|
Dreaming about the future and making strides to accomplish those dreams are two different scenarios. Community advocate and influencer Blanca Beltran is a good example of living your life to the fullest despite any odds against you and living a life she describes as “unbothered.”
As required by Section 49 Code of Federal Regulations Part 26, the Metropolitan Transit Authority of Harris County has determined a proposed overall goal of 19% for the participation of Disadvantaged Business Enterprises (DBEs) in its FY20 – FY22 contracts which are funded by U.S. Department of Transportation.
Una de las reformas más importantes al derecho migratorio que ha sucedido durante la administración del presidente Joe Biden es la cancelación de la póliza migratoria acerca de deportaciones conocida como “Tolerancia Cero.” Bajo Tolerancia Cero, cualquier persona indocumentada, sin importar el tiempo de estar en el país, corría riesgo de ser puesto en proceso de deportación. La nueva forma de decidir quién debe de enfrentar un proceso de deportación, incluye un análisis más humanitario que toma en cuenta los beneficios que la comunidad inmigrante aporta a este país. Esta póliza ahora es basada en Prioridades para Deportación, las cuales son divididas en tres partes. En general, la comunidad indocumentada no debe tener miedo de enfrentar un proceso migratorio de deportación si no es parte de uno de los siguientes tres grupos: Riesgo a la seguridad nacional, si una persona es considerada terrorista o atenta contra la seguridad del país, esta persona será prioridad de deportación por representar un riesgo a la seguridad del país. Riesgo a la comunidad, si una persona se comporta de una forma en la que pone el riesgo la seguridad de la comunidad donde vive, por ejemplo, manejando intoxicado o bajo la influencia de drogas esta persona puede enfrentar cargos de deportación, y la tercera categoría incluye a las personas que son recién llegadas al país y que están cerca de la frontera, dichas personas también son prioridad de deportación.
Entradas para el concierto de Intocable estarán disponibles a partir del 19 de abril a través de 
The Harris County district clerk lists two felony counts each for chief of staff Alex Triantaphyllis, policy director Wallis Nader and former policy aide Aaron Dunn. The charges are misuse of official information and tampering with a government record.
The charges add weight to a scandal Hidalgo has attempted to dismiss as politically motivated, and they threaten to tarnish her carefully cultivated image as an ethically minded public servant as she seeks reelection this year. Hidalgo is widely seen as a rising star in the Texas Democratic Party and a future statewide candidate.
In a statement Tuesday, Hidalgo defended the trio and said she had seen nothing to suggest they had done anything wrong. She suggested the investigation is politically motivated and purposefully timed during her campaign.
“I ran against a style of politics in Harris County that worked more for the individuals who held office than for the people who voted for them,” Hidalgo said. “I don’t play the game. And that’s threatening to the powers that be.”
The three employees were part of a selection committee to choose a vendor for a COVID-19 vaccine outreach campaign Hidalgo wanted. The committee, which also included members of the county health department, unanimously awarded an $11 million contract to Elevate Strategies, a small political consulting firm owned by Felicity Pereyra, who has previously worked on Democratic campaigns.
The committee had rated a cheaper bid from the University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston highest in a scoring competition. After interviewing the top applicants, the group decided to award the contract to Elevate. Hidalgo’s office said the firm’s background in political communications was exactly the skill set needed for the vaccine outreach campaign, which was to include digital ad buys and door-to-door canvassing.
Republicans have seized on this as evidence of corruption, alleging without evidence that Hidalgo was funneling money to help the Democratic Party build relationships with voters. Hidalgo accused Republican county commissioners of spreading conspiracy theories, though she agreed to cancel the contract in September because she said it had become too politicized.
Court records filed by the Texas Rangers, who are assisting prosecutors, suggest the inquiry focuses on whether Hidalgo’s office inappropriately involved Pereyra in designing the bid proposal she would later win.
Harris County District Attorney Kim Ogg’s office said it could only confirm charges after delivering arrest warrants to defendants.
Republican County Commissioner Jack Cagle, who began asking questions about the contract last summer, said in a statement he took no pride “in being right about this.”