This week has proved to be anything but boring.

With today's indictments of Mayor Will Armstrong and Police Sgt. Ralph Buentello, coupled with Tuesday's indictments of Police Chief Bruce Ure and former City Attorney David Smith, Victoria is abuzz.

What do you think of this slew of public indictments?

I realize the question may seem strange asked by a person named in the indictments.

For those of you wondering: I was not indicted and I am still working for the Advocate. I'm not covering these immediate stories this week because, as mentioned, I was named in the indictments, and because of the potential public perception of my coverage.

If I wrote a story you thought was sympathetic to one side or the other, you may feel I did so because of this week's events.

We strive to offer balanced coverage and to do so with transparency. I hope this blog answers questions you may have had.

In the meantime, I've resumed work on the second installment of our Fatal Funnel project. We are taking a deeper look at the people involved in the worst botched human smuggling tragedy on U.S. soil.

While I can't discuss certain elements of the ongoing indictment stories -- for obvious reasons -- I'm happy to answer any question that I can.

Feel free to offer your thoughts about any of it all.

Thank you,

Gabe Semenza/Advocate public service editor

Hundreds of documents are online for your review. These documents -- the reports which explain how and why District Attorney Steve Tyler declined cases last year -- have been at the heart of controversy for some time.

To view those reports, click here.

While the Advocate worked to fairly judge these reports, we could use your help.

Did you find a report you think is blatantly unprofessional? Do you see trends we missed? What are your thoughts of our analysis?

We appreciate your help on this. Also, if we failed to redact a name or other identifier, which could identify a victim, defendant or witness, please alert us immediately.

These cases were declined and do not in any way indicate the people mentioned in the reports are guilty of any crime. It's the newspaper's policy to not identify these people.

Thanks again for your help.

Gabe Semenza/Advocate public service editor

Here's your chance to speak out in favor of or against your new Victoria County property appraisal.

Advocate reporter David Tewes is digging into a story about the new appraisals, and he wants to talk to folks who are either happy or unhappy about the increases or decreases.

You can contact Tewes at 361-580-6515 or dtewes@vicad.com.

You can also post your thoughts in here.

Thanks for your help.

Gabe Semenza/Advocate public service editor

The death toll from China's deadliest earthquake in three decades has increased to almost 12,000.

Do you know anyone who was there during the quake? Will you offer aid?

We are doing a story about Crossroads connections to China.

Editor Chris Cobler notes: "'Good Morning America' had a Texas A&M exchange student on the air this morning. A University of Houston-Victoria or Victoria College professor might have a connection. A local business or farmer might have customers there."

For details about the quake, click here.

To share your details, post them in here or contact me at 361-580-6519 or gsemenza@vicad.com.

I'll be out of the office today at 1 p.m. but I'll continually check here and my e-mail.

If you need to reach someone after 1 p.m., call the newsroom at 361-574-1222.

Thanks for your help.

Gabe Semenza/Advocate public service editor.

My mother remembers where she was when the late Pres. John F. Kennedy was assassinated. She was in high school.

I worked on the first floor of a south Denver commercial building when news about the Sept. 11 attacks blared over the radio.

Some events in our lives can be remembered with vivid detail.

The same can be said, no doubt, of the immigration tragedy of May 14, 2003.

As part of a long-term series, we want to chronicle your memories and feelings of that fateful day.

Our initial installment, which published Sunday, drew a lot of emotion from readers thus far.

If you'd like to comment on that story, please do so here.

Where were you when you learned about the tragedy? What were your thoughts? Did it change you in any way?

If you'd like to share your memories, you can do so in here. You can also contact me at 361-580-6519 or gsemenza@vicad.com

We appreciate your help.

Gabe Semenza/Advocate public service editor

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Brandi Learn is thankful today that her husband, Thomas Learn, is alive.

The 30-year-old husband works at Formosa Plastics Corp. USA, site of a Wednesday transformer explosion that painted the sky with flames and black smoke.

While no one was injured, you can imagine the concern that flooded a young wife.

Brandi Learn, 25, wrote an e-mail to me today regarding her fears last night. She detailed her husband's experience. She agreed to have that e-mail published in here.

In the meantime, we're collecting other stories from the plant. Did you witness or experience anything? Post your experience in here, call me at 361-580-6519 or e-mail me at gsemenza@vicad.com.

To learn more about the fire, click here.

Following is Brandi Learn's story:

Well I am thanking my lucky stars my husband made it home yesterday evening from work.

His department and he were all sitting in the office doing time sheets getting ready to head out for the day and at 6:30 pm he said the electricity blinked three times.

The power surge, outage, was so strong/powerful you could hear the "buzzing" kind of like you hear electricity in a flourescent light, and you could feel the electricity tingling your skin.

He said he was terrified. 

They all ran to the window to see what happened after hearing the big "boom" and saw both  the flares burst with flames.

He said a transformer blew out at Gate 1 causing the power outage throughout the whole plant and I think he said the generators failed but I could be wrong on that one.

All the departments had to send the chemicals to the flares to burn them off so they don't pollute the air (I could be wrong on that reason too)

But with all the the departments shifting the dangerous chemical the two flares are why the flames where so high.

He said there was black smoke coming from the fire and there was white smoke coming from above the other departments in the field -- like the EG department and so on.

He said they all took off to their cars to get the the heck out of there. As they were running to their cars, there was a mist of black dust falling all in the Gate 3 admin parking lot and there was a lot of people hauling butt out of the plant through gate 3.

He said when he was driving through Lolita on the way home, there was still thick black smoke above him in the sky.

I am still thanking the good Lord that my husband is safe and no one was hurt in this accident.

I would also like to add that what happened yesterday was not anything that Formosa could do to prevent. Things like this happen and we can't stop them.

I really hope that no one starts saying ugly things about Formosa 'not being safe'. I trust that Chemical Plant more then any plant in the world. They are very extremely strict about their safety rules and every employee out there is like one big family.

I used to work there, too, and I must say it is the most "together" company I have ever worked for.

Gabe Semenza/Advocate public service editor

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POINT COMFORT -- A Formosa Plastics Corp. USA transformer exploded tonight and flames and smoke are still visible.

The transformer exploded at 6:30 p.m., shutting down power to most of the plant, said Calhoun County Sheriff B.B. Browning.

Oil inside the transformer is burning. The flare towers are working properly. But because the steam plant lacks electricity, the smoke from the towers can't be stopped.

This is normal, though, Browning said. The smoke will billow until the oil has burned dry, he said.

No one was injured, he said.

Earlier, Carla Hall, who talked via cell phone while standing near the plant, said authorities blockaded the bridge leading from Port Lavaca to the plant.

Hall is a volunteer firefighter who stopped at the plant while off-duty.

Roadways are now open.

A number of law enforcement agencies are still on-scene.

Did you hear or see the explosion? Can you see the smoke now? Have any details about what happened?

If you have pictures, please e-mail those to gsemenza@vicad.com. Hall provided the pictures you see now.

You can also call  me at 361-580-6519. Advocate reporter Tara Bozick can be reached at 361-580-6504 or tbozick@vicad.com.

Thanks for your help.

Gabe Semenza/Victoria Advocate

Is Sen. Hillary Clinton's decision to remain in the presidential race good for Dems?

Is the decision bad for Dems? Why?

We want to know what you think. We are working on two stories for Thursday's paper that detail your opinions on the senator's decision to fight till the end.

If you have an opinion, post it in here. You can also call me at 361-580-6519 or e-mail me at gsemenza@vicad.com.

We appreciate your help.

Gabe Semenza/Advocate public service editor

When disaster strikes, Victorians and those in the Crossroads respond.

Saturday's Cyclone Nargis that slammed Myanmar, a Southeast Asian nation also known as Burma, left an estimated 1 million people homeless.

More than 22,000 people are dead -- twice as many deaths as thought a day before -- and more than 41,000 people are still missing, several news sources are reporting.

But political red tape is stunting international aid efforts.

Is your church, school or civic group planning to offer help? Are you sending aid in any form? Do you know anyone who is headed for Asia?

If you live in Victoria, or in the Crossroads, the Advocate wants to detail area efforts to help in this increasingly tragic event.

Advocate reporter Bj Lewis is covering the story. You can post your plans in here, e-mail Bj at bjlewis@vicad.com or call him at 361-580-6535.

You can also reach me at gsemenza@vicad.com or 361-580-6519.

We appreciate your help.

Gabe Semenza/Advocate public service editor