Have double dippers cause the county to create another program

One has to be careful when they form an opinion based on local news stories but if the latest news about the county is true, taxpayers should take notice of the latest development in county government.

In a previous story, we were informed that some residents were going to different locations and accepting free food that are made available from Laredo's Food Bank distribution center. Some were then allegedly selling the produce to the public, something that is not condone by the Food Bank.

In order to address the problem, the county has decided to designate another "department" which will contract a Director, an Assistant and two workers. It will be their job to distribute the food and prevent residents from re-selling what is given to them for free.

What has caught the ire of two of the commissioners is that $125,000 will be taken from their precinct's budget to help set up this new department. It seems that the justification for such action is that these two commissioners have not done enough for their precincts in the past. The question remains whether these two commissioners have underserved their constituents or have managed their budgets wisely.

Nonetheless, we should see whether the combined $250,000 taken from the two commissioners will be enough to finance this new department and cover the salaries of these four new employees.

What Happens to the Landfill Board

The County Commissioners will be meeting this Tuesday to determine whether the landfill board consisting of Enrique Montalvo, Roberto Mireles, Rafael Santana , Héctor Mijares and Rolando Jasso continue for another year.

By all indications, they have served well. In previous publications, it was reported that Commissioner Heredia want to be allowed to name any replacement because the landfill was his project. That suggestion seemed to go away.

The question that begs for an answer is why were their NO provisions written as to how and when landfill board member would be replaced when the board first created its bylaws. You would think that board governance would be one of the most important aspect of its creation.

I think that the community looks to Mr. Hector Mijares to correct this problem simply because he uses common sense.

Violators, a viable resource

Here is a suggestion for the City of Eagle Pass. In light of the fact that they are both short on staff and funds as a result of cutbacks, an option can be provided to the the hundreds of people that go before the municipal court for different violations. Allow them to volunteer to complete community service as payment for their outstanding fines. It can also be an option for the presiding municipal judges to consider when they sentence violators. Or this could be assessed by the municipal judge as part of a sentence or fine. No?

Will Limbaugh Blame Obama for the Earthquake

Well our country is feeling the wrath of not only unemployment, a depressed economy and now earthquakes in Washington and along the east coast. Tonight should be exciting when we see how Hannity and Limbaugh are going to blame Obama for the earthquake.

Two Hundred Fifty Loyal visitors

I am faced with the realization that the Alumni Website may soon become obsolete. There is no doubt that Facebook has offered everyone the opportunity to establish their place on the internet by giving everyone full control of its content. On good days EPalumni.Com would register as many as 6,000 visit a day but as Facebook grew, current hit are as low as 250. Being 154 miles from Eagle Pass also created some difficulty in continuing to provide some local news. I also acknowledge the success of both Eagle Pass Daily and Eagle Pass Chronicles in becoming the preferred online source of information. I will continue the site for these loyal 250 visitors as long as I can. I also want to thank the 1072 Friends on Facebook.

Is Hector Chavez vacating his position as Director of Public Works

In an exclusive news report published in El Latino, a foreign press outlet, it was reported that a rumor had surfaced indicating that Public Works Director Hector Chavez had "evacuated" his office following a meeting with City Manager, Daniel Valenzuela. According to the story, the rumor seemed to gain credibility since Chavez chose to take a week long vacation following that meeting.

The story further states that Chavez may have to leave his position upon his return, something that was not verified by either Chavez or Valenzuela but by other unnamed city officials.

According to the Latino, many had speculated that Chavez would be leaving his position possibly due to his dealings associated with the county landfill and his role of consultant to the County as it related to the landfill.

So the question is whether this information should be taken as news or a simple rumor that should be treated as an editorial from that publication.

Regarless, come Monday the public will know if El Latino had an exclusive that no one else did and that no one else cared to pursue.

Getting Fed Up

I don't know why but recently too many things have been bothering me to the point that I feel I have to vent otherwise my pressure will go sky high. The most recent annoyance has to do with removing my old version of Kapersky Virus Protection program from one of my computer. I have never had this much trouble removing a program and I have removed many programs. It is clear that Kapersky does not want to leave my computer and those that built this program had that in mind. All through the process, Kapersky keeps asking if I really want to remove. Of course I want to remove it but it asks the question at least three times. At the end, after he/she gets the message that I really want out the program freezes. Stops. It makes me reboot the computer and again I go through the same process with the same result. Should we punish the software developers that purposely design it be difficult. I say yes..but where do I find them?

The 24%

Today has not been a good news day despite the fact that President Obama's birth certificate was released. The hope was that this could finally settle the issue. News reports during the day pointed out that 24% of the conservative voter will not change their mind and will continue to believe that President Obama is an illegitimate President. While that is troubling, what is more troubling are allegations that a majority of this 24% will never accept him because he is black. In other words, these are those that will hate you because of your race or ethnicity. This is the core of white America that will never accept you no matter what. During my life I have met them but have never asked them why they hated us. One of them called in to the Sean Hannity radio program today and was noticeably upset and discounted the validity of the President's birth certificate. He was drawn into the spirit of this show to the point that he angrily stated that they were left with only three ways to rid themselves of Obama. Hannity ask for the three ways and he stated that first was to not re-elect him, second was to impeach him and then there was a third way but paused in explaining. Listeners understood what the third method meant. This exchange was broadcasted all over the country as daily fodder for the 24%.