Did city pay to send Asst.City Mgr. & LCVB contingency to Houston regatta?



Yes, Visit Laredo while we visit Houston on on your tab!


An article appearing today in the Laredo Sun entitled Laredo's Rio Fest Planning and Promotion underway seems to be stating that the City of Laredo is now sending cheer leading teams around the state in support of the Team RioFest racing team. You can be sure that none of the city employees paid out of their own pocket. Why would they ? They've never hesitated to waste the taxpayers' money before, why start now?

Here's an excerpt of the article I'm referring to. It was written by "special to the Laredo Sun" and has a sorta of herky-jerky style which is a little bit difficult to follow. Nevertheless, I think it does allude to a "Laredo delegation" going to Houston on our dime.

Editors Note: Please forgive me for the  running commentary during the following excerpts. I just think that any articles promoting Laredo should be done a little bit more carefully since we're always getting a bum rap. Yes, including from me and I'm not even an English major or anything as you can probably tell. The article reads, in part:

A team of interested volunteers and the city of Laredo ventured to the Buffalo Bayou Regatta in Houston, Texas the weekend of March 12-13, 2011 to support the Team RioFest Racing.

( OK so,  did the entire city of Laredo venture to Houston?? Also, it says "to support the Team RioFest Racing ______ "?? Here, it should either say "to support Team Rio Fest",  or "to support the RioFest Racing Team". But not "'the Team RioFest Racing" .Don't leave us hanging here. The article continues:

 Joy Emshoff and Holly Orr won the women’s recreational canoe class and was (were)2nd overall in the class of 80 boats. That is very impressive when you consider competition in a mixed class.

The reputation for the area’s upcoming October celebration of the river continues to shine (How can that be true if it was cancelled last year because of flooding?) and a buzz is building in the paddling community. At the Laredos RioFest booth during the race, Assistant City Manager Jesus Olivares, observed, “The excitement is visible when Laredo is mentioned. RioFest will be a much larger event with many more participants this year.”

( Why is there a comma between Jesus Olivares and observed? Isn't he the one doing the observing? It's a subject/verb connection so no comma is needed as in: "Jesus Olivares observed".)

The City of Laredo delegation led by Olivares also included Parks and Recreation Director Baldi Guzman and also members of the Laredo Convention and Visitors Bureau.

(This deserves to be in green because this is the $$ part. This is whom the taxpayers of Laredo sponsorsed on this latest cheerleading trip)

Woof !

One idea of what we can do with Laredo's old, discarded tires

Editor's note: The following was inspired by a post appearing on the colossal Bordertown Blues

Not long ago, I was driving near my Alma Mater, Martin High School when I noticed several people milling around a business across the street. As it turns out,  they were actually doing more than milling around, they were lifting and tossing some huge tires around. I was about to call 911 thinking that it was an attack by some army of Incredible Hulk clones (albeit smaller) when I realized the place was actually a gym and these people out there were simply customers engaged in a good old new fashioned workout.

The enterprising owner of the gym had managed to incorporate old tractor trailer tires into his workout equipment and the customers all seemed very happy. Both males and females repeatedly picked up these over-sized llantas and hurled them about. Some would proceed to walk over to the "victim" tire, stand over it for a second, snarl down at it, sometimes even kick it, before sending it airborne again. So, on top of the physical workout, the tires were also allowing these participants an oulet for any stress or anger they might have otherwise taken home with them- that's what you call a win-win situation.

Having said all of this, I think it would be our civic duty to donate any old, discarded tires to the local gyms. We will be not only cleaning up our city, but contributing to the health and fitness of our citizens. I know many of the tires we see laying around are of the smaller variety but we all know that there are many businesses that subscribe to shaping up younger Laredoans.  The many, many cheerleading places around town can use tires as hurdles to improve their girls' jumping ability and overall coordination. The martial arts centers can use tires to Karate chop when they rund out of boards or plywood. I'm sure you can see the vast possibilities of such an idea.

We don't even have to worry about transporting our donated tires to these various gyms. We can just call them up and they will be more than willing to have their customers jog over, and either roll the tires back to their place of business or better yet, just toss'em all the way home.



We can go from this..........

Photo appears courtesy of Bordertown Blues-as you can see!

 To this...........
 

Life-sized Barbie illustrates just how unrealistic her figure really is

From The Huffington Post-By Galia Slayen

Some people have skeletons in their closet. I have an enormous Barbie in mine.

She stands about six feet tall with a 39" bust, 18" waist, and 33" hips. These are the supposed measurements of Barbie if she were a real person.

I built her as a part of the first National Eating Disorder Awareness Week (NEDAW) at my high school, later introducing her to Hamilton College during its first NEDAW in 2011.

The Scary Reality of a Real-Life Barbie Doll

 When I was a little girl, I played with my Barbie in her playhouse, sending her and Ken on dates that always ended with a goodnight kiss. I had fond times with my Barbie, and I admired her perfect blonde locks and slim figure. Barbie represented beauty, perfection and the ideal for young girls around the world. At least, as a seven-year-old, that is what she was to me.

In January 2007, I was looking for a way to make my peers realize the importance of eating disorders and body image issues. I was frustrated after quitting the cheerleading squad, frustrated with pressures to look and act a certain way and most of all frustrated with the eating disorder controlling my life. I wanted to do something that would turn others' apathy into action. That evening, my neighbor and I found two long pieces of wood and started measuring. With a little math, nails and hammering, we built a stick figure that stood about six feet tall.

Read more at: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/galia-slayen/the-scary-reality-of-a-re_b_845239.html

Eagle Ford Shale environmental concerns to be addressed at Cotulla Meeting April 14th.

 

LaredoTejas was made aware of the below-listed meeting by Fabiola, one of our readers. We sincerely appreciate her contribution. The following information appears on the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality's (TCEQ's) website .

Eagle Ford Shale Oil & Gas Local Government Workshops

The TCEQ will be holding two workshops for local governments to address Oil and Gas questions in the Eagle Ford Shale region.

The Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ) is hosting two Oil and Gas Workshops for Local Governments as an opportunity to strengthen our partnership to address local environmental concerns and protect our natural resources as they relate to the oil and gas industry.  We will be presenting information on air quality, water resources, and waste management.  In addition, we will be providing an overview of the TCEQ’s permitting process, rulemaking, investigation and enforcement processes, and emergency response.

Cotulla Workshop	Jourdanton Workshop
April 14, 2011 5:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m.	April 27, 2011 4:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m.
Wellhausen Building (Temporary Courthouse) 204 NE Lane Cotulla, TX 78014

Cotulla Agenda:
5:00 p.m. – 6:00 p.m.: Register & visit booths
6:00 p.m. – 8:15 p.m.: Presentations on air, water, and waste topics related to the oil and gas industry
8:15 p.m. – 9:00 p.m.: Visit booths

"Gas Land": Some info on Eagle Ford Shale LMT won't tell you

 

 

About the film "Gas Land"

"The largest domestic natural gas drilling boom in history has swept across the United States. The Halliburton-developed drilling technology of "fracking" or hydraulic fracturing has unlocked a "Saudia Arabia of natural gas" just beneath us. But is fracking safe?


When filmmaker Josh Fox is asked to lease his land for drilling, he embarks on a cross-country odyssey uncovering a trail of secrets, lies and contamination. A recently drilled nearby Pennsylvania town reports that residents are able to light their drinking water on fire. This is just one of the many absurd and astonishing revelations of a new country called GASLAND.

Editor's Note:

Wells which are hydraulically fractured were exempted from being re-classified as injection wells under the Energy Policy Act of 2005 which was passed under President George W. Bush. This is important because injection wells fall under the federally-regulated Safe Water Drinking Act. As a result of this exemption, no complete listing of the specific chemical formulation of additives used in fracking operations is made available to landowners, neighbors, local officials or health care providers.

Easy come, easy go, Webb school district looses out on grant-Laredo style

Just in case anyone forgot, there's a Webb Consolidated Independent School District. True to form, WCISD is following in the footsteps of the Webb County Judge & Commisioners by managing to loose the use of over $120,000 in grant money. What got the district in trouble specifically, was the failure to verify that a particular project used materials made in the good old USA. Furthermore, they also could not verify that those doing the work were paid at least minimum wage. These two conditions were required under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act  (ARRA) which was funding the grant.

In her defense, WCISD superintendent Severita Sanchez, formerly a highly-paid LISD administrator, gave her side of the story. Today's Laredo Morning Times is reporting that:

WCISD Superintendent Severita Sanchez said it’s not that workers were paid below minimum wage or used materials were not made in the United States; it’s that the district did not verify that those things did not happen.

Because of the noncompliance, WCISD can’t use the $123,000 in stimulus funds to pay for the project, which involved the installation of wiring and cabling at the district’s new high school.Instead, the district will have to pay for it through its general operating fund. However, Sanchez said TEA will allow the district to use the $123,000 to pay for utility bills.

TEA wrote the letter to WCISD after a standard “desk review” of the district’s compliance with the requirements of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act.

The purpose of the TEA reviews is to ensure requirements are followed and federal stimulus funds are expended.

Apparently, Ms. Sanchez fails to see that verification is a huge part of the grant process. What are the feds supposed to do, just take her word for it?  Looks like the Webb county tradition of lossing out on state or federal funding is alive and well. First the CAA and now this.