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GOVERNORS
DRUG SMUGGLING TRENDS
Disguised trucks Heroin found in cloned vehicles
Organizers hope to raise $4M for Abbott By PAUL J. WEBER ASSOCIATED PRESS
By CÉSAR G. RODRIGUEZ THE ZAPATA TIMES
On Dec. 4, federal agents arrested a man in the Encinal area and seized two pickups in connection with the seizure of 1,170 pounds of marijuana and 1.65 pounds of heroin. Drug Enforcement Administration special agents also found work gloves and safety reflective vests, among other equipment, inside the vehicles. “The white Ford F-150 and the white Ford F-250 … appeared to be cloned pickup trucks, which had various equipment utilized to blend in with ranch and oilfield company vehicles,” federal agents wrote in the criminal complaint. The Webb County Sheriff ’s Office and U.S. Border Patrol said it is common to see cloned oilfield vehicles in the area given the Eagle Ford Shale boom. Dan Ramos, assistant chief patrol agent, said transna-
See TRUCKS PAGE 11A
Inaugurals fueled by donors
Courtesy photo
The Webb County Sheriff’s Office displays 1,000 pounds of marijuana it seized from a utility truck in August 2011.
Courtesy photo
Courtesy photo
This truck has been cloned to blend in with ranch and oilfield company vehicles.
This photo shows bundles of drugs confiscated from a disguised truck.
AUSTIN — When it comes to parties, ringing in the new year has nothing on the swearing-in soirees for governors across the country. In Texas, organizers are hoping to raise $4 million to celebrate the incoming governor and are planning a concert headlined by Lady Antebellum, a parade through the state capital and a barbecue with four tons of brisket. Supporters of re-elected Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker are scheduling a series of events that include a “black tie optional” gala funded in part through sponsorship packages costing up to $30,000 each. Inaugural activities celebrating the newly elected Democratic governor in Pennsylvania will cost donors up to $50,000 apiece and include an evening “Let’s Get Started” bash, with “celebratory attire” recommended. Eleven new governors are taking office this month, and nearly two dozen others are renewing their oaths for second, third or — in the case of Iowa Gov. Terry Branstad — sixth terms. Many will celebrate with chart-topping bands and blowout balls, with much of the bill footed by the same supporters who bankrolled their victorious campaigns. In many states, corporate money that was banned before Election Day is allowed to cover the tab for inaugural parties. Critics see the events as another means for corporations and
See INAUGURALS PAGE 9A
ZAPATA COUNTY
ILLEGAL DRUG TRADE
2 men Cuba, US have been on same team indicted for firearms By JOSHUA PARTLOW AND NICK MIROFF THE WASHINGTON POST
One undocumented, other convicted felon By CÉSAR G. RODRIGUEZ THE ZAPATA TIMES
Two men who were hunting in Zapata have been indicted in federal court for illegally possessing a firearm, according to court records obtained Monday. The indictment identified the suspects as Santos HernandezHernandez and David Omar Barrera. Hernandez was charged with possession of firearm/ammo by undocumented person while authorities charged Barrera with possession of firearm by convicted felon. Court records show that Barrera has not been arrested. Hernandez, who pleaded not guilty to the charge Dec. 31, remains in federal custody. If convicted, both men could face 10 years in prison, court documents state. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives special
See INDICTED PAGE 9A
MEXICO CITY — The river of illegal drugs rushing north through Central America and the Caribbean tends to avoid one conspicuous hook-shaped obstacle. Cuba is surrounded by countries used as cartel way stations. But it has distinguished itself as a tough place to traffic drugs — and as an unlikely behind-the-scenes partner with its decades-long rival, the United States. While the U.S. and Cuban governments have squared off over politics and the American economic embargo for generations, they have also quietly cooperated on drug-enforcement issues, passing information on movements of suspected drug boats through the Caribbean. As relations may be warming between the United States and Cuba, and Latin American drug flows to the United States are shifting away from Mexico and toward the Caribbean, the narcotics issue could be a source of further cooperation between the two countries. The drug trade is "starting to move back into the Caribbean, and I think that is a call to arms. We need to work with the Cubans in a far greater capacity," said Mike Vigil, a former director of international operations at the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) who also served as a special
Photo by Joe Raedle | Getty
U.S. Coast Guard members stand guard near bags containing cocaine estimated to be worth more than $23 million in Miami Beach. Despite other disagreements, the U.S. and Cuba have worked together to fight the narcotics trade. agent in charge of the Caribbean. "It’s insanity not to do so." In the eyes of U.S. counternarcotics officials, many of America’s closest neighbors regularly receive failing grades for their efforts to stop the drug trade. Mexico, where 100,000 people have died in drug-related violence over the past eight years, remains "a major transit and source country for illicit drugs destined for the United States," according to a 2014 State Department report. In Ja-
maica, drug-related corruption is "entrenched" and "widespread," while in Guatemala, "transnational drug trafficking organizations are able to move drugs, precursor chemicals and bulk cash with little difficulty," the International Narcotics Control Strategy Report states. But the same report offers rare praise for America’s longtime communist foe. At a time when other Latin American nations have increasingly questioned the human and financial
costs of the drug war, Cuba has emerged as one of Washington’s most reliable allies in unwavering opposition to the decriminalization of narcotics. "Despite its location between some of the largest exporters of illegal drugs in the hemisphere and the U.S. market, Cuba is not a major consumer, producer or transit point of illegal narcotics," the report states. "Traffickers typically attempt to
See CUBA PAGE 11A
PAGE 2A
Zin brief CALENDAR
WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 7, 2015
AROUND TEXAS
TODAY IN HISTORY
WEDNESDAY, JAN 7
ASSOCIATED PRESS
Mandatory WBCA orientation meeting. From 6 p.m. to 7 p.m. Laredo Civic Center Meeting Rooms 1, 2 & 3. Contact Marissa Espinoza at wbca@wbcalaredo.org or visit the website http://wbcalaredo.org/home118/ applications/3134-parade-applications.html.
THURSDAY, JAN. 8 The Laredo Area Retired School Employees Association monthly meeting at 11 a.m. at Blessed Sacrament Parish Hall. Richard Raymond will be the main speaker, 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. Blessed Sacrament, Parish Hall. Contact Marta B. Kinslow at mbkinslow@aol.com. The Elysian Social Club will be hosting their regular monthly meeting. 7 p.m. to TBA, Maria Bonita Restaurant. All members are encouraged to attend.
Photo by Jerry Lara/San Antonio Express-News | AP
Work continues at the Bexar County Courthouse double-height courtroom, Monday. The courtroom, on the second floor of the courthouse, is being renovated to its 1890’s look and is nearly completed. The Bexar County commissioners used the courtroom for their swearing-in ceremony on Tuesday.
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. United ISD 5K Run, Walk and Health Fair at the SAC located at 5208 Santa Claudia Lane. From 7:30 to 8:30 a.m. with the race starting at 9 a.m. Proceeds to benefit United ISD students with college scholarships. For more information call 473-6283 or visit www.uisd.net.
SUNDAY, JAN. 11 Professional Bull Riders at 2 p.m. at the Laredo Energy Arena, 6700 Arena Blvd.
WEDNESDAY, JAN. 14 "Employment Law Update" sponsored by Laredo Association of Human Resource Management. From 12 p.m. to 1 p.m. Embassy Suites. Contact Bertha Solis at president@lahrm.com or visit the website LAHRM.COM.
SATURDAY, JAN. 24 STCE’s Comic Con at TAMIU Student Center from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. 20th Annual Crime Stoppers Menudo Bowl at the LIFE Fairgrounds on Highway 59. Gates open 11 a.m. Menudo cooking contest. Call 7241876.
SUNDAY, JAN. 25 STCE’s Comic Con at TAMIU Student Center from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.
MONDAY, JAN. 26 Chess Club. From 4 p.m. to 6 p.m. LBV-Inner City Branch Library at 202 W. Plum St. next to the Inner City Pool. Contact John Hong at john@laredolibrary.org, or laredolibrary.org/innercityevents.html or 7952400 x2521.
THURSDAY, JAN. 29 Spanish Book Club from 6-8 p.m. at the Laredo Public Library, Calton Road. Contact Sylvia Reash at 763-1810.
SATURDAY, FEB. 7 2nd Annual Krizia Lauren Keiser Memorial 5K Run/Walk & Kids Run at Uni-Trade Stadium, 6320 Sinatra Pkwy. (Submit calendar items at lmtonline.com/calendar/submit or by emailing editorial@lmtonline.com with the event’s name, date and time, location and purpose and contact information for a representative. Items will run as space is available.)
Courtroom restored By JOHN W. GONZALEZ SAN ANTONIO EXPRESS-NEWS
SAN ANTONIO — Contractors have been scurrying to prepare the 1896 Double-height Courtroom of the Bexar County Courthouse for this week’s grand reopening, but there’s already a feeling of awe induced by the restored chamber. Nearly 50 years ago, the spacious room was split into two levels for two courtrooms, obliterating many of the original refinements designed by architect James Riely Gordon. Now with a separate building for courts — the Cadena-Reeves Justice Center — the county has made the revived Double-height Courtroom the centerpiece of a state-backed $26 million historic preservation effort at the red sandstone courthouse. The project, conceived in 2000, includes $6.3 million for the
courtroom restoration that will continue for several weeks. The room was being used Tuesday for the inaugurations of County Judge Nelson Wolff, Precinct 2 Commissioner Paul Elizondo and Precinct 4-elect Commissioner Tommy Calvert. Calvert will make history when he becomes the county’s first black commissioner, but the room decades ago saw other momentous occasions, including major trials. After the trio is sworn in, the five-member court will convene its first meeting in the new venue. Since 1992, the court has met in cramped quarters on the first floor of the courthouse. Now the court will conduct twice-monthly sessions in the historic second-floor room with 25-foot-high coffered ceilings, adorned with authentic refinements though laden with hidden technology.
4 Dallas firefighters responding to call hurt
School bus hits wooden fence, 1 student hurt
Retrial of man convicted in El Paso killings delayed
DALLAS — Four firefighters are among five people being treated for injuries after a fire truck collided with a cement truck at a Dallas intersection. The collision occurred in South Dallas as the ladder truck responded to a 911 call for a structure fire. The Dallas Morning News reports that witnesses said the fire truck had its emergency lights on and sirens blaring when the cement truck turned in front of it.
LA VERNIA — One student has been hurt when a South Texas school bus veered off a road and crashed into a wooden fence during its morning route. Police Sgt. Danny Pitts says the bus carried the driver and four students. One youngster suffered a minor injury and was treated at the scene. Superintendent Jose Moreno says the bus operator remains on the payroll but won’t be driving during the accident investigation.
EL PASO — The third capital murder trial for a man charged in the 1993 El Paso deaths of two teens has been delayed for possibly a year in a dispute over phone calls. The original 1994 trial of Daniel Villegas ended with a hung jury. He was retried a year later, convicted and sentenced to life in prison. An appeals court in 2013 threw out that conviction, citing ineffective counsel.
Puppets from ‘Coraline,’ ‘The Boxtrolls’ auctioned
More Austin police to be at South By Southwest
DALLAS — The stop-motion animators behind films that include “Coraline” and “The Boxtrolls” will be auctioning puppets, models, props and sets from its archives for the first time. Dallas-based Heritage Auctions will offer the items from Laika Studios on Feb. 12 in Beverly Hills, California.
AUSTIN — More Austin police will be on patrol during the 2015 South By Southwest festival a year after four people were killed when a car went into a crowd. The SXSW festival runs March 13-22 with interactive, film and music events. About 60 more officers will be downtown.
Central Texas city working on trapping feral hogs TAYLOR — A Central Texas city is working on trapping at least 20 feral hogs that are wandering on and tearing up parts of a century-old cemetery. The damage so far has been limited to undeveloped portions of the graveyard. The city last week hired a professional hog trapper who’s built and baited a trap. — Compiled from AP reports
AROUND THE NATION 1 dead, several hurt after school buses collide ROCHESTER, N.Y. — The driver of a bus taking students to a Rochester elementary school Tuesday morning apparently suffered a heart attack before the vehicle collided with another school bus and a tree, sending eight students and another adult to the hospital, officials said. Rochester police and city school district officials say a small school bus was taking eight students to Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. School No. 9 at about 7 a.m. Tuesday when it sideswiped a full-sized First Student Transportation bus. The small bus then slammed into a tree, crumpling its front end. David Bonacchi, Monroe Transportation’s vice president and general manager of Monroe Transportation, told the Democrat and Chronicle of Rochester the driver of the company’s small school bus possibly had a mas-
Today is Wednesday, Jan. 7, the seventh day of 2015. There are 358 days left in the year. Today’s Highlight in History: On Jan. 7, 1927, commercial transatlantic telephone service was inaugurated between New York and London. On this date: In 1610, astronomer Galileo Galilei began observing three of Jupiter’s moons (he spotted a fourth moon almost a week later). In 1789, America held its first presidential election as voters chose electors who, a month later, selected George Washington to be the nation’s first chief executive. In 1894, one of the earliest motion picture experiments took place at the Thomas Edison studio in West Orange, New Jersey, as Fred Ott was filmed taking a pinch of snuff and sneezing. In 1955, singer Marian Anderson made her debut with the Metropolitan Opera in New York, in Verdi’s “Un Ballo in Maschera.” The opening of the Canadian Parliament in Ottawa was televised for the first time. In 1979, Vietnamese forces captured the Cambodian capital of Phnom Penh, overthrowing the Khmer Rouge government. In 1989, Emperor Hirohito of Japan died in Tokyo at age 87; he was succeeded by his son, Crown Prince Akihito. In 1999, for the second time in history, an impeached American president went on trial before the Senate. President Bill Clinton faced charges of perjury and obstruction of justice; he was acquitted. Ten years ago: A military jury at Fort Hood, Texas, acquitted Army Sgt. 1st Class Tracy Perkins of involuntary manslaughter in the alleged drowning of an Iraqi civilian, but convicted him of assault in the Jan. 2004 incident. (Perkins was sentenced to six months in prison.) Five years ago: A worker for a transformer-making company in St. Louis showed up at the plant and opened fire, killing three people and wounding five before killing himself. One year ago: Brutal polar air that made the Midwest shiver over the past few days spread to the East and the Deep South, shattering records that in some cases had stood for more than a century. Today’s Birthdays: Author William Peter Blatty is 87. Magazine publisher Jann Wenner is 69. Singer Kenny Loggins is 67. Singer-songwriter Marshall Chapman is 66. Latin pop singer Juan Gabriel is 65. Talk show host Katie Couric is 58. Sen. John Thune, R-S.D., is 54. Actress Hallie Todd is 53. Sen. Rand Paul, RKy., is 51. Actor Nicolas Cage is 51. Actor Kevin Rahm is 44. Actor Jeremy Renner is 44. Country singer-musician John Rich is 41. Actor Dustin Diamond is 38. Singer/rapper Aloe Blacc is 36. Actress Lauren Cohan is 33. Actor Brett Dalton (TV: “Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.”) is 32. Actor Robert Ri’chard is 32. Actor Liam Aiken is 25. Actress Camryn Grimes is 25. Actor Max Morrow is 24. Actor Marcus Scribner (TV: “black-ish”) is 15. Thought for Today: “Nothing in science has any value to society if it is not communicated, and scientists are beginning to learn their social obligations.” — Anne Roe Simpson, American psychologist (1904-1991).
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Emergency personnel respond to the scene of school bus crash on Tuesday in Rochester, N.Y. The driver of a bus taking students to a Rochester elementary school Tuesday morning apparently suffered a heart attack. sive heart attack before the collision. Authorities said the driver of the small bus died at the scene. The bus company identified him as Edwin Rivera Dejesus, 30. School district officials said eight elementary school students
between ages 8 and 11 were taken to Strong Memorial Hospital. Six were released and two others were being treated Tuesday afternoon for injuries that aren’t life threatening, as was a bus monitor, officials said. — Compiled from AP reports
SUBSCRIPTIONS/DELIVERY (956) 728-2555 The Zapata Times is distributed on Saturdays to 4,000 households in Zapata County. For subscribers of the Laredo Morning Times and for those who buy the Laredo Morning Times at newsstands, the Zapata Times is inserted. The Zapata Times is free. The Zapata Times is published by the Laredo Morning Times, a division of The Hearst Corporation, P.O. Box 2129, Laredo, Texas 78044. Phone (956) 728-2500. The Zapata office is at 1309 N. U.S. Hwy. 83 at 14th Avenue, Suite 2, Zapata, TX 78076. Call (956) 765-5113 or e-mail thezapatatimes.net
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WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 7, 2015
THE ZAPATA TIMES 3A
Teens tried as adults’ convictions overturned ASSOCIATED PRESS
HOUSTON — Two teenagers sentenced to prison after standing trial as adults are believed to have become the first in Texas to have their convictions overturned based on them not remaining in juvenile courts. Juvenile justice advocates say the cases show that it’s past time for Texas lawmakers to examine how the state pushes defendants younger than 17 into the adult criminal justice system. Under the law, defendants
ages 14 to 16 can be certified by a juvenile court judge to stand trial as adults, the Houston Chronicle reported Saturday. Both the recently overturned cases happened in December and involved defendants from Harris County. “The whole certification process — and I’ve been saying this for several years — needs to be reviewed. It’s pretty arbitrary,” said Sen. John Whitmire, a Houston Democrat and chair of the Criminal Justice Committee. The first decision came Dec.
10 when the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals vacated the conviction of Cameron Moon, a Deer Park teenager. He was sentenced to 30 years for murder in the 2008 shooting death of another teen when Moon was 16. Fewer than two weeks later, a three-justice panel of the Houston-based 14th Court of Appeals vacated the conviction of Jorge Guerrero, who was sentenced in 2013 to eight years for an armed robbery he committed at age 16. The panel sent his case back to the juvenile court.
In both instances, the decisions noted the Harris County juvenile court did not give sufficient evidence as to why the youths should stand trial as adults, instead relying on a “form order” process that allows judges to check off boxes and fill in the blanks for each certification. Juvenile defendants cannot appeal being certified until they are found guilty — a process that can often take months or years. Although the number of certi-
fications statewide has dropped in recent years — there were 209 in 2013 — juvenile advocates hope the overturned convictions mark the start of a change in how Texas treats juvenile offenders. “I hope it’s a tipping point. I know it’s a huge opinion, Moon is, for juvenile justice across the state,” Harris County Assistant Public Defender Cheri Duncan said. “Whether it’s any kind of a signal of a shift in how we approach juvenile crime, it’s too early to say yet.”
Big week for abortion, gay marriage laws By PAUL J. WEBER ASSOCIATED PRESS
AUSTIN — While promises to cut taxes and fight President Barack Obama helped bring Texas Republicans sweeping election victories, two symbols of conservatism in the state are now on potentially shaky ground: tougher abortion restrictions and prohibitions on gay marriage. A busy week for two signature Texas laws signed by outgoing Republican Gov. Rick Perry begins today when the 5th Circuit Court of Appeals in New Orleans considers whether the state can maintain its ban on same-sex marriage and impose rigid standards on abortion providers. Texas is coming off losses in both cases. A federal judge in San Antonio ruled last February that the state’s ban on gay marriage was unconstitutional — but left the law in place pending appeal. In the other case, dozens of abortion clinics forced to shutter under a 2013 law won a temporary reprieve in October from the U.S. Supreme Court. Both gay-rights groups and abortion-rights organizations are embracing that momentum before facing what is widely considered to be among the most conservative appeals courts in the U.S. “It’s not the best panel for us,” said Whole Woman’s Health founder Amy Hagstrom Miller, who operates three facilities in
Photo by Eric Gay | AP file
In this Feb. 12, 2014 file photo, same-sex couples Cleopatra De Leon, left, and partner, Nicole Dimetman, second from left, and Victor Holmes and partner Mark Phariss, right, talk with the media after at the U.S. Federal Courthouse in San Antonio. Texas that provide abortions. “I think we’re really facing a referendum of undue burden. How far is too far for women to travel to exercise a constitutional right?” First up before the court are oral arguments today over state abortion restrictions that require clinics to meet hospitallevel operating standards. On Friday, the panel will then tackle the gay marriage ban in Texas, which remains one of 14 states where same-sex couple cannot
marry. Gov.-elect Greg Abbott, the former attorney general, and other Republicans want the court to allow the state to enforce the new abortion restrictions. A ruling supporting the laws would leave only eight abortion providers in the nation’s second-most populous state. Seventeen abortion clinics currently operate in Texas, but if the law is upheld, more than half would close because those facil-
ities lack operating rooms or other costly additions. Texas had more than 40 abortion clinics in 2012, but many closed under a separate new requirement that doctors who perform abortions have hospital admitting privileges. Although last year saw a wave of federal judges strike down bans on same-sex marriage across the U.S., conservative states have been more successful preserving restrictions on abortion.
“Just counting the number of laws passed by state legislatures, it’s been quite remarkable,” said Joe Pojman, executive director of the anti-abortion group Texas Alliance for Life. “And Texas has been a very notable part of that trend.” On Monday, Florida became the latest state where same-sex marriages are now legal. Former Republican Gov. Jeb Bush, a potential 2016 presidential candidate whose son George P. Bush is now the new Texas state land commissioner, said the ruling by a circuit court judge should be respected. Texas leaders have so far been more defiant. But Mark Phariss, who is among the Texas couples suing the state over its ban, said he is encouraged by what he sees as a change in the political tone. Whereas the vast majority of Republican candidates touted anti-abortion credentials while campaigning, opposition to same-sex marriage was less of a headline issue. Phariss is a former law school friend of Abbott and said his remarks have been respectful, even as Perry’s successor has vowed to uphold the ban on same-sex marriage. But Phariss would more like to see a court victory. “I’m not going to say there’s not a little bit of envy,” Phariss said of states where same-sex marriage is now legal. “There’s a lot of envy.”
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Zopinion
WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 7, 2015
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COLUMN
OTHER VIEWS
Global warming is not over By CHRIS MOONEY THE WASHINGTON POST
WASHINGTON — Speaking on the Senate floor in July, Oklahoma’s James Inhofe — soon to head, once again, the Senate’s Environment and Public Works Committee — made a claim that has become quite prevalent among skeptics of climate change skeptics. "For the past 15 years," Inhofe said, "temperatures across the globe have not increased." Inhofe was offering one of the favorite arguments of skeptics, namely, that global warming paused or slowed down since the very hot year of 1998. But the argument has one big problem. According to a preliminary assessment by the Japan Meteorological Agency (JMA), 2014 was the hottest year on record for the globe. That surpasses the year 1998 (now in 2nd place in the JMA dataset) and 2013 and 2010 (now tied for 3rd). The upward trend is quite clear, and the decade of the 2000s is plainly warmer than the decade of the 1990s. So much for any "pause" in global warming. Japan’s is the first major meteorological outlet to pronounce on how 2014 ranks for temperatures. But if others — the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, NASA, and the UK Met Office’s Hadley Center — concur with the agency, it could be a serious blow to the "pause" argument. The strange idea that
global warming has paused: Let’s first consider the "pause" notion itself. It went truly mainstream in 2013, when the U.N.’s Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change released the first part of its much awaited Fifth Assessment Report. In a poorly worded statement, a leaked draft of the IPCC’s report observed that the rate of global temperature increase, during the 15-year period from 1998 to 2012, was somewhat less than the rate of increase from 1951 to 2012. In other words, while the IPCC didn’t say the globe had stopped warming, it did suggest a situation that is a bit like a driver easing off the accelerator in a moving car. This led to voluminous media coverage of the socalled "pause" and how much it allegedly undermined arguments about global warming — an analysis by Media Matters of coverage of the IPCC report release found that 41 percent of stories cited the "pause." But as it turned out, this was all much ado about nothing. The IPCC would later emphasize, in its finished report, that "trends based on short records are very sensitive to the beginning and end dates and do not in general reflect longterm climate trends." The fact remains that the 2000s were considerably hotter than the 1990s. At least for some expert agencies, 2014 is looking more and more like it will surpass 1998 and all other contenders.
EDITORIAL
GOP has no immigration solution THE WASHINGTON POST
Republicans howled in November when President Obama used his executive powers to shield millions of illegal immigrants from deportation, accusing him of usurping Congress’ powers. Yet as the GOP lays out its agenda for the new Congress, Republicans have had nothing useful to say about their own plans for addressing the problem of the 11 million immigrants who lack documentation. Like the Republicans, we worry that Mr. Obama’s executive order attempts to accomplish what should be done through legislation. Yet we also recognize that he acted to fill a policy vacuum created largely by Republican intransigence and inertia. If the Republicans want to lend weight to Mr. Obama’s justification for his actions, they are doing a fine job. In announcing his executive action, Mr. Obama threw down a gauntlet to Republican leaders, daring them to seize the initiative, enact legislation to address the problem of illegal immigration and negate his unilateral move. Rather than take the challenge, Republicans now appear intent on confirm-
ing their image as the party of no solution to the immigration dilemma. Perhaps in the new Congress the GOP will enact a bill allowing holders of foreign passports to remain in this country more easily after graduating with advanced degrees from U.S. universities. Such a measure would make sense as a means to limit the brain drain of U.S.-educated scientists, engineers, mathematicians and high-tech workers. Perhaps Republicans will vote for further manpower and technology to tighten security on the Southwestern border, although it is already more tightly controlled than at any time in decades. But no one can claim to have dealt with America’s broken immigration system without reckoning with the reality of 11 million unauthorized people. The country needs their labor but refuses to allow them and their families any way out of the legal shadows. Rather than fashioning a solution, Republicans remain in a protracted temper tantrum over Mr. Obama’s unilateralism. In an attempt to punish him, they funded the DHS only through February.
COLUMN
The problem with meaning Not long ago, a friend sent me a speech that the great civic leader John Gardner gave to the Stanford Alumni Association 61 years after he graduated from that college. The speech is chock-full of practical wisdom. I especially liked this passage: "The things you learn in maturity aren’t simple things such as acquiring information and skills. You learn not to engage in self-destructive behavior. You learn not to burn up energy in anxiety. You discover how to manage your tensions. You learn that self-pity and resentment are among the most toxic of drugs. You find that the world loves talent but pays off on character. "You come to understand that most people are neither for you nor against you; they are thinking about themselves. You learn that no matter how hard you try to please, some people in this world are not going to love you, a lesson that is at first troubling and then really quite relaxing." Gardner goes on in this wise way. And then, at the end, he goes into a peroration about leading a meaningful life. "Meaning is something you build into your life. You build it out of your own past, out of your affections and loyalties, out of the experience of humankind as it is passed on to you. ... You are the only one who can put them together into that unique pattern that will be your life."
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DAVID BROOKS
Gardner puts "meaning" at the apogee of human existence. His speech reminded me how often we’ve heard that word over the past decades. As my Times colleague April Lawson puts it, "meaning" has become the stand-in concept for everything the soul yearns for and seeks. It is one of the few phrases acceptable in modern parlance to describe a fundamentally spiritual need. Yet what do we mean when we use the word meaning? The first thing we mean is that life should be about more than material success. The person leading a meaningful life has found some way of serving others that leads to a feeling of significance. Second, a meaningful life is more satisfying than a merely happy life. Happiness is about enjoying the present; meaning is about dedicating oneself to the future. Happiness is about receiving; meaningfulness is about giving. Happiness is about upbeat moods and nice experiences. People leading meaningful lives experience a deeper sense of satisfaction. In this way, meaning is an uplifting state of consciousness. It’s what you
feel when you’re serving things beyond self. Yet it has to be said, as commonly used today, the word is flabby and vacuous, the product of a culture that has grown inarticulate about inner life. Let me put it this way: If we look at the people in history who achieved great things — like Nelson Mandela or Albert Schweitzer or Abraham Lincoln — it wasn’t because they wanted to bathe luxuriously in their own sense of meaningfulness. They had objective and eternally true standards of justice and injustice. They were indignant when those eternal standards were violated. They subscribed to moral systems — whether secular or religious — that recommended specific ways of being, and had specific structures of what is right and wrong, and had specific disciplines about how you might get better over time. Meaningfulness tries to replace structures, standards and disciplines with self-regarding emotion. The ultimate authority of meaningful is the warm tingling we get when we feel significant and meaningful. Meaningfulness tries to replace moral systems with the emotional corona that surrounds acts of charity. It’s a paltry substitute. Because meaningfulness is built solely on an emotion, it is contentless and irreducible. Because it is built solely on emotion,
it’s subjective and relativistic. You get meaning one way. I get meaning another way. Who is any of us to judge another’s emotion? Because it’s based solely on sentiment, it is useless. There are no criteria to determine what kind of meaningfulness is higher. There’s no practical manual that would help guide each of us as we move from shallower forms of service to deeper ones. There is no hierarchy of values that would help us select, from among all the things we might do, that activity which is highest and best to do. Because it’s based solely on emotion, it’s fleeting. When the sensations of meaningful go away then the cause that once aroused them gets dropped, too. Ennui floods in. Personal crisis follows. There’s no reliable ground. The philosophy of meaningfulness emerges in a culture in which there is no common moral vocabulary or framework. It emerges amid radical pluralism, when people don’t want to judge each other. Meaningfulness emerges when the fundamental question is, do we feel good? Real moral systems are based on a balance of intellectual rigor and aroused moral sentiments. Meaningfulness is pure and self-regarding feeling, the NutraSweet of the inner life.
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CLASSIC DOONESBURY | GARRY TRUDEAU
Nation
WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 7, 2015
GOP takes charge
THE ZAPATA TIMES 5A
Senator makes history
By DAVID ESPO
By MICHELLE L. PRICE
ASSOCIATED PRESS
ASSOCIATED PRESS
WASHINGTON — In a blend of pageantry and politics, Republicans took complete control of Congress for the first time in eight years Tuesday, then ran straight into a White House veto threat against their top-priority legislation to build the Keystone XL oil pipeline. Republicans condemned the unexpected announcement, which came at the same time they were savoring the fruits of last fall’s elections and speaking brightly about possible bipartisan compromises in the two years ahead. “I’m really optimistic about what we can accomplish,” said Kentucky Sen. Mitch McConnell, moments after he was recognized as leader of the new Republican majority on one side of the Capitol. At the other end of the majestic building, Rep. John Boehner of Ohio easily won a third term as House speaker despite attempts by tea party-backed dissidents to topple him. He said the 114th Congress would begin by passing legislation to “develop more North American energy” among top priorities, adding “We invite the president to support and sign these bipartisan initiatives into law.” It was an offer the White House could and did refuse — in advance. “If this bill passes Congress, the president wouldn’t sign it,” presidential press secretary Josh Earnest said before Boehner spoke. He said the measure would undermine a review process underway by the administration. The events spilled out rapidly on a day that offered a glimpse of the political forces at work in an era of divided government — the intraparty struggle among House Republicans, the coordination that GOP leaders in both houses
SALT LAKE CITY — Mia Love of Utah on Tuesday became the first black female Republican in Congress as she was sworn in along with 57 other freshmen members of the U.S. House. Love, 39, a former mayor of Saratoga Springs, was elected in November in Utah’s 4th District. She already has started making appearances on cable news channels and Sunday talk shows, most recently as a guest on ABC’s “This Week.” Love acknowledged the attention in a statement Tuesday but added, “I assure the voters of Utah, I’m not going to forget where I live.” She also said Tuesday was a thrilling day for her and her family. “I’m excited to get started,” Love said. “I feel
Photo by Jacquelyn Martin | AP
House Speaker John Boehner of Ohio administers a re-enactment of the House oath to Rep. Carlos Curbelo, R-Fla., Tuesday. showed in pursuing a conservative agenda and the blocking power of a Democratic president. There was well choreographed pageantry as well on a day Republicans installed a 54-46 majority in the Senate and took 246 of the 435 seats in the House, the most in more than 60 years. Vice President Joe Biden presided over swearing-in ceremonies in the Senate, leading new senators and re-elected veterans alike in an age-old oath to “support and defend the Constitution of the United States.” He reserved his warmest greeting for former Vice President and Sen. Walter F. Mondale, 87, who accompanied Minnesota Sen. Al Franken down the chamber’s carpeted center aisle to an oath-taking. The House played host to a younger crowd as lawmakers were sworn in for two-year terms — children in their best clothes, babies in their parents’ arms. “Mommy, mommy,” yelled out one girl, no longer content to sit in the lap of her congressman-father. One powerful player was absent but eager to show he would be back soon. Democratic Sen. Harry Reid of Nevada, now the minority leader, issued a statement saying his doctors ordered him to stay away from his office so injuries suffered last week
when a piece of exercise equipment broke “can continue to heal.” The statement disclosed for the first time that the 75-year-old lawmaker had suffered a concussion as well as broken facial bones and ribs. Republicans were eager to turn to an agenda tailored to suit conservatives. They have signaled plans to write a budget that eliminates federal deficits in 10 years or less and to pass an overhaul of the tax code as well as try and reduce federal regulations they say are stifling job creation. By day’s end, they also won approval to make sure that smaller businesses that hire veterans don’t trigger a requirement in the health care law requiring coverage for employees. The vote was 412-0. Hoping to smooth their path for future measures, House Republicans passed a rules change permitting congressional scorekeepers to assume that tax cuts increase revenue to the government rather than reduce it. That would make it easier to show a balanced budget with fewer painful spending cuts. The concept, known as “dynamic scoring,” has been an article of faith among conservatives since the Reagan era three decades ago. Democratic complaints about the change vied with the Republican reaction to the Keystone veto threat.
Photo by J. Scott Applewhite | AP
Rep.-elect Mia Love R-Utah, greets House Speaker John Boehner of Ohio, on Capitol Hill in Washington, Tuesday. Utah’s delegation is in the strongest position yet to represent Utah.” The new congresswoman also said she’s honored be serving on the House Financial Services Committee. Love didn’t emphasize her race during her campaign in 2014 and an unsuccessful bid in 2012, but she acknowledged the significance of her election after her victory in November. Love said her win defied naysayers who suggested a
black, Republican, Mormon woman could not be elected to Congress from Utah. Love has joined the Congressional Black Caucus and is part of a small group of black Republicans in the new Congress. In addition to being sworn in Tuesday with other new House members, Love participated in an individual ceremonial swearing-in with House Speaker John Boehner later in the day.
Nation
6A THE ZAPATA TIMES
WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 7, 2015
Ex-Virginia Gov. gets 2 years for corruption By LARRY O’DELL AND ALAN SUDERMAN ASSOCIATED PRESS
RICHMOND, Va. — Family members and friends wept softly as former Virginia Gov. Bob McDonnell told the judge at his sentencing hearing that he couldn’t “fathom any deeper humiliation” for taking bribes from a wealthy businessman to promote a dietary supplement. Then, the tears mostly stopped. Some even turned to smiles when the judge sentenced McDonnell to two years in prison — far below the 10 years prosecutors originally wanted for the Republican, who was once on the short list to be Mitt Romney’s vice presidential running mate. McDonnell, who held his head in his hands and sobbed when he was convicted in September on 11 counts of corruption, was stoic as U.S. District Judge James Spencer delivered the sentence in a courtroom packed with the former governor’s supporters. McDonnell had asked for
no jail time, only community service. In a strong but somber voice, McDonnell told the judge he was “a heartbroken and humbled man” and that he holds himself accountable. “I allowed my life to get way out of balance,” he said. “I cannot fathom any deeper humiliation for me or my family.” The judge noted the outpouring of support for McDonnell — more than 400 people wrote letters — and concluded that “he is a good and decent man who has done a lot of good in the public area.” “It breaks my heart, but I have a duty I can’t avoid,” the judge said. A jury in September found McDonnell and his wife, Maureen, guilty of public corruption. The couple accepted gifts including a $6,500 engraved Rolex watch, $20,000 in designer clothing and accessories, and free family vacations in exchange for promoting a purported miracle cure made by Star Scientific Inc. Maureen McDonnell, who attended Tuesday’s
Photo by Steve Helber | AP
Former Virginia Gov. Bob McDonnell, center, hugs his daughters Cailin Young, left, and Jeanine McDonnell Zubowsky, right. hearing, will be sentenced Feb. 20 on eight counts. The company’s former CEO, Jonnie Williams, testified under immunity as the prosecution’s star witness in a case that exposed the details of the McDonnells’ shaky finances and troubled marriage. Outside the courthouse, McDonnell thanked the judge for mercy and vowed to fight his convictions on appeal. “I’ve hurt myself, my family and my beloved people of Virginia and for that
I am deeply, deeply sorry. But I will also say to the great people of Virginia that I have never, ever betrayed my sacred oath of office in any way while I served as the governor of this great commonwealth,” McDonnell told reporters. Law enforcement officials said that the prison sentence delivered a message. “No elected official, irrespective of their popularity or the power they wield, is above the law,” FBI agent Adam S. Lee said.
Before sentencing, defense lawyers called a parade of character witnesses to enumerate McDonnell’s good qualities — his integrity and compassion for the less fortunate in particular — and good deeds in both public and private life. Several witnesses said a lenient sentence was warranted because McDonnell had already suffered significantly from the fallout of a highly public and embarrassing investigation and trial. Former Democratic Virginia Gov. L. Douglas Wilder said that if not for McDonnell’s legal troubles, he would be remembered as one of Virginia’s finest governors and would be a strong candidate for president. “He’s been punished, been punished indelibly,” said Wilder. Wilder received a loud round of applause after sparring with prosecutor Michael Dry and pointing out that Williams “walked away clean.” Dry said Williams was in a different category. “The Mr. Williamses of
the world are a dime a dozen. Corrupt governors are not,” Dry said. At trial, McDonnell acknowledged he accepted Williams’ largesse but said he did nothing for him in return other than extend routine political courtesies. McDonnell is the first Virginia governor, and the 12th nationally, convicted of corruption, federal officials said. Others include Rod Blagojevich of Illinois, who is serving 14 years for a scheme to sell President Barack Obama’s former U.S. Senate seat; Edwin Edwards of Louisiana, who was sentenced to 10 years for extorting money from casino license applicants; and Arch Moore of West Virginia, who got nearly six years for extorting money from a coal operator and other offenses. Some have escaped jail time altogether. The public corruption case in Virginia prompted the General Assembly to tighten the state’s murky ethics laws, and some Virginia elected officials have voluntarily limited the value of gifts they will accept.
Arrest statistics point to NYPD slowdown By TOM HAYS ASSOCIATED PRESS
NEW YORK — Despite efforts by New York City officials to tout a dip in serious crime, another statistic is getting more attention — a steep decline in the number of arrests across all five boroughs in the two weeks since two police officers were shot dead in their patrol car. The totals suggest that a rumored work slowdown has taken hold amid discord between the rank and file and Mayor Bill de Blasio, and raise questions about what impact it could have on the city’s crime rate. Patrick Lynch, head of the powerful Patrolmen’s Benevolent Association, insisted Tuesday that the union was not sanctioning a
labor action. He pointed to a shootout during an armed holdup late Monday that left two plainclothes officers wounded as proof that it was business as usual at the nation’s largest police department. Officers, who are working without a contract, are “putting themselves in danger to keep this city safe just as they always do,” Lynch said. But the enforcement statistics strongly indicate that the slowdown is real, even if it was initiated at the grassroots level. Last week, the number of summonses for minor criminal offenses and traffic and parking violations decreased by more than 90 percent compared with the same week a year earlier, statistics show. For example,
summonses for urinating in public were down to 347 from more than 4,077 last year. Arrests citywide last week for more serious offenses were down 55 percent. In midtown Manhattan alone, they fell to 112 from 348. Thomas Reppetto, a police expert and author who has written extensively about the New York Police Department, called the results too “overwhelming” to be coincidental and said there could be real-life consequences for the public if left to fester for too long. “If the law is not being enforced in the street, we’re all in danger,” Reppetto said. “The criminals take their cue and run wild.” The figures first plummeted in the week after the
two officers were killed on Dec. 20 in a brazen daytime ambush by a fugitive who had ranted on social media that he wanted to avenge the police killings of Michael Brown and Eric Garner. The patrolmen’s deaths exacerbated tensions between de Blasio and police officers already upset by the mayor’s remark sympathizing with protesters who claim a pattern of excessive force in minority communities. The potential for a slowdown was evident the day after the killings, when word began circulating among officers that they should wait to respond to every radio call with two cars and not make arrests “unless absolutely necessary.” A recent online posting on a site popular with
police officers referred to the stance as “Operation Stand-down, Protect Yourself, Do Nothing.” Sgt. Ed Mullins, head of the Sergeants Benevolent Association, argued that in the current climate, it would only make sense that police officers would take extra precautions that could result in fewer arrests. “You have protests, you have broken morale,” Mullins said. “You also have the assassination of two police officers. The threat of assassination is real — it has already happened.” The apparent slowdown threatened to hamper de Blasio’s efforts to assure New Yorkers that historically low crime numbers — even as the NYPD drastically scaled back intrusive street stops — showed that
it was possible to create a “safer city” and a “fairer city.” Overall crime was down 4 percent and there were 332 homicides, down from 335 last year — a trend that continued into the New Year, despite the arrest drop-off. Police Commissioner William Bratton attributed the decline in arrests to a stressful month filled with widespread protests, police funerals and other discord that distracted legions of officers from normal duties. But he also warned that if necessary, he would take measures to make sure the numbers return to normal. “We will take a look at maybe who is not doing the work we expect of them,” he said. “And we will deal with it very appropriately if we have to.”
Winter gets down to business ASSOCIATED PRESS
Snow followed by a wave of frigid air is plodding eastward, bringing warnings well ahead of time for people to take precautions and stay warm. The storm snarled traffic across much of the country and is threatening to bring wind chills into the single digits even to the Deep South over the next few days. Here’s a look at how the winter weather plaguing almost two-thirds of the country is playing out. (It turns out, even Hawaii isn’t immune.)
Photo by Christian Murdock/The Gazette | AP
A bomb squad member comes down from the roof as Colorado Springs police officers investigate the scene of an explosion Tuesday at Mr. G’s Hair Salon in Colorado Springs, Colo.
Shoveling And Shivering In Midwest Just this past weekend, Ohio residents walked around in light jackets, enjoying temperatures in the 50s. Now, they and their neighbors across the Great Lakes are bundling up as frigid air follows several inches of snow. Actual air temperatures in Ohio are expected to follow the example of Monday’s single-digit wind chills — a calculation of how cold the air feels to exposed skin when wind is factored in — later in the week. Illinois has it even worse. Wind chills as low as minus 30 are forecast to move in behind the storm, which dropped as much as 6 inches of snow on parts of the state. It was still snowing in parts of northeast Ohio along Lake Erie, where as much as 20 inches could drop by tonight. The snow snarled travel throughout the region Monday and Tuesday. More than 130 flights in and out of Chicago’s two airports were canceled. Many school districts delayed or canceled classes, including in Columbus, Ohio’s large-
Photo by Bill Lackey/The Dayton Daily News | AP
Sean Locke, a maintenance worker at the Springfield, Ohio YMCA, shovels snow off the sidewalk in front of the buidling’s mural on Tuesday. st city. School delays and traffic accidents plagued part of Indiana. Traffic crashes in Michigan killed at least five people. The cold put wheat crops in danger in parts of Nebraska, Iowa, Missouri, Illinois, Indiana, Ohio and Kansas. The few inches of snow that fell in the Dakotas — well used to snow and cold — nonetheless caused crashes and closed dozens of schools. In Sioux Falls, even outdoor iceskating rinks closed Monday. Al-Joe’s Pet and Garden Center in Hamilton, Ohio, has been selling more bedding for outside dogs and cats and receiving more calls for snow removal, owner Gary Grollmus said. “They want to get it off before it turns into a solid sheet of ice,” he said.
Chaos In The Capital More snow and colderthan-expected weather surprised officials and residents in and around the
nation’s capital, leading to frustrating commutes, air cancellations and apologies from school districts that had decided — unwisely — to remain open. A couple of inches of snow that hit just before Tuesday’s rush hour created difficulties for school buses. Twitter users roundly panned decisions by Fairfax and Loudoun, Virginia, county schools to stay open. The hashtags #closeFCPS and #Wayde — a reference to school system spokesman Wayde Byard, who delivers the news when closures are implemented — made the worldwide list of trending topics. Later Tuesday, Fairfax, Loudoun, Prince William and Arlington county schools apologized to parents for the difficulties. They said they decided to open using the best information available to them in the early morning. Maryland reported dozens of accidents, including one that put a 17-year-old girl in critical condition.
More than two dozen flights were canceled at Reagan National Airport. The day was expected to bring 4 inches of snow to parts of the area. Federal officers remained open, but workers had the option to telecommute or take unscheduled leave.
Meanwhile, In The S-S-South ... The coldest weather in about a year is expected to reach deep into Georgia by early Thursday. In metro Atlanta, famously brought to a standstill last winter by a few inches of snow, wind chills below 5 degrees are expected (but no snow is forecast). Even in Cordele in south Georgia, the wind chill could hit 8 degrees. Atlanta officials say they’ll open an emergency warming center that can hold 100 people. In north Alabama, gusty winds could make temperatures in the single digits feel like it’s below zero.
FBI seeks man after explosion ASSOCIATED PRESS
COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. — Authorities are looking for a man who may have information about a homemade explosive that someone set off near the Colorado Springs chapter of the NAACP. The blast happened Tuesday outside a barber shop next door to the group’s building, which is about an hour south of Denver. There were no injuries and only minor damage, police said. An improvised explosive device was detonated against the building, but it was too soon to know whether the nation’s oldest civil rights organization was the target, FBI spokeswoman Amy Sanders said. The agency sent members of its Joint Terrorism Task Force to help investigate. Sanders said investigators were looking for a balding white man in his 40s who may be driving a dirty pickup truck. It could have an open tailgate or a missing or covered license plate.
Investigators Tuesday were examining a red gasoline canister with a yellow nozzle that had been placed next to the explosive device but did not ignite. They also were checking pieces of duct tape and metal lying 40 to 50 feet away from the explosion site. Residents living nearby said they heard a single, loud “boom” but saw no fire. One neighbor, Gregory Alan Johnson, said he was unaware of prior problems near the NAACP building. Chapter President Henry Allen Jr. told The Colorado Springs Gazette the blast was strong enough to knock items off the walls. He said he was hesitant to call the explosion a hate crime without more information but said the organization will move on. “This won’t deter us from doing the job we want to do in the community,” Allen said. The organization’s national office issued a statement saying it was looking forward to a full and thorough investigation.
WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 7, 2015
ON THE WEB: THEZAPATATIMES.COM
Sports&Outdoors HS BASKETBALL
MAJOR LEAGUE BASEBALL: HALL OF FAME
Hawks win at buzzer By CLARA SANDOVAL THE ZAPATA TIMES
The Hawks basketball team opened the District 32-4A season in dramatic fashion and beat rival Rio Grande La Grulla 47-44 as time expired Friday night. Zapata’s Carlos Gutierrez only scored five points, but his biggest basket came in the fourth quarter with the score knotted up at 44 and less than 10 seconds remaining in the game. Head coach Rene Chapa called a timeout to set up the play, putting the ball in the hands of Gutierrez. After coming off a screen, Gutierrez let it fly behind the 3-point line as the horn sounded as the ball dropped through the hoop for a Hawk victory. Zapata was trailing the entire game and did not take the lead until Gutierrez’s dramatic basket at the end of the night. They fell behind early and played catch up in first half, missing nine different shots under the basket and giving RGC-La Grulla control of the game and a 15-point cushion. Chapa made some halftime adjustments that were beneficial to the team in the second half. Zapata unleashed a full-court press that took away the freedom of ball movement for the Gators and changed the momentum of the game. The Hawks started chipping away at the lead as the hot hand of Javi Lopez started to come alive. Lopez led the way on offense and on the boards as the senior poured in 14 points with 13 rebounds and two blocks. Jake Gutierrez added eight points but did a lot of his damage on the defensive side, picking up four steals. Clyde Guerra III was a workhorse in the paint and came up with 10 rebounds while chipping in with seven points. The Hawks were able to knot up the score early in the fourth quarter, but the Gators stayed ahead with a pair of baskets. Zapata took the lead when it counted, however, as Gutierrez sank the game winner. The junior varsity team (4-1) beat RGC-La Grulla 5451 while the freshman team (3-2) lost 61-39.
File photo by AP
Former Astros second baseman Craig Biggio, joins former pitchers Pedro Martinez, Randy Johnson and John Smoltz as the MLB’s Hall of Fame class for 2015. It was the first time since 1955 that the writers selected four players in one year.
4 to join Hall of Fame Biggio, Martinez, Johnson, Smoltz to be enshrined By RONALD BLUM ASSOCIATED PRESS
NEW YORK — Randy Johnson, Pedro Martinez and John Smoltz dominated in an era of offense, each in their own way. The 6-foot-10 Big Unit became the tallest of 215 players elected to baseball’s Hall of Fame and the 5foot-11 Martinez the shortest pitcher picked for Cooperstown since Whitey Ford in 1974. Smoltz, who found unusual success both as a starting pitcher and a reliever, also was voted in Tues-
day along with Craig Biggio, the first time since 1955 writers picked a quartet of players in one year. For many, the election of Johnson and Martinez was the long and short of it. “You’re talking about freakish talent,” Smoltz said. “I’ve never seen at each person’s height anybody come close to what they were able to do.” Johnson, Martinez and Smoltz were crowned by big margins on their first tries, and Biggio made it on his third attempt after falling two votes shy last year.
Steroids-tainted stars Roger Clemens, Barry Bonds, Mark McGwire and Sammy Sosa again fell far short of half of the votes and appear to have little chance of reaching the necessary 75 percent during their remaining time on the Baseball Writers’ Association of America ballot. “It’s actually sad, to be honest. It’s sad,” Martinez said. “People I admired are not going in with me.” The quartet will be inducted in Cooperstown on July 26. The BBWAA had not voted in four players together since 60 years earlier.
Mike Piazza fell 28 votes short but increased his percentage to 69.9 from 57.8 in 2013 and 62.2 last year. Both making their third appearances, Clemens received 37.5 percent and Bonds 36.8 percent. In his ninth and next-to-last year of eligibility, McGwire got 10 percent — less than half his peak of 23.6 percent in 2008. Sosa was on 6.6 percent of the ballots, just above the 5 percent threshold for remaining on next year’s list. Don Mattingly received 9.1 percent in his 15th and final appearance on the ballot.
PÁGINA 8A
Zfrontera
Ribereña en Breve AFLUENCIA TURÍSTICA Del 19 de diciembre de 2014 al 4 de enero de 2015, la afluencia de visitantes a los sitios turísticos del estado superó los 887.000 visitantes al Estado de Tamaulipas, lo que representa un incrementó el 6.9 por ciento con respecto al año anterior señaló Mónica González García, Secretaria de Desarrollo Económico y Turismo. El año que finalizó marcó una cifra récord de visitantes a las diversas regiones del estado, contabilizando 4.795.000 personas, lo que representa un incremento del 8.9 por ciento en relación al 2013 que fue de 4.404.000. La ocupación hotelera promedio estatal fue del 60 por ciento, 9 puntos porcentuales más que en el mismo periodo del año anterior, indicando que los municipios de Tula, Abasolo y Aldama registraron los promedios más altos en todo el periodo decembrino. Del mismo modo los municipios de Nuevo Laredo, México, Reynosa, México y la zona conurbada del sur de la entidad, registraron una alta ocupación. Se registró una derrama económica de más de 500 millones de pesos, y se contabilizaron en este periodo vacacional la entrada de casi 144.000 vehículos, los cuales Reynosa concentró más del 19 por ciento y Nuevo Laredo el 16.6 por ciento.
MIÉRCOLES 07 DE ENERO DE 2015
FRONTERA
Analizan efectos POR ALICIA A. CALDWELL ASSOCIATED PRESS
WASHINGTON— El programa de drones para la vigilancia fronteriza del Departamento de Seguridad Interna de Estados Unidos cuesta mucho más que lo que calcula el gobierno, sólo ha ayudado a arrestar una fracción de la cantidad de personas que tratan de cruzar ilegalmente la frontera con México y los aparatos vuelan muchas menos horas de las que afirman las autoridades, reveló un organismo de control interno. En un informe publicado el martes, el inspector general John Roth dijo que las aeronaves no tripuladas Predator B que son utilizadas a lo largo de la frontera por la agencia de Aduanas y Protección Fronteriza son “cumplidores dudosos”. La agencia de Aduanas y Protección Fronteriza (CBP por sus
iniciales en inglés) no tiene formas de medir el rendimiento del programa, por lo que el organismo no puede demostrar que es eficaz, agregó. La CBP no respondió de inmediato a una solicitud de correo electrónico para hacer comentarios. Aduanas y Protección Fronteriza planeaba operar cuatro patrullas de aviones no tripulados de 16 horas al día cada uno, para un total de 23.290 horas de vuelo durante el ejercicio presupuestario de 2013 que terminó el 30 de septiembre de 2013. Sin embargo, la auditoría de Roth encontró que los aviones realmente estuvieron en el aire por unas 5.100 horas, aproximadamente el 22% del tiempo de vuelo previsto. Los drones también han permitido relativamente pocas detenciones de personas que cruzan la frontera ilegalmente. En los dos sectores de más actividad de la
Patrulla Fronteriza —Tucson, Arizona, y el Valle de Río Grande, en Texas— los drones sólo representaron 2.270 de las más de 275.000 aprehensiones en 2013. La CBP tiene nueve aviones que vuelan a lo largo de las fronteras de México y Canadá, así como las costas de Florida, Texas y el sur de California. Un décimo avión no tripulado se desplomó en el Océano Pacífico el año pasado después de sufrir problemas técnicos. La agencia esperaba agregar unos 14 aviones en los próximos años, pero la auditoría de Roth llegó a la conclusión de que los 443 millones de dólares que la agencia planea invertir en la ampliación de la flota podrían gastarse mejor en aviones tripulados y vigilancia terrestre. La flota de drones no patrulla toda la frontera suroeste de Estados Unidos, como Seguridad Na-
TAMAULIPAS
CLIMA
ÉPOCA DE CAZA
Reporte: Llega frente frío TIEMPO DE ZAPATA
RECURSOS PARA EL CAMPO El Gobierno Federal destinará al campo tamaulipeco un monto superior a los 300 millones de pesos, para que se apliquen a programas y acciones, con el fin de elevar la productividad, rentabilidad y competitividad del campo, recursos que se suman a los que el Estado asigna a este rubro, señala un comunicado de prensa del Estado. El presupuesto será ejercido por la Secretaría de Agricultura, Ganadería, Desarrollo Rural, Pesca y Alimentación (Sagarpa), para el 2015, para apoyar al campo mexicano, por un monto superior a los 353 mil millones de pesos, recurso que se destinará a las entidades federativas a través del Programa Especial Concurrente para el Desarrollo Rural (PEC). Recientemente el Congreso de la Unión, aprobó un presupuesto para este sector, asignando más de 92 mil 141 millones de pesos, particularmente a la SAGARPA, recursos que representan un incremento de 7.5 por ciento, en términos reales respecto a 2014. Los recursos para el 2015, se aplicaran a los ocho programas que opera SAGARPA, en el estado, entre ellos: Concurrencia con Entidades Federativas, Extensión e Innovación Productiva, Sistemas Producto Agrícolas y Pecuarios, Conservación de Uso de Suelo y Agua (COUSSA), Programa Estratégico de Seguridad Alimentaria (PESA), Información Estadística y Estudios (SNIDRUS), Sanidad e Inocuidad Agroalimentaria.
Foto de cortesía | Gobierno de Nuevo Laredo
Durante la temporada de caza la Dirección de Turismo tiene registrada la presencia de 2.290 turistas cinegéticos nacionales y extranjeros en los ranchos de la región de los Dos Laredos.
Sube porcentaje de turismo cinegético TIEMPO DE ZAPATA
D
el 28 de noviembre al 25 de enero está vigente la temporada de caza del venado cola blanca, y a la fecha la Dirección de Turismo tiene registrada la presencia de 2.290 turistas cinegéticos nacionales y extranjeros en los ranchos de la región. La temporada pasada se entregaron 2.253 cintillos, informó el Director de Turismo, Samuel Lozano Molina. “Esperamos que el número de visitantes se incremente aún más debido a que todavía falta para
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. — Con información de tamaulipas.gob.mx
que concluya la temporada, nos está yendo muy bien, el hecho que hayamos rebasado el número de cazadores es una buena señal para Nuevo Laredo (México)”, expresó Lozano Molina. La mayoría de los cazadores provienen de Texas, pero igualmente visitan de ciudades mexicanas como Monterrey, Guadalajara, Aguascalientes y el Distrito Federal. “Afortunadamente hasta el momento no se han presentado incidentes, ha estado muy tranquilo, se han dado todas las facilidades para el acceso de los cazadores de origen extranjero, así
como a los cazadores nacionales para que lleven a cabo sus actividades de manera tranquila”, dijo Lozano Molina. Esta actividad beneficia a diferentes comercios, ya que los cazadores gastan en combustible, estancia y alimentos, entre otros servicios. “Hay un estudio de Estados Unidos donde dice que cada cazador gasta un aproximado de 3.500 dólares durante la temporada, esperamos que con este incremento en el número de visitantes, la derrama económica de Nuevo Laredo mejore”, refirió Lozano Molina.
A partir del 7 de enero se registrará un descenso en la temperatura, con mínimas de 2 grados Centígrados (35o F) y sensación térmica de -4o C ( 24o F). Ante el clima gélido que prevalecerá durante esta semana, la Dirección de Protección Civil y Bomberos de Nuevo Laredo, México, exhortó a la población a extremar los cuidados hacia los menores de edad y adultos mayores, para evitar enfermedades respiratorias. El reporte meteorológico marca entre 2 y 8 grados centígrados como mínimas (35o F a 46o F), y máximas de 7 a 14 grados (44o F a 57o F) del 7 de enero al domingo 11, por lo que es recomendable salir solo en casos necesarios, y hacerlo debidamente abrigados. Si se permanece en casa la petición es tener precaución con el uso de calentadores, anafres o cualquier otro método para mitigar el frío, dijo el Director de PCyB, Juan Ulises Ochoa. “El operativo Carrusel se realiza cuando estamos abajo de 8 grados centígrados (46o F), se recorre el primer cuadro de la ciudad, la periferia del río Bravo, las colonias del poniente y los kilómetros, para que a las personas más vulnerables se les pueda llevar a estos albergues”, comentó Ochoa. En lo que va de la temporada invernal, cada refugio ha tenido una ocupación del 75 por ciento, es decir entre 60 y 70 personas en el albergue municipal ubicado en la calle Madero 3014; la Casa del Migrante Nazareth, de la calle Madero y bulevar Luis Donaldo Colosio, y la Casa Amar Laredo, en la avenida Felipe Ángeles y Canales. En un comunicado de prensa del Gobierno de Nuevo Laredo, se exhortó a la población a abrigarse bien y mantenerse atenta a los menores de edad y adultos mayores, y que al salir lo hagan bien abrigados, a fin de evitar contraer enfermedades de tipo respiratorio.
CULTURA
Centro invita a concurso POR MALENA CHARUR
DESTINO TURÍSTICO
cional había informado anteriormente, según encontró Roth. En cambio, las operaciones con aviones no tripulados están enfocadas en unas 100 millas (160 kilómetros) de frontera en Arizona y unas 70 millas (100km) de la frontera en Texas. La revisión del programa por parte de Roth también encontró diferencias significativas en las estimaciones de costos. Los auditores concluyeron que el programa de aviones no tripulados costó aproximadamente 62,5 millones de dólares, o alrededor de 12.255 dólares por hora, en 2013. La CBP estima un costo de 2.468 dólares por hora de vuelo, pero ese precio no incluye los costes de operación, incluidos los pilotos, los equipos y los gastos generales. Roth recomendó, entre otras cosas, que el departamento reconsidere la ampliación del programa de aviones no tripulados.
TIEMPO DE ZAPATA
El Guadalupe Cultural Arts Center de San Antonio dio a conocer la invitación para participar en la realización del cartel del Tejano Conjunto Festival 2015. Se invita a que artistas visuales, diseñadores gráficos y estudiantes envíen sus diseños. El Tejano Conjunto Festival 2015 celebrará 34 años de realizarse y está programado para el segundo fin de semana de mayo en Rosedale Park de San Antonio. El evento contará con más de 25 actuaciones estelares por ganadores del Sa-
lón de la Fama de la Música de Conjunto al igual que conjuntos de músicos nacionales e internacionales, presentándose, de acuerdo al sitio de Internet del organismo. El centro se localiza en el área oeste de San Antonio y es una de las más grandes organizaciones de los Estados Unidos que es multidisciplinaria y con base en la comunidad. Los participantes serán sujetos de clasificación en diferentes categorías. El ganador del concurso obtendrá un premio en efectivo de 1.000 dólares y su trabajo se convertirá en el cartel oficial para el Tejano Conjunto Festival en San Antonio 2015.
El tema del cartel está limitado a la música de conjunto, un género tradicional nacido en el sur de Texas con un ensamble de instrumentos que incluye acordeón, bajo sexto, bajo y batería, según se lee en el comunicado. Los trabajos deberán enviarse antes de las 5 p.m. el viernes 7 de febrero del 2015, ya sea en línea o al Centro de Artes Culturales Guadalupe en 723 S.Brazos St., San Antonio, Texas 78207. Para obtener las bases del concurso puede llamar al (210) 271-3151, o visite http://www.guadalupeculturalarts.org/tejanoconjunto-festival/ y dé click en TCF Poster Contest.
Foto de cortesía
El Guadalupe Cultural Arts Center de San Antonio invita a los artistas locales y de la región a participar en la realización del cartel del Tejano Conjunto Festival 2015. En la imagen el cartel ganador del concurso en 2012.
WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 7, 2015
THE ZAPATA TIMES 9A
9 die in confrontations with forces in Michoacan By ALBERTO ARCE ASSOCIATED PRESS
MEXICO CITY — Federal troops and police engaged in two clashes with armed civilians in a western Mexico city Tuesday, and nine civilians were killed, the federal security commissioner for Michoacan state said. Commissioner Alfredo Castillo said the confrontations in Apatzingan began Tuesday morning when federal forces moved in to take control of city hall, which had been held for days by civilians whose demands and identities were unclear. Castillo said a civilian was killed when he was
run over while trying to flee and two federal police officers were injured during the operation. He said authorities detained 44 people with 13 rifles or shotguns and seized 23 vehicles. The second clash came when gunmen attacked soldiers who were transporting the seized vehicles to an impound lot, Castillo said. Eight civilians died and two were wounded, he said. The army said its troops suffered no casualties in the clash. It is the kind of lopsided death toll that has drawn suspicions in past battles, and Castillo said that “we have to verify (the army’s ver-
Photo by Marco Ugarte | AP
In this May 19, 2013 file photo, Hipolito Mora, leader of a local selfdefense movement, stands with a side-arm as residents protest.
Peña Nieto praises Obama By MICHAEL D. SHEAR AND RANDAL C. ARCHIBOLD NEW YORK TIMES
WASHINGTON — Mexico’s president, Enrique Peña Nieto, on Tuesday praised President Barack Obama’s actions to shield millions of unauthorized immigrants from deportation, describing them as "an act of justice" after meeting with Obama at the White House. In his own remarks, Obama thanked Peña Nieto for helping to inform Mexicans that the protections he outlined as part of an executive action on immigration last year would be granted only to those who have been in the United States for years. "We’re also going to be much more aggressive at the border in ensuring that people come through the system legally," Obama said, adding that the "Mexican government’s been very helpful" in making that clear. Obama also thanked Peña Nieto for helping to stem the flow of migrant children into the U.S. from Central America last summer, saying that "at the southern border we’ve seen those numbers reduced dramatically to much more man-
Photo by Doug Mills | New York Times
President Barack Obama observes President Enrique Peña Nieto of Mexico, during an Oval Office meeting, at the White House in Washington, Jan. 6. ageable levels." Peña Nieto’s visit to Washington coincides with increased cooperation between the U.S. and Mexico. Mexico has responded enthusiastically to Obama’s move to regularize the legal status of people who are in the U.S. illegally, a majority of them from Mexico, and to normalize relations with Cuba, at a time when Mexico itself is seeking to repair frayed relations with that country. At the same time, U.S. law enforcement agencies have played major roles in the arrests last year of
high-profile drug cartel leaders, including Joaquín Guzmán Loera, known as El Chapo, though Mexican officials tend to play down that cooperation. "In these recent years, a level of mature and friendly relations has been constructed, first between the presidents and the governments," Sergio Alcocer, Mexico’s top diplomat for North America, told reporters before Peña Nieto left Mexico for Washington. "This has allowed us to change the architecture of the relationship." Still, Peña Nieto may
need this trip more than Obama. For a day, Peña Nieto escapes a political and security crisis back home. Economic growth has slowed, the peso is falling in value against the dollar, and changes to allow foreign participation in the oil industry and other moves have yet to put more money in Mexicans’ wallets. In addition, the past several months have been dominated by a string of security crises, including the abduction and presumed murder of 43 teachers college students in southern Mexico in September.
Like most states, Texas does not require public disclosure of the contributors to inaugural festivities. Financial limits that keep big money in check during campaigns typically do not apply. In states where donors are disclosed, either because of state reporting requirements or voluntary releases by the governor, corporations are shown to play a major role. Blue Cross Blue Shield and shoe maker New Balance each have given $25,000 toward the inaugural celebration of Massachusetts Gov.-elect Charlie Baker, a Republican. The inaugural committee established for another Republican, South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley, took contributions ranging from $5,000 to $25,000 each from such companies as Duke Energy, Blue Cross Blue Shield and Altria, the nation’s largest cigarette maker, for her 2011 swearing-in festivities. Her campaign manager, Tim Pearson, says Haley’s supporters are seeking donations in the same range for events surrounding this year’s inauguration on Jan. 14. In Florida, where reelected Gov. Rick Scott scaled back from the inauguration festivities he held four years ago, the committee overseeing his inaugural activities this time is still raising nearly
$800,000. That includes $100,000 from the Florida Insurance Council and others with interests before the state. New Mexico Gov. Susana Martinez, a Republican, celebrated her inauguration on New Year’s Day with a ball headlined by country music group Lonestar. Danny Diaz, a Martinez campaign spokesman, said the ball was being funded entirely by private donations and that the amounts would be disclosed later. Many inaugural fundraising committees ultimately make at least some financial information public, even if it’s incomplete. Aides to Georgia Gov. Nathan Deal said he planned to disclose the donors to his swearing-in activities. His inauguration includes a concert from country star Alan Jackson and Atlanta-based Coca Cola producing a special bottle. Deal, a Republican, was criticized in 2011 for not detailing how his inaugural money was spent, but he did disclose donor names afterward. AT&T and Cigna, a health insurer, were among those making contributions.
He and other governors throwing big parties reject suggestions of influencebuying and say private donors are buying nothing more than a good time for everyone. “This privately-funded gala celebration is a way to thank Georgians in every corner of their state for their support of the governor and the rest of our statewide elected officials,” Deal spokeswoman Jennifer Talaber said. Washington is among the few states that have taken steps to curb the potential for influence-buying in inaugural celebrations. Its inaugural balls are planned by a non-partisan committee of citizen volunteers, with all costs covered by the price of admission. Corporate sponsors such as Microsoft or Bank of America sometimes pay for their own receptions beforehand for VIP-attendees, said Dan Neuhauser, president of the Governor’s Inaugural Ball Committee. “We don’t take any money from political groups,” he said. “Everybody can come together without having a cause on their shoulder. They can just have a good time.”
men have infiltrated vigilante groups, many of which have been recruited into a governmentsponsored “rural police” force. Former vigilantes have also fought among themselves. On Dec. 16, 11 men died in a clash between two groups of vigilantes in the township of Buenavista near Apatzingan. About three dozen members of each side and their leaders are now in prison awaiting trial for that clash. Castillo said the December battle on a rural road “was a problem of bravado — I won’t let you pass, and you won’t let me pass.”
Police force held in reporter’s disappearance ASSOCIATED PRESS
INAUGURALS Continued from Page 1A wealthy individuals to curry political favor with the state’s highest office, and in many cases without the transparency required by usual campaign finance laws. “It’s all part of the system of cronyism,” said Craig McDonald, executive director of the left-leaning watchdog group Texans for Public Justice. “It’s more unsettling than campaigns because the rules are much looser. It allows corporations and others to spend more money.” Not all governors are tossing fancy parties. New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo, a Democrat, began his second term with a simple swearing-in and speech at One World Trade Center. Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey, a Republican who will take office with his state facing a $1.5 billion budget shortfall, also is going low-key, with a modest reception at the Capitol. Other governors are making the most of the occasion and, in the process, soliciting donations from the types of people and business entities that typically seek to influence legislation and state regulations. Organizers behind the celebrations for Texas Gov.-elect Greg Abbott, a Republican, are trying to raise $4 million, a record amount for a gubernatorial inauguration in the state. Leading up to the finale by country superstar group Lady Antebellum is a downtown parade and the same barbecue specialists that catered both of George W. Bush’s presidential inaugurations. Owners of the San Antonio Spurs and Houston Texans, as well as Walmart heiress Alice Walton, are among those steering Abbott’s inaugural committee. They also gave to his campaign.
sion) and get witness statements.” The identities of those who had taken over the city hall, presumably members of the same group involved in the second clash, remain a mystery. Civic groups demanding the arrest of drug cartel leaders have sometimes taken over the Apatzingan city hall or blockaded it. Michoacan is a patchwork of drug gang members and self-defense vigilante groups that rose up in 2013 to fight the dominant Knights Templar cartel. There have been accusations that former cartel gun-
VERACRUZ, Mexico — State prosecutors detained a town’s police force Tuesday following the disappearance of a journalist in the southern state of Veracruz. Thirty-six members of the Medellin de Bravo police department were brought in to give statements, according to a statement from the Veracruz state prosecutor’s office. Authorities detained three police officers there Monday. Prosecutors said the investigation is in an advanced stage and one of the lines of investigation is looking at the social activism of journalist Moises Sanchez Cerezo, some of which was aimed at Medellin Mayor Omar Cruz. Sanchez’s brother Juan Carlos Sanchez said Monday that his brother had been threatened by Cruz. Cruz denied any involvement at a news conference Monday. A group of nine armed men took Sanchez from his home on Friday along with his computer,
camera and telephones. Sanchez publishes a local weekly, “La Union,” which he has supported with his work as a cab driver. According to a reporters’ group, Sanchez wrote principally about local government corruption and violent deaths and published citizen complaints. The Inter American Press Association said that Sanchez was threatened several times last year “by the mayor and by people he was not able to identify.” Veracruz is one of the most dangerous states in Mexico for journalists, according to the New York-based Committee to Protect Journalists. Since 2011, at least three journalists have been killed for their work. The organization continues investigating the murders of at least six more in murky circumstances. Veracruz Gov. Javier Duarte de Ochoa, who entered office in 2010, has tried to minimize any link between the journalists’ deaths and their work.
INDICTED Continued from Page 1A agents said the case dates back to Dec. 3. On that day, Zapata County dispatch contacted U.S. Border Patrol for assistance on a vehicle stop conducted by Texas Parks and Wildlife Department game wardens on U.S. 83, south of Zapata. Federal authorities learned from the game wardens that three people were hunting without a license. Two of the three occupants could not provide identification and spoke no Eng-
lish, the complaint states. Border Patrol determined that Hernandez was in the country illegally. Authorities said he then admitted to shooting a deer using a .243 caliber Remington Model 779, according to court records. An investigation also revealed that Barrera had been convicted of a crime, the indictment states. (César G. Rodriguez may be reached at 7282568 or cesar@lmtonline.com)
PAGE 10A
Zentertainment
Author Serros dies at age 48 ASSOCIATED PRESS
BERKELEY, Calif. — Michele Serros, a short story writer, essayist and poet whose wry and witty observations on growing up Mexican-American in Southern California became required reading in many ethnic studies courses, has died at age 48. Serros died Sunday at her home in Berkeley, California, after a 20-month battle with a rare form of oral cancer, her husband, Antonio Magana, said. Serros was a community college student when she burst on the literary scene in 1994 with the publication of “Chicana Falsa and Other Stories of Death, Identity and Oxnard,” a collection of stories and poems inspired by her family life and childhood in a majority Hispanic coastal community. A fourth-generation Califor-
nian who did not learn to speak Spanish well until she was an adult, she gave voice to SERROS the struggle for belonging girls like her faced while straddling cultures. “A white person gets encouragement, praise, for weak attempts at a second language,” Serros wrote in the poem “Mi Problema.” “My earnest attempts make me look bad, dumb.” “Chicana Falsa” led Serros to be one of 12 poets who were invited to tour with the Lollapalooza music festival. The book was reissued in 1998 and with the publication two years later of another autobiographical collection of fiction, “How to Be a Chicana Role Model,” Serros joined Gloria Anzaldóa, Sandra Cisneros and
Ana Castillo in contributing to the growing canon of Chicana feminist literature. “She opened the doors for many of us to look at what it means to be Chicana in a different way,” said Jennie Luna, an assistant professor of Chicana and Chicano Studies at a California State University, Channel Islands, who knew Serros for 14 years. “She liked to do surfing, she liked to do skateboarding ... She didn’t feel constrained to living life one way as a Chicano in the world. She was really boundless.” Serros spent a season as a staff writer for “The George Lopez Show” and wrote two young adult novels, “Honey Blonde Chica” and its sequel, “¡Scandalosa!” She also was a regular commentary contributor for National Public Radio. Throughout her writing career, Serros gave speeches
and book readings at colleges and universities, a practice she continued in the last months of her life. One of her final projects was helping to organize a Ventura County Museum of Art exhibit in October that was designed to counter the exclusion of Latino writers from an essay series sponsored by the Chipotle Mexican Grill chain. “For Michele, life was not a fight that was to be won or lost, but enjoyed as a wonderful journey and to be experienced with a firm sense of purpose, curiosity, tenacity, hard work and never-failing courage,” her husband said. A private memorial service is planned, but Serros’ family is asking her admirers to organize local readings of her work.
WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 7, 2015
‘THE INTERVIEW’ GROSSES $31M
Photo by Sony/Columbia Pictures | AP
Sony Pictures’ “The Interview” has made more than $31 million from its online and on-demand release, according to the studio. However, it stood to make more in a wide theatrical release — about $30 million in its opening weekend alone.
WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 7, 2015
THE ZAPATA TIMES 11A
FRED L. DOANE
TRUCKS Continued from Page 1A
Aug.18, 1944 – Jan. 2, 2015 Fred L. Doane, 70, passed away on Friday, January 2, 2015 at Doctor’s Hospital in Laredo, Texas. Mr. Doane is preceded in death by his parents, Kermit C. Doane and Alice F. Doane; brother, Mark A. Doane and a sister, baby Carol Jean Doane. Mr. Doane is survived by his wife, Joyce B. Doane; sons, Nerak A. Doane, Forest Ryan (Kezia) Doane; daughters, Melissia S. Umphres, Michelle C. (Kelly) Thur; grandchildren, Heather (Danny) Montalvo, Garret A. Umphres, Collyn R. Thur, brothers, Carl Michael (Maryanne) Doane, James Lee (Rachel) Doane, sister, Marie A. Hofmeyer; additional family, Allen A. Umphres; and by numerous nephews, nieces and friends. Visitation hours were held on Tuesday, January 6, 2015, at 12:30 p.m. with a chapel service at 2 p.m. at Rose Garden Funeral
Home. 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.
ELVIA B. VALADEZ
tional criminal organizations are immersed in an ongoing cycle to get ahead of law enforcement. Federal authorities said they have kept a watchful eye since the Eagle Ford Shale boom started in 2007. Ramos said criminal organizations try to take advantage of the pipeline and access roads used by oil and gas industries to move their illicit substances through the area. “One thing for sure is that the drug trade will find every type of element … to do concealments. It’ll come from cloning vehicles to make them look like oilfield vehicles. Even the personnel (driving), might be employed by the oilfield. It may not. But still, the trend is there,” said Sheriff ’s Office Chief Fred Garza. Cmdr. Julio Gonzalez, of the Sheriff ’s Office patrol division, said the trend of using oilfieldtype vehicles to smuggle narcotics comes and goes. He then showed the Laredo Morning Times pictures of marijuana sei-
Courtesy photo
To smuggle drugs, criminal organizations have long used utility trucks that look like they belong to an oil and gas company. zures from the 1990s. But an increase of smuggling attempts was recorded recently due to the Eagle Ford Shale. Once law enforcement picks up on a trend, smugglers explore other venues to keep moving their narcotics, according to Gonzalez. Patrol deputies are being trained to look for these types of trends. “It’s sad to say we’ve
been fighting this war on drugs for such a long time. We haven’t found the perfect formula to stop (the drugs) from coming over. But we will continue to work it,” Garza said. Ramos said agents have encountered cloned pumper trucks, fracking trucks and utility trucks, among other vehicles. Agents have caught people wearing actual oil-
field uniforms driving vehicles that may seem legit. Law enforcement undergoes training to detect cloned vehicles. Supervisory Border Patrol Agent Berin Salas, of the Border Community Liaison, said the agency takes measures to educate themselves about the oil and gas industry. For example, agents learn about the type of emblems or logos used by companies or sequence numbers on their decals. In 2012, the South Texas Integrated Frontline Resource Allocation Campaign was created within the U.S. Customs and Border Protection South Texas Campaign. The integrated frontline is comprised of CBP, private entities, federal, local and state law enforcement along with oil and gas stakeholders. With this frontline, oilfield personnel can call in suspicious activity at 1855-553-7902. People can also report suspicious activity to 1-800-343-1994. (César G. Rodriguez may be reached at 728-2568 or cesar@lmtonline.com)
Nov. 29, 1929 – Jan. 1, 2015 Elvia B. Valadez, 85, passed away on Thursday, January 1, 2015 at Laredo Medical Center in Laredo, Texas. Mrs. Valadez is preceded in death by her son, Mario Cesar Valadez; grandson, Carlitos Valadez, Jr.; brothers, Rodolfo (Criselia) Bustamante, Alonso Bustamante, Roberto Bustamante, Jr.; sisters, Maria B. (Juan) Vela and Benilde B. (Fernando) Rivera. Mrs. Valadez is survived by her husband, Jose Manuel Valadez; sons, Jose Renato Valadez, Juan Manuel (Norma) Valadez, Carlos H. (Edith) Valadez; daughters, Enedelia B. (Manuel) Garcia, Alma Rosa (Florencio) Ibarra, Martha (+Elias) Bolaños, Enelda (Eloy) Cuellar; twenty-one grandchildren; twenty-one great-grandchildren; brother, Adolio (Elvira) Bustamante; sister, Isabel (Ramiro) Guajardo and by numerous nephews, nieces, other family members and friends. Visitation hours were held on Sunday, January 4, 2015, from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. with a rosary at 7 p.m. at Rose Garden Fu-
CUBA Continued from Page 1A
neral Home. The funeral procession departed on Monday, January 5, 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 were under the direction of Rose Garden Funeral Home Daniel A. Gonzalez, Funeral Director, 2102 N. U.S. Hwy 83 Zapata, Texas.
avoid Cuba and U.S. counternarcotics patrol vessels and aircraft by skirting Cuba’s territorial waters." Cuba’s reputation — of omnipresent police, strict punishment for drug crimes and low demand from users - contrasts sharply with its pre-revolution heyday. Before the Castros came to power, Havana’s nightclubs and casinos had the full range of illicit substances, and opium dens were a fixture of the city’s once-bustling Chinatown. Soon after taking over in 1959, Fidel Castro and his rebel army shut down the casinos, imposed draconian drug laws, and sent addicts and others to Marxist reeducation camps for hard labor. While American hippies grew their hair long and indulged in pot-fueled paeans to Che Guevara, the real communists in Cuba came to associate recreational drug use with ideological deviation and other political taboos. Even today, the mere possession of a small amount of marijuana in Cuba can result in a prison term. Harder drugs bring even harder time. While small amounts of marijuana are grown in Cuban closets and the hidden corners of mountaintop farms, most of the drugs that reach the island are thought to be washed-up packages dumped by traffickers en route to Florida. Drug-
sniffing dogs are a fixture of the baggage claims at Cuba’s international airports. Police officers are ubiquitous on Havana’s streets - and those are only the ones wearing uniforms. After decades of keeping political opponents under close watch, Cuba’s security services have an extensive surveillance system that makes local drug dealing extremely risky, if not downright foolish. "Cuba’s a police state, and I don’t believe the Cuban government wants to be a hub for drug smugglers," said Barry McCaffrey, a retired general who served as the White House drug czar during the Clinton administration and is a former commander of the U.S. military’s Southern Command, which focuses on Latin America. "They saw it as a threat to their children, the work force, their economy, their government." McCaffrey said there were "all sorts of direct communications" between the U.S. and Cuban governments during his tenure, including radio communication between the Coast Guard and Cuban authorities, although "I’m not sure we thought it was a perfect cooperation." "I thought they believed that the drug issue was a good way to regain contact" with the U.S. government, he added. In 2013, Cuban courts
sanctioned 628 individuals on drug-related charges, 273 of whom received jail sentences ranging from six to 10 years, according to the U.S. report. The Cubans make phone calls and send emails to U.S. authorities - sometimes including photographs — about suspected drug boats. "Cuba continues to share vessel information with neighboring countries, including the United States, and has had increasing success in interdicting ’go-fast’ vessels unilaterally and in coordination with other nations," the U.S. report states, adding that the Cuban government notified the U.S. Coast Guard 27 times in 2013 about the presence of suspicious vessels in "real time." Over the years, cooperation on drug enforcement has been strained by the hostile politics between the countries. The U.S. Interests Section in Havana has a Coast Guard attache who serves as "drug interdiction specialist," but it has no DEA officers. Vicki Huddleston, the chief of mission there from 1999 to 2002, said that even though the Cubans would send radio messages about passing narcotics speedboats, U.S. policy at the time was not to answer. "We were prohibited from saying in return, ‘Thank you, we’ve got it,’"
Huddleston said. "So they just kept repeating it." Still, a notorious drugtrafficking case remains one of the darkest episodes in the Castro era. In 1989, one of Cuba’s highest-ranking military commanders, Gen. Arnoldo Ochoa, was sent to the firing squad along with three others snared in a drug-smuggling scandal. Stunned Cubans watched his trial on television, and he and other high-ranking military and intelligence figures were found guilty of taking bribes from Colombian cocaine traffickers. The incident remains an ugly scar on the Castro legacy, marking one of the first times that Cubans saw the curtain pulled back on the shadowy dealings of supposedly infallible communist officials. But it was also used to send a zero-tolerance statement to anyone else in the government about the temptations of drug riches. Cubans now fear that message will fade as more and more tourists arrive, including from the United States, potentially boosting local drug demand. In a country where government officials and police survive on salaries of $50 a month or even less, they wonder how authorities will keep the corrupting powers of drug traffickers at bay once the Castros are gone.
12A THE ZAPATA TIMES
WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 7, 2015