There is some interesting stuff in the news this morning. From the Chron on what the H-Town Mayor said in her State of the City address yesterday:
Mayor Annise Parker on Thursday said she would create a human rights commission to review violations of anti-discrimination laws, saying just talking about equality in the nation’s most diverse city is not enough.
“We don’t care where you started your life, the color of your skin, your age, gender, what physical limitations you may have or who you choose to love,” Parker told the audience at the Greater Houston Partnership’s annual State of the City luncheon at the Hilton Americas. “Yet Houston is the only major city in the nation without civil rights protections for its residents.”
If The Mayor is going to spend political bucks on this, I hope she gets an ordinance with teeth.
There is no point in doing something symbolic that folks are going to ignore. Show me the teeth! Stay tuned!
What are the most consecutive wins we have had to start a season?
Now this is bizarre. HISD Trustee Manuel Rodriguez’s daughter recently spoke at a school board meeting under a fake name after she signed up to speak using her real name. Check this from the Houston Press:
Houston ISD trustee Manuel Rodriguez told us yesterday he wasn’t going to take a public position on the much-debated-question in recent months of whether the principal at Patterson Elementary is any good or not.
“It’s not a board member position to handle administrative or personnel positions,” he said taking the high road in response to our question about principal Jeannie Castano.
But in the past few months a lot of teachers, parents and concerned citizens have registered as public speakers to address trustees at their board meetings about Patterson. On February 13 a woman named Esmeralda Sanchez was among them.
Except that isn’t her real name. She’s actually Angelina Rodriguez, Manuel Rodriguez’s daughter.
And even though her father was sitting right there at the trustee table as the video shows, neither he nor his daughter corrected the mistake when Angelina came to the speaker’s mike after board president Juliet Stipeche called out “Esmeralda Sanchez.”
Which also begs the question: Why did Angelina Rodriguez answer to another name, clearly spoken by attorney Stipeche?
“I don’t know how that mix-up happened, but she signed up I believe as Angelina so I don’t know about the other name,” the trustee told us yesterday after confirming that “Esmeralda” was in fact his daughter, Angelina.
But a check of the officials speakers’ list for that meeting does not contain Angelina Rodriguez’s name or any variation of it. It does include Esmeralda Sanchez’s.
And perhaps no one else on the board recognized the true identity of the speaker, but some audience members did including one person who contacted us and said she was shocked to see Angelina Rodriguez – who she’d known for years – up there under a different name.
Although she did not want her name revealed, the person who contacted us wrote: “For an elected official to watch upon his own daughter provide false information at an official board meeting speaks volumes about his honesty.”
During her speech to the board, “Esmeralda” said she had a goddaughter at Patterson and that the principal was a bully.
“I want to speak on behalf of my goddaughter who goes to Patterson and let you know that the principal there has a 97 percent bully rating from her staff and is on a growth plan, and as far as I’ve seen there’s been no growth,” she is seen saying on the HISD video at about 5:30 in Part 2 of the public speaking portion.
Asked if the record ever got cleared up about Esmeralda Sanchez/Angelina Rodriguez, Manuel Rodriguez said “I don’t know.”
There is a rule about board members not engaging with members of the public who are allowed to make their comments and then return to their seats. Perhaps in this case, Manuel Rodriguez could have made an exception?
Honestly, this does not surprise me. I have said it for a while that this trustee has been there too long.
It is not a good press day for a couple of local Latino elected officials. The H-Town Mayor Pro Tem got some run today about some files he misplaced. Go to the Chron to check it out.
From the Dead Man Walking Department – check out the latest Burkablog on the Lite Guv:
The resignation of two of David Dewhurst’s key staffers should be the final nail in the coffin for the incumbent lieutenant governor. The reality is that Dewhurst has been politically dead since the night of the Wendy Davis filibuster, and he has no hope to retain his office. Unless something very strange happens, Dan Patrick is a lock to be the state’s next lieutenant governor.
I heard Dewhurst speak at the annual Texas Legislative Conference, in New Braunfels, on Friday, and I expected him to try to really connect with the crowd and make the case for himself on a personal level. Instead, he was the same old Dew. Nothing new to say except how great the Texas economy is doing. I want to feel sorry for him, because I think he is a decent fellow, but he simply cannot connect with an audience and get them energized.
The Lite Guv is a big boy and if he prefers to go down swinging – let him.
In 1987 the team started off with a 6-0 record of course – our best start ever.
Last night was very frustrating. We should have swept the Yankees. We hit into four DPs. We could not hit with runners in scoring position. We cut off a throw that would have nailed a Yankee at the plate. We blew a routine infield pop fly that allowed another Yankee to score. We looked like last year’s team. 26,348 showed up last night – sigh.
The Angels are in for four. The Big Puma and Roy O. will officially retire tomorrow at The Yard. Head on out there.
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