A day after County Budget Officer Xavier Villarreal talked about how the rising price of fuel is affecting the county’s budget, gas went up again. If you haven’t driven by a gas pump you had better get ready. As of Friday morning, gas is at $3.59. I wonder what it will be at Friday afternoon. It won’t be very long until those county workers who receive car allowances will be asking for more.

Cameron County Judge Carlos H. Cascos is hoping the DHS will give Cameron County the same deal it dished out to Hidalgo County on the border fence. The judge is asking for a moratorium on the fence’s construction in Cameron County only. This is probably why the other commissioners didn’t back John Wood on his idea of having have the county joining a federal lawsuit against the DHS. The county is still betting that building up its levees will replace the need for the border fence and that the federal goverment will help finance a portion of it like it is doing to Hidalgo County. It follows the old adage “Don’t bite the hand that feeds you.”

A move to allow Cameron County to join a federal lawsuit against the Department of Homeland Security and Secretary Michael Chertoff, never made it to the floor. Commissioners Sofia Benavides, David Garza, Edna Tamayo and County Judge Carkis Cascos  didn’t utter a word when asked if either wanted to  support the lawsuit placed on the agenda by Comissioner John Wood. You could have heard a pin drop as Wood and the audience waited to see if there would be support. Talk about the Sounds of Silence.

Cameron County Commissioners will vote on Tuesday whether to join a lawsuit against the DHS and Secretary Michael Chertoff against the construction of a border fence. If anything, it’s more of a stance since DHS officials have said the fence is going up. Builders in Hidalgo County are getting ready to bid or have bid for that county’s portion of the fence that is to begin construction in the next couple of months. Commissioners will find out on Tuesday how much it would cost the county to join. They will also decide if it’s moot point.

Former Cameron County Constable Jose Alfredo Jimenez saw his life prison sentence dropped to 30 years. He was convicted in 2004 on drug charges. He and his cohorts smuggled drugs on the job. They used county vehicles to transport to drugs and were dressed on county uniforms. U.S. District Judge Hilda Tagle said by wearing the clothing and using the county vehicles, Jimenenz and his guys basically used tax payer money in their drug schene.

There’s no ruling yet on whether State District Judge Arturo C. Nelson will grant a change of venue for captial murder trial of John Allen Rubio. He’s the guy accused of murdering his three children. His attorneys say there has been too much publicity on the case and want it tried somewhere else. Not sure how much the retrial is going to cost taxpayers and if a change is issued the price tag could be higher. The trial is slated to start on Aug. 19.

County Commissioners passed a resolution honoring the works of former Precinct 3 Commissioner James Matz, but it was not a unanimous vote. Precinct 1 Commissioner Sofia C. Benavidez voted against it stating the county shouldn’t honor a person who divided the county. “I don’t believe negativity or divisiveness should be honored,” Benavides said. I’m not sure what the resolution read because it wasn’t included in the packet.

County Commissioners aren’t sure what’s going to happen with the county’s levee enhancement project following the DHS’s announcement that the border fence will be built. County officials had hoped the levee could serve as alternative to the fence.  The bids for the levee project were unsealed on Tuesday and the list did not include Dannenbaum Engineering, which is working on Hidalgo County’s levee enhancement project. Dannenbaum provided engineering services for the BND’s non-existent port bridge.

Dannenbaum Enginnering Inc. officials on Sunday said they are not listed in a sealed indictment handed down by a Cameron County special grand jury last week. The indictment is a result of an 11-month investigation into possible criminal activity by the BND board regarding the failed $21 million port bridge.  The special grand jury cleared BND officials of wrong doing and  found the board only guilty of bad management. The public awaits the opening of the sealed indictment, which could determine who had some responsiblity for the failed bridge project.

As of Friday afternoon, the sealed indictment issued in the Brownsville Navigation District inquiry remained sealed. The BND had been investigated on allegations of criminal activity regarding the $21 million port bridge that was never built. However, the money was spent. A special grand jury said the money had been accounted for and accused the BND of bad management, but no crimnal wrong doing. However, the special grand jury did hand down a seal indictment on a theft charge. Authorities said it could take up to two months for the indictment to be unsealed. Almost a dozen authorities investigated the case, which cost the county hundreds of thousands of dollar.

Cameron County Judge Carlos H. Cascos discusses the questionable timesheets by Carlos Cisneros, adminstrative assistant to Precinct 1 Commissioner John Wood. A taped interview with Cascos is posted on the Brownsville 2020 website and will soon be posted on the Herald website as well.