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TEXAS POLITICS
FOUR-VEHICLE COLLISION
5 killed in crash DPS reports all victims were from Laredo By GABRIELA A. TREVIÑO THE ZAPATA TIMES
Photo by Eric Gay | AP
Texas Gov. Rick Perry delivers a farewell speech to a joint session of the Texas Legislature, Thursday.
Perry bids farewell to Legislature
Five men from Laredo died in a four-vehicle collision early Thursday in Dimmit County, authorities reported. The collision involved a tanker tractor-trailer, two pickups and a van. The deceased were all passengers in the van. They were identified as Justin Lara, 21, Juan Francisco Medellin, 65,
Edward Peña, 22, Carlos Rubio, 30, and Sergio Javier Veyro, 50, according to the Texas Department of Public Safety. The Texas Department of Transportation first reported the collision at 9 a.m. It occurred on U.S. 83, two miles north of Asherton in Dimmit, said Trooper Maria Loredo, DPS spokeswoman. All vehicles were heading
See CRASH PAGE 11A
Courtesy photo | News 4 San Antonio, WOAI-TV
Wreckage is shown from a four-vehicle collision that killed five men from Laredo on Thursday on U.S. 83 in Dimmit County.
EAGLE FORD SHALE
ECONOMIES ON EDGE
Gov. preaches bipartisanship, touts record at final session By JONATHAN TILOVE AUSTIN AMERICAN-STATESMAN
AUSTIN — Gov. Rick Perry, completing the longest stint of any governor in Texas history and preparing to make his second run for president, bid farewell Thursday to the Legislature where he first arrived 30 years ago as a young Democratic state representative from Paint Creek. Perry told the joint session assembled in the House chamber that he was bequeathing to Gov.-elect Greg Abbott — who takes the oath of office Tuesday — an economically vibrant and fiscally sound state built on job creation and low taxes. He said, "I couldn’t pick a better successor than Greg Abbott, and he couldn’t have two better partners to lead this state than (Lt. Gov.-elect) Dan Patrick and (House Speaker) Joe Straus." Perry, who has presided over an unprecedented period of Republican dominance in Texas politics, also preached the gospel of bipartisanship, consensus and compromise, a message that seemed mostly tailored to his fellow Republicans. That was just as well because most of the House Democrats, whose caucus to choose their leader for the coming session ran up against the start of Perry’s speech, were noshows for Perry’s last hurrah as governor. Perry touted his record on everything from border security and wind energy to lawsuit reform and the creation of drug courts and diversion programs that, he said, have made Texas safer even as the state closed three prisons. But pride of place in Perry’s pantheon of achievements was, as always, job creation. "While the rest of the nation has lost middleclass jobs, Texas has created them. In fact, Texas has created new jobs in every income category," Perry said. His message of cooperation seemed aimed at presenting him to a national audience as a man who could bring not just Texas’ economic success to the nation, but also a can-do spirit to Washington. "There is not a single accomplishment I have
See FAREWELL PAGE 11A
Photo by William Luther/The San Antonio Express-News | AP
This May 14, 2014 photo shows an oil production flare, also called a flare stack, near Karnes City, Texas. The recent crash in oil prices feels as different in San Antonio and rural South Texas as the divide between city life and ranching.
Plunge in crude prices affects small businesses By JENNIFER HILLER SAN ANTONIO EXPRESS-NEWS
PEARSALL, Texas — The recent crash in oil prices feels as different in San Antonio and rural South Texas as the divide between city life and ranching. In San Antonio, economists expect that a plunge in oil prices from above $100 to below $50 per barrel means a slight negative impact, likely to be shrugged away by the
strength of industries such as military, medical and tourism. But drive an hour south to a region where drilling rigs punctuate the sky, and there’s an anticipated swing from boom to belt tightening. “It’s a recipe for disaster for small businesses,” said Huy Doan, who in the past two years has opened two Donut Palace locations in Pearsall. “The reason I came
here was for the oil field. I’m worried.” It’s not yet obvious while trucks rumble through town and signs still shout “Now Hiring! Drivers Wanted!!” But a slowdown is creeping in. Companies have started pulling back drilling plans. One of Doan’s regular customers said his oil field crew was trimmed from 100 to seven. Plenty of oil field workers and locals still swing by
the Donut Palace daily, but not as many as before. “We’ll see some pretty big changes over the next few quarters,” said George Wommack of Petro Waste Environmental, which operates oil field disposal sites across the Eagle Ford region. Wommack grew up in Midland in an oil and gas family, and doesn’t think people have realized what low oil prices
See SHALE PAGE 11A
U.S.-MEXICO
New law requires ID for all currency exchange By MALENA CHARUR THE ZAPATA TIMES
A new regulation instituted by the Mexican government requiring buyers and sellers of pesos and-or dollars at currency exchange houses in Mexico to present identification continues to create uncertainty and discomfort. The Official Journal of the Federation on Dec. 31 published a resolution that amends, adds and re-
peals general provisions of Article 95 of the Ley General de Organizaciones y Actividades Auxiliares del Crédito (General Law of Organizations and Auxiliary Credit Activities), applicable to exchange houses, according to the journal’s web site. It became law on Jan. 1. Fernando Torres Villarreal, president of the National Chamber of Commerce in Nuevo Laredo, Mexico, also known as
CANACO, said there were doubts about the legislation and how the government has implemented these measures. “In this sense there is urgency. It is published one day to take affect the next. Why the rush?” Torres Villarreal said. The publication states that when individual users perform transactions in foreign currency or travelers’ checks for less than $3,000 in U.S. dollars
or its equivalent in foreign currency, the exchange will collect and maintain a data system that will store information obtained from users’ identification cards. Torres Villarreal said, according to the law, that the objective is to strengthen the perception and confidence of the Mexican financial system, and therefore promotes the development of currency houses. However,
reality reflects another picture. “We feel it’s the opposite. The preamble to the resolution is unclear. They ask for data when a person buys or sells, up to $3,000. This leaves the exchange houses in limbo as they are forced to ask for identification from the person who would buy $1 for fear of a fine,” Torres Villarreal said. According to the Official Journal of the Feder-
ation those who exchange up to $3,000 in at currency exchange houses must state their full name, gender, birth date, state and country of birth, occupation, phone number and email address through a number of Mexican or other identification cards, from the buyer’s country. Torres said that such requested information creates buyer mistrust
See CURRENCY PAGE 7A