Rio Grande Herald (Rio Grande City, Tex.), Vol. 96, No. 48, Ed. 1 Thursday, December 3, 2009 Page: 6 of 6
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The Rio Grande Herald-Thursday, December 3, 2009, Page 6
involves
water and
Adjustment Project.
City Administrator Juan
Zuniga stated, "TxDOT is
forcing us to adjust our
lines...This
adjustments for
•sewer. In some areas, they
couldn't work with the
present
elevations...Rio
submitted a
Garza noted.
street
Delta has
proposal."
"This is just
our part of the project''
Zuniga explained, "They're
making the city move its
lines and the phone
company and Gas System
move their lines." Mayor
Villarreal pointed out,
"We're moving our lines that
are in the way of the
development. That is the
extent of our involvement."
The aldermen approved a
contract with Rio Delta
Engineering to perform
services for TDRA Contract
No. 729661, or the Paving
Improvement Project.
Zuniga declared, "This is a
$400,000 project. TDRA
was previously known as
ORCA. This involves
Kennedy, Pine and Redwood
Streets."
Alderman Garza asked,
"What kind of timeline are
we looking at?" Zuniga
responded, ,fWe should go
out for bids in early January.
Hopefully bids can be
approved in February."
Rio Grande City
Postmaster Gustavo Escobar
Sharing
Continued from Page 1
medley
• 2,000 dinner rolls
■ 2,000 pumpkin pie slices
"The holidays are a time to
celebrate community," said
Danny Flores, H-E-B Public
Affairs Manager. "We are
proud to host this event for
our neighbors and celebrate
the spirit of giving and
sharing that is what makes
the holidays so special."
The tradition of the H-E-B
Feast of Sharing Holiday
Dinners began in 1989 with
the first dinners being held
in Laredo and Corpus
Christi. The dinners were
inspired by H-E-B's Food
Bank Assistance Program
which works daily to prevent
hunger in Texas and Mexico.
Today, 30 dinners are held
across Texas and into
Mexico, with more than
250,000 meals served.
Avasoio
Continued from Page 1
gave a presentation advising
developers of a new postal
policy requiring cluster
boxes for mail delivery. He
explained, "Everybody is
trying to do more with less
in the current economy. This
plan was developed by the
Rio Grande District. There
has been a lot of vandalism
involving mailboxes."
"This would involve
upcoming development of
subdivisions;" emphasized
the postmaster. "Current
dwellings would be
grandfathered. I think this
would be a win for
everybody. It would offer
protection against identity
theft because people can't
watch their mailboxes 24
hours a day."
Escobar continued, "Dog
bites are also a problem. We
have one carrier out for 45
days because of that event.
We're trying to have
deliveries done more
efficiently. We will still go
to individual homes or
businesses for certified mail
or large packages."
Escobar concluded, 'The
new (one-way street
construction) project will
require cluster boxes for
Flores Street. This is an
informative presentation."
Mayor Villarreal
commented, "Based on what
I know, I don't see any
problem with it." Zuniga
suggested, "We can start
mentioning this to
developers." Villarreal
indicated, "We'll let you
know if there's any
movement on this."
Rebates
Continued from Page 1
filers, and reported to the
Comptroller in July.
July state sales tax revenue
is also based on sales that
occurred in June.
The sales tax rebates
included $367.4 million to
Texas cities, 6.5 percent
lower than the August 2008
payments of $393.1 million.
For the 2009 calendar year
to date, city sales tax
allocations are running 2.3
percent lower than in 2008.
Texas counties received
August 2009 sales tax
rebates of $33.8 million, a
decrease of 4.2 percent
compared to the August
2008 figure of $35.3 million.
For the 2009 calendar year
to date, county sales tax
allocations are running 0 2
percent higher than the same
time period last year.
Another $21.2 million
went to 151 special purpose
taxing districts around the
state, a 0.8 percent decrease
compared to August 2008.
Texas' six Metropolitan
Transit Authorities and four
City Transit Departments
received a total of $121.5
million in sales tax
allocations, down 9.0
- percent compared to August
2008.
The state's share of sales
tax revenue reported in July
2009 was $1.65 billion, a
decrease of 11.6 percent
compared to July 2008.
"Sales tax collections in
No matter where in the world you may be...
you're . 'ever far from home.
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Starr Campus students meet former inmate
Juan Melendez, who was on Florida's Death Row for more than 17 years before his
innocence in a brutal murder was determined, is pictured above with students and staff at
the Starr County Campus of South Texas College (STC) during his Nov. 10 appearance.
(See story below <br more details)
Former inmate Melendez speaks
at STC Starr County Campus
July were again down
significantly as major
sectors of the economy, such
as retail trade; oil and
natural gas; and
construction, remain weak,"
Combs said. "The sharp
drop in revenue is a
reflection of the current poor
performance of these sectors
as well as unusually strong
sales tax collections in July
2008."
On Aug. 14, a total of
$544.0 million was
delivered in monthly sales
tax rebates to Texas cities,
counties, transit departments
and special purpose taxing
districts, a decrease of 6.8
percent compared to the
August 2008 figure of
$583.4 million.
The August 2009 sales tax
rebates for Starr County
cities amounted to
$414,901.15, a decrease of
0.61 percent from the
August 2008 total of
$417,460.68. For the
calendar year of 2009 thus
far, Starr County cities have
received rebate checks
totaling $3,090,636.63, an
increase of 4.57 percent
from the $2,955,557.17
received during the same
reporting period of 2008.
I think, at a child's birth, if a
mother could ask a fairy god-
mother to endow it with the
most useful gift, that gift would
he curiosity.
—Eleanor Roosevelt
The South Texas College
Starr County Campus hosted
Juan Roberto Melendez on
Tuesday, November 10,
2009. Mr. Melendez is a
Puerto Rico native who
migrated to the United States
as a very young man in
search of a better life. What
he found, however, was a
living nightmare.
He was falseiy convicted
of a grisly murder in Florida
and sentenced to death. The
jury was selected, the trial
took place, and the death
penalty sentence was given.
where he offered two
enlightening presentations.
A film about Mr. Melendez'
incredible odyssey was
shown, entitled "Witness to
Injustice," followed by a
question and answer session
with Mr. Melendez.
Approximately 300 students,
faculty, and staff attended
the thought provocative
sessions.
Among those fortunate to
attend were members of the
Starr County Campus
Psychology Club, who took
buy. As Co-Founder and Co- attendance.
Chairman of the Financial The workshop, which
and Economic Literacy
Caucus, I continue to
promote financial literacy
causes and outreach to the
all in the span of a mere 5 tlle opportunity to pose for a
days. Undoubtedly, his picture with Mr. Melendez.
ethnicity, low
socioeconomic status, and
limited knowledge of the
English language played a
crucial role in his unjust
conviction and sentence.
Mr. Melendez spent over 17
years on death row,
maintaining his innocence
while fighting feverishly
along with his attorney for
justice.
Despite the grim
circumstances he found
himself in and
discouragingly losing one
appeal after another, Mr.
Melendez and his mother
never lost hope, holding
firmly to their strong faith.
By sheer luck the truth came
to light, and Mr. Melendez
was exonerated and released.
Now he tours the country,
sharing his inspirational
story with people and
fighting relentlessly for the
abolishment of the death
penalty.
His journey brought him to
the STC Starr County
Campus in Rio Grande City
Kneeling in the picture are
Psychology Club President
Jesus Garcia and Juan
Roberto Melendez. In the
middle row are Sociology
Instructor and Club Advisor
Marcie De La Cruz,
Alejandra Benavides,
Hefziba Benitez, J.P.
Shirtcliff, Myriam Garza,
and CLE Assistant
Supervisor and Club Advisor
Alex Sarabia. Standing in
the back are Starr County
Campus Administrator
Ruben Saenz and
Psychology Instructor and
Primary Club Advisor Eli
Sarabia.
Workshop
Continued from Page 1
includes brief educational
sessions with homeowners,
is free and open to the
public. English and Spanish
private sector, to non-profits, speaking counselors will be
community based
organizations and most of all
our residents."
In addition, the Hidalgo
County Housing Authority,
HUD, and various local
organizations will
participate. The goal of the
event is to give struggling possibly lead
homeowners face time with modifications.
their lenders and financial
counselors to develop a
possible loan modification or
financial plan to avoid
foreclosure. Representatives
from Chase, Wells Fargo,
American Home Mortgage
Servicing, Ocwen, and
Fannie Mae will be in
available for homeowners to
have a face-to-face
conversation with a third-
party advisor. These sessions
will provide homeowners
with a better understanding
of their financial situation
and options, which can
to loan
Is
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Roberts, Kenneth. Rio Grande Herald (Rio Grande City, Tex.), Vol. 96, No. 48, Ed. 1 Thursday, December 3, 2009, newspaper, December 3, 2009; Edinburg, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth196388/m1/6/: accessed April 25, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Rio Grande City Public Library.