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Posts published in “Day: March 9, 2017”

Galena Park Council meeting returns to calm

Mar 9, 2017
ANGERED FORMER COMMISSIONER. At the most recent council meeting of March 7, 2017 Former Commissioner Robert Clowers (hands raised) tells Mayor Moya she had no legal authority to ask Chief Mata neither to resign nor to pay him $12,000 in severance pay if he’d resign without having first bringing the issue before the entire council for a collective decision. He ended by saying the city is being ran like Larry, Curly and Moe (The 3 Stooges). (Photo by Allan Jamail)

Interim Police Chief lays the Law Down to Citizens

Galena Park, TX, March 7, 2017 — In a remarkable difference from the heated council meeting two weeks before Mayor Moya and the Commissioners calmly took care of the city’s business on the agenda without any disruptions largely due to the stricter meeting rules the mayor had Interim Police Chief Reese Martin explain to the citizens prior to calling the meeting to order.

Mayor Moya kept a tight rein on the agenda making sure all business was taken care of in an orderly manner. The mayor even translated in Spanish some of the most important issues on the agenda so those not familiar with English could be well informed.

After the mayor gave an invocation and the Pledge of Allegiance to the flag the council gave unanimous approval of the previous meeting’s minutes. Commissioner Oscar Silva Jr. was absent.

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Galena Park Mayor replaces Police Chief Mata bringing controversy to city

Mar 9, 2017

Galena Park, Texas — In an interview with North Channel Star writer Allan Jamail, the former Galena Park Police Chief Edward Mata said that on February 28, 2017, he met with Mayor Esmeralda Moya and Water & Sewer Commissioner Rodney Chersky, where the mayor told him to resign or he’d be fired for insubordination.

Mata said Mayor Moya told him she felt he was insubordinate when he refused her instructions to remove a former Commissioner Maricela Serna at the February 21st council meeting where Serna and some citizens were speaking out of order.

Mata said, “I told the mayor I disagreed with her, I was not insubordinate, I told her she herself failed to follow the Meeting Rules for keeping order in the meetings by her not having first given Serna a warning.”

Mata said he reads the Meeting Rules almost before every council meeting.

Furthermore Mata said, “The mayor positively did not instruct me to remove Serna or anyone else specifically. When I heard citizens speaking out of order, I then noticed the mayor raising her hand and pointing towards a group of citizens in attendance and she said, ‘Mata.’”

The former chief said he thinks he handled the situation correctly. “I ordered those speaking out of order to stop or they’d be removed, and because of my warning the meeting became orderly.”

Mata continued to say in his defense had he arrested someone without a violation of the Meeting Rules or any law violation then both he and the city could have been sued. He went on to say, “The official minutes of the meeting will support my claim of the mayor never instructing me to remove anyone.”

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New ShowBiz Cinema opens on Beltway 8

Mar 9, 2017
North Channel Chamber of Commerce welcomed Showbiz Cinemas as a new member at a ribbon cutting on Thursday, March 2nd. Location is on Beltway 8 at Highway 90.

The brand-new facility marks the first theater to open in East Harris Countyrecently, and represents ShowBiz’s third location in Houston to date. The new theater will feature 11 auditoriums with cutting edge digital projection, floor-to-ceiling/wall-to-wall screens, state-of-the-art sound systems, party rooms, a lavish full bar, and an arcade center with redeemable prizes, as well as an SDX auditorium. SDX is ShowBiz Cinemas’ exclusive premium large format label, which offers movie-goers the Superior Digital eXperience. Each SDX auditorium features a massive 70ft screen, 4K DLP digital projection, immersive Dolby Atoms surround sound, and oversized custom made leather chairs.