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Blanco Comes Back to CD23
San Antonio, Texas
Congressman-elect Pete Gallego (TX-23) has selected Cesar J. Blanco, a native of El Paso and resident of San Antonio’s Southside, as chief of staff for his congressional office. Cesar previously served the 23rd District in a variety of capacities, including chief of staff and district director for former Congressman Ciro Rodriguez (TX-23). “I’m excited to have Cesar on board,” said Congressman-elect Pete Gallego. “He doesn't need a learning curve. He brings experience and a deep familiarity to this job. He understands the unique makeup of the district, knows the people, has managed a Congressional office, and knows the key players. All these things benefit the constituents of District 23. He will be an exceptional public servant.” “It’s an honor to serve my community in this capacity,” added Cesar Blanco, the incoming chief of staff. “This is a big responsibility. We will run an extremely effective congressional office that puts the needs of the constituents and the district first. Our office will work around the clock with the goal of making our constituents proud.” Most recently, Cesar served as the Arizona State Director for Obama for America during the 2012 Presidential Election. Previously, he was the Western Region Political Director for the Democratic National Committee (DNC), serving as the Democratic Party’s principal liaison and political advisor for the West while working with 13 state parties and coordinating with the White House, Cabinet members, and the DNC Chair and Vice Chairs. Cesar served as a Congressional Relations Officer for the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs and started his career as a Military Intelligence Analyst in the U.S. Navy. He is a graduate El Paso’s Eastwood High School and The University of Texas at El Paso.
CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas
The year’s largest and most festive holiday season is upon us. In addition to the cheer, sharing and family togetherness, safety should be considered when decorating the house,” says John Flowers, AEP Texas safety manager. “Electrical safety is especially important during the holiday season due to decorative lights draped through trees and around homes.”
AEP Texas recommends the following safety tips for decorating your home:
•Use only holiday lights that are safety-certified by a recognized testing agency such as Underwriters Laboratory (UL). Check your tree lights and outdoor lights for damage each year before you use them. Look for frayed wires, loose connections and broken or cracked sockets. Throw away any set that is damaged.
•Follow the manufacturer’s instructions for using tree lights. All lights should be fastened securely with string, ribbon or rubber bands, but never with conductive wire. Bulbs should not come into direct contact with needles or branches on natural trees. Though they don’t emit much heat, it could eventually be enough to dry out the tree limbs.
•Never attach electric lights to metal trees. A malfunction could lead to a dangerous, perhaps fatal, shock to anyone touching any part of the tree, Instead, use colored flood lights to give a safer and more beautiful illumination.
•Select lights appropriately and never use indoor lights outside because they are not designed to be waterproof and could short circuit. Outdoor lights, on the other hand, are usually hotter than indoor and could pose a hazard if placed on a tree.
•Although holiday lights themselves don’t typically consume a great deal of power, it is important not to overload wall outlets or extension cords. Never run electrical cords under carpets or rugs where daily walking and wear could cause fraying and overheating. Unplug all unnecessary electrical equipment before restoring power if fuses blow or if circuits trip in the home.
•When you leave the house or go to bed, be sure all lights are turned off. Disconnect lights by pulling the plug, not by yanking on the cord. “A few moments exercising caution with electrical equipment can help avoid accidents, which would certainly dampen the joy of the holiday season,” adds Flowers. For more information about holiday safety, please visit the Electrical Safety Foundation International (ESFI) website at www.holidaysafety.org.
Entry deadline is December10th http://redribbon.org/enter -
Win $500 Worth of Red Ribbon Merchandise For Your School -
The National Family Partnership® (NFP) announces its annual call-for-entries for the new theme of next year’s Red Ribbon Week®. “The winner will receive national acclaim and recognition,” said Peggy Sapp, NFP’s volunteer president. “The winning slogan and design will be used throughout 2013 at thousands of schools and communities across America.” In its 28th year as the nation’s largest and oldest drug prevention campaign, Red Ribbon Week® reaches 80 million people each year throughout the United States. The winner will receive $500 worth of Red Ribbon Week® 2013 merchandise for their K-12 school. HOW TO ENTER THE CONTEST: Entries must be received by December 10th, 2012 via email to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. (or via mail to National Family Partnership, 2490 Coral Way, Miami, FL 33145). Please include your name, school, telephone number and email address. Contest rules and full details are available at www.redribbon.org/enter. HELPFUL HINTS: Red Ribbon Week® is celebrated in schools across America, with large banners and signs hung from marquees and fences. Themes and designs should work within this context. Themes should be brief and as catchy as possible (The 2012 theme was “The Best Me Is Drug Free™.” 2011’s theme was "It's Up To Me To Be Drug Free®." The theme for 2010 was “I Am Drug Free: Choices = Consequences®.”) Other recent annual slogans include “100% Me Drug Free®,” “Look At Me I’m Drug Free®” and “Drug Free Is The Key®.” While the red ribbon should be prominently featured in the design, it is not required. Please refer to the red ribbon logo at www.redribbon.org. And last, don't be afraid to use other colors (in addition to red) in your entry. NATIONAL RECOGNITION: The winner will be recognized at the 2013 Community Anti-Drug Coalitions of America’s (CADCA) Annual Leadership Forum (which brings together more than 2,500 participants representing community anti-drug coalitions from across the country, the media, government leaders, addiction treatment professionals, researchers, educators, law enforcement, and faith-based leaders). The winning slogan will also be recognized via Red Ribbon Week®’s national media relations and social media campaigns. About Red Ribbon Week® and the National Family Partnership (NFP)® Red Ribbon Week® is the nation’s largest and oldest drug prevention campaign, reaching 80 million people each year. The NFP spearheaded the national campaign in response to the 1985 death of DEA agent Kiki Camarena, who was abducted and murdered by drug traffickers in Mexico. The NFP was established in 1980, and is a national leader in drug prevention, education and advocacy. Its mission is to lead and support our nation’s families and communities in nurturing the full potential of healthy, drug-free youth. For more information, please visit www.redribbon.org or www.nfp.org.
AUSTIN, Texas
With fluctuating gas prices and the increasing call for work-life balance, telecommuting has become an attractive option for busy professionals. Yet according to a new study from The University of Texas at Austin, for most employees who work remotely, telecommuting equates to working more hours. The study, co-authored by Jennifer Glass, professor in the Department of Sociology and the Population Research Center, shows that most of the 30 percent of respondents who work from home add five to seven hours to their workweek compared with those who work exclusively at the office. They are also significantly less likely to work a standard 40 hour schedule and more likely to work overtime. In fact, most telecommuting hours occur after an employee has already put in 40 hours of work at the office. Using two nationally representative data sources — the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth 1979 panel and special supplements from the U.S. Census Bureau’s Current Population Survey — Glass and her colleague, Mary Noonan, associate professor of sociology at the University of Iowa, analyzed trends in the use of telecommuting among employees and employers in the U.S. civilian workforce. The results, published in Monthly Labor Review, indicate that telecommuting causes work to seep into home life, a problem previously identified in the 2008 Pew Networked Workers survey. According to the survey, a majority of tech-savvy workers claim that telecommuting technology has increased their overall work hours and that employees use technology, especially email, to perform work tasks even when sick or on vacation. “Careful monitoring of this blurred boundary between work and home time and the erosion of ‘normal working hours’ in many professions can help us understand the expansion of work hours overall among salaried workers,” says Glass, who is the Barbara Pierce Bush Regents Professor in Liberal Arts. The researchers also found the labor demand for work-family accommodation does not seem to propel the distribution of telecommuting hours. In fact, parents with dependent children are no more likely to work from home than the population as a whole. According to the findings, employees with authority and status are more likely than others to have the option to work remotely because they have more control of their work schedules. The authors conclude that telecommuting has not permeated the American workplace, and where it has become commonly used, it is not very helpful in reducing work-family conflicts. Instead, it appears to have allowed employers to impose longer workdays, facilitating workers’ needs to add hours to the standard workweek.
(AUSTIN)
Texas Comptroller Susan Combs released the final report in the Texas, It’s your Money series titled, Your Money and Pension Obligations. Combs also announced recommendations aimed at improving government transparency for legislative leadership to consider in the upcoming session. This latest report provides a detailed look at state and local pension programs, while the overall report series offers Texans a clear picture of who is taxing them, how their money is being spent and how public debt is growing. Each one of the reports focuses on financial obligations of taxpayers and provides suggestions on how government should provide more transparency regarding those obligations. Combs is now recommending the Legislature consider these suggestions in the upcoming session. “What comes through in each of these reports is a set of recommendations which shows where we fall short of talking straight to the taxpayer and providing a more transparent government,” Combs said. “I am working with leadership on legislative ideas to embody these recommendations and principles.” The first of these reports, Your Money and The Taxing Facts, examines all the local entities that contribute to a taxpayer’s bill, such as cities, counties, special-purpose districts and transit authorities, and identifies trends in spending. Combs is calling for these taxing entities to post more information on the Web and for local taxing districts to send that information to the Comptroller’s office so the agency can put all local sales and property tax information on one public website. The second report, Your Money and Local Debt, zeroes in on the debt issued by local governments. Combs suggests ballots for new debt contain information both on current and proposed debt obligations, including the following: the debt’s stated purpose, total outstanding debt, total debt per capita and annual debt service requirements. The third report, Your Money and Education Debt, examines the indebtedness of Texas’ public schools and higher education institutions. Because most of this debt is used for school construction, Combs wants information on the cost of each facility, cost per square foot and space per student be posted on the Web. The fourth report, Your Money and Pension Obligations, looks at public pension debt, which has made national headlines recently. Combs urges public pension funds in Texas to report on a public website such line items as their actual investment returns for the past 10 years and the plans’ assumed rates of return. “We want to give taxpayers the same kind of information on government debt and spending that they would need to prepare and balance their own budgets, to handle a mortgage or buy a car — a clear knowledge of what we’re spending and what we owe,” Combs said. “It’s your money. If you don’t know how it’s being used, you need to know. And it’s our job to let you know.” Each of the four reports along with interactive Web tools can be seen at www.texasitsyourmoney.org
BROWNSVILLE, TEXAS
U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP), Office of Field Operations (OFO) officers at the Brownsville B&M International Bridge arrested an ex-Rio Hondo police officer who was wanted by the U.S. Marshals Service. On December 4, 2012 a 30-year-old male United States citizen arrived at the Brownsville-Matamoros International Bridge as a pedestrian and presented his Texas issued driver’s license and U.S. birth certificate to a CBP officer. Preliminary checks revealed that the individual, later identified as Armando Duenez, was a possible match to an arrest warrant and was referred to secondary for further inspection. In secondary further biometric checks through CBP and law-enforcement databases confirmed that he was an exact match to a warrant from the U.S. Marshals. Duenez had been allegedly involved in unlawful firearms sales and had failed to appear for his judicial proceedings. CBP arrested the male traveler and released him to the custody of the U.S. Marshals Service who transported him to the Willacy County Regional detention center. “Our officers have assisted in the apprehension of another fugitive of the law and our ability to check everyone seeking entry into our country has allowed us to capture this individual and turn him over to the proper authorities,” said Michael Freeman, Brownsville Port Director.
By: Bishop James A. Tamayo
This weekend we celebrate the end of the liturgical year, the Solemnity of our Lord Jesus Christ, the King of the Universe. There are several times in the Bible where it is recorded that people spoke of the kingdom of Jesus, but I think the most amazing one was on the day of His crucifixion, when one of the thieves who was executed along with Him said, "Jesus, remember me when You come into your Kingdom."We can be sure that Jesus crucified to the cross did not look royal in the ordinary sense of that term. So what was there about Jesus that gave the admitted thief the slightest indication that He was a king? Well, we have to expect that a thieves learn to pay close attention to people. They watch people carefully to figure out if they have much worth stealing, whether they guard their possessions well and whether it will be easy to steal from them. Thieves may become pretty good at noticing the traits of others. So what did this thief notice that led him to believe Jesus was a king? I think the thief realized that Jesus had great kingly power. Now many people associate great power with the ability to destroy their enemies. That is the power the Roman armies had at the time of Jesus. That is the power that many countries in our day have. But when a nation destroys its enemies, it is often really due to a lack of power, because they were afraid of being harmed by their enemies. Jesus showed He had greater power than any army because He did not fear his enemies. Instead of trying to destroy them, He loved them and He even forgave them.
By Sen. Carlos Uresti
There is new reason to hope that the state agency charged with protecting our children and the elderly will soon step up its efforts on behalf of the most vulnerable citizens in society. Senior district Judge John J. Specia Jr. of San Antonio, who has been on the front lines of the fight against child abuse and neglect for many years, was appointed by Gov. Rick Perry as commissioner of the Department of Family and Protective Services. The appointment comes at a pivotal point for the department, which oversees Child Protective Services and the Department of Aging and Disability Services. These agencies have challenging missions because of the people they serve and must operate under tightening budget restraints, including a 44 percent cut for child abuse prevention programs by the 2011 Legislature — funds that I will work to try and restore in the upcoming session. Morale is on the wane at CPS in particular as that agency fights a growing epidemic in child abuse and neglect, and investigators are assigned increasingly high caseloads, leading to costly turnovers of personnel. Add to this a criminal investigation of CPS workers in Abilene who may have withheld information in a child death case, and it becomes clear that Specia has his work cut out for him. Fortunately, the governor picked the right man for the job. Specia was among the first members of the Bexar County Blue Ribbon Task Force, a group I formed in 2004 after the horrific starvation death of Jovonie Ochoa by his grandparents. The judge helped get the task force off the ground, and I consider him a mentor in the fight I have taken up on behalf of Texas children. One of the state's first child welfare attorneys, Specia was a district judge in Bexar County for almost 20 years before retiring in 1996 and becoming a senior district judge. During his tenure he established the Bexar County Children's Court and another program that has become a model for the state — the Family Drug Treatment Court. His resume on child protection doesn't end there. He served as vice chairman of the Texas Supreme Court's Permanent Judicial Commission for Children, Youth and Families and chaired the Supreme Court Task Force on Foster Care. CASA named him Judge of the Year. When his appointment was announced, Specia told the San Antonio Express-News that his first priority is the 28,000 children in foster care "and all the others who rely on us for their protection and well-being.” Specia is a man who does what he says, and I believe he can transform a child protection system in need of new vision and leadership. His appointment becomes effective Dec. 1 — an early Christmas gift for at-risk kids across Texas and all of their advocates.
ANCIENT BONES ARE NEW SPECIES OF WORLD’S MOST FAMOUS FISH; FIRST COELACANTH FOSSIL EVER DISCOVERED IN DFW
DALLAS (SMU)
SMU scientists and an amateur fossil collector from Fort Worth have unearthed a clue to the mystery of one of the world’s most famous fish, the coelacanth (pronounced SEE-la-kanth). Coelacanth fossil bones have been discovered on almost every continent. Now they’ve been found for the first time in North Texas. Small skull bones are those of a new species of 100 million-year-old coelacanth, says SMU paleontologist John Graf. Graf identified the fossils, which were discovered in Fort Worth by amateur fossil collector Robert Reid. See http://bit.ly/POF3Gl for video and images. The D-FW fossil expands the world’s scientific knowledge of where the famous fish lived 100 million years ago. SMU vertebrate paleontologist Louis L. Jacobs
( http://bit.ly/RvI5wf ) recommended to Reid that he donate the fossil and have it scientifically identified. Reid gave the fossil to SMU’s Shuler Museum of Paleontology. “It is astounding what can be learned from the discoveries that people like Rob Reid make in their own backyards,” said Jacobs, an SMU professor of Earth sciences and president of SMU's Institute for the Study of Earth and Man. “The discovery of living coelacanths in the Indian Ocean after being presumed extinct for 70 million years highlights one of the great mysteries of ocean life. Where were they all that time?
The new fossil from Texas is a step toward understanding this fascinating history.”
• D-FW coelacanth lived in ancient shallow sea covering Texas when dinosaurs roamed Earth.
• Few coelacanth fossils have been found in Texas.
• D-FW specimen is youngest coelacanth discovered in Texas.
• World’s oldest coelacanth specimens are 400 million years old.
• Until 1938, coelacanths were thought to have gone extinct 70 million years ago.
• In 1938 live coelacanths were discovered in the ocean off India, making them one of the oldest animals to inhabit Earth.
San Antonio, TX
State Senator Carlos Uresti emerged unscathed from his latest challenge from Tea Party Republican Michael Berlanga, a race the Texas Tribune recently included on their list of 20 races to watch. Final results available Wednesday morning show the incumbent won reelection 118,771 (61%) to 75,756 (39%) for the challenger. “My campaign focused on what I have made a priority during my time in the legislature-- our children, said Uresti. “Tonight voters confirmed our state needs to make education a priority next session, and that under-funded schools and a sky high Hispanic drop-out rate are unacceptable. The message I heard on the campaign trail is clear, our State must restore funding to our child abuse prevention programs that were de-funded last session. No child should pay the price of another two years of inaction.” District 19, one of the largest legislative districts in the country spans from southern Bexar county to the Mexico border, and tops out in the Permian basin of far West Texas. District 19 is majority minority, conservative, with a large population of elementary age minority children that represent the future demographic make-up of Texas. “I look forward to continuing to work hard on behalf of my constituents,” Uresti said “While the needs of a growing district may be great, the opportunities presented are far greater. We must work together to meet our challenges. Texas is our home, and we’re doing a lot right, but Texas can be even better.”
