VOL. I, NO. 4
MCALLEN REJECTS SB 4, WON’T JOIN LAWSUIT
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WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 23, 2017
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By: Davis Rankin
Continue -- pg. 3
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Elderly activist rallied officials to pave Whalen Road
City 'firmly condemns' & looks at new parks HQ
The City of McAllen has condemned a new state law but will probably not join a lawsuit to stop it. Last week, McAllen city commissioners passed a resolution condemning what critics call the ‘show me your papers’ law, Senate Bill (SB) 4, passed earlier this year by the Texas Legislature and Tuesday, Mayor Jim Darling signed the resolution. Passing the resolution condemning SB 4, also known as the Sanctuary Cities Bill, came at the end of the long meeting, after their normal executive or closed session. City Attorney Kevin Pagan recommended, “based on the discussion” in executive session, they pass the resolution. It reads in part, “Whereas, SB 4 goes into effect on September 1, 2017 and requires local authorities to assist federal immigration enforcement without any additional funding,” and “Whereas elected or appointed officials are subject to forfeiture and removal from office for failure to enforce SB 4, thus chilling First Amendment rights by chilling policy dissent,” the City of McAllen “firmly condemns Senate Bill 4” and “supports all efforts to thwart the restrictions and unfunded mandates of the law, and opposes any efforts to further enforcement of this bill.” Darling said afterward that “I don’t
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For Alica Webber’s family, getting Whalen Road paved has been more than 40 years in the making. The elderly mother of 12 children and numerous grandchildren, finally took matters into her own hands to move the process forward. “I moved here more than 40 years ago right after we got married,” Webber explained. “It’s always been a dirt road, not even gravel, but a lot of people use it. There’s a lot of traffic on this road.” Over the years, the Webber family faced muddy roads during rains which often prevented even school buses from driving along to pick up kids. “Now that we have this warehouse (corner of Whale and Bus. 83), we have a lot of trucks driving up and down, which really creates a lot of dust covering everything,” Webber said. About 15 years ago, Webber decided it was time to get more involved in her
Alicia Webber, community activist.
community. She became an activist by helping to make other people aware of problems in her community. “Every time I had a chance to talk to elected officials, I would mention the conditions of this road.” “They used to call it a ‘no man’s road’ because no one wanted to claim it since it’s between two cities,” Eloy Pulido, Hidalgo County Judge from 1999 to 2003, explained. “Everyone wanted to use it, but no
one wanted to pay for paving it,” Webber said. “I’m glad everyone did their part in getting this done.” “Even though she doesn’t realize it, she played a big part in getting this done in getting elected officials to listen,” Pulido said. The final piece fell into place when Hidalgo County Precinct 1 Commissioner David L. Fuentes took office at the beginning of this year. Webber brought her concerns to the new county commissioner. Working with the cities of Alamo and Donna, Fuentes engineered a project that included all three entities in paving the dirt road. “The collaboration and partnership established with the cities is something that’s very important to me,” Fuentes said during the ground breaking ceremony. “It’s a great way for everyone to work together towards a common goal.” He thanked the two cities and county staff for their coordination and work in getting the project approved among the three entities. The construction of the road will improve travel along the heavily traveled road and is expected to cost $232,632. The cities will each contribute $47,026 for a total of $94,412 and Precinct 1 will contribute $185,606 in equipment and manpower to the project. The County also provide the engineering work needed for the construction. The project is expected to be completed by the end of October.