Editor-In-Chief
HARLINGEN, Texas - So, really, how low has this struggling town fallen? Well, this low: Officials are enlisting the help of the National Guard in their ever-dogged march against the town's many dilapidated and abandoned buildings. In the process, the city hopes it can rid itself of a crippling image that has it looking like a repository for pilgrims, pawns, paupers and punks.
Is it a good idea?
Says recently-hired City Manager Carlos Yerena, "More than anything what the city is trying to do is trying to jump start the economy so we could have developers and contractors that would go out there and build homes and revitalize the neighborhoods."
The giddy Yerena, a career bureaucrat forever looking at new ways to solve old problems, sees it as a win-win situation. Cost would be zero to the property owner, and the city would pay only for hauling of the debris to the city dump.
Indeed, these are tough times for the city of 74,000 jobs-starved souls. Without question, Harlingen is the portrait of a falling, decaying town, especially when one drives its downtown streets, where it is said that there are as many winos out and about on any given night as there are decaying buildings on their way down.
As with all decisions made by bureaucrats, this one will be interesting to watch unfold. Something sad arrives when a town cannot clean-up its own mess...
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7 comments:
Yerena has turned out to be a disappointment.
I can't believe the city of Harlingen has lowered itself to begging for freebies.
What a shame, la placita is a disgrace. The area itself is ugly, poorly lighted. All the concrete sidewalks ought to be torn down, and cobblestone used instead.
The grande theater, club 5-0 and dirty empty lot gives the area a trashy look.
Oh well, welcome to Harlingen the arm pit of the Valley.
Lastly, who in hell is going to invest money on a dying town??
Ricardo Klement is correct, when he says, a drawing of a woman is truly art.
Here in the Valley, show the locals beer, fajita platters, flautas, chile rellenos. For them that is art, how to eat big.
If you were to bring an artist, he would probably say, thanks, but no thanks, puras mujeres gordonas. Y puro pelaos con pansas de sandias.
At the Pescadores Restaurant in McAllen on old 83 and bicentennial I over heard a a man tell a woman, he had eaten a 22 ounce stake in OshKosh Wisconsin. Man, I can't even finish a 6oz.
Hey, that waitress, is not bad looking, tall and thin. Wow, I almost over ate, myself.
ANONYMOUSES:...(1.) Harlingen cannot help itself. Calling-in the National Guard to clean up its mess is pathetic. Why not hire locals, who may need the work? (2.) I sort of agree with you on the potential subjects any would-be painter would have at his disposal for portraying RGVofTexas women in the nude. The skinny ones would save on paints, but the chubby ones would create an added cost in supplies. Still, it should be done. For posterity, yes... - Editor
Good point Mr. Editor, hire local people, labor, pay them $10.00 and hour and you will have plenty of help. But this damn city wants a freebie.
At some point or another, the city commission has to step up to the plate and do what they were elected to do.
Common on, Guz, Jerry, Joey, and Robert, show some leadership, the damn Mayor won't do it, forget about Korri, she is helpless. She can't see straight have of the time.
And the damn Harlingen blogs, are given them a free ride as is the miserable Valley Morning Star.
And no one is writing letters to the editor.
ANONYMOUS:...It would be nice if Harlingen got a truly objective Blog - one that would not take political sides. As it is, at crunch time, MyLeaderNews.com defends Comnmissioner Marra/Co. Judge Cascos and MyHarlingenNews.com defends Commissioner Leftwich/Co. Commissioner Wood. Lost in their online merde-tossings is the community's interest. Those two self-absorbed "news" posers (Mssrs. Deal and Chapa) forget that commissioners come and go, but the plight of the residents seems to always remain... - Editor
The Harlingen city Commission has gone silent and seem to have lost it's focus. Anon, I hear there are some letters to VMS are in the process. At Mi Rancho, this morning, these issues came up.
(Thank You, Mr. Alcatraz for keeping the fight on the forefront.)
We know Tony Chapa is no reporter, for all we know he is a high school drop out. But Jerry Deal has no excuse.
I see the midget tony chapo is trying to start controversy, by blaming you for Harlingen blogs. That man, is a sicko, him and his two bit blog, with hardly any comments and his ill written ariticles. I am glad you put him on his place.
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