More than enough time has passed since Port Director Eduardo Campirano made written demand of Dannenbaum Engineering for the engineering plans for the Bridge to Nowhere. If during all this time Dannenbaum had indeed been diligently working on them, where are they?
That sweetheart deal that they cut with the Port should have had boxes of unsorted crap flooding in the front door of the BND building with delivery guys in shorts all shoving clipboards in front of the receptionist for delivery signatures. No deliveries to date.
Are they buying time to actually dummy up some plans, or are they afraid that they will be sued for the quality of the work they have actually done? That would be a separate issue, not covered nor protected by the sweetheart good night kiss that they received from 4/5 of the BND commissioners. Are they in the middle of a Catch 22 with their own counsel wondering if what they have actually complies with the letter and spirit of the agreement? Did the deal get offered simply to buy time to engage in furious rounds of CYA?
I know I won’t forget that the agreement included over two million in extra work to be performed in the future. This was in the spirit of goodwill, but doesn’t everybody realize that future goodwill from that company with BND is (or should be) worthless? If so, why did they offer it? I would have been far happier with the difference in cash. BND would not have been able to use the money for other purposes, like the dredging they need, but they could have used it to retire some of the outrageous bond debt on the Bridge to Nowhere.
The deal was supposed to be in the flavor of “Half a loaf is better than none” but we have only gotten the heals (colas), and those are moldy. Maybe criminal fraud should be “El Cristal con que se mira.”
Go Peter Z!
“Of course I know. It is my business to know.” -The Merovingian
Monday, October 15, 2007
Where are the Engineering Plans?
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21 comments:
Asking questions is easy. Getting "answers" is the tough job. You offer zero, once again. Groan and double groan.
I want to thank you for that most useful and helpful observation. In the future, it is good to know that there are folks, like yourself, willing to work so hard to get the answers we are all looking for.
M.
I don't put myself "Out There" in InternetLand in the form of some civic-minded blokes You do, and you, as a would-be writer should know, that there are critics all over the damned place. How you respond to it is the measure of a writer, and a man. Increasingly, the world is a cesspool. Breathe that RGV air and know that you are contributing your share of the miasma. The day will come when you'll value the little things (like proper grammar), and it will be on that day that you will shine. Good day.
M - it seems the fastidious grammar police are at it again... looking for probable cause to have you arrested for FELONY grammar violations. Must work in the DA's office.
Better check your tail lights and, for gosh sakes, remember to wear your seat belt!
During the day they are the GP pigs, but at night they are wonkish wags, listening to Mozart during wine and cheese parties at the home of the rich and famous in Brownsville.
The GP are nasty but--por favor--don't ask them to actually help. Uh oh, I mixed idiomas in one sentence. I hope they don't have IP tracking. Better go now before they trace me.
I respectfully disagree, Anonymous. You DO put yourself out there in InternetLand, and with increasing frequency. Merovingian appears to be writing to provoke discussion of current issues and not simply to pass along breaking news. You, however, appear to have only one mission--to criticize the author of this blog for his or her spelling, grammar and what you consider to be lack of worthy content. Instead of groaning your days away, perhaps you could create your own blog. I've enjoyed your grammar and word usage lessons, even though I found them to be heavy-handed and patronizing in this forum. I wonder if the blog name Grammar Police is already taken; you could truly shine with your own blog site. But if you continue with the incessant kvetching about this blog, I would ask The Merovingian to consider enabling comment moderation.
The only reasons it is unmoderated are for speed and censoring bothers me on a deeply personal level. As long as it stays down to a dull roar, I am pretty ok with it. If I have to, I'll move the site onto a server where I would have more direct control, like banning certain machines from even reading, let alone posting. I would hope it doesn't come to that. Otherwise I am always ready to battle it out in the arena of ideas. Did you read the new posting cavaet under "Leave your Comment"?
M.
Hooray for the Leave Your Comment guidelines.
Truth Seeker said...
I wonder if the blog name Grammar Police is already taken;
Unfortunately, yes.
But grammarpopo.blogspot.com wasn't.
BEG
M.
Mero,
Keep up the good work! Obviously you hit raw nerves.
drill away
Engineering plans? HA! Environmental studies? HA! A signed agreement with Mexican officials? HA! The list goes on. Keep it up Mero! We must keep the story fresh until something is done.
Keeping the story fresh does little. Putting wrongdoers in jail is what you seek. Work toward that. GET THE GOODS ON THE CRIMINALS...That is the way. All other Blog noise is just that, noise. Investigate. Demand documents. Chase people. Spy on the suspects. Source the story with "insiders." Then WRITE whatever it is you find!
Well.....
Thank you for that guidance Mr. Woodward, or is that Jack Webb?
I have a couple more, I they are too low brow, yet appropriate.
Seriously, the answer lies in one of three areas. FBI White Collar Crimes, IRS Criminal Investigations Division or the Texas Attorney General’s Office. Generally, you will start with a credible witness or serious documentation. This is only if you have true wrong doing. You cannot go local, any new DA's included.
That said, the BND issue was and is a gamble. You can solicit DC for the rights to transit commercial cargo through the area all you want, but it takes the right lobbyist (ala' Akin & Gump) and the patience. I am not sure there is a contract between the BND and Dannenbaum that says the deal WILL get done. That is what consultants are for. They don't promise to deliver, only to facilitate and coordinate. What was the phrase “ I introduce people, that’s what I do”?
The issue is Mexico. The process is much more "complicated" and if you start at the beginning of an administration, God help you if you can't pull it off in six years. If you don't, the process has to start over. Does any of this sound familiar?
The last private investors got burned in the Laredo / Coahuila Columbia Bridge fiasco. Who wants to pony up their $50 million for something that may never payoff. Just because you build it does not mean they will come.
The multi - modal advantage that the BND had was lost when Altamira opened.
Merovingian:
I am a faithful reader of your site, and thank you for it. This is my first comment:
***PRESS RELEASE – FOR IMMEDIATE PUBLICATION***
October 16, 2007, Brownsville, Texas
Over 8 months since the settlement between the Brownsville Navigation District & Dannenbaum Engineering Corporation, and over 2 months since a number of taxpayer plaintiffs sued Dannenbaum in Cameron County, with engineering plans yet to be produced, taxpayers today have asked a state district judge to grant “summary judgment” in their favor.
“There is ‘no evidence’ that Dannenbaum Engineering Corporation has performed, much less completed the ‘tasks’ and ‘deliverables’ it contracted to perform over 8 months ago,” said Peter Zavaletta, himself a Plaintiff, and lawyer for the Plaintiffs. “As we prepare this case for trial, I have today filed a motion asking the court to rule on the obvious – that Dannenbaum has failed to do what it contracted to do – including producing the engineering plans that were alleged to be worth $2.9 million,” Zavaletta added.
END."
You only have control over half the bridge and you sometimes have to "convince" entities on the other side of the wisdom of the project. Depending on what point in the 6 year administration you start in, you may have another group that needs to be "convinced". If it turns into a 12 year project, which it has, that is now group # 3 and so on.
Someone may only have control over 1/2 the bridge, weir, what-have-you, but someone had control over ALL of the money.
M.
As IF we didn't know where the money was / is going?
You live on the border dude!
Where were those "environmental studies" in Mexico conducted?
How about the origin and destination studies?
This is not the first deal...
Merovingian:
I am a faithful reader of your site, and thank you for it. This is my first comment:
Thank you.
The Merovingian
CAN THE BND BE DISOLVED??
I finally have an answer to that one, and the answer is YES!
The BND was created as a result of
Chapter 192, House Bill 724, 41st Legislature, Regular Session, 1929.
All Hail BobbyWC! Praise him with great praise!
It would be quite a simple matter to contact Rene Olivera's office and demand that he introduce a bill modifying the boundries of the BND to encompass only the property it owns and the right-of-way along the intercoastal that is it's to control. Of course, that would mean that future board members would actually live in the Port Area, but at this juncture, WHO CARES. This actually is simpler than desolving it outright. Simply change the meets and bounds of the service area. As a bill that only directly effects the district of the Rep. that introduced it, legislative courtesy is supposed to rubber-stamp its way through. Ask Lucio III to cosponser it, and demand that Eddie Jr. endorse it, so senatorial courtesy applies.
Ain't I a bastard.
"Of course I know. It is my business to know" -The Merovingian
Robert R. Wightman-Cervantes was disbarred on January 11, 2002. I would seriously reconsider believing anything he has to say.
http://www.texasbar.com/Template.cfm?Section=Member_Directory&template=/Customsource/MemberDirectory/MemberDirectoryDetail.cfm&ContactID=192009
The chapter and verse citations are nontheless correct.
M.
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