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ZAPATA COUNTY FAIR

Parade marshals Joey and Melissa Gutierrez continue involvement SPECIAL TO THE TIMES

The Zapata County Fair Association announced that Melissa and Joey Gutierrez will be the 2015 Zapata County Fair Parade Marshals. Joey and Melissa Gutierrez have always played an integral part at the Zapata County Fair and they have passed on that dedication and devotion to their four children Robert, Alyssa Jo, Amanda Lynn and Lil Joey.

While Joey Gutierrez didn’t grow up in Zapata, that didn’t stop him from attending "The Biggest Little Town Fair in Texas." He would travel from San Antonio with his family every year to support his cousins as they showed their livestock projects. As for Melissa Gutierrez, she was a member of the North 4-H

Club, where she competed in the baking division and in the 4-H roundup. In 1987, she was crowned 2nd Runner up and was also chosen as Miss Congeniality in the Zapata County Fair Queen’s Contest.

Their children have all been North 4-H Club and FFA members. Through these clubs, they have been able to show lambs, goats and hogs.

See FAIR PAGE 9A

Photo courtesy of the Zapata County Fair

Joey and Melissa Gutierrez will be the 2015 Zapata County Fair Parade Marshals.

GALVESTON ISLAND

LAND COMMISSIONER

WETLANDS PRESERVED

George P. Bush takes oath

Conservation efforts block development

By HARVEY RICE HOUSTON CHRONICLE

GALVESTON — A few years ago, wetlands that provided a home for coastal wildlife faced destruction to make way for a marina. Now an environmental group has carved out a preserve on Galveston Island that could eventually offer hiking and kayak trails.

After more than six years of effort, Artist Boat has secured a grant that will allow it to purchase the final piece of a 367acre section of what was destined a few years ago to be part of the largest residential development ever planned for Galveston.

The land secured by Artist Boat was to be a marina, part of a 1,053-acre development known as the Preserve at West Beach.

See WETLANDS PAGE 9A

Family’s era continues in Texas, national politics

By JIM MALEWITZ TEXAS TRIBUNE

Photo by Mayra Beltran/The Houston Chronicle | AP

In a Dec. 23, 2014 photo, Nathan Johnson, habitat and stewardship program manager at Artist Boat Inc., walks through the wetland area of the Gulf Coast Preserve that has been acquired by Artist Boat Inc. with a help of a grant.

It’s official: Texas is once again Bush country.

Big names in state and national politics gathered in the Texas Senate chamber Friday to watch Republican George P. Bush — son of Jeb, nephew of George W. and grandson of George H.W. — take the oath of office as the state’s twentyeight land commissioner, kicking off a new era for what Texas Supreme Court Justice Don Willett called “one of the most revered fam-

See BUSH PAGE 9A

TEPOZTLAN, MEXICO

Missing American found dead in mountains

By MARK STEVENSON AND AMANDA LEE MYERS ASSOCIATED PRESS

MEXICO CITY — Searchers on Friday found the body of an American man who had been missing in the rugged mountains in central Mexico since going on a hike four days ago.

Carlos Mandujano, the civil defense coordinator for Morelos

state, said a search team found the lifeless body of Hari Simran Singh Khalsa, 25.

He was found in one of the narrow gorges or ravines that crisscross the rugged mountains in the colonial town of Tepoztlan, not far from where he was last seen in a picture of himself that he sent by cellphone.

“He has been found, but unfortunately, dead,” Mandujano

said. “We don’t know the cause of death yet; that will be determined by the autopsy.”

While helicopters and hundreds of police and rescue workers combed the craggy mountains and cliffs around Tepoztlan this week, it appears Khalsa never went very far.

The body “was in the same

See MISSING PAGE 9A

Photo by Tony Rivera | AP

Police and specialized rescue personnel prepare to board a helicopter Friday as they continued to search for Hari Simran Singh Khalsa, 25, a missing American.

PAGE 2A

Zin brief CALENDAR

SATURDAY, JANUARY 3, 2015

AROUND TEXAS

TODAY IN HISTORY

SATURDAY, JAN. 3

ASSOCIATED PRESS

Laredo Northside Market Association’s Market Day from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. at North Central Park. Free rides on the Laredo Parks and Leisure Department kiddie train. Visit facebook.com/laredonorthsidemarket.

Used book sale from 8:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. First United Methodist Church. 1220 McClelland Ave. Hardback books are $1, paperback books are 50 cents and magazines and children’s books 25 cents.

Today is Saturday, Jan. 3, the third day of 2015. There are 362 days left in the year.

Today’s Highlight in History: On Jan. 3, 1961, President Dwight D. Eisenhower announced that the United States had terminated diplomatic relations with Cuba, after the Havana government said it was limiting the number of U.S. Embassy and Consulate personnel allowed in the country.

On this date: In 1521, Martin Luther was excommunicated from the Roman Catholic Church by Pope Leo X. In 1777, Gen. George Washington’s army routed the British in the Battle of Princeton, New Jersey.

In 1870, groundbreaking took place for the Brooklyn Bridge.

In 1949, in a pair of rulings, the U.S. Supreme Court said that states had the right to ban closed shops.

In 1959, Alaska became the 49th state as President Dwight D. Eisenhower signed a proclamation.

In 1967, Jack Ruby, the man who shot and killed accused presidential assassin Lee Harvey Oswald, died in a Dallas hospital.

In 1975, the original version of the TV game show “Jeopardy!,” hosted by Art Fleming, ended its nearly 11-year run on NBC. In 1990, ousted Panamanian leader Manuel Noriega surrendered to U.S. forces, 10 days after taking refuge in the Vatican’s diplomatic mission.

In 2000, the last new daily “Peanuts” strip by Charles Schulz ran in 2,600 newspapers.

Ten years ago: President George W. Bush tapped his father, former President George H.W. Bush, and former President Bill Clinton to help raise tsunami relief funds.

Five years ago: A Rutgers University doctoral student breached security at Newark Liberty Airport to kiss his girlfriend goodbye, prompting a six-hour shutdown.

One year ago: The secretive Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court ruled again that the National Security Agency could keep collecting every American’s telephone records every day.

Today’s Birthdays: Record producer Sir George Martin is 89. Journalist-author Betty Rollin is 79. Hockey Hall-ofFamer Bobby Hull is 76. Singer-songwriter-producer Van Dyke Parks is 72. Rock musician John Paul Jones (Led Zeppelin) is 69. Actress Victoria Principal is 65. Actor-director Mel Gibson is 59. Jazz musician James Carter is 46. Contemporary Christian singer Nichole Nordeman is 43. Musician Thomas Bangalter (Daft Punk) is 40. Actor Jason Marsden is 40. Actress Danica McKellar is 40. Actor Nicholas Gonzalez is 39. Singer Kimberley Locke (“American Idol”) is 37. NFL quarterback Eli Manning is 34. Actress Nicole Beharie (TV: “Sleepy Hollow” Film: “42”) is 30. Pop musician Mark Pontius (Foster the People) is 30. Rhythm-and-blues singer Lloyd is 29. Pop-rock musician Nash Overstreet (Hot Chelle (shel) Rae) is 29.

Thought for Today: “The difference between perseverance and obstinacy is that one comes from a strong will, and the other from a strong won’t.” — Henry Ward Beecher, American clergyman (18131887).

SUNDAY, JAN. 4 Voz de Niños training, 902 East Calton Road. Contact Alexis Herrera at 727-8591 or email her at alexis@vozdeninos.org. Accepting applications for individuals interested in volunteering time to help foster youth. Must be 21 years or older, and have a clean background to participate. Free training program. Call Voz de Niños for electronic application. www.vozdeninos.org

MONDAY, JAN. 5 CASA seeks volunteers. Contact Alexis Herrera at 727-8591 or at alexis@vozdeninos.org. Informational sessions second Thursday of the month from 5:30 to 7 p.m.

TUESDAY, JAN. 6 Free rock /wall climbing. 3:30 p.m. to 5:30 p.m. Inner City Branch library, 202 West Plum Street. Contact John Hong 795-2400 x2520 or email john@laredolibrary.org.

The Gateway Gatos of Laredo’s monthly board meeting at 7 p.m. in Room No. 2 of Our Lady of Guadalupe Church, 1700 San Francisco Ave. Those interested the lives of cats should attend the meeting. For more information, call Birdie Torres at 956286-7866.

The Laredo Under Seven Flags Rotary Club meets at 6:30 p.m. on the first and third Tuesday of every month at the Embassy Suites, 110 Calle del Norte. Diana Garza at 7535353 or 645-0644. dgarza5@yahoo.com.

WWE Smackdown at 6:45 p.m. at the Laredo Energy Arena, 6700 Arena Blvd. Tickets available at ticketmaster.com, the LEA box office and by phone at 1-800-745-3000.

Alzheimer’s support group, 7 p.m., meeting room 2, building B of the Laredo Medical Center. For family members and caregivers taking care of someone who has Alzheimer’s. Call 956-693-9991.

City of Laredo Health Department’s Program “Healthy Living/Viviendo Mejor.” From 8 a.m. to 10 a.m.City of Laredo Health Department Auditorium 2600 Cedar Ave. Contact Erika M. Juarez at ejuarez@ci.laredo.tx.us or go to the website www.ci.laredo.tx.us/health/healthindex.htm. For more information call: 721-4994 and 795-4918.

Les Amis Birthday Club. 11:30 a.m. Ramada Plaza. The honorees will be Olivia Arroyo,Aurora Miranda and Dora Rocha. The hostesses will be Francis Madison, Viola Garcia and Maria Teressa Ramirez.

WEDNESDAY, JAN. 8 The Laredo Area Retired School Employees Association will be holding their monthly meeting on Thursday, January 8, 2015 at 11 a.m. at Blessed Sacrament Parish Hall. Richard Raymond will be the main speaker. From 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. Blessed Sacrament, Parish Hall. Contact Marta B. Kinslow at mbkinslow@aol.com.

Photo by David J. Phillip | AP

In this photo taken on Nov. 18, 2014, Pasadena City Councilman Ornaldo Ybarra talks about the district lines in his community in Pasadena, Texas. Pasadena is preparing to change the makeup of its city council in a way that city fathers hope fosters new development, but that some Hispanics allege dilutes their influence.

Voting rights battleground

By PAUL J. WEBER ASSOCIATED PRESS

PASADENA, Texas — Pasadena is preparing to change the makeup of its city council in a way that city fathers hope fosters new development, but that some Hispanics allege dilutes their influence. The case could become a test of the Supreme Court ruling last year that struck down most of the federal Voting Rights Act, giving cities in many Southern states new latitude to change election laws affecting minorities without first getting federal approval.

“Clearly it was racism,” said Pasadena Councilman Ornaldo Ybarra, one of two Hispanics on Pasadena’s eight-member council, about the town’s planned council changes.

The campaign for a new voting system “was meant to scare Anglos, and it was effective,” he said.

In Pasadena, which is roughly 60 percent Hispanic, voters approved a referendum that replaces two city council seats representing districts with at-large seats, which Hispanic leaders say will negate their growing population numbers. The new format was proposed by the mayor, who is white, in July 2013, one month after the high court decision.

The mayor and supporters insist the new format will bring more participation by all Pasadena residents because they’ll have more to vote for. They note that other cities, including Houston, have at-large council members.

The change comes as city leaders are pressing for more investment to boost the local economy. Supporters say at-large council members are more likely to consider a city’s larger interests than the concerns of individual districts.

Lowe’s employee, 23, dies Police: Woman abducted 2 when wood falls on him children from Texas store LUBBOCK, Texas — A federal workplace safety agency will investigate the death of a male employee at a Lowe’s Home Improvement store in Lubbock who died after a stack of lumber fell on him. Lubbock Fire Department spokesman Steve Holland said Friday that the 23-year-old man died when a rack of wood fell on him about 11:20 a.m.

Storm continues to deliver wintry mix DALLAS — A wintry mix of snow and sleet continues to batter a broad stretch of West Texas as other parts of the state see rainfall that’s expected to last into the weekend. The National Weather Service has issued a winter storm warning as forecasts call for four to six inches of snow to fall Friday in far West Texas. Snow will mix with sleet in other regions. Amarillo saw a high of 30 on Friday.

DALLAS — Police say a 23year-old woman abducted two children from a Dallas store as their father tried on clothes in a dressing room. Authorities say the boy and girl were with their father at a thrift store Wednesday. An employee of the store told police he saw a woman leave with the children. Blount was seen later in the day at an apartment complex about five miles away. Authorities say she told police she had found the children.

Texas university officer in fatal shooting resigns SAN ANTONIO — A university police officer in San Antonio has resigned a year after shooting and killing a student.

Cpl. Chris Carter shot 23-yearold Cameron Redus five times, including once in the back, outside his Alamo Heights apartment. Carter has said he stopped Redus because of erratic driving.

New year brings new Dallas fee on bags DALLAS — Shopping for groceries and other staples in Dallas is getting 5 cents more expensive — unless customers bring their own bags.

Starting Thursday, the city’s new “environmental fee” charges a nickel per single-use paper or plastic bag at groceries and drug and convenience stores, as well as shops at malls and big-box retailers.

Seismologists expand study of earthquakes FORT WORTH — Seismologists are installing more measuring equipment near Dallas as earthquakes continue to rattle North Texas.

Irving has experienced about 50 small tremors since 2008, with a series since October that included a 3.3.-magnitude temblor near the former home of the Dallas Cowboys. — Compiled from AP reports

AROUND THE NATION

FRIDAY, JAN. 9 The YFL Youth Camp, Jan. 9 to 11. St. John Neumann Parish Center.

Contact Hector and Leah Cayanan at hectorcayanan@yahoo.com and leigh.cayanan@gmail.com.

SATURDAY, JAN. 10 Professional Bull Riders at 7 p.m. at the Laredo Energy Arena, 6700 Arena Blvd.

SUNDAY, JAN. 11 Professional Bull Riders at 2 p.m. at the Laredo Energy Arena, 6700 Arena Blvd.

SATURDAY, JAN. 24 STCE’s Comic Con at TAMIU Student Center from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m.

The 20th Annual Crime Stoppers Menudo Bowl at the LIFE Fairgrounds on Highway 59. Gates open 11 a.m. Fifty-eight teams are entered in the Menudo cooking contest. Call 7241876.

New Year babies at hospitals across US Across the United States, hospitals welcomed the first babies of the New Year.

At Ohio State University’s Wexner Medical Center, all babies born New Year’s Day were swaddled in a red blanket emblazoned with: “Beat Alabama. 1-115.” In Colorado, Kira and Rayburn Gosney were given the honor of first baby born in the state, with Evelyn Rose born at 12:02 a.m. Thursday, at Mercy Regional Medical Center in Durango.

And in New Mexico, Angelo Oros came to San Juan Regional Medical Center in Farmington, New Mexico, just 45 seconds after midnight.

Suicide watch ignored, NY inmate dies NEW YORK — A mentally ill New York City inmate who apparently hanged himself New

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Proud parents Zeynep and Garip Umit, of Little Ferry, N.J., kiss their child Turkan, who was born at 12:11 a.m., on Thursday, Jan. 1, 2015, at Hackensack University Medical Center in Hackensack, N.J. Turkan weighed in at 7 pounds, 3 ounces.

Year’s Day in a Rikers Island jail cell was supposed to be on suicide watch, but it wasn’t implemented.

Two city officials tell The Associated Press a jail psychiatrist had ordered inmate Fabian Cruz be under constant watch in a

unit for mentally ill inmates Dec. 31. But they say Cruz told a guard he didn’t want to go and he was returned to his cell — a violation of Department of Correction policy. Cruz was pronounced dead Thursday evening.

— Compiled from AP reports

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State

SATURDAY, JANUARY 3, 2015

THE ZAPATA TIMES 3A

Zapata County Fair President’s Message SPECIAL TO THE TIMES

It is with great pride that the Zapata County Fair Association welcomes you to the 43rd Annual Zapata County Fair. Since its inauguration 43 years ago the Zapata County Fair has grown into the title of “The Best Little Town Fair in Texas.” A variety of livestock, entertainment, food, and fun for all has garnered our fair to earn its prestigious title. The Zapata County Fair Association has worked tediously to make 2015 a memorable year for all local and out of town guests. We have

LOZANO

organized an event that will once again not disappoint our visitors from near or far. The ZCF is the most highly anticipated event of the year in our great

community.

Volunteers, youth, parents, sponsors, local government, school district, and many more culminate to embrace and promote this long lived tradition in our community. Due to the success of our previous years our musical line up will once again

have a little something to please everyone’s pallet. Because of the great response and support of our visitors we have extended our musical entertainment into three action packed nights.

Headliners for this year’s event will consist of La Leyenda, Dustin Lynch, Palomo, and Los Traileros Del Norte.

There are many more events to look forward to including our traditional queen’s contest.

This event is organized for young ladies from our community to compete with their grace, talent, charm and beauty for the distinguished title of Za-

pata County Fair Queen. Our trail ride provides an opportunity to all of our equestrian enthusiasts to come together for a fun filled day of riding. This event brings together both young and adult horse lovers from near and far. Our local 4-H & FFA youth never let us down by providing and showing some of the best livestock in the area. Hard work and dedication from our community’s youth year round is what allows the ZCFA to provide one of the most successful livestock shows around.

We are sure that our fun

filled event is once again going to make fabulous memories for everyone. We look forward to seeing you at what has become and forever will be “The Best Little Town Fair in Texas.”

On a personal note, I would like to thank the dynamic group of people that compose the ZCFA, my family, and all the local and out of town businesses for their endless support and their common passion for this event that I hold so dear to my heart.

Elisa A. Lozano ZCFA President 2015

Legislators push for more abortion laws

By BRITTNEY MARTIN THE DALLAS MORNING NEWS

AUSTIN — Anti-abortion lawmakers are looking to use the 2015 session of the Texas Legislature to build on the restrictions that led to the closing of more than half of Texas’ 40 abortion clinics.

Among the proposals: more limits on legal exemptions for girls seeking abortions without notifying their parents, and efforts to ensure that women are not coerced into having abortions, particularly in human trafficking cases.

Social conservatives have made substantial electoral gains, giving them more clout in the Republican-led Legislature.

It also sets up potential conflicts with abortionrights supporters, largely Democrats, who say they will try to derail further restrictions.

Anti-abortion groups acknowledge that Texas has pushed the legal limits in curtailing the procedure, marked by a 2013 law that targeted providers and remains the subject of court battles. But they believe some provisions can be tightened when the Legislature returns in

mid-January.

"There’s a strong desire to do as much as we can and to keep that ball moving forward," said Kyleen Wright, president of the Texans for Life Coalition, Kyleen Wright.

Wright said that while "protecting human life" will continue to be a priority, her group probably won’t pursue restrictions like a ban on abortions before 20 weeks of pregnancy, as other states have done.

"We’ve already pushed the Legislature pretty far," she said. "Texas is fond of setting the standard and pushing the line back a bit, but I don’t really see us spending all of our capital in the Legislature for legislation that’s going to be fought over for years with a fairly low level of expectation for success."

Abortion-rights advocates say the state already has gone far enough.

"An extensive informed consent process is undertaken before any procedure is ever performed for a woman," said Amy Hagstrom Miller, chief executive of Whole Woman’s Health, which operates three abortion clinics in Texas. "Here again, the Legislature is proposing a

Anti-abortion groups acknowledge that Texas has pushed the legal limits in curtailing the procedure. ‘solution’ where there is not a problem."

The 2013 law requires abortion providers to have admitting privileges at local hospitals, regulates the administration of abortion-inducing pills and prohibits the procedure after 20 weeks of pregnancy.

It also requires abortion facilities to meet the same structural standards as surgery centers, but that provision is not yet in effect, as the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals considers a legal challenge filed by abortion rights backers.

Compared with that law, the new proposals are modest. And anti-abortion groups will probably focus more on bills that expand protections for those on life support. But abortion proposals always are flashpoint for lawmakers.

In Texas, girls younger than 18 are required to get notarized consent from their parents to get abortions, but they can seek an

exemption from a judge.

They must show that they are mature enough to make the decision to have an abortion, and that they understand all of their options. The judge determines whether notifying the girl’s parents will be in her best interest or whether, for example, it might lead to physical, sexual or emotional abuse.

Republican state Rep. Matt Krause plans to offer a measure that would, among other things, require girls to apply for an exemption in their home county to avoid "forum shopping." Girls living in a county with a population of less than 50,000 would be allowed to apply in an adjacent county.

Susan Hays, an attorney who represents minors in judicial bypass cases pro bono, said the proposed change would hinder rural minors even with the population exception. Some counties in rural Texas share a district judge, and

other judges refuse to hear the cases altogether, Hays said.

"In most of our rural areas there’s no way to walk into the courthouse and file one of these and talk of it not be in every beauty parlor in town in 20 minutes," said Hays, who is also a lobbyist for the abortion-rights group NARAL Texas. "One problem is confidentiality and the second problem is turn away."

Currently, minor girls can apply for judicial bypass in any county.

Anti-abortion groups also want new provisions to protect women’s abusive partner or parent from forcing them to have an abortion.

Republican state Rep. Debbie Riddlehas offered a bill to require staff at abortion clinics to complete a training program to recognize and respond to signs of human trafficking. Riddle said she sees abortion facilities as the "first line of defense" for female victims.

"If somebody, a doctor or a nurse or somebody dealing with that young woman, can spot the fact that that young woman is a victim of human trafficking, then that will

help," Riddle said.

Traffickers force their victims to have abortions because pregnant women would likely "interrupt their stream of income" from prostitution, she said.

Planned Parenthood, which operates several Texas clinics, already has a policy and procedures in place for identifying and assisting victims in both its health centers and abortion clinics.

Sarah Wheat, a spokeswoman for Planned Parenthood of Greater Texas, said all patients are screened for signs of domestic violence and human trafficking, which can include chronic sexually transmitted infections, pelvic pain, rectal trauma, scars and bruises, or untreated conditions like diabetes.

Wheat said Riddle’s bill would make more of an impact if it provided training for all medical professionals, not just abortion providers.

According to National Human Trafficking Resource Center, 306 cases of sex trafficking in Texas were reported to the center’s hotline in 2013. The center does not track abortion statistics.

PAGE 4A

Zopinion

SATURDAY, JANUARY 3, 2015

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EDITORIAL

OTHER VIEWS

Castro continues dissent THE WASHINGTON POST

A Cuban performance artist named Tania Bruguera planned a simple event for Tuesday: She would set up a microphone in Havana’s Revolution Square and invite anyone who wished to step up and talk about the country’s future. Dozens of dissidents planned to participate under the slogan "I also demand" — which might be taken as an allusion to their exclusion from the secret normalization negotiations conducted by the Obama administration and the regime of Fidel and Raúl Castro.

That the deal announced Dec. 17 by President Obama did not include any protections for Cuba’s pro-democracy activists quickly became obvious. Security forces detained Ms. Bruguera as well as several dozen other activists. The freespeech performance never took place. "I spoke to Tania Bruguera and let her know part of her performance was done," tweeted Yoani Sánchez, an independent journalist whose husband, Reinaldo Escobar, was one of those detained. "Censorship was revealed."

The incident should have been an embarrassment to Mr. Obama, who said that he decided to restore normal relations with Cuba in order to "do more to support the Cuban people and promote our values." But the administration shrugged off the crackdown.

On Wednesday, the State Department issued a statement saying it was "deeply concerned," the same words it uses to describe human rights violations in China, Vietnam and other countries where the United States has no leverage and plans no action.

Talks on the opening of embassies will go forward.

The State Department declared that "as part of the process of normalization of diplomatic relations, the United States will continue to press the

Cuban government to uphold its international obligations and to respect the rights of Cubans to peacefully assemble and express their ideas and opinions."

There was no reference to consequences in the event Havana does not comply.

That’s hardly a robust stance to strike with a regime that is desperate for the economic resources that would come with expanded travel by U.S. citizens and other benefits unconditionally promised

by Mr. Obama.

The president could have conditioned those measures on guarantees that free speech would be respected and peaceful dissidents left unharassed — steps that fall far short of the full establishment of democracy required by U.S. law for the lifting of the trade embargo. That would have been in keeping with Mr. Obama’s own promise in 2008 that "significant steps toward democracy" must precede a normalization of relations — and his pledge in a 2013 meeting with dissident leaders to bring them into any bargain with the regime.

Instead, the Castro regime has been left free to continue stifling dissent, while reaping the economic and political benefits of Mr. Obama’s "engagement." Raúl Castro declared in a speech shortly after the agreement was announced that the Communist political system would remain unchanged.

Two weeks later, not one of the 53 political prisoners the White House said would be freed — about half of the total identified by human rights activists — has been reported released.

Instead, Cubans who seek basic freedoms continue to be arrested, harassed and silenced, while the regime celebrates what it portrays as "victory" over the United States.

If support for the Cuban people and American values is supposed to be the point of this process, then it is off to a very poor start.

COMMENTARY

The politics of the death penalty

By STEPHEN STROMBERG THE WASHINGTON POST

Ever since Michael Dukakis lost miserably to George H.W. Bush in the 1988 presidential election, Democrats have approached the death penalty issue with caution. Too much caution.

Maryland’s leaders had abolished the death penalty yet it took 19 months for Gov. Martin O’Malley, D, to fully expunge the ultimate punishment from the state: He announced Wednesday that he will commute the death sentences of the four inmates still on death row in Maryland, heroically revealing the news the day before a major holiday and only weeks before he leaves office. The four men will spend the rest of their lives in prison instead.

The move was obvious, even for death penalty supporters. With a 2006

court ruling, the legislature’s restriction on the death penalty and the state attorney general’s analysis of the legal landscape, the state didn’t have a functioning death penalty system and probably never would or could have executed these men.

O’Malley made that official, providing everyone with certainty and curing the legal headache that this issue has induced over the past year.

Why did it take so long? O’Malley is almost certainly running for president, and he probably wants to avoid Willie Horton-style attack ads.

Yet the politics of crime have changed a lot in the past three decades. With crime rates down, conservatives and liberals both have been more receptive to arguments criticizing the cost and efficacy of harsh sentencing laws, mass incarceration and the death penalty.

COMMENTARY

Our new pro-science pontiff

By CHRIS MOONEY THE WASHINGTON POST

In the last decade or so, there has been a resurgence of the idea that science and religion are in fundamental conflict with one another. The argument is often associated with prominent thinkers, like neuroscientist and author Sam Harris, who has argued that "there is a conflict between science and religion, and it is zerosum" — but it also gains strength from the political context in which we live.

After all, we see sciencereligion conflicts all the time: Creationists try to disrupt the sole teaching of evolution. Religiously driven anti-abortionists come up with dubious scientific arguments for why the procedure is dangerous.

Seeing these science and religion conflicts inclines us to believe that science and religion . . . conflict.

There’s a difference, though, between the idea of a necessary conflict between science and religion, and the notion that conflicts merely happen at some times, for some individuals or religious groups. The latter is obvious and irrefutable — but the former is seemingly contradicted whenever we see a prominent religious believer who also strongly embraces scientific realities. And it looks like we might be seeing, right now, the most prominent one of those in a long time: Pope Francis.

In October, the new Pope spoke at the Pontifical Academy of Sciences and appeared to endorse

two major scientific concepts that have often given religious believers big trouble: the Big Bang and evolution.

On the Big Bang, he remarked that it is "considered to be the origin of the world" and "does not contradict the creative intervention of God." And then there’s evolution. "God is not ... a magician, but the Creator who brought everything to life," said Francis on the occasion. "Evolution in nature is not inconsistent with the notion of creation, because evolution requires the creation of beings that evolve."

In other words, the pope appears to be embracing an idea that had great currency in the Enlightenment — the notion of a God who created a universe that follows laws that can be scientifically discerned. That’s an idea that certainly would have appealed to deeply religious scientists like Galileo, who argued, in his famous "Letter to the Grand Duchess Christina," that the insights of Copernicus could be made compatible with the Bible.

More recently, meanwhile, the Guardian reported recently that the pope is planning to issue "a rare encyclical on climate change and human ecology" next year. Certainly, Pope Francis has been quite active on the subject of taking care of the environment, arguing back in May that Catholics must "Safeguard Creation.

Because if we destroy Creation, Creation will destroy us! Never forget

this!" The pope also declared, during the Lima, Peru climate change conference earlier this month, that the "time to find global solutions is running out."

Indeed, there has been much environment and climate-related activity coming out of the Vatican. Earlier this year the Pontifical Academy of Sciences (along with the Pontifical Academy of Social Sciences) convened a workshop entitled "Sustainable Humanity, Sustainable Nature: Our Responsibility," bringing together a number of scientists and experts who then released a statement declaring that "If current trends continue, this century will witness unprecedented climate changes and ecosystem destruction that will severely impact us all."

Thus, while creationists may reject science out of religious belief, other religious believers accept and embrace what science tells us — and frequently also do so out of religious motivations.

In fact, the idea that Pope Francis wants the world to do something about climate change, and that he apparently sees this as a matter of taking care of the creation, hardly makes him unique. James West of Mother Jones points to polling data suggesting that large numbers of U.S. Catholics also support climate action, including a very strong majority among Hispanic Catholics.

But it’s not just Catholics. While Evangelicals often get a bad rap for not wanting to do anything

about climate change, the fact is that a substantial minority of them actually do. While a majority of white Evangelical Protestants are "somewhat or very unconcerned" about the issue, some 35 percent are either "somewhat or very concerned," according to recent polling by the Public Religion Research Institute.

The biblically based stewardship or "Creation Care" message — which went very, very mainstream earlier this year in the blockbuster film "Noah" — may not have won out with a majority of these believers. But it appears to have made substantial inroads. And evangelical leaders like the climate scientist Katharine Hayhoe are working every day to convince more believers, by making theologically (and politically) resonant arguments for why they need to take climate science seriously.

So in sum: The relationship between science and religion is complex, and generalizations are dangerous. There’s no doubt that many religious people around the world cling to their beliefs (or, to what they think their beliefs require) in the face of evidence, and history shows science-religion conflicts popping up at regular intervals. But it also shows something else: Believers who find a way to reconcile faith and science.

If Pope Francis continues on his current course, he has the power to make this latter group a whole lot more prominent than it already is.

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CLASSIC DOONESBURY | GARRY TRUDEAU

SATURDAY, JANUARY 3, 2015

THE ZAPATA TIMES 5A

PÁGINA 6A

Zfrontera

Ribereña en Breve RESCATE Personal de la Secretaría de la Defensa Nacional liberó en el municipio de Reynosa a una persona que presuntamente se encontraba privada de su libertad, además de asegurar cargadores para armas de fuego y una camioneta, señala un comunicado de prensa del Gobierno de Tamaulipas.

Los hechos se suscitaron cuando los elementos castrenses, al efectuar reconocimientos terrestres en calles de la colonia Los Almendros de ese municipio fronterizo, fueron agredidos con disparos de arma de fuego por cuatro civiles armados.

Tras repeler la agresión y obligar a los civiles armados a huir, los militares liberaron a la persona y la pusieron a disposición del Ministerio Público de la Federación en calidad de presentado, además de los cargadores y la camioneta.

SÁBADO 03 DE ENERO DE 2015

MÁS BUSCADOS

Sube recompensa ESPECIAL PARA TIEMPO DE ZAPATA

La recompensa para quien posea información de Freddie Alaniz, de 34 años, quien se encuentra en la lista de los 10 fugitivos más buscados, ha aumentado a 12.500 dólares, por información que conduzca a su captura, si la pista es entregada durante el mes de enero.

Alaniz es buscado por homicidio, agresión sexual contra un menor y posesión de marihuana.

Se garantiza que todas las pistas serán anónimas.

En febrero de 2006, Alaniz fue arrestado por agresión agravada en San Antonio por presuntamente apuñalar a un hombre durante una pelea, pero Alaniz pagó

fianza y posteriorge West (Condado de mente huyó.

Live Oak) y BeauLa víctima murió mont, así como en Vemás tarde como conracruz, México. Su secuencia de las hehistorial criminal inridas, y la Oficina cluye agresión caudel Alguacil del Consando lesiones corpodado de Bexar emitió rales, resistencia a la una orden de arresto autoridad y conducpara Alaniz con carción en estado de gos por homicidio en ebriedad. agosto de 2006.

Alaniz mide 5 pies La orden de deteny 3 pulgadas de altución de Alaniz por ra y pesa aproximaALANIZ agresión sexual de damente 120 libras; un niño proviene de sin embargo, su apaun incidente en 2006 en el Conda- rición puede haber cambiado sigdo de Zavala. nificativamente. Tiene tatuajes Alaniz tiene vínculos en varias en su mano izquierda, piernas, ciudades de Texas, incluyendo La en el brazo derecho y en el homPryor (Condado de Zavala), Geor- bro.

TAMAULIPAS

TEMPORADA DE CAZA

OBJETIVOS 2015

Cazadores contarán con apoyo militar

INFRAESTRUCTURA De acuerdo con un comunicado de prensa, municipios de Tamaulipas fortalecerán la infraestructura y transporte, invirtiendo recursos para impulsar el desarrollo económico y social en beneficio de sus habitantes.

Las ciudades de Nuevo Laredo, Matamoros, Reynosa, Río Bravo y Valle Hermoso, serán beneficiadas con las obras de infraestructura de transporte: El distribuidor vial “La Laguna”, la modernización de la Carretera Sendero Nacional, la continuidad de la avenida Emilio Portes Gil y José López Portillo, la modernización de la carretera San Fernandeño – Plan de Alazán y ampliación de la gasa de acceso al Puente Internacional III, de acuerdo con un comunicado de prensa.

TIEMPO DE ZAPATA

Los cazadores que se encuentran participando de la temporada de caza del venado cola blanca recibirán apoyo, auxilio e información por parte de elementos de la Secretaría de la Defensa Nacional y Secretaría de Marina, como parte de la campaña “Operativo Cordillera” para promover la temporada, señaló la Secretaría de Seguridad Pública del Estado de Tamaulipas.

El operativo, que entró en función el 28 de noviembre de 2014, continuará ejerciendo actividades de prevención para la seguridad, ayuda en caso de accidentes e información, hasta el 25 de enero de este año, sostuvo el general Arturo Gutiérrez García, Secretario de Seguridad Pública del Estado.

Entre las ciudades donde se ejecuta el operativo están Nuevo Laredo, Nueva Ciudad Guerrero, Mier, Miguel Alemán y Camargo, México.

DESTINO TURÍSTICO Autoridades tamaulipecas invitan a los turistas que buscan acercarse a la naturaleza, a visitar la Reserva de la Biosfera del Cielo, donde se imparten actividades senderismo, rappel, kayak, 4×4, fotografía, ciclismo, tirolesa, campismo, observación de aves, entre muchas más, en las que se aprecian las bellezas y riquezas de Tamaulipas.

El turismo de El Cielo se ha convertido en una vía de sustento para los pobladores de la zona.

El Cielo alberga cavernas donde habitan variedad de especies endémicas de la región, gran cantidad fauna, cohabitan 430 tipos de aves residentes y migratorias, también es hogar de 85 variedades de anfibios y reptiles Lugares como la Piedra del Elefante, la Campana, la Bocatoma, La Florida, son lugares que identifican el lugar.

El Gobierno de Tamaulipas invita a visitar sus Pueblos Mágicos, como una opción para visitar durante la temporada invernal Los Pueblos Mágicos de México se han convertido en un destino turístico para nacionales y extranjeros que gustan de disfrutar las tradiciones, gastronomía, artesanías, la arquitectura y todo lo que envuelve la cultura mexicana, además de ser una oferta basada en la historia y actividades propias del lugar, así como de la aventura y deporte extremo en escenarios naturales.

Los Pueblos Mágicos de Tamaulipas son Tula y Mier, México.

— Con información de tamaulipas.gob.mx

Para ser elegible para las recompensas en efectivo, hay cinco maneras diferentes de proporcionar información anónima: Llame a la línea de Alto al Crimen al 1-800-252-TIPS (8477).

Enviar un mensaje de texto a DPS, seguido de su pista al 274637, desde su teléfono celular.

Entrar su pista a través de la página en Internet de DPS, seleccionando al fugitivo de quien tiene información y haga clic en el enlace situado bajo su imagen.

Presentar su pista a través de Facebook en http://www.facebook.com/texas10mostwanted haciendo clic en el enlace “Presente su Pista”.

Enviar su pista a través de la aplicación de DPS.

Actividades Foto de cortesía | Gobierno de Tamaulipas

El tema de salud será principal objetivo durante el año 2015 para el Gobierno del Estado de Tamaulipas, sostuvo el secretario de salud.

Salud sería prioridad para gobierno TIEMPO DE ZAPATA

Planes

amaulipas tiene como objetivo para el 2015, fortalecer la infraestructura hospitalaria, consolidar la prevención como política de salud y lograr el acceso a los servicios bajo, dijo Norberto Treviño García Manzo, secretario de Salud de Tamaulipas, a través de un comunicado de prensa del Gobierno de Tamaulipas.

De acuerdo con los planes en el sector salud a lo largo de Tamaulipas en el 2015 quedará concluido el hospital General “Dr. Carlos Canseco” en Tampico, México y se iniciará con la construcción de los Hospitales Civil de Madero y General de Matamoros, México; además se implementarán recursos para la Estrategia Estatal para la Prevención

T

y Control del Sobrepeso, la Obesidad y la Diabetes; se creará un Consejo de Enfermedades Crónicas no Transmisibles, que será un observatorio para la toma de decisiones en contra de la obesidad y la diabetes y fortalecer el modelo del primer nivel de atención y enfrentar con mayor eficiencia los retos que implica una de las áreas más sensibles y prioritarias, de acuerdo con el reporte.

Las actividades de prevención son recorridos de seguridad y vigilancia por ranchos y centros turísticos, así como por tramos carreteros de Nuevo LaredoGuerrero, Carretera Nacional en Nuevo Laredo, Carretera Monterrey-Laredo, Carretera Nuevo Laredo-Anáhuac y Carretera Ribereña-Kilómetro 11, entre otras más.

“Mayoría de los cazadores participantes provienen de diferentes ciudades de los Estados Unidos, así como de algunos Estados de la República Mexicana, por lo que las acciones se activaron en esta temporada al mismo tiempo que Fuerza Tamaulipas y Policía Federal brindarán seguridad durante la estancia del turismo cinegético en hoteles, restaurantes y centros turísticos”, dijo Gutiérrez a través de un comunicado de prensa del Estado de Tamaulipas

COLUMNA

Convierten frase célebre en canción POR RAUL SINENCIO ESPECIAL PARA TIEMPO DE ZAPATA

El pasado tamaulipeco reúne a personajes peculiares y de corte popular. Hoy nos ocuparemos de alguien sin duda pintoresco. Conocido por el público deportivo hacia los años 60’s y 70’s del siglo XX.

Personaje Durante la noche las funciones de lucha libre llenan el Auditorio Municipal de Tampico, México, cada semana. No obstante, el recinto apenas sirve para este tipo de espectáculos, pues la acústica inhibe los conciertos y eventos similares.

A ras del suelo hay asientos numerados, con precios caros. Las gradas están por lo contrario repletas de gente brava.

Salido de las gradas, un individuo recorre los pasillos del local y ofrece cacahuates fritos en pequeñas bolsas de papel encerado. Van acomodadas en amplio cajón de pino, sobre al hombro. Asistente infaltable, por costumbre atiende primero a la clientela de las butacas inferiores.

Aunque conocida, su rutina nunca pierde gracia. Porque asciende y desciende las escalinatas al ritmo de emblemático pregón, repetido: “doraos, salaos”. Mientras tanto los espectadores atienden los costalazos en pleno cuadrilátero. De manera invariable, aquel estribillo toma creciente fuerza; tanta, que de pronto desconcierta a los gladiadores. “¡Doraaaos, salaaaos; doraaaos, salaaaos!”, entonan al unísono cientos de voces estentóreas en inesperado giro.

Propagación

Coro

Al ya desaparecido parque de béisbol Alijadores, también acude el andariego oferente. De mayores dimensiones al transitar por las estrechas tribunas le resulta problemático cuando la solicitud de mercancía proviene de filas situadas en medio. Entonces, con destreza lanzaba a gran distancia los paquetes y después atrapaba las monedas remitidas en pago.

Consigue incluso así que los seguidores del béisbol repitan a todo pulmón el coro de marras “¡Doraaaos, salaaaos; doraaaos, salaaaos!”.

En 1977 el equipo gana el campeonato, tras lo cual se dijo que el vendedor aludido repartió a diestra y siniestra las botanas, de pura alegría.

Su coro llegó tan lejos que entre 1969 y 1970 “Los Dinámicos”, la graban en disco de acetato, nos comparte el intérprete Enrique Esqueda. De compases tropicales, rápido se revela como auténtico éxito del sureste tamaulipeco. Los jóvenes del rumbo la prefieren en radiodifusoras, bailes, rocolas, carnavales y centros nocturnos.

Luis Fernando Mar González, campeón de ajedrez, platica que quien compuso la pieza musical fue Armando Macías Guerrero, fallecido en 2010. He aquí fragmentos: “Si lo llegan a encontrar,/ sálganle con este coro/ que en la flota es popular:/ Doraos, salaos, a tres por el peso,/ doraos, salaos, a tres por el peso”.

(Con permiso del autor conforme aparece en “La Razón”, Tamp., Mx.)

Nation

SATURDAY, JANUARY 3, 2015

THE ZAPATA TIMES 7A

US imposes sanctions on N. Korea for hack

By CAROL MORELLO AND GREG MILLER THE WASHINGTON POST

WASHINGTON — Two weeks after blaming North Korea for hacking into Sony Pictures, the Obama administration on Friday imposed new sanctions on the repressive government as part of what it described as a broader attempt to tackle threats to U.S. cybersecurity.

Under a new executive order signed by President Barack Obama, the Treasury Department imposed financial measures on 10 North Korean officials and three government agencies.

Although it is unclear how those sanctions might deter future cyberassaults, officials said they expected financial institutions in other countries to take notice and to complicate North Korean business dealings.

"This attack on Sony Pictures Entertainment clearly crossed a threshold for us," one U.S. official said, citing

concerns about the growing sophistication and danger posed by cybersecurity threats in general.

"You should see this as part of a broader effort to raise the baseline level of cybersecurity across the country and tackle these threats head-on."

The targets of the new sanctions include the Reconnaissance General Bureau, North Korea’s main intelligence agency, which is believed to have orchestrated major cyber-operations. The other targets are the Korea Mining Development Trading Corp., which is North Korea’s main arms dealer, and the Korean Tangun Trading Corp., which is responsible for North Korea’s defense research and development.

None of the individuals sanctioned — operating out of Russia, Iran, Syria, China and Namibia — is believed to have been directly involved in the hack into Sony, officials said. They

Photo by Wong Maye-E | AP

North Koreans gather at the Mansu Hill where the statues of the late leaders Kim Il Sung and Kim Jong Il tower over them. earned their place on the new list as employees of the Pyongyang government or representatives of the ruling Workers’ Party of Korea.

North Korea is already one of the most heavily sanctioned countries in the world, and the agencies and entities targeted Friday have all been sanctioned previously. Still, analysts said the measures could in-

flict some new financial pain on North Korea’s already isolated military establishment.

In a statement, Treasury Secretary Jack Lew said the new sanctions aim to hold North Korea responsible for "destructive and destabilizing conduct."

"Even as the FBI continues its investigation into the cyber-attack against Sony

Pictures Entertainment, these steps underscore that we will employ a broad set of tools to defend U.S. businesses and citizens, and to respond to attempts to undermine our values or threaten the national security of the United States," he said.

Obama had pledged to respond "proportionally" to the intrusion into Sony’s network - an attack that not only exposed embarrassing corporate emails but wiped out computer data. The new measures fall short of the response sought by some lawmakers, including a move to redesignate North Korea as a state sponsor of terrorism.

Regardless of their impact, however, the sanctions serve as a sign of the administration’s confidence that North Korea was behind the attack against Sony.

Since the earliest news reports about possible North Korean responsibility in November, there has been

skepticism among independent security researchers who say that it is notoriously difficult to determine the origins of cyberattacks and that sophisticated hackers can hide their footsteps or otherwise fool investigators.

Those doubts have not receded since the FBI officially laid blame on the reclusive nation on Dec. 19, the same day that Obama threatened to retaliate for the attack and chastised Sony for canceling the planned release of the movie "The Interview." The comedy’s plot is built around the assassination of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un. But administration officials insist they remain confident that North Korea, also known as the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, is behind the hack. They note that they have access to intelligence that skeptics do not, some of it gathered by the nation’s top spy analysts.

Illinois extends marijuana experiment to kids

By CARLA K. JOHNSON ASSOCIATED PRESS

CHICAGO — Randy Gross hopes a new law allowing children into Illinois’ medical marijuana program will reunite his family, nearly a year after his wife moved to Colorado so their son could receive a controversial treatment to ease his epileptic seizures.

Gross lives and works in Illinois. His wife, Nicole, moved with their two sons so their 8-year-old could legally swallow a quarter-teaspoon of marijuana oil each day. While the medical evidence is thin, some parents — including the Grosses — say marijuana works for their children and they’re willing to experiment.

“We can tell he’s feeling better,” Nicole Gross said of their son, Chase, who also has autism and uses sign language. “He puts four or five signs together. He’ll sign, ‘brother go downstairs

play.’ ... He engages more, makes better eye contact. If he notices something funny on his TV show, he’ll clap and pat you on the back.”

The boy formerly suffered abrupt “head drop” seizures — at least one every two minutes, she said.

Now 20 minutes go by, sometimes 30 minutes, between seizures, she said.

The dark green, pungent oil comes from a hybrid marijuana strain called Charlotte’s Web, which was cultivated by a Colorado company to be heavy in a compound called CBD and low in THC, the ingredient that gets people high. It hasn’t been tested in clinical trials for effectiveness or safety, but it will be legal in Illinois under a law that took effect Thursday.

Sorting truth from hype is difficult. CBD shows enough promise that two drug companies are studying it for childhood seizures with support from U.S. reg-

Photo by Brennan Linsley | AP

Zach Gross, left, plays with his brother, Chase, at their home in Colorado Springs, Colo. ulators, but those results will take years. For now, mainstream medicine regards Charlotte’s Web as a folk remedy deserving of caution.

“There is good evidence of long-term harm of chronic marijuana use on the developing brain under 18 years of age,” said Dr. Leslie Mendoza Temple, a sub-

urban Chicago doctor who has given accredited lectures about medical marijuana for the Illinois Academy of Family Physicians.

She considers the scientific evidence sparse, so “in general, this is a medicine only to be considered when

all other therapies have been exhausted and failed, and if the child is quite debilitated.”

A wave of Charlotte’s Web publicity, sparked by a 2013 CNN documentary, lured families to Colorado and unfairly played on their desperation, said Dr. Kevin Chapman, who treats children with epilepsy at Children’s Hospital Colorado. Chapman has seen only inconsistent parent accounts that Charlotte’s Web works.

When he and his colleagues reviewed the charts of 58 young patients using the oil, they found less than a third of parents reported a big reduction in seizures, and the improvement didn’t show up on available before-and-after tests that measure brain waves. Families who moved to Colorado to use the drug, however,

were three times more likely to report improvement than families already living in the state.

“Families have to move, sell everything, pack up, leave their social network,” Chapman said. “It’s hard to be truly objective if you’ve had to do so much to get this drug that’s been touted as a miracle medication.”

Under emergency rules, the Illinois Department of Public Health announced in December, young patients will be able to use medical marijuana for any of the nearly 40 health conditions already authorized for adults, although some — like agitation of Alzheimer’s disease — aren’t childhood conditions.

Children will be required to get written certification from two doctors. Adult patients need just one doctor to sign off.

International

8A THE ZAPATA TIMES

Iran moves closer to deal

By GEORGE JAHN ASSOCIATED PRESS

VIENNA — Iran and the United States have tentatively agreed on a formula that Washington hopes will reduce Tehran’s ability to make nuclear arms by committing it to ship to Russia much of the material needed for such weapons, diplomats say.

In another sign of progress, the two diplomats told The Associated Press that negotiators at the December round of nuclear talks drew up for the first time a catalog outlining areas of potential accord and differing approaches to remaining disputes.

The diplomats said differences still dominate ahead of the next round of Iran-six power talks on Jan. 15 in Geneva. But they suggested that even agreement to create a to-do list would have been difficult previously because of wide gaps between the sides.

Iran denies it wants nuclear arms, but it is negotiating with the U.S., Russia, China, Britain, France and Germany on cuts to its atomic program in hope of ending crippling sanctions.

The talks have been extended twice due to stubborn disagreements.

The main conflict is over uranium enrichment, which can create both reactor fuel and the fissile core of nuclear arms. In seeking to reduce Iran’s bomb-making ability, the U.S. has proposed that Tehran export much of its stockpile of enriched uranium — something the Islamic Republic has long said it would not do.

The diplomats said both sides in the talks are still arguing about how much of an enriched uranium stockpile to leave Iran. It now has enough for several bombs, and Washington wants substantial cuts below that level.

But the diplomats said the newly created catalog lists shipping out much of the material as tentatively agreed upon. The diplomats, who are familiar with the talks, spoke to the AP recently and demanded anonymity because they are not authorized to comment on the closed negotiations.

Issues that still need agreement, they said, include the size of Iran’s future enrichment output.

The U.S. insists that it be cut in half, leaving Tehran with about 4,500 present day centrifuges.

SATURDAY, JANUARY 3, 2015

Palestinians take step to join ICC

By EDITH M. LEDERER ASSOCIATED PRESS

UNITED NATIONS — The Palestinians took the last formal step Friday to join the International Criminal Court, seeking to pursue war-crimes charges against Israel over the recent conflict in Gaza and Jewish settlements in Palestinian territories.

The high-stakes move has drawn threats of retaliation from Israel and is vehemently opposed by the U.S. as an obstacle to reaching an Israeli-Palestinian peace deal.

After submitting the documents to join the ICC, Palestinian Ambassador Riyad Mansour said the Palestinians are seeking to raise alleged crimes committed by Israel, including during last summer’s war in Gaza. He said the Palestinians will also seek justice for Israeli settlements

on Palestinian territory, which he said constitute “a war crime” under the Rome statute that established the court.

“This is a very significant step,” Mansour told reporters. “It is an option that we are seeking in order to seek justice for all the victims that have been killed by Israel, the occupying power.”

The Palestinians moved quickly to join the court after suffering a defeat in the U.N. Security Council, which rejected a resolution Tuesday that would have set a three-year deadline for the establishment of a Palestinian state on lands occupied by Israel.

Joining the ICC is part of a broader strategy to pressure Israel into withdrawing from the territories and agreeing to Palestinian statehood.

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas has been

under heavy domestic pressure to take stronger action against Israel after a 50-day war between the Jewish state and militants in Gaza over the summer, tensions over holy sites in Jerusalem and the failure of the last round of U.S.-led peace talks. He signed the documents to join the ICC a day after the Security Council rejected the resolution.

Mansour said Palestinian leaders are studying “all options” including going back to the Security Council, whose incoming members are viewed as more favorable or to the General Assembly where there are no vetoes.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu immediately vowed to take unspecified “retaliatory steps.” The U.S. State Department said the Palestinian decision would only set back the aspirations of

the Palestinian people for an independent state.

Mansour delivered the paperwork to Assistant Secretary-General for Legal Affairs Stephen Mathias, who said the U.N. will examine them to ensure that they are in proper form.

Mansour said it will take about 60 days under ICC rules for “the state of Palestine” to become the 123rd member of the court.

Mansour said the Palestinians delivered a letter Thursday night to the registrar of the ICC in The Hague requesting that the court consider alleged crimes committed during the Gaza war “and reserving our right for other retroactive crimes committed

by Israel.” He said he would be meeting with an official from the registrar’s office in New York later Friday to discuss the issue.

Former ICC prosecutor

Luis Moreno Ocampo said in an AP interview in August that the Palestinians have the right to decide that the court has jurisdiction dating back to November 2012, when the U.N. General Assembly voted overwhelmingly to upgrade the Palestinians’ status from a U.N. observer to a non-voting observer state.

Ocampo said there should be “no discussion” on that.

The General Assembly’s recognition of Palestine as an observer state made it possible for the Palestinians to join the International Criminal Court and other U.N. bodies.

Once it becomes a member, Palestine could seek to have Israeli military or political figures prosecuted for alleged crimes involving settlement construction on occupied lands or actions by the military that cause heavy civilian casualties.

Smugglers put ships on autopilot

By FRANCES D’EMILIO ASSOCIATED PRESS

ROME — Smugglers who bring migrants to Europe by sea appear to have adopted a new, more dangerous tactic: cramming hundreds of them onto a large cargo ship, setting it on an automated course to crash into the coast, and then abandoning the helm.

It happened twice this week in the span of three days, and both episodes could have ended in tragedy if the vessels had not been intercepted at sea.

In the latest such incident, the cargo ship Ezadeen was stopped with about 450 migrants aboard after smugglers sent it speeding toward the coast in rough seas with no one in command. Italian authorities lowered engineers and electricians onto the wave-tossed ship by helicopter to secure it, and the Icelandic Coast Guard towed it to the Italian port of Corigliano late Friday.

Children and pregnant women were among the migrants, most of whom were believed to be from war-ravaged Syria, Italian Coast Guard Cmdr. Filippo Marini said.

Photo by Antonino D’Urso | AP

Men wait on board as the cargo ship Ezadeen, carrying hundreds of migrants, arrives at the southern Italian port of Corigliano, Italy, today.

The Sierra Leone-flagged ship apparently set sail from Turkey, he said.

Some of the migrants, most of them young men, watched wearily from the railings of the ship as they waited to disembark early Saturday. Several were wrapped in blankets against the freezing temperatures.

A large tent was set up at the dock so that the migrants could stop for food and water. Sky TG24 TV said that after their documents

are checked, they will be sent to shelters. Their requests for asylum will be evaluated.

An Italian Coast Guard patrol plane had spotted the 66-meter (220-foot) Ezadeen on Thursday about 90 miles east of Italy’s Calabria region and contacted it to see if it needed assistance.

“There was no crew, and one migrant, a woman, took the call,” Marini said. “She said: ‘We are alone. Please help us. We are in danger.”’

Two days earlier, the Blue Sky M, a Moldovan-flagged cargo ship carrying about 800 migrants, was similarly abandoned by smugglers who locked the ship on automatic pilot and set it on a collision course for a stretch of Italy’s southern coast, authorities said.

Despite strong winds and high waves, Coast Guard officers were lowered onto the ship’s bridge and managed to regain control of the steering about a half-hour before it was due to strike the coast, Marini said.

In the past few years, there have been increasing cases of smugglers overturning motorized dinghies or fishing boats and then speeding off in motorboats, leaving many migrants to drown. In other cases, they just fled, leaving their passengers to fend for themselves.

Marini said the latest incidents appear to represent an even more dangerous tactic.

“Certainly it’s very dangerous because a ship with no one on the command bridge is like a bomb that will strike up against the reefs,” he said.

It was not clear in either case if the smugglers jumped ship.

SATURDAY, JANUARY 3, 2015

THE ZAPATA TIMES 9A

MERCEDES G. VILLARREAL April 21, 1953 – Dec. 30, 2014 Mercedes G. Villarreal, passed away on Tuesday, December 30, 2014 in Edinburg, Texas.

Mrs. Villarreal is preceded in death by her father, Juan Fernando (Josefa) Martinez and mother, Guadalupe Martinez.

Mrs. Villarreal is survived by her husband, Rolando A. Villarreal, Sr.; sons, Rolando A. (Veronica F.) Villarreal, +Abel Angel Villarreal; grandchildren, Gregorio Rene Cervantes, Briana Celeste Villarreal, Paulo Nicolas Cervantes, Rolando Antonio Villarreal, III, Samuel Esteban Villarreal and Veronica Villarreal; brothers, Juan Fernando Martinez, Arturo (Rosalinda) Martinez; sisters, Beatriz (Gildo) Gutierrez, Rosario Martinez; brothers-in-law, Jose Heberto (Alicia) Villarreal, Rodolfo (Diana) Villarreal, +Roel (Margarita) Villarreal and by numerous cousins, nephews, nieces, other family members and friends.

Visitation hours were held on Thursday, January 1, 2015, from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. with a rosary at 7 p.m. at Rose Garden Fu-

neral Home.

The funeral procession departed on Friday, January 2, 2015, at 9:30 a.m. for a 10 a.m. funeral Mass at Our Lady of Lourdes Catholic Church.

Committal services followed at Zapata County Cemetery.

Funeral arrangements are under the direction of Rose Garden Funeral Home Daniel A. Gonzalez, Funeral Director, 2102 N. U.S. Hwy 83 Zapata, Texas.

ilies in American history.”

At the helm of the General Land Office, the fresh-faced former investment consultant promised to “add to the legendary story of Texas — a story that’s just getting started." Bush was swornin with his father, the former Florida governor and possible 2016 presidential candidate; his mother, Columba; and his wife, Amanda, looking on.

“The General Land Office has played a critical role in changing our world,” he told an assembly that included U.S. Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas; U.S. Rep. Roger Williams, R-Austin; four former land commissioners (Jerry Patterson, Garry Mauro, David Dewhurst, and Bob Armstrong); and other state and federal officials.

Bush’s role at the 179-year-old agency is sure to shine a brighter spotlight on its many duties, large and small.

It requires him to look out for Texas schoolchildren by extracting money from the very industries — oil and gas — that have fueled his family’s wealth and political fortunes. That’s because the agency manages mineral rights on millions of acres of state-owned property, whose royalties flow into the $37.7 billion Permanent School Fund. In that capacity, Bush inherits a lawsuit against Denton, the North Texas city that voted in November to ban hydraulic fracturing.

He also assumes a hodge-podge of other responsibilities: protecting Texas’ coastline, handling billions of federal dollars for disaster recovery, preserving the Alamo, and administering

loans and other benefits to veterans.

In his remarks, Bush said that he would “practice the politics of aspiration,” thinking each day about single mothers struggling to pay school tuition bills, oilfield roughnecks eying volatile oil prices and “wounded warriors” adjusting to civilian life. He also promised to improve the agency’s efficiency.

Jerry Patterson, the outgoing land commissioner, said he was happy to see Bush succeed him, calling the 38year-old “eager and bright.”

Of the agency, he said: “I don’t think it needs any more attention, but if it gets more attention because the guy’s name is Bush, that’s great.”

Many gathered at the ceremony spoke broadly of the Bush family’s return to Texas politics but insisted the new land commissioner would make his own decisions.

“This man is his own man, with his own ideas and his own vision for the days ahead,” said Williams.

“I think we’re going to have a chance to see what he can do,” Cornyn told reporters, “regardless of what his name is.”

Bush’s team originally closed the event to news media, in anticipation that his grandfather, the former U.S. president, would be attendance, causing security issues. After he decided to stay in Houston, press was allowed into the Senate Chamber.

Also sworn in Friday was former state Sen. Glenn Hegar, R-Katy, Texas’ new comptroller of public accounts.

WETLANDS Continued from Page 1A “It was plotted for 800 units and they were going to dig up the prairie and channelize it,” Karla Klay, Artist Boat’s executive director, told the Houston Chronicle.

The development could still go forward in some form, but the $2.63 million grant from the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation will allow Artist Boat to preserve 154 acres for the Coastal Heritage Preserve. The preserve is near the midpoint of the 32-milelong island, along West Galveston Bay near the intersection of Settegast Road and 11 Mile Road.

“It’s critical land, so we are really happy that we were able to secure it,” said Nathan Johnson, Artist Boat’s habitat and stewardship program manager, as he tromped through the winter-darkened grass on 181 acres of coastal prairie that is part of the preserve.

Coastal prairie that once covered 2.5 million acres along the Texas and Louisiana coasts has nearly all been lost to agriculture and development, according to the National Wetlands Center. Less than 0.01 percent remains.

The preserve also has 17 acres of estuarine and fresh open water, 33 acres of tidal flats and 136 acres of marsh.

Johnson made his way to a section of marsh, startling a pink-and-white hued roseate spoonbill and a pure white ibis. More than 30 species of birds

whose survival is of concern to conservationists make use of the preserve.

The preserve is one of a series of acquisitions and easements that conservation groups like Artist Boat have been making along the Gulf Coast in the Houston region, said Bob Stokes, president of the Galveston Bay Foundation.

The foundation alone has protected about 5,200 acres in and around Galveston Bay, he said. The foundation last week entered into an agreement with a farmer in Brazoria County to preserve 1,100 acres, although the farmer will retain ownership.

The acquisition of land for the Coastal Heritage Preserve on Galveston Island is significant, Stokes said. “Accomplishing this when it was slated for development is particularly important,” he said. “We would have lost this tract forever, so they are particularly commended for making it happen.”

The process of obtaining the grant money and completing the land purchase will probably be completed by summer, said Linda Sheed, a consultant who wrote the grant application and is handling the purchase for Artist Boat. The environmental group is in the process of developing a plan for the preserve that could include hiking trails, kayak trails, interpretive signage, boat launches and a classroom-dormitory for

FAIR

BUSH Continued from Page 1A

overnight stays for 50 to 100 students. The improvements would be designed to further Artist Boat’s goal of educating the public about the environment.

“We have a lot of planning to do,” Klay said.

Although the land purchase is paramount, it’s only part of the solution to preserving the property, she said. “These grants only pay for the land,” Klay said. “Once you save it, it’s a huge obligation to take care of it.”

Klay approached a top official for the real estate arm of the Chicago-based Marquette Cos. after it purchased the 1,053 acres in 2007 for $36 million. Klay said Darrin Sloniger, managing director for Marquette Land Development LLC, was receptive from the outset to her proposal to purchase the 367 acres where a marina was proposed.

Her proposal was aided by the economy and Hurricane Ike in September 2008. Ike damaged 70 percent of the structures on the island and caused property values to plunge. Within days of Ike’s destruction, the U.S. economy plummeted into recession.

The $36 million debt was owned by Marquette Galveston Investment Ltd., which defaulted. Marquette repurchased its loan for $10 million in 2012, days before the property was to go on the auction block, and resold it for the same price

Continued from Page 1A Alyssa Jo Gutierrez followed in her mother’s footsteps and was crowned 1st Runner Up at the 2012 Zapata County Fair Queen’s Contest.

Furthermore, Joey Gutierrez now has the opportunity to be involved in the fair by helping out not only his own children, but other children in the community with their livestock projects.

For the past few years Joey Gutierrez has taken the floor at the auction by helping out the auctioneer while simultaneously bidding and buying on behalf of his company. Melissa Gutierrez’s role at the auction is that of photographer, where she captures memories of the children and their livestock projects. Involvement with the Zapata County Fair has been a big part of their lives and will continue to be for years to come. As 2015 Parade Marshals, Melissa and Joey Gutierrez would like to invite everyone to join in on the festivities at our Zapata County Fair on March 12-14.

MISSING Continued from Page 1A to the Texas Permanent School Fund. Under an agreement that the General Land Office, which effectively administers the School Fund, refused to make public, Marquette continues to administer the property and intends to proceed with its development plans when economic conditions permit.

Klay has other ideas. She is hoping to raise enough money to eventually purchase what remains of the Marquette property on the island. The Land Office may be receptive. It has cooperated with Artist Boat in its purchase of the preserve, helping it with a $3.5 million grant to purchase the first 157 acres, and agreed to keep the remainder off the market during the search for money to buy the rest of the land. Sloniger could not be reached for comment about the possible sale of additional land, but a spokesman for the General Land Office said in an email, “The General Land Office would be interested in hearing any proposals for that acreage.”

Sheed of Sheed Conservation Solutions, a consultant who specializes in grant-writing land purchases, believes Klay might be able to pull it off. “I think there is a definite chance that there will be more funding found,” Sheed said. “It’s a big vision but I think it is not an impossible vision.”

wooded area, but the thing is that it is very rough terrain,” Mandujano said.

The search began Tuesday after the man didn’t return from going on a hike in Tepoztlan, about an hour south of Mexico City, with only a T-shirt, shorts, and little food and water, said his wife, Ad Purkh Kaur.

Kaur said Friday from Tepoztlan that her husband was a yoga instructor born and raised in Brooklyn. The couple had been living in Leesburg, Virginia, and were planning to move back to Brooklyn at the end of the month.

Kaur, whose legal name is Emily Smith, said she and her husband arrived in Tepoztlan for a yoga retreat Dec. 26.

Tepoztlan, a frequent weekend getaway for Mexico City residents, is known for the towering, whimsically shaped cliffs and mountain peaks that tower over the colonial town on the valley floor.

Kaur said she heard

from her husband at 12:30 p.m. Tuesday, when he sent a picture of himself on a mountain top pointing to the site of the yoga retreat, with the message: “Looking down on you!”

She last heard from him about two hours after that, when he sent a text message.

“I accidentally summited another mountain,” he wrote, Kaur said. “Looks like I’ll be a little later coming back.

Save me some lunch if you can.”

Kaur said her husband was an experienced hiker who was just getting into backcountry hiking, though she said he didn’t have much survival training as far as she knew.

“He hasn’t done a lot of overnight hikes, or a lot of backcountry hikes,” she said before his body was found. “He has gone on accidental overnight hikes before and had to come down the next day ... He’s very adventurous and strong and smart and capable.”

PAGE 10A

Zentertainment

‘Jane’ helps CW’s profile

By EMILY STEEL NEW YORK TIMES

It is the tale of a 23-yearold named Jane, a virgin, who becomes pregnant after she is artificially inseminated — accidentally.

Outlandish, thought Jennie Urman, a veteran producer, when she heard the story line of a popular Venezuelan telenovela called "Juana la Virgen." Fresh off the cancellation of a medical drama, Urman was looking for a new idea to develop, but when television executives asked her to adapt the Venezuelan series for The CW network, she initially thought the premise was too crazy to pull off.

Still, she couldn’t get the idea out of her head, imagining the plight of this young woman whose life had been changed so suddenly, and so randomly.

What kind of doctor could make such a terrible mistake? How could this one wild accident rock everyone’s world?

"The story started to really come to life," said Urman, who previously worked on the remake of "90210" and the series "Lipstick Jungle" and "Gilmore Girls." "It became a story about mothers and daughters."

The show that emerged this fall to resounding critical acclaim is the whimsical, melodramatic comedy "Jane the Virgin." Critics have praised it as a nuanced story about three generations of strong Latino women that resonates across cultures and age groups.

"Jane the Virgin" recently landed a pair of Golden Globe nominations — one for best comedy series and the other for best actress in a comedy series — adding wings to the show and lifting its home, CW, along with it. The Globe nominations are the first for CW, which was also the only broadcast network to score a nomination in the comedy series category.

CW’s arrival "was eight years in the making," said

SATURDAY, JANUARY 3, 2015

Douglas, ‘Beverly Hillbillies’ star, dies

By FRAZIER MOORE ASSOCIATED PRESS

Photo by Danny Feld/CW | New York Times

Gina Rodriguez and Brett Dier act in a scene from “Jane the Virgin,” which recently landed a pair of Golden Globe nominations.

Rick Haskins, executive vice president for marketing at CW. "There is no such thing as overnight success in today’s world. It takes time to figure it out, to understand what is working and get in sync with the zeitgeist."

The recognition comes as CW is in the midst of a transformation of its own: from its roots as the frothy hub for series like "Gossip Girl" and "Vampire Diaries" to a network that is for a (slightly) more sophisticated viewer and that also appeals to men. In an age when most television networks are desperate to attract younger viewers, CW is trying to grow by growing up.

"We felt that by becoming too niche, we were going to niche ourselves out of existence," said Mark Pedowitz, president of CW. The network was struggling when Pedowitz assumed the top job in 2011.

Warner Bros. and CBS had established the network as a joint venture five years earlier, with the goal of improving ratings by merging their WB and UPN networks.

But the plan wasn’t working. Series like "Gossip Girl," "Vampire Diaries" and "America’s Next Top Model" generated buzz within a passionate fan base of young women, but the audiences were tiny, and total viewership was declining.

The network was estimated to be losing as much as $100 million a year, and there were fears that the parent media groups would elimi-

nate a sinking operation.

Pedowitz immediately set out to find shows that would appeal to viewers outside of the 18-to-34-yearold demographic, without alienating CW’s core audience.

Executives also sought out shows with a backbone of optimism that would contrast with the gloom and doom offerings prevalent on television today, hoping they would resonate with change-the-world millennial viewers.

Sifting through a catalog of ideas from South America, Silverman discovered "Jane the Virgin," saw its potential and recommended it to CW. Pedowitz said that the title and its potential to appeal across cultures and age groups immediately grabbed him. The series, starring the little-known actress Gina Rodriguez as the hardworking, endearing and earnest Jane, embraces its telenovela roots with wild plot swings and winkat-the-audience humor.

Marketers said the network has succeeded in broadening its audience while retaining core viewers. That strategy has helped to lure new advertisers, like automakers and financial services companies.

"It’s been a younger network for so long," said Dani Benowitz, an executive vice president at Universal McCann. "Their story gets better as the demographics get older."

NEW YORK — Donna Douglas, who played the buxom tomboy Elly May Clampett on the hit 1960s sitcom “The Beverly Hillbillies,” has died.

Douglas died Thursday in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, near her hometown of Zachary. The cause of death was pancreatic cancer, said her niece, Charlene Smith. Douglas was 82.

She was best known for her role in “The Beverly Hillbillies,” the CBS comedy about a backwoods Ozark family who moved to Beverly Hills after striking it rich from oil discovered on their land.

The series, which ran from 1962 to 1971, also starred the late Buddy Ebsen and Irene Ryan as well as Max Baer Jr., who turns 77 on Sunday.

As Elly May, she seemed blissfully unaware of her status as a bumpkin blond bombshell. Typically she was clad in a snug flannel shirt and tight jeans cinched with a rope belt, and she seemed to prefer her critters to any beau.

Chosen from more than 500 other actresses, Douglas said she felt at ease playing the role because, like her character, she grew up a poor Southern tomboy. Her childhood in Pride, Louisiana, came in handy when she was asked during her audition to milk a goat.

“I had milked cows before,” she recalled in a 2009 interview with The Associated Press. “I figured they were equipped the same, so I just went on over and did it.”

The show was not only assailed by critics, but by the network boss who put

Photo by Bill Haber | AP file

In this March 4, 2009 file photo, Donna Douglas, who starred in the television series "The Beverly Hillbillies" tours the Audubon Zoo in New Orleans. it on the air: “I HATED it,” Michael Dann confided much later. “After screening the pilot, I don’t think I ever watched another segment.”

The public, however, felt quite the opposite: It ran for nine seasons, often in the Top 10. In their own way, the Clampetts were a forerunner of the ‘60s counterculture.

It wasn’t much of a stretch for Douglas to fit into the troupe, said Smith, the niece.

“She was always happy, and she really loved animals — just like her character on ‘The Beverly Hillbillies.’ She was a wonderful lady, a very good Christian lady.”

Indeed, when Douglas gave her autograph, she included a biblical verse ("Trust in the Lord with all your heart...”), according to New Orleans TV station WAFB. Douglas’ career began with beauty pageants — she was Miss Baton Rouge and Miss New Orleans — followed by a trip to New York to pursue a career in entertainment.

“That was the first time I had ever been on an airplane,” Douglas said.

While modeling didn’t appeal to her — “I didn’t

want to be that skinny” — television did. Douglas was featured as the Letters Girl on “The Perry Como Show” in 1957 and as the Billboard Girl on “The Steve Allen Show” in 1959.

She landed a featured role in the 1959 film “Career,” starring Dean Martin and Shirley MacLaine, and a bit part in the film musical “Li’l Abner.” She also had a small role as Tony Randall’s secretary in the 1961 romantic comedy “Lover Come Back” with Rock Hudson and Doris Day. Douglas starred in one of the most memorable episodes of Rod Serling’s “The Twilight Zone” — titled “Eye of the Beholder,” it was the one in which her head is wrapped in bandages for most of the half-hour after plastic surgery aimed at fixing her “ugliness,” which in fact was beauty in a universe of monsters. And she starred opposite Elvis Presley in the 1966 movie “Frankie and Johnny.”

After “The Beverly Hillbillies,” Douglas worked in real estate, recorded country and gospel music albums and wrote a book for children that drew on biblical themes.

SATURDAY, JANUARY 3, 2015

ON THE WEB: THEZAPATATIMES.COM

Sports&Outdoors NATIONAL FOOTBALL LEAGUE

Dallas duo ready File photo by Patric Schneider | AP

Houston defensive end J.J. Watt was named a unanimous selection to the NFL All-Pro team.

All-Pros named Watt, Gronkowski unanimous choices

By BARRY WILNER File photo by Sharon Ellman | AP

ASSOCIATED PRESS

Dallas quarterback Tony Romo and tight end Jason Witten have played together 11 years, trying to take the next step in the 2014-15 postseason.

NEW YORK — J.J. Watt found a unique way to make the 2014 Associated Press NFL All-Pro team announced Friday.

Houston’s Watt was listed on all 50 ballots by a nationwide panel of media members who

See ALL-PRO PAGE 2B

Romo, Witten set for latest playoff opportunity

By SCHUYLER DIXON ASSOCIATED PRESS

IRVING — Tony Romo and Jason Witten are the stal-

warts in the Dallas offense, and will be surrounded by runners, receivers and blockers making their playoff debuts against Detroit.

It’s hard to say this is the best chance for a Super Bowl run for the quarterback and tight end that joined the Cowboys together 11 years ago.

They were the top seed in the NFC seven years ago.

Thanks to DeMarco Mur-

See COWBOYS PAGE 2B

NCAA FOOTBALL

CHAMPIONSHIP SET Photo by Sharon Ellman | AP

Houston’s Deontay Greenberry caught a game-winning 2point conversion as the Cougars won 35-34 over Pittsburgh in the Armed Forces Bowl.

2 onside kicks propel Houston

By STEPHEN HAWKINS ASSOCIATED PRESS

FORT WORTH — Houston quarterback Greg Ward had just thrown his third touch-

Photo by Jae C. Hong | AP

Photo by MCT

Oregon Heisman winning quarterback Marcus Mariota leads the No. 2 Ducks into the first College Football Playoff championship game against No. 4 Ohio State after their upset win over Alabama.

Ohio State, Oregon to meet for title

By RALPH D. RUSSO ASSOCIATED PRESS

Ohio State is looking for its first national title since 2002. Oregon is seeking its first, period.

Pac-12 champion Oregon and Big Ten champion Ohio State will meet in Arlington, Texas, at the home of the Cowboys on Jan. 12 in the first College Football Playoff championship game.

“It’s perfect,” Oregon

linebacker Derrick Malone Jr. said. “I need another game. I’m glad I can still be a part of this. If we didn’t have another game I wouldn’t know what to do with myself.”

The Ducks (13-1) and Buckeyes (13-1) last played in the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, California, in 2010. Ohio State won that game 26-17. Now the Rose Bowl comes to Texas, but with so much more at stake.

Cardale Jones, Ezekiel Elliott and fourth-seeded Ohio State rallied, and then held on for a 42-35 victory over No. 1 Alabama at the Sugar Bowl on Thursday night.

Heisman Trophy winner Marcus Mariota and Oregon had it much easier. The second-seeded Ducks crushed Florida State 59-20 at the Rose Bowl.

“Oregon won by 40?”

Ohio State coach Urban

Meyer said, startled when he heard about the results during his postgame news conference in New Orleans. “I gotta go. We gotta go get ready for that one.”

The oddsmakers have installed the Ducks as seven-point favorites.

The College Football Playoff, a four-team tournament that replaced the Bowl Championship Se-

See PLAYOFF PAGE 2B

down in a flurried comeback that included two recovered onside kicks in a row to get the Cougars within a point

See HOUSTON PAGE 2B

SEC takes hit in bowl games SEC West dismantled in bowls, loses five of seven after Tide loss

By JOHN ZENOR ASSOCIATED PRESS

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. — It was bound to happen.

BCS or playoff, the Southeastern Conference’s run of playing in the national championship game had to end

eventually. That aura of invincibility and superiority that vexed other teams and fans inevitably would fade, too.

Four losses over two humbling days took care of that — for the moment, at least. It might

See SEC PAGE 2B

PAGE 2B

Zscores

SATURDAY, JANUARY 3, 2015

COWBOYS Continued from Page 1B ray, though, this is the closest thing the Cowboys have had to Emmitt Smith since the NFL’s all-time rushing leader helped carry the Cowboys to three Super Bowl titles in four years in the 1990s.

And that could mean good things for Romo and Witten, who have piled up plenty of stats but really only care about the loneliest number on their resumes — one playoff win.

“We’re making things tough on defenses,” Romo said. “We’re upset when we don’t score on a drive. Ultimately that’s where you want to get as an offensive unit.”

The Cowboys (12-4) ended a four-year playoff drought by winning the NFC East and will face the Lions (11-5) in a wild-card game Sunday.

Besides Murray leading the NFL with 1,845 yards rushing, Dez Bryant broke Terrell Owens’ franchise record from that standout 2007 season with 16 touchdowns receiving.

All those things happened behind a young offensive line that had left tackle Tyron Smith and right guard Zack Martin selected Friday to The Associated Press All-Pro team. Martin was the first rookie All-Pro for the Cowboys since Calvin Hill in 1969. Center Travis Frederick made the Pro Bowl along with Smith, Martin, Romo, Murray and Bryant.

Romo led the NFL with a franchise-record passer rating of 113.2, and the explanation for his efficiency starts with Murray, who broke records by Hall of Famers in Smith and Jim Brown.

“That’s kind of what we hung our hat on all year,” Witten said. “Everything’s because we’ve been able to run the ball. With a really good group up front, we have to be able to capitalize.”

There’s the key word for Romo and Witten — capitalize. It’s the fourth time they’ve been to the playoffs together, starting with Romo’s heartbreaking flub of the hold on a field goal that could have beaten Seattle in a wild-card game during the 2006 season.

They went right back to the postseason a year later with a 13-3 record, then lost to the New York Giants in the divisional round after a bye.

Dallas won its first playoff game since 1996 by beating Philadelphia five years ago, then got trounced by Romo’s boyhood idol, Brett Favre, and Minnesota a week later.

Witten actually has one more playoff loss than Romo’s 1-3 mark. The Cowboys lost a wild-card game his rookie year, when the undrafted Romo was just trying to secure a spot on the roster.

“I think obviously the older you get, you want the

young guys to understand that it doesn’t come around every year and you want to take advantage when you have that opportunity,” said the 34-year-old Romo, who is coming off back surgery late in the 2013 season and had another back injury this year. “You have to be the best version of yourself and lay it on the line.”

For Romo, that means trying to shake the tag of the guy who’s ahead of Super Bowl winners Roger Staubach and Troy Aikman in most of the franchise passing categories, but is running out of time to match their championship pedigrees.

“I don’t know how you could have any more appreciation, and I say that in a positive way, for what he is as a quarterback without actually playing in a Super Bowl,” said owner Jerry Jones, who gave Romo the first $100 million contract in franchise history almost two years ago. “Our 2009 team, our 2007 team, we missed big-time opportunities there with Tony Romo.”

And Jason Witten, too.

NOTES: DT Tyrone Crawford didn’t practice Friday because he was sick, and was listed as questionable for the playoff game. ... RT Doug Free (ankle) and LB Anthony Hitchens (ankle) missed practice all week.

Free, who missed the last two games of the regular season, is doubtful. Hitchens is questionable.

PLAYOFF Continued from Page 1B ries, has provided a jolt to the sport.

The BCS matched the top two teams and didn’t allow much room for error. An early slip often could spell doom for a team’s national title hopes.

In the old system, it would have been very difficult for Ohio State to recover from a September home loss to Virginia Tech. The Buckeyes were a team looking for an identity back then. They had lost star quarterback Braxton Miller to a preseason injury and redshirt freshman J.T. Barrett was still developing.

Ohio State lost by 14 to the Hokies on the same day Oregon beat Michigan State.

Two weeks into the season, the Big Ten was already being counted out for the first playoff.

But a funny thing happened. Ohio State just kept getting better.

Barrett turned into a Heisman contender, but then in the season finale against Michigan, he broke his ankle. In stepped Jones, who helped Ohio State blast Wisconsin in the Big Ten title game to earn the final spot in the playoff.

It was no fluke. The Buckeyes beat Alabama, eliminating the Southeastern Conference from title contention. After winning seven straight national

championships in the BCS, it’s now two straight seasons in which the SEC won’t wear the crown.

Oregon’s loss came at home, too, in early October against Arizona.

The Ducks have been a juggernaut since, winning nine straight games, all by double digits and scoring at least 42 points in each. Ohio State can put up some points, too. The Buckeyes haven’t scored less than 31 since losing 35-21 to Virginia Tech.

The Ducks and Buckeyes run similar spread offenses.

“We know Oregon. I’ll probably be able to call Oregon’s plays because we study them and they study us,” Meyer said. “There’s a mutual respect.”

For what it’s worth, Ohio State is 8-0 all-time against Oregon.

And think about this: Alabama and Florida State were Nos. 1 and 2 in the final regular-season Associated Press and USA Today coaches’ polls. There’s a good chance that in the BCS the championship game would have been Tide vs. Seminoles with Oregon and Ohio State playing a traditional Big Ten-Pac-12 Rose Bowl for nothing but pride.

Now they’ll take it to Texas for a championship game with which no one can argue.

ALL-PRO Continued from Page 1B regularly cover the league, with 45 of the votes for defensive end and the other five for defensive tackle. So he actually was a first-team end and a second-team tackle in gaining his third straight selection.

“Everybody always says you try and make it so the other team can’t game plan you because they don’t know where you’re coming from,” Watt said. “I mean, half the time I have no clue where I’m coming from, so it makes it pretty tough for the other people, I think, and that’s the goal.”

No such confusion for New England’s Rob Gronkowski as the other unanimous pick.

He grabbed all the votes for tight end.

“He’s, I think, when you say a kid playing the game, that’s him,” Patriots safety Devin McCourty said. “He don’t care about anything, stats, if we’re up or down, he’s playing one way. He’s playing hard and you can tell he’s just having fun with his friends on the field.”

Dallas led all teams with four All-Pros, including guard Zack Martin, the only rookie on the squad. League rushing leader DeMarco Murray, tackle Tyron Smith and wide receiver Dez Bryant also made it.

“I wasn’t really coming in this year expecting to do this, but it’s been a fun season,” said Martin, a first-round draftee from Notre Dame who has been a major cog in the Cowboys’ superb running attack.

Making their first AllPro teams were all four Cowboys, plus Seattle inside linebacker Bobby Wagner; Buffalo DE Mario Williams and DT Marcell Dareus; Kansas City outside LB Justin Houston; Pittsburgh WR Antonio Brown and RB Le’Veon Bell; Baltimore guard Marshal Yanda; Green Bay fullback John Kuhn; Cincinnati kick returner Adam Jones; and Indianapolis punter Pat McAfee.

Colts kicker Adam Vinatieri joined McAfee.

“It’s pretty awesome,” McAfee said. “When we both signed back here (in March), that was the plan — to be the two best specialists in the league. I’m not sure I made it, but he certainly did.”

Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers made it for the second time; he also was the All-Pro QB in 2011.

Brown was next closest to sweeping the panel, earning 49 votes. Murray drew 48 and Houston 47.

“When you step into a stadium he’s a known issue, but still he performs,” Steelers coach

Mike Tomlin said of Brown. “We could talk about some of the same things about guys like J.J. Watt. We knew what he was capable of when we were getting ready to play him, but it still doesn’t stop the storm from coming.”

Cleveland tackle Joe Thomas earned his fifth All-Pro spot, the most of anyone on the current team. Patriots cornerback Darrelle Revis got his fourth All-Pro berth.

Seattle and Pittsburgh each had three All-Pros.

There were 16 AFC players and 11 from the NFC. The Seahawks were all defensive players: Wagner, cornerback Richard Sherman and safety Earl Thomas.

“I’m on such a great defense that sometimes there are guys that get overlooked and unfortunately I was one of them,” said Wagner, who missed five games with injuries in his third pro season. “But I think all the things that has happened this year as far as the awards and the recognition and stuff like that, it means so much more to me this year because everything that I went through this year.”

Repeaters from 2013 were Watt, Thomas, Detroit DT Ndamukong Suh, Carolina inside linebacker Luke Kuechly, Sherman and Thomas.

HOUSTON Continued from Page 1B in the Armed Forces Bowl.

Interim coach David Gibbs never had a second thought on what to do with less than a minute left in the game.

“We decided to go for two at the end because we had the momentum,” Gibbs said.

Deontay Greenberry, already with two TD catches in that final 3:41, made a leaping catch in the back of the end zone for the two-point conversion and the Cougars beat Pittsburgh 35-34 on Friday with an improbable comeback — the largest in an FBS game this season, and largest ever in a bowl game that didn’t go into overtime.

“We’ve been through a lot of games where we was coming from behind and we got close to coming back and winning the game, but we just couldn’t finish it,” Greenberry said. “It’s all about just never quitting.”

Pitt (6-7) led 31-6 when ACC offensive player of the year James Conner had his second touchdown run with 14 minutes left in the game. The Panthers were still up 34-13 after Chris Blewitt’s 29-yard field goal with 6:14 left before Houston’s big finish.

Ward had an 8-yard TD pass to Greenberry before the Cougars recovered

their first onside kick.

That led to a 29-yard catch

by Demarcus Ayers on a fourth-and-13 play with 1:58 left, and Houston tried another onside kick.

While the second one didn’t go 10 yards on the rain-slickened field, the ball was touched by the same Pitt defender who couldn’t handle the first one before Houston running back Kenneth Farrow jumped on it at the Cougars 43. Greenberry started the drive with a 38-yard catch, then on third-and-16 had a 25-yard TD with 59 seconds left.

Along with momentum, the Cougars had been preparing for such a situation to use a two-point play since defensive coordinator Gibbs took over as interim for fired coach Tony Levine.

“The truth is our first bowl practice ... we made a decision that day at practice that if it came down to the end of the game, we were going for two no matter what,” Gibbs said.

“This is a true story. We started practicing the twopoint play the very first practice. So we’ve probably run that play, I don’t know, 25, 30 times in practice. ’’ Ward, the former Cougars receiver, had 237 of his 274 yards passing in the fourth quarter and al-

so ran for 92 yards.

The Cougars’ new coach is Ohio State offensive coordinator Tom Herman, who still has one more game with the Buckeyes after they upset topranked Alabama in the Sugar Bowl to advance to the national championship game Jan. 12.

New Pitt coach Pat Narduzzi was at the game, a day after his finale as Michigan State’s defensive coordinator in the Spartans’ comeback from 20 points down for a 42-41 win over Baylor in the Cotton Bowl. That game was played inside the Dallas Cowboys’ NFL stadium about 20 miles away Thursday.

“It’s been a bowl season where you’ve seen some comebacks, and obviously this isn’t the side of it you want to be on,” Pitt interim coach and offensive coordinator Joe Rudolph said.

Paul Chryst, a Madison native and former Wisconsin offensive coordinator, left Pitt last month after three seasons to become head coach of the Badgers.

Farrow ran 22 times for 103 yards and two touchdowns for the Cougars, who have split their four appearances in the 12-year history of the Armed Forces Bowl.

Conner’s 1-yard TD run

a minute into the second quarter capped a 15-play, 92-yard drive, and Pitt led until the final minute of the game. The Cougars had a missed extra point after Farrow’s 2-yard TD in the second quarter when Kyle Bullard slipped while kicking.

“There were a lot of opportunities to make plays,” Pitt defensive back Ray Vinopal said. “Special teams, offense, and especially defense. I don’t think there’s any way you can point the finger at one person.”

The young Panthers have an FBS-high 81 underclassmen, with Conner, All-ACC receiver Tyler Boyd and quarterback Chad Voytik among 28 sophomores.

Voytik threw was 18of-35 passing for 222 yards and an impressive 16-yard TD catch by tight end J.P. Holtz between two defenders in the front corner of the end zone. But Voytik had six consecutive incompletions on a final desperate drive when only a pass interference penalty got Pitt a first down.

Boyd had nine catches for 112 yards, his 11th career 100-yard receiving game and moving from seventh to fourth on Pitt’s career reception mark with 163, two more than Larry Fitzgerald.

For every Amari Cooper and Dak Prescott, other leagues countered with stars such as Oregon Heisman Trophy winner Marcus Mariota and Wisconsin tailback Melvin Gordon.

The two-day purge at least laid to rest the perception that other leagues’ top teams just can’t measure up to the SEC’s best.

After all, the same Wisconsin team that beat Auburn was drilled 59-0 by Ohio State in the Big Ten championship game. Saban was already a Buckeyes believer.

“I thought they were a very underrated team by everybody in terms of how people thought about them, especially the way they played against Wisconsin and the way they played later in the year,” said the Tide coach, who has brought the SEC three national titles at Bama and one at LSU. The “SEC is Best” chatter clearly has worn on other

teams and conferences.

Georgia Tech coach Paul Johnson figured Wednesday’s 49-34 win over Mississippi State earned a reprieve of sorts.

“For a week or so we won’t have to hear about the SEC,” Johnson said.

Notre Dame’s Brian Kelly celebrated a 31-28 Music City Bowl win over LSU for another reason.

“To beat an SEC school like LSU allows us to continue to build that national credibility that you need in recruiting today,” Kelly said.

The SEC presumably will remain a big target in coming seasons however this one ended.

“There’s jealousy there because they want their team to win and they get tired of hearing about the SEC,” Nutt said. “Everybody gears up. They want to beat the SEC. To win those seven national titles out of eight, that’s a heck of a run.”

SEC Continued from Page 1B be a short-term blip, a down season for a conference replacing star quarterbacks Johnny Manziel, Aaron Murray and AJ McCarron whatever the lofty early and midseason rankings indicated.

“The bottom line is everybody gets tired of the SEC because they’ve lifted up seven crystal balls out of eight seasons,” said CBS Sports college football analyst Houston Nutt, a former Mississippi and Arkansas coach. “They’ve been there.

The SEC wasn’t as good this year. You look at the quarterbacks that graduated last year. The bottom line is the SEC wasn’t as good this year as in years past.”

That was abundantly clear this week.

One year after ACC power Florida State ended the SEC’s run of seven straight BCS titles, Ohio State toppled No. 1 Alabama 42-35 in the Sugar Bowl to advance to the championship game

against Oregon.

That came hours after Wisconsin beat Auburn in overtime in the Outback Bowl and a day after Mississippi and Mississippi State got roughed up in their games.

Florida’s Urban Meyer started the run of domination in the 2006 season by blasting Ohio State. Fast forward: Ohio State’s Urban Meyer won his latest classic showdown with Alabama’s Nick Saban that dealt the SEC another body blow.

The SEC West that once dominated the Top 10, and had four playoff contenders much of the season, went 0-4 on Wednesday and Thursday.

The seven-team SEC West finished 2-5 in bowl play, with the victories coming from sixth-place Texas A&M and last-place Arkansas.

The SEC is 6-5 overall in the postseason, with Florida playing East Carolina on Saturday in the Birming-

Photo by Butch Dill | AP

Alabama lost to OSU Thursday as the SEC West fell to 2-5 in bowl games, its only wins coming from its two last-place schools. ham Bowl. The Gators are trying to secure a winning record for both themselves and their league.

“I guess you could call this a mediocre year,” Florida linebacker Mike Taylor said. “You’re going to get scrutinized about it. We want to go out there and get a victory not only for the conference but for each other.”

Center Max Garcia still

believes the SEC remains “the best conference in the nation.”

None of what happened in recent days disproves that claim necessarily for a league that routinely reels in highly ranked recruiting classes and delivers more talent to the NFL than any other. It is indicative that it’s no long a closed issue, however. Other Power 5 conferences made that clear.

SATURDAY, JANUARY 3, 2015

Where Do I Put My Things?

Dear Heloise: We were invited to visit some friends in their large, lovely home in an upscale area.

My hint: Don’t cover every available surface in the guest bedroom with FAMILY PICTURES. Please provide someplace besides the floor for luggage. The pictures that covered the dresser meant nothing to us. I had nowhere to lay or hang my belongings, such as clothing, cosmetics and tools for hair styling.

If you invite someone for an overnight visit, provide a place for clothing to hang and a dresser without pictures and knickknacks so guests can comfortably spread out. No one is interested in seeing lots of pictures of people they don’t know. – Carolyn in Houston This is your point of view, so I’m printing it.

However, if you are a guest in someone’s home, it’s really not your place to complain. Make do with

THE ZAPATA TIMES 3B

“

HELOISE

what you are offered. You can move the pictures to one side of the dresser. – Best, Heloise P.S.: Readers, comments?

NO NECK PAIN Hello, Heloise: I have a bad neck, which is made worse by foam pillows.

When traveling, I pack a down vest, which is light and compact. I insert it into a pillowcase for a nice down "pillow." It does double service and alleviates that "pain in the neck"! – Lauren J., Tustin, Calif.

I do something similar while traveling, giving speeches to charity groups or supporting our military and their families by visiting a base or post. It’s a treat to share my hints with them since I’m a "military brat" and proud of it. I travel with two black "silk" pillowcases – Hugs, Heloise

4B THE ZAPATA TIMES

SATURDAY, JANUARY 3, 2015