The Zapata Times 2/7/2015

COWBOYS’ RANDLE IN TROUBLE

SATURDAY FEBRUARY 7, 2015

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BORDER REGION BEHAVIORAL HEALTH CENTER

Counselor wanted for abuse Police find in diary that friend encouraged her

By CÉSAR G. RODRIGUEZ THE ZAPATA TIMES

MONTALVO

A manhunt continues for a mental health counselor in Laredo who allegedly sexually molested a United Independent School District student, officials said.

Iris Rodriguez, a 25year-old Border Region Behavioral Health Center employee, remains at large. She has several warrants out for her arrest: indecency with a child, ha-

rassment and unlawful restraint.

The Webb County District Attorney’s Office approved warrants in connection with the harassment and unlawful restraint charges Jan. 22.

A statement UISD released Jan. 28 said the investigation involving a female student yielded arrest warrents for Rodriguez, who is with the Child, Adolescent and Parent Services program, or CAPS unit, at the Border

Regional Behavioral Health Center. She has been suspended without pay.

The CAPS unit is geared toward children ages 3 to 17 who are diagnosed with a mental illness, according to the center’s website.

On Thursday, it came to light that a UISD paraprofessional with knowledge of the improper relationship between Rodriguez and the student lied to authorities when they ques-

tioned him about the case, according to court documents.

Court records identified the suspect as Jose Eliver Montalvo, 36. He was arrested Wednesday and charged with making a false report to a police officer. Montalvo later posted bond from the Webb County Jail.

He has been placed on administrative leave from the district, said UISD

RODRIGUEZ

See ABUSE PAGE 9A

VATICAN

ZAPATA LIONS CLUB

Photo by Gregorio Borgia | AP

Pope Francis gives a speech in the Synod hall at the Vatican, Thursday.

Courtesy photos

HARLEM AMBASSADORS INSPIRE The Zapata Lions Club hosted the Harlem Ambassadors at Zapata Middle School Thursday not only for a comedy basketball show, but to encourage students to stay in school and stay off drugs. Over 800 people were in attendance to watch the Lion Tail Twisters and Harlem Ambassadors face off.

According to their website, the Harlem Ambassadors encourage kids to work hard in school, respect themselves and their peers and believe in themselves. Their slogan on Thursday was “Drug Free – College Degree.” Many sponsors made the event possible, including the offices of District Attorney Isidro “Chilo” Alaniz, Zapata County Attorney Said Alfonso Figueroa and Zapata County Sheriff Jose Alfonso Lopez.

Pope’s letter eyes border, immigrants Francis: ‘Inhuman’ conditions for migrants on US-Mexico border

By NICOLE WINFIELD ASSOCIATED PRESS

VATICAN CITY — Pope Francis has decried the “inhuman” conditions facing migrants crossing the U.S.-Mexico border and has encouraged communities there not to judge people by stereotypes but welcome migrants and work to end discrimination.

Francis made the appeal in a letter to a Jesuit priest who helps organize Catholic teens in Nogales, Arizona, to support the Kino Border Initiative, which advocates a more humane solution to migration. The letter was dated Dec. 19 but was made public on Kino’s website recently.

See POPE PAGE 9A

MEXICO

Price plunge adds new wrinkle to energy reform

By JIM MALEWITZ AND JULIÁN AGUILAR TEXAS TRIBUNE

Photo by Cuate Santos | The Zapata Times file

In this May 23, 2014, file photo, Congressman Henry Cuellar, at podium, and representatives of Activo Integral Burgos, officials from Petróleos Mexicanos (PEMEX), addressed the impact shale oil production has had on South Texas and energy collaboration between the United States and Mexico.

After years of political wrangling, Mexico is poised to open up its state-run energy monopoly to private investment — pumping excitement into Texas, where officials have talked about oil-tinged partnerships that might lift border towns out of poverty.

But as global crude oil prices plunge, will investors walk through that door?

Oil’s value has tumbled

roughly 50 percent since June, triggering layoffs and big budget cuts across the industry. That only increases the pressure on Mexican officials, who are seeking to court investors for an emerging market while overhauling a 75-year-old energy policy.

“While many are eager to begin development in Mexico, and there are plenty of service providers in South Texas that are well-positioned, you will see that most companies will be in a holding pattern until the time is

right,” said Omar Garcia, president of the South Texas Energy and Economic Roundtable, an industry group.

State officials have spent plenty of time contemplating what Mexico’s sweeping energy reforms mean for Texas, which could lend its southern neighbor a century’s worth of industry expertise. In August, with oil prices still relatively high, the Texas Senate formed a subcommittee to study the reform, which Mex-

See MEXICO PAGE 9A

Nation

10A THE ZAPATA TIMES

SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 7, 2015

Some think third rail made accident deadlier

By JIM FITZGERALD AND JENNIFER PELTZ ASSOCIATED PRESS

VALHALLA, N.Y. — It was a hellish scenario investigators had never seen before: 400 feet of electrified third rail snapped into 39-foot pieces and speared a commuter train during a fiery collision with an SUV. Now officials want to know whether the rail’s unusual design explains why the crash was so uncommonly deadly.

The pieces went through the first car of the train “like daggers going into the heart of that chamber,” Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., said Friday after getting a look at the blackened, mangled wreckage.

The SUV driver and five train passengers were killed Tuesday evening in the rush-hour collision in Valhalla, about 20 miles north of New York City.

The SUV driver had stopped on the tracks, between the lowered crossing

gates, for reasons still unclear to investigators.

Metro-North is believed to be the only U.S. commuter railroad that uses the “under-running” or “underriding” configuration: A metal “shoe” slips underneath the third rail rather than skimming along the top. Some have questioned whether the violent collision caused the shoe to act like a crowbar and pry up the third rail.

“This has never happened before, and this is a rare configuration of a third rail. Do those two add up to the explanation for this terrible, terrible tragedy? Very possibly,” Sen. Charles Schumer, D-N.Y., said, calling the design “a real concern.”

The National Transportation Safety Board said it is looking to answer that question among many others from the crash — a rare and unusually fiery instance of passenger deaths among the thousands of train-auto colli-

Photo by Mark Lennihan | AP

Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., left, and Sen. Charles Schumer, D-NY, talk with a National Transportation Safety Board official at a railroad crossing Friday, in Valhalla, N.Y. sions each year.

At an evening briefing, NTSB vice chairman Robert Sumwalt said the third rail broke in 12 sections, each one 39 feet long.

The agency has said it also investigating whether the third rail became de-energized, as designed, when it started to break, or was still electrified as it speared the train.

In other developments:

A funeral was held Friday for the SUV driver, 49-year-old Ellen Brody, at a synagogue in Dobbs Ferry.

Brody worked at a jewelry store and was the mother of three daughters in their teens and 20s. Rabbi Benjy Silverman called her a “beautiful soul” who “adored her daughters and husband. She was their biggest fan and supporter.”

The railroad crossing

had undergone a number of upgrades in recent years to reduce the risk of accidents, including the installation of brighter LED lights, “Do Not Stop on the Tracks” warning signs and new traffic signal control equipment. But a 2009 plan to install a third set of flashing lights 100 to 200 feet up the road to give motorists coming around the bend a few seconds’ extra warning was never carried out, for reasons state and railroad officials were unable to explain.

Asked whether the extra lights could have prevented the tragedy, state Transportation Department spokesman Beau Duffy said: “It’s way too early to be guessing about what could have or couldn’t have made a difference.”

As for the third rail, a railroad expert noted that the “under-running” design has been used for decades because it avoids the problems caused by ice building up on top of the third rail.

Steve Ditmeyer, a former Federal Railroad Administration official who teaches railway management at Michigan State University, said it is impossible to say whether the third-rail design was a factor in the fire without testing how the “over-running” system would have reacted in the same situation.

“One doesn’t expect a train to push an automobile against the third rail,” no matter how it’s configured, he noted.

The Metropolitan Transportation Authority, which runs Metro-North, declined to comment, citing the NTSB investigation.

The third rail is a common feature of subway systems. But among the nation’s 28 commuter railroads, only Metro-North and the Long Island Railroad use third rail systems at all, according to the American Public Transit Association. Others use overhead wires or other forms of power.

SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 7, 2015

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Sports&Outdoors NATIONAL FOOTBALL LEAGUE

Randle in trouble File photo by Seth Wenig | AP

Minnesota running back Adrian Peterson listened to arguments about his suspension that the union is trying to have overturned.

Judge considering arguments Judge takes Peterson arbitration arguments under advisement

By DAVE CAMPBELL ASSOCIATED PRESS

File photo by Mike Roemer | AP

Dallas running back Joseph Randle is facing claims of domestic abuse from his ex-girlfriend.

Cowboys running back facing abuse claims

By SCHUYLER DIXON ASSOCIATED PRESS

Dallas Cowboys running back Joseph Randle is facing claims of domestic abuse from his ex-girlfriend after police in his Kansas hometown say they are investigating whether there is “more to” his recent arrest at a hotel than a drug charge that has been dropped.

The 22-year-old mother of Ran-

dle’s child has filed for a protective order, saying he threatened to “blast the vehicle” with their son inside after pointing a gun at her friend. Dalia Jacobs wrote in a request filed Wednesday in district court in Wichita, Kansas, that Randle smashed the windshield of the car with his fist, “causing glass to shatter across my friend and my child.”

The incident occurred the same night the 23-year-old Randle was ar-

rested on a marijuana possession charge at a Wichita hotel after a woman called 911. He was not taken into custody, and no charges related to domestic violence have been filed.

Police dropped the marijuana charge Friday, but spokesman Lt. James Espinoza says other charges are possible.

“We feel that there’s more to it

See RANDLE PAGE 2B

MINNEAPOLIS — The latest dispute between the NFL Players Association and the NFL over the league’s personal conduct policy was aired Friday in federal court, as Adrian Peterson listened to arguments about his suspension that the union is trying to have overturned.

“I felt like I got a fair hearing, for once,” the Minnesota Vikings running back said to reporters on his way out.

It was more criticism

of the disciplinary process that Peterson and the union have derided as arbitrary and unfair since punishment was levied by the NFL after the running back was charged in a child abuse case involving his son. He resolved the case with a plea bargain last year.

Peterson did not speak at the hour-long hearing in front of U.S. District Judge David Doty, who has overseen much of the league’s labor matters over the past three decades. Do-

See PETERSON PAGE 2B

Jurors tour Aaron Hernandez’s home ASSOCIATED PRESS

Photo by Steven Senne | AP

Police officers stand in front of the North Attleborough, Mass. home of former Patriots player Aaron Hernandez, rear, during a site visit by the jury in his murder trial.

FALL RIVER, Mass. — A heavy police escort accompanied jurors in the murder trial of former New England Patriots star Aaron Hernandez on Friday as they toured key spots in the case, including Hernandez’s home, the street where the victim lived and the spot where his body was found.

For four hours, the coach

bus, surrounded by police cars, made its way from Fall River north to Boston, then back to North Attleborough, stopping periodically to let jurors off.

Hernandez was not allowed on the tour, but lawyers for both sides attended, as did Bristol County Superior Court Judge Susan Garsh, who is overseeing the case.

On the way north, the tour also stopped at cellphone tow-

ers that picked up data investigators used to build a case against Hernandez.

Hernandez is charged with the June 2013 killing of Odin Lloyd, a semipro football player who was dating the sister of Hernandez’s fiancee. He has pleaded not guilty.

LLOYD’S STREET Lloyd lived in Boston’s Dorchester section with his moth-

See TOUR PAGE 2B

NCAA FOOTBALL

NATIONAL BASKETBALL ASSOCIATION: LOS ANGELES CLIPPERS

Recruits unhappy

Union defends Chris Paul

Coaching changes made days after Signing Day as recruits upset

By RALPH D. RUSSO ASSOCIATED PRESS

As college football moves toward an early signing period for recruits, some of this year’s signees learned no matter when you sign that national letter of intent, situations can change the very next day.

A handful of assistant coaches at high-profile

By BRIAN MAHONEY ASSOCIATED PRESS

programs such as Ohio State and Texas changed jobs less than 24 hours after Wednesday’s national signing day, leaving behind the players they recruited.

In some cases, the teenagers who were won over did not take the news well.

Mike Weber, a running

NEW YORK — Chris Paul’s criticism of a rookie referee had nothing to do with her gender, the executive director of the NBA Players Association said Friday.

Michele Roberts backed the Los Angeles Clippers guard in a strongly worded statement, noting Paul’s role in making her the first woman to head a North American major sports union last summer.

“Any suggestion that Chris Paul would ever con-

See RECRUITS PAGE 2B

See PAUL PAGE 2B

File photo by Eric Gay | AP

The NBA Players Association backed Clippers star Chris Paul Friday stating his criticism of a rookie referee had nothing to do with her gender.

PAGE 2B

Zscores

SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 7, 2015

PETERSON Continued from Page 1B ty took under advisement the NFLPA’s petition to nullify the decision by arbitrator Harold Henderson to reject Peterson’s appeal of the suspension that is in effect through at least April 15.

Doty did not provide a timetable for his decision.

“I always like good arguments. They make my job harder, but it’s always good,” Doty told the attorneys in attendance.

The basis of the NFLPA’s argument is that the enhanced six-game punishment for players involved with domestic violence, announced in August and finalized in December, was unfairly and retroactively applied to Peterson. The injuries to his 4-year-old son occurred in May. Peterson and the union would prefer a ruling before March 10, when the league’s free agency and trading period starts. If the Vikings decide not to bring Peterson back for the 2015 season at his scheduled $12.75 million salary, the process of trading or releasing him or redoing his contract will be complicated by the expiration of the punishment put in place by Commissioner Roger Goodell.

Peterson, for his part, said he wants to return to the Vikings.

“Of course,” was his answer to that question, smiling as he turned to walk with his wife and agent toward their waiting ride.

About a half-dozen fans with various Vikings clothing, one holding a sign that

File photo by Seth Wenig | AP

Vikings rusher Adrian Peterson is trying to get his suspension by the NFL overturned. said, “Come Back AP,” shouted their support for the 2012 NFL Most Valuable Player.

“It’s good to be back in Minnesota,” Peterson said.

NFLPA attorney Jeffrey Kessler accused Henderson, a former league executive, of being biased and straying from the collective bargaining agreement in his ruling on the appeal with “his own brand of industrial justice.”

Another point Kessler made to Doty was that the NFL did not have the right to mandate Peterson participate in the league’s assigned counseling per the terms of the punishment that Goodell laid out. Peterson and the NFLPA have said he’s seeing a psychologist they picked, to discuss parenting and more appropriate methods of disciplining his children.

“The CBA doesn’t give the NFL that authority,” Kessler said.

Peterson was on a special

exempt list, essentially paid leave, while the child abuse case played out in a Texas county court. Soon after the plea deal was reached, the league announced the sixgame suspension to cover the remainder of the season.

But Kessler argued that the exempt list served as “prediscipline discipline” that Goodell did not have the right to impose.

“Because of public pressure, because of the world, the Commissioner decided to make up a new rule for Mr. Peterson,” Kessler said.

The NFL’s primary response to the claims is that the collective bargaining agreement holds power over the dispute, not the court.

Judges rarely overrule arbitration decisions.

Dan Nash, a lawyer for the league, told Doty that Kessler was simply trying to “re-litigate” the merits of Peterson’s appeal that were already rejected by Henderson.

TOUR Continued from Page 1B er and sisters.

State police and other law enforcement blocked off his narrow street. Jurors exited the bus and stood on the street outside his home. Less than 20 minutes later, they left.

Prosecutors have said Lloyd got into a car driven

by Hernandez on that street shortly before he was killed.

Lloyd’s mother, Ursula Ward, came home shortly after the bus departed. Ward testified this week but only after the judge instructed her to control her emotions and not to cry on the stand when looking at photos of her dead son. Ward remained stoic.

CRIME SCENE Police cars were waiting for the bus when it arrived at the North Attleborough Industrial Park, where Lloyd’s body was found June 17, 2013.

At the time of the killing, the site was an empty gravel lot with vegetation growing all around. Now, it’s covered in snow. Jurors walked to the spot where Lloyd’s body was found and returned to the bus after around 15 minutes in the cold.

HERNANDEZ’S HOME Jurors then took the 1-mile drive to Hernandez’s mansion. They spent around 45 minutes touring the home.

Prosecutors said in court Friday morning that among the things they would point out were surveillance cameras inside and outside the home.

Prosecutors had complained earlier in the week that religious items, trophies and other personal items had been added to the home since the 2013 killing. Defense lawyer James Sultan said Friday that the items had been removed.

Jurors were led back to the bus by the judge and court officers, who were holding ceremonial poles that were about 7 feet tall.

RANDLE Continued from Page 1B “We’re here on the review of the arbitration award.

We’re not here for other labor grievances they might have,” Nash said, often looking to his right in Peterson’s direction when he mentioned the player’s name.

Nash called the retroactivity argument “a red herring” and said proving “evident partiality” by Henderson was impossible.

At one point, Doty pressed Nash about league executive Troy Vincent’s conversation with Peterson while the disciplinary process was unfolding.

“Don’t my lying eyes tell me that Mr. Vincent told Mr. Peterson that he was going to get two games?” Doty asked.

The union’s claim is that Vincent told Peterson he’d only receive a two-game suspension under the old policy. But Vincent testified to Henderson during the appeal hearing that he did not make that guarantee. Nash argued that, even if Vincent’s promise were true, it was irrelevant because of a lack of evidence that Peterson acted on that advice.

Kessler used his brief rebuttal time to compare Nash to a read option quarterback, running “misdirection” plays with the facts.

He also alluded to Doty’s work in fostering labor peace between the sides for years and years until the 2011 lockout.

“You can be the person to bring it about again,” Kessler said, “and we hope you will.”

than just a marijuana charge,” Espinoza said.

“We want to have the ability to present all of the charges, instead of just one.”

Randle’s agent, Erik Burkhardt, declined to comment on the drug charge being dropped. He didn’t respond to a later request for comment on the protective order. The Cowboys declined comment.

NFL spokesman Brian McCarthy said the league was looking into the incident. Two months ago, the NFL announced a revamped personal conduct policy that included adding someone to oversee cases of domestic violence. No hiring has been announced.

On the night of Randle’s arrest, Jacobs wrote in her filing, he became angry and Jacobs told her friend to take their son to the friend’s car. She said Randle took a gun out of his vehicle and approached the car with her friend in the driver’s seat and the child in the passenger’s seat.

“He told me at this point that he was going to ’blast the vehicle,”’ wrote Jacobs, who wasn’t in the car. “My friend tried to cover up my child with her body.”

Jacobs alleged in the filing that Randle has a violent temper and gets angry quickly, and that he has a history of abusing her physically and emo-

tionally.

“I am frightened that he will do something to harm me and my child,” she wrote.

Police said they found three-quarters of a pound of marijuana in the hotel room along with a bag containing $190,000. Espinoza said there were inconsistencies in some of the statements, which was part of the reason the marijuana charge was dropped.

No gun was found at the scene, and police said they were told that another man left the scene with a gun.

“We take domestic violence seriously,” Espinoza said. “There could be other charges, including for anybody who was at the scene.”

It was the second arrest since October for Randle, who faced a misdemeanor shoplifting charge at a Dallas-area mall after police in the suburb of Frisco say he was accused of taking $123 worth of cologne and underwear from a department store.

Randle is the backup to 2014 NFL rushing leader DeMarco Murray, who is set to become a free agent.

Randle had 343 yards rushing and three touchdowns in his second season. A fifth-round draft pick in 2013 after skipping his final season at Oklahoma State, Randle has two years remaining on his four-year, $2.3 million rookie contract.

PAUL Continued from Page 1B duct himself in a disrespectful manner towards women is utterly ridiculous, outrageous and patently false,” Roberts said.

“His personal management team, which includes several accomplished women who play a major role in virtually all of his business affairs, is, alone, evidence of that fact.”

Paul, criticized Lauren Holtkamp on Thursday night after a loss at Cleveland, saying she might not be ready for the big leagues after six seasons in the NBA Development League.

Holtkamp, who also has worked in the WNBA, is one of two active female officials in the NBA. Lee Seham, general counsel of the National Basketball Referees Association, said in a statement his group reviewed Holtkamp’s calls and “deems them fully justified.”

“Furthermore,” he added, “the NBRA deplores the personal and unprofessional comments made by Chris Paul. She belongs.”

Paul was called for a technical foul by Holtkamp

File photo by Eric Gay | AP

Clippers point guard Chris Paul said “this (job) might not be for her,” when referring to a female referee in her first year following Friday’s game against Cleveland. during the Clippers’ 105-94 loss in Cleveland. Following a free throw by Cleveland with 10:17 left in the third quarter, the Clippers were attempting to inbound quickly when Holtkamp stepped in. Paul questioned her and was slapped with the technical.

“The tech I got was ridiculous,” Paul said. “That’s terrible. There’s no way that can be a technical. We try to get the ball out fast every time down the court.

When we did that, she said,

’Uh-uh.’ I said, ’Why uhuh?’ and she gave me a technical. That’s ridiculous.

If that’s the case, this might not be for her.”

Questioning a referee’s readiness is a common complaint the league hears about rookie officials. He likely will be fined for public criticism of an official but has the full support of the NBPA. “Without hesitation, the Players Association stands firmly behind Chris, whose competitiveness may only

be exceeded by the strength of his values and his convictions,” Roberts added.

Paul also was supported

by Becky Hammon, the former WNBA star who was hired by the San Antonio Spurs last year as the first full-time female assistant coach of an NBA team.

“Chris Paul is a competitor & he had an opinion, I don’t think it had anything to do with the refs gender,” Hammon wrote on Twitter.

The 34-year-old Holtkamp worked the D-League’s championship series the last two years. A former player at Division II Drury University, she also officiated nine NBA regular-season games before her promotion to the full-time staff.

Violet Palmer is the league’s other female referee, having worked about 900 regular-season games during a career that’s in its 18th season.

Holtkamp wasn’t scheduled to officiate Friday.

Paul and the Clippers, who were assessed five technical fouls by Holtkamp’s crew Thursday, were at Toronto on Friday night.

RECRUITS Continued from Page 1B back from Detroit who signed with Ohio State, tweeted "I’m hurt as hell" after it was announced Thursday that Buckeyes running backs coach Stan Drayton was leaving for the Chicago Bears.

Du’Vonta Lampkin, a defensive lineman from Houston who signed with Texas, tweeted on Friday "Guess I was lied to my face" and "Really? 2 days after signing day" after it was announced Longhorns defensive line coach Chris Rumph was leaving for Florida.

With early signing period in December coming as soon as this year, the scenario that led to those hard feelings could become more common.

The Collegiate Commissioners Association governs the national letter of intent, which binds a recruit to a school. After years of talk about an early signing period, a committee led by MidAmerican Conference Commissioner Jon Steinbrecher recommended last month a three-day early signing period for football, starting on Dec. 16. Late December through January is prime time for coaches to change jobs in college football.

"It is a legitimate issue," Steinbrecher said of the effect coaching changes have on recruits, "but I think both parties have to

File photo by Eric Gay | AP

Just days after Signing Day, Texas’ defensive line head coach Eric Gay took the same position at Florida. go into it with their eyes wide open."

The CCA, made up of the commissioners of 32 Division I conferences, will vote on the early signing date proposal in June. A majority of coaches are in favor of an early signing period. Stein-

brecher said data studied by the committee shows more than 80 percent of football recruits commit before or during their senior seasons and more than 90 percent of those players sign with the schools to which they verbally committed.

Breaking a national letter of intent to go to another school costs a player a year of eligibility.

There is a waiver and appeal process that can allow a player to get out of the commitment without penalty.

If a player believed he was

misled during recruiting by a coach who knew he was leaving for another job that could make a compelling case to the National Letter of Intent Appeals Committee.

Steinbrecher said there has been no discussion about changing the letter to allow for players to break the commitment because of coaching changes, "It’s a two-way street here.

Does that mean if a coach leaves that a school is released from its obligations to a player as well?"

Steinbrecher said.

However, if an early signing period is implemented, how it effects recruiting will be examined closely and the change will be readdressed after two years, Steinbrecher.

"Because until you live it, I don’t know if you know all the intended or unintended consequences," he said.

Some skeptics of the early signing period say it is more benefit to coaches than players, who could be pressured to make decisions before they are ready.

Or before they know for sure if that coach they have connected with will still be on campus when they arrive.

"The very simple answer is if you have a concern maybe you should be waiting to that later period," Steinbrecher said.

SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 7, 2015

Magnificent Microfiber Dear Readers: One of my favorite cleaning helpers that has a multitude of uses is the MICROFIBER CLOTH! These special cloths have hooklike fibers to grab up dirt and grease, not just move them around.

What makes them fabulous is you don’t need toxic chemicals to clean regular household surfaces. Some manufacturers recommend using only water when using a microfiber cloth.

The microfiber does not scratch, which is why it’s the best for cleaning eyeglasses, camera lenses and computer and cellphone screens.

How to clean microfiber cloths? Easy. If the cloth is really dirty, give it a quick rinse with tap water. If your washing machine has a soak cycle, use this to get rid of as much dirt as possible first. Be sure to use the correct amount of laundry detergent; don’t overuse your laundry detergent.

DON’T use liquid fabric softener or dryer sheets, which will cause the cloth

THE ZAPATA TIMES 3B

“

HELOISE

to be less absorbent. Wash microfiber alone or only with other items that don’t shed lint. Some folks "airdry" them, and others put them in the dryer. I’m part of the second group.

Next time you are shopping at a mega-retailer or grocery store, look for them in the cleaning aisle and the automotive section. I swear, these cloths will last a long, long time if cared for correctly. They are cheap when you take into consideration that you will be using fewer commercial cleaning products. – Heloise TWO HINTS FOR THE BIRDS Dear Heloise: I freeze bacon fat and put it out for the birds in the winter when the weather is severe.

All sorts of birds show up. I freeze the fat in a dish, then remove it and put it in a bag of winter bird food. – A Reader, via email

4B THE ZAPATA TIMES

SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 7, 2015

PAGE 2A

Zin brief CALENDAR

SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 7, 2015

AROUND TEXAS

TODAY IN HISTORY

SATURDAY, FEB. 7

ASSOCIATED PRESS

2nd Annual Krizia Lauren Keiser Memorial 5K Run/Walk & Kids Run at Uni-Trade Stadium, 6320 Sinatra Pkwy.

Wellness & Women Con-nection Luncheon. 11:45 a.m. – 1:30 p.m., Johnny Carino’s. Contact Sylvia O. Praesel at 512-988-0503 or at info@wwconnection.org. Business Connection and Networking Luncheon, promoting women’s wellness.

RSVP@wwconnec-tion.org. tp:// www.wwconnec-tion.org.

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

The Laredo Northside Market Association will hold its February Market day at North Central Park from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. For more information see our facebook page.

The Women’s City Club will be hosting their 18th Annual Steak plate sale from 11am-2pm. Dr. Ike’s Parking lot on San Dario. For more info please call 956 237-2008.

TAMIU Lamar Bruni Vergara Science Center Planetarium. Earth, Moon and Sun, 2 p.m. New Horizons, 3 p.m.

Saturn: Jewel of the Heavens, 4 p.m.

Led Zeppelin, 5 p.m. Admission is $4 for children and $5 for adults. Admission is $4 for TAMIU students, faculty and staff. For more information, call 956-236-DOME (3663).

Today is Saturday, Feb. 7, the 38th day of 2015. There are 327 days left in the year.

Today’s Highlight in History: On Feb. 7, 1965, during the Vietnam War, Viet Cong forces attacked Camp Holloway, a U.S. Army helicopter base near Pleiku, killing eight Americans and wounding more than 100 others; the United States retaliated with airstrikes against the North Vietnamese.

On this date: In 1795, the 11th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, dealing with states’ sovereign immunity, was ratified.

In 1857, a French court acquitted author Gustave Flaubert of obscenity for his serialized novel “Madame Bovary.”

In 1940, Walt Disney’s second animated feature, “Pinocchio,” premiered in New York.

In 1948, Gen. Dwight D. Eisenhower resigned as Army chief of staff; he was succeeded by Gen. Omar Bradley.

In 1962, President John F. Kennedy imposed a full trade embargo on Cuba.

In 1964, The Beatles arrived at New York’s John F. Kennedy International Airport to begin their first American tour.

In 1974, the island nation of Grenada won independence from Britain.

In 1984, space shuttle Challenger astronauts Bruce McCandless II and Robert L. Stewart went on the first untethered space walk, which lasted nearly six hours.

In 1985, U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration agent Enrique “Kiki” Camarena was kidnapped in Guadalajara, Mexico, by drug traffickers who tortured and murdered him. The high school comedydrama “The Breakfast Club,” a Universal Pictures release, premiered in Los Angeles.

In 1999, Jordan’s King Hussein died of cancer at age 63; he was succeeded by his eldest son, Abdullah.

Ten years ago: President George W. Bush proposed a $2.57 trillion budget that would erase scores of programs but still worsen federal deficits by $42 billion over the next five years.

Five years ago: A nearly completed Kleen Energy Systems power plant in Middletown, Connecticut, exploded, killing six people and injuring 50.

One year ago: The Sochi Olympics opened with a celebration of Russia’s past greatness and hopes for future glory.

Today’s Birthdays: Author Gay Talese is 83. Former Sen. Herb Kohl, D-Wis., is 80.

Movie director Hector Babenco (Film: “Kiss of the Spider Woman”) is 69. Actor Miguel Ferrer is 60. Reggae musician Brian Travers (UB40) is 56.

Comedy writer Robert Smigel (SMY’-guhl) is 55. Actor James Spader is 55. Country singer Garth Brooks is 53. Rock musician David Bryan (Bon Jovi) is 53. Actor-comedian Eddie Izzard is 53. Actor-comedian Chris Rock is 50. Actor Jason Gedrick is 48. Actress Essence Atkins is 43. Rock singer-musician Wes Borland is 40. Rock musician Tom Blankenship (My Morning Jacket) is 37. Actor Ashton Kutcher is 37. Actress Deborah Ann Woll (TV: “True Blood”) is 30.

Thought for Today: “No one is useless in this world... who lightens the burden of it for any one else.” — From “Our Mutual Friend” by Charles Dickens (born this date in 1812, died in 1870).

MONDAY, FEB. 9 The Laredo Stroke Support Group will be holding its monthly meeting at 7 p.m. at the San Martin de Porres Church Family Life Center.

Please visit www.laredostrokesupport.com for more information.

Consent Week at Texas A&M International University launches today with a press conference at noon in the Student Center rotunda. The press conference will premiere a video made by students for students, “Student Consent Video.” For more information, contact San Juanita Pérez, associate director, Student Success Services, and Title IX investigator at 326.2948.

TUESDAY, FEB. 10 TAMIU Lamar Bruni Vergara Science Center Planetarium. Saturn: Jewel of the Heavens, 5 p.m. Black Holes, 6 p.m. Admission is $4 for children and $5 for adults. Admission is $4 for TAMIU students, faculty and staff. For more information, call 956-236-DOME (3663).

SATURDAY, FEB. 14 TAMIU Lamar Bruni Vergara Science Center Planetarium. Earth, Moon and Sun, 2 p.m. New Horizons, 3 p.m.

Saturn: Jewel of the Heavens, 4 p.m.

Led Zeppelin, 5 p.m. Admission is $4 for children and $5 for adults. Admission is $4 for TAMIU students, faculty and staff. For more information, call 956-236-DOME (3663).

TUESDAY, FEB. 17 TAMIU Lamar Bruni Vergara Science Center Planetarium. Saturn: Jewel of the Heavens, 5 p.m. Black Holes, 6 p.m. Admission is $4 for children and $5 for adults. Admission is $4 for TAMIU students, faculty and staff. For more information, call 956-236-DOME (3663).

Photo by Eric Gay | AP

In this Monday photo, Gov.-elect Greg Abbott, left, listens to Gov. Rick Perry speak during an oath of office ceremony for new Attorney General Ken Paxton, in Austin. Barely two weeks into office, Abbott has scrapped or reformed legacies of the former governor, who is a potential 2016 presidential candidate.

Abbott cleans house

By PAUL J. WEBER ASSOCIATED PRESS

AUSTIN — Gov. Greg Abbott is so new on the job that he still hasn’t moved into the governor’s mansion, but Rick Perry is already seeing more than just his old decor change after 14 years.

Barely two weeks into office, Abbott has scrapped or reformed legacies of the former governor, who is a potential 2016 presidential candidate. University boards are no longer exclusively stocked with Perry picks and transparency — something critics said Perry lacked — has become an early Abbott theme.

The latest was Abbott announcing plans Thursday to take custody of a maligned taxpayer fund that Perry credits with bringing Formula One racing to Austin. It’s the third economic incentive program launched under Perry that Abbott now says he will eliminate

or overhaul.

Asked this week if Perry is to blame, Abbott for once looked like his predecessor: He smoothly exited the room with a joke.

“You know I never blame anybody for anything,” the former Texas attorney general said.

The flurry of moves comes before Abbott has even delivered his first State of the State address — the event when governors traditionally lay out their agenda to the Legislature. The ground Abbott is expected to cover Feb. 17 will be familiar to anyone who followed his campaign: border security, education and building more roads.

That Abbott is so far seen as bringing a more measured, pragmatic — even blander — tone to the governor’s office after more than a decade of Perry swagger and confrontation is no surprise.

Company wants to store country’s nuclear waste

Quakes linked to fault extending into Dallas

East Texas drug trafficking investigation nets 18

LUBBOCK — The Dallasbased company that now disposes of low-level radioactive waste in West Texas is taking the first step to become the nation’s first interim storage site for high-level nuclear waste from around the country. Waste Control Specialists on Friday notified the Nuclear Regulatory Commission of the company’s plan to seek a license to build a facility in Andrews County that would store for as long as 100 years spent nuclear fuel rods from power plants around the country.

DALLAS — Seismologists say dozens of small earthquakes that have rattled North Texas in recent months have been concentrated along a narrow two-mile subsurface fault. Southern Methodist University and the U.S. Geological Survey on Friday released a preliminary report explaining so many people felt the quakes because their trigger points were only about three or four miles below ground.

TYLER — Officials have arrested 18 people as the result of a drug trafficking investigation in East Texas.

The defendants are accused of conspiring to distribute methamphetamine in East Texas since January 2010. The indictment also included 14 charges of possession of a firearm during a drug trafficking crime, 20 charges of felon in possession of a firearm and two charges of possession of an unregistered firearm.

If convicted, the suspects face up to life in prison.

Father jailed after baby dies of injuries ARLINGTON — A North Texas father is jailed after his 5month-old daughter died after being found with a serious head injury and multiple broken bones. The child was unconscious when she was taken to a Fort Worth hospital Wednesday.

Fugitive couple rescued in bay arrested in Bahamas HOUSTON — After being rescued from a sinking sailboat in Galveston Bay, a couple and their seven children disappeared.

Wanted for wire fraud, they’ve been arrested in the Bahamas.

Donald and Karlien Winberg were found with their seven children and a large amount of cash on a different boat off the Bahamas.

Barber shop worker sentenced to life DALLAS — A Dallas County jury handed down a life sentence to a barber shop worker accused of fatally shooting his boss.

Charles Dewayne Hooks, 32, pleaded guilty Tuesday in the 2013 death of Alejandro Fernandez. — Compiled from AP reports

SATURDAY, FEB. 21 TAMIU Lamar Bruni Vergara Science Center Planetarium. Earth, Moon and Sun, 2 p.m. New Horizons, 3 p.m.

Saturn: Jewel of the Heavens, 4 p.m.

Led Zeppelin, 5 p.m. Admission is $4 for children and $5 for adults. Admission is $4 for TAMIU students, faculty and staff. For more information, call 956-236-DOME (3663).

TUESDAY, FEB. 24 TAMIU Lamar Bruni Vergara Science Center Planetarium. Saturn: Jewel of the Heavens, 5 p.m. Black Holes, 6 p.m. Admission is $4 for children and $5 for adults. Admission is $4 for TAMIU students, faculty and staff. For more information, call 956-236-DOME (3663).

THURSDAY, FEB. 26 Spanish Book Club from 6 to 8 p.m. at Laredo Public Library on Calton. For more information, call Sylvia Reash at 763-1810.

Villa San Agustin de Laredo Genealogical Society will meet, from 3-5pm, at the Center for the Arts in historical downtown. A $2 donation for non-members is requested. Call Sanjuanita Martinez-Hunter at 722-3497.

AROUND THE NATION Storm hits California after triggering northern floods SAN FRANCISCO — A storm sweeping down the West Coast pelted parts of the San Francisco Bay Area with much-needed rain Friday, triggered flooding that swamped several homes in Washington state and unleashed hurricane-force winds in Nevada.

Up to 10 inches of rain expected this weekend in parts of the drought-stricken California region won’t make a significant dent in the state’s historic drought, but it’s a welcome change after six dry weeks in the Bay Area. For the first time in recorded history, there was no measurable rainfall in downtown San Francisco in January, when winter rains usually come.

Woman, 9-year-old daughter found hanged BROCKTON, Mass. — Authorities say a Massachusetts woman

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Pedestrians take cover from rain in the Chinatown district of San Francisco Friday. Flights were delayed in San Francisco and a wind advisory was issued Friday morning as a powerful storm rolled into the Bay Area. and her 9-year-old daughter have been found hanged in the basement of their home and investigators are trying to determine what happened. Plymouth County District Attorney Timothy Cruz said the bodies of 32-yearold Ariana Rosa-Soares and her

daughter, Marley Soares, were found Friday morning at their home in Brockton, a suburb about 25 miles south of Boston.

Cruz says it’s too early to say whether the deaths were murders or a murder-suicide.

— 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.

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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

SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 7, 2015

COMMENTARY

Counseling Week celebrated Dear ZCISD Family and fellow community members, National School Counseling Week, sponsored by the American School Counselor Association (ASCA), was celebrated from Feb. 2–6 to focus public attention on the unique contribution of professional school counselors within U.S. school systems and how students are different as a result of what school counselors do. National School Counseling Week highlights the tremendous impact school counselors can have in helping students achieve school success and plan for a career.

As superintendent of schools and as a parent, I thank and am very grateful to all our school counselors for being actively engaged in helping students examine their abilities, strengths, interests and talents; for working in a partnership with parents as they encounter the challenges of raising children in today’s world; for focusing on positive ways to enhance students’ social/personal, educational and career development; and working with teachers and other educators to provide an educational system where students can realize their potential and set healthy, realistic and optimistic aspirations for themselves. Professional school counselors are certified, experienced educators with master’s degrees in guidance and counseling. The combination of their training and experience makes them an integral part of the total educational program.

School counselors work with all students to remove barriers to learning by addressing students’ academic concerns, career awareness in post-secondary options and personal/social skills.

Parents or community members with specific questions or concerns about school counseling programs should contact the school counselors at their local schools. More general information can also be found on our district’s website, www.zcisd.org or on ASCA’s website, www.schoolcounselor.org.

Sincerely, Raul L. Nuques Superintendent of School Zapata Co. ISD

THE ZAPATA TIMES 3A

No evidence of sex abuse at lockup

By SETH ROBBINS ASSOCIATED PRESS

SAN ANTONIO — Department of Homeland Security investigators have found no evidence of sexual abuse and harassment at a South Texas immigration lockup that houses women and children, according to a report released Friday.

The inspector general launched the investigation after a woman being held at the facility in Karnes City reported hearing rumors about women being removed from their cells at night to have sex with guards in the laundry room. Investigators interviewed 33 people and spent 380 hours investigating several allegations made by the woman, all of which were found to be untrue, according to the report.

Women interviewed by investigators denied engaging in sexual activity with guards and said they received no preferential treatment in exchange for sexual favors, according to the report. Allegations that a detainee was impregnated by a guard were determined to be false after she voluntarily submitted to a pregnancy test that turned up negative, the report said.

A review of 360 hours of surveillance video footage from the laundry room also failed to show any women being escorted there after hours.

And investigators found no evidence that guards

gal Defense and Educational Fund, one of the organizations that filed the complaint, said she was not sure whether the report represented the end of the matter, adding: “It’s difficult to say whether that investigation was sufficient.”

Bono said the methods used in the investigation need to be made clear, including whether male investigators interviewed the women, whether the women felt secure to disclose information without fear of retaliation, and whether the women’s attorneys were present during questioning.

“These are critical details that could undermine the outcome of this investigation,” she said.

Immigration and Customs Photo by Eric Gay | AP file Enforcement spokeswoman In this July 31, 2014 file photo, a Spanish and English welcome sign is seen Gillian M. Christensen said above a door in a secured entrance area at the Karnes County Residential in a statement that the report Center in Karnes City, Texas. The Department of Homeland Security released shows the agency is “commita report Friday saying no evidence of sexual abuse and harassment was ted to providing a safe and sefound at a South Texas immigration lockup that houses women and children. cure environment to all individuals in custody.” had deposited money into the complaint last October after In response to the surge of commissary accounts of the Karnes City detainees report- Central American migrants women or paid for rental of ed that women had been re- crossing the U.S.-Mexico borapartments upon their re- moved from their cells at der last summer, the 500 bed lease. night to have sex with guards all-male Karnes facility, about The report did find that and were promised money or 50 miles southeast of San Antwo guards were romantically legal help with their pending tonio, was converted into one involved and had engaged in cases in exchange for sexual that housed women and chil“inappropriate physical con- favors. dren. In December, ICE also tact” in the laundry room It is not clear whether that opened the nation’s largest while working, but prosecu- complaint factored into the family detention center, a tors concluded they had not investigation, as Friday’s re- 2,400 bed facility in Dilley, violated any law. port contains no mention of southwest of San Antonio.

Attorneys with two civil it.

Both facilities are run by prirights groups and a San AntoMarisa Bono, an attorney vate companies but overseen nio-based law firm also filed a for the Mexican American Le- by ICE.

Shackling of pregnant prisoners eyed

By EVA RUTH MORAVEC ASSOCIATED PRESS

AUSTIN — Shela Williams was 18 weeks pregnant when jailed on a probation violation.

She remembers being chained to a hospital bed when she went into labor about a month later, and said law enforcement officers refused her midwife’s request that the restraints be removed so she could give

birth.

The Travis County Sheriff ’s Office denies that Williams — who gave birth to a stillborn son — was shackled while in labor at Brackenridge Hospital, an act that would violate its policies. A preliminary review by the Texas Commission on Jail Standards, which oversees county jails, found no violations.

But Williams repeated the

assertion Thursday after filing a formal complaint with the commission, triggering an indepth review of each of Williams’ allegations.

She also said she was blocked from attending her son’s funeral.

“I was chained to the bed the whole time,” Williams tearfully told commissioners during their meeting in Austin.

“The state had to bury my son,

and I was not able to go to his funeral at all.”

Sheriff ’s spokesman Roger Wade said in an interview that Williams “received every bit of medical care that she could possibly get.”

Wade said she never filed a complaint with the sheriff ’s office, but acknowledged the county was reviewing Williams’ formal complaint to the commission.

PAGE 4A

Zopinion

SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 7, 2015

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR SEND YOUR SIGNED LETTER TO EDITORIAL@LMTONLINE.COM

COLUMN

OTHER VIEWS

Rep. Cuellar encourages sign-ups Everyone needs health insurance because we will all need access to healthcare at some point in our life.

Some will require more healthcare services than others, and that is certainly true for much of South Texas, where much of the population suffers from disproportionate rates of heart disease, diabetes and cancer, among other chronic diseases.

Despite these facts, the percentage of insured people in South Texas remains surprisingly low.

Not having insurance means you will pay much more out-of-pocket when you need healthcare services. Having insurance not only caps the amount you will have to pay for any medical service or procedure, it makes lifesaving services within the reach of people who most need it.

The Affordable Care Act (ACA) makes sure that no one will ever be turned away again due to a pre-existing condition and also provides for free preventative care as a way of encouraging people to get regular checkups and treat health issues before they become more complicated and more expensive to treat.

My office partnered with local, state and federal organizations to provide free informative ACA workshops throughout District 28 where residents could get their questions answered and sign up for a health care plan that met their needs with on-site certified healthcare navigators.

Thanks to organizations like Get Covered America, the Small Business Administration, Area Health Education Centers (AHEC), EnrollSA

“

HENRY CUELLAR

and many others, we were able to host a number of workshops since enrollment began in November of last year in Bexar, Wilson, Atascosa, McMullen, La Salle, Webb, Zapata, Starr and Hidalgo counties.

The deadline to enroll in a healthcare plan through the Health Insurance Marketplace is Sunday, February 15. You can view plans at HealthCare.gov, CuidadoDeSalud.gov, or by calling 800-318-2596.

You might qualify for lower costs for health insurance coverage depending on certain factors such as your yearly income and the number of people who live with you.

You may also have to pay a penalty when you submit your tax returns this year if you are not insured in a plan that qualifies as minimally essential coverage.

Having health insurance means peace of mind not just for you, but for those who depend on you such as children, parents, and grandparents.

Our society needs a strong a healthy population to prosper and grow.

Millions of people across the country and in Texas have already enrolled in health insurance. If you do not have health insurance, I encourage you to take advantage of the health plans available to you via the Marketplace on HealthCare.gov and CuidadoDeSalud.gov.

Henry Cuellar is the U.S. House representative of Texas’ 28th congressional district.

COLUMN

The horror in US prisons THE WASHINGTON POST

"I’m losing my sanity," one prisoner wrote.

"You could not tell day from night," another reported. "You were always backward. . . . No light coming in the building.

You be lost."

"The depression and self-destructive behaviors I have have intensified consistently," said yet another.

Inmates told of paranoia, hallucinations, bizarre sleep habits, self-mutilation and constant screaming.

These aren’t accounts from a prison in some third-world dictatorship.

They are stories that the American Civil Liberties Union of Texas collected from those the state warehoused in solitary confinement. The group is set to release a report this week detailing the responses it got from inmates it surveyed — and calling for further reform.

We say further because, despite the horrific accounts the ACLU dredged up, Texas is not the worst state in the nation when it comes to imposing the hell of solitary confinement on its prisoners, and its re-

cord has improved in recent years. Among other things, Texas has slashed the number of inmates in solitary by 34 percent since 2006.

But its solitary confinement policies still throw away too many lives. The ACLU found that more than 4 percent of Texas’ prisoners — more than 6,000 people — are in solitary, spending an average of nearly four years in near-total isolation, locked in 60-square-foot cells for at least 22 hours a day. By contrast, Mississippi knocked down its solitary confinement rate to 1.4 percent after a spate of violence in its solitary units inspired a strong reform program. Rick Raemisch, Colorado’s reform-minded prison director, has said that only four or five people need to be placed in solitary long-term in his state. Part of the problem is that Texas, like many other states, throws mentally ill inmates into solitary when instead they need comprehensive, specialized treatment. In Texas and elsewhere, reform can’t come fast enough for the men and women wasting away.

COLUMN

An era of genetic modification

By JAMIE METZL THE WASHINGTON POST

The vote this week in the British Parliament to permit mitochondrial transfer treatments during in vitro fertilization (IVF) was a watershed moment in the evolution of our species. This procedure allows doctors to replace diseased mitochondria — the powerhouses of our cells — with healthy donor mitochondria in the eggs or early-stage embryos of prospective mothers. Although the genes contained in our mitochondria only account for less than 0.2 percentof our total genome, this treatment technically results in babies with three genetic parents.

Coming after more than three years of careful study and public outreach, the vote in the House of Commons puts the United Kingdom on a path to becoming the first country in the world to authorize this type of human genetic engineering. (The provision must now move to the House of Lords, where its passage is almost certain.) For the thousands of British women carrying mitochondrial genetic defects, the vote was a godsend that has the potential to spare their future children needless suffering and even premature death.

In the United States, mitochondrial transfer is being treated as a regulatory matter by the Food and Drug Administration. Although this approach might make the procedure availa-

ble to parents more quickly than would a broader public dialogue, the stakes are too high for this to be a regulatory matter alone. The United States should follow Britain’s lead and begin a national conversation about mitochondrial transfer and the future of human genetic manipulation.

After roughly 4 billion years of evolution by natural selection, we are on the verge of taking active control of our evolutionary process. In clinics throughout the world, gene therapies are being deployed to treat disease, and women undergoing IVF are using a process called preimplantation genetic diagnosis (PGD) to screen early-stage embryos for single-gene mutations such as those that cause Huntington’s disease and cystic fibrosis. Because each cell extracted during PGD contains an embryo’s full genome, the same process used to screen out genetic disease can also provide a great deal of information about other traits.

As personalized medicine ensures that more of our genomes will be digitized, and improvements in computing power and sequencing dramatically reduce the speed and cost of analyzing our genomes, including to predict complex traits such as height and the genetic component of intelligence, women undergoing IVF will have far more information when choosing which fertilized eggs to implant. If the stem cell revolution makes

it possible for hundreds or thousands of eggs to be produced for each mother, as appears likely, embryo selection will be supercharged. A further step will likely be gene editing, which would allow the introduction of alternate strands of DNA. All of these technologies exist in nascent form today.

As these processes unfold and gain social acceptance, governments and insurers will have strong incentives to encourage the use of IVF and embryo screening and selection to avoid what may come to be seen as preventable, and unnecessarily costly, genetic diseases. Over time, this could lead to the end of sex as a means of procreation among all but the least advantaged and most ideologically motivated people. (Spoiler alert: Sex will continue to thrive for its many other virtues.)

This transformation will terrify many people and raise fundamental, legitimate questions. Why should we focus so much on genes when we know that much of our identity comes from other factors? Are we confident enough to meddle with a system, evolved over billions of years, that we don’t fully understand? What will happen if we reduce the genetic diversity of our species? Doesn’t embryo selection raise the specter of eugenics?

Think of the current debate over genetically modified crops, only magnified immensely. As the science progresses, some will un-

doubtedly call for strict restrictions; a few may resort to violence. But even if some societies severely restrict embryo selection, as Germany does today, those seeking it will only have to travel to other jurisdictions.

Given disparate cultural attitudes and the enormous promise of these technologies, it is all but certain that some countries will charge forward into the genetic frontier, not least because it will represent a lucrative industry with the potential to enhance national competitiveness. And, as with IVF decades ago, attitudes toward genetic selection and even manipulation will shift as these processes become more mainstream.

The essential problem we now face is that the science is advancing far faster than our collective imagination, which in turn is rapidly outdistancing our slow-toevolve national and global regulatory frameworks.

This fundamental mismatch may prevent the imposition of detrimental overregulation in the near term, but it also opens the door for potential future abuses and a harmful public backlash. To address this, the United States and other countries need to develop better ways of striking the right balance between avoiding the possible dangers of genetic technologies and realizing the monumental potential of the same technologies to eliminate diseases that have plagued humankind for millennia. This will not be easy.

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR POLICY The Zapata Times does not publish anonymous letters.

To be published, letters must include the writer’s first and last names as well as a phone number to verify identity. The

phone number IS NOT published; it is used solely to verify identity and to clarify content, if necessary. Identity of the letter writer must be verified before publication.

We want to assure our

readers that a letter is written by the person who signs the letter. The Zapata Times does not allow the use of pseudonyms.

Letters are edited for style, grammar, length and civility. No name-call-

ing or gratuitous abuse is allowed.

Via e-mail, send letters to editorial@lmtonline.com or mail them to Letters to the Editor, 111 Esperanza Drive, Laredo, TX 78041.

CLASSIC DOONESBURY | GARRY TRUDEAU

Nation

SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 7, 2015

THE ZAPATA TIMES 5A

Measles cases spotlight daycare facilities

By LINDSEY TANNER ASSOCIATED PRESS

CHICAGO — Measles infections in five babies at a suburban Chicago day care center reveal a potential weak link in public-health efforts to contain the disease, authorities said Friday, explaining that infants who are too young to be vaccinated and in close quarters are among the most vulnerable to the virus.

“They’re sort of like the canary in the mine,” said Dr. Tina Tan, an infectious disease specialist at Chicago’s Lurie Children’s Hospital.

State regulations in Illinois and elsewhere generally require vaccinations for older children in day care centers, but measles shots are not recommended for children under age 1. And like most states, Illinois does not require vaccinations for day care center staffers.

“Unfortunately, there is no requirement. But this is on our radar,” said Melaney Arnold, spokeswoman for Illinois’ Department of Public Health.

The cases are among more than 100 nationwide this year, most of them linked with a Disneyland outbreak. Ten other young children at the suburban center were exposed and were being monitored for symptoms.

This year’s cases also include an infant at a Santa Monica, California, day care center that closed temporarily this week. Fourteen infants from that center have been quarantined at home for three weeks.

Dr. Julie Morita, acting commissioner of Chicago’s public health department, said this year’s outbreaks highlight the major reasons for immunizations against a rare disease. The shots are not just for self-protection.

They also provide what experts call “herd immunity” — protection for those too young or too sick to be vac-

cinated, including infants in day care.

“We have always felt like this was a vulnerable population ... in a potentially risky setting because there are a lot of kids who are together,” Morita said.

Measles can cause a cough, runny nose and rash.

Infants are vulnerable to rare but dangerous complications that include pneumonia, deafness, permanent brain damage and death.

Dr. Saad Omer, an Emory University vaccine specialist, offers this advice to parents with children in day care: “Unless there is an ongoing outbreak in the specific daycare, I don’t see any reason for keeping your child at home. But make sure when they become eligible for vaccines, they get the vaccine on time, on schedule.”

Illinois authorities were seeking the source of the day care outbreak but said there was no evidence it’s linked with the Disneyland cases. Possible sources include unvaccinated older children or adults who recently traveled overseas.

Most U.S. measles cases in recent years stem from contact with someone who has been abroad, since the disease is still common in many countries. The highly contagious virus was declared eliminated in the United States in 2000, but U.S. cases have been reported every year since then, including more than 600 last year.

The government recommends the first dose of measles vaccine for children aged 12 months to 15 months, with a second dose before the start of kindergarten. The shots are not advised for younger children, mainly because the vaccine is less effective for them.

But it can offer partial protection, and the outbreak has led some experts including Tan to suggest that concerned parents discuss possible infant immunization with their pediatricians.

Photo by Nam Y. Huh | AP

KinderCare Learning Center in Palatine, Ill. is dealing with an outbreak after lab tests confirm measles in children from the day care.

Most parents choose to vaccinate their older children, but health authorities and ethicists are concerned about clusters of families who reject vaccines for personal or religious beliefs, and the risk they pose to those who cannot be vaccinated.

“There is clearly a very weak link in the system or else we wouldn’t be having these outbreaks,” said Lawrence Gostin, an ethicist and public law specialist at Georgetown University.

Public health authorities “absolutely should be looking more closely” at how to protect unvaccinated children in day care, through vaccine requirements for staff or fewer exemptions for children of parents who oppose vaccines, Gostin said.

“I’m fine with the idea of individual freedom and parental rights so long as they don’t put the community at risk,” Gostin said.

KinderCare Learning Centers, which runs the Palatine, Illinois, center where

the five infected infants were enrolled, announced this week that it will start requiring measles vaccinations for staff members at its 1,500 locations nationwide who work with children under age 15 months.

“We are being vigilant about enforcing our policy of excluding children from care when they are sick,” KinderCare spokeswoman Colleen Moran said Friday.

“We are also working with families and staff members in our centers to doublecheck and update their immunization records.”

Parents like Andrew Hires are watching the outbreaks closely. He lives near the Santa Monica day care

center with one infected infant and 14 others at risk.

His unvaccinated 10-month old daughter doesn’t attend but Hires said he’s worried she might come in contact with an exposed child.

Hires, a neuroscientist at the University of Southern California, said his vaccinated 2-year-old daughter attends a preschool where most children are also up to date on their shots, but that some local preschools have very low immunization rates.

“I don’t live in fear of it, but I am keeping very close eye on where outbreaks are occurring, and where they might be predicted to occur in the future,” he said.

PÁGINA 6A

Zfrontera

Agenda en Breve AVISO DE TRÁFICO Continúa el proyecto de ampliación sobre US 83 y las líneas que dividen del Condado de Webb y Zapata.

Este proyecto utilizará un control de tráfico para construir las transiciones de carreteras en las líneas divisoras del Condado de Webb/Zapata para los carriles del norte y sur, por lo que se pide a los conductores a poner atención y obedecer las señales de tráfico para evitar accidentes. Los trabajos continuarán hasta el 6 de marzo.

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.

JUNTA DE COMISIONADOS El lunes 09 de febrero, 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.

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.

JUNTA DE COMISIONADOS El lunes 23 de febrero, 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, en su ronda de campeonato se llevará a cabo el sábado 7 de marzo.

SÁBADO 07 DE FEBRERO DE 2015

TAMAULIPAS

Acciones policíacas TIEMPO DE ZAPATA

Tres acciones policiales contra supuestos delincuentes dejaron una persona muerta, la desactivación de bloqueos y el decomiso de 13 vehículos, en diferentes municipios de Tamaulipas, anunciaron autoridades estatales.

El viernes, se registró la muerte de un presunto delincuente durante una enfrentamiento armado en el municipio de Matamoros, México. Alrededor de las 4:35 p.m. personal militar que patrullaba sobre las calles Beatriz Yarrington y Pedro Hinojosa, colonia Rafael Ramírez, reportó que civiles armados, a bordo de una camioneta Chevrolet Cheyenne, con placas de Texas, comenzaron a dispararles, señala un comunicado de prensa.

Al responder a la agresión, una de los supuestos agresores murió.

El hombre aún no ha sido identificado. El resto de los pasajeros escaparon. Del interior de la camioneta se decomisaron dos armas largas, cargadores y cartuchos útiles, añade el reporte.

También el viernes, en el municipio de Valle Hermoso, se reportaron bloqueos vehiculares en tres puntos diferentes de acceso al municipio, alrededor de las 11:30 p.m.

A las 12:28 p.m. las fuerzas estatales y federales procedieron a desactivar dichos bloqueos, indica el reporte.

Reynosa El municipio de Reynosa, fue el escenario del aseguramiento de 13

vehículos. De los 13, siete fueron equipados con blindaje artesanal y uno lo tenía de fábrica, señala un comunicado de prensa.

Elementos de la Defensa Nacional y de la Procuraduría General de la República, realizaron un allanamiento a un taller que se presume era utilizado por un grupo delincuencial que opera en ese municipio fronterizo, ubicado en el kilómetro 74.8 de la carretera Reynosa-Río Bravo.

Entre los vehículos decomisados estuvieron: un automóvil Mercedes Benz, con placas de Texas y blindaje de fábrica; dos camionetas pick-up GMC Sierra, con placas de Texas, con blindaje artesanal; una camioneta pick-up Chevrolet Silverado, con placas de Texas y blindaje artesanal; una camioneta pick-up Chevrolet Ava-

lanche, con placas de Texas, en proceso de blindaje artesanal; una camioneta pick-up Ford F-150, con placas de Texas y blindaje artesanal; una Camioneta pick-up King Ranch Lobo, placas del Estado de Tamaulipas, con blindaje artesanal; una camioneta pick-up Ford Lobo, con placas de Tamaulipas y en proceso de blindaje, de acuerdo con el reporte.

También se aseguraron dos camionetas pick-up Chevrolet, dos Ford y una Nissan, ninguna sin características de blindaje, lo mismo que ocho cargadores desabastecidos para calibre 7.62×39, 495 cartuchos de ese calibre, 46 cartuchos calibre 3.08 y cuatro cartuchos calibre 50 milímetros.

Los vehículos, cartuchos y cargadores quedaron a disposición del Ministerio Público Federal.

NACIONAL

ZAPATA BOYS & GIRLS CLUB

Papa hablará a Congreso de EU

RECAUDAN FONDOS

POR ALAN FRAM ASSOCIATED PRESS

WASHINGTON— En un evento histórico que podría generar amplia expectativa, el papa Francisco accedió a hablar ante una sesión conjunta del Congreso estadounidense hacia finales de año, el primer pontífice en hacerlo.

Eso prepara el terreno para un discurso por parte de un Papa de hablar franco cuyos puntos de vista en torno a la inmigración y el calentamiento global son opuestos a los de muchos republicanos que tienen mayoría en la Cámara de Representantes y el Congreso.

Francisco hablará el 24 de septiembre, la primera ocasión que el jefe de los católicos del mundo se dirigirá al Congreso. Lo hará durante la primera visita a Estados Unidos en los dos años que lleva su papado, un viaje en el que también se espera se reúna en la Casa Blanca con el presidente Barack Obama, pronuncie un discurso ante la ONUen Nueva York y presida una reunión católica de familias en Filadelfia.

“Tengo unas pocas buenas noticias”, declaró John Boehner, presidente de la cámara baja, antes de informar por primera vez el jueves sobre el discurso de Francisco durante su conferencia de prensa semanal.

“Nos sentimos honrados de que el santo padre haya aceptado nuestra invitación y ciertamente esperamos recibir su mensaje en nombre del pueblo estadounidense”, dijo el legislador a periodistas.

Cuando hable ante los legisladores, Francisco se dirigirá a un Congreso integrado por católicos en un 31%, bastante por encima del 22% de estadounidenses que lo son, de acuerdo con un sondeo difundido el mes pasado por el Centro Pew de Investigaciones, el cual es apartidista.

Francisco, un jesuita argentino de 78 años y el primer papa proveniente del hemisferio occidental.

Fotos de cortesía

El sábado, más de 300 residentes se reunieron en el Rancho Ramírez Family, durante el Clay for Kids Tournament y Concurso de Cocina a beneficio del Zapata Boys & Girls Club. El torneo contó con 12 estaciones con más de 100 objetivos de arcilla, asimismo el concurso de comida premio a los mejores cocineros de fajita, pollo y costillas. Durante el evento se logró la recaudación de 60.000 dólares.

CLIMA

Llega frente frío número 33 TIEMPO DE ZAPATA

De acuerdo con el Sistema Meteorológico Nacional, a partir del viernes entrará que el sistema frontal número 33, que traerá bajas temperaturas, en el área sur de Texas y el norte de Tamaulipas, señala un comunicado de prensa.

Las bajas temperaturas se registrarán principalmente por la mañana, con posible presencia de neblinas o nieblas.

A partir del día de hoy por la tarde/noche, el frente frío comenzará a misnuirán paulatinamente, favoreciendo las condiciones de tiempo seco y estable con un gradual incremento de la temperatura, añade el reporte.

Debido a las bajas temperaturas la Coordinación General de Protección Civil recomienda a la población cuidar de su salud e integridad física y tomar en consideración las siguientes precauciones:

Evitar que niños y adultos de edad avanzada se expongan al aire libre.

Abrigarse bien y cubrir boca y nariz en el exterior.

Solicitar información a la Dirección Municipal de Protección Civil sobre la ubicación de refugios temporales y acudir a alguno de ellos si se requiere.

Usar calentadores en áreas ventiladas, apagarlos antes de dormir y no utilizar braceros en el interior de viviendas.

COLUMNA

Portes Gil, biografía e inicios políticos POR RAÚL SINENCIO ESPECIAL PARA TIEMPO DE ZAPATA

Emilio Portes Gil llega lejos en la política del México posrevolucionario. Funda el Partido Socialista Fronterizo. Posteriormente se convierte en Gobernador de Tamaulipas. Después, es nombrado presidente provisional de la República, a partir de ello se le asignan diversos cargos públicos.

Biografía “Naciste a las 7 a.m. del 3 de octubre [de 1890], en los momentos en que llegaba de Monterrey el primer tren a Ciudad Victoria”, asegura que le dijo su madre. El acta de nacimiento la tramita hasta 1947.

“Cuando tenía 8 o 9 años, Victoria […] tenía alrededor de 12.000 habitantes. La casa donde yo viví estaba situada en la calle de Matamoros.

Era una casa con techo de palma”.

Añade: “Hice mi instrucción primaria en la escuela municipal número 1, destruida para construir el Palacio Federal”.

Recuerda sus inicios contando: “En aquella época el río de San Marcos siempre llevaba agua. Nos levantábamos a las 6 a.m. para ir a bañarnos en la pozas que existían al otro lado del puente del ferrocarril”.

“La calle Real de Ciudad Victoria, llamada hoy Hidalgo, era la más concurrida. También existían los tranvías de mulitas, que (iban de) calle de Hidalgo a Tamatán. El día último de diciembre de 1899 se inau-

guró el alumbrado de luz eléctrica, que había donado a Tamaulipas Manuel González, hijo del presidente (de México) Manuel González”.

Calla Portes Gil los negocios que realiza el hijo del presidente, valido del tráfico de influencias. Se murmura entre la gente que el vástago de González Flores monopoliza los mentados transportes.

Recuerdos “En 1906 se celebró el centenario del natalicio de Benito Juárez”, develándose “en la antigua plaza Juárez un busto del Benemérito, que desaparecería. Y en 1910 conmemoraron el centenario de la Independencia con la columna que existe todavía en la Plaza Independencia”,

cuenta don Emilio.

Agrega: “Nombrados por el general Porfirio Díaz, hubo gobernadores civiles muy humanos y muy cultos”. Dedica algunas líneas: “Aquel gran gobernante Pedro Argüelles, construyó en 1906 el Parían. Lástima que […] lo hayan echado abajo para edificar el mercado”.

En dicho año obtiene del propio Argüelles una beca. La consigue gracias al favor del mandatario, admite Portes Gil. Compuesta de 15 pesos, “la pensión me fue concedida”, anota. Y complementa: “Los maestros de la Normal ganaban 15 pesos al mes”. En las anteriores remembranzas, nunca llama por su nombre a la dictadura porfiriana.

(Publicada con permiso del autor conforme aparece en La Razón, Tampico, México)

SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 7, 2015

THE ZAPATA TIMES 7A

8A THE ZAPATA TIMES

SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 7, 2015

Pay raises finally coming

By JOSH BOAK ASSOCIATED PRESS

WASHINGTON — As the U.S. economy has steadily recovered from the Great Recession, the critical missing piece has been a painful lack of pay raises for many Americans.

Their pain may be easing.

Friday’s jobs report signaled that raises have finally begun to flow through an economy in which, once you factor in inflation, most people earn less than when the Great Recession struck in 2007.

The average hourly wage jumped 0.5 percent between December and January — the sharpest monthly gain since 2008 — the government’s survey of businesses found. The average has now risen 2.2 percent over the past 12 months to $24.75, comfortably above inflation.

So if you’ve gone without a meaningful raise, should you expect one?

Skeptics still have doubts. But the quickening rate of hiring provides reason to hope.

The government’s figures don’t pinpoint which occupations have benefited most from rising pay. Wages have risen at a slightly slower pace for non-managers, indicating that bosses are pocketing much of the gains. Still, corporate announcements and job postings indicate that wage growth has been extending to a broad range of industries and professions.

Job listings on Indeed.com, for example, show stronger demand for truckers, health care professionals and technology workers, all of which points to higher wages, said Tara Sinclair, chief economist at Indeed.com and a professor at George Washington University.

“America is really getting back to work, and that’s the first step to getting better paychecks,” Sinclair said.

The pace of hiring has accelerated 34 percent since 2013. That growth

Photo by Matt Rourke | AP

Friday’s jobs report signaled that raises have finally begun to flow through an economy in which, once you factor in inflation, most earn less than when the Great Recession struck in 2007. has reduced the number of job seekers and made it harder for employers to find talented employees.

The trend, the theory goes, has finally forced companies to loosen their grip on pay to attract and keep the best workers.

Employers have added 3.2 million jobs over the 12 months — including 257,000 in January, 329,000 in December and a sizzling 423,000 in November.

Some economists note that pay figures tend to be volatile from month to month and that January’s blowout average increase might be unsustainable.

Still, each additional job increases the number of paychecks in the United States, which drives greater consumer spending.

And that tends to fuel further hiring and higher wages.

Ford Motor Co. has announced that up to 500 of its lowest-paid factory workers will receive a 48 percent pay raise to $28.50 an hour. Only 20 percent of its employees can be in the lowest tier, so Ford had to raise wages to hire 1,550 workers to make pickup trucks in Missouri and Michigan. Other major companies, including Aetna and the Gap, have also announced pay increases.

Some smaller firms are enjoying a level of growth that has begun to deliver year-end bonuses and raises.

Christopher Falcone is among the beneficiaries.

Falcone, 32, has been working as an accountant at a Chicago real estate investment company for the past six months. He said he just received a 3.5 percent salary increase and a 4 percent cash bonus — enough to plan a visit to Disney World to celebrate with his family.

“It’s our 10-year wedding anniversary,” Falcone said. “We got married there, so we’re going back and we’re taking our kids.”

Other workers are negotiating higher salaries after reviewing the pay levels advertised on job sites.

David Castañeda felt that the 3 percent raise he recently received didn’t fully value his performance as a financial analyst at a cemetery and mortuary outside Los Angeles.

So the 27-year-old Castañeda researched other job opportunities and presented the findings to his boss.

The result? A 31 percent pay increase to $85,000.

“The opportunities are out there and wages are being pushed up,” Castañeda said. “If everyone were to do this, they would get it. But most people are afraid that their boss would say no and let them go.”

Many Americans, of course, have yet to enjoy pay bumps regardless of a tightening labor pool. The

wage figures from the Labor Department are averages. So even when the averages improve, millions of workers continue to endure stagnant incomes and rising expenses. For example, in the mining and logging sector of the economy, which has been pummeled by plunging oil prices, average wages actually fell in December.

Economists also note that average wages can gyrate from month to month.

Wages had dipped in December, leading Dean Baker of the liberal Center for Economic Policy and Research to conclude that there’s “no real evidence” of accelerating pay. Wages generally rise at a pace of more than 3 percent in a healthy economy.

Still, the year-over-year average wage increase of 2.2 percent can feel a lot better than it might sound given today’s historically low inflation. Thanks to sinking prices at the gasoline pump, consumer prices have edged up just 0.8 percent over the past 12 months. That means wages have risen a solid 1.4 percent after inflation.

“That’s a step in the right direction,” said Bill Hampel, chief economist at the Credit Union National Association.

Hampel stressed that job growth must continue at the current solid rate for a couple more years to make up for the plunge in incomes that accompanied the recession and then persisted during most of the 51/2-year-old recovery.

Even so, some younger Americans who clung to their jobs during the meager recovery are now enjoying a novel experience: a promotion.

Mark Andre, a designer at the commercial architecture firm LSM in Washington, just received a 15 percent raise after being elevated to a new position.

“It was rough through 2011 and 2012 in the architecture industry,” said Andre, 28. “It’s encouraging to see the numbers are coming back.”

Islamic State says airstrike killed hostage

By ZEINA KARAM ASSOCIATED PRESS

BEIRUT — Islamic State extremists claimed that an American woman held hostage by the group was killed Friday in a Jordanian airstrike in northern Syria, but the government of Jordan dismissed the statement as “criminal propaganda” and the U.S. said it had not seen any evidence to corroborate the report.

The woman was identified as Kayla Jean Mueller, an American who went to Syria to do aid work, but there was no independent MUELLER verification of the militants’ claim. The statement appeared on a militant website commonly used by the group and was also distributed by Islamic State-affiliated Twitter users.

The 26-year-old Mueller, of Prescott, Arizona, is the only known remaining U.S. hostage held by the Islamic State group.

If the death is confirmed, she would be the fourth American to die while being held by Islamic State militants.

Three other Americans — journalists James Foley and Steven Sotloff, and aid worker Peter Kassig — were beheaded by the group.

Journalist Austin Tice, of Houston, disappeared in August 2012 while covering Syria’s civil war. It’s not clear what entity is holding him, but it is not believed to be the Islamic State group or the Syrian government, his family has said.

The announcement was the second time this week that extremists announced the death of a hostage.

They released a video Tuesday showing Jordanian air force Lt. Muath alKaseasbeh, also 26, being burned to death in a cage in gruesome images that caused outrage in Jordan and the rest of the region.

Al-Kaseasbeh, whose F-16 came down in December while conducting airstrikes as part of a campaign against the militants by a U.S.-led coalition, was believed to have been killed in early January.

Friday’s statement said Mueller was killed in the militants’ stronghold of Raqqa in northern Syria during Muslim prayers — which usually take place around midday — in airstrikes that targeted “the same location for more than an hour.”

It published photos purportedly of the bombed site, showing a severely damaged three-story building, but offered no proof or images of Mueller.

The statement said no Islamic State militants were killed in the airstrikes, raising further questions about the veracity of the claim.

Jordanian government spokesman Mohammed alMomani said it was investigating.

“But as a first reaction, we think it’s illogical and we are highly skeptical about it. How could they identify a Jordanian warplane ... in the sky? What was the American lady doing in a weapons warehouse?” al-Momani said.

“It’s part of their criminal propaganda. They have lied that our pilot is alive and tried to negotiate, claiming he is alive while they had killed him weeks before,” he added.

American officials said they also were looking into the report.

SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 7, 2015

THE ZAPATA TIMES 9A

ALICIA OLGA GUTIERREZ Alicia Olga Gutierrez, age 91, went to be with the Lord on January 30, 2015.

She was born on September 30, 1923 in Zapata, TX. Ms. Gutierrez retired after 30 years of Civil Service at Kelly Air Force Base. She enjoyed traveling the world more than once. She was a loving sister, aunt and friend who was loved dearly. She will be deeply missed and will always remain in her family’s heart.

She was preceded in death by her parents, Evaristo and Alicia Gutierrez; four brothers and two sisters.

She is survived by her sister, Lydia G. Cuellar; numerous nieces, nephews, great-nieces, great-nephews, great-great-nieces, great-great-nephews, other relatives and close friends.

Visitation will be 6 p.m., Sunday, February 8, 2015 at Sunset Funeral Home

Anthem health insurer hacked

By RICARDO ALONSO-ZALDIVAR ASSOCIATED PRESS

Chapel with a Rosary to be recited at 7 p.m. Funeral Mass will be 10 a.m., Monday, February 9, 2015 at St. Thomas More Catholic Church, 4411 Moana, San Antonio, TX 78218.

Entombment will follow at Holy Cross Mausoleum.

Condolences may be offered at www.sunsetfuneralhomesa.com.

In lieu of flowers, contributions may be made to the American Cancer Society.

WASHINGTON — Insurers aren’t required to encrypt consumers’ data under a 1990s federal law that remains the foundation for health care privacy in the Internet age — an omission that seems striking in light of the major cyberattack against Anthem.

Encryption uses mathematical formulas to scramble data, converting sensitive details coveted by intruders into gibberish. Anthem, the secondlargest U.S. health insurer, has said the data stolen from a company database that stored information on 80 million people was not encrypted.

The main federal health privacy law — the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability

POPE Continued from Page 1A “These young people — who have come to learn how to strive against the propagation of stereotypes, from people who only see in immigration a source of illegality, social conflict and violence — can contribute much to show the world a church without borders,” Francis wrote.

Rev. Sean Carroll, executive director of Kino Border Initiative, said students were very excited and very touched after receiving the letter from Francis.

“They cross the border every day to serve meals to the migrants,” said Carroll, who wrote the cover letter to accompany the teens’ messages to the Pope. “I think receiving this letter affirms the work they are doing.”

Lucy Howell, a board member of Kino Border Initiative, said the letter was shared at a recent board meeting. “We’re ecstatic,” Howell said.

“We’re all touched.”

Francis has made migration one of the priorities of his pontificate and will likely raise the issue when he visits the U.S. in September. On Thursday, U.S. officials confirmed he would address Congress on Sept.

24, the first pope to do so.

U.S. Congressman Cuellar, D-Laredo, released a statement following the announcement from Speaker John Boehner that the Pope will address Congress.

“As a Catholic I’m very much looking forward to Pope Francis’ visit to Washington to address Congress this September,” Cuellar said in the

statement. “Pope Francis has led the Catholic Church with grace and inspired people from all religions with his words and the humble example he sets for all.

“He challenges me and all Catholics to better serve our church, communities and nation, and especially now as we see images of uncertainty and evil around the world, I look forward to His Holiness’ prayers and words of wisdom.”

Francis has said he would have loved to have entered the U.S. via the Mexican border in a “beautiful ... sign of brotherhood and of help to the immigrants.” But he said the trip’s itinerary was too tight to let him visit the border.

Carroll said a papal visit to the border would be a “transformative event” that might change minds of certain U.S. residents on the issue of immigration. “It would help people reflect deeply on the issue of migration,” Carroll said. “I think his visit would have a significant impact.”

In his letter, Francis praised migrant initiatives in cities like Nogales “which live daily with the phenomenon of immigration, and the ensuing inhuman situations of all type that it creates.” He urged the Kino supporters to “never tire of working to build fraternity and welcome against discrimination and exclusion.”

Arizona in 2010 passed tough legislation cracking down on illegal immigration, although much of the law was eventually gutted.

(The Zapata Times contributed to this report.)

Act, or HIPAA — encourages encryption, but doesn’t require it.

The lack of a clear encryption standard undermines public confidence, some experts say, even as the government plows ahead to spread the use of computerized medical records and promote electronic information sharing among hospitals, doctors and insurers.

“We need a whole new look at HIPAA,” said David Kibbe, CEO of DirectTrust, a nonprofit working to create a national framework for secure electronic exchange of personal health information.

“Any identifying information relevant to a patient ... should be encrypted,” said Kibbe. It should make no difference, he says, whether that information is being

transmitted on the Internet or sitting in a company database, as was the case with Anthem.

Late Friday, the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions committee said it’s planning to examine encryption requirements as part of a bipartisan review of health information security. “We will consider whether there are ways to strengthen current protections,” said Jim Jeffries, spokesman for chairman Lamar Alexander, R-Tenn.

The agency charged with enforcing the privacy rules is a small unit of the federal Health and Human Services Department, called the Office for Civil Rights.

The office said in a statement Friday that it has yet to receive formal notification of the hack

from Anthem, but nonetheless is treating the case as a privacy law matter. Although Anthem alerted mainline law enforcement agencies, the law allows 60 days for notifying HHS. The statement from the privacy office said the kind of personal data stolen by the Anthem hackers is covered by HIPAA, even if it does not include medical information.

“The personally identifiable information health plans maintain on enrollees and members — including names and Social Security numbers — is protected under HIPAA, even if no specific diagnostic or treatment information is disclosed,” the statement said.

Encryption has been seen as a controversial issue in the industry.

ABUSE Continued from Page 1A spokeswoman Veronica Cantu.

The criminal complaint against Montalvo alleges that he and Rodriguez went out to celebrate her being in a relationship with the female student for months.

On Feb. 3, UISD police recovered Rodriguez’s diary, which contained a document that read, “Happy 4 Months (13-year-old victim).” Rodriguez allegedly wrote that she had an “awesome” start of the day and went to H-E-B to buy cupcakes, a bottle,

four candles, a lighter and a balloon.

Rodriguez then allegedly made reference to a “Joe.” During the investigation, authorities questioned the student about “Joe.” Without police saying his name, she identified “Joe” as Montalvo, Laredo police said. Police then asked the child if Montalvo knew about the “incident or the relationship” between Rodriguez and her. The child allegedly stated, “Yes, he (Montalvo) knows,” the com-

plaint states.

UISD police contacted Montalvo. Authorities told him they needed to talk to him regarding the first interview they had Jan. 29.

That day, Montalvo stated that he did not have any information on the case nor did he know the student.

Police asked him if he knew Rodriguez was having a relationship with a minor.

They recounted in the complaint that he said: “No, I never knew of any kind of relationship with

a minor.”

Police then asked him if Rodriguez had ever mentioned a minor by the name of the victim’s.

“No, I don’t know who that minor is,” he allegedly told LPD. Anyone with knowledge of Rodriguez’s whereabouts are asked to call UISD police at 956-473-6361 or Laredo Crime Stoppers at 727-TIPS (8477). Callers may remain anonymous.

(César G. Rodriguez may be reached at 7282568 or cesar@lmtonline.com)

MEXICO Continued from Page 1A ican President Enrique Peña Nieto signed into law shortly after.

"No region stands to gain more from Mexico’s energy reforms than the Rio Grande Valley,” state Sen. Juan "Chuy" Hinojosa, D-McAllen, said upon being named that body’s chairman. “With the Eagle Ford Shale to the north and the Burgos Basin, also known as the Eagle Ford Shale south of the border, the Rio Grande Valley is at the epicenter of this energy revolution happening in Texas and Mexico.”

Marcial Nava, chief economist for the global bank BBVA Compass, told lawmakers in September that Texas could reap 200,000 jobs and $3.5 billion in revenue as Texas oilfield service firms and other companies trickle across the border.

Border towns that “effectively seize the opportunity could see one of

the most dramatic transformations" in the border’s history, he said.

But the slumping oil market threatens those prospects, at least for now.

The gloomy climate may not deter global behemoths from pouring cash into long-term projects like deepwater drilling, but lower oil prices could make operators less likely to invest in the shale along the border.

“There’s just not a ton of movement anywhere right now,” said Malachi Boyuls, a partner at St. Augustine Capital Partners, an energy investment and advisory firm, and a former candidate for railroad commissioner. “People are kind of just sitting with what they have, seeing where the oil bottom is.”

The market pressures come as would-be investors in Mexico wait for answers to a host of other questions: What will that

country’s regulations look like? Will its roads and workforce accommodate new activity? Will government corruption and violence hinder business?

In recent years, for instance, cartels have expanded their drug- and human-smuggling operations. They are stealing Mexico’s oil by siphoning it directly from pipelines.

From January through September of last year, the cartels drilled about 2,480 illegal taps, according to The Associated Press, costing the Mexican government an estimated $1.15 billion.

“From what I’ve heard from most investors in the industry, that’s the No. 1 concern,” said state Rep. Ryan Guillen, D-Rio Grande City, whose district extends from San Antonio south to the border with Mexico and east to the Gulf Coast.

“There’s no question that they want to go in that

market, they want to be players, but the question is will they ever because of the safety concerns.”

The instability may give investors more leverage in their negotiations with the Mexican government, allowing them to seek more contract guarantees and lower taxes and fees, experts say.

“At least with current day prices, the whole package has to be more attractive,” said Shannon K. O’Neil, a senior fellow for Latin America studies at the Council on Foreign Relations, a nonpartisan think tank.

Despite all the uncertainty, Guillen said he’s excited about the experiment in private investment, which could improve the quality of life for all Mexicans and help stabilize the border.

“I really do believe that this gives Mexico the opportunity to really turn things around," he said.