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ZAPATA COUNTY FAIR
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Parade marshals Zaragoza and Tammy Rodriguez selected SPECIAL TO THE TIMES
Courtesy photo
Zaragoza IV and Tammy Arambula Rodriguez were named the 2016 Zapata County Fair parade marshals.
The Zapata County Fair Association board of directors and members have named Zaragoza IV and Tammy Arambula Rodriguez the 2016 ZCF Parade Marshals. Zar and Tammy are Zapata natives, graduates of Zapata High School and very proud graduates of Texas A&M UniversityCorpus Christi. Zar and Tammy have been involved with the Zapata County Fair since they were in third grade, so fortunately they are no strangers to livestock shows. Growing up, Zar raised and showed goats, and then continued raising and showing lambs, hogs and steers until he graduated from high school. He was a member of the North 4H Club and served as vice-president and president throughout his years
OPEN CARRY
in 4H. He also participated in Leadership Lab in Brownwood, Texas, and 4H roundup. Upon entering Zapata High School, Zar became an FFA member. Tammy raised and showed lambs until she graduated from high school. She was a member of the Lucky Clover 4H Club where she served as secretary for several years, and then became an FFA member at Zapata High School. As 4H and FFA members, Zar and Tammy participated in activities such as Toys for Tots, food drives, community beautification projects, ZCF parades as well as many more activities. After graduating from TAMU-CC, Zar and Tammy decided to move back to Zapata where they started their careers. Tammy is
See MARSHALS PAGE 10A
Zapata is 5thpoorest county By ALEXA URA TEXAS TRIBUNE
Texas continues to be home to some of the poorest counties in the country with poverty most prevalent along the Texas-Mexico border, census figures show. Zapata County is the fifth-poorest in the state. The latest county-level poverty estimates from the U.S. Census Bureau, re-
leased in December, show that poverty is disproportionately distributed across the state. Among counties with at least 10,000 residents, border counties face the highest rates of residents living in poverty — nearly one in three people in South Texas. Meanwhile, suburban counties near the state’s
See POOREST PAGE 10A
US SUPREME COURT
IMMIGRATION QUESTION Courtesy photo
The Zapata County Courthouse, 200 E. 7th St., is shown in this file photo. Some of Texas’ local officials are reviewing longstanding firearm policies after Paxton’s recent opinion.
Guns may be allowed in courthouses Texas attorney general writes opinion that could limit local governments’ ban ASSOCIATED PRESS
AUSTIN, Texas — An argument has emerged over a Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton ruling that could limit the ability of local governments to ban guns in courtrooms and a law that legislators say was meant to prohibit guns inside courthouses. Some local officials are reviewing longstanding firearm policies after Paxton’s recent opinion may have come into conflict with a 2003 law that prohibited the carrying of guns in any building with a courtroom, The Dallas Morning News reports. The wrangling rests on the word “premises” and different interpretations. A Texas “open carry” law
that took effect Jan. 1 lets license holders carry handguns holstered to their hips or otherwise in plain sight. The law has caused a fresh look at gun policies, and complaints have surfaced about the scope of some government entities’ court-related gun bans, particularly in multi-use buildings. In a nonbinding opinion, Paxton settled last month on a narrower interpretation of the law — that handguns may only be barred inside courtrooms and related offices. But he provided some flexibility and local officials have looked to justify their longstanding courthouse bans based on the Texas
See COURTHOUSES PAGE 10A
Photo by Jacquelyn Martin | AP file
In this Nov. 20, 2015 file photo, Ingrid Vaca, originally of Bolivia, speaks during rally for immigration reform in front of the White House in Washington. The Supreme Court has agreed to an election-year review of President Barack Obama’s executive orders to allow up to 5 million immigrants to “come out of the shadows” and work legally in the U.S.
Justices to review Obama’s executive power By MARK SHERMAN ASSOCIATED PRESS
WASHINGTON — The Supreme Court stepped into a boiling political dispute over immigration Tuesday, setting up a likely decision in the middle of a presidential campaign marked by harsh rhetoric about immigrants. The justices agreed to review whether President Barack Obama, acting without congressional approval, has the power to shield from deportation up to 5 million immigrants living in the U.S. illegally and make them eligible to work
without fear of being rounded up. Underscoring the political dimension, the case will be argued in April and decided by late June, about a month before both political parties gather for their nominating conventions. If Obama prevails against opponents led by Republican governors, there would be roughly seven months left in his presidency to implement plans that would affect the parents of U.S. citizens and lawful permanent residents, as well as some people who arrived in the United States before they
turned 16. “We are confident that the policies will be upheld as lawful,” White House spokeswoman Brandi Hoffine said after the court’s announcement Tuesday. At issue is the Deferred Action for Parents of Americans program, which Obama said in late 2014 would allow people who have been in the United States more than five years and who have children who are in the country legally to “come out of the shadows and get right with the law.” He also announced the expansion of a program that affects people who came
here illegally as children. That earlier program, Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, is not being challenged and has resulted in more than 720,000 young immigrants being granted permission to live and work in the United States. When he announced the measures 14 months ago, Obama said he was acting under his own authority because Congress had failed to overhaul the immigration system. The Senate did pass legislation on a bipartisan vote, but House
See IMMIGRATION PAGE 10A