More With Les Norton

I asked Mr. Norton about the investment it takes to make downtown enticing for shoppers.

Well, it's very hard to get people to invest money in an entity like downtown Laredo today when you see: 'Well why should I invest?  What has the city done?'  You know, for years we've been asking them to improve the lighting system; we've been asking them to work with us to improve the situation at the bridge.  Why is it taking so long for pedestrian shoppers to walk across the river?  I understand that's a federal responsibility, but I'm saying, as a city government you certainly could help us.  Take us by the hand and open the right doors, to get some concrete answers to solutions as to how we can get shoppers from Mexico into Laredo faster.

One of the things that city council has long overlooked is the fact that so many affluent Mexican shoppers that could spend a lot of money in Laredo, those same shoppers, because they can afford it, are flying now from Monterrey directly to Houston, to Dallas, to San Antonio.  They don't have to put up with all that it takes to get from Monterrey to Laredo on the freeway -- the traffic jams, the bridge, the time it takes to cross over.  They don't have to put up with that when they can board a plane, in an hour they can be shopping in San Antonio. 

Honors

Congratulations to the band members from UISD that garnered All-State honors.  The number of students achieving such a goal locally pales in comparison to what the valley schools churn out on a yearly basis, but our homegrown talent gives us something to be proud of.

Kudos to the LMT for featuring these talented young musicians.  If I saw another picture of a mascot, I was going to jump into the river or something.

I wonder how LISD did at the state level.

Les Norton Speaks To Keyrose

Yesterday I had a chance to sit down with downtown store merchant, Les Norton, to talk about the challenges the Laredo Business District faces on a daily basis.  Enjoy.

While downtown's decline has been years in the making, it's been difficult for anyone to put forward a plan to attract people to the area.  As a result, those whose livelihoods depend on shoppers don't really know what the future holds.

Choose Your Words Carefully

After police officers were found to have been harrassing Hispanic immigrants in East Haven, CT, the mayor was asked to respond to the charges.  Mayor Joseph Maturo:

"I might have tacos when I go home.  I'm not quite sure yet."

People were upset by the mayor's insensitivy, while others didn't see what the big deal was about.  Those who made light of this situation missed the bigger issue in that immigrants were being taken advantage of by those in power.  The off-hand remark made by Mr. Maturo could've been blown off if police officers weren't abusing their power.

Reform Immigration for America sprang into action by delivering the mayor a ton of tacos.

 
It's not exactly reassuring to know that other communities also have a numbskull for a mayor, but it's good that he's being called out on his behavior. 

Random Thursday Thread

Nooooooooooooooooooooo!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Public Transport

The Via bus system in San Antonio is happy about the increase in ridership they've seen lately.  Via is using hybrid buses equipped with WiFi, and has encouraged a code of conduct for the public.  Closer to home, El Metro shuttle buses are being transferred illegally, allegedly, to Mexico.

This Economy Is Made For Food Stamps

Yesterday a Facebook friend posted a link to a story about the origin of the "welfare queen."  The term was made popular by Ronald Reagan, and it's been a go-to subject for those on the right ever since.  Naturally, with modern day republicans regarding Reagan with such high esteem, it's only logical that they would follow his lead.  But apart from that, the argument against public assistance is red meat for conservative politicians wanting to rally the ravenous base. 

The candidates are using such language to highlight philosophical differences between liberals and conservatives, Hayward says. Liberals believe that government can offer the best path to advancement. Conservatives believe a growing private economy provides more upward mobility than government.

Why can't it be both?

Last week I talked about what the food stamp rolls actually look like.  It differs from what conservatives have in mind.  But putting stereotypes and conservative falsehoods aside, public assistance shouldn't be derided when the country is trying to recover from one of the worst economies ever.  And it shouldn't be looked down upon when the way of doing business is not what our grandparents were used to.  A lot of things are outsourced and that's left us with few choices.

Rather, Apple’s executives believe the vast scale of overseas factories as well as the flexibility, diligence and industrial skills of foreign workers have so outpaced their American counterparts that “Made in the U.S.A.” is no longer a viable option for most Apple products.

That's right.  We can't compete with a workforce that has tea with a biscuit for breakfast and goes on to work a 12-hour shift.  And we can't have politicians bitching about putting Americans to work when the work is going overseas.  Food stamps are essential for Americans when jobs aren't there any more.

I'm sure we'll hear plenty about the republican strategy tonight following the president's State of the Union Address.  But I seriously doubt conservatives will have a solution on how to fix the high unemployment rate in this country.  They'll just take a page from the GOP presidential candidates -- bash Obama, give tax cuts to the rich, limit regulations, and on and on and on.

Absorbent And Yellow And Porous Is He

I take no pleasure in chronicling the misdeeds of Laredo's most dumbest for our wildly popular series, Menso Not Mensa, but there's just too much material for this blogger to ignore.

Today's lucky designee is Eric Compean, an enterprising stereo thief with a penchant for wearing cartoon-themed pajamas in public.  While we're on the subject, let me take this opportunity to say how much I detest when people wear pajama pants in public.  I'm a big advocate of dressing down, but when your wardrobe consists of sleepwear, you've shed any ounce of pride or dignity for yourself.  It calls into question your sense of social norms, not to mention hygiene.

But enough about me -- let's talk about Mr. Bikini Bottom for a moment.  How can you be an effective thief if you're going to go around wearing things that people can easily identify?  'Yes officer, I saw the person running away from the scene and he was wearing bright yellow pants, brown Ugg boots, a red satin shirt with fringed sleeves, and some sort of shark fin on his head.'  I would think that one of the requirements to be a thief would be to maintain a low profile.

The Pro8news story mentions a suspect breaking a police vehicle window.  It doesn't state that Compean was responsible for that act of destruction but it helps add to this post, because when you're already in trouble with the law for alleged robbery, it doesn't help your case by also breaking public property, especially that of the cops.  The level of Menso-ness here is through the roof.  This is one instance where there's no reason to celebrate in Laredo.

Fighting Crime

(Jan. 23, 2012)  In response to a recent attack on a jogger in Century City last week, District I Council Member Mike Garza is hosting a neighborhood meeting tonight, Monday, January 23, 2012, starting at 7:00 p.m. at the Century City Park Entrance, located at 120 Century Boulevard.

Present at the meeting will City of Laredo officials and members of the Laredo Police Department who will be on hand to discuss safety awareness and other safety and precautionary related issues.

“By arming ourselves with information, knowing how to keep safe and being alert for danger, we can all help keep ourselves and our neighborhoods safe, sending a message to any would-be criminal out there, we’re not letting them over our community,” said Cm. Garza.

Press release courtesy of the City of Laredo

While I commend Mike Garza for making himself available to the public, I haven't known him to hold a town hall meeting south of Century City.  And of course, he springs into action once a jogger is assaulted in the Century City area.  What I want to know is if the "Bordertown: Laredo" cast members will be there.  If it's somebody who could rally the citizenry, it's them, judging from yesterday's paper.

Immunize Yourself

Laredoans don't need nudging when they're asked to attend menudo or tequila tasting events, as LaredoTejas noted.  But when it comes to matters of well-being, the locals are not as eager to go see the doctor or get immunized against the flu.  This reluctance to take command of one's own health is not good, especially when Mexican health officials worry about the resurgence of the H1N1 influenza virus, commonly known as the swine flu.

2009 was a big year for swine flu; Demand for flu shots was incredible.  But now our concern for H1N1 is practically non-existent.  Thankfully we have celebrities to remind us that the threat of infection is always there.

Squemish individuals aside,  LaSanbe applauds the efforts of those who promote healthy living by getting the flu shot, even if the flu season started months ago.  Stay healthy, Laredo.

Yard Work Weekend Thread

There's something happening in South Carolina today too.

Vikram Datta Sentenced

A blog reader tipped me off to this new development.

The biggest perfume merchant in the Texas border city of Laredo was sentenced Friday in Manhattan Federal Court to 20 years in prison for laundering more than $18 million in cash for a violent Mexican drug cartel.

Food Stamp Need

Numbers are a pesky thing.

Forty-nine percent of recipients are white, 26 percent are black and 20 percent are Hispanic, according to Census data.

We have all these preconceived notions about what a food stamp recipient is but fail to realize that benefits go to people who really have fallen on hard times.

And while we're on the subject of being out of touch, Newt Gingrich should just shut up already.

He Likes His Hat

Our mayor has definitely gone through a style evolution in the last five years.  As time has passed, he's lost quite a bit of hair (eyebrows included), and he's taken to wearing hats lately.  I like hats, but not if they're going to make me look like Dick Armey.  The mayor has enjoyed quite a ride in being our representative.  It'll be a shame to eventually see him go -- not speaking as a constituent, but as a blogger.

Texas Redistricting Debacle

District maps may have to be redrawn.

The justices ordered the three-judge court in San Antonio to come up with new plans, but did not compel the use of maps created by Texas' Republican-dominated state Legislature. Only Justice Clarence Thomas said he would have gone that far.

Time is running out and this only adds uncertainty to what candidate Jerry Garza will face in the primary.

And One More Makes Five

With a little over ten weeks before the local primaries, I guess it's a little too much to ask to have campaign commercials air.  This county commissioner race (Pct 3) has several candidates with somewhat deep pockets, but I don't expect them to start putting their message out on t.v. for others to dissect this early.  

Mayor's Outing

The mayor presses on to earn his continuing education hours in Washington.  But he has time to pose.

I am very pleased that the U.S. Conference of Mayors has embraced the importance of port economies to lead the nation out of our current economic challenges. Just last week, Laredo was projected to have the greatest job growth potential in the nation. My job and that of my colleagues on the Laredo City Council is to ensure that we live up to this potential.  Transportation funding is so vitally important to our port, and for that reason, I was very grateful for the face time I was able to have with the Secretary LaHood.”

Mayor Salinas also met with representatives from the Department of Homeland Security regarding border security and funding.  “We all agree that the federal government, and by that I mean, Congress and President Obama, must do all they can to support our border crossings. I believe that we best achieve that goal by building relationships, not issuing press releases and studies that are hypercritical. ”

(Photo and press release courtesy of City of Laredo)

LaSanbe will wait for photo proof that the mayor actually met with DHS staff to discuss border security.  Until then, I'll assume that he just had lunch with Henry Cuellar.

L.A. Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa comments on the tough political road ahead.

“Anybody who saw the [budget] deal last summer and then the failure of the super committee … knew that there were going to be serious and draconian cuts,” Mayor Villaraigosa said at a breakfast for reporters hosted by the Monitor

Laredo Farmers Market

I always enjoy visiting with friends at the Farmers Market.  This time around I'll get the added bonus of a trolley ride/tour.  Go out to support local vendors and visitors alike.