AMERIQUE:


A NOTE FROM THE EDITOR: It is the unspoken statistic, but it is as real as anything to do with the lingering U.S. war efforts in Iraq and Afghanistan. According to the military, 1,800 American servicemen have killed themselves since the initial invasion of Baghdad. That is in addition to the more than 4,000 who died in battle. This week, families of the soldiers who committed suicide asked President Barack Obama to change the government policy of not forwarding letters of appreciation to mothers and fathers of these servicemen. By week's end, the White House had reversed the policy and agreed that such letters are needed, as well... - Eduardo Paz-Martinez, Editor of The Tribune

Wednesday, May 26, 2010

In Feisty Harlingen, Smalltown Hubbub Roils The Community...

By PATRICK ALCATRAZ
Special to The Tribune

HARLINGEN, Texas - The Waffle House here is not exactly The Havana Cafe in Mexico City or The Palm Lounge in Brownsville, places where locals gather to coldly and unmercifully dissect politicians, especially the recalcitrant ones who would rather operate in the dark and with impunity.

Noise moving up and down city streets and cafe counters has it that the Harlingen City Commission is taking on the air of one of those Lebanese or Japanese government bodies where harsh words always lead to shoe-throwings and punches thrown willy-nilly. Here, you say with incredulity. In lonely, oft-ignored Harlingen? Here? Here in the town the rest of the Rio Grande Valley forgot? Here?

Yes, here. Seems, as they say in westerns, that schoolmarm - uh - Commissioner Kori Marra has riled a hornet's nest with her style of governing. Caustic, say critics. More than caustic, scream others. Talk has it that she disliked the Harlingen Post website. The Post is gone. We don't follow every word said or written about any RGV pol, but weird stuff about Madam Marra keeps, uh, coming up. Is it merely the idle work of her critics? She's a pleasant looking lady, from what we can see - sort of a cross between CBS Evening News anchor Katie Couric and Brownsville City Commissioner Melissa Zamora. And, we're told, she's only been a commissioner for one (1) year, hardly enough time to ruffle even a dead bird's feathers.

Yet, there it is - a burgeoning catfight between what locals call the Old Guard (including Mayor Chris Boswell) and a new breed of city commissioner, those elected in the most recent races. So, who knows? All we hear is what we hear. In our effort to get to know Madam Marra a bit better, we engaged her in an Email chat to do with a few softball questions we wanted her to address. She declined, or at least did not respond following her decision to do it. It's just something we don't associate with a realtor, which we hear is her profession. Realtors are trained to consider requests of all kinds, at all hours.

We handed her five (5) questions. Five!

We're still waiting for her responses, even as sleepy, little Harlingen burns...
- 30 - 

[Editor's Note: We are told by a reliable source that Commissioner Marra's first campaign treasurer was the spouse of The  Harlingen Post's operator. As happened, says our source, it was when comments critical of her bid grew in number that the treasurer asked her husband to shut down the website. We're open to reading/posting Ms. Marra's version of this tidbit...]

7 comments:

Anonymous said...

Hey Mr. Editor, how about larger fonts on your articles. I can't hardly read your editorials. Good stuff, just too small letters.

Anonymous said...

We don't think she can read or write. There is a rumor some else writes her editorials in the local news paper.
Becareful, she made an interview in tv, about buying a gun, becasuse she feared for her health, or safety.

Anonymous said...

Someone wrote a post on another blog about harlingen having a kkk chapter sometime back. I hear they are still active. Maybe a relationship with the kurv crowd, maybe.
At one time the commission was comprised of nothing but white people, a white city manager, a white city attorney, a white city engineer, a white police chief, the air port director was white, the water works director was white as was his assistant, the parks director was white.
It is a kkk heaven, harlingen that is.

Anonymous said...

Ay Patricio. I bet you an Ivy leage man.

Anonymous said...

Perhaps the commissioner is intimidated by the eclectic mix of porn and politics on this blog. Although some people feel that they are interchangeable.

Anonymous said...

intimidated by the eclectic mix of porn and politics on this blog.


I think you are talking about the wrong blog. This isn't el Rocinante. Julio

Patrick Alcatraz said...

ANON: Your definition of porn is not ours, but we get the drift. There are times when we in America can absolutely use the term in connection with politics. If Commissioner Marra was intimidated by some of the photos on here, well, what can we say? It's 2010, and it's time we got real... - Editor