The Summer of 2010

Whether you believe the climate is changing or not, Laredo, this summer, certainly had some weather experiences to talk about! The first Atlantic hurricane of 2010, Alex, meandered up the Rio Grande on the Mexican side, but dumped mega tons of water upstream. As a consequence, The river at Laredo was 43 feet above flood stage on July 8. This was our second "100 year" flood in only 12 years! On August 27, 1998, the Rio Grande in Laredo flooded to 32 feet, bring the water to the bottom levels of the downtown bridges. The flooding this year did much more damage--with over 250 homes badly affected, and destroying the Laredo park area along the river. International traffic was disrupted for days, and international rail service ceased for 5 days as an overflowing dam in Mexico took out a vital rail bridge. Local faith based and non-profit groups have formed a coalition with the City of Laredo to help those who suffered loses, and to plan for future such events.

The South Texas Food Bank was able to meet the most pressing demands for food relief, and the community supported the Food Bank's "Empty Bowls" fund raising event on August 25. Featured at the event were a large variety of bowls painted by local and regional artists--sold by auction, and a performance by the famous 70's rock group, "Three Dog Night."

With continued serious drug cartel violence in our sister city, Nuevo Laredo, many would be visitors to Laredo are staying away--under the false assuption of danger in Laredo, Texas. Laredo has been, and is, one of the safest cities in Texas and the U.S.. So on a happier note, the 17th Annual Logistics and Manufacturing Symposium, held on the 15th through the 17th of September, drew outstanding speakers from around the U.S. One of the best, Mr. John Adams, director of economic development for the state of Florida, returned for this event. You might notice that the inspiration for this blog is his quote that "More happens in Laredo in a week, than in most cities in a year! It was good to have John back in Laredo.