Monday, August 21, 2006

Texas State Representative House District 33: Solomon P. Ortiz Jr. Defeats Mikal Watts at his Own Game. Or Perhaps GOD intervened.

Solomon P. Ortiz Jr. Defeats Mikal Watts at his Own Game. Or Perhaps GOD intervened.

“When Corpus Christi state representative Vilma Luna decided to give up her legislative seat in July to take a lobbying job in Austin with Hillco Partners, the Democratic party had every reason to believe that the seat would remain in the party's column.”

Let’s look a little further into this assertion.

Why did Vilma Luna step down?

One answer and the one on the surface would be as stated, “to take a lobbying job in Austin with Hillco Partners”. Vilma cited more family time as her primary reason. It goes much deeper than that Mr. Burka; remember Vilma Luna is their hero. It is not difficult to understand that the Utility of Vilma Luna was wearing thin like the Firestone tires that made Mikal and his Crew rich. He could have eventually got her into something she will be blamed for. As it is common knowledge in South Texas; Mikal Watts is about reversing the “Capelo” legislation. There were two tort reform bills, one originated by doctors (and endorsed by TLR) that capped non-economic damages in medical malpractice cases at $250,000 and another containing an assortment of protections for businesses, supported by TLR.

There's More.....

Sunday, August 20, 2006

citizensagainstcorruptjudges: The poles are put back in the rack until the next Judge or Democraddick relinquishes power after the critical date.

citizensagainstcorruptjudges: The poles are put back in the rack until the next Judge or Democraddick relinquishes power after the critical date.

Now that Joseph Barrientos’ name and Mikal Watts’ name, is being quoted by messengers like Mike Chavez & Connie Gutierrez, Kenneth Hawkins delivering letters, personal messages of influence, and predictions of marksman accuracy as to County Court at Law # 2 Docket. Who controls the continuing feed to WATTABURGER?


There's more....

Hooking em is one part. Reeling em in is another story. Setting the Drag too tight dont work on some of us. U Just can't Muscle us that way.

Part of the fun and excitement of saltwater fishing is you never know what you've got on the other end of that fishing line. Pound for pound salt water fish give you the most heart pounding action you can imagine. The redfish is famous throughout the south for it's fight that last all the way to the fish box. He'll sometimes snap even the best of fishing lines and strip gears in the finest reels.


The Bull Redfish or Bull Red which can measure from 27" to over 40" is the master of the Louisiana Marsh. This monster and legendary fighter is the one to experience with light tackle. These Bull Reds will have your blood rushing with every run he makes for freedom. Proper line and drag set is what it's all about as he can strip a reel of line in a matter of seconds. The fish stories these big brutes have produced are second to none. Capt. John Pounders with Eccentric Charters can make it happen for you.

Friday, August 18, 2006

Bourgeoisie: Who Dunnit?

Bourgeoisie: Who Dunnit?




Was it the Social "Progressives"?

Was it the Democrats?

Was it the Republicans?

Was it in retaliation for the Republican attack on the Progressive Socialist pre fab party?

Was it kids who hear too much rhetoric?

Did you guys know 1440 KEYS has got a new Political Analyst by the name of Jenny Trejo?

More like a Republican defender and a weak one at that.

Thursday, August 17, 2006

Wild Horse Desert: Los Kine�os: The Romanticized Version

Wild Horse Desert: Los Kine�os: The Romanticized Version




“There was a terrible drought in South Texas and Northern Mexico. Captain King traveled to the little hamlet of Cruillas in the Mexican state of Tamaulipas.

“The townspeople were in such dire straits that they sold all of their cattle to him in an attempt to survive the drought. A short distance out of town, slowly driving the cattle north toward Texas, Captain King realized that, in solving an immediate problem for the people of Cruillas, he had simultaneously removed their long-term means of livelihood. He turned his horse back toward the town and made its people a proposition. He would provide them with food, shelter and income if they would move and come to work on his ranch. The townspeople conferred and many of them agreed to move north with Captain King.

“Already expert stockmen and horsemen, these resilient denizens of the rugged Mexican range became known as Los Kinenos - King's people. They and many generations of their heirs would go on to weave a large portion of the historical tapestry of King Ranch. The expert Kineno cowboys now occupy a justifiably legendary place in the annals of the taming of the vast American West. The mystique of the Kinenos is alive and well, and descendants of the original Cruillas residents still live and work on the ranch today - providing a vital link with the past and giving the ranch a key aspect of its unique atmosphere.”

The vastness of the huge ranch on which he lived seems to have given him a wish to know more about the world. He would later turn his attention to being an educator. A definition of an educator is: to demonstrate a commitment to creating new knowledge, to applying knowledge to solving problems to synthesize various strands of knowledge, and to understanding how students learn.

Wednesday, August 16, 2006

Del Mar Electronic Anonymous Input Forum: Del Mar President Carlos Garcia, "opted not to renew the yearly contract for the former EEO officer, Ms. The

Del Mar Electronic Anonymous Input Forum: Del Mar President Carlos Garcia, "opted not to renew the yearly contract for the former EEO officer, Ms. Theresa Cox"



“We do not want to hear rumors

that (Cox) was fired,” Garcia said.

“Mrs. Cox is on administrative

leave and her contract expires on

Aug. 31, 2006,” Garcia said. “DMC

has a restructuring of the administration,

and it is normal to have several

employees leave for several reasons,

such as retirement, offers for a new

employment or just moving out from

the city.

JK: By the time this article is published in the Foghorn, Gabriel Rivas and the Board of Regents are informed of the situation and the allegations against President Carlos Garcia.

JK: It is certainly valid to question the Board as to why Dr. Garcia has not been placed on Administrative leave as SOP mandates?

JK: Gabriel Rivas (en camera) represents and definitively concludes, when an employee is accused of Sexual Harassment; that employee is placed on Administrative leave.

JK: The Administrative Leave Requirement is an integral step in the Due Process and unequivocally applies to each employee the same. The act of discontinuing or modifying the JOB opportunities of one’s accuser, is a blatant act of retaliation. In the protection of DMC (all) preventing retaliation is an obvious reason the Due Process requires the placement of the accused employee on administrative leave.

Wednesday, August 02, 2006

Bob Jones @ 1440 KEYS: Corpus Christi Mayors Advisory Committee Member Bob Jones Announcement in a nutshell "Would've made Jaime Proud"

Bob Jones @ 1440 KEYS: Corpus Christi Mayors Advisory Committee Member Bob Jones Announcement in a nutshell "Would've made Jaime Proud"

Kenedy was such a demanding taskmaster that he made Johnny Hall redo the work three times before he'd pay him.

Looking Back at Chaparral

Roses bloomed at Kearney's

November 12, 2003

picturePart IV of IV

On Chaparral Street in the 19th Century, there was always something interesting in the windows of DeRyee's Drug Store. Once, there was a stuffed duck, its bill clamped in an oyster shell.

DeRyee's (which originally was DeRyee and Westervelt) was on the corner of Peoples, on the left side looking north. The two-story building was built by Dr. William DeRyee himself. He made the shellcrete blocks for the building, and he collected mahogany driftwood on the island which he used to frame the doors and windows.

Candles made in Civil War

Dr. DeRyee, a chemist from Alsace-Lorraine, came here in 1848 with John M. Moore. He was a chemist who first made a living by making and selling soap and candles. His candles were in great demand during the Civil War, when the Union blockade limited outside supplies.

DeRyee's drug store was torn down to clear the way for the four-story City National Bank Building, built in 1908. (That building is still there, though it has been remodeled and stripped of its original facade.)

Down the street from DeRyee's was Hall's tin shop, decorated with a stove mounted on a pole. Johnny Hall sold stoves and heating equipment. One story told was that Hall was hired by the rancher Mifflin Kenedy to install the gutterwork on his mansion on the bluff. Kenedy was such a demanding taskmaster that he made Johnny Hall redo the work three times before he'd pay him.

Past Hall's was William Funk's soft-drink stand, and two boarding houses run by Eli Merriman's mother. Across from DeRyee's, on the east side of Chaparral, at the corner of Peoples, was Lichtenstein's department store.

Morris Lichtenstein was a Confederate veteran who fought with Sibley's Brigade in New Mexio. After the war, he opened a store in Indianola. He moved his operation to Corpus Christi in 1874, the year before the great hurricane virtually wiped out Indianola. Lichtenstein sold calico and fancy dress goods which he brought from New York on annual buying expeditions. He also sold guns and ammo. A year after he opened his store on Chaparral, a company of Texas Rangers led by Capt. Leander McNelly stopped at Lichtenstein's. This was after the Nuecestown raid and the Rangers were on their way to clean up the border. Lichtenstein, the story goes, provided the Rangers with Sharps carbines and told them not to worry about paying him, that he would rather give them away than have bandits steal them. That story is told in "Taming the Nueces Strip."

Lichtenstein's establishment, which began in a rented frame building, would become the city's dominant department store for almost a century. The store's operations were moved three times, always on Chaparral.

Past Lichtenstein's was J.B. (John Belden) Mitchell's hardware and furniture store. (This would later be occupied by E.L. Caldwell's hardware store.) Mitchell sold fencing material, plows, Studebaker wagons, harrows and Buckeye mowers. His store was followed by George French's grocery store (later Evans & Hickey). This was followed by the Kearney cottage, which was used as the U.S. Customs Office.

Pale pink cabbage roses

Dr. Thomas Kearney was brought to Corpus Christi during the yellow fever epidemic of 1867. He came from Havana and later sent back to Havana for four rose bushes, which he planted in the front yard, two on each side. They were described as cabbage roses, with pale pink petals. They were Corpus Christi's most famous roses, and always in demand by young men for their sweethearts. Anxious eyes kept a watch on Kearney's cottage for the first blooms of spring. There's a hotel parking lot at that site today, with no rose bushes to mar the view.

At the end of the block, at the intersection with Starr Street, were John Woessner's buildings. At the corner was the Woessner Bank and general merchandise store. Next to this building was the Woessner wool warehouse, with a public hall upstairs where dances were held. Judge Walter Timon once said the best dances in the world were held at Woessner Hall, where the floor was "springy and fine."

In the next block, at the corner of Taylor, was the old Ranahan home, built of shellcrete in 1853. During the federal bombardment of Corpus Christi in 1862, a shell smashed through the front wall, leaving a three-foot hole. When the old building was torn down in 1938, to clear the site for a parking lot for the Ritz Theater, the house-mover, Ed Brennan, was killed when a wall fell on him.

The 'Ironclad Oath' house

Across Taylor, on the east side on the corner, and east of the Church of the Good Shepherd, was the home of Royal Givens, the town's fish and oyster dealer. Before Givens bought it, it was known as the old Russell Home. After the Civil War, Union officers in command of occupation forces used the Russell home as their headquarters. It was here that citizens were required to take the "Ironclad Oath" of loyalty before they could vote. Despite the bitterness left from the war, there was a will for peace._One old Confederate veteran said he'd seen enough fighting, that he would walk three miles to go around a blue coat hanging on a stump.

This is the last of four columns on Chaparral. A series on Mesquite Street will begin next week.

Murphy Givens can be reached at 886-4315 or by e-mail at givensm@caller.com. His radio commentary can be heard at 7:30 a.m. Wednesday and at 6:30 p.m. Friday on KEDT (90.3 FM) and KVRT-Victoria (90.7 FM).

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