Number 27

Corpus Christi is sacrificing more funds, this time it's much needed transportation dollars. When the city was eligible to receive additional federal funding for a road widening project at FM624 and US77, they couldn't agree on which municipality should pay the measly remaining project costs, the city or the county. The project was tabled until a decision was reached and by the time the city and county had settled their differences, our local road widening project had fallen to the bottom of the list.

If you think this is a petty reason to lose much needed transportation dollars (especially since the city is projecting major infrastructure deficits over the next four years), then you're right. But, the pettiness goes deeper. The reason for the squabble is the County, who had allocated the funding for the project, pulled their funding at a crucial juncture. The County pulled the funding because County Commissioners voted to remodel Judge Banales office to the tune of $118,000. Of course, one of those County Commissioners was the Judge's own wife, Peggy Banales who lost her Commissioner's seat to Mike Pusley in large part because of the re-direction of these road dollars to the Judge's office.

If that name sounds familiar it's because he's the same judge that hit a highway worker this summer with no repercussions, and the same judge that suspended the District Attorney who'd indicted VP Cheney. So, the same corrupt judge who gets away with reckless endangerment and the same judge who derailed a case to stop federal prison abuse and is in the Veep's pocket, is now the same corrupt judge who's sabotaging our infrastructure projects to renovate his office.

Corrupt District Judge Manuel Banales, reason number 27 why Corpus Christi Sucks.