ADVERTISEMENT 2
ADVERTISEMENT 3
Error: No articles to display
ADVERTISEMENT 1
ADVERTISEMENT 4
A.D. Ibarra
-San Angelo, TX
The Eagle Pass News Gram caught up to Jo Jo Garza, bass player for Los Lonely Boys, the Grammy Award winning band out of San Angelo who hit the music scene with their Texican rock and roll.
When asked about that year and their appearance at the grandest event in music, he had the following to say:
We never felt so honored and we never felt so humbled when they told us, a lot of the nation came together, especially the Raza, Man, so we couldn't help but shed a tear. People told us 'We feel like we were all on that stage!' and one of the things we always tell people, Bro' is that we all stand together, because we stand here for La Raza. La Raza Humana and we felt really honored.
It's kind of like when Selena Quintanilla got it.
I'll tell you what, Man, she'd put a lot of these crazy girls who are out on the radio right now to shame. She was a big influence too, Man, believe it or not, doing the crossover thing.
It's like living a dream, He's real deep, real spiritual. He's all about the light, about God. All about spreading positive messages to people and being positive. He's ls about Latinos rocking and crossing over to the American side of music, porque somos Americanos tambien. He's also about breaking down barriers. He tells us that he's passed down the torch to us. "You guys are next." we don't really know what to say other than that means a heck of a whole lot and we'll do our best to keep rocking and carrying the message of love, the message of God and the message of life. It's a blessing for us to have the talent we have and it comes from Dios. We're strong believers in Jesus Christ. He died for our sins and we believe in God Almighty, the Alpha Omega. Without any of that belief in our lives we know we wouldn't be any where near where we are in our lives.
Texas attorney guilty in cartel laundering case
JUAN CARLOS LLORCA, Associated Press
EL PASO, Texas (AP) — A jury in West Texas has found an El Paso attorney and former Carnegie Mellon University trustee guilty of conspiring to launder drug money.
During the weeklong trial, prosecutors said Marco Antonio Delgado devised a scheme to launder up to $600 million for the now-disbanded Milenio Mexican drug cartel in 2007 and 2008.
The prosecution presented recorded phone calls made by Delgado to other members of the conspiracy, as well as testimony from a former associate and federal agents.
Delgado insisted on his innocence and claimed the evidence was a fabrication.
Federal agents also testified that after Delgado was arrested with $1 million, he confessed and agreed to cooperate but continued moving drug money behind his handlers' backs.
Copyright 2013 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
AUSTIN — Reacting to concerns from Sen. Carlos Uresti and other lawmakers, the Texas Department of Transportation said Wednesday it might extend its moratorium on gravel road conversions in energy-producing regions, and that it will try to provide an additional $250 million for road maintenance and repair. Uresti, who helped negotiate the initial moratorium agreement with TxDOT in August, applauded the agency for listening to lawmakers and taking positive steps that could limit the need for tearing up paved roads and converting them to gravel in the Eagle Ford Shale and Permian Basin regions. Uresti noted that the 60-day moratorium brokered with TxDOT is almost over, and he urged communities to come to the table with solutions. In the meantime, TxDOT indicated that it would consider extending the moratorium on gravel conversions if more counties stepped forward with alternative solutions. The agency also said, under questioning from Uresti, that no other roads are being considered for conversion to gravel at this time.
AUSTIN – Gov. Rick Perry today visited Lake Travis to encourage public support of Proposition 6 to fund the state water plan. As a result of the current drought, Lake Travis now sits just six feet above its historic low level, leaving large swaths of land normally covered by water now exposed in the lake bed. Gov. Perry was joined by Sen. Kirk Watson, Rep. Paul Workman and Goldthwaite City Manager Rob Lindsey. “Prop. 6 presents us with a historic opportunity to fund water projects that will ensure we have the water we need to grow and thrive, for the next five decades,” Gov. Perry said.
AUSTIN — At a series of events in key markets across Texas, Representative Poncho Nevárez, Speaker Joe Straus and members of the Texas Legislature are launching 'Water Texas,' an effort to win voter approval for Proposition 6 to secure a long-term water supply for Texas. Speaker Straus recently kicked off the effort with a news conference with local officials in Amarillo. “The water crisis impacts every part of our great state, from our growing cities and industries to our farming and ranching communities,” said House Speaker Joe Straus, the Honorary Chairman of Water Texas.
Texans sign up for insurance on federal exchange
CHRIS TOMLINSON, Associated Press
AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — The phones were ringing at three-times the normal pace at the United Way call center in Austin on Tuesday, the majority of calls from people looking for help finding health insurance on the first day it became available under the federal Affordable Care Act.
The center helps residents enroll in social services and normally gets about 150 calls a day, but more than 180 had called in by 11 a.m., said Jessica Venson, the center's director. She said interest in the program was strong, but she noted that people have six months to register through a federally run website.
"We didn't know what to expect, but so far it has been manageable," Venson said.
The United Way is among several nonprofits, hospitals and clinics advertising the program in Texas — where 25 percent of residents are uninsured, the highest percentage of any U.S. state — and encouraging people to sign up. But they're getting no help from the state or its political leadership, who are unanimously and loudly opposed to the law.
The center in Austin was referring callers, depending on their location and needs, to health care navigators who are spread out across the state. At Parkland Hospital in Dallas, three-dozen navigators were helping people register but were stymied by a federal website slowed by the volume of new consumers. Parkland turned to paper applications to speed the process.
Texas is one of 36 states that relied on the federal government to set up online market places, known as health care exchanges, for consumers to compare and buy health insurance. State lawmakers also chose not to expand Medicaid as part of the new federal health care law, so almost 1.5 million Texas residents living in poverty will not qualify for free or subsidized coverage.
Stephanie Pollock, who was hired in August as a counselor to work with Houston residents buying coverage, said she spoke to one couple whose $2,100 monthly income made them ineligible to receive Medicaid. She said the wife was a diabetic and the husband had a heart condition, and each took turns alternating 15-day supplies of their medication.
Pollock said the woman told her that she was saving their lives by steering them toward affordable health care.
"I call it the Berlin Wall coming down in America," Pollock said.
Pollock noted that phones were ringing off the hook early as Monday. She said most callers were between the ages of 45 and 63, and had either been unable to find a job since the recession or had a medical condition that rendered them unable to work.
More than 6 million Texas residents don't have health insurance, and the rate among working-age adults is one-in-three. Conservative Republicans, though, reject the notion that government should play a role in health care.
Gov. Rick Perry is among the law's most vocal opponents. Because of his opposition and uncertainty about new rules he wants to impose on navigators, four government councils chose not to assist people even after initially agreeing to help people sign up.
On Monday, John Buckner, executive director of the Costal Bend Council of Governments, said his organization is reliant on state dollars. Given the strong disapproval for the law among state leaders, Buckner said his group — which serves 12 coastal Texas counties — decided it was unwise to participate.
"There's a lot of strong feelings about this program in Austin — the legislative level, in the governor's office," Buckner said. "It seems like with all the issues going on right now, it might be best not to get involved with something that's not being very accepted by the political arena."
___
Associated Press writers Paul Weber in Austin and Jamie Stengle in Dallas contributed to this report.
Copyright 2013 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
As The ACA Rollout Approaches, Confusion Reigns:
The Top Questions Consumers Are Asking
(AUSTIN, TEXAS – September 26, 2013) With open enrollment in the health coverage plans under the Affordable Care Act (ACA) set to begin on Oct. 1, a series of surveys from respected organizations reinforce consumer confusion that exists about health insurance and the new law.
A September 2013 study in the Journal of Health Economics suggests that most Americans lack even a basic understanding of health insurance. The study finds that only 14 percent of those surveyed could define essential elements of a health insurance plan. In a second survey, conducted by Gallup in June 2013, 43 percent of consumers surveyed were unaware they must have health insurance coverage under the new health law.
Customs and Border Protection Officers Seize $350,000 in Heroin at Brownsville Port of Entry
Brownsville, Texas – U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officers at Gateway International Bridge seized three and a half pounds of alleged heroin in a northbound alleged smuggling attempt. CBP officers discovered alleged heroin valued at approximately $350,000 hidden within canned food items.
“As would-be alleged smugglers attempt to bring these illicit drugs into the country, Brownsville’s CBP officers use every tool available to them as they safeguard our borders. I congratulate our officers for this seizure and the arrest of this alleged smuggler,” said Michael Freeman, CBP Port Director, Brownsville Port of Entry.
On Wednesday, September 25, 2013 at Gateway International Bridge a CBP officer conducting northbound inspections intercepted a man identified as a 39-year old United States citizen and resident of Matamoros, Tamaulipas, Mexico arriving at the port of entry on a bicycle carrying a backpack of grocery items. The CBP officers’ examination resulted in the discovery of three cans each holding one package of alleged heroin. CBP officers removed the three packages which held a combined total weight of 1.58 kilograms (5.5 pounds) of alleged heroin.
The alleged heroin from this seizure has an estimated street value of approximately $350,000.
CBP officers seized the narcotics and turned the man over to U.S. Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) special agents for further investigation.
-CBP-
U.S. Customs and Border Protection is the unified border agency within the Department of Homeland Security charged with the management, control and protection of our nation's borders at and between official ports of entry. CBP is charged with keeping terrorists and terrorist weapons out of the country while enforcing hundreds of U.S. laws.
Gallego Announces $500,000 Award for Del Rio International Airport
Washington, D.C.: Congressman Pete P. Gallego (TX-23) today announced that the City of Del Rio has been awarded a $500,000 federal grant for the Small Community Air Service Development Program. The federal grant, which was awarded from the U.S. Department of Transportation, will help the Del Rio International Airport restore air service targeting American Eagle to Dallas/Fort Worth.
“The City of Del Rio informed me early in my term that this was one of the City’s biggest priorities,” said Congressman Gallego. “I’m happy that I could help deliver an important win for the City and local residents. Helping our local communities is what public service is all about.”
“We’re very thankful to Congressman Gallego for his support in improving local infrastructure,” said Del Rio Mayor Bobby Fernandez. “From his time as a state legislator, he’s been a staunch supporter of regional airports. The increased air service will not only help passengers, it will also serve as a boon to our entire economy.”
Congressman Gallego worked to ensure that the City of Del Rio’s application for the Small Community Air Service Development Grant would be approve. His letter in support of the application included the following:
“The Queen City of the Rio Grande, Del Rio is a vibrant military community with a diversified economy based on business and commerce, tourism, and agriculture[…]Thanks to local efforts and your support, Del Rio became the only border community between Laredo and El Paso (some 850 miles) to offer passenger service. The recent loss of such air service has negatively impacted community residents. From government employees at Laughlin Air Force Base to those engaged in the international trade sector to the service industries relying on tourism - all have now lost a vital and convenient air link t0 the rest of Texas.”
The application from the City of Del Rio was selected because it met several priority and secondary selection criteria. The local cash contribution of 24.6% would help to restore air service at the community and aligns with the local contribution priority criterion. The community has established a strong public-private partnership with almost 40 members, who committed funding to the local priority contribution. In addition, the project aligns with secondary criterion as the community has a letter of support from American and the community is geographically isolated, which aligns with the location secondary criterion.
The Small Community Air Service Development Program (SCASDP) is a grant program designed to help small communities address air service and airfare issues. SCASDP can involve, among others, revenue guarantees, financial assistance for marketing programs, start-up costs and studies.
The Small Community Program provides considerable flexibility in how funds can be used to implement a community’s grant proposal. For example, grant funds can be used to cover the expenses of any new advertising or promotional activities that can reasonably be related to improving the air service to the community. Funds may also be used for new studies designed to measure air service deficiencies, or to measure traffic loss or diversion to other communities, or for advertising or public relations agencies, and consulting firms.
Brownsville, Texas – .S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officers at Gateway International Bridge seized two and a half pounds of alleged heroin in a northbound enforcement action. CBP officers discovered alleged heroin valued at approximately $80,000 hidden within canned food items.