| "Si, si, tenemos que ir a tocar las puertas de Washington DC" |
Yawn........besides spending a lot more taxpayer money on their Washington DC vacation, what else is new? The following article appeared in the Laredo Morning Times in March, 2010-two years ago. The city was going up to our nation's capitol to "knock on doors" and ask for federal funds for a bus terminal among other things. Wait, isn't it exactly what they're doing this year again?
From The Laredo Morning Times archives
LAREDO MORNING TIMES
A new bus inspection facility and security issues along the border are pressing issues that the City of Laredo hopes to address during its annual legislative trip to Washington, D.C.
Three council members, Mayor Raul Salinas and a handful of city staff and department heads travel to Washington for four days to “hunt for federal dollars,” as Salinas put it.
The city will spend the four days in meetings with federal officials, as well as celebrating “Laredo Day,” an event paid for by sponsors to raise awareness of the city’s issues and commercial advantages.
Currently the General Services Administration divides federal funding for two of Laredo’s international bridges.
City Manager Carlos Villarreal said that, if they can convince the GSA to use that funding in one source, they can create a bus inspection facility which will improve conditions for riders crossing into the United States.
Villarreal long has been concerned about the fact that people crossing by bus are subjected to “the rough elements we have here in Laredo,” and forced to use portable bathrooms.
He envisions an indoor facility with air conditioning, a children’s play area and “plenty of bathrooms.”
Once bus riders are cleared to come into the United States, they could continue along, catch connections with other bus companies, or even shop or purchase fast food.
“We’re still the leading mover of people by buses here on the Texas-Mexico border,” Villarreal said.
But a new facility could ensure that Laredo keeps that title.
Three council members, Mayor Raul Salinas and a handful of city staff and department heads travel to Washington for four days to “hunt for federal dollars,” as Salinas put it.
The city will spend the four days in meetings with federal officials, as well as celebrating “Laredo Day,” an event paid for by sponsors to raise awareness of the city’s issues and commercial advantages.
Currently the General Services Administration divides federal funding for two of Laredo’s international bridges.
City Manager Carlos Villarreal said that, if they can convince the GSA to use that funding in one source, they can create a bus inspection facility which will improve conditions for riders crossing into the United States.
Villarreal long has been concerned about the fact that people crossing by bus are subjected to “the rough elements we have here in Laredo,” and forced to use portable bathrooms.
He envisions an indoor facility with air conditioning, a children’s play area and “plenty of bathrooms.”
Once bus riders are cleared to come into the United States, they could continue along, catch connections with other bus companies, or even shop or purchase fast food.
“We’re still the leading mover of people by buses here on the Texas-Mexico border,” Villarreal said.
But a new facility could ensure that Laredo keeps that title.
Washington is a great place to get your continuing education credits. What I find interesting is that my councilman, Perez, is tagging along. Yeah, let's have the one who never says a thing during meetings go to D.C. to lobby for a transportation bill.
ReplyDeleteKeyrose
There re three types of people in this world. Those who make things happen, those who watch things happen and those who wonder what happened. As the writer of this blog I guess ou are a wonder what happened type of guy. At least they re out trying to make things happen for our ci. Washington isn't coming to us to offer us buckets of money. Write about something more relevant.
ReplyDeleteWrong! I think you don't have to fit into just one of those 3 types. So you're theory doesn't hold any water to start off with. Relevance is subjective so it's relevant to someone even if it may just be me. You say "at least they're trying to make things happen for our city". I say "At least we're making it possible for them to do so with our taxes". It is part of our civic duty to question those that spend our money so I'm already doing something about it- as are many others who speak out in one way or another. Thanks for the comment.
ReplyDeleteMaximiliano