Contempo Magazine Blog

The Texas Senate took a major step forward for the future of the state today by passing a solar energy bill. The new law will create an incentive program for the installation of solar energy in homes and buildings which will be able to sell excess energy into the electrical power grid. Solar power panels would no longer be excludable from developments and new developments must offer solar power as an option.

The $100 million a year program which will offer the incentives for the first five years would be combined with federal tax credits to help homeowners, businesses, and schools go to solar power. Fees ranging from less than a dollar per month for homes to an average $20 for businesses will be used to pay for the school program.

The state of California leads the nation in the number of homes with solar power and is aiming to reach 33% of all electrical power coming from renewable energy by 2020. California’s plan started in similar way to the proposed Texas plan and in fact they are now experimenting with an option were credits on property taxes can be exchanged for installation of solar power in existing homes. In Texas combining the wind power projects with West Texas and the domestic solar power panels on new homes will likely make Texas a contender if not the leader in renewable energy sources in the next few years. A 2008 study by the Texas Public Utility Commission estimates at least 23% of energy needs could be reduced by solar power.

The U.S. Department of Energy has done research that indicates that Texas has the most potential for all sources of renewal energy followed by Montana, Kansas, North Dakota, and South Dakota in decreasing order which includes biomass, wind, and solar energy.

The initial placement of solar energy is costly for existing homes usually costing several thousand dollars which puts it out of reach of many moderate and low income existing homeowners, however, the cost of putting solar power panels in new homes is relatively very low. The current Texas plan calls for those that qualify to a third of the equipment and installation costs paid for by the Public Utility Commission. A 30% Federal tax credit will also apply.

The solar energy bill was sponsored Sen. Troy Frasier, R-Horseshoe Bay and Senator Leticia Van de Putte, D-San Antonio. Only 4 Senators voted against the bill . The bill will allow homeowners to receive the market price for electricity they contribute to the grid. In addition, solar products that are manufactured in Texas will qualify for rebates.

Environment Texas Director Luke Metzger was quoted today in the Dallas Morning News saying “This bill would put Texas on the map when it comes to solar power…We have the sun, we have the technological know-how. Now we’ll have a market that that can make Texas a world leader in solar power.”

Already there are companies designing, manufacturing, and installing solar energy equipment in the state which will only be tremendously helped by this legislation.

Thanks for reading Contempo Magazine blog which discusses issues for McAllen, the Rio Grande Valley, and America from a conservative Hispanic point of view. Tony Magaña grew up in McAllen Texas, attended Texas A&M University, served as an officer in Army Reserve, and holds a doctorate from Harvard University. The co-founder of Contempo Magazine has participated in Valley business for over 20 years. He is a member of the National Association of Hispanic Journalists and also writes for the American Daily Review

Today is San Jacinto Day, which celebrates the victory of the Texas Army against the Mexican ruler General Santa Anna which marked the beginning of the Republic of Texas. This is an important day in understanding Texas history but also was an important turning point in the destiny of the Hispanic people who call themselves,Tejanos.

Tejano is a word you learn growing up in South Texas but most of us may not spend too time much thinking about what it really means or how the word started. The story of the word,Tejano, is the story of a people and their destiny as being between two cultures and sometimes accepted by neither.

Before American immigrants came to Texas, Mexican settlers had could be found in three major regions of Nacogdoches, the San Antonio area, and the Southern region of Texas which includes the Rio Grande Valley bordering Mexico. Beginning in the 1600’s Spain had sent settlers not only from colonial Mexico but also from Spain, France, Central Europe, Northern Europe, Sephardic Jews, and Arabs into the region. Almost all these immigrants became “Hispanicized” but parts of their native culture survived to gradually add to a culture that was beginning to differ from that of central Mexico. Between the years of 1820 and 1830 the Texas population went from 4,000 Mexican settlers only to now include 30,000 Anglos from the United States.

Dr. Andres Tijerina has written that Tejanos began to conflict with the central Mexican government by the 1820 because they began to see their destiny as being different and having more opportunity by being separate from Mexico. Further he notes that they supported the Anglo-American colonization and development of Texas which conflicted with prevailing thought of the Mexican government.

Unfortunately, by the time of the Texas revolution friction was also beginning with Anglo settlers. Some say that although the writings of Antonio Menchaca, a Tejano, actually inspired the Anglos to join the cause for Texas Independence, Tejanos were not seen as inherently loyal to Texas. The beginning of the Texas revolution was a time of great turmoil for prominent Tejanos like Juan Seguin who were being harassed by Mexican loyalists and Anglo separatists to prove loyality.

Dr. Tijerina describes that the town of Goliad was ransacked by the Mexican army in 1835 and then by the Texas army a year later. Despite this many Tejanos as they now clearly identified themselves fought bravely for the independence of Texas sometimes fighting brother vs. brother such as is depicted in an exhibit at the Alamo.

Initially Tejanos it appeared would be treated as equal citizens of the new Republic of Texas with a Tejano Vice-President Lorenzo de Zavala and Juan Sequin as Mayor of San Antonio among others given respect and leadership positions. However, to retain property rights and voting rights Tejanos had to prove they had supported the Texas revolution. Many landowners lost their land grants and others simply driven off their land.

John Sequin described the situation in 1858

A native of the City of San Antonio de Bexar, I embraced the cause of Texas at the report of the first cannon which foretold her liberty; filled an honorable situation in the ranks of the conquerors of San Jacinto, and was a member of the legislative body of the Republic. I now find myself, in the very land, which in other times bestowed on me such bright and repeated evidences of trust and esteem, exposed to the attacks of scribblers and personal enemies, who, to serve political purposes, and engender strife, falsify historical facts, with which they are but imperfectly acquainted. I owe it to myself, my children and friends, to answer them with a short, but true exposition of my acts, from the beginning of my public career, to the time of the return of General Woll from the Rio Grande, with the Mexican forces, amongst which I was then serving….

I have been the object of the hatred and passionate attacks of some few disorganizers, who, for a time, ruled, as masters, over the poor and oppressed population of San Antonio. Harpy-like, ready to pounce on every thing that attracted the notice of their rapacious avarice, I was an obstacle to the execution of their vile designs. They, therefore, leagued together to exasperate and ruin me; spread against me malignant calumnies, and made use of odious machinations to sully my honor and tarnish my well earned reputation.

Source: Personal Memoirs of John N. Seguín (San Antonio, 1858).

Today I think we should reflect on the early dreams of the first Tejanos who conceived and fought for Texas independence. Unfortunately their sacrifice was rewarded with mistreatment and injustice.  The descendants of those first Tejanos never gave up hope because they believed in the American dream.

Subsequent generations of Tejanos picked up that dream and carried it with them through domestic struggles for equal rights and in battle defending the their country. The dream of the Tejano lives on today and will continue with our children. Without that dream of the Tejano  and their sacrifice the Texas we know today would not exist.

No I am not saying that there is not more to be done. We may disagree about whats the right way to get there but we share that dream.  We all need to commit to better education and opportunity for all Americans to reach their potential but without those first Tejanos we would not have made it this far. So today I am proud to be an American, a Texan, and a Tejano.

Thanks for reading Contempo Magazine blog which discusses issues for McAllen, the Rio Grande Valley, and America from a conservative Hispanic point of view. Tony Magaña grew up in McAllen Texas, attended Texas A&M University, served as an officer in Army Reserve, and holds a doctorate from Harvard University. The co-founder of Contempo Magazine has participated in Valley business for over 20 years. He is a member of the National Association of Hispanic Journalists and also writes for the American Daily Review

Social Media has started becoming a part of life for many people. What started off as cool website like Myspace, where kids would hang out and leave each other rude notes, has now multiplied into a bunch of sites. Besides Myspace, there is Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, FriendFeed, and many more. They all have a different focus. They all have different effects. They all eat up time.

In my work as a computer tech, I often get asked if I can block some of the social media websites. Bosses will often walk in on an employee who is checking out a profile rather than doing work. This is understandably irritating to business owners. Being that I’m a hired gun, I block the sites as requested. Yet, I find myself ambivalent on the matter.

On the one hand, I do see that business owners want their employees to focus on getting work done. Anybody wants to get the greatest return on their investment. It is good business sense. An employee spending time doing things other than what is in their job description is a misused resource.

On the other hand, I often see it as a missed opportunity. With the proper training, you can have that employee on their Myspace or Facebook account promoting your business and even bringing in new clients. It’s just like parenting, if you make it a job, then it stops being fun. As a matter of fact, a resourceful boss would join the same sites and add their employees as friends to monitor their use of social media during business hours.

I figure one of two things would happen. The employee might cease visiting the social media sites during business hours if he or she knows the boss is watching; or, the employee might take the ball and run with it. In the first instance, this would save wasted company time. In the second instance, it could bring in more business for the company. Either way the business wins. Of course, we could always fall back on the computer tech by asking him to block the sites.

Thank you for reading Contempo Magazine blog with Shaine Mata who writes about politics, technology, and social media for McAllen, the Rio Grande Valley, Texas and America. He is a co-founder of Advantj Media Consortium

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