Courtesy Xochitl Mora,

Laredo, Tx – As promised and delivered in his first term, City of Laredo Mayor Raul G. Salinas will continue to make his office of the people, by the people and for the people by taking his second oath of office in a very public ceremony with the community invited to attend the celebration.  

 “The Mayor’s Office has always been here to serve all the people of Laredo,” stated a very humble, yet excited Salinas, “and this second term will be no exception.  The Mayor’s Office belongs to the people of Laredo and I want them to know that the door is always open for them to come in with their concerns, their ideas, and their problems or just to see what the Mayor’s Office can do to assist them.  That is why this celebration is more than just about my swearing an oath to the office; it is also swearing an oath to the people,” he concluded.

 While space inside the Council Chambers will be limited to officially invited guests, monitors will be set-up in the City Hall Rotunda for anyone else wishing to view the ceremony.  Part of the ceremony program will include local leaders wishing the mayor well in his second term of office.   Light refreshments and student entertainment will round out the evening’s festivities. 

Monday, January 10, 2011                 6:30 p.m.
City Hall Council Chambers, 1110 Houston St.

(Laredo, Tx) Citing a desire to show how important it is for the City of Laredo , Webb County and all local governing agencies continue to work together for the mutual benefit of the community, Cm.-elect San Miguel says he is deeply honored to be sworn in as a public servant, serving his fellow Laredoans.

 Echoing those sentiments, Perez is eager to get roll up his sleeves and get to work to make some positive impact on not only his district, but all of Laredo , as well.

 Both ceremonies will feature family, friends and supporters, as well as “light meriendas” for anyone wishing to stop in and talk to the newly-sworn in officials. 

 Their first City Council meeting will be this evening.

Monday, December 20, 2010  City Hall, Council Chambers, 1110 Houston St .  1:00 p.m.    2:30 p.m.

                        Charlie San Miguel     Alejandro Perez , Jr.

To be Sworn in by:   Webb County Judge Danny Valdez  and 49^th District Court Judge Joe Lopez

Committed to serving the community of Laredo with fairness and objectivity, as well as providing a hall of justice that is not only open to all, but open longer, Municipal Court Judge-elect Rosie Cuellar Castillo will be taking her oath of office surrounded by family, friends and supporters.  Ready to go to work on Monday, Judge-Cuellar Castillo will soon be hearing new cases as soon as the new year starts.

“This office will serve the people, all the people, equally, objectively and timely,” stated Cuellar Castillo.

Wednesday, December 22, 2010           3:00 p.m.        City of Laredo Municipal Court, 4610 Maher St.

Courtesy Xochitl Mora,

“Need knows no border, and we can always find it in our hearts, and especially, our pockets, to help children in need, no matter where in the world they may be,” said City of Laredo Mayor Raul G. Salinas.  “That is why I am supporting this important initiative, and I want to ask my fellow Laredoans to also help with this wonderful cause,” he concluded. Over the next few weeks, Laredoans may see purple, heart-shaped buckets scattered at various Laredo businesses.  The donations will go towards Teletón 2010, which raises money for providing care and therapy for over 16,000 disabled children in 11 centers throughout Mexico.  “Thousands of buckets filled with donations are the result of a heart filled with love,” said local organizers of the event, who are helping to spearhead the outreach effort for the telethon here in the United States.  

Children of all ages and nationalities are treated at these various facilities, with medical specialties offered in various fields, including pediatric, neurology and orthopedic; urology; ophthalmology; orthodontics; nutrition; anesthesiology; psychiatry and psychology; radiology; as well as a range of therapies including, physical; speech; occupational; aqua; family; sports and other efforts to help children improve their physical and mental well-being.  The 11 cites, or Centros de Rehabilitación Infantil Teletón (CRIT’s) in operation in Mexico: Mexico state; Occidente; Oaxaca; Aguascalientes; Coahuila; Guanajuato; Hidalgo; Chihuahua; Chiapas; Ciudad Nazahuaicoyotl; and Quintana Roo, with two being constructed in Mérida and Tamaulipas. 

From now until December 4 and 5, when the Teletón will air live from Mexico on cable networks Galavision, shown locally on Time Warner Cable Channel 26, respectively, the bucket brigades will be ongoing at various locations every weekend leading up to the telethon.  Please give generously.

Best Buy                                             Lowe’s                                               

Desayunos Mar-la                               Mall del Norte                        

HK Downtown                                   Taco Palenque                        

IBC, Mines Road and Mall Del Norte        Toys R Us           

Other local sponsors for this initiative include Ramon Barrios, Inc.; Taco Palenque; Periodico El Mañana, Rio & Femina; Los Guerreros Motorcycle Club.

The City of Laredo Public Information Office and the Telecommunications Division wanted to be an integral part of the local political process, helping to shape people’s opinion of the candidates and motivate citizens to vote.  It once again hosted political forums, in which all candidates for all city and school board general election races were invited to participate and present their position on various issues, important to voters of Laredo. 

The forums were taped at both the Public Access Channel studio and in partnership with two Texas A&M International University political science classes. All debates were structured in a fair format in which candidates received questions, in English or Spanish, from an unbiased panel of members of the media (see list of panelists below) or from the students.  The candidates had strict timelines in which to provide their responses, in either English or Spanish. 

Dr. Mohamed Ben-Ruwin, professor and chair of TAMIU’s Department of Social Sciences, said that the partnership allows TAMIU students an opportunity to learn more about politics and its processes. 

“By participating in this partnership, our Department wishes to accomplish several goals, one of which is to engage our community in their government and politics and establish a neutral process that will fairly and accurately present all political candidates to the voters,” said Dr. Ben-Ruwin.  “The debates’ objectives are also to help the voters to make their own personal and informed decision regarding who they decide to vote for and provide an accessible, open and neutral political platform for the discussion of all important community and government issues and challenges.”  The debates taped at TAMIU included both the Mayor’s and the Municipal Court Judge’s race. 

All debates will air on the local Public Access Channel, Cable Ch. 3 (available to Time Warner Cable subscribers only), several times during Early Voting and before Election Day. They will also be available for viewing on the City of Laredo website at www.cityoflaredo.com. However, due to technical difficulties, the Municipal Court Judge debate will be broadcast in audio format with visual captions to include candidates’ names and pictures on both Public Access Channel 3 and the Internet.  While the schedule highlights three specific time frames for each debate, because of scheduling repeats throughout a 24-hour period, the debates will actually run nine times leading up to election day.

 “Public Access Channel is a great resource for the citizens of Laredo and Webb County,” said Carlos Villarreal, City Manager for the City of Laredo.  “The City of Laredo is proud to bring fair, professional and insightful debates for all races, so that more citizens are informed and get to know the candidates to help them make an informed opinion before they go vote,” he concluded.

During campaign season, the landscape blooms with a special kind of flower – the political sign. Unlike wild flowers that are welcome anywhere, putting campaign signs on public lands is illegal. So before you plant that sign, learn the law and keep Texas beautiful.

You Need To Know:

●    It is illegal to place any signs on or within the right of way. This includes posting signs on trees, telephone poles, traffic signs and other objects on the right of way.

●    Campaign signs along Texas roads can be placed on private property with the owner’s permission.Signs must be made of lightweight material and be no larger than 50 square feet.

●    Campaign signs may be posted as early as 90 days before an election (no earlier) and must be removed within 10 days after the election.

●    Before placing a sign inside of incorporated city limits, check with the city for applicable ordinances.

Sign Removal:

If you’ve placed your sign in the right of way or it’s posing a traffic hazard, we will remove it without prior notice. All costs associated with sign removal will be paid by the sign owner.