01.31.07
Posted in News at 6:19 am by Paloma Cruz
Texas Governor Rick Perry recently gave additional details on his plan to increase border security. As reported by the Houston Chronicle:
Gov. Rick Perry gave more details today on his $100 million plan to crack down on drug and human smuggling along the Mexican border by enlisting hundreds of armed National Guard forces and thousands more agents from other state and federal agencies.
Perry described “Operation Wrangler” as a second phase of an initiative to use state resources to fill security holes left by the federal government.
[snip]
Perry said the plan piggybacks on last February’s Operation Rio Grande, which he said helped border sheriffs reduce crime by 60 percent by helping them buy more equipment and pay officers overtime. Since October 2005, the state has spent $20 million on border security efforts.
Operation Wrangler will send 604 National Guard troops throughout the state, he said, “covering the coast, the rivers, and the interstate highway system.”
The troops will work with agencies totaling more than 6,800 personnel working for 11 “joint operational intelligence centers,” all guided by a control operations center in Austin. Five centers were to be at Border Patrol offices along the border and others were to be along smuggling corridors.
The guard members will operate in platoons accompanied by a Border Patrol member. A Border Patrol spokesman referred all queries about the program to the governor’s office.
Perry said state and federal agencies are much more cooperative since the 2001 terrorist attacks, which he said changed the old atmosphere of “turf protection.”
He said the operation will put more than 2,200 vehicles, 48 helicopters, 33 fixed wing aircraft and 35 patrol ships to the task of catching and deterring smugglers.
Along with the state and federal law-enforcement agencies, others in the operation include the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department, the Texas Civil Air Patrol, the Texas Cattleman’s Association, the Railroad Police, the U.S. Postal Service and University of Texas Center for Space Research.
[snip]
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01.30.07
Posted in News at 11:07 pm by Paloma Cruz
In what I consider a baffling move, Friendswood City Councilman Chris Peden is pursuing a proposal that attempts to institute an official language (English) for official city business.
As reported by the Houston Chronicle:
Friendswood City Councilman Chris Peden intends to pursue a proposal that would let voters decide whether English should be the city’s official language.
Peden said he plans to ask City Council in February to approve having the measure go before voters as a potential amendment to the city charter during the May 12 election.
If City Council approves Peden’s request, the proposal would be placed on the ballot.
On Jan. 15, the city’s charter review committee presented 16 potential amendments to City Council, none of which related to making English the city’s official language.
Mayor David Smith said he expects City Council to discuss in February the charter amendments that will be presented to voters.
Smith and councilmembers Laura Ewing and Mel Measeles oppose Peden’s proposal, which states that City Council and city employees shall conduct official city business in English. The proposal, however, does not prevent them from using another language when doing so.
[snip]
The proposal says that every person in Friendswood is entitled to be able to communicate with City Council or city employees in English, to receive information from or contribute information to city employees in English, and to be notified of official orders in English.
“This says that 100 percent of the business of the city of Friendswood, the municipal government of Friendswood, will be done in English,” Peden said. “If it needs to be done in another language for any purpose that the council or administration deems necessary, it will be printed in that additional language, but we will never do anything in let’s just say Spanish that we haven’t already done in English.”
Additionally, the proposal says it is not to be used to discriminate against or restrict the rights of any person, or to discourage or prevent the use of languages other than English in any nonofficial capacity.
[snip]
I didn’t learn to speak Spanish until I was ten. My parents wanted me to be bilingual, and so I was educated in Spanish. I speak, read and write in both English and Spanish. I am bilingual.
Though my mother was born in Mexico, she moved to the US when she was three. Her Spanish is laughable. She only learned when she married my Dad.
My Father was a migrant worker when he was a kid. To the day he died he spoke with a heavy accent and there were words he just never was able to pronounce correctly. But he built a business, a successful business, and he never let language be a stumbling block.
No one in my immediate family would be affected by this… but I don’t understand this proposal. It makes no sense to me.
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01.29.07
Posted in News at 1:20 am by Paloma Cruz
The new passport rules have gone into effect, reportedly without problems.
New Passport Rules No Problem on Day One
– reported by HispanicBusiness.com
[snip]
The passport requirement is one of the expanding screening procedures implemented by the Department of Homeland Security to snare terrorists and criminals and preempt the use of forged or unauthorized documents.
Toughened travel procedures are the result of the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks.
Next year all travelers arriving at land borders and seaports must also carry passports. Currently, residents of the United States, Bermuda and Canada can enter using driver licenses at those points. Mexicans with so-called Border Crossing Cards will need passports at border entry points as well next year.
While authorities braced for possible disruptions and delays at airports on Tuesday, arrivals at MIA and Fort Lauderdale/Hollywood International went smoothly, according to Mann. That’s because most travelers had passports.
[snip]
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Posted in News at 11:49 pm by Paloma Cruz
And he was doing so well.
Perry wants more troops on border
Guard surge is part of ‘Operation Wrangler,’ aimed at cutting crime, boosting security
– reported by the Houston Chronicle
Gov. Rick Perry said Monday he will send more than 600 additional Texas Army National Guard troops to the border to help law enforcement officers reduce crime and increase security across the state.
The troops are to be part of an interagency law enforcement effort dubbed “Operation Wrangler” that will stay active for an undisclosed period of time in different areas across Texas.
A spokeswoman for the governor said she could not elaborate “on the timing or places but the surge operation will be on a statewide level.”
Perry’s announcement described the new 604 activated troops as “armed, security platoons.” They will stay on the border and “other agencies are going to be coordinating efforts statewide rather than just on the border,” Perry spokeswoman Katherine Cesinger said.
State, federal and local officials Monday were unable to provide details of the Guard troops’ deployment, command and control, rules of engagement, where they would be based or any other tactical aspect of their mission.
The new soldiers are in addition to the more than 1,700 Texas Army National Guard troops Perry activated last summer for Operation Jump Start to support U.S. Border Patrol activities.
A Border Patrol agent and a local police officer will accompany each of the 12 new platoons, Perry’s announcement said.
Operation Wrangler’s various agencies will involve more than 6,800 personnel, 2,200 vehicles, 48 helicopters, 33 fixed-wing aircraft and 35 patrol ships, according to Perry’s office.
Mexican officials in the United States declined comment on the announcement, and those in Mexico City could not be reached.
Perry has said he will ask the Legislature for an additional $100 million to sustain border security efforts.
[snip]
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Posted in News at 11:23 pm by Paloma Cruz
The Houston Chronicle reports that Ricardo “Chico” Rico and Rascal Condi (of the Mega 101 morning show) were let go last week.
The station’s new morning show, called The Mega Flo’ Morning Show, retains Mexicanz sidekicks Liz and Chile and features newcomers Eli and Bo Corona. Corona, Clarke said, has been in Houston radio for 15 years and has “consistently been our highest-rated personality on Mega since our launch.”
I don’t really listen to this station, but even I know who Bo Corona is. However, I’m shocked at the change since less than a year ago they were rated the #1 morning show in Houston.
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01.19.07
Posted in General at 6:59 am by Paloma Cruz
I always find helpful and interesting information when it’s too late to do anything with it. This is no exception: ‘Las Posadas de Miel’ a guide for the Holidays. It is “an all-purpose Spanish-language guide with tips on how to host the perfect Posada, create delicious holiday recipes incorporating 100% pure honey, and a list of the most popular Posadas held each year across the country.”
If you want to access the guide directly, go to this pdf link.
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01.18.07
Posted in News at 6:55 am by Paloma Cruz
Do charter schools work? They do for Hispanic students, according to an Issue Brief recently released by the National Alliance for Public Charter Schools at the Texas Charter School Conference in Houston.
“The evidence speaks for itself,” said Nelson Smith, president, National Alliance for Public Charter Schools. “Charter schools are making significant progress and bringing new hope to Hispanic families who have been underserved by the traditional public school system.”
Read more:
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01.17.07
Posted in News at 9:42 pm by Paloma Cruz
Kudos to actress America Ferrera and her hit show “Ugly Betty” — both walked away with Golden Globe Awards.
The show is one of my favorites, and I don’t watched sitcoms, so that’s saying something. I’ve seen Betty La Fea, and this version is much better.
Nice to see it be recognized by more than just me.
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01.12.07
Posted in News at 2:48 am by Paloma Cruz
Lately, it seems that everything I read about Mexico (or the border to Mexico) it’s disturbing news. This little piece about Acapulco is a mixed batch. On the one hand, it’s good that the government is going to clean house. On the other hand, using military troops to maintain the peace is a scary scary thing.
Mexican troops roll into resort town Acapulco
More than 1,000 Mexican army troops amassed in this Pacific resort town and two other cities in the western state of Guerrero on Wednesday in preparation for a crackdown on drugs and crime, state officials said.
The mobilization follows the movement of more than 10,000 troops to two other states since President Felipe Calderon took office on Dec. 1, promising a tough response to organized crime.
[snip]
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