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

Saturday, June 12, 2010

LAST CALL FOR ALCOHOL: Harlingen Battles Boozers, Cops Log Large Number of Arrests...

By LESTER CANTU
Special to The Tribune

HARLINGEN, Texas - So, you're driving the streets of this Mid-Valley town and you spot a few cop cars merely rolling up and down the streets, officers aboard seemingly out for an air-conditioned cruise, and you start thinking those guys are looking for a donut shop. Well, maybe.

But if you see an officer making an arrest, chances are he or she is busting someone for either Driving While Under The Influence (DWI) or Public Intoxication (P.I.). How do we know? One out of every three arrests made so far this month have been for either DWI or P.I., or so says the Harlingen Police Department's accounting Jail List. Bookings have totaled 147 through this morning, with 48 of those being for the aforementioned reasons.

That's almost 33% of all arrests.

For a city that wears its Republican clothing with some kind of public morality pride, all that boozing would seem to be a bit out of character. Drinking in the Rio Grande Valley is a Brownsville thang, as they like to mouth in Rap music. Quien Sobby? Quien? All we know is that these statistics sort of surprised us. One would have surmised that, with Harlingen's reputation as the Gray, Old Lady of The Valley, that, yeah, the bigger portion of arrests would have been for, well, talking or chewing gum in line - something Middle America like that.

But boozing? Well, we don't know if every one of these individuals nabbed by local fuzz actually reside in Harlingen. They just could be wandering dudes and fun-starved chicks driving over from Brownsville, yeah. In any case, it caught my attention and my editor - Patrick Alcatraz - said something about it being Friday and, well there it went...

- 30 -

[Editor's Note: The photo accompanying this story is of a woman arrested in Colleyville, a Dallas suburb, where the city posts mugs of all DWI/Public Intoxication busts on a website, perhaps wishing to shame them. The City of El Paso also does it: http://www.elpasotexas.gov/ - see police department...]

7 comments:

capt. King said...

The donut shops in Harlingen close at the times the chickens go to bed, around 7 pm,. The POUUlice as they say in Lousiana. Harlingen reminds me of a Peyton Place.
And some of the police officers are kind of Hefty. They sure put the taquitos away.

Patrick Alcatraz said...

Capt. King:...Perhaps the city should stage a boxing card pitting the police officers against the firefighters in 6-round fights. That would fill the baseball park, wouldn't it?... - Editor

Cpt. King said...

Better idea, put some nice looking gals as beer servers and I would be there every night rain or shine, game or not game.

Lolita Aspirina said...

That's About the only Really Exciting " Sport " ... Drinking Cheap beers, with all those Hypocrits " Wanna- Be Moral people / Coconuts " !!!

Anonymous said...

The baseball in Harlingen, is so pathetic, it is laughable. They are more interested in selling cheap beer, hot dogs, and the team sucks.
I have seen better high school games than the way the whitewings play.
Maybe they can borrow some models from el rocinanted to be at the door and bring the drunks in.
Lolita, corazon, you are so right coconuts, wannabees, harlingen an awful little town.

Anonymous said...

Alcatraz, on the side bar, I have noticed a post on the Valley Whitewings lack of attendance??
Could it be that people like me watch real baseball, I mean the college world series is on going, pro-baseball on tv, the world cup, boxing, and in Harlingen everyone is at the favorite cantina and then getting caught by the local capiros.
I am just adding humor to the blog of course.

Patrick Alcatraz said...

ANON:...It's tough as nails to sell minor league baseball. Semi-pro anything is not pro...- Editor