4.20.2012

From Texas Watch Dog the following article, here, further shows the extent that HCC will go to stop or prevent anyone from finding out what they are doing. The only way that things can change is by STOPPING THE BONDS.

4.18.2012

Question? Why is Mary Ann Perez's January 2012 campaign report not online, all the others are. Someone needs to find out if she filed, if not report her. Message is for her opponents that are running against her for State Representative. Folks if you want to find out who controls Mary Ann Perez one only has to look at this campaign report. One will see two names there Gallegos and Reyes.

And from the desk of a Reverand, the following email

From: xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx  Date: Mon, Apr 16, 2012 at 5:21 PM
Subject: Ft Bend Mechanical
To: ericka.mellon@chron.com
Cc: "Grier, Terry B" <tgrier@houstonisd.org>, "Lujan, Imelda A" <Ilujan@houstonisd.org>

Ericka

As I discussed with you on the phone, We in the Black Community is very upset and disappointed that you single out Ft Bend Mechanical and Pete Medford.  A lot of other contractors who have made a great deal of money with their campaign contributions and relationships with HISD decision makers in the Construction and Facility department has not been singled out or targeted. It seems like you only targeted black individuals and black politicians that have been hired by Fort Bend Mechanical. Pete Medford has hired black student interns, given black communities a chance to work on projects at black schools and the black community. The Mayor received $5,000 from 400 Asian engineer contractors for her campaign that totaled 2.3 million dollars and another 1million dollars for a gay and lesbian parade in Montrose and nothing was said about it in the chronicle.

CEO's such as Jim Rice and Kevin Gardner of Rice/Gardner who has made 200 million dollars on HISD projects has not hired any black employees, and has never responded when asked to do program for black students. Jim Rice has been asked through email about supporting the dropout rate for black males and he has never responded this says a lot to us in the black community. Drymalla Construction has made 75, 483,614 million, Sattlefield and Pontikes made 57,900,185 million, Turner Construction 58,817,659 million, Comex Corporation 63,635,587 million, Gamma Construction 46, 858,297 million, Anslow Bryant 42,997,569 million, and Prime Contractors 40,120,570 million.

None of the companies name in bold has hired black student, black interns, or created any program that have help black students at the schools they have won work at. When you email them they do not respond. The managers for HISD bond program  that has been in the decision making process and managed the jobs for those corporations are in bold they are Bruce Green, Meredith Smith, and Travis Stanford are all white and we never hear their names mentioned in a article because they can give you an accurate account on how the process is for awarding contracts, and Ft Bend Mechanical is awarded the contract because they have the lowest bid

A organization called Houston African American Forum (HAAF) in which I am a member, Young Adults Making Smart Decisions, (YAMSD), and Bethel's Place is implementing a plan to decrease the dropout rat in schools. Ft Bend Mechanical, and Pete Medford has graciously committed his time, energy, and resources to help implement a plan for students to receive interns, scholarships, and job placement in order for them to stay in school and graduate. If HISD can get the students who left school to come back and bring their enrollment up to 80% they will receive more money from the state and then they do not have to layoff teachers. 

We need a positive story on this dropout program to help the district and ask those contractors who are making a ton of money off these schools, the bond program, and tax payers to support our program if Dr. Grier wants to get our support for this year bond. We ask to meet with the superintendent Terry Grier but he is sending Dr. Alicia Thomas to meet with us but she has only has one hour for us, do you know how that makes us feel like we are not worth more than a hour of your time when our black minister's alliance has 326 ministers with congregations totalling more than 500,000 citizens with a great deal of their children in HISD schools. You are welcome to come to the meeting. The meeting is on Wednesday, April 18, 2012 at 2:00 pm. The meeting place is at 12660 Sandpiper, Houston, TX 77056. If you need directions you can call Pastor August at 713-962-6602. In two weeks 125 Principals has enrolled  in our dropout prevention program. We are preparing a luncheon for them on May 3, 2012 from 12:00pm until 2:00pm at Bethel's Place to explain the program, and yes we have ask the contractors in bold through email to help sponsor the luncheon and not one has agreed. The only one that has agreed and is sponsoring the luncheon is Ft Bend Mechanical and Pete Medford.

Please re frame from negative comments about Pete Medford and Fort Bend Mechanical. Pete may be white but he has help black students, black schools, and black communities. Jim Rice of Rice/Gardner should be a person of interest with the contracts he received and the bad work he has done. You need to check out his relationships that has afforded him contracts and he has never help black programs. Jim has made 200 million while Pete has made 37 million and has help blacks with a district make up of  88% blacks and Hispanics. If we can stay positive and highlight programs that help the districts like the one Ft Bend Mechanical, YAMSD, HAAF, and Bethel's Place is going to implement, we can decrease the dropout rate and help the students that really need the help in the district. I have attached a copy of the notice that was sent out to Principals about our dropout prevention program.

My Question Mr. Rev. where were you when they were targeting the Brown Folks?

On Sunday 4.15.2012 the Chronicle ran a story on Ft. Bend Mechanical (Chris Oliver)

Here is the link to the story. I never expect much from the Chronicle, I did offer to provide all the information that I had on Chris Oliver but the so called reporter was not interested. I think they are still going after Gloria Walker and threw in Chris as their bias in favor of the HCC administration of Mary Spangler was showing. I noticed that the Chronicle mentioned two people receiving money from Ft. Bend, there were more than that. I will give you Chris Oliver as only Inside HCCS will do.

4.17.2012 -From the desk of the AFL-CIO this email that is circulating

"Kudos to Erika Mellon for unraveling the relationship between Ft. Bend Mechanical, the Houston ISD Board of Trustees and the Houston Community College Trustees.  It is a tale of massive "campaign" contributions, direct payments with contractors being denied jobs due to Ft. Bend being moved (literally as in Roberts Rules of Order by HCCS Trustee Chris Oliver) ahead of the 'recommended'  list by of the HCCS Administration.  What is sad here is that apparently all the others went along with it.  Who is Art Tyler and what is he doing in this? 

Poor Ft. Bend Mechanical, they complain about how tough it is being a contractor at Jane Long Middle school - poor things, they finished 'in the red'.  How about Marvin Mundo and his crew, they are still out thousands of dollars owed to them by a Ft. Bend subcontractor who stiffed them all;  talk about being in the red.  As far as I am concerned, Ft. Bend owes them too along with the Houston ISD. 

Larry Marshall's grandson gets a construction job but Larry led the fight to make sure that Houston ISD graduates would never have a chance to get into an Apprenticeship program on HISD construction projects;  "shame on him" is just not enough here. 

Now comes Chris Oliver, HCCS Trustee, with his own construction firm that gets an HISD contract through Ft. Bend Mechanical.  How handy is that!!  What is sad here, is that while the Houston Community College System sponsors the Apprenticeship programs of the Building Trades,   there is not one Apprentice on a Ft. Bend construction site being used (except for one non-Apprentice grandson).  HCCS is a training institution and Chris Oliver and the others should get that part.  

Trustee Ethics??  There is a way to fix all of this.  Trustees should simply adopt a policy that any vender who make political contributions is prohibited from any contract with these entities.  If someone wants to insure good government, that's all that they would be buying.  Somehow, Trustees' own construction companies will have to be kept out of the mix too.   Chris and any others, need to step down and conduct their business on the same playing field that all of the other contractors have to do.   

The final point here:  all contractors deserve an equal chance to secure a construction contract.  This is the only way HISD and HCCS ought to be doing their business.  Contractors who make sure that all workers are paid, with all payroll taxes being deducted, and all of the subcontractors doing the same, and providing jobs for our community along with job training, should get first dibs here.  Period!"

Mean while they honor the little bigot from ABC 13, here

Little Dwayne has a very bad habit of going after primarily minority members of our community. His history indicates that only occasionally does he go after some of the people that wear the same color skin he does. It is absurd to believe that only minorities are corrupt but yet they always seem to be his target. The question is why does he and most of the other major media outlets keep doing it?