens, if things pan out, no longer will we be subjected to the fawning that takes place at the beginning of city council meetings.  That will occur at a separate gathering on a different day.  Amen!  But after offering up his plan, Mr. Rangel was met with an alternative plan by the city manager:  if it's only two or three recognitions, we can include them before the meetings.  No! No! No! No!

It has to be all or none when it comes to recognizing people's achievements.  Case in point.

At Monday's meeting, an older gentleman named "Chito" Rodriguez was being lauded for his being named the "King of Baseball."  There was a video presentation, then Mr. Rodriguez said some words, and the city manager put in his two cents worth, and then the mayor invited Mr. Rodriguez's obnoxious daughter to the dais, and a picture followed, and yadda yadda yadda.  The whole thing took about 15 minutes.  If two or three recognitions are allowed it could take up to 45 minutes during regularly scheduled meetings, and that defeats the purpose of what Mr. Rangel is trying to accomplish.

Big ups to Mr. Rangel.  You're OK in my book.  At least for now.