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Mayor's brother guilty of practicing medicine without a license BY LAUREL ALMADA Times staff writer A Laredo man charged with practicing medicine without a license pleaded no contest to the charge Thursday in County Court at Law Number Two in exchange for a $1,500 fine. The man identified by numerous attorneys as Mayor Betty Flores' brother, Efrain Garcia, 52, entered into the plea agreement within the confines of presiding Judge Jesus Garza's chambers. He was alleged to have practiced medicine without a license, a class "A" misdemeanor offense, on Sept. 22, 2001. Although Garcia was scheduled for arraignment Thursday, he...

Ciro claims narrow win BY TRICIA CORTEZ Times staff writer By an amazing 126-vote margin out of 48,542 total votes cast, Laredoan Henry Cuellar lost his second bid for U.S. Congress to incumbent Ciro Rodriguez (D-San Antonio) in the March 9 primary. Cuellar was running in the Democratic primary against Rodriguez for the 11-county Congressional District 28 seat. "We expected it to be a tight race, but not this tight," Cuellar said early Wednesday afternoon. "This should be a wake-up call to voters who say their vote doesn't count. Yes it does." Cuellar received 24,208 votes, or 49.87 percent of...

Senator Zaffirini shrugs off political opponent’s claims By Tricia Cortez Times staff writer Raymond Bruni has accused his opponent, state Sen. Judith Zaffirini (D-Laredo), of being “controlled by special interest groups” and of “abandoning the middle class and working families.” He pointed to campaign contribution reports filed with the Texas Ethics Commission, which show Zaffirini has raised $249,680 from July through the end of February, in which approximately one-third has come from PAC, or political action committee, money. Bruni has also questioned the communications workshops she has given to public entities in Laredo, in which her firm, Zaffirini Communications, has...

Mayor comes home a hero Times staff reports Laredo Mayor Betty Flores arrived Friday from her three-day trip to Washington D.C. and brought with her $4 million in federal appropriations. Mayor Flores headed home on a high note, bearing news that over $4 million in federal appropriations for Laredo were approved Thursday night by Congress via a congressional bill that contained Laredo earmarks. The $373 billion spending measure contains an Omnibus Bill, which includes federal earmarks for the Gateway City specifically for transportation and mass transit projects. "I want to thank our congressional leadership that continues to support Laredo and...

Laredoan writing about Latina politicians By Tricia Cortez Times staff writer St. Mary’s University professor Sonia Garcia, a Laredo native, is leading a groundbreaking project to write the first book that will document the lives and contributions of the first Mexican-American female political office holders in Texas. After toying with the idea for five years, Garcia and four other Latina Ph.D’s in political science have teamed up to write “Politicas: Latina Trailblazers in the Texas Political Arena.” These five professors are the only Latinas with doctorate degrees in political science in Texas. Their book will be published by University of...

Remap pits Democrat against pal SAN ANTONIO — They were buddies as Texas House freshmen in 1987. But lately, there's bad blood. One wants the other's job. Ciro Rodriguez, 57, of San Antonio went on to Congress in 1997. Henry Cuellar, 48, of Laredo stayed in the House. But he endorsed Republican Gov. George W. Bush for president in 2000. And on Jan. 2, 2001, he became secretary of state, the first appointee of Republican Gov. Rick Perry, another 1980s House buddy when Perry was still a Democrat. Rodriguez, a devout Democrat, remained friends with Cuellar. He welcomed him back...