Escobar Fires Smith

Corpus Christi City Manager Angel Escobar has demonstrated that his whim is a law unto itself. He fired Police Chief Bryan Smith on trumped up, phony charges totally unrelated to the original cause of Escobar's so-called investigation. It is a sad day for accountable, responsible city government.

New City Manger Makes First Official Action: Suspends Police Chief!



So the interim city manager's first act, after finally agreeing to be the real city manager, is to place Corpus Christi Police Chief Bryan Smith on paid suspension. Why? Because Chief Smith allegedly made "disparaging" remarks about the city manager, some council members and other public officials during a private conversation that was recorded.
Does one lose the right of freedom of speech because he is the chief of police? Since when is making "disparaging" remarks, in private or otherwise, a punishable offense?
The naming of Angel Escobar as the new city manager has not been one of the city council's brightest moments. Quite frankly, the history of city managers here in Corpus Christi has been a sorry narrative of ineptness, incompetence and sometimes out right crookedness and makes one ask how long do we need to continue with this sort of city government.
If making "disparaging" remarks about elected and other public officials is a crime then many in our community are multiple offenders!

City To Give $1 Million To TAMUCC

Today's local newspaper featured an article which reports that the Corpus Christi City Council has agreed to give $1 million to Texas A&M University Corpus Christi to help develop a new mechanical engineering program.

The article:

By Sara Foley
November 12, 2008

CORPUS CHRISTI — The City Council will give $1 million in sales tax revenue
toward Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi's proposed mechanical engineering
program.
The funding, which the council approved 7-2 Tuesday, only can be used to reimburse
the university for money it spends on retrofitting laboratories and buying equipment
while establishing a mechanical engineering major. It won't pay for marketing,
scholarships or professors' salaries.
Councilmen Michael McCutchon and Mike Hummell voted against the funding, in part
because they questioned if helping the program was an appropriate use of sales tax
money earmarked for economic development.
"I have strong reservations using local taxpayer money to underwrite a program at a
university," Hummell said. "There are engineering programs all over the state that aren't
getting this kind of money. They just step up and get it done."
The new engineering major has yet to get final approval from the Texas Higher
Education Coordinating Board and the Texas A&M University System Board of
Regents.
Trent Hill, A&M-Corpus Christi's vice president, said the university wouldn't take the
city's money unless the program is approved. The coordinating board and the regents
gave the program preliminary approval, but the university has to finalize its degree plan
to get final approval, Hill said.
The money comes from a one-eighth-cent sales tax that goes toward economic
development in the city. The city's business and job development corporation
recommends to the council how to spend that money.
Councilman Larry Elizondo said he initially had trouble seeing the program as
economic development, but now sees it as an investment in the economy.
"If we want long-term results, we're going to have to see these types of long-term
efforts," he said.
Corporation board chairman Eloy Salazar pointed to Amarillo as an example of another
city that used sales tax revenues to help higher education.
Amarillo's economic development corporation gave $6 million toward Texas Tech
University's pharmacy school and more than $1 million for an engineering program at
West Texas A&M University.
Hummell also questioned if there was sufficient demand for an engineering program.
Whether South Texas could support engineering programs at the Corpus Christi campus
and nearby Texas A&M University-Kingsville has been debated in the past year.
Hummell brought up a letter from the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board that
said the university shouldn't set up an engineering school because engineering programs
at other Texas universities didn't have enough students to fill their seats. That letter was
written about the university getting an engineering school, which is different than the
scaled-down plans to set up a major.
"Having an engineering school that is empty in Corpus Christi isn't going to help us any
more than having any of the other empty engineering schools in the state," Hummell
said.
Councilman Bill Kelly disagreed.
"I realize the goal of economic development is to increase the size of the pie," he said.
"It's just as legitimate to help Corpus Christi get a bigger slice of the existing pie."
The $1 million pledge from the city is a third of what the university told the state it
would raise to cover the program's startup costs.
If the university raises the $3 million, then state Rep. Solomon Ortiz Jr., D-Corpus
Christi, said he will ask the state to pay for the remaining startup costs.
He said his negotiations with state officials led him to believe the state will pay the
remaining cost.
Hill said the total cost to set up the program isn't clear.


Kudos to Councilmen Michael McCutchon and Mike Hummell who had the good sense and courage to vote against this proposal.
Certainly higher education is important and the city should do what it can to help promote local colleges and universities but is the City of Corpus Christi able to give up public lands and tax revenues for TAMUCC? What about Del Mar? Should we not help them with some city tax revenue? Does the city have this kind of money laying around that we can afford to donate all this?

Judge Carl Lewis Has Died



















Yesterday came the news that local Juvenile Court Judge Carl Lewis had died of a heart attack. This was shocking news.
Carl was a good judge in a difficult job and he handled it very well.
I knew him in quite a different light. He was also a blues man, a singer and a harp player. He and his band, Carl Lewis and the Dead Beats, have entertained around here for years. Accompanied by lawyer buddies David Bright and Tyner Little on guitars, they were always crowd favorites.
Carl had a fabulous voice and probably would have had a future in the music business should he have dropped his day job!
Condolences to his family and his many friends and to all he had offered a helping hand or who loved his music. Rest in peace.

Nueces County GOP Gets Down In The Muck With Ads

The Nueces County GOP recently produced a political ad so dirty, deceptive and untrue that two of our local TV stations refused to air it. Congratulations and thanks are due for KZTV channel 12 and KRIS TV channel 6 for having the good sense to turn down such political muck.
KIII TV channel 3 ran the ad.
The ads were attacking local Democrats Abel Herrero and Juan Garcia who each represent districts in the state house of representatives.

Postscript: Oct. 1, 2008; These ads are now appearing frequently on cable TV. I subscribe to Time Warner, which apparently has no standards which must be met by political advertising.

Hurricane Ike Victims Need Our Help!

Ortiz Skips Dem Convention


Congressman Solomon Ortiz said, in a report on KIII TV, that he will stay home and not attend the Democratic National Convention this week.
Ortiz says he supports Obama but his support seems a bit tepid. Ortiz was a strong supporter of Hillary Clinton and now he seems to be suffering from a big case of sour grapes. He said the local Hispanics would now have a hard time voting for Obama. Oh? So they are going to vote for McCain?
Ortiz said he had some personal commitments to fulfill and he had a fractured foot so he would not be able to travel the 25 mile distance from the hotel housing the Texas delegation. Really? He was going to walk? Give me a break…
Ortiz is being disingenuous at best. You can bet that if Hillary was the nominee nothing would stop him from going.
This sulking petulance shows a distinct lack of leadership and class. That will not serve his constituents well if Obama goes on to victory.
As Alexander Pope said in his satirical “Epistle to Dr Arbuthnot”
“Damn with faint praise, assent with civil leer
And, without sneering, teach the rest to sneer;
Willing to wound, and yet afraid to strike,
Just hint a fault, and hesitate dislike.”

Columbus Ships Need Work, Again!

Juan Garcia Should Be Re-Elected To His District 32 Seat


Democrat Juan Garcia should be returned to his District 32 seat in the Texas House of Representatives. Garcia has done a good job representing his constituents even in the face of a dirty, vicious, slander campaign waged against him by local and state Republicans. His opponents have gone so far as to create a phony web site used to try and spread lies and discredit him. They have engaged in a steady and deliberate smear campaign in the local daily, the Corpus Christi Caller/Times and other local news outlets.
His opponent, Todd Hunter, is a class guy and formerly served in the state legislature, though he was then a Democrat. In the years following his stint in the legislature he has worked as a lobbyist and switched parties to join the Republicans.
We don't need any more Republicans in the state house. It is imperative to oust Tom Craddick as the Speaker of the House and sending another Republican into that body would not be a good idea.

Durrillville?

City Ball Park Plan

The city of Corpus Christi is now trying to figure out what to do about replacing the ball parks which will be lost when the Oso complex is donated to Texas A&M Corpus Christi. It seems the property under consideration wont have as much room as the old location. There wont be room for as many playing fields. So some new ideas are being considered.

Corpus Christi Considers Once A Week Garbage Pick Up

Here He Comes Again!

Reckless Driving Judge Lives Here!

Toll Lanes For Corpus Christi?




A recent story in our local daily said that "officials" are considering building toll lanes on South Padre Island Drive, which is our main thoroughfare.
What a lousy idea! I am against any toll roads, anywhere, that are now or have been built with public taxpayer money. As far as that goes, I am not sure there is any justification for toll roads.
Our elected officials seem to be continuously consumed with finding new ways to reach into our wallets. They are afraid to just come out say they want to raise taxes so they nickle and dime us to death with fees, charges, sur-charges, licensing and so forth. Then they start upping the ante on these things regularly.
It also is yet another way to further divide society between the haves and the have-nots. Those that can afford it will travel in unencumbered ease while the hoi polloi will just have to eat cake!
We have a lot of problems but toll roads are not the answer!

Brent Chesney; He's Back!

Goodbye Skip!

The hapless Skip Noe is nearing the end of the line as Corpus Christi City Manager.
Noe's resignation was accepted and he will be given a 90 day period to wrap up his stay in office. He will, of course, leave with a rather comfortable severance package as he leaves his $178,000 + ,with perks, a year job.
In accepting Noe's resgination, during a rare Sunday meeting, the City Council also announced that the mayor and the council will do the ground work in the next city manager search.
That's a good idea. In past years the city has spent tens of thousands of dollars of taxpayer money hiring search firms to seek and vet city manager candidates. These high priced firms have had a lousy track record.
Frankly, it might be time once again to start looking at the City Charter and reconsider our form of city government. The city manger-weak mayor form which we have had had for years isn't working well. It is time to go to a strong mayor type of governemnt in which the mayor is the chief executive of the city and is accountable to the voters.

Peggy Banales Funnels $118,000 From Her District To Remodel Husband's New 105th District Court Office!



Just doesn't pass the smell test!

Mayor Henry Garrett Walking The Plank!
(click on pic for larger image)

We The People Publisher, Corpus Christi, Tx.