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PRECINCT 2
SMUGGLING CHARGES
New commissioner
Two plea guilty
Elizondo is Zapata’s first female county commissioner By GABRIELA A. TREVIÑO THE ZAPATA TIMES
Olga M. Elizondo is the firstever female to serve as a county commissioner in Zapata. Elizondo represents Precinct 2, which encompasses North Zapata and San Ygnacio. According to the March 4 primary election results, Elizondo beat her opponents with 56 percent, or 377 votes. Her opponents were the incumbent Gabriel Villarreal and Victor Juan de Dios Gonzalez, who garnered 32.39 percent and 11.59 percent, respectively. Elizondo has been married to Sergio Elizondo for 26 years,
and the couple has three children: Ivan, Eric and Priscilla. She said she has resided in Zapata her entire life. Elizondo has served the community in various capacities since the early 1990s. She was previously the President of the area’s Little League Association, which she said piqued her interest in youth projects. She also served as PTO President. “I remember when my grandfather, Felipe Morales, would tell me that one day I could be elected into office for all my dedication to our community in Zapata,” Elizondo
told The Zapata Timesvia text Saturday. “My future projects plans are to have more lighting, improve projects that would benefit our youth and elderly and finish street paving.” Elizondo said she was motivated to run for the position of county commissioner after hearing complaints about the cleanliness of her precinct. She also said that she plans on supporting the sheriff ’s department’s anti-drug program. “(I plan to) upgrade the sheriff ’s and fire department’s equipment, start planning for
See NEW PAGE 11A
Pair attempted to transport immigrants By PHILIP BALLI THE ZAPATA TIMES
Two of the three Zapata residents indicted Nov. 25 on human smuggling charges pleaded guilty Monday before a federal magistrate judge in Laredo. Misti Lea Grandstaff and Mario Humberto Garza III each pleaded guilty to one count of transporting
ELIZONDO
See GUILTY PAGE 11A
TEXAS POLITICS
LEGISLATURE OPENS AMID OIL WOES
Photo by Eric Gay | AP
Visitors line up in the Texas Capitol to enter the House Chambers for the beginning of the 2015 legislative session, Tuesday in Austin, Texas.
House speaker retains post, Republicans work to keep promises By JIM VERTUNO AND PAUL J. WEBER ASSOCIATED PRESS
AUSTIN — The Texas Legislature roared back to life Tuesday with plenty of pomp but also the first House leadership floor fight in 40 years — an early hint of what could be bitter policy clashes ahead as re-galvanized Republicans work to keep sweeping conservative promises on tax cuts, gun rights, education and immi-
gration. Keeping those promises could be even more difficult, though, as plummeting oil prices may eventually harm Texas’ economy. The start of the 140-day session featured more ceremony than policy with a notable exception in the House, where Speaker Joe Straus, a San Antonio Republican, easily beat back a tea-party challenge to his post.
Second-term Rep. Scott Turner claimed Straus was too moderate and ran against him, forcing the lower chamber’s first floor vote on the speakership since 1975. But a coalition of Republicans and Democrats supported Straus 127-19, trouncing Turner, a former NFL football player from Richardson in suburban Dallas who was backed by the GOP’s far-right faction. “Small members sought to divide us up
with misleading and personal attacks,” Straus said. “But you cannot effectively govern this House by dividing it.” Entering his fourth term as speaker, Straus is one of the few veterans returning to a top Texas political post. The largest shake-up in a generation last November changed the names in power, but not the party. The GOP still controls ev-
See LEGISLATURE PAGE 11A
GUERRERO, MEXICO
Jailed US vigilante becomes political football ASSOCIATED PRESS
Photo by Grisel Rodriguez | AP file
This 2009 family photo provided by Grisel Rodriguez shows Nestora Salgado, who has been detained since she was arrested Aug. 21, 2013 in the state of Guerrero.
MEXICO CITY — A proposal to free a female vigilante leader who holds dual U.S.-Mexico nationality has become a subject of heated debate in Mexico. The case of Nestora Salgado has pitted supporters who claim she is a crime-fighter and victim of a political vendetta, against victims-rights activists, who say
freeing her would be an added offense to victims of unlawful detention. Salgado returned from Washington state, where she lived and obtained U.S. citizenship, to her hometown of Olinala in southern Guerrero state to head a vigilante-style community police force. She was arrested in August 2013, after people detained by vig-
ilantes complained they had been kidnapped. Some said Salgado’s force had demanded payments in exchange for releasing them. Last week, Guerrero Governor Rogelio Ortega suggested last week that charges against Salgado be dropped. But anti-crime activist Isabel Miranda de Wallace said Monday
See VIGILANTE PAGE 11A
PAGE 2A
Zin brief CALENDAR
WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 14, 2015
AROUND TEXAS
TODAY IN HISTORY
WEDNESDAY, JAN. 14
ASSOCIATED PRESS
Employment Law Update sponsored by Laredo Association of Human Resource Management, from noon to 1 p.m., Embassy Suites. Contact Bertha Solis at president@lahrm.com or visit www.lahrm.com. The Laredo Toastmaster, a public speaking and leadership club, meets from noon to 1 p.m. at Laredo Chamber of Commerce, 2310 San Bernardo Ave. http://laredotoastmasters.toastmastersclubs.org. Aggies are invited to Hal’s Landing at 6 p.m. Network and plan the future of the Laredo A&M Club. Contact Becky Garcia, class of 1998, at 6938700 or laredoaggies@sbcglobal.net or laredoaggies.blogspot.com. American Cancer Society and Doctors Hospital of Laredo monthly I Can Cope Class for people with cancer and their family and friends. This month’s topic is Nutrition During Cancer Treatment. Second Wednesday of every month from 6 to 8 p.m. at Doctors Hospital Cancer Treatment Center Lobby. To RSVP or contact Diana Juarez at 956-319-3100 or diana.juarez@cancer.org.
Today is Wednesday, Jan. 14, the 14th day of 2015. There are 351 days left in the year. Today’s Highlight in History: On Jan. 14, 1784, the United States ratified the Treaty of Paris ending the Revolutionary War; Britain followed suit in April 1784. On this date: In 1914, Ford Motor Co. greatly improved its assemblyline operation by employing an endless chain to pull each chassis along at its Highland Park plant. In 1943, President Franklin D. Roosevelt, British Prime Minister Winston Churchill and French General Charles de Gaulle opened a wartime conference in Casablanca. In 1952, NBC’s “Today” show premiered, with Dave Garroway as the host, or “communicator.” In 1954, Marilyn Monroe and Joe DiMaggio were married at San Francisco City Hall. (The marriage lasted about nine months.) In 1963, George C. Wallace was sworn in as governor of Alabama with the pledge, “Segregation forever!” — a view Wallace later repudiated. Sylvia Plath’s novel “The Bell Jar” was published in London under the pen name “Victoria Lucas,” less than a month before Plath committed suicide. In 1975, the House Internal Security Committee (formerly the House Un-American Activities Committee) was disbanded. In 1989, President Ronald Reagan delivered his 331st and final weekly White House radio address, telling listeners, “Believe me, Saturdays will never seem the same. I’ll miss you.” Ten years ago: Army Spc. Charles Graner Jr., the reputed ringleader of a band of rogue guards at the Abu Ghraib prison, was convicted at Fort Hood, Texas, of abusing Iraqi detainees. (Graner was sentenced the next day to 10 years in prison; he was released from prison in Aug. 2011 after serving more than 6 1/2 years.) Five years ago: President Barack Obama and the U.S. moved to take charge in earthquake-ravaged Haiti, dispatching thousands of troops along with tons of aid. One year ago: Sporadic violence flared across much of Egypt as a two-day referendum on a new constitution began. Today’s Birthdays: Blues singer Clarence Carter is 79. Former NAACP Chairman Julian Bond is 75. Actress Faye Dunaway is 74. Actress Holland Taylor is 72. Singer-producer T-Bone Burnett is 67. Movie writer-director Lawrence Kasdan is 66. Pulitzer Prize-winning columnist Maureen Dowd is 63. Movie writerdirector Steven Soderbergh is 52. Actor Mark Addy is 51. Fox News Channel anchorman Shepard Smith is 51. Rapper Slick Rick is 50. Actor Dan Schneider is 49. Actress Emily Watson is 48. Actor-comedian Tom Rhodes is 48. Rapper-actor LL Cool J is 47. Actor Jason Bateman is 46. Rock singer-musician Dave Grohl (Foo Fighters) is 46. Retro-soul singer-songwriter Marc Broussard is 33. Rock singer-musician Caleb Followill (Kings of Leon) is 33. Actor Zach Gilford is 33. Actor Jonathan Osser is 26. Thought for Today: “Dignity is like a perfume; those who use it are scarcely conscious of it.” — Queen Christina of Sweden (1626-1689).
THURSDAY, JAN. 15 The Elysian Social Club hosts its regular monthly meeting, 7 p.m. to TBA, Maria Bonita Restaurant. All members are encouraged to attend. Attend BYOBook on the third Thursday of every month to find out what Laredo is reading, bond over books and discover new authors. www.laredolibrary.org. Los Amigos Duplicate Bridge Club will meet at the Laredo Country Club at 1:15 to 5:00 p.m. Contact Beverly Cantu at 727-0589. Contemporary Bible Talk. 6:30pm to 7:30pm. Laredo Church of Christ Chapel, 1505 Calle del Norte, suite 330. Contact Miguel Zuñiga at mglzuniga@yahoo.com or call 2869631.
FRIDAY, JAN. 16 TAMIU Lamar Bruni Vergara Science Center Planetarium. Back to the Moon, 6 p.m. Saturn: Jewel of the Heavens, 7 p.m. General admission is $4 for children and $5 for adults. Admission is $4 for TAMIU students, faculty and staff.
SATURDAY, JAN. 17 TAMIU Lamar Bruni Vergara Science Center Planetarium. The Little Star that Could, 2 p.m. Stars of the Pharoahs, 3 p.m. Back to the Moon, 4 p.m. Saturn: Jewel of the Heavens, 5 p.m. General Admission is $4 for children and $5 for adults. Admission is $4 for TAMIU students, faculty and staff. South Texas Food Bank volunteer day in honor of Martin Luther King Day. South Texas Food Bank grounds, 1907 Freight Street in west Laredo, from 8 a.m. to noon. For information call (956) 324-2432.
TUESDAY, JAN. 20 TAMIU Lamar Bruni Vergara Science Center Planetarium. Back to the Moon, 5 p.m. Saturn: Jewel of the Heavens, 6 p.m. General Admission is $4 for children and $5 for adults. Admission is $4 for TAMIU students, faculty and staff. 326-DOME (3663) or Claudia Herrera at claudia.herrera@tamiu.edu, or www.tamiu.edu/planetarium.
Photo by Pablo Martinez Monsivais | AP
President Barack Obama acknowledges the contribution that San Antonio Spurs forward Tim Duncan, of the Virgin Islands, second from upper left, made to the team as he honored the 2014 NBA Champions the San Antonio Spurs basketball team during a ceremony in the East Room White House in Washington, Monday.
Spurs go to Washington By ABBY LIVINGSTON TEXAS TRIBUNE
WASHINGTON, D.C. — For a Chicago Bulls fan, President Obama had high praise Monday as he honored the San Antonio Spurs for their 2014 NBA World Championship. “It’s never easy celebrating a non-Bulls team,” he joked at the traditional White House ceremony for winners of major sport championships. “That’s all I’ve been able to do. So far. But even I have to admit, the Spurs are hard to dislike." San Antonio, which defeated the Miami Heat in a five-game championship series in June, was in town to face off against the Washington Wizards on Monday evening. Tim Duncan, Coach Gregg Popovich, General Manager R.C. Buford and the rest of the team entered the White House East Room to
cheers of “Go Spurs Go” from a crowd including a number of high-profile Texans. “I know we got a lot of Spurs fans in the house, including a guy I stole from San Antonio, our Secretary of Housing and Urban Development, former Mayor Julián Castro,” the president said. Castro’s twin brother, Rep. Joaquin Castro, also attended, along with a giddy contingent from the Texas delegation. Joaquin Castro and Reps. Joe Barton, R-Ennis; Henry Cuellar, D-Laredo; Lloyd Doggett, D-Austin; Al Green, D-Houston; Will Hurd, R-San Antonio; Sheila Jackson Lee, D-Houston; and Lamar Smith, R-San Antonio, sat together for the event. The president complimented the team on several fronts – for its charitable work, style of play and its international makeup. He went so far as to call the Spurs the “U.N. of basketball teams.”
Man accused of paying high school girls for sex
Man pleads guilty in woman’s strangulation
Travis County detective fired after DWI charge
GALVESTON — Opening statements have begun in Galveston in the sexual assault trial of a 63-year-old man who prosecutors say paid thousands of dollars to high school girls for sex. Prosecutors contend he paid thousands to multiple girls who attend two area high schools. They say he was known to frequent restaurants and solicit waitresses.
LUFKIN — An East Texas man has pleaded guilty to strangling a woman with an electrical cord and then dumping her body near the banks of a river last year. Justin Welch, 23, of Lufkin pleaded guilty to murder Monday in the April death of 30-yearold Elisha Henson of Pollok. A judge then sentenced Welch to 50 years in prison.
AUSTIN — Officials say a Travis County detective has been fired after he was arrested and charged with drunken driving over the weekend. A spokesman for the Travis County Sheriff ’s Office says 47-year-old James Sapp was terminated Monday after he was charged with driving while intoxicated, unlawful carrying of a weapon and possession of a controlled substance.
Museum unveiling redevelopment plan
High school football player shot to death
Plans in works for Dallas civil rights leader’s home
HOUSTON — The Museum of Fine Arts, Houston is unveiling a $450 million project that will include two new buildings designed to complement the existing structures. Board chairman Richard Kinder said the redevelopment project being unveiled Tuesday is the most exciting in the museum’s 90-year history. He says it’s expected to be complete by 2019.
ARLINGTON — Authorities say a high school football player from Arlington has been shot to death in front of a car wash in the nearby town of Kennedale. He was shot after several people met in an apartment complex parking lot near the car wash Monday afternoon. Witnesses said that the shooting stemmed from an altercation at the school during the lunch hour.
DALLAS — Plans are underway to turn the home of a late Dallas civil rights leader whose involvement in education spanned decades into a museum and learning center. The home of Kathlyn Gilliam, who died in 2011 at the age of 81, is expected to open as a museum and learning center Oct. 16, her birthday. — Compiled fromn AP reports
THURSDAY, JAN. 22 The American Cancer Society is rolling out the Red Carpet for the 2015 Relay for Life of Webb County at its kickoff party at Laredo Firefighters’ Union Hall from 6 to 8 p.m. Call Diana Juarez at 319-3100 or Laura Nañez at 286-6955.
FRIDAY, JAN. 23 TAMIU Lamar Bruni Vergara Science Center Planetarium. Back to the Moon, 6 p.m. Saturn: Jewel of the Heavens, 7 p.m. General Admission is $4 for children and $5 for adults. Admission is $4 for TAMIU students, faculty and staff.
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 724-1876. TAMIU Lamar Bruni Vergara Science Center Planetarium. The Little Star that Could, 2 p.m. Stars of the Pharoahs, 3 p.m. Back to the Moon, 4 p.m.
AROUND THE NATION Climber phones home on way down Mount McKinley MINNEAPOLIS — A Minnesota climber making his way down from the summit of Mount McKinley in Alaska says he’s looking forward to a hot shower, then a hot bath, then some good food and drink. Lonnie Dupre, of Grand Marais, said by satellite phone Tuesday that he was drinking hot cocoa at 11,000 feet and waiting for the weather to clear up a bit before heading down to his camp for the night at around 7,500 feet. Dupre is claiming credit for becoming the first solo climber to reach the 20,320foot summit of Mount McKinley during January.
Attacks could prompt new bid to delay Tsarnaev trial BOSTON — Legal analysts say the terror attacks in Paris could provide new grounds for Boston Marathon bombing suspect
CONTACT US Publisher, William B. Green........................728-2501 Account Executive, Dora Martinez ...... (956) 765-5113 General Manager, Adriana Devally ...............728-2510 Adv. Billing Inquiries ................................. 728-2531 Circulation Director ................................. 728-2559 MIS Director, Michael Castillo.................... 728-2505 Managing Editor, Nick Georgiou ................. 728-2565 Sports Editor, Zach Davis ..........................728-2578 Spanish Editor, Melva Lavin-Castillo............ 728-2569 Photo by Lonnie Dupre | AP
In this 2012 photo provided by climber Lonnie Dupre, Dupre takes a selfie during a failed attempt to climb the summit of Alaska’s Mount McKinley, the tallest peak in North America. Dzhokhar Tsarnaev’s lawyers to argue that his trial should be delayed and perhaps moved outside of Boston. Defense lawyers and jury consultants say the pall cast by the attacks in Paris last week could make it even more difficult to pick an impartial jury with
the new terror attack fresh in the minds of prospective jurors. Tsarnaev’s lawyers have tried repeatedly to delay the start of the trial and move its location. But the judge has so far rejected their requests. — 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
State
WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 14, 2015
THE ZAPATA TIMES 3A
Workers were exposed for years Call for donations for senior celebration ASSOCIATED PRESS
SPECIAL TO THE TIMES
The Zapata County Chamber of Commerce is hosting its Winter Texan & Senior Citizen Appreciation day Thursday, Feb. 19 at the Zapata County Community Center. The event recognizes and shows gratitude to the area’s senior citizens for their contributions to the community. In 2013 more than 400 senior citizens participated in the event. In order to provide lunch, refreshments, entertainment and prizes for the event, sponsors are called to donate. There are four sponsorship levels this year: $2,000 or more (Platinum Level): Banner with your company name and logo, logo presence on event T-shirt, website, email marketing and flyers. $1,000 (Gold Level): Logo presence on event T-shirt, email marketing, website and flyers. $500 (Silver Level): Logo presence on event Tshirt, email marketing and flyers. $300 (Bronze Level): Logo presence on flyers and email marketing. For more information, call the Zapata County Chamber of Commerce at 956-765-4871 or visit zapatachamber.com
HOUSTON — State records indicate that employees at a Houston-area pesticide plant where a poisonous gas leak killed four workers in November may have been periodically exposed to the dangerous fumes for years. The Houston Chronicle found that DuPont reported exhaust and ventilation system malfunctions at the La Porte plant to the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality in 2009 and 2010, but that neither the company nor the state regulator alerted the Occupational Health and Safety Administration. Pipes and vents at the DuPont plant at La Porte have become clogged over the years, and as many as 3 pounds of methyl mercaptan leaks out in an hour during line-clearing activities, according to the reports filed with the commission and obtained by the newspaper. Based on state records and the company’s own disclosures, the newspaper concluded that workers could have been exposed to the gas far above the levels
Photo by Marie D. De Jesus | AP file
This undated file photo shows a sign at a DuPont facility in La Porte, Texas. Records show that employees at the Houston-area pesticide plant may have been exposed to dangerous fumes for years. deemed acceptable by OHSA since 2008. As much as 600 parts per million of the gas an hour could have filled a poorly ventilated room, but federal guidelines say workers shouldn’t be exposed to more than an average of 10 ppm per day of the gas, which is used to manufacture insecticide and fungicide.
Four employees at the DuPont plant died after being exposed to methyl mercaptan on Nov. 15. Federal officials and the state agency are investigating the deaths. DuPont declined to comment on its workers’ potentially prolonged exposure to the gas. “Considering individual
issues in isolation or speculating can lead to inaccurate conclusions,” DuPont spokesman Aaron Woods said. “DuPont is committed to maintaining the integrity of ongoing investigations. To that end, it is premature for us to comment or provide additional information outside of these processes.”
Texas did not report many child deaths ASSOCIATED PRESS
AUSTIN — Texas is not reporting hundreds of child deaths related to abuse and neglect, and more than 50 child welfare workers in recent years have been caught lying to prosecutors or engaged in other case misconduct, according to a newspaper investigation published Sunday. Lawmakers are now calling for answers ahead of a new legislative session that begins Tuesday under Gov.-elect Greg Abbott. Findings from a six-month investigation by the Austin AmericanStatesman are likely to put the state’s beleaguered Department
of Family Services under more scrutiny. Between 2010 and 2014, the state did not publicly report 655 child abuse fatalities because caseworkers decided that mistreatment was not directly responsible for those deaths, the newspaper found. Nearly half of those children who died came from families that had been investigated by the state multiple times. Advocates say the state is intentionally suppressing the number of child abuse deaths to minimize culpability. Family and Protective Services spokesman Patrick Crimmins says the agen-
cy isn’t trying to hide anything and has followed state and federal laws. “I’m speechless,” Democratic state Sen. Carlos Uresti said. “I want to know who these kids are. Every one of these kids has a name and has a story and would have had a life ahead of them.” Uresti authored a 2009 law that requires Family and Protective Services to provide the public with detailed reports when caseworkers rule that maltreatment directly killed a child. But that does not include cases in which abuse was found to be present but did not directly contribute to the death.
It is not always clear why seemingly comparable deaths end up on different lists. For example, Crimmins said that one type of case that might not be included in the public fatality count is when a child riding a four-wheeler is killed. The failure to supervise the child would not necessarily be considered to have been directly connected to the death, he said. But the newspaper found three such fatalities in which a family member was blamed and landed on the publicly disclosed list. State and court documents also reveal that since 2009, dozens of state caseworkers have been
caught lying to prosecutors, ignoring court orders, falsifying state records or obstructing law enforcement. At least four former state Child Protective Services employees are currently facing criminal charges for their alleged misconduct. State officials insist those cases are rare: Employees accused of misconduct found by the newspaper represent a fraction of the 3,400 investigators and foster care workers in the agency. But the agency cannot definitively say how often it happens since it does not comprehensively track the number of people who were fired for such offenses.
PAGE 4A
Zopinion
WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 14, 2015
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COLUMN
OTHER VIEWS
It makes no sense for Romney to run again By CHRIS CILLIZZA THE WASHINGTON POST
Ever since the news broke last Friday that Mitt Romney is not only thinking about running for president again in 2016 but also making moves that suggest he is going to run, I’ve been trying to figure out why. I’ve talked to Republicans who are close to Romney and Republicans who are only interested observers. For people outside of Romney’s direct orbit, there is bafflement about what Romney is doing. Closer allies explain, without their names attached, why Romney running again isn’t as odd as it is being portrayed. "Lots of people get elected to governor or senator on their third try," said one Romney supporter urging the former governor to run. "Nothing magical about that not being a presidential." Those conversations — and my own thinking — have produced three basic reasons to explain why Romney is doing what he is doing: 1. He doesn’t believe Jeb Bush is a terribly strong candidate/frontrunner. 2. He doesn’t think anyone in the current field can beat Hillary Clinton. 3. He believes he has something more/new/ different to offer the country at a critical moment in history. Numbers one and two are, of course, intricately linked. Romney doesn’t like Bush’s public critique of the sort of campaign he ran in 2012 and believes that Bush drastically misunderstands how the modern political world works. Bush, who has not run for any office since 2002, has deep vulnerabilities on the work — from finance to education — that he has done since leaving office, Romney believes. And, Bush simply doesn’t understand (or doesn’t want to understand) the problems he has on that front. And if you believe, as Romney does, that Bush is much weaker than most people — including many Republican donors — currently regard him, then the prospect of a Clinton presidency seems very real. "Romney is only person who is beating anybody thinking about running in both parties," said one Romney supporter. "He only beats Hillary by a point or two but still, if you are beating everyone and can raise money, that’s not a reason to run but it’s certainly not a reason not to run." Fair enough. It is absolutely true that Bush remains largely untested in the world of Vine, Instagram and Twitter on the campaign trail. And that his gubernatorial — and, more importantly, post-gubernatorial — record has not taken anywhere near the scrutiny it will if/when he runs. And that Romney is a proven fundraiser and vote-getter. It’s that third point, though, that Romney, according to those who know him best, sees as most important — and
The image of him as an out-of-touch plutocrat … will linger no matter what Romney says or does as a candidate.
COLUMN on which he and I part ways. "There is something in Mitt that drives him to solve problems," explained one Romney confidante of the governor’s mindset. "When he sees something is a mess, he doesn’t have it in his DNA to sit back and let someone else just try to clean it up." Added another: "He believes he can help the country and help people." I don’t doubt Romney’s sincerity. But I do think he and those close to him are fooling themselves that he can simply proclaim that he is running a new and different campaign — one based on foreign policy and poverty, according to Politico — and that will be that. It’s literally impossible to imagine such a scenario. The reason Romney is in the position he is — nationally known, a massive fundraising network — is because of his 2008 and 2012 campaigns. Those are the pluses of having run twice before. But there are also significant minuses in having done so. Does Romney think either his Republican opponents or potentially Hillary Clinton in a general election are going to just let the whole "47 percent" thing drop? Or that the car elevator, "severely conservative" and the picture of him with money coming out of his suit jacket are going to disappear? Um, they won’t. The second Romney declares — and, even now as he moves toward a candidacy — all of the things people didn’t like about him will start to creep back to the front of their minds. The image of him as an out-of-touch plutocrat, which the Obama team so effectively painted, will linger no matter what Romney says or does as a candidate. And unlike in 2012 when he was seen as the de facto frontrunner due to his close-but-no-cigar bid in 2008, the logic for why he would choose to run again in 2016 would make him a puzzle in the eyes of many Republican primary voters. People don’t usually vote for puzzles. There’s no question that Romney feels a call to service and believes that he is uniquely able to solve the problems of the GOP and the country at the moment. But the assumption that he can pluck the good things from his past candidacies while wiping away all the bad stuff from voters’ minds is a deeply flawed reading of how politics works. And it’s why it makes little sense for Romney to run again.
Collapsing oil prices don’t have to mess with Texas By NOAH SMITH BLOOMBERG NEWS
I grew up in Texas and many friends and family members still living there. So I’ll always feel an allegiance to the Lone Star State. That’s one reason I’m worried that the recent plunge in oil prices will devastate the Texas economy, in a replay of the 1980s. The other reason is that the "Texas Miracle" has been one of the big drivers of the U.S. recovery: until recently, Texas was responsible for all of the net job growth in the country since the start of the Great Recession. Yes, you read that right - from December 2007 through October 2014, total employment actually went down in the U.S. exTexas. Now the miracle state is in trouble. Texas has been at the vanguard of the shale fracking boom, both because many of the biggest shale plays are located in the state, and because the companies that provide the technology and services for shale extraction are based there. In 2009, Texas was responsible for a quarter of all U.S. oil production; in 2014, thanks to shale, that number had increased to 40 percent. The collapse in oil prices - down about half from recent protracted highs will be a big problem for Texas’s shale industry. Although many of the Texas shale producer can be prof-
itable even at today’s lower prices, many are not. That means there will be much less incentive to drill new wells to replace the ones that run out. Reduced investment means lower economic activity. Meanwhile, oil services companies such as Schlumberger and Halliburton made fortunes providing the technology to other countries to extract hard-to-get oil when oil prices were high. Now that prices are low, their services won’t be needed as much. Energy is only 11 percent of Texas’ economy. But because of multiplier effects, an oil bust can be much larger than that number would suggest. Oil and oil-services jobs tend to be high- paying, and when workers in those industries get fired or take pay cuts, they don’t buy as many goods and services from the local economy. So the pain spreads. That’s why, after oil prices crashed in the 1980s, Texas’ economy was hit so hard. But during my 18 years growing up in Texas, I learned that the people and institutions of my home state are smart, hard- headed and pragmatic. I believe that Texas will take the necessary steps to make this oil bust less painful than the one in 1986, and to use the opportunity to emerge from the bust with a stronger economy than before.
The 1980s taught Texas the hard lesson that a diversified economy is absolutely essential. In the decade and a half after 1986, Texas’ economy grew by 118 percent, while the mining industry (which includes oil and gas) grew only 18 percent. Even since the shale boom began, Texas has seen much greater employment growth in sectors like professional services and health care than in extractive industries. There is also a substantial high-tech cluster centered in Austin, and Texas actually exports more hightechnology goods to other countries than does California. This will limit the inevitable pain of an oil bust. On a more fundamental level, Texas has a young population, abundant natural resources, low taxes and a friendly regulatory climate. An oil bust doesn’t alter those strengths. That doesn’t mean Texas couldn’t do even more. An oil bust will be the perfect opportunity for the state to shore up its remaining weaknesses. One area in which Texas could do better is higher education. Despite being the second most populous state, Texas has only two universities that make Forbes’ list of the top 100 colleges - tiny Rice University at No. 32, and the University of Texas at No. 76. California, in comparison, has 10. Only 22 percent of
Texans graduate from four-year universities, compared with 35 percent of Californians. Even as a low-tax state, Texas could afford to spend more to boost the performance of its flagship public universities, the University of Texas and Texas A&M University (disclosure: My father is a professor at Texas A&M). Other public schools, such as the University of North Texas, the University of Houston, and Texas Tech, could also use a boost. A second way that Texas could improve is by building better cities. Austin, of course, is such a successful case of urban planning that urbanists study it the world over. But Dallas, Houston and other cities have developed in a more haphazard manner, and could benefit from more cooperation between public and private actors to turn them into truly world-class cities. Every leader in Texas would learn something by reading the writings of Pike Powers, the politicianturned-consultant who helped give Austin the vision that eventually turned it into a vibrant industrial cluster. So although the threat of an oil bust looms, Texas’ leaders shouldn’t hunker down to wait out the siege. They should be implementing the reforms that will fuel the state’s next rise.
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CLASSIC DOONESBURY | GARRY TRUDEAU
Nation
WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 14, 2015
THE ZAPATA TIMES 5A
PLO on trial in US civil case By TOM HAYS ASSOCIATED PRESS
NEW YORK — A U.S. jury at a high-stakes civil trial was asked on Tuesday to decide whether the Palestinian authorities should be held responsible and pay hefty damages for a series of terror attacks in Israel that killed and wounded Americans. “The evidence will show that killing civilians was standard operating procedure for the Palestine Liberation Organization and the Palestinian Authority,” attorney Kent Yalowitz, representing the victims, said in opening arguments at a trial in federal court in Manhattan. Defense attorney Mark Rochon countered in his opening statement that six attacks from 2002 to 2004 were carried out by suicide bombers and gunmen “acting on their own angry, crazy reasons.” The exchange came in a courtroom packed with spectators including people who lost loved ones or suffered injuries in the attacks. Some of the victims are slated to testify at the trial, expected to last at least six weeks. “Terrorism tore these families apart — not just physically, but in many cases, emotionally,” Yalowitz said. The plaintiffs’ lawyer recounted the six deadly attacks that killed dozens, including suicide bombings on a bus and at a university cafeteria. He told jurors they would see payroll records and other documents proving the Palestinian Authority “embraced these crimes” by continuing to pay security officials who organized the attacks, even after they were convicted of murder. After introducing two Palestinian officials who were attending the trial, Rochon argued that the PLO and the Palestinian Authority were victims of guilt by association with assailants in attacks that were never officially
sanctioned. “We are not defending these acts,” Rochon said, calling them “horrific.” But he asked jurors to set aside their emotions over scenes of bloodshed and opinions about the Palestinian-Israeli conflict and instead focus on the question of “whether or not the government I represent should be held liable for things it did not do.” The first witness, Meshhulam Pearlman, testified that he witnessed a bus bombing in Jerusalem in 2004 near a flower shop he operates there. The blast left the street strewn with body parts, he said. “People were severed into pieces. ... It was worse than a war,” said the 70-year-old witness. The 2004 lawsuit was brought under the Antiterrorism Act of 1991 and seeks a billion dollars from the Palestinian Authority and the PLO. Lawyers for the plaintiffs say any damages awarded would be automatically tripled because the claims involved acts of terrorism. The trial went forward despite an unsuccessful lastditch attempt by the PLO and Palestinian Authority to convince appeals judges that a Manhattan court does not have jurisdiction. In court papers, lawyers for the Palestinian Authority and the PLO say a U.S. court should not have jurisdiction over the case just because the PLO maintains a 12-person office in the United States. They say the Palestinian Authority and the PLO’s home is in the West Bank. They also said the publicity of the trial, “some of it inevitable, some of it sought by plaintiffs, will undermine the confidence in the PA’s ability to govern and contribute to a worsening of tensions in the region at a delicate moment.” The trial was to resume today.
Photo by Al Seib/Los Angeles Times | AP
Andrew Garcia, left, is led out of the courtroom by Sheriff’s bailiffs after an outburst during an appearance in Los Angeles Superior Court Monday as one of four defendants being charged in connection to the 2014 beating death of USC graduate student Xinran Ji during an attempted robbery.
Videos at murder hearing show attack of USC student By BRIAN MELLEY ASSOCIATED PRESS
LOS ANGELES — Videos played Tuesday in the case of four teens charged in the murder of a Chinese graduate student showed the victim being surrounded by shadowy figures and then chased down the street. Details were not sharp in the black and white surveillance video, but a prosecutor said later that they showed the beating that killed Xinran Ji. A judge will determine if three of the teens, including two juveniles, will stand trial in the killing of Xinran Ji near the University of Southern California. A fourth suspect faces a later hearing. Authorities allege Jonathan Del Carmen, 19; Andrew Garcia, 19; Alberto Ochoa, 17; and Alejandra Guerrero, 16, were trying to rob Ji, 24, when they beat him with a bat and wrench and left him for dead. Ji was able to make it to his apartment, where a
roommate found him dead in bed in the morning. Photos displayed at the hearing showed Ji lying in his bed in what appeared to be a bloodstained shirt and pants. Puddles, droplets and smears of what looked like blood were found throughout the apartment. Los Angeles Detective Matthew Courtney said he and his partner followed a possible trail of blood from the apartment, down the street and around the corner. The school and Los Angeles police beefed up patrols on and around campus after two Chinese graduate students were murdered outside an off-campus apartment in 2012. The university is surrounded by historically highcrime neighborhoods. The July 24 killing of Ji renewed criticism about the safety of Chinese students at USC. China’s consulate general said it was concerned about student safety at the campus. Until last year, USC had recruited the highest number of for-
eign students in the country for more than a dozen years. It dropped to No. 2 behind New York University, according to a survey by the Institute of International Education, though it remains very popular with students from abroad. About 40 percent of its foreign students are from China. Ji enrolled at the university in 2013 after excelling at one of China’s best universities, where he won a prize for mathematical modeling. Del Carmen and Garcia could face the death penalty if convicted. Ochoa and Guerrero are charged as adults but can only face up to life in prison without the possibility of parole if convicted because of their ages. All four are being held without bail. Proceedings against Garcia were postponed because his lawyer was ill and questions were raised about his mental competency. Garcia blurted out obscenities in court Monday at the end of a brief hearing.
PÁGINA 6A
Zfrontera
Ribereña en Breve JUNTA DE COMISIONADOS El lunes 26 de enero, los Comisionados de la Corte del Condado de Zapata realizarán su junta quincenal en la Sala de la Corte del Condado de Zapata, a partir de las 9 a.m. a 12 p.m. Para mayores informes llame a Roxy Elizondo al (956) 765 9920.
TORNEO DE PESCA El torneo de pesca de bagre Falcon Lake Babe —International Catfish Series— para damas solamente, se llevará a cabo el sábado 14 de febrero. La serie de cinco torneos que se realizan mensualmente desde noviembre finalizará con una ronda de campeonato en el mes de marzo. El torneo es un evento individual que permite hasta tres concursantes por embarcación. Las participantes deberán pagar la cuota de participación en los cinco torneos para tener derecho a la ronda de campeonato. Las inscripciones se realizan el viernes anterior al sábado del torneo en Beacon Lodge Rec. Hall. La cuota de inscripción es de 20 dólares por persona. El siguiente torneo será el 7 de marzo para finalizar con la ronda de campeonato el 7 de marzo. Para mayores informes comuníquese con Betty Ortiz al (956) 236-4590 o con Elcina Buck al (319) 239 5859.
MIÉRCOLES 14 DE ENERO DE 2015
CONDADO DE ZAPATA
Nueva delegada POR GABRIELA A. TREVIÑO TIEMPO DE ZAPATA
Olga M. Elizondo es la primera mujer que sirve como comisionada en la corte de Zapata. Elizondo representa al Precinto 2, que abarca el Norte de Zapata y San Ygnacio. De acuerdo con los resultados de las elecciones primarias del 4 de marzo, Elizondo abatió a su oponente con el 56 por ciento, o 377 votos. Sus oponentes fueron el titular Gabriel Villarreal y Víctor Juan de Dios González, quienes obtuvieron el 32.39 por ciento y el 11.59 por ciento, respectivamente. Elizondo ha estado casada con Ser-
gio Elizondo por 26 años, y la pareja tiene tres hijos: Iván, Eric y Priscilla. Ella dijo que ha vivido en Zapata toda su vida. Elizondo ha servido a la comunidad en varios aspectos desde principios de 1990. Previamente fue la Presidenta de la Asociación de la Liga Pequeña del área, que de acuerdo con su declaración despertó su interés en proyectos juveniles. También se desempeñó como Presidenta de PTO. “Recuerdo cuando mi abuelo, Felipe Morales, me decía que algún día podría ser elegida en la oficina por toda la dedicación a nuestra comunidad en Zapata”, dijo Elizondo a Laredo Morning Times a través de un
mensaje de texto, el sábado. “Mis planes a futuro son tener mayor proyección, mejorar los proyectos que beneficien a los jóvenes y adultos mayores y terminar la pavimentación de las calles. También dijo que planea apoyar el programa antidrogas del departamento del alguacil. “(Planeo) mejorar el equipo del departamento de bomberos del alguacil y, comenzar a planificar la ubicación de un lugar que sea relleno sanitario, y tratar de comprar más ambulancias para transportar a las personas a Laredo”. (Localice a Gabriela A. Treviño en 956-728-2579 o en gtrevino@lmtonline.com)
GUERRERO, TAMAULIPAS
CORTE
RECORRIDO FRONTERIZO
Dos aceptan culpa POR PHILIP BALLI TIEMPO DE ZAPATA
PATROCINIO La Cámara de Comercio de Zapata invita a la comunidad a participar en el Winter Texan & Senior Citizen Appreciation Day, que se celebrará el 19 de febrero en el Centro Comunitario del Condado de Zapata. Durante el evento se reconocerá y mostrará la gratitud de la comunidad para los adultos mayores que contribuyeron con la comunidad. Si desea puede participar como patrocinados: Platino, 2.000 dólares; Oro, 1.000 dólares; Plata, 500 dólares; Bronce, 300 dólares. El dinero recaudado será destinado a la compra de comida, refrescos, entretenimiento, premios y regalos para el evento. En 2013, el evento ayudó a más de 400 adultos mayores participantes. Para más información puede llamar al (956) 7654871.
Foto de cortesía
El Gobernador Egidio Torre Cantú llegó a Guerrero, México, el lunes por la mañana para comenzar un recorrido por la frontera chica. Durante su visita acudió a la escuela secundaria Oscar González Blackaller, junto a la presidenta municipal Nathyelli Elena Contreras Villarreal. En la imagen Torre Cantú posa junto a alumnos de la escuela.
MÉXICO
ALBERGUES El Sistema Para el Desarrollo Integral de la Familia en Miguel Alemán, México, anuncia que se continúa atendiendo a las personas en situación vulnerable que necesiten ser alojadas en albergues invernales durante los próximos días de frío. Así mismo se mantiene una estrecha comunicación y coordinación con los poblados del Área Rural, quienes han asumido la responsabilidad de atender a las personas en vulnerabilidad que acudan a estos albergues, señala un comunicado de prensa de la entidad. Dado que el Sistema Meteorológico Nacional pronosticó que para los próximos días se podrían registrar temperaturas por debajo de los cero grados centígrados se pidió a la población extremar precauciones, sobre todo en los menores de edad y personas adultas, que son los sectores más vulnerables ante los cambios bruscos de temperaturas. La Casa Club del Adulto Mayor y la Estancia Diurna servirán como albergues que serán coordinados por medio de Protección Civil.
ELIZONDO
Robo a oleoductos afecta abundancia de gasolina ASSOCIATED PRESS
MEXICO— La petrolera estatal Petróleos Mexicanos, Pemex, reconoció que algunos estados del país sufren escasez de gasolina debido a las continuas interrupciones en el suministro provocadas por el robo de combustible. Los ladrones, muchas veces vinculados al crimen organizado, suelen hacer tomas clandesti-
nas en los oleoductos que distribuyen la gasolina desde las refinerías a los centros de distribución del centro norte del país. Según informó Pemex en un comunicado, los más afectados en esta ocasión fueron el ducto que une el Golfo de México con la capital y otro en el centro-norte del país. La compañía a veces ha reducido la presión en los oleoductos
para reparar las tomas ilegales pero ahora optó por incrementar el transporte de combustible mediante camiones para evitar el desabastecimiento, aunque advirtió que esta medida no puede reemplazar a los oleoductos porque es 17 veces más costosa. En los nueve primeros meses de 2014 se reportaron 2.500 tomas clandestinas que conllevaron el robo de más de mil millones de dólares de combustible.
Dos de los tres residentes de Zapata acusados formalmente el 25 de noviembre con cargos por contrabando de personas se declararon culpables el lunes ante un juez federal en Laredo. Misti Lea Grandstaff y Mario Humberto Garza III se declararon culpables de un cargo por transportar y tratar de transportar a inmigrantes indocumentados para obtener ganancias financieras durante un ajuste final de la conferencia previa al juicio. El Juez Magistrado Guillermo García aceptó las declaraciones de culpabilidad. Los dos se enfrentan a hasta 10 años en prisión federal y una posible multa de 250.000 dólares. Grandstaff y Garza fueron arrestados el 5 de noviembre después de un intento de contrabando humano que fue frustrado. Garza es un presunto miembro de la banda Valluco. Una tercera persona también fue detenida en relación al caso. La conferencia previa al juicio final para Manuel Alejandro Garza fue terminada el lunes. Alrededor de las 3 p.m. del 5 de noviembre, investigadores de la Oficina del Alguacil del Condado de Zapata llamaron a un agente de la Patrulla Fronteriza (BP, por sus siglas en inglés), para solicitar ayuda con una parada de tráfico en carretera U.S. 83. Los oficiales dijeron al agente que vieron a un conductor, posteriormente identificado como Grandstaff, recogiendo a cuatro personas cerca de una parada de tráfico sobre US 83. Esa información fue transmitida a un ayudante del alguacil, que más tarde detuvo el vehículo, un Pontiac Grand Prix, modelo 1999, color plata. Grandstaff supuestamente admitió haber recogido a los inmigrantes indocumentados y haber sido contratada por Garza para transportar a cuatro de ellos a Zapata por 100 dólares. Los investigadores vieron un Ford Mustang, color rojo, usualmente conducido por Garza que seguía el Pontiac. Oficiales detuvieron el Mustang y detuvieron a tres personas: Garza, su hermano Alejandro Garza y Javier Castro. Más tarde, Mario Garza dijo a las autoridades que él era un miembro de la pandilla Valluco. En una entrevista después de la detención, Grandstaff sostuvo que Garza estuvo involucrado en el intento de contrabando. Mario Garza actuó como la guía a pie del grupo de inmigrantes, mientras que Manuel Garza fue el explorador, ella dijo a la policía. Grandstaff y Garza serán sentenciados en una fecha posterior. (Localice a Philip Balli en 728-2528 o en pballi@lmtonline.com)
REYNOSA, MX
Policía federal rescata a 15 inmigrantes ASSOCIATED PRESS
MEXICO— La Policía Federal rescató a 15 inmigrantes centroamericanos que estuvieron secuestrados durante una semana en una vivienda de Reynosa, en el estado norteño de Tamaulipas, fronterizo con Texas, informaron el sábado autoridades.
El gobierno federal explicó en un comunicado que en el operativo, que no detalla cuándo ocurrió, se detuvo además a una persona que presumiblemente custodiaba el inmueble y vigilaba a las víctimas. Once de los rescatados son hondureños, dos son guatemaltecos y otros dos salvadoreños. Ninguno de ellos cuenta con documentos para
acreditar su estancia legal en el país. Luego de verificarse su estado de salud, las 15 personas fueron trasladadas a las instalaciones del Instituto Nacional de Migración, "con apego a sus derechos humanos y bajo estrictas medidas de seguridad para garantizar su integridad física", añade la nota.
El tráfico por México de inmigrantes sin permiso de residencia que buscan llegar a Estados Unidos es uno de los negocios más lucrativos del crimen organizado y en el estado de Tamaulipas lo realizan tanto el cártel del Golfo como Los Zetas. Muchas veces los inmigrantes son secuestrados e incluso muertos.
WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 14, 2015
ON THE WEB: THEZAPATATIMES.COM
Sports&Outdoors NCAA FOOTBALL
NATIONAL FOOTBALL LEAGUE: DALLAS COWBOYS
Bucks back in Ohio
Garrett set to return
Champions get warm welcome By JENNIFER SMOLA AND KANTELE FRANKO ASSOCIATED PRESS
COLUMBUS, Ohio — Urban Meyer and the national champion Ohio State football team returned home to a rousing welcome on Tuesday. About 75 fans greeted the Buckeyes when they arrived at a Columbus airport, fresh off a 42-20 victory over Oregon at the inaugural championship game of the College Football Playoff on Monday night in Dallas. Meyer, the second coach to win national titles at two schools, walked over to the crowd inside the airport, shook hands and signed a few autographs. His players, including championshipgame MVP Ezekiel Elliott, followed with high-fives for the fans. The players outside, some wearing the championship hats handed out at the game, slapped hands with fans who were bundled up in scarlet and gray hats and coats in 20-degree weather at Rickenbacker International Airport. Tracy Stasiulewicz, of Ashville, was in tears at the airport, just like she was at the end of Monday night’s game. “We know their names. We’ve seen them play the whole time,” she said. “To me, it’s very emotional.” The Buckeyes, who defied naysayers to claim the national title after losing two starting quarterbacks to injuries, earned the final spot in the playoff. They upset Alabama and Oregon behind quarterback Cardale Jones. “You’ll never see anything like that again,” said Ron Chapman, a longtime Buckeyes fan from Pataskala. Some of the players signed a few autographs at the airport before boarding buses for a short ride back to campus, where about 100 people were waiting to meet the team.
Dallas coach agrees to 5-year deal By SCHUYLER DIXON ASSOCIATED PRESS
IRVING, Texas — Dallas coach Jason Garrett fielded questions about his shaky job security for two years before breaking through with the first trip to the playoffs for the Cowboys since 2009. Now he’s all but guaranteed to have the second-longest coaching tenure for the storied franchise behind Tom Landry, the only coach the Cowboys knew for their first 29 years. Garrett has a new five-year contract, and defensive coordinator Rod Marinelli is also coming back on a three-year deal, a person with knowledge of both agreements told The Associated Press on Tuesday. The person spoke on condition of anonymity because the team had yet to announce the deals. Garrett will make about $6 million annually — roughly $30 million in total value — after just completing his first contract, at four years and $20 million. The Cowboys broke through a three-year rut of 8-8 seasons that ended with losses that kept them out of the playoffs by winning the
Photo by Brandon Wade | AP
Jason Garrett agreed to a five-year deal Tuesday to return as head coach of the Dallas Cowboys. NFC East at 12-4. Dallas beat Detroit in the wild-card round before last weekend’s 26-21 divisional round loss at Green Bay. “I really believe that we’ve built something here that we’re all proud of and we’re all excited about taking the next step with this football team,” Garrett said earlier Tuesday, before the deals were settled. “I think we have the right kind of guys on our staff, the right kind of guys on our team and
we’re excited about the opportunities and the challenges ahead.” The 48-year-old Garrett, a former backup on Dallas’ Super Bowl-winning teams of the 1990s, is 42-32 in four-plus seasons and needs two victories to tie his old coach, Jimmy Johnson, for second on the franchise wins list. Landry is third all-time in the NFL with 250 victories. When he finishes the first year of his new contract, Garrett will have coached the Cowboys longer
than Johnson, who won consecutive Super Bowls after the 1992 and ’93 seasons. Landry also won two titles. Marinelli replaced Monte Kiffin as defensive coordinator before this season — a year after they came in together to install a four-man defensive front after Dallas spent nearly a decade in a 3-4 formation. The Cowboys improved from the league’s worst defense to 19th along with being second in takeaways.
PAGE 8A
Zentertainment
WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 14, 2015
‘Boyhood’ tops Golden Globes By LINDSEY BAHR ASSOCIATED PRESS
Photo by Evan Agostini/Invision | AP file
In this Nov. 12, 2014 photo, Ann Curry attends the Panthere de Cartier Collection dinner & party at Skylight Clarkson Studios.
Ann Curry to exit NBC News By FRAZIER MOORE ASSOCIATED PRESS
NEW YORK — Longtime NBC News correspondent and anchor Ann Curry is leaving her fulltime job with the network after a quarter-century. But she will still be seen on NBC platforms, the company said Tuesday in announcing a partnership with her and the media venture she will launch, to be “seeded” by NBCUniversal. The arrangement will allow Curry to report on any platform or network, in or out of NBC News. Her startup will generate content of national and global importance with a multi-platform distribution approach, NBC said. “This is about reaching for the edge of the future in journalism,” Curry said. “I am excited about working to become a valuable link between traditional media and what is to come.” “We’re proud to support Ann in her new venture, and we look forward to more of her exceptional storytelling,” said Pat FiliKrushel, chairman of
NBCUniversal News Group. “She is committed to uncovering critical issues, humanizing them, and ultimately helping viewers understand and connect.” Curry, 58, had been with NBC since 1990, joining as a Chicago-based correspondent. Among her many roles, she anchored “NBC News at Sunrise” for six years and anchored “Dateline NBC.” She also established herself as a globe-trotting correspondent, reporting from such hotspots as Sudan to report on the violence and ethnic cleansing, and to Albania and Macedonia, where she reported on the humanitarian refugee crisis caused by the genocide in Kosovo. Her exit comes 2 1/2 years after she was ousted from the anchor desk of the “Today” show after just a year, during which questions persisted about her comfort level alongside Matt Lauer. Curry spoke warmly of her former co-workers at NBC “and I look forward to what we will do ahead.”
BEVERLY HILLS, Calif. — The Golden Globes inched closer to legitimacy in its 72nd show, giving awards not just to A-List celebrities, but to the edgier productions that unequivocally deserved recognition, including “Boyhood,” “The Grand Budapest Hotel,” and “Birdman.” Adding to the spirit of subversion was the recurring theme of free speech, which dominated the remarks of everyone from George Clooney to Jared Leto. Even hosts Tina Fey and Amy Poehler tackled a myriad of timely, and taboo, topics, including the Sony Hack, North Korea and Bill Cosby. Perhaps this isn’t a new mode for the Globes going forward, but on Sunday, the most readily mocked show of awards season transcended its party reputation to become something more, even if everything got started with the “Entourage” cast using the red carpet to film a scene for their upcoming movie. As for what it all means for the Academy Awards, whose nominations are announced on Thursday, many fields seem more open than ever. Richard Linklater’s “Boyhood” dominated the Globes, winning the night’s top honor, best drama, as well as best director for Linklater and best supporting actress for Patricia Arquette. The 12-years-in-the-making indie effectively captivated audiences, critics, and the industry to become one of the year’s major awards contenders — a streak that could be solidified or destroyed when Oscar nominations are announced. “Bottom line is we’re all flawed in this world. No
Photo by Paul Drinkwater/NBC | AP
Co-hosts Tina Fey, left, and Amy Poehler speak during the 72nd Annual Golden Globe Awards on Sunday at the Beverly Hilton Hotel in Beverly Hills, Calif.
WINNERS AT 72ND GOLDEN GLOBES Films Best picture, drama: "Boyhood" Best picture, comedy or musical: "The Grand Budapest Hotel" Actress, drama: Julianne Moore, "Still Alice" Actor, drama: Eddie Redmayne, "The Theory of Everything" Actor, musical or comedy: Michael Keaton, "Birdman" Actress, musical or comedy: Amy Adams, "Big Eyes" Supporting actor, drama: J.K. Simmons, "Whiplash" Supporting actress, drama: Patricia Arquette, "Boyhood" Director: Richard Linklater, "Boyhood" Screenplay: Alejandro G. Inárritu, Nicolas Giacobone, Alexander Dinelaris, Armando Bo, "Birdman" Foreign language film: "Leviathan," Russia Animated film: "How to Train Your Dragon 2" Original score: Johann Johannsson, "The Theory of Everything" Original song: "Glory," from "Selma"
Television Best series, drama: "The Affair" (Showtime) Best series, comedy or musical: "Transparent" (Amazon) Best television movie or mini-series: "Fargo" (FX) Actress, drama: Ruth Wilson, "The Affair" Actor, drama: Kevin Spacey, "House of Cards" Actress, comedy or musical: Gina Rodriguez, "Jane the Virgin" Actor, comedy or musical: Jeffrey Tambor, "Transparent" Actress, miniseries or television movie: Maggie Gyllenhaal, "The Honorable Woman" Actor, miniseries or television movie: Billy Bob Thornton, "Fargo" Supporting actress, miniseries or television movie: Joanne Froggatt, "Downton Abbey" Supporting actor, miniseries or television movie: Matt Bomer, "The Normal Heart"
one’s perfect,” said Linklater. “I want to dedicate this to parents that are evolving everywhere and families that are just passing through this world and doing their best.” Tied with two wins each were Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu’s dark showbiz film “Birdman” and the Stephen Hawking biopic “The Theory of Everything,” in which Eddie Redmayne emerged victorious in one of the evening’s most hotly contested categories, best actor in a drama. For his portrayal of famed theoretical physicist Stephen Hawking, Redmayne beat out Benedict Cumberbatch (“The Imitation Game”), Steve Carell (“Foxcatcher”), David Oyelowo (“Selma”) and Jake Gyllenhaal (“Nightcrawler”). While Michael Keaton took the best actor prize for “Birdman,” the film flailed in the best comedy or musical category, losing out to Wes Anderson’s “The Grand Budapest Hotel.” Beloved by critics and audiences, Anderson’s dark, whimsical fable was considered a bit of an underdog in the category and awards season on the whole. Awards favorite Julianne Moore won best actress in a drama for her startling performance as an academic with early on-set Alzheimer’s in “Still Alice,” and Amy Adams surprised in taking best actress in a comedy or musical for portraying Margaret Keane in “Big Eyes.” Looking forward to Oscar nominations, the big question has become whether or not “The Imitation Game,” “Selma,” or “Foxcatcher” can regain their footing in the race, and, if Angelina Jolie’s “Unbroken,” shut out at the Globes, could possibly emerge as a serious contender, too.
WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 14, 2015
THE ZAPATA TIMES 9A
International
10A THE ZAPATA TIMES
WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 14, 2015
Weapons came from abroad By LORI HINNANT AND ANGELA CHARLTON ASSOCIATED PRESS
PARIS — France’s prime minister demanded tougher anti-terrorism measures Tuesday after deadly attacks that some call this country’s Sept. 11 — and that may already be leading to a crackdown on liberties in exchange for greater security. Police told The Associated Press that the weapons used came from abroad, as authorities in several countries searched for possible accomplices and the sources of financing for last week’s attacks on the satirical newspaper Charlie Hebdo, a kosher market and police. A new suspect was identified in Bulgaria. “We must not lower our guard, at any time,” Prime Minister Manuel Valls told Parliament, adding that “serious and very high risks remain.” Lawmakers in the often argumentative chamber lined up overwhelmingly behind the government, giving repeated standing ovations to Valls’ rousing, indignant address — and then voted 488-1 to extend French airstrikes against Islamic State extremists in Iraq. “France is at war against terrorism, jihadism, and radical Islamism,” Valls declared. “France is not at war against Islam.” He called for increased surveillance of imprisoned radicals and told the interior minister to quickly come up with new security proposals. French police say as many as six members of the terrorist cell that carried out the Paris attacks may still be at large, including a man seen driving a car registered to the widow of one of the gunmen. The country has deployed 10,000 troops to protect sensitive sites, including Jewish schools and synagogues, mosques and travel hubs. Several people are being sought in connection with
Photo by Bob Edme | AP
Soldiers guard the synagogue of Bayonne, southwestern France, Tuesday. France ordered 10,000 troops into the streets Monday. the “substantial” financing of the three gunmen behind the terror campaign, said Christophe Crepin, a French police union official. The gunmen’s weapons stockpile came from abroad, and the size of it, plus the military sophistication of the attacks, indicated an organized terror network, he added. “This cell did not include just those three. We think with all seriousness that they had accomplices, because of the weaponry, the logistics and the costs of it,” Crepin said. “These are heavy weapons. When I talk about things like a rocket launcher — it’s not like buying a baguette on the corner. It’s for targeted acts.” Speaking to legislators in London, the head of the European police agency Europol, Rob Wainwright, said that 3,000 to 5,000 European nationals have gone to fight in the Mideast, calling it a “startling figure” and “the most serious threat Europe has faced since 9/11.” He urged better intel sharing, saying later to the BBC: “The way the network is diffuse in nature, not homogenous, not centralized, but a gathering of thousands of independent and semi-independent actors makes it very, very difficult for the security agencies to monitor it wholesale.” In a sign that French judicial authorities were using laws against defending
terrorism to their fullest extent, a man who had praised the terror attacks while resisting arrest on a drunk driving violation was swiftly sentenced to four years in prison. While the attacks have left France in jitters, some warned against going as far as a French version of the U.S. Patriot Act passed after Sept. 11. “This must not lead to the renouncing of fundamental freedoms, otherwise we prove right those who come to fight on our soil,” former Prime Minister Francois Fillon said on France-Inter radio. The investigation spread to yet another country: A Bulgarian prosecutor announced that a Frenchman jailed since Jan. 1 had ties to Cherif Kouachi, one of the brothers who carried out the Charlie Hebdo attack. The man, identified by French prosecutors as Joachim Fritz-Joly, was arrested as he tried to cross into Turkey. He was facing two European arrest warrants, one citing his alleged links to a terrorist organization and a second for allegedly kidnapping his 3-year-old son and smuggling him out of the country, said Darina Slavova, the regional prosecutor for Bulgaria’s southern province of Haskovo. “He met with Kouachi several times at the end of December,” Slavova said. The child was sent back to his mother in France. At a hearing in Haskovo
on Tuesday, authorities decided to keep Fritz-Joly in custody until another hearing to determine whether he will be extradited to France. The Frenchman told the court he had known Cherif Kouachi since childhood. “A man can have friends and they can do whatever they want, but I am simply going on vacation and have nothing to do with it,” he told the court. Kouachi and his older brother, Said, killed 12 people at the satirical paper’s offices on Jan. 7, while their friend, Amedy Coulibaly, killed a French policewoman Thursday and four hostages Friday in a Paris kosher grocery. All three claimed ties to Islamic extremists in the Middle East — the Kouachis to al-Qaida in Yemen and Coulibaly to the Islamic State group. All three gunmen died Friday in clashes with French police. Authorities were searching around Paris for the Mini Cooper registered to Hayat Boumeddiene, Coulibaly’s widow, who Turkish officials say is now in Syria. French police also sought the person or persons who filmed and posted a video of Coulibaly explaining how the attacks in Paris would unfold. Earlier Tuesday, in ceremonies thousands of miles apart, France and Israel paid tribute to the victims of the terror attacks. At police headquarters in Paris, French President Francois Hollande placed Legion of Honor medals on the flag-draped caskets of the three police officers killed in the attacks. France will be “merciless in the face of antiSemitic, anti-Muslim acts, and unrelenting against those who defend and carry out terrorism, notably the jihadists who go to Iraq and Syria,” Hollande vowed. A ceremonial unit of the New York Police Department, including Muslim officers, was among those attending the service for the slain officers.
Cuba dissidents praise detente By ANNE-MARIE GARCIA AND ANDREA RODRIGUEZ ASSOCIATED PRESS
HAVANA — Cuban dissidents freed as part of a historic detente with the United States said Tuesday they support the warming of relations and predicted it will help their efforts to bring change inside their country. Fifty-three dissidents were let go, most in the last week, as part of a deal that also saw both countries free high-profile prisoners charged with espionage and move to normalize relations after five decades of tension. Some members of the Cuban opposition have criticized the deal, saying Washington didn’t win enough concessions — an argument echoed by critics of Cuba’s government outside the country, such as U.S. Sen. Robert Menendez, who called the deal “one-sided
and misguided” on Tuesday. “Will these 53 political prisoners be able to peacefully work in their country for freedom and human rights — or will they be thrown into Castro’s gulags once again?” Menendez said on the Senate floor. But freed dissidents interviewed by The Associated Press all expressed confidence that the decrease in tensions with the U.S. will improve life in Cuba and make their activism easier. Angel Yunier Remon Arzuaga, a rapper known as “The Critic,” said the detente “gives me the strength to keep demanding our rights and freedoms.” Cuba has long described domestic dissenters as agents backed by the U.S. and by expatriate critics of leaders Fidel and Raul Castro. Remon was arrested in 2013. He said state security
agents painted his house with pro-government slogans, leading to a fight with police. He was sentenced to six years for attacking state security. Held five miles from his house in eastern Cuba, he was loaded into a car Thursday and driven outside the prison. “Right there they gave me a release document and said, ‘Get out,”’ Remon said. “It’s a hard blow against the regime when they themselves have to let out people when they supposedly had proof that they’d committed crimes,” he said. He called the U.S.-Cuba deal “a historic moment, an overwhelming event for my country, and I feel very proud.” Miguel Alberto Ulloa, a 25-year-old Havana man arrested in 2013 for painting anti-government slogans, said that he will stay at
home until the charges against him expire in two months but that he’s “eager to go to the street, speak out, show that I’m dissatisfied.” He said he had watched Raul Castro and President Barack Obama’s simultaneous announcements from prison on Dec. 17 and of the 100 or so prisoners of all types watching with him, “some were happy and others not.”
Photo by Sunday Alamba | AP
In this Nov. 27, 2014 photo, children displaced after attacks by Boko Haram line up in the camp of internal displace people in Yola.
Nigerian survivors describe killings By HARUNA UMAR AND CHRISTOPHER TORCHIA ASSOCIATED PRESS
MAIDUGURI, Nigeria — Survivors of an assault by Islamic militants that killed a large number of civilians in Nigeria have described days of relentless violence in which, one witness said, some people were slaughtered “like insects.” The accounts were given by villagers who fled the carnage in and around Baga, a town in Borno state that lies in the northeastern corner of Nigeria near the border with Chad. The killing unfolded over several days after Boko Haram fighters seized a key military base there on Jan. 3. Amnesty International has said there are reports that the death toll could be as high as 2,000, though some witnesses cite lower tolls in the hundreds. Maj. Gen. Chris Olukolade, a military spokesman, said Monday that the evidence available so far indicates a death toll of no more than 150, including insurgents killed in combat with troops. The military has said 14 soldiers were killed and 30 were wounded in the Baga attack, and that it was making a plan to restore “law, order and normalcy” to the area. U.N. chief Ban Ki-moon as well as the United States
and other countries have condemned the Baga bloodshed, which highlights the increasingly brazen tactics of an insurgent movement in Nigeria’s northeast as well as the inability of Nigerian forces to respond effectively. President Goodluck Jonathan is running for re-election in Feb. 14 elections, but it is uncertain how voting can proceed in areas under Boko Haram’s sway. In Washington, State Department spokeswoman Marie Harf said the U.S. still was trying to get information from the ground on reported atrocities. She said Nigeria needed to move forward with “credible and peaceful elections” despite the attacks, but acknowledged it would be difficult. “Boko Haram is a huge threat,” Harf said. She said the U.S. was trying to work with Nigeria despite the government’s termination in November of a third phase of a training operation involving a Nigerian army battalion. She also condemned “horrific reports today of young girls being used to conduct suicide attacks.” Boko Haram is suspected of using a 10-year-old girl to detonate a bomb at a market in Maiduguri on Saturday, killing at least 10 people and seriously injuring others.
WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 14, 2015
THE ZAPATA TIMES 11A
Government predicts shale slowdown as oil falls By JONATHAN FAHEY ASSOCIATED PRESS
NEW YORK — As oil’s long slide continued, the Energy Department forecast Tuesday that production from U.S. shale operators will begin to tail off in the second half of the year. The decline would mark the first such drop in what has been a 6-year boom in U.S. onshore crude production.
The price of oil fell Tuesday, dipping briefly under $45, before ending down 18 cents to $45.89 a barrel. That’s the lowest since the spring of 2009, and a drop of 58 percent over the past six months. Oil fell after the energy minister for the United Arab Emirates, a member of OPEC, suggested that the cartel will not lower production to reduce global supplies in an effort to re-
verse falling prices. Brent crude, an international benchmark used to price oil used by many U.S. refineries, fell 84 cents to close at $46.59 a barrel in London. Low crude prices are leading to significant savings for buyers of diesel, gasoline, jet fuel and heating oil. Typical U.S. households will spend $750 less on gasoline this year than in 2014,
ANGEL R. "NANO" RAMIREZ
clude forecasts for 2016. Onshore fields in North Dakota, Texas and elsewhere have driven the enormous increase in U.S. crude oil production over the past 6 years. That rise, combined with more supplies from Iraq, Canada and elsewhere, is the main factor pulling down global oil prices. But those lower prices have already begun to force drillers to delay or cancel plans for new explo-
ration, and the EIA expects a slip in onshore production in the second half of this year. Production from those fields is expected to peak at 7.4 million barrels per day in May, and fall to 7.2 million barrels per day by December. “Many oil companies have cut back on their exploration drilling in response to falling crude prices,” EIA Administrator Adam Sieminski said.
LEGISLATURE Continued from Page 1A
Aug. 2, 1948 – Jan. 10, 2015 Angel R. “Nano” Ramirez, passed away on January 10, 2015 at Doctors Hospital in Laredo, Texas. Mr. Ramirez is preceded in death by his parents, Ramiro and Linda G. Ramirez; and sister, Reyna Ramirez. Mr. Ramirez is survived by his brothers, Juan Armin (San Juana) Ramirez, Manuel Ramiro (+Sylvia) Ramirez, Jose Roberto (Maria Guadalupe) Ramirez; sisters, Romelia (+Carlos) Garza, San Juana (Juan Manuel) Vidal, and Leticia (Javier) Rodriguez; and by numerous cousins, nephews, nieces, other family members and friends. Visitation hours were held on Sunday, January 11, 2015, from 2 p.m. to 9 p.m. with a Catholic service at 7 p.m. at Rose Garden Funeral Home. Interment will follow at a later date at Panteon Municipal
because the average gasoline price will fall to $2.33 per gallon, from $3.36 last year, the Energy Department also forecast Tuesday. The national average stood at $2.12 a gallon Tuesday, according to AAA, the lowest in nearly 6 years. The forecast was part of a monthly outlook released by the Energy Department’s Energy Information Administration. It was EIA’s first outlook to in-
in Nva. Ciudad Guerrero, Tamps. Funeral arrangements were under the direction of Rose Garden Funeral Home Daniel A. Gonzalez, Funeral Director, 2102 N. U.S. Hwy 83 Zapata, Texas.
ery statewide office, from governor through the state appeals courts, and enjoys strong majorities in the House and Senate. It plans to use it. Energized by landslide wins for the top posts, Republicans have vowed to keep pushing an already conservative state even further right. That likely means renewed debates over beefing up border security, expanding where and how Texans can carry guns and whether to allow parents to use state money for private school vouchers. Central to it all will be the twoyear state budget, the Legislature’s only must-pass bill. Lawmakers will have $7.5 billion left unspent from the current budget for their 2016-2017 spending plan, a figure Republicans will likely use to push for tax cuts. But the economy is a source of some budget anxiety. Oil has been trading below $50 a barrel for the first time since 2009, and new state Comptroller Glen Hegar warned that oil production and regulation tax revenues could drop by up to 14 percent.
“I am confident that we’ll be able to craft a budget that prioritizes education, border security, jobs and transportation funding,” and still cut taxes, Gov.-elect Greg Abbott said. Lines to access the House and Senate galleries — including lawmakers’ relatives, friends and top supporters — snaked around part of the stately rotunda and down three flights of steps before Tuesday’s session began. “It’s like the first day of school,” said Deputy State Fire Marshall John Nichols, who has been handling opening days in the Legislature since 1995. The only partisan bitterness Tuesday was the House speaker vote, but the fact that a vote was held was more dramatic than the lopsided results themselves. Gun-rights advocates, meanwhile, were holding a rally outside the Capitol pushing for laws allowing open-carry of handguns, with some even bringing a 3-D printer that produces components finishing out the lower receiver of an AR-15 rifle. “Our most important weapon is
our voice and we defend it with the Second Amendment,” said Pablo Friars of Arlington, with an AR-15 over his right shoulder and a bullhorn in his left hand. Gov. Rick Perry’s 14-year tenure ends Jan. 20, when Abbott, the former state attorney general, is sworn in. Also taking office then is incoming Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick, a longtime leader of the party’s right wing. He’s pledged an ultra-conservative agenda on issues such as immigration and school vouchers. Patrick also could lead an effort to grab even more power for Senate Republicans. The lieutenant governor-elect has said he wants the Senate to lower the traditional threshold for passing bills in that chamber from two-thirds to 60 percent. That would effectively marginalize Senate Democrats, whose 11 members have just enough votes to block especially contentious bills from coming up. Senators said Tuesday that they don’t expect any votes on the rules until next week — setting up the first Senate showdown of the session.
GUILTY Continued from Page 1A and attempting to transport undocumented immigrants for financial gain during a final pretrial conference setting. U.S. Magistrate Judge Guillermo Garcia accepted the guilty pleas. The two are facing up to 10 years in federal prison and a possible $250,000 fine. Grandstaff and Garza were arrested Nov. 5 after a thwarted human smuggling
attempt. Garza is an alleged Valluco gang member. A third individual was also arrested in connection to the case. The final pretrial conference hearing for Manuel Alejandro Garza was terminated Monday. At about 3 p.m. Nov. 5, Zapata County Sheriff ’s Office investigators flagged down a Border Patrol agent, requesting help with a traffic stop
on U.S 83. They told the agent they saw a driver, later identified as Grandstaff, picking up four people near the brush on U.S. 83. That information was relayed to a sheriff ’s deputy, who then pulled over the vehicle, a 1999 silver Pontiac Grand Prix. Grandstaff allegedly admitted to picking up the illegal immigrants and that she
NEW
had been hired by Garza to transport four of them to Zapata for $100. Investigators had seen a red Ford Mustang usually driven by Garza following the Pontiac. Deputies pulled over the Mustang and detained three people: Garza, his brother Alejandro Garza and Javier Castro. Mario Garza later told authorities he was a member of the Valluco gang.
In a post-arrest interview, Grandstaff claimed the Garzas were involved in the smuggling attempt. Mario Garza acted as the foot guide for the group of immigrants while Manuel Garza was the scout, she told law enforcement. Grandstaff and Garza will be sentenced at a later date. (Philip Balli may be reached at 728-2528 or pballi@lmtonline.com)
Continued from Page 1A a standby location for a landfill, and try to buy more ambulances to transport people to Laredo.” (Gabriela A. Treviño may be reached at 956-728-2579 or gtrevino@lmtonline.com)
VIGILANTE Continued from Page 1A that freeing her would be a violation of victims’ rights, and that the governor’s intervention constituted improper political pressure on prosecutors, who have the final say on such decisions. “I ask the governor to respect the law, and enforce it,” Miranda de Wallace said. “To respect the rule of law, and the independence of prosecutors.” She said some victims fear for their safety if Salgado and other radical community police leaders are released. Miranda de Wallace also said a group of congressmen had been
improperly lobbying for Salgado’s release. “They should let the judiciary do its work, within the framework of the law.” One legislator pressing for Salgado’s release said Tuesday it was a simple question of rectifying violations of Salgado’s human rights. “We are getting involved as part of an effort to defend human rights,” said federal congressman Roberto Lopez of the leftist Democratic Revolution Party. “What we want is for the law to be applied and due process be respected.” Lopez said Salgado had been
arrested unjustly "because she had affected political interests” by detaining a town councilman and fighting drug trafficking. Lopez also said she had not been given consular assistance, as a U.S. citizen is entitled, nor had been she been given adequate access to legal representation. Much of the dispute revolves around the somewhat hazy legal standing of community police in Guerrero. Lopez argued that state law 701 guarantees towns the right to form community police; however, that law applies on-
ly to Indian communities, and Miranda de Wallace noted that Salgado is not an Indian, nor was she elected under a traditional Indian governance system. Salgado, from the Seattle suburb of Renton, has been accused of kidnapping in connection with the arrest of several teenage girls on suspicion of drug dealing, and of a town official for allegedly trying to steal a cow at the scene of a double killing. The Guerrero state government said following the arrest that authorities had received complaints from the families of
six kidnappings victims, including three minors, and that ransom had been demanded. Salgado grew up in Olinala, a mountainous town of farmers and artisans. She moved to the U.S. when she was about 20, settling in the Seattle area and working as a waitress and cleaning apartments. The killing of a taxi driver in Olinala who refused to pay protection money to a cartel sparked Salgado and others to form the vigilante group, which mounted patrols to protect residents from the gang.
12A THE ZAPATA TIMES
WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 14, 2015