"Gov. Perry wants private toll roads from the Valley northward instead of state support for existing highway system, which would include Interstates."
Cheers and jeers
We take a look at some of the good, and bad, people have done recently
May 5, 2006
The Brownsville Herald
Copyright 2006
Cheers to the do-gooders, leaders, champions and those who have inspired us. Jeers to the ill-informed and ill-intentioned, the welchers and those who ought to be ashamed.
Cheer: To the Brownsville Chamber of Commerce, which appears to be taking a more active role to serve more area businesses.
We recently reported that the chamber is recruiting businesses in the Southmost area, where many merchants said they weren’t even aware of the group or didn’t see how it would be of any use to them.
New members, however, seem to be inspired enough to be active parts of the organization. They are participating in activities and helping recruit new members. The Brownsville Independent School District recently decided to rejoin the chamber after having dropped out because officials didn’t see how membership would benefit the district.
Chambers of commerce are symbiotic in nature. They certainly benefit from the efforts of their membership, but also help promote the businesses and provide opportunities for networking among members. Merchants might find fellow chamber members who can provide merchandise, services or assistance easier or cheaper than existing suppliers.
But it all begins with a chamber organization that reaches out to the business community and shows them how the benefits are worth the cost of membership. It appears that the Brownsville chamber is moving in that direction.
Jeer: To the Texas Department of Transportation, which sent out invitations this week to local officials and representatives of this newspaper to the Texas Transportation forum June 8-9 in Austin. The theme of the forum is to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the Interstate highway system.
Ahem. Such celebrations might be more appropriate for people in South Texas if we were actually part of the Interstate system. Unfortunately, after half a century of highway building and more than a decade of hearing officials bellow that the North American Free Trade Agreement has made the Rio Grande Valley the gateway to our nation’s economic future, the Rio Grande Valley’s inclusion in the system remains but a dream.
Federal lawmakers have come to the area twice to announce that U.S. Highway 77 is planned as a future Interstate corridor. That designation was rescinded once, and could be again; it’s never been funded. And now Gov. Rick Perry wants to lay private toll roads from the Valley northward instead of continuing state support for the existing highway system, which would include the Interstates.
We appreciate the invitation to the party. It would mean more for the Valley, however, if we actually had an Interstate to celebrate.
Cheer: To officials who conducted statewide emergency evacuation tests this week. Texas communities have done well in the past without such exercises, but last year’s hurricanes Katrina and Rita proved that planning alone isn’t always enough. Implementation of those plans is the key, and tests like those conducted this week are valuable.
Certainly, tests can’t exactly match the real thing; but they offer an opportunity to check people, plans and the equipment they have to use if a real disaster should occur. Evacuation plans already existed in 2005, but Katrina in New Orleans exposed the horrible reality that many of the city’s oldest, sickest and most needy residents who couldn’t evacuate on their own hadn’t been considered. Evacuations in East Texas on the eve of Rita’s arrival led to gridlock on the highways that might have left thousands of drivers stranded in harm’s way.
Emergency planners already conduct disaster tests check the preparedness of emergency crews, hospitals and dispatchers. Extending such tests to civilian evacuation only seems logical.
We’re glad that the 2005 storms are being seen not as extraordinary events that might never occur again, but as opportunities to learn and be better prepared if similar emergencies happen again.
© 2006 The Brownsville Herald www.brownsvilleherald.com
We take a look at some of the good, and bad, people have done recently
May 5, 2006
The Brownsville Herald
Copyright 2006
Cheers to the do-gooders, leaders, champions and those who have inspired us. Jeers to the ill-informed and ill-intentioned, the welchers and those who ought to be ashamed.
Cheer: To the Brownsville Chamber of Commerce, which appears to be taking a more active role to serve more area businesses.
We recently reported that the chamber is recruiting businesses in the Southmost area, where many merchants said they weren’t even aware of the group or didn’t see how it would be of any use to them.
New members, however, seem to be inspired enough to be active parts of the organization. They are participating in activities and helping recruit new members. The Brownsville Independent School District recently decided to rejoin the chamber after having dropped out because officials didn’t see how membership would benefit the district.
Chambers of commerce are symbiotic in nature. They certainly benefit from the efforts of their membership, but also help promote the businesses and provide opportunities for networking among members. Merchants might find fellow chamber members who can provide merchandise, services or assistance easier or cheaper than existing suppliers.
But it all begins with a chamber organization that reaches out to the business community and shows them how the benefits are worth the cost of membership. It appears that the Brownsville chamber is moving in that direction.
Jeer: To the Texas Department of Transportation, which sent out invitations this week to local officials and representatives of this newspaper to the Texas Transportation forum June 8-9 in Austin. The theme of the forum is to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the Interstate highway system.
Ahem. Such celebrations might be more appropriate for people in South Texas if we were actually part of the Interstate system. Unfortunately, after half a century of highway building and more than a decade of hearing officials bellow that the North American Free Trade Agreement has made the Rio Grande Valley the gateway to our nation’s economic future, the Rio Grande Valley’s inclusion in the system remains but a dream.
Federal lawmakers have come to the area twice to announce that U.S. Highway 77 is planned as a future Interstate corridor. That designation was rescinded once, and could be again; it’s never been funded. And now Gov. Rick Perry wants to lay private toll roads from the Valley northward instead of continuing state support for the existing highway system, which would include the Interstates.
We appreciate the invitation to the party. It would mean more for the Valley, however, if we actually had an Interstate to celebrate.
Cheer: To officials who conducted statewide emergency evacuation tests this week. Texas communities have done well in the past without such exercises, but last year’s hurricanes Katrina and Rita proved that planning alone isn’t always enough. Implementation of those plans is the key, and tests like those conducted this week are valuable.
Certainly, tests can’t exactly match the real thing; but they offer an opportunity to check people, plans and the equipment they have to use if a real disaster should occur. Evacuation plans already existed in 2005, but Katrina in New Orleans exposed the horrible reality that many of the city’s oldest, sickest and most needy residents who couldn’t evacuate on their own hadn’t been considered. Evacuations in East Texas on the eve of Rita’s arrival led to gridlock on the highways that might have left thousands of drivers stranded in harm’s way.
Emergency planners already conduct disaster tests check the preparedness of emergency crews, hospitals and dispatchers. Extending such tests to civilian evacuation only seems logical.
We’re glad that the 2005 storms are being seen not as extraordinary events that might never occur again, but as opportunities to learn and be better prepared if similar emergencies happen again.
© 2006 The Brownsville Herald
posted by Porkus Maximus Tex: at Friday, May 05, 2006
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