BISD Board - March 20, 2007

BISD Board of Trustees Meeting - March 20, 2007
Agenda.
Jumps to Lehmann's & Escobedo's respective temper tantrums from the 5-2 approval of the superintendent's revised recommendation for 6th high school architect.
If Gonzalez can admit defeat in a mature fashion, why can't "Chateau Whatever" Lehmann and Escobedo?

City Commission - March 20, 2007

City Commission Meeting - March 20, 2007
Agenda.

BND - March 21, 2007

Brownsville Navigation District Board Meeting - March 21, 2007
Agenda.

City Commission - March 13, 2007

City Commission Special Meeting - March 13, 2007
Agenda.
Joint Public Meeting of City Commission and BCIC.
Discussion, consideration and action regarding the United Baseball League presentation.

Cameron County - March 20, 2007

Cameron County Commissioners' Court - March 20, 2007
Agenda.

BISD Board - March 6, 2007

BISD Board of Trustees Meeting - March 6, 2007
Agenda.
Jumped right to Superintendent's recommendation of an architectural firm for 6th high school and board voting DOWN of such by 5-2.
NOTE: Audio is a little weak.

Brownsville PUB - March 12, 2007

Brownsville PUB Board Meeting - March 12, 2007
Agenda.

SB 612 - Intercollegiate Athletics Fees @ UTB

Brief discussion, on 3/12/07, of SB 612, the companion bill to HB 1505, before the Texas Senate Subcommittee on Higher Education.

Cameron County - March 13, 2007

Cameron County Commissioners' Court - March 13, 2007
Agenda.

City Commission - March 6, 2007

City Commission Meeting - March 6, 2007
Agenda.

BND - March 7, 2007

Brownsville Navigation District Board Meeting - March 7, 2007
Agenda.

A Tale of Two Ditties

ORIGINAL PHOTO BY HERALD PHOTOGRAPHER LIZA LONGORIA.
MOUSEOVER MASH-UP NOT SO.

Below are two "songs" by the same person. The first one was spoken. The second one written & sworn to.

Click above for Catalina's claim from November 13, 2006 (video).

VS.

Click above for Catalina's sworn candidacy application from March 12, 2007 (pdf).

Could anyone, even the candidate herself, explain to me (and to the public) how these above two statements both "are in all things true and correct"?

Final (?) City Candidate Scorecard

District 1	District 2	Mayor	At-Large "A"	At-Large "B"
LONGORIA	ATKINSON	HERNANDEZ	DE LEON	DE LOS SANTOS
PRESAS-GARCIA	WHY IS	ARROYO	W.GARZA	GARZA
	THIS SEAT	GONZALEZ	TROIANI
	UNOPPOSED?	AHUMADA	GARCIA

The City Secretary's window closed yesterday for City Commission candidate applications both figuratively and literally. One tardy prospect, Pastor Thomas Carubba of the Hosanna Assembly Church, was furiously completing his form for the mayor's race when the blinds to the City Plaza teller window fell at 5:00PM, on the dot; too late for the clergyman.

No doubt it was a hectic afternoon for the office charged with issuing, accepting and certifying candidate apps. To quote the Herald's coverage:

Three applications were pending approval at press time and one would-be candidate’s bid for office was rejected.
Catalina Presas-Garcia was denied a space on the ballot.

Word has it that Presas-Garcia's questionable residency was NOT a factor in her denial of candidacy. Maybe her collected petition signatures didn't pass the smell test?

With 3 applications still not officially blessed, perhaps we haven't seen the last candidate rejection yet.

UTB-TSC Board - March 1, 2007

UTB-TSC Board of Trustees Meeting - March 1, 2007
Agenda.

HB 1505 - Intercollegiate Athletics Fees @ UTB

On Tuesday, there was Herald coverage of the previous day's public hearing for proposed bill HB 1505 before the Texas House Committee of Higher Education.

Above, watch video of the hearing. Rep. Rene Oliveira blindsides Rep. Eddie Lucio III airs his dissent at this point in the video.

Note: the camera is fixed in the rear of the chambers, the resolution is horrible, but audio is pretty clear. Hard to believe that most of our local entities have better recording facilities than Capitol Hill committee chambers in Austin.

BISD Board - February 20, 2007

BISD Board of Trustees Meeting - February 20, 2007
Agenda.

Cameron County - February 27, 2007

Cameron County Commissioners' Court - February 27, 2007
Agenda.

The Ole' Sick-Mom-Since-August-'06 Morality Play

Looks like the Herald finally caught on to Presas' shenanigans. While botching a couple of the finer details (it's the Texas Election Code, not Ethics Code, that requires residency in a district 6 months prior to the filing deadline, not the election), the paper did appear to get some attempt at an explanation from the Vaseline Queen, herself:

Presas-Garcia explains the dual addresses this way: The Skyview Drive home is owned by her and her husband and he claims a homestead exemption there. This is where her employer lists her address. However, she has not lived there since last year.

"Does he (Longoria) not understand that I am a... moral person?"

Can't speak for Commissioner Longoria, but, for some reason, I don't understand that. Maybe someone can draw it out for me.

Presas-Garcia Vaselates (sic) Between Districts

First the rumors:
RUMOR: Catalina Presas-Garcia is seeking the City Commissioner District 1 seat currently held by Rick Longoria.

RUMOR: NEW FACT: Presas-Garcia has lived now claimed to live in District 1 for at least 6 to 8 months since August 2006.

Now the facts:
FACT: Catalina Presas-Garcia's voter info lists her residence as 3144 E. 19th St. in District 1, a home owned by one Eloisa Presas.

FACT: 25 Skyview Dr. (Land O' Lakes area) is where Catalina (with her husband) owns a home (classified as her Homestead for appraisal purposes).

FACT: 25 Skyview Dr. happens to fall far, far from 3144 E. 19th St. and is actually in District 2, Atkinson's district.

FACT: The Brownsville City Charter, in Article V, Section 1, paragraph a, states that: "Each such District Commissioner shall reside in the district from which elected and shall also have the qualifications of electors therein."

FACT: The Texas Election Code, in Title 9, Section 141.001 states that for candidate eligibility: "a person must... have resided... in the territory from which the office is elected for six months immediately preceding... the date of the regular filing deadline for a candidate's application for a place on the ballot." Sec141.001(a)(5)(A).

BIG FACT: On November 13, 2006, merely 4 months prior to the regular filing deadline (March 12, 2007), Catalina Presas-Garcia admitted to residing "at 25 Skyview Drive." On video. At a PUB meeting.

She's not even out of the gate, yet she stumbles.

Hanging up and listening, for now.