The Zapata Times 3/14/2015

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RIO GRANDE

Undrinkable water Cities, towns, colonias along the border deal with polluted river

By NEENA SATIJA AND ALEXA URA THE TEXAS TRIBUNE

Turn on the faucet. Fill a glass with water. Drink it. Acts so commonplace you perform them without thinking twice.

Flora Barraza cannot.

Neither can José Garcia, nor the cooks at Los Pas-

teles Bakery No. 2, nor the elderly at the Epoca de Oro Adult Day Care.

Along the Texas-Mexico border, nearly 90,000 people are believed to still live without running water. An untold number more — likely tens of thousands, but no one is sure — often have run-

ning water of such poor quality that they cannot know what poisons or diseases it might carry.

They are mostly low-income Hispanics, some living in isolated pockets or low-grade developments on land nobody else wanted. Poor, powerless and out of sight, they continue

FEDERAL COURT

THE ZAPATA TIMES

Federal agents in Zapata recently seized almost 1,200 pounds of marijuana and arrested one man in connection to the case, according to court documents obtained this week.

The case unfolded at 8:10 a.m. Feb. 27, when a U.S. Border Patrol agent patrolling south on U.S. 83 by the Siesta Shores neighborhood spotted a white Ford F-250 hauling a generator. Records state the agent noticed United Rentals company logos on the driver’s door and tailgate. “(The agent) has seen several United Rentals logos through his career and quickly noticed that the company logos on the truck were too small,” states a criminal complaint filed March 2.

Then, the agent followed the pickup to take

a better look at the generator, which seemed “clean and shiny” and appeared to be freshly painted, according to court documents.

Authorities said the vehicle then pulled over next to a gas pump at the Stripes on First Avenue and U.S. 83. As the agent approached the vehicle, he noticed and smelled that the generator was freshly painted.

He began talking to the driver, later identified as Victor Tristan.

Tristan claimed he was going to swap generators but did not know the location.

Asked for a supervisor, Tristan could not give a response, according to court documents. Following a consent to search the vehicle, a narcotics detection dog alerted agents to possible contraband.

See MARIJUANA PAGE 11A

stituents live in some of the worst conditions.

It is not a new problem.

State and national governments launched massive efforts to solve it in the 1980s when the border’s population surged. They created huge institutions to funnel billions of dollars toward building treat-

ment plants and pipelines.

But many people have been left behind. Whether rooted in sloppy development, political infighting, lax enforcement or environmental hurdles, each border community’s challenges tell a version of the

See UNDRINKABLE

PAGE 12A

DAUGHTERS OF THE TEXAS REPUBLIC

Feds seize pot load, arrest man

By CÉSAR G. RODRIGUEZ

to grapple with the illnesses and hardships that come from lacking such a basic necessity.

“Some people have no idea that there’s still third-world conditions in the most powerful country in the world,” says U.S. Rep. Henry Cuellar, a Laredo Democrat whose con-

MANAGEMENT CHANGE

Photo by Julysa Sosa/file/San Antonio Express-News | AP

Singer Phil Collins recounts his first visit to the Alamo in 1973 during a news conference announcing his donation of his personal artifacts collection to the Alamo, in San Antonio. Texas is taking over management of the Alamo, ending the Daughters of the Texas Republic’s 110-year management of the site, according to a joint statement issued Thursday.

State severs ties with management group

By TERRY WALLACE AND WILL WEISSERT ASSOCIATED PRESS

AUSTIN — Texas is taking over management of the Alamo, ending the Daughters of the Texas Republic’s 110-year management of the

site, according to a joint statement issued Thursday.

In the statement, Land Commissioner George P. Bush said the General Land Office was taking over the day-to-day management of the downtown San Antonio mission-turned-fortress. The

management of the Alamo will transition to office over the next four months.

During that time, the office will solicit proposals for the development of a strategic plan for the Alamo grounds and search the nation for a new management

company.

In the 1800s, the Alamo was the site of a key battle in the Texas Revolution in which some 180 defenders were killed during a siege by Mexican forces. Weeks later,

See ALAMO PAGE 11A

DEBT LIMIT

Treasury boss explains emergency measure

By MARTIN CRUTSINGER ASSOCIATED PRESS

WASHINGTON — Treasury Secretary Jacob Lew is telling Congress the steps he will be taking once the federal government hits the debt limit on Monday.

Lew took the first step

Friday by suspending issuance of special Treasury securities that are used by state LEW and local governments.

He said that on Monday he will stop making invest-

ments in a pension fund for government employees.

The nation’s current debt stands at $18.1 trillion. Over the past year, the government has been able to borrow as much money as it needs to finance operations because Congress had suspended the debt limit.

However, the debt limit will go back into effect on Monday at the level where debt is currently. After that, Lew can employ various emergency measures to keep from going over the limit.

The Congressional Budget Office in a report last week estimated that the

various measures Lew can employ could put off the date the debt ceiling will have to be raised until October or November.

Lew included a description of the various measures he can use along with his letter. The fact

sheet said that suspending the issuance of debt investments in the Civil Service Retirement and Disability Fund would free up $20 billion in headroom for the government to sell regular Treasury securities over the next three months.

See DEBT LIMIT PAGE 11A

10A THE ZAPATA TIMES

SATURDAY, MARCH 14, 2015

Kerry promotes Egypt investment

By BRADLEY KLAPPER ASSOCIATED PRESS

Photo by Khalid Mohammed | AP

A member of an Iraqi Shiite militant group called Soldiers of Imam Ali Brigades launches rockets against Islamic State extremist positions in Tikrit, 80 miles north of Baghdad, Iraq, on Friday. Iraqi forces entered Tikrit for the first time on Wednesday from the north and south.

Iraqi notes Iran’s help

By QASSIM ABDUL-ZAHRA AND SAMEER N. YACOUB ASSOCIATED PRESS

TIKRIT, Iraq — The U.S. has failed to live up to its promises to help Iraq fight Islamic State extremists, unlike the “unconditional” assistance being given by Iran, the commander of Iraq’s powerful Shiite militias alleged Friday.

In a battlefield interview near Tikrit, where Iraqi forces are fighting to retake Saddam Hussein’s hometown from the militants of the so-called Islamic State, commander Hadi al-Amiri criticized those who “kiss the hands of the Americans and get nothing in return.”

Iraqi forces entered Tikrit for the first time Wednesday from the north and south. On Friday, they waged fierce battles to secure the northern neighborhood of Qadisiyya and lobbed mortar shells and rockets into the city center, still in the hands of IS militants. Iraqi military officials have said they expect to reach central Tikrit in two to three days.

The Iranian-backed Shiite militias have played a crucial role in regaining territory from the Sunni extremists of the Islamic State group, supporting Iraq’s embattled military and police forces.

An Iraqi government official told The Associated Press that Iran has sold Baghdad nearly $10 billion

in arms and hardware, mostly weapons for urban warfare like assault rifles, heavy machine-guns and rocket launchers. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to brief the media.

In November, President Barack Obama authorized the deployment of up to 1,500 more U.S. troops to bolster Iraqi forces, which could more than double the total of American forces in Iraq to 3,100. The Pentagon has made a spending request to Congress of $1.6 billion, focusing on training and arming Kurdish and Iraqi forces. According to a Pentagon document prepared in November, the U.S. is looking to provide an estimated $89.3 million in weapons and equipment to each of the nine Iraqi brigades.

The U.S.-led coalition of eight countries has launched more than 2,000 airstrikes in Iraq alone since August 2014, and the U.S. is also hitting the militant group from the air in Syria. Iraqi and U.S. officials have acknowledged the role airstrikes have played in rolling back the militants, saying the air campaign was an essential component in victories at the Mosul Dam, in Amirli, and more recently, in the crucial oil refining town of Beiji.

But the U.S. is not taking part in the operation in

Tikrit, with U.S. officials saying they were not asked

by Iraq to participate.

Al-Amiri, the Shiite militia commander who also is head of the Badr Organization political party, said that “help from Iran is unconditional.”

He warned that Iraq should not sacrifice its sovereignty for the sake of receiving weapons and assistance from the U.S., suggesting the Iraqi government is taking instructions from Washington.

“Our sovereignty is more important than U.S. weapons,” he said. “We can bring weapons from any country in the world.”

Separately, Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani, Iraq’s top Shiite cleric, urged the government to step up its support for the Shiite militias and to take care of the families of militiamen killed in battle. His remarks were relayed by his spokesman Ahmed al-Safi in the Shiite holy city of Karbala.

As many as 30,000 men are fighting the extremists in Tikrit — most of them volunteers with various Shiite militias, Iraqi officials say. U.S. Gen. Martin Dempsey said Wednesday that up to 20,000 militiamen may be involved.

Karim al-Nouri, a spokesman for the Popular Mobilization Forces, the official name of the Shiite militias, said as many as 40 Iranian advisers are also taking part.

SHARM EL-SHEIKH, Egypt — Secretary of State John Kerry delivered words of encouragement Friday for Egypt’s efforts to attract greater foreign investment but no new military assistance as demanded by the country’s president.

Kerry’s hands are tied because the Obama administration is undecided about whether to affirm Egypt’s progress on democracy and human rights or issue a national security waiver. It must do one or other under the 2015 federal budget to unblock hundreds of millions of dollars in military aid for Egypt.

In the Red Sea resort of Sharm el-Sheikh, America’s top diplomat said investment was needed to restore confidence in Egypt and provide stability for the region.

“This part of the world is blessed with a stunning amount of commercial potential,” Kerry said at an American Chamber of Commerce event. He said the U.S., whose companies invested $2 billion in Egypt last year, stood ready to help.

Kerry attended an Egyptian economic conference later Friday and met with Egyptian President AbdelFattah el-Sissi, who has been clamoring for U.S. tanks, planes and other materiel held up since the military’s 2013 takeover of the government.

El-Sissi said earlier this week the logjam was creating the impression that the U.S. isn’t standing by the Egyptians as they battle the Islamic State and other extremists. The country’s need for weapons and equipment is “dire,” he told Fox News.

Kerry had hoped to announce on his three-day trip to Egypt the delivery of F16 fighter jets, according to U.S. officials, who weren’t authorized to speak publicly on internal

Photo by Brian Snyder/pool | AP

Secretary of State John Kerry, left, is thanked by Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi after speaking at the economic conference in Egypt, on Friday. Egypt’s Gulf Arab allies promised it $12 billion in new investment and aid on Friday. deliberations and demanded anonymity.

But no path forward has emerged from multiple White House discussions in recent weeks over funds which were suspended 21 months ago when el-Sissi, then military chief, overthrew Egypt’s first democratically elected leader, Islamist President Mohammed Morsi.

The U.S. has been providing hundreds of millions in counterterrorism assistance to its ally, which isn’t stalled as a result of the coup. Egypt says it needs the money to face growing threats from extremists creeping over the border from lawless Libya or operating in the Sinai Peninsula, and the U.S. sees the funds as critical for stability in the volatile Middle East.

But Washington cannot provide almost half of its $1.5 billion annual aid package — along with assistance held up from previous years — until it does one of two things. It must certify advances by el-Sissi’s government on democracy, human rights and law, or tell Congress the assistance should go through because it is in America’s security interest.

The administration has reservations about both options.

It doesn’t want to en-

dorse a post-coup Egyptian crackdown on political opponents that started with hundreds killed in street clashes and thousands jailed. There have since been mass trials and death sentences.

The administration is likewise uncomfortable with a national security declaration that would recall the decades of American support for Egypt’s former autocrat Hosni Mubarak despite his government’s obvious shortcomings.

Officials said the focus of the trip wasn’t on military matters but rather the investment conference. Top executives from General Electric, Microsoft and other U.S. companies attended.

Egypt’s economy was rocked after Arab Spring protesters chased Mubarak from power in 2011. El-Sissi has sought to make the county more conducive for investment and is reforming Egypt’s tax code, among other efforts to spur renewed economic vitality.

Kerry also met Friday with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and Jordan’s King Abdullah II. From Egypt, he will travel to Switzerland Sunday for another round of nuclear talks with Iran.

Negotiators hope to reach a framework deal by month’s end.

Sweeds to visit Assange

By JILL LAWLESS AND KARL RITTER ASSOCIATED PRESS

LONDON — Julian Assange and his supporters warily welcomed a surprise U-turn Friday by Swedish prosecutors, who now say they are willing to come to London to quiz the WikiLeaks founder over alleged sex crimes.

The reversal, however, doesn’t mean the anti-secrecy activist will soon be leaving the Ecuadorean embassy in London, his home and prison for almost three years.

Since 2010, Swedish prosecutors have sought to question Assange over sex allegations made by two women.

Assange fought extradition through the British courts and, when that failed, holed up inside Ecuador’s small diplomatic mission.

British police stand guard around the clock at the building, ready to arrest him if he steps outside.

Assange denies the allegations against him, and believes extradition to Sweden is merely a first step in efforts to remove him to the U.S., where WikiLeaks infuriated officials by publishing secret documents including 250,000 State Department cables. Former U.S. Army soldier Chelsea Manning is serving a 35-year sentence for passing those documents to WikiLeaks and the U.S. investigation into WikiLeaks is ongoing.

On Friday, Swedish prosecutors reversed their long refusal to question Assange inside his London bolt hole, citing the five-year statute of limitations on some of the allegations against him.

One of Assange’s defense lawyers, Per Samuelson, called the about-face “a great victory for Julian Assange,” and indicated the 43year-old Australian would likely agree to be ques-

tioned.

“This is something we’ve demanded for over four years,” Samuelson told ASSANGE The Associated Press after speaking to Assange on Friday. “Julian Assange wants to be interviewed so he can be exonerated.”

Sweden ordered Assange’s arrest in August 2010. He has not been formally indicted, but he faces allegations of rape, sexual molestation and illegal coercion involving two women.

The latter two allegations expire after five years, rape after 10 years.

Lead Swedish prosecutor Marianne Ny said the looming deadline had prompted her change of mind.

“My view has always been that to perform an interview with him at the Ecuadorean embassy in London would lower the quality of the interview, and that he would need to be present in Sweden in any case should there be a trial in the future,” Ny said in a statement.

“Now that time is of the essence, I have viewed it therefore necessary to accept such deficiencies in the investigation and likewise take the risk that the interview does not move the case forward.”

It was unclear how soon a prosecutor could come to London.

Ny said she had asked Assange’s legal team on Friday if she could interview him in London and have his DNA sample taken with a swab. She said permission was also being sought from Ecuadorean authorities.

“We cannot say when we will go there,” Rosander said. “We cannot make any guesses, because it depends on circumstances that are

outside our reach. We need to get a go-ahead from the British and the Ecuadorean authorities.”

Britain’s Foreign Office said it was “ready to assist the Swedish prosecutor as required.” British officials would be overjoyed to see a resolution to the stalemate, which has cost taxpayers 10 million pounds ($15 million) in police costs.

Britain has previously said “voluntarily providing a statement or taking part in an interview are issues which should be agreed between the Swedish prosecutor, Mr. Assange and the Ecuadorean Embassy.”

Ecuador’s Foreign Minister, Ricardo Patino, said Ecuador had offered to have Assange questioned when he arrived at the embassy years ago.

“If Ecuador’s offer from 1,000 days ago to take a statement had been accepted, we would have all been spared a lot of money and a lot of annoyance,” he tweeted.

Friday’s move comes after Assange appealed his detention order to Sweden’s Supreme Court, which earlier this week asked the country’s prosecutor-general to issue an opinion.

Samuelson said the prosecutor-general had probably ordered Ny to move the case forward by traveling to London. Rosander, of the prosecutor’s office, declined to comment.

Journalist and filmmaker John Pilger, a member of Assange’s legal defense fund, said the Swedish prosecutor’s delay in offering to come to London had “kept Assange trapped in the U.K. while the U.S. continues to pursue its unprecedented espionage case” against him and WikiLeaks.

“She has wasted four and a half years of Assange’s life ... Her behavior is scandalous,” Pilger said.

SATURDAY, MARCH 14, 2015

THE ZAPATA TIMES 11A

FLORENCIO JASSO JR. March 28, 1937 — March 2, 2015 Florencio Jasso, Jr. 77, passed away Monday, March 2, 2015, at Laredo Medical Center in Laredo.

Mr. Jasso is preceded in death his parents, Florencio and Matiana Jasso; and brothers, Dagoberto Jasso and Jorge Jasso.

Mr. Jasso is survived by his wife, Yolanda R. Jasso; sons, Juan “Johnny” (Connie) Jasso, Joe Louis Jasso and Martin J. (Isela) Jasso; daughter, Sandra Jasso; grandchildren, Candace (Ryan) Wilson, Juan Jasso Jr., Briana Contreras, Criso Rey Jasso, Cristo Rene Jasso, Rico Jasso, Joe Louis Jasso Jr., Alicia Jasso, Arturo Jasso, Daisy (Mark) Jordan, Martin Jasso Jr., Liliana (Miguel) Hinojosa, Luis (Katherin) Arambula Jr. and Esteban A. Mireles; 10 great-grandchildren; brothers, Armando Jasso, Arturo Jasso, Ricardo Jasso; sisters, Aurora Vela, Amanda Salinas, Francisca Solis, Simona Olivares, Sulema Rodriguez, Adela Vallejo, Socorro Reyes and Sylvia Villarreal and by numerous nephews, nieces, other family members and friends.

Visitation hours were held Wednesday, March 4,

By DAVID WETHE AND JIM POLSON BLOOMBERG NEWS

2015, from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. with a rosary at 7 p.m. at Rose Garden Funeral Home.

The funeral procession departed Thursday, March 5, 2015, at 9:30 a.m. for a 10 a.m. funeral Mass at Our Lady of Lourdes Catholic Church. Committal services followed at Zapata County Cemetery.

Funeral arrangements were under the direction of Rose Garden Funeral Home, Daniel A. Gonzalez, funeral director, 2102 N. U.S. Hwy. 83, Zapata.

A deadly oil well explosion in Texas’s Permian Basin this week offers a cautionary note of the industry’s challenges as companies cut costs during a market downturn.

Even as deaths in the industry have climbed much less than the breakneck pace of hiring for the U.S. shale boom, the three fatalities in Upton County on Tuesday are a reminder of the many risks facing workers.

“Even in downturns like this, people tend to want to watch their bottom lines, but safety is just as important now as it was when things were busy,” said Kenny Jordan, executive director at the Association for Energy Service Companies, a Houston-based industry organization. “That’s one of the concerns.”

The oil and gas industry saw 112 workers die in 2013, the latest figures available from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. That’s up 31 percent from 2003. Meanwhile, pro-

ducers and drillers doubled their workforce in the same period, to 507,000.

This week’s explosion that killed three workers occurred at a well owned by Parsley Energy Inc. The workers were employed by Mason Well Service Ltd. of Odessa, Texas, said Lisa Elliott of Dennard-Lascar Associates, an outside communications firm speaking for Parsley, who confirmed the deaths. She didn’t return phone and e-mail messages today seeking further comment.

The U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration is investigating, Diana Petterson, a spokeswoman for the Department of Labor, said in a phone interview. She was unable to give more information about the accident.

Permian Basin The Permian is the biggest oilproducing region in the U.S. and remains one of the most active drilling areas despite the downturn in the oil market. Oil rigs in the Permian Basin of Texas and New Mexico make up more than a third of the U.S. total and 31 percent of those

drilling in all of North America, according to data compiled by Houston-based Baker Hughes Inc., the world’s third-largest field-services company.

The industry has announced more than $40 billion in spending cuts and is eliminating 100,000 jobs globally as crude prices have fallen by more than half since June.

The industry could get safer in a downturn, as some of the younger, more inexperienced workers leave oil and gas, Jordan said.

Oilfield deaths fell by 43 percent in 2009 to 68, the lowest amount in a decade, as a collapse in natural gas prices led to drilling cutbacks, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. The number of active drilling rigs, a measure of workload, fell 57 percent from August 2008 to June 2009, according to Baker Hughes data by Bloomberg.

Parsley, based in Austin, Texas, is run by Bryan Sheffield, the 36-yearold son of Scott D. Sheffield, who is chairman and CEO of Irving, Texasbased Pioneer Natural Resources Co., another Permian operator.

MARIJUANA Continued from Page 1A

JESUS M. GUTIERREZ JR. Jan. 31, 1976 — March 5, 2015 SAN YGNACIO — Jesus M. Gutierrez Jr. 39, passed away on Thursday, March 5, 2015, at Laredo Medical Center in Laredo.

Mr. Gutierrez is preceded in death by his father, Jesus M. Gutierrez.

Mr. Gutierrez is survived by his wife, Claudia Gutierrez; daughter, Amanda Marie Gutierrez; mother, Norma P. Gutierrez; brother, Charles (Susan) Charo; sisters, Becky Ann (Alejandro) Castillo and Annette Blanco; inlaws, Armando Sr. and Maria Soto; brothers-in-law, Armando Jr. (Maritza) Soto, Alejandro (Mary Ann) Soto; sister-in-law, Sandra De Leon and by numerous aunts, uncles, cousins, other family members and friends.

Visitation hours were held Sunday, March 8, 2015, from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. with a rosary at 7 p.m. at Rose Garden Funeral Home.

The funeral procession departed Monday, March 9, 2015, at 9:30 a.m. for a 10

Safety a concern in cutbacks

Tristan allegedly agreed to a further inspection and drove to the Zapata Border Patrol station, which is located two blocks from Stripes.

Agents said the generator had several anomalies.

Then, authorities discovered the vents of the generator had been blocked

by a steel plate. Upon removing the plate, agents said they found 96 bundles wrapped in brown tape.

The bundles contained 1,190 pounds of marijuana valued at $952,000. DEA special agents responded to the station to investigate. Tristan allegedly

chose to speak to authorities regarding the seizure.

“During (the) interview, Tristan admitted that he knew was transporting drugs and accepted monetary compensation for it,” the complaint states.

A criminal history check on Tristan revealed

he had been previously arrested for allegedly attempting to smuggle about 46 pounds of marijuana at the Sarita Border Patrol checkpoint on Texas 77.

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

ALAMO Continued from Page 1A

a.m. funeral Mass at Our Lady of Refuge Catholic Church in San Ygnacio.

Committal services followed at Panteon Del Pueblo in San Ygancio.

Funeral arrangements were under the direction of Rose Garden Funeral Home, Daniel A. Gonzalez, funeral director, 2102 N. U.S. Hwy. 83, Zapata.

those deaths provided Texas irregulars with their rallying cry that they carried to victory at the Battle of San Jacinto, which clinched Texas’ independence from Mexico.

“The Alamo has always had the same owner — the people of Texas. And so to meet the ever-increasing operational needs of the Alamo, the GLO has determined to change its day-today management from the DRT and move in a new direction. Together, we will create a bigger, brighter future for this Texas shrine,” the Bush statement said.

The General Land Office took ownership of the Alamo in 2011 at the behest of the Legislature, which had grown concerned about the care of the iconic Texas

landmark. Worries arose following accusations of mismanagement and financial incompetence levied at the nonprofit Daughters.

The next year, the General Land Office told the group’s Alamo Mission Chapter to vacate the Alamo grounds, that the group “could no longer store private belongings on state property, or continue to enjoy free, exclusive, longterm use of state property for private chapter business.”

During his campaign last year for land commissioner, the Republican Bush had expressed a desire to reach out to the Daughters for greater involvement in the Alamo’s affairs. Nevertheless, his decision to cancel the

group’s management of the attraction was not a complete surprise to McCaffrey.

“That’s politics,” she said.

Alamo Director Becky Dinnin praised the Daughters for taking care of the Alamo, noting the group intervened in 1905 and “kept it from being torn down.” But she said that “over the past few years, the needs of the Alamo have really grown significantly, especially in the area of conservation and the need to be able to fundraise.”

The Daughters remain concerned, however, about the potential commercialization of the Alamo and its surrounding grounds.

“Unfortunately, it doesn’t

take much to turn it into” a tourist trap, said McCaffrey, whose group has always maintained the Alamo as a shrine demanding reverence from visitors.

But fundraising for Alamo projects has been among the biggest challenges the Daughters faced in recent years.

For the Daughters, the parting is bittersweet but will not do away with the group’s mission, President General Ellen McCaffrey said.

“It frees up our time, money and resources for other projects,” she said, citing specifically the former French Legation to the Republic of Texas in Austin and the Republic museum to be developed next door.

DEBT LIMIT Continued from Page 1A In his letter Friday, Lew urged Congress to move to raise the debt limit as quickly as possible.

“The creditworthiness of the United States is not a bargaining chip and I again urge Congress to address this matter without controversy or brinksmanship,” Lew said.

Republicans now control both the House and the Senate. More conservative

GOP lawmakers would like to use the need to raise the borrowing limit as leverage to force President Barack Obama to change his policies in such areas as health care and immigration.

But Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Kentucky, said in a television interview Sunday that he remained firm in his view that the GOP should not employ such tactics.

“I made it very clear after the November election that we’re certainly not going to shut down the government or default on the national debt,” McConnell said on CBS’ “Face the Nation.”

McConnell did suggest that Republicans may try to get some policy initiatives passed by attaching the proposals as part of legislation to raise the debt ceiling.

“We’ll figure some way to handle it and hopefully it might carry some other important legislation that we can agree on in connection with it,” he said.

It was a standoff over the debt limit in August 2011 that prompted the first ever downgrade of the nation’s credit rating

by Standard & poor’s and in October 2013, there was a 16-day partial government shutdown.

12A THE ZAPATA TIMES

SATURDAY, MARCH 14, 2015

UNDRINKABLE same story — families struggling for an essential resource most people take for granted.

Nestled in the mountains of West Texas near Big Bend State Park, the small community of Las Pampas is so remote that it has never been worth the cost to run pipes to just a few dozen homes.

Residents are left to haul their water from miles away.

In Rio Bravo and El Cenizo, neighboring border towns a few miles south of Laredo, a brand-new water treatment plant was supposed to provide nearly 10,000 people with clean drinking water. But local leaders never mustered the political will or dollars necessary to run it properly, and last year eight workers were indicted for allegedly faking water quality reports.

On the dry banks of the Rio Grande in far West Texas, many in the village of Vinton have hoped for decades to give up contaminated groundwater wells and pipe in clean water from big-city neighbor El Paso. But local political infighting got in the way.

And in the Rio Grande Valley, a new water plant should have delivered clean drinking water for 14,000 people in Rio Grande City. But a tangled web of locally owned corporations still serves much of the city.

From poorly treated water to no running water at all, concerns about the damage being inflicted on public health are grave.

The burdensome lifestyles thrust upon these four communities and others along the border are emblematic of a widespread indignity: Despite the state’s development and economic progress, some Texans hold a more tenuous grasp on a civilized life.

“What’s interesting about this is that despite these hardships, [these communities] continue to grow,” said Jacqueline Angel, a public affairs professor who studies Hispanics’ health outcomes and demographics at the University of Texas at Austin. “The population is growing. The problem is not fading.”

Toll on health People who live in the village of Vinton, just outside El Paso, are more likely than their neighbors to have skin problems and gastrointestinal issues — stomach cramps, vomiting and diarrhea — among other maladies.

Researchers believe high levels of arsenic, E. coli and other contaminants found in their drinking water are responsible.

Vinton is one of the few towns that have been formally studied, but its experience is echoed along the border. Bad water makes people sick.

Stomach and intestinal

Continued from Page 1A

Stomach and intestinal issues mostly result from drinking water contaminated with bacteria.

Chronic public health concerns — like cancer and debilitating diseases — more likely spring from chemical contaminants such as arsenic or pesticides. issues mostly result from drinking water contaminated with bacteria.

Chronic public health concerns — like cancer and debilitating diseases — more likely spring from chemical contaminants such as arsenic or pesticides.

But data on the health toll of bad water in most poor Texas communities is murky.

“We provide funding to Texas’ health department, and even then we have difficulties [finding] that data,” said José Luis Velasco, U.S. executive director of the United States-México Border Health Commission.

Because many living on the border do not have health insurance, and others are undocumented immigrants, it’s likely most diseases and ailments resulting from unsafe water are underreported.

Texas physicians are required to report cases of certain infectious diseases to local and state health departments. But they can’t report illnesses they never see.

“It’s very difficult for [poor border residents] to go to clinics and hospitals, so obviously the data won’t get reported,” Velasco said.

State Sen. Judith Zaffirini, a Democrat from Laredo who has worked to improve water quality in border communities, says lingering distrust of tap water — evidenced by the many border residents who buy bottled water even where tap water is safe — proves that local and state officials have more work to do.

“Ensuring clean water is a cost-effective investment,” Zaffirini said. “It’s expensive, but it’s less expensive than dealing with the health consequences.”

Alejandra Rodriguez, who sells party supplies like piñatas, hasn’t trusted the tap water since moving to El Cenizo from Mexico. She claims that the water coming out of the tap is the culprit behind her recurring skin rashes. Photo by Jennifer Whitney.

Money’s drying up Institutions run by Texas, the U.S. and Mexico have for years struggled to provide border communities with clean drinking water. And for hundreds of those communities, it has worked, officials say.

In the past three decades, state and federal

programs together have pumped at least $1.79 billion into water improvement projects on the border.

The money has brought water treatment plants to small Texas border towns, wastewater treatment facilities to Mexico to prevent raw sewage from being dumped into the Rio Grande, and water pipes to countless homes and businesses.

But the Texas secretary of state’s office still counts tens of thousands of residents in impoverished communities lacking running water — and suffering from it.

Because of the sheer number of agencies involved on both sides of the border, no one accepts primary responsibility for finding and helping communities in need of clean water. Ask any of them who’s in charge and most point the finger at someone else.

What is clear is that dwindling funds and endless bureaucracy are blunting progress at all levels.

In 1994, the U.S. and Mexico created the North American Development Bank, or NADBank, to keep an eye on environmental issues — especially water — along the border as the North American Free Trade Agreement kicked in and populations exploded in border towns.

In the 1990s, Congress approved hundreds of millions of dollars in grants to NADBank for border water projects. But the bank lacked enough staff to administer all that funding at once for the poor communities that needed it.

Frustrated, lawmakers began to choke off the flow of grant money. Today the bank mostly gives out loans to communities that are big enough or have the wherewithal to pay them back.

“Every single agency has felt the pinch of scarcity of money,” said Temis Alvarez of the Border Environment Cooperation Commission, which helps administer NADBank funds.

Cadets compete as CyberPatriots

By TRAVIS M. WHITEHEAD VALLEY MORNING STAR

HARLINGEN — Somebody’s trying to break into the computer system.

The CyberPatriot team from Marine Military Academy has to find a way to stop them before they completely shut down vital services. How will they do it?

The four students in this MMA team tested their cyber security skills Friday at the CyberPatriot VII National Championship in National Harbor, Maryland.

The CyberPatriot National Youth Cyber Education Program was created by the Air Force Association to inspire students toward careers in cyber security, says the CyberPatriot website. It also seeks to create interest in the Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) professions.

There are three main programs within CyberPatriot. MMA’s four cyber sleuths — Maxime Dowla, George Zenner, Giancarlo Betti Hernandez and his brother Giovanni — will participate in the National Youth Cyber Defense Competition.

Winners earn national recognition and scholarship money.

Cyber security involves protecting computers from hackers who may try to steal information from banks or businesses. It also has national defense applications, preventing people from stealing classified information.

The four cadets at MMA have been training for this moment all of this year and part of last year, Maxime, 15, told the Valley Morning Star of Harlingen.

Last year he and the two Hernandez brothers from Mexico competed at the national level and took second place in the middle school division.

Graciela Salazar, assist-

Photo by David Pike/Valley Morning Star | AP

George Zenner, team captain of the Marine Military Academy CyberPatriot team, practices his security skills on March 10. ant director of marketing for MMA, said George also competed in the national competition. His team was in the high school category, she said, and took sixth place.

Although they’ve made it all the way back to nationals, they’ve still been studying hard for the new competition.

“We’ve been learning in classrooms different security protocols, what we should do to harden the server or the Windows Operating System,” said Maxime, a freshman from Castro Valley, California.

One of the primary goals of cyber security, he said, is to make computer systems more secure by adding security policies.

Security policies, added 17-year-old George, are like settings within the computer.

“If you have a really weak security policy it makes it easier for people to break into your system, because they don’t have as much stuff to stop them from doing it,” said the Houston resident.

A policy, he said, is a set of rules applied to either a user or group of users that say what they are allowed to do. This prevents people from doing certain things that would allow the wrong people to access a computer. For example, the security policy

may restrict people from installing drivers because they could have viruses.

Drivers perform such functions as telling a computer how to use a mouse or a flash drive.

The students have put their knowledge to use, troubleshooting problems in computers at competitions that have led them once again to the national competition. The team took second place in the Marine Corps JROTC category in the All-Service Division Regional Rounds on Jan. 17. This qualified them to compete this weekend at the national level against 12 other schools. However, they also competed in a Presidents Day Weekend Open in February, giving them more opportunities to test their skills.

“They give you what are called images,” George said. “What they are is it’s a virtual computer. It’s sort of like, you’re on a computer and it has a saved version of another computer inside of it.”

He said the computers have vulnerabilities installed by those administering the test.

“They’ll put viruses on them and install malware, stuff like that,” George said. “And your job is to secure it as much as you possibly can.”

SATURDAY, MARCH 14, 2015

ON THE WEB: THEZAPATATIMES.COM

Sports&Outdoors NFL: DALLAS COWBOYS

Cowboys sign McFadden

File photo by Phelan M. Ebenhack | AP

The Dallas Cowboys and McFadden agreed on a contract Friday, a day after DeMarco Murray bolted for NFC East rival Philadelphia.

Former Arkansas star tabbed to replace Murray

By SCHUYLER DIXON ASSOCIATED PRESS

IRVING, Texas — Darren McFadden will get a chance to replace NFL rushing champ DeMarco Murray in Dallas after the former high draft pick never could find a dominant form in Oakland.

The Cowboys signed McFadden on a two-year deal Friday, a day after Murray bolted for NFC East rival Philadelphia on a big contract that Dallas owner Jerry Jones said he couldn’t match because of the strain it would have put on the salary cap.

McFadden had seven mostly disappointing seasons in Oakland after the Raiders drafted him fourth overall in 2008. The

deal is reportedly worth up to $5.9 million.

Murray signed a five-year, $42 million contract with the Eagles on Thursday, with $21 million guaranteed. Jones said Murray would have remained in Dallas without salary cap constraints.

“I always kept my eye on Dallas,” McFadden said of free agency in an interview for the team’s website. “I figured whatever happened with DeMarco Murray’s situation would have an impact on my situation. I feel like it worked out great for me.”

It’s an Arkansas reunion for McFadden and Jones, who played football for the Razorbacks in the 1960s.

Jones has drafted just one player from his alma mater since buying the Cowboys

in 1989. It was McFadden’s backfield mate, Felix Jones, who went 18 picks after McFadden in the first round seven years ago. That’s the only time Dallas has taken a running back in the first round since getting all-time NFL rushing leader Emmitt Smith at No. 17 in 1990.

The 27-year-old McFadden has 4,247 yards for his career, with highs of 1,157 yards and seven touchdowns in 2010. That was his only 1,000-yard season in an injury-riddled career. He finally had a full 16game season in 2014, but averaged just 3.4 yards per carry with only two touchdowns.

“It’s a fresh start being here in Dallas,”

See COWBOYS PAGE 2B

Ranger’s Darvish out for season SURPRISE, Ariz. — Yu Darvish said he didn’t need any more opinions once the first doctor recommended season-ending surgery on the ailing right elbow of the Texas Rangers ace.

The Japanese right-hander waited for two more reports anyway before the announcement that Dr. James Andrews will perform elbow ligament-replacement surgery on Tuesday in Gulf Breeze, Florida.

Andrews was the last of three doctors to review images of the 28-year-old’s elbow, following Rangers team physician Dr. Keith Meister and New York Mets medical director Dr. David Altchek. Tommy John surgery likely will sideline Darvish until early 2016.

“Obviously it’s a bump in a road for my career and obviously for the team that I’m not going to be able to throw,” Darvish said Friday through an interpreter. “But there’s a lot of positives that can come out of this.”

From a Texas point of view, one of those positives is that Darvish will stay with the Rangers while he recovers from surgery rather than return to Japan. General manager Jon Daniels said Darvish should be back in Arizona by Wednesday night.

“What was most important to us is that he would rehab in Texas and with the team, both from the standpoint of being with our people, so we could have our hands on him, but also from the standpoint of being with the club, around his teammates, around our staff,” Daniels said.

“Yu was totally on board with that.”

An MRI last week revealed a partially torn ligament and inflammation after Darvish felt tightness in his triceps while warming up for his spring training debut. He threw 10 of 12 pitches for strikes in his only inning before telling anyone about the discomfort.

See DARVISH PAGE 2B

NFL: PHILADELPHIA EAGLES

NASCAR

Busch returns to NASCAR team

By JENNA FRYER ASSOCIATED PRESS

Photo by Charles Fox | AP

Former Cowboys running back DeMarco Murray agreed Thursday to a five-year contract with the Philadelphia Eagles.

Murray introduced in Philadelphia

By SCHUYLER DIXON ASSOCIATED PRESS

IRVING, Texas — NFL rushing champ DeMarco Murray is gone to NFC East rival Philadelphia, two starting linebackers have moved on as well, and the Dallas Cowboys will have to find a new kick returner.

The only hint of activity in free agency from owner Jerry Jones and company? The signing of fullback Jed Collins on Thursday, not long after word spread that Murray had agreed

to a big contract with the Eagles.

The loss of Murray was far from a surprise. The Cowboys have said for weeks they wanted to keep the 27-year-old running back, but made no secret that the price had to be right.

Philadelphia’s offer of five years and $42 million with $21 million guaranteed was more than the Cowboys were willing to pay, even after Murray broke NFL career rushing leader Em-

See MURRAY PAGE 2B

AVONDALE, Ariz. — Kurt Busch, buoyed by a warm reception from his race team, was finally back in a car Friday preparing for his first race of the season.

Busch was suspended the first three races of the season for an alleged domestic assault of a former girlfriend. NASCAR reinstated him this week, and Stewart-Haas Racing promptly put him back in the No. 41 Chevrolet for Sunday’s race at Phoenix International Raceway.

He seemed to genuinely appreciate being back in a car and among his peers.

“The seat, the belts and just the love from the crew guys, it’s been pretty cool the way the garage feels like a fraternity,” he said after his first practice session. “It’s nice to see good friends.”

Busch was suspended two days before the season-opening Daytona 500 after a Delaware judge ruled he likely assaulted Patricia Driscoll in his motorhome in September at Dover International Speedway. He lost two rounds of appeals on the eve of the season-opening Daytona 500, then missed NASCAR’s biggest race of the year.

He also was suspended for races at Atlanta, one of his fa-

File photo by Terry Renna | AP

NASCAR lifted its suspension of Kurt Busch on Wednesday and ruled the former champion can compete in the title Chase should he qualify. vorite tracks, and Las Vegas, his hometown.

The 2004 champion said it was “torture” not being able to race.

It was the third suspension of his career, and led NASCAR to insist that Busch participate in a road to reinstatement program.

His path to reinstatement accelerated last week when the Delaware attorney general declined to charge Busch, and health care expert recommended to NASCAR Busch’s immedi-

ate reinstatement.

Busch, who remains on indefinite probation, has denied Driscoll’s allegations.

His focus, he insisted Friday, is just getting back to racing and a regular routine.

“It was good just to get back in the seat and shake hands with all the guys,” Busch said.

“Having the support of StewartHaas, it’s been like family. Then to see the other crew members that I know, and some that I

See BUSCH PAGE 2B

PAGE 2B

Zscores

SATURDAY, MARCH 14, 2015

Actor Will Ferrell makes his Spring Training rounds

By BOB BAUM ASSOCIATED PRESS

PEORIA, Ariz. — Will Ferrell stormed through his Arizona spring training odyssey and emerged — well — just like Will Ferrell.

“Ruth, Musial, Mantle, Will Ferrell,” he said, addressing the crowd at his final stop Thursday night.

“Who would have thought that one day those names would be synonymous? Show of hands — scratch that, never mind.”

The star of “Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy,” “Elf” and many other movies started in an Oakland Athletics uniform at noon, then was off to four other ballparks, playing for each team, and at every position along the way.

Ten teams, five ballparks.

“When I embarked on this journey way back at breakfast,” Ferrell said, “I thought to myself, ’Could I do it?’ The answer is yes.”

He hugged a guy in an elf suit as he left Mesa, held up a sign saying “Remember These Games Don’t Count” as impromptu third base coach for the Chicago Cubs, struck out twice on three pitches each, watched two home runs sail over his head, and chased the ball around the outfield during a challenging stint in left field for the Arizona Diamondbacks.

Ferrell wore No. 19 for every team except his last one. He didn’t want to wear the late Tony Gwynn’s number, so donned No. 20 for the Padres.

When it was over, he took the public address microphone to the infield and recounted his day.

“There’s no doubt I turned some heads today, even if it was just for a moment,” Ferrell said. “I brought passion to the field, dedication, ability and a lot of ignorance. The ball moves fast out there, a lot faster than it looks on television. It’s like a speeding bullet. It’s horrible, terrifying.”

His caravan took him from Mesa to Tempe to Scottsdale. From there, he helicoptered across north Phoenix to Glendale, making a triumphant landing in the nick of time in center field at the Camelback Ranch ballpark where the San Francisco Giants and Chicago White Sox were entering the ninth inning.

The tour was being chronicled by HBO for a special. Memorabilia from his journey is to be sold at auction on MLB.com with proceeds going to Cancer for College and Stand Up to Cancer.

Photo by Lenny Ignelzi | AP

Actor Will Ferrell played for a series of team in one day during Spring Training in Arizona Thursday.

In his final stop, in Peoria, he took the mound for the Los Angeles Dodgers and got San Diego’s Rico Noel, the only batter he faced, to bounce out to the pitcher.

“Is there life in this 47-year-old arm?” he said.

Then he walked off the mound toward second base in dismay when manager Don Mattingly came out to replace him.

“Mattingly already cut me,” Ferrell told Hall of Fame manager Tommy Lasorda outside the dugout.

Eight and one-half hours after he first took the field at shortstop for the Oakland A’s, Ferrell played in right field for San Diego in the ninth inning. He had done it. As he walked off the field, Ferrell waved his cap and gave a security guard a high five.

“They say there’s nothing more American than grabbing a hot dog, heading to the ballpark, and watching nine guys from the Dominican Republic,” he said. “... But you know what, today I learned that was wrong. They had eight Dominicans, and one guy from Irvine, California.”

Ferrell introduced the Craig Pollard, founder of Cancer for College, saying the organization had given 2,000 scholarships to children with cancer over the past 20 years.

At the end of his remarks, he dropped out of character.

“On a serious, real note, what a day,” he said. “Thank you all, thanks to MLB, thanks to my family, to our production team and especially to Craig Pollard.”

When he took the field as A’s shortstop, the crowd cheered when he fielded a warmup grounder.

“I never would have thought Will Ferrell would play second base behind me,” Seattle pitcher Jordan Pries said. “Honestly, I didn’t want anything to go that way, but I was just trying to pitch. Once the ball leaves my hand, I have no control. I didn’t realize what a spectacle, a circus, it was going to be. You want to get your work in but you want to have fun, too.”

In a surprise pinch-hit appearance for the Cubs, he struck out on three pitches.

“He’s a menacing figure at the plate,” Angels pitcher Zach Stewart said, “so I knew I had to bring my best stuff.”

This was the latest, perhaps most ambitious, of Ferrell’s forays into sports and the injection of his character into the world at large.

In 2010, he pitched, albeit briefly, for the Triple-A Round Rock Express, wearing a fake mustache in the guise of “Rojo Johnson,” a pitcher with a fiery temperament. He threw one pitch behind the Nashville batter. As he left the field, he ripped off the mustache and waved triumphantly to the crowd.

Two years later, he and fellow actor Zach Galifianakis invaded a Cubs game, throwing out the first pitch then hilariously butchering the introduction of the lineups.

The rapid baseball journey also commemorated the time, 50 years ago, that Bert Campaneris played all nine positions in a game.

“Was I the best player on the field today?” Ferrell said. “Maybe, maybe.”

Then he led the crowd in a chant — “May-be, may-be, may-be.”

Photo by Eric Gay | AP

Kyrie Irving set a career high in points and took a big step toward a championship against the Spurs Thursday night.

Irving shines as Cavs down Spurs

By TOM WITHERS ASSOCIATED PRESS

With the game ball safely tucked under his arm, Kyrie Irving stood under the basket and accepted congratulations from awed teammates following a performance none of them will soon forget.

He slapped some hands, hugged a beaming LeBron James and then handed the ball to the Cavaliers’ security director — a turnover of joy.

This one was a keeper.

It’s not every day you score 57 points. It’s not every day you bring the defending NBA champions to their knees. It’s not every day you upstage the irrepressible James. And, it’s not every day you leave Charles Barkley speechless.

Cleveland’s awesome guard did it all Thursday night, scoring a franchiserecord 57, zipping around the floor with stunning ease and dropping 3-pointers from every angle like

he was an avatar in a video game as the Cavs beat the San Antonio Spurs 128125 in overtime, a game for the ages.

“Kyrie Irving was unstoppable,” Spurs coach Gregg Popovich said. “I don’t know how to guard that. He did a hell of a job.

We all know how talented he is, but he really went to a new level tonight.”

Irving has arrived.

After all, he’s already been a No. 1 overall pick, a three-time All-Star and regarded as one of the league’s elite in a stellar class of point guards. He scored 55 in a game against Portland earlier this year, and Irving has shown a maturity off the floor that has impressed even his toughest critics.

This, though, was something more. This was Irving’s apex.

“The kid is special,” said James. “We all know it we all see it and for him to go out and put up a performance like he did was incredible.”

BUSCH Continued from Page 1B don’t know, who shake my hand and say ’welcome back,’ it feels good.”

After missing the first three races, he’s got some adapting to do to the new 2015 rules package.

“I have to learn the car and the feel, because it looks like the lap times are so tight,” he said, noting that one slight miss in first practice had him 17th on the speed chart.

Reigning NASCAR

champion Kevin Harvick believes SHR will benefit from Busch’s return. Regan Smith drove the No. 41 in the first three races, with a best finish of 16th at both Daytona and Las Vegas.

Harvick, meanwhile, won last weekend at Las Vegas and has two runner-up finishes.

But SHR teammates Tony Stewart and Danica Patrick are not yet up to the same speed. Stewart

has had two wrecks and was 33rd last week at Las Vegas, where he was vocal in his displeasure with the rules package.

Patrick’s best finish was 16th at Atlanta.

“To have Kurt back in the car is an asset to everybody at Stewart-Haas Racing from a performance side,” Harvick said.

“Everything that he does inside that race car is a benefit to us.”

Patrick also believes

the organization can utilize Busch’s strengths to help all four cars. Busch has 25 career wins and is considered one of the smartest drivers in the garage.

“He’s very fast, he’s really technical — he talks way over my head about stuff about the car,” she said, adding that having the regular SHR lineup together for debriefs and competition meetings will be a help.

MURRAY Continued from Page 1B mitt Smith’s franchise record with 1,845 yards last season.

“We have great appreciation for his skills, and if there was no salary cap in place, DeMarco would be a Cowboy,” Jones said in a statement released by the team. “Obviously, there is emotion involved in these decisions, but it is critical that there be must be discipline involved as well.”

Jones had the backing of quarterback Tony Romo, who became the first Dallas player to sign a contract worth more than $100 million two years ago.

“You have to trust in the process and people making the decisions,” Romo said from the spring training home of the Texas Rangers, where he spent part of the day. “Salary cap implications, that plays a role in that stuff. The Eagles thought as highly of him as we did. They are getting a great player.”

The volume of losses might be as much of an issue, starting with linebackers Justin Durant (Atlanta)

and Bruce Carter (Tampa Bay). Kick returner and backup receiver Dwayne Harris signed with the New York Giants, and news of Murray’s departure came the same day defensive tackle Henry Melton joined Carter in Tampa.

The Cowboys put a $12.8 million franchise tag on receiver Dez Bryant to keep him off the market, and Jones is just a year removed from the franchise’s second $100 million contract for left tackle Tyron Smith, although it’s more cap-friendly than Romo’s deal.

Smith is the cornerstone of a standout offensive line that got plenty of credit for Murray’s big season.

“We have recently made significant commitments to top players,” Jones said.

“And we were comfortable with the offer that we made to DeMarco to include him in that structure.”

Now Romo must move on without one piece of a trio that had just started to resemble the Super Bowl-

winning set of Troy Aikman, Smith and Michael Irvin. They led the Cowboys out of a three-year rut of 8-8 finishes that fell just short of the playoffs and won the NFC East at 12-4.

“I’ve got to process everything,” Romo said. “Obviously, losing DeMarco Murray is not something you envision happening just because he’s such a great player.”

Even with Dallas’ significant needs on defense, most of the attention leading to the draft April 30 will be at running back.

Several prospects are projected as late first-round picks, with the Cowboys selecting 27th.

The free agent market could end up with an interesting name after Indianapolis waived Trent Richardson on Thursday.

Richardson and Dallas linebacker Rolando McClain, another free agent the Cowboys hope to re-sign, both played at Alabama and were top 10 picks who turned into NFL disappointments.

COWBOYS Continued from Page 1B said McFadden, who grew up as a Cowboys fan in neighboring Arkansas.

“Couldn’t have been a better place.”

The Cowboys added McFadden a year after rejuvenating the career of linebacker Rolando McClain, another former high draft pick that had a disappointing career in Oakland.

McClain, dumped by the

Raiders three years after going eighth overall in 2010, had a hard time staying on the field for Dallas because of injuries. He still finished second to safety Barry Church with 108 tackles. He skipped the 2013 season and twice walked away from football after Baltimore signed him. The Cowboys got him in a trade.

DARVISH Continued from Page 1B McClain resurrected his career last season after Dallas traded for him while desperate for help at linebacker. Cowboys coach Jason Garrett got a strong recommendation from Alabama’s Nick Saban, who was Garrett’s first boss as an NFL assistant in Miami 10 years ago.

The Cowboys started the offseason with 23 free agents, and the most significant ones still without new deals are McClain and defensive linemen Nick Hayden, Anthony Spencer and George Selvie. All four could be considered starters.

“At the end of the day,” Jones said, “this is about finding the best way to collectively fit all of the individual pieces together, in terms of talent, offensive players, defensive players and dollars — under the salary cap structure — that gives you the best chance to have a championship team.”

If the Cowboys build a championship team, it will have to be without Murray.

An All-Star in each of his three seasons since arriving from Japan, Darvish started last season on the disabled list after experiencing neck stiffness in spring training. He missed only one start then, and was 10-7 with a 3.06 ERA in 22 starts and made his final appearance on Aug. 9 because of elbow inflammation.

The elbow checked out fine during the offseason.

“I didn’t think this was going to happen,” said Darvish, who will return with two years left on a six-year deal worth $56 million, a deal signed after the Rangers agreed to pay almost $52 million for his rights.

“During that time, I thought it was nothing more than elbow inflammation.”

Daniels said Darvish could be back in the rotation by May 2016 and suggested it could be earlier.

“Every rehab is a little different, so I’m not going to put a stopwatch on it,” Daniels said. “Our goal is to get him back once with

no setbacks. It’s too early to put a date on it.”

Darvish is 39-25 in 83 starts for the Rangers, with 680 strikeouts in 545 1-3 innings. He led the majors with 277 strikeouts in 2013.

First-year manager Jeff Banister reiterated that he’s now trying to fill two rotation spots behind righthanders Yovani Gallardo and Colby Lewis and lefty Derek Holland. And he’s already looking forward to next season, when he figures to fill out a lineup card with Darvish’s name on it for the first time.

“We’ll leave the light on for him,” Banister said.

Darvish said he never felt pain in his elbow, but doctors warned that a thinning of the ligament put him at risk of a more significant tear if he tried to pitch after several months of rest without surgery.

“I have no worries whatsoever,” Darvish said. “I feel like during this time there are a lot of things I can do to make myself better, knowing this is going to make me better.”

SATURDAY, MARCH 14, 2015

Dear Readers: We know WALKING is a wonderful way to get exercise, as well as fresh air. Walking with someone else can make it pleasurable. If you take a daily stroll, do be careful if you are walking near traffic. Here are some potential lifesaving hints you need to know. My thanks to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (www.nhtsa.gov) for this information. I’ve added a few Heloise hints so you come home safely: Always be aware of your surroundings and all vehicle traffic. This seems obvious, but if you are on the phone, listening to music with headphones or texting, you are NOT being a safe pedestrian by doing so.

Make yourself highly visible, especially if you walk (or jog) at dawn or dusk.

Wear bright-colored clothes –– fluorescent vests and sneakers are the things to wear at night or early in the morning. Carry a flashlight for your safety.

THE ZAPATA TIMES 3B

“

HELOISE

Facing traffic is the direction you should walk, Be safe, not sorry! –– Heloise P.S.: When walking or jogging at night, please don’t assume that drivers can see you. You may be wearing fluorescent clothing, carrying a flashlight or have reflective tape on your clothing. However, a driver rounding a corner (at night) may not see you at all! So please take precausion when exercising late, and be careful. –– Heloise OLD IS NEW AGAIN Dear Readers: A colorful belt is a quick way to dress up or change the look of an outfit on the run. If the buckle doesn’t match, turn the belt around so the buckle is in the back and out of sight. The colorful belt is the accent. Think backward to accent! –– Heloise

4B THE ZAPATA TIMES

SATURDAY, MARCH 14, 2015

PAGE 2A

Zin brief CALENDAR

SATURDAY, MARCH 14, 2015

AROUND TEXAS

TODAY IN HISTORY

SATURDAY, MARCH 14

ASSOCIATED PRESS

8th Anniversary of the Guadalupe Greens Rummage Sale from 7 a.m. to 1 p.m. at the Virgin of Guadalupe Church Hall, 1700 San Francisco Ave. Call Birdie at 286-7866.

Plate Sale to fund 2-year-old’s eye surgery. Advance Auto Parts, 3019 San Bernardo. Chicken and rice plate for $5.

Greens of Guadalupe Rummage Sale from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. at the Our Lady of Guadalupe Church Hall, 1700 San Francisco Avenue. Call Birdie at 286-7866.

Kickoff for Plastic Bag Transition at Mall del Norte, Macy’s Center Court at 1 p.m. to 5 p.m. Music, games, a bike raffle and eco-basket giveaways, crafts and a free bag! Sponsored by Rio Grande International Study Center and the City of Laredo.Call 956-7181063 (office) or 914-775-9352 (cell).

SUNDAY, MARCH 15 Greens of Guadalupe Rummage Sale from 1 p.m. to 5 p.m. at the Our Lady of Guadalupe Church hall, 1700 San Francisco Avenue. Call Birdie at 286-7866.

TUESDAY, MARCH 17 TAMIU Lamar Bruni Vergara Science Center Planetarium. The Secret of the Cardboard Rocket, 5 p.m. Extreme Planets, 6 p.m. Admission is $4 for children and $5 for adults. Admission is $4 for TAMIU students, faculty and staff. Call 956-326-DOME (3663).

South Texas Food Bank agency conference, 9 a.m. to 4 p.m., IBC Annex on Jacaman Road. For information call STFB agency coordinator Elia Solis 726-3120.

FRIDAY, MARCH 20 TAMIU Lamar Bruni Vergara Science Center Planetarium. Extreme Planets, 6 p.m. Live Star Presentation, 7 p.m. Admission is $4 for children and $5 for adults. Admission is $4 for TAMIU students, faculty and staff. Call 956-326-DOME (3663).

The Pink Cups, a non profit group for breast cancer patients, invite all to Boot Scootin’ II Country Western Gala at the Laredo Center for the Arts.

7 p.m. to midnight. Live and silent auction, fun games and live music by Soda Creek Bank from San Antonio.

Call Linda Bruni at 337-4556

SATURDAY, MARCH 21 The 12th Annual Cesar Chavez March for Justice. 8:30 a.m assembly time. March begins at 10 a.m. at St. Peters Plaza. Ends at San Agustin Plaza. Call Manuel Bocanegra at 775-7027 or Anna Marie at 508-9255.

TUESDAY, MARCH 24 TAMIU Lamar Bruni Vergara Science Center Planetarium. The Secret of the Cardboard Rocket, 5 p.m. Extreme Planets, 6 p.m. Admission is $4 for children and $5 for adults. Admission is $4 for TAMIU students, faculty and staff. Call 956-326-DOME (3663).

WEDNESDAY, MARCH 25 “Unsettled/Desasosiego: Children in a World of Gangs” at TAMIU Student Center Ballroom, 5201 University Blvd. from 7:30 p.m. to 9 p.m. Presentation on the history behind Central America’s insecurity, resulting in undocumented Central American children and youth seeking entry into the United States. Free and open to the public.

Call 326-2820.

Photo by Michael Cavazos/The News-Journal

Rosetta Taylor hugs Sheila Blankenship, mother of Da’Coreyan Blankenship, on Wednesday during a candlelight vigil held in honor of Da’Coreyan in Longview. In the first two months of 2015, the city of 81,000 has had six homicides — more than it had all of last year.

Killings prompt outcry

By DAVID WARREN ASSOCIATED PRESS

Detectives in the East Texas town of Longview found the body of a 21-year-old man riddled with gunshots along a residential street pockmarked by forlorn homes.

A few blocks away, they had earlier investigated the killing of a 30-year-old man. Nearby, another shooting left a man dead.

In the first two months of 2015, the city of 81,000 has had six homicides — more than it had all of last year. The recent spasm of violence has startled residents and focused more attention on a police department already under scrutiny for the death of a 17year-old with a history of mental illness.

The girl, Kristiana Coignard, was fatally

4 plead guilty for roles in smuggling operation

A&M: Personal data published online in error

Body of man not seen for weeks found in fireplace

MCALLEN — Four have pleaded guilty to participating in an immigrant smuggling run that led to the deaths of two Guatemalan nationals in a rollover crash.

Federal prosecutors say the October crash — which injured nearly a dozen other immigrants — happened after 18-year-old Juan Manuel Garcia tried eluding Border Patrol agents near Sullivan City.

COLLEGE STATION — Texas A&M may have accidentally compromised personal data belonging to about 5,000 graduate students and faculty members.

Social Security numbers, along with their names of faculty members and graduate assistants who taught during the fall 2014 semester were displayed online in that semester’s Teaching Analysis Report.

SAN ANTONIO — A San Antonio man not seen for weeks has been found dead in a fireplace at his family’s home.

San Antonio police do not suspect foul play in the death of the man whose body was discovered Thursday afternoon.

Relatives say the man may have had mental health issues.

Lawmaker wants limits on bloggers recording cops

Fired officer reinstated, DWI suspect deported

AUSTIN — A Republican Texas lawmaker wants to create strict buffer zones between police and “independent bloggers” who record police activity.

A bill by Dallas Rep. Jason Villalba’s would make it a Class B misdemeanor for anyone but news media to record police within 25 feet, or within 100 feet if the person carries a handgun.

DALLAS — A Dallas police officer has his job back after being fired when patrol car dashboard video showed him punching an alleged drunken driver.

Rene Villanueva was reinstated Thursday.

Jurors in December acquitted Villanueva of assault and official oppression after the driver in the 2013 incident was deported.

FRIDAY, MARCH 27 TAMIU Lamar Bruni Vergara Science Center Planetarium. The Secret of the Cardboard Rocket, 6 p.m. Extreme Planets, 7 p.m. Admission is $4 for children and $5 for adults. Admission is $4 for TAMIU students, faculty and staff. Call 956-326-DOME (3663).

The Josh Abbott Band and Kevin Fowler will perform at a country western dance-concert at 8 p.m. at Casa Blanca Ballroom to benefit the South Texas Food Bank. Tickets are $25 pre-sale at Mike’s, Kelly’s and Casa Raul Western Wear, Big Buck Studios and bryanpromotions.com.

Ex-Mexican official charged in fraud case CORPUS CHRISTI — A former Mexican political appointee was indicted in a bank fraud and money laundering investigation.

Federal prosecutors in Corpus Christi say Pablo Zarate Juarez remains a fugitive.

Authorities on Thursday announced Zarate’s indictment on charges of bank fraud, conspiracy to commit bank fraud and conspiracy to launder money.

— Compiled from AP reports

AROUND THE NATION

THURSDAY, MARCH 26 Spanish Book Club, 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. Laredo Public Library, Calton Road. Call Sylvia Reash 763-1810.

The Villa San Agustin de Laredo Genealogical Society will meet at St. John Neumann Catholic Church. 3 to 5 pm. Presentation, “The Richness of Mexico”: Its history and culture.” Contact Sanjuanita Martinez-Hunter, Ph.D. at 722-3497 for more information.

shot after charging officers in the lobby of the police station while carrying a knife, police said. Her death is still under investigation and not included in the police department’s official homicide count.

The local newspaper, the Longview NewsJournal, noted that the rate of killings this year has already exceeded the national yearly average of 5.3 for homicides per 100,000 people. Last year, the city had five homicides.

This week, a local church helped organize a march to bring attention to the slayings.

McGee said the march drew upward of 100 people. Some wore T-shirts displaying the broad smile of Da’Coreyan Blankenship, the 21-year-old who was shot several times on March 3, his body left behind in the street.

Agency: More oil declines, conflict potential NEW YORK — Oil prices have further to drop with few signs of slowing production in the U.S., according to a global energy agency.

The International Energy Agency, a watchdog group based in Paris that represents the world’s main oil-importing nations, said in its monthly report Friday that the recent stabilization in oil prices is “precarious.”

“Behind the facade of stability, the rebalancing triggered by the price collapse has yet to run its course,” it said.

PETA: Iditarod should end due to dog cruelty ANCHORAGE, Alaska — An animal rights group is renewing its call for an end to the world’s most famous sled dog race.

People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals on Friday said

Today is Saturday, March 14, the 73rd day of 2015. There are 292 days left in the year.

Today’s Highlight in History: On March 14, 1923, President Warren G. Harding became the first chief executive to file an income tax return, paying a levy of $17,990 on his $75,000 salary.

On this date: In 1743, a memorial service was held at Faneuil Hall in Boston honoring Peter Faneuil, who had donated the building bearing his name.

In 1794, Eli Whitney received a patent for his cotton gin, an invention that revolutionized America’s cotton industry.

In 1885, the Gilbert and Sullivan comic opera “The Mikado” premiered at the Savoy Theatre in London.

In 1900, Congress ratified the Gold Standard Act. In 1939, the republic of Czechoslovakia was dissolved, opening the way for Nazi occupation of Czech areas and the separation of Slovakia.

In 1951, during the Korean War, United Nations forces recaptured Seoul.

In 1964, a jury in Dallas found Jack Ruby guilty of murdering Lee Harvey Oswald, the accused assassin of President John F. Kennedy, and sentenced him to death.

(Both the conviction and death sentence were overturned, but Ruby died before he could be retried.)

In 1967, the body of President John F. Kennedy was moved from a temporary grave to a permanent memorial site at Arlington National Cemetery.

In 1975, “Monty Python and the Holy Grail,” a sendup of the legend of King Arthur, had its world premiere in Los Angeles. Academy Award-winning actress Susan Hayward, 57, died in Los Angeles.

In 1990, the Soviet Congress of People’s Deputies held a secret ballot that elected Mikhail S. Gorbachev to a new, powerful presidency.

Today’s Birthdays: Singer Phil Phillips (Song: “Sea of Love”) is 89. Former astronaut Frank Borman is 87. Actor Michael Caine is 82. Composerconductor Quincy Jones is 82.

Former astronaut Eugene Cernan is 81. Actor Raymond J. Barry is 76. Movie director Wolfgang Petersen is 74. Country singer Michael Martin Murphey is 70. Rock musician Walt Parazaider (Chicago) is 70. Actor Steve Kanaly is 69.

Comedian Billy Crystal is 67.

Former Sen. Tom Coburn, ROkla., is 67. Actor/writer/comedian/radio personality Rick Dees is 64. Country singer Jann Browne is 61. Actor Adrian Zmed is 61. Prince Albert II, the ruler of Monaco, is 57. Actress Laila Robins is 56.

Actress Tamara Tunie is 56.

Actress Penny Johnson Jerald is 54. Producer-director-writer Kevin Williamson is 50. Actress Elise Neal is 49. Actor Gary Anthony Williams is 49.

Actress Megan Follows is 47.

Rock musician Michael Bland is 46. Country singer Kristian Bush is 45. Rock musician Derrick (Jimmie’s Chicken Shack) is 43. Actress Betsy Brandt is 42. Actress Grace Park is 41. Actor Daniel Gillies is 39. Actor Corey Stoll (TV: “House of Cards”) is 39. Actor Jake Fogelnest is 36. Actor Chris Klein is 36. Actress Kate Maberly is 33.

Thought for Today: “Achieving life is not the equivalent of avoiding death.”

— Ayn Rand, American author (1905-1982).

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Michael Ford, left, and Curtis Smith picket with other unionized casino workers in Atlantic City, N.J., on Friday to protest against billionaire investor Carl Icahn, who wants to strip workers of their healthcare benefits and pensions. the Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race should be permanently canceled.

PETA Senior Vice President Daphna Nachminovitch cites the death Thursday of a 3-year-old male on four-time champion Lance Mackey’s team, as the latest casualty in a long list of dogs

that have died in the race.

It also cited the use of a blind dog on another team. Musher Kelly Maixner tells Anchorage television station KTUU that Laura is a valued team member, but sometimes gets confused.

— Compiled from AP reports

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Crime

SATURDAY, MARCH 14, 2015

THE ZAPATA TIMES 3A

Two men plead not guilty

By CÉSAR G. RODRIGUEZ THE ZAPATA TIMES

Two men accused of stashing marijuana bundles at a warehouse located in Zapata County have pleaded not guilty, court documents show.

Heraldo Chapa and Rene Romeo Guerra waived their presence at arraignment recently.

Guerra pleaded not guilty March 6 while Chapa did the same Thursday.

Both men were indicted on charges of conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute 100 kilograms or more of marijuana and

possess with intent to distribute 100 kilograms or more of marijuana.

They face up to 40 years in prison if they’re convicted, according to the indictment. Chapa and Guerra are out on bond, according to court documents.

Authorities said the marijuana the defendants allegedly stashed at the warehouse added up to 509.3 pounds valued at $407,440. The arrest happened Feb. 5.

With the assistance of U.S. Border Patrol camera installed along a known smuggling route, agents

spotted a Chevrolet traveling toward Falcon Lake in Zapata. The vehicle made it to U.S. 83. Agents said the pickup later pulled into a warehouse located at the entrance of the Remigio Guerra Ranch, off U.S. 83.

Later, four men came out of the warehouse to board a Dodge Ram 1500 parked outside. Agents kept an eye on the Dodge and later intercepted it.

That’s when two men dressed in hunters’ camouflage bailed out from the pickup and absconded in the brush. Meanwhile, the driver and passenger

stayed inside the Dodge.

Records state Guerra was the driver and Chapa the passenger. Authorities asked Guerra why the other two men ran away.

Guerra believed the men were in the country illegally, according to court documents.

Agents initially detained Guerra and Chapa for suspected human smuggling. But an inspection of the warehouse at the ranch yielded several bundles of marijuana.

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

Man charged in smuggling try

By CÉSAR G. RODRIGUEZ THE ZAPATA TIMES

A traffic stop in southern Webb County landed a Zapata man behind bars for allegedly smuggling people who had entered the country illegally, court documents obtained this week state.

David Aguilar-Morales, 57, was charged via criminal complaint with trans-

porting illegal immigrants, according to court documents filed March 2. He is in federal custody. The case against Aguilar-Morales unfolded Feb. 28.

That day, a Webb County Sheriff ’s Office deputy pulled over a tan Ford extended cab pickup for a defective license plate lamp.

A U.S. Border Patrol agent responded to the scene. Upon arrival, the agent deter-

mined Aguilar-Morales was a United States citizen, records show.

“While questioning the driver, the Border Patrol agent noticed some individuals hiding in the bed of the truck and trying to conceal themselves underneath a blanket,” states the criminal complaint.

Border Patrol detained seven individuals who did not have legal right to be in

the country. All people were taken to the Zapata Border Patrol station for further questioning. Two immigrants held as material witnesses stated they had paid $4,000 to be smuggled to Dallas. Both men allegedly identified AguilarMorales as the driver, according to the complaint.

(César G. Rodriguez may be reached at 728-2568 or cesar@lmtonline.com)

Not guilty plea in chase case

By CÉSAR G. RODRIGUEZ THE ZAPATA TIMES

A woman who led authorities in a chase in Zapata County on a vehicle loaded with immigrants who entered the country illegally has pleaded not guilty, according to court documents.

Alicia Alaniz Vela, of San Diego, waived her presence at arraignment Thursday and submitted a written plea of not guilty. On March 3, a grand jury indicted her on one count of conspiracy to transport undocumented people within the United States, and two counts of transport and attempt to transport undocumented people for money.

If convicted, each count carries a punishment of up to 10 years in prison and a three-year term of supervised released.

The case took place Feb. 3. That day, a U.S. Border Patrol agent noticed a black Ford Expedition “riding low” while traveling east from Zapata on Texas 16. Authorities said the vehicle, which was driven by Alaniz Ve-

la, appeared to be carrying an excess amount of weight.

Suspecting illegal activity, the agent approached the vehicle to take a closer look. He then attempted to pull over the Expedition to conduct an immigration inspection on the driver and its occupants.

Suddenly, Alaniz Vela stopped abruptly to allow her passengers to exit, and she sped off east on Texas 16.

Records state that a Zapata County Sheriff ’s Office deputy followed the suspect vehicle and pulled it over not far away from the bail out location. The deputy charged Alaniz Vela with evading arrest and turned her over to Border Patrol.

Agents were able to apprehend eight people who had entered the country illegally. Later, Alaniz Vela allegedly admitted to picking up 11 people, according to court documents. On Feb. 18, records show Alaniz Vela posted a $50,000 bond.

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

Man claims intimidation in bridge smuggling try

By CÉSAR G. RODRIGUEZ THE ZAPATA TIMES

A Mexican citizen who claimed he smuggled a meth load out of intimidation was arrested recently at a Laredo international bridge, records obtained this week show.

A criminal complaint filed against Brandon Garcia Castillo, 21, March 9 charged him with importation of a controlled substance, conspire to possess with intent to distribute meth and possess with intent to distribute meth. He remains in federal custody.

Garcia Castillo arrived at 4:31 p.m. March 7 at the Colombia Solidarity International Bridge northwest of Laredo operating a

Authorities said they seized 18 bundles of meth weighing approximately 38 pounds and valued at about $500,000.

Dodge Nitro with another person as passenger.

In primary inspection, U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers said they noticed tampered bolts in the cargo area of the vehicle. They also allegedly observed what appeared to be fresh oil and Bondo on the undercarriage of the vehicle.

CBP officers referred Garcia Castillo to secondary inspection,

where a drug dog alerted to possible contraband in the rear cargo area of the vehicle. An X-ray examination yielded anomalies.

“CBP officers then drilled a small hole in the floor of the rear cargo area of the vehicle. The drill extracted a white powderlike substance, which field tested positive for the properties of methamphetamine,” states the complaint.

Authorities said they seized 18 bundles of meth weighing approximately 38 pounds and valued at about $500,000. Following his arrest, Garcia Castillo opted not to talk to Homeland Security Investigation special agents without the presence of an attorney.

But he later changed his mind.

‘Unknown’ to him He stated to special agents that “unknown individuals” approached him and offered him in Leon, Guanajuato, Mexico, to make a trip using his Dodge Nitro from there to the United States. Garcia Castillo assumed that was an “illegal smuggling trip,” according to court docu-

ments.

“He assumed that he would be picking up firearms or currency in the United States for the purpose of smuggling it back to Mexico; however, he did acknowledge that he thought there was a possibility that his vehicle might also be loaded with concealed narcotics,” states the complaint.

Garcia Castillo stated he was not going to be paid for the smuggling trip and claimed he was doing it out of intimidation. He further stated that someone had deposited $1,200 in his bank account.

He believed the people who offered him to make the trip were the ones who deposited the money, according to court documents.

PAGE 4A

Zopinion

SATURDAY, MARCH 14, 2015

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

WORST WEEK IN WASHINGTON

OTHER VIEWS

Rough week for Secret Service guys

By CHRIS CILLIZZA THE WASHINGTON POST

WASHINGTON — So many Washington stories begin with a fender-bender. This is one of those stories.

Earlier this month, two Secret Service agents, including a senior member of the detail charged with protecting President Obama, drove a government car into one of the barricades surrounding the White House compound.

The two men had spent much of the evening at a going-away party for departing Secret Service spokesman Edwin Donovan and returned to the White House perimeter sometime after 10:30 p.m. on March 4 amid a suspicious package investigation, according to The Washington Post’s Carol Leonnig.

The two, with overhead lights flashing, drove into the barrier, and, as Leonnig notes: “Investigators who have reviewed the tape of the incident say the pair either drove very close to or over the suspicious item wrapped in the shirt, one law enforce-

ment official said.”

Er, not good. And especially bad given the past few years for the agency, which has endured embarrassment surrounding agents’ use of prostitutes while on an advance trip for the president in Colombia; questions about its handling of White House intruders after a man hopped a perimeter fence and made it deep into the building; and frustration over its late reaction to several gunshots that hit the personal residence.

That series of calamities led to a house-cleaning at the top of the Secret Service. Joseph Clancy, who at one time led Obama’s personal protection unit, was installed as the agency’s new director last month. But changing the faces in charge doesn’t appear to have had much effect just yet.

The Secret Service, for crashing into yet another public relations barrier, you had the worst week in Washington. Congrats, or something.

Cillizza covers the White House for The Washington Post and writes The Fix, its politics blog.

COMMENTARY

Koch bros., NCAA are two of a kind

By KAVITHA DAVIDSON BLOOMBERG NEWS

Rich, powerful, secretive and controversial: The National Collegiate Athletic Association and the Koch brothers were made for each other.

Koch Industries has launched a multi-year national sponsorship campaign in college sports.

The company has partnered with Learfield Sports, a firm that provides sports radio programming and marketing assistance to college programs, “to help tell its story” to fans of 15 universities — many in the Big 10 and Big Twelve power conferences — and the Missouri Valley Conference.

A big deal It’s not the company’s first foray into college sports — the Wichita State Shockers play in Koch Arena — but it’s a significant deal.

“College sports are a great fit for us and we’re excited to lend our support to these schools,” said Steve Lombardo, chief communications and marketing officer for Koch. “Like student athletes, our 60,000 U.S. employees understand that hard work and team spirit are fundamental to winning and success.”

Like student athletes, many of Koch’s employees also understand what it’s like to work for an organization that is against unions and and the protections they afford.

The NCAA has fought efforts by Northwestern football players to unionize, touting the threat to

“amateurism” and arguing that a college scholarship is compensation enough for athletes who generate nearly $1 billion in revenue.

Anti-union stance Meanwhile, political groups funded by David and Charles Koch are largely driving the push to spread union-busting right-to-work legislation, citing what they call “forced” unionization.

The privately held company says IT generates $115 billion in annual revenue.

There’s another similarity: As the NCAA fights increased forms of player compensation, it’s being sued for violating minimum wage laws.

The Kochs are famously opposed to the minimum wage — last June, Koch Industries executive vice president Richard Fink warned that increasing the minimum wage could turn the U.S. into Nazi Germany. Charles Koch has stated that the minimum wage is part of a “culture of dependency.”

The message from the Koch empire and the NCAA is clear: College athletes who can’t afford to feed themselves and Americans making $34,000 a year should consider themselves lucky.

None of this is part of Koch Industries and Learfield Sports’ marketing campaigns. But you might want to keep it all in mind the next time Koch and NCAA logos flash across your screen during a game.

Kavitha A. Davidson writes about sports for Bloomberg View.

COMMENTARY

Another mess Hilary doesn’t want us to know about WASHINGTON — On March 2, the story broke that Hillary Clinton had possibly violated email regulations while secretary of state.

You could almost hear the collective gasp in Washington: Oh, no, here we go again.

But then the next evening, Clinton was feted at the EMILY’S List 30th Anniversary Gala dinner as though nothing had happened. Only the trumpets were missing from what felt like her coronation as the Democratic presidential nominee and, possibly, the next president of the United States.

Fast-forward a dozen days and Clinton’s position in the presidential sweepstakes seems less assured, her inevitability not so inevitable.

The most perplexing question isn’t about the emails themselves, but why she put everything at risk over such a small detail, declining to segregate her personal and business email.

There can only be one answer and it isn’t “convenience,” as Clinton claims.

Think of another word that begins with the letter ‘C’: control.

Clinton claims she opted for the convenience of one cellphone and a personal server — rather than use a government-issued phone for business and another device for personal mat-

“

KATHLEEN PARKER

ters. Too much stuff to lug around?

So the whole question of her conduct as secretary of state boils down to a few ounces of electronic equipment. Hate to say it, but only a woman could come up with such an excuse.

It’s all about the purse.

Plainly, Clinton didn’t want anyone snooping around her virtual file cabinet, and who does? But this isn’t the point. When you are secretary of state and are mulling a run for president, you steer clear of anything and anyone remotely questionable. No one should know this better.

Questions that merit serious consideration include whether the Clinton server was secure. Hillary insists that it was because her New York home, where the server lives, is protected by the Secret Service. Given the optional sobriety of agents these days, this is less than reassuring. Then, too, hacking doesn’t require on-site handling.

Here’s the real muddle for Clinton. Whether her server suffered no breaches — and whether there’s nothing in those 32,000 deleted personal emails — matters little. In politics,

you’re guilty as perceived.

It looks bad.

Most likely this error (rather than crime) is a function of remoteness more than dishonesty. The Clintons have been around so long, they are the essence of bubble life. Removed from the hubbub of ordinary existence — escorted, driven, valeted, catered to, styled, fluffed and obeyed — being Clinton means never having to hear the word “no.” It must be easy to forget that you have to live by the same rules as everyone else.

This is a concept the Clintons have never fully accepted. One can understand, given their extended public life — and the hyper-scrutiny under which they live — that they might seek to erect high walls around their private lives.

Fame and celebrity breed not just insularity but also paranoia.

Maybe there’s nothing of interest in those personal emails, but how would we know? Team Clinton handpicked the “personals” and now they’re deleted, thus creating the impression that she is hiding something. The Clintons always seem to be hiding something. Not so much holding their cards close to the chest as kicking the body back behind the dust ruffle.

Even though investigations into every “gate” associated with them in the

past — Travelgate, Filegate, Troopergate, youname-it-gate — failed to produce much more than a blue dress, there seemed to be something not quite right. And now there’s this.

Not illegal per se, but not quite right.

Clinton says she figured that because all her communications to state staff went to the .gov server, they automatically would have gone into storage as required. True, but what about the rest? What’s in those deleted emails? Don’t we imagine that personal and business often overlap in the Clinton Rolodex?

Adding to the suspicion is that the 55,000 pages of emails that Clinton did turn over to the State Department surfaced only after the House select committee investigating Benghazi requested her correspondence about the attack. Would she have turned them over anyway?

Maybe. Still and again, it doesn’t look good. And the entire mess serves as a reminder of a movie we’ve seen before — and it wasn’t so great the first time.

Whether this episode proves fatal remains to be seen, but we won’t hear the end of it until every note of condolence, yoga date and wedding plan is known to someone other than Hillary.

Kathleen Parker’s email address is kathleenparker@washpost.com.

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 (1981) | GARRY TRUDEAU

Entertainment

SATURDAY, MARCH 14, 2015

THE ZAPATA TIMES 5A

US producer sentenced to 12 years in Cancun slaying

By GABRIEL ALCOCER ASSOCIATED PRESS

CANCUN, Mexico — A former “Survivor” producer has been convicted of murdering his wife during a 2010 Cancun beach vacation, and his attorney says he plans to appeal.

Bruce Beresford-Redman was sentenced to 12 years in prison Thursday by Judge Víctor Manuel Echeverria Tun, Quintana Roo state prosecutor Gaspar Armando Garcia Torres said.

The American producer was on vacation in Cancun with his Brazilian-born wife, Monica Burgos Beresford-Redman, and their two children in 2010 when her body was found in a sewer cistern at the resort where they were staying.

The vacation was supposed to be an attempt to repair their marriage after she learned her husband had cheated on her.

The family of Burgos issued a statement through their lawyer, Alison Triessl, late Thursday.

“It has been nearly 5 years since they lost their beloved sister,” Triessl said.

“Not a day goes by that they don’t miss her terribly and nothing will bring her back, but they can finally say that she has received the justice she deserved.”

Beresford-Redman’s attorneys in Mexico, Jaime Cancino Leon and Carlos Alberto Grajales Betancourt, said in a statement issued late Thursday that they would appeal his sentence on the grounds that it was “without evidence to support it and the trial was filled with irregularities.”

Prosecutor Garcia Torres, meanwhile, left open the possibility prosecutors would appeal for a longer prison term after analyzing the judge’s decision.

“We wanted a maximum

Evidence in the case included statements from hotel guests who said they heard loud arguing and cries of distress coming from the couple’s room on the night the 42-year-old victim went missing. sentence,” Garcia Torres said. “We asked for a maximum sentence that we considered should be 50 years for murder.”

He expressed confidence that prosecutors during the three-year process had proved Beresford-Redman killed his wife. “We’re convinced of his guilt.”

Beresford-Redman main-

tained his innocence. But in 2011 a U.S. court upheld his extradition and shortly after he was sent back to Mexico in 2012, a judge ordered the Emmy-nominated producer to stand trial on a murder charge.

Evidence in the case included statements from hotel guests who said they heard loud arguing and

cries of distress coming from the couple’s room on the night the 42-year-old victim went missing.

The producer’s lawyers maintained the noises came from Beresford-Redman and his children playing loud games throughout the night and argued there was not any forensic evidence that he killed his wife.

Beresford-Redman had been ordered to stay in Mexico when his wife’s body was found, but he returned to Los Angeles, where he surrendered to authorities after an arrest warrant was issued in Mexico.

He produced several episodes of the CBS reality show “Survivor” and was a co-creator of the MTV show “Pimp My Ride.”

Photo by Damian Dovarganes/file | AP

Bruce Beresford-Redman, the former “Survivor” producer, posing at his home in Rancho Palos Verdes, Calif., on May 26, 2010. He was convicted of murdering his wife during a 2010 Cancun beach vacation, and his attorney says he plans to appeal. BeresfordRedman was sentenced to 12 years in prison Thursday. However, prosecutors have said they may appeal for a longer prison term after analyzing the judge’s decision.

State

6A THE ZAPATA TIMES

Police charge teen in shooting Iraqi ASSOCIATED PRESS

DALLAS — Police say a suspect arrested Friday in the killing of an Iraqi man taking photos of his first snow said he was looking for whoever shot at his girlfriend’s home when he randomly came upon the victim and opened fire.

Nykerion Nealon, 17, was being held without bond on a murder charge in last week’s death of Ahmed Al-Jumaili, who in February moved to Dallas to escape violence in his homeland.

“We don’t believe he knew Mr. Al-Jumaili. We don’t believe he knew Mr. Al-Jumaili’s ethnicity,” police Maj. Jeff Cotner told a news conference Friday.

Cotner had earlier said police do not believe the killing was a hate crime.

Al-Jumaili on the night of March 4 was outside his apartment complex taking snapshots of snow when he was shot. He died the next day.

“Mr. Al-Jumaili was enjoying the snowfall with his wife and brother when he was shot, then he ran toward his apartment and collapsed in the breezeway,” Cotner said.

Nealon never contacted police about gunfire earlier that evening at his girlfriend’s nearby apartment complex until after the fatal shooting, Cotner said.

Police believe Nealon had a rifle when he and three friends went out to find out who had opened fire at

Photo courtesy of Zahraa Atlaie | AP

Atlaie, left, and her husband Ahmed Al-Jumaili are seen in Dallas.

The Iraqi man was fatally shot while taking photos of snowfall. the apartment. Police are investigating whether gang activity was involved.

“While walking through the apartment complex, they observed the victim and his family taking pictures in the snow,” Cotner said.

Detectives located 15 shell casings near where Al-Jumaili was shot, Cotner said.

A potential witness on Tuesday contacted police in suburban Richardson to report Nealon as a possible suspect in the fatal shooting.

Nealon gave police permission to search his home. Officers recovered an unfired cartridge of the same type of shell found at the scene of the fatal shooting, Cotner said.

No attorney was listed for Nealon. Nobody else

has been charged in the slaying.

“Our community has been at a loss for words and very saddened by this tragic death,” said Alia Salem, the executive director of the Dallas-Fort Worth chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations, who has served as the family’s spokeswoman. “... We just want to see justice happen here.”

The victim’s father-inlaw, Mohammed Altaae, was at the police news conference but did not comment.

Altaae earlier this week told The Associated Press that Al-Jumaili fled violence in Iraq to reunite with his wife and had been in Texas just three weeks when he was killed.

“He had a lot of faith in his future,” Altaae said, “a lot of faith in his destiny.”

Soldier pleads guilty ASSOCIATED PRESS

FORT HOOD — An Army officer admitted to a military tribunal Wednesday that he betrayed his role at Fort Hood as an advocate for victims of sexual abuse by organizing a prostitution ring at the sprawling Central Texas base.

Sgt. 1st Class Gregory McQueen under questioning by a military judge explained how he recruited three cash-strapped female soldiers to join the ring.

One was told she could make plenty of money at “swinger parties, stripper parties,” the Austin American-Statesman reported.

He admitted to Judge Lt. Col. Rebecca Connally that he also betrayed the trust of commanders who appointed him as a victim advocate at the base north of Austin that covers about 170 square miles and is home to more than 40,000 soldiers.

“I was fully aware I violated those duties,” said McQueen, who’s a noncommissioned officer.

He pleaded guilty to 15 counts as his court-martial began Wednesday, including charges of pandering and conspiracy to solicit prostitution. As part of his plea arrangement, other charges were dismissed, but McQueen still faces one count of assault that may be considered by the court later.

One of the female soldiers had previously testified that McQueen arranged for her to have sex for $100 with an officer, Master Sgt. Brad Grimes.

The woman had told investigators she was 20 when she confided in McQueen about money problems after her husband left her and her 3year-old son and drained the couple’s bank account.

She also testified that McQueen had sex with her and took photos of her naked to show potential clients.

Grimes has already been demoted and reprimanded for conspiring to patronize a prostitute and solicitation to commit adultery. Initial

charges were filed against McQueen in March 2014.

McQueen was an officer in Fort Hood’s sexual assault prevention program and counseled victims of abuse. It’s not clear how long he worked with the program.

He faces a maximum penalty of more than 40 years in prison.

The case has brought renewed focus on the prevalence of sexual assault in the military. The U.S. Senate last year blocked a bill that would have stripped military commanders of their authority to prosecute or prevent charges for alleged rapes and other serious offenses.

Instructors, recruits and others have been prosecuted in a series of sex-abuse cases at Joint Base San Antonio-Lackland. A Pentagon study released last May on sex assault in the military found that more than 5,000 reports of sexual abuse had been filed in the previous fiscal year, a 50 percent increase from the previous 12 months.

A&M group faces lawsuit ASSOCIATED PRESS

MARSHALL — Three former Texas A&M University students have filed a lawsuit against the 12th Man Foundation, seeking to protect their ticketing and seating rights in the school’s $485 million expansion of its stadium.

Reports say plaintiffs Sammy York, Gregory Hayes and Henry Holubec accuse the foundation, which is overseeing reseating efforts at the stadium, of reneging on endowment agreements in an effort to get more money out of longtime donors. The lawsuit also seeks to represent holders of about 450 donor agreements that account for about 1,700 stadium seats at Kyle Field.

Current endowment agreements allow donors to receive long-term rights to prime football tickets and parking rights near the stadium.

Mark Riordan, vice president of marketing and communications for the foundation, said the group will not comment pending

Photo by Sam Craft/College Station Eagle | AP

The west side of Kyle Field implodes Dec. 21, 2014, in College Station.

Three former Texas A&M University students have filed a lawsuit against the 12th Man Foundation, seeking to protect their ticketing and seating rights in the school’s $485 million expansion of its stadium. litigation.

Issues have surrounded the endowment agreements for a decade, but it all came to a head in 2013 when Texas A&M announced that it would renovate to make Kyle Field the largest in the Southeastern Conference.

To help fund the renovations, seat holders are expected to help cover have the bill through seat licenses. That expectation triggered a massive reseating process that required donors to pay even more

money to keep their seats.

Riordan did say that the foundation has tried to work with endowment donors. According to the foundation’s website, donors are to receive a $2,000 seating allowance starting this year to pick a spot in the stadium without owing additional financial support.

“The seat holders have been given the ability to select seats before anybody else and in an area that is not going to cost them any more money,” Riordan said.

SATURDAY, MARCH 14, 2015

Nation

SATURDAY, MARCH 14, 2015

THE ZAPATA TIMES 7A

House leaders eye Medicare deal

By ALAN FRAM ASSOCIATED PRESS

Photo by Whitney Curtis/The New York Times | AP

St. Louis County Police Lt. Jerry Lohr, center, talks with a protester and asks protesters and reporters to gather on the sidewalk outside the city’s police department in Ferguson Mo., Thursday night.

Remade police force eyed

By JIM SUHR ASSOCIATED PRESS

FERGUSON, Mo. — The protesters who spent eight months pressing for changes in Ferguson’s police practices after the fatal shooting of Michael Brown take credit for this week’s resignations of the city manager and the police chief.

And they insist they still have unfinished business, with many planning to stay in the streets until the mayor of the St. Louis suburb is forced out and the entire police force dissolved.

“We will protest until we see everything in our favor.

This movement has legs,” Derrick Robinson, a protest organizer, declared Friday.

“We’re out here fighting for justice and equality, and that’s what we’ll continue to fight for.”

Part of the movement has also been channeled into legislative change.

On Wednesday, about two dozen people from the Don’t Shoot Coalition and the American Civil Liberties Union traveled to the Missouri Capitol in support of the “Fair and Impartial Policing Act,” a measure that would strengthen state laws about racial profiling by police and require law officers to undergo “anti-bias” training.

The Justice Department fueled the sense of achievement among activists, announcing in a scathing report last week that it had found widespread racial bias in the city’s policing and in a municipal court system driven by profit extracted from mostly black and lowincome residents.

That same report also cleared former Ferguson officer Darren Wilson in the Aug. 9 death of Brown, the unarmed 18-year-old who for protesters became a symbol of unjustified use of force and unfair treatment of minorities by police.

The Justice Department’s conclusions drew a muted response among activists.

Only a few dozen protesters gathered that night outside Ferguson’s police station — the nexus of many demonstrations. That was in sharp contrast to the throngs that turned out there and across the nation in the days after Brown’s death and in November, when a Missouri grand jury declined to indict Wilson.

The comparatively sparse turnout raised questions about whether the movement had lost momentum.

Organizers said the federal government’s conclusions had been expected after some of the findings were leaked in the weeks before

the formal announcements.

Rasheen Aldridge, a 20year-old regular at the protests, considers Ferguson his generation’s civil-rights movement. That idea, he said, seemed to gain resonance in the last week after the killing of an unarmed biracial man by a white officer in Madison, Wisconsin, and the suspension of a University of Oklahoma fraternity chapter that was caught on video singing a racist chant.

Aldridge, head of Young Activists United St. Louis, said he did not expect the protest movement “to grow into the energy that it has.”

“This is the new time to make changes,” added Aldridge, also a member of the Ferguson Commission, a group tasked by Missouri’s governor to address underlying social and economic problems. “This is our time.”

In the months after Brown’s death, some demonstrations were marred by looting and arson fires that targeted businesses. Organizers blamed those incidents on outside agitators.

That was the case again Thursday, when two police officers helping monitor protests outside the police department were shot in an attack that was still under investigation.

WASHINGTON — In a rare show of unity, top House Republicans and Democrats are working toward a $200 billion agreement revamping how doctors are paid for treating Medicare patients, a package that would be largely financed by adding to the federal deficit, lobbyists said Friday.

Because of that red ink, some conservatives have already come out against the plan, though others back it.

That means House Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio, could need votes from House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., for the agreement, just weeks after he needed Democratic support for legislation preventing the Homeland Security Department from shutting down.

The potential Medicare deal could change as House leaders gauge support and make adjustments to win votes, said the lobbyists, who spoke on condition of anonymity to reveal details of congressional negotiations.

But its basic elements seem generally set, including an end to an 18-year-old formula that has long bedeviled Congress, repeatedly prompting lawmakers to block unrealistically deep cuts in doctors’ Medicare reimbursements.

Without congressional action, the next cut — 21 percent — would begin April 1. Racing that deadline, House aides have been crafting the plan behind closed doors, with Senate staff from both parties being kept informed.

Congressional passage before that deadline remains uncertain, and a temporary measure may be needed to block the cuts and give lawmakers more time to write a final package. Since allowing a 4.8

percent Medicare fee cut in 2002, Congress has passed 17 bills temporarily averting the reductions.

The new package is also expected to include money for a children’s health program whose budget will soon run dry. Some lobbyists say the agreement would include around $5 billion for the Children’s Health Insurance Program, which is popular with both parties but especially so among Democrats, enough to keep it running another two years.

Under the emerging agreement, lawmakers would not pay for the roughly $140 billion expense of eliminating fee cuts that would otherwise occur over the next 10 years, said the lobbyists.

An additional $60 billion in the package would pay for a new system of annually updating how doctors are paid under Medicare; some other expiring Medicare and Medicaid programs; and the children’s health program.

Those expenses would be financed with savings divided roughly evenly between Medicare beneficiaries and providers, though that could change, the lobbyists said.

For beneficiaries, those savings are expected to include larger premiums for the highest-earning Medicare recipients and increased out-of-pocket costs for people with Medigap policies, which cover costs not insured by Medicare.

Reimbursement cuts are possible for some nursing homes, home health providers and perhaps hospitals facing debt from patients’ unpaid bills.

Both parties have long favored eliminating the 1997 Medicare formula for reimbursing doctors but clashed over how to finance that.

Conservative groups including Heritage Action for

America and the Club for Growth criticized the budding proposal for its red ink, suggesting that some of the House’s most conservative Republicans might continue their pattern of rebelling against their leaders.

“Americans didn’t hand Republicans a historic House majority to engage in more deficit spending and budget gimmickry,” said Heritage spokesman Dan Holler. He said a measure that isn’t fully paid for would be “a nonstarter for conservatives.”

Other conservatives said the existing formula was so harsh that its promised cuts were never real, making it unnecessary to find savings to pay for eliminating it.

“Simply removing a theoretical spending cut which will never, ever happen is a non-event,” said Ryan Ellis, tax policy director for Americans for Tax Reform. “As a non-event, it does not require a pay-for.”

Also expected to back the plan were many of the 17 doctors in Congress, most of them Republicans.

“I’m all in,” said one of their leaders, Rep. Phil Roe, R-Tenn., saying approval would remove a time-consuming issue and clear the way for other Medicare changes Republicans want.

Another doctor, Sen. John Barrasso, R-Wyo., said he favored permanently resolving the issue and would consider whatever the House produces, even if it did not finance some costs. He said the formula was always “a phony plan.”

At the same time, congressional Republicans are working on a 2016 budget that will claim that higher Medicare reimbursement rates for doctors will be paid for with cuts elsewhere in the program.

That is only partly true under the potential House Medicare agreement.

Nation

8A THE ZAPATA TIMES

SATURDAY, MARCH 14, 2015

President: More work to do for veterans

By JIM KUHNHENN AND JOSH HOFFNER ASSOCIATED PRESS

PHOENIX — Amid persistent complaints about veterans’ health care, President Barack Obama acknowledged lingering weaknesses Friday in the federal government’s response to the chronic delays and false waiting lists that triggered a national outcry over the Veterans Affairs health system last year.

Obama said that while VA Secretary Robert McDonald is “chipping away” at the problem, it was clear there was still more work to do.

“It’s important that veterans know that somebody’s got their backs, and that if there are problems that we’re not being defensive about it, not hiding it,” Obama said.

In his first trip to the Phoenix VA hospital whose practices sparked the scandal, Obama announced the creation of an advisory committee to recommend further steps the VA could take to improve veterans’ access to health care.

Obama met with veterans, VA employees and elected officials, including Sens. John McCain and

Photo by Jacquelyn Martin | AP

President Barack Obama, right, walks with Army Ranger Sgt. 1st Class Cory Remsburg, a veteran of Afghanistan and a wounded warrior, at Remsburg’s new home, with his father Craig Remsburg, left, and stepmother Elizabeth Remsburg, in Gilbert, Arizona, on Friday.

Jeff Flake, Arizona’s two Republican senators. He said lawmakers specifically raised questions about the slow pace of implementing a new law meant to increase health care choices for veterans. Mental health and suicide prevention are also areas of concern, he said.

“Trust is something you can lose real quick,” Obama said, pro-

moting the need to restore trust and confidence in the VA system.

But, he added, “Every veteran I talked to today said that the actual care they received once in the system was outstanding.”

Obama’s visit came amid questions from lawmakers who say veterans are still not benefiting from changes in the law that were

meant to improve their access to care. A month ago, Obama drew criticism for traveling to Phoenix without stopping at the hospital.

McCain, chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee, blasted the president’s visit as a “photo op.” He said the foot-dragging in implementing VA reforms showed that Obama’s administration had given up on reform before it even started.

“The American people — and veterans in particular — should be as unimpressed by the president’s high-profile but empty gesture today as I am,” said McCain, who scheduled a news conference outside the VA to respond on camera to the president’s visit.

As Obama flew to Phoenix, the White House defended the VA’s actions to correct problems.

“Long after it fades from the headlines, this is something a lot of people have been working on and that he president feels strongly about,” White House spokesman Eric Schultz said.

Aiming to illustrate a more positive veteran’s story, Obama also paid a visit to Sgt. 1st Class Cory Remsburg, who was wounded in Afghanistan and has met with Obama several times before.

Remsburg recently moved into a new home purchased by a nonprofit that helps disabled Army Rangers, and the president brought along White House beer as a housewarming gift.

The Phoenix VA Medical Center prompted the scrutiny last year following reports that dozens of veterans died while awaiting treatment at the hospital. The ensuing scandal prompted the ouster of VA Secretary Eric Shinseki.

The agency’s Phoenix director, Sharon Helman, also lost her job.

A series of government reports said workers throughout the country falsified wait lists while supervisors looked the other way. While veterans encountered chronic delays, the reports found managers who falsely appeared to meet ontime goals received bonuses.

In the aftermath, Congress approved a sweeping law to overhaul the VA and appropriated money to make it easier for veterans to get VA-paid private health care. It also limits the time VA employees have to appeal firings for alleged wrongdoing.

The Phoenix office brought a respected former director out of retirement to take controls of the office for a one-year assignment.

SÁBADO 14 DE MARZO DE 2015

Ribereña en Breve DECOMISOS El Grupo de Coordinación Tamaulipas comunica que personal de la Secretaría de la Defensa Nacional aseguró en tres operativos realizados en los municipios de Reynosa, Matamoros y Río Bravo, México, 1.035 kilogramos de marihuana, 14 armas largas, 131 cargadores, 3.601 cartuchos útiles y seis vehículos.

Esos operativos se realizaron del seis al ocho de marzo del presente año.

El 6 de marzo, en la colonia Juárez del municipio de Reynosa, se detecta un tracto-camión en aparente abandono. Al revisar la unidad, localizan docenas de paquetes que contenían 1.035 kilogramos de marihuana.

Mientras tanto, el 8 de marzo, ejido “Las Palmas” del municipio de Matamoros, se detectan tres vehículos en aparente estado de abandono. Al revisarlos, se localizan en su interior seis armas largas, 52 cargadores y mil 320 cartuchos útiles.

El mismo día, en la colonia Benito Juárez del municipio de Río Bravo, se detectan dos camionetas en aparente abandono. Al revisarlas, se localizan ocho armas largas, 79 cargadores y 2.281 cartuchos útiles de diferentes calibres.

Zfrontera

PÁGINA 9A

POLICÍA

Incautan droga

POR CÉSAR G. RODRIGUEZ TIEMPO DE ZAPATA

Agentes federales en Zapata recientemente incautaron cerca de 1.200 kilogramos de marihuana y detuvieron a un hombre en relación con el caso, de acuerdo con documentos de la corte obtenidos esta semana.

El caso se desarrolló a las 8:10 a.m. del 27 de febrero, cuando un agente de la Patrulla Fronteriza que patrullaba hacia el sur sobre U.S. 83, cerca del vecindario Siesta Shores, vio un vehículo Ford F-250, color blanco, tirando de un generador. Los registros indican que el agente notó logotipos de la empresa United Rentals en la puerta del conductor y la plataforma trasera. “(El agente) ha visto varios logotipos de United Rentals, durante

su carrera y rápidamente notó que los logotipos de la empresa en el camión eran demasiado pequeños”, señala una querella criminal presentada el 2 de marzo.

Entonces, el agente siguió a la camioneta para lograr una mejor visión del generador, que parecía “limpio y brillante” y que parecía estar recién pintado, de acuerdo con documentos de la corte.

Las autoridades dijeron que el vehículo se detuvo junto a una gasolinera en Stripes sobre avenida First y U.S. 83. A medida que el agente se acercaba al vehículo, notó y olió que el generador estaba recién pintado. Comenzó a hablar con el conductor, identificado posteriormente como Victor Tristán.

Tristán aseguró que intercambiaría los generadores, pero no sabía la ubicación. Al preguntarle

por algún supervisor, Tristán no pudo dar una respuesta, de acuerdo con documentos de la corte.

Después de supuestamente dar consentimiento para registrar de su vehículo, un perro detector de narcóticos alertó a los agentes sobre un posible contrabando.

Tristán supuestamente accedió a una nueva inspección y se dirigió a la estación de Patrulla Fronteriza en Zapata, que se encuentra a dos cuadras de Stripes.

Los agentes dijeron que el generador presentó varias anomalías.

Entonces, las autoridades descubrieron que los orificios de ventilación del generador fueron bloqueados por una placa de acero.

Tras eliminar la placa, los agentes dijeron que encontraron 96 paquetes envueltos en cinta marrón.

Los paquetes contenían 1.190 li-

CONDADO

PAN

SIGUEN FIESTAS

Diputado propone cambio a legislatura ESPECIAL PARA TIEMPO DE ZAPATA

FERIA DEL CONDADO A partir del jueves 12 de marzo y hasta el sábado 14 de marzo, tendrá lugar la Feria del Condado de Zapata, en Zapata County Fairgrounds.

El viernes 13 se presentarán Dustin Lynch Band, La Leyenda, Grupo Siggno, entre otros.

El sábado se presentarán Grupo Palomo, Los Palominos, Los Traileros Del Norte, entre otros grupos.

Foto de cortesía

Las fiestas del Condado de Zapata continúan el día de hoy, en la Feria del Condado, donde se presentaran, como grupo principal, Los Traileros del Norte.

DESFILE Se invita a todos los negocios, iglesias, clubes, escuelas, organizaciones y oficiales electos a participar en el Zapata County Fair Parade 2015, que se celebrará el 14 de marzo.

Se entregarán trofeos a las mejores flotas de las diferentes categorías. El desfile está programado para comenzar a las 9 a.m., sin embargo los participantes deben presentarse antes de las 8:30 a.m.

El desfile comenzará en 3rd Ave., y continuará hacia el norte sobre U.S. Hwy 83, para después tomar hacia la izquierda en 23rd St. y terminar en los jardines de la feria.

Para inscribirse debe presentar su solicitud en las oficinas de la Cámara de Comercio del Condado de Zapata ubicadas en 601 N. U.S. Hwy 83 o enviarlas por correo electrónico a cbalderas@zapatachamber.com.

Puede descargar la solicitud en www.zapatacountyfair.com.

CORTE

Sujetos se declaran no culpables POR CÉSAR G. RODRIGUEZ TIEMPO DE ZAPATA

Dos hombres acusados de almacenar paquetes de marihuana en una bodega localizada en el Condado de Zapata se han declarado no culpables, muestran documentos de la corte.

Heraldo Chapa y Rene Romeo Guerra dispensaron su presencia en una lectura de cargos reciente.

Guerra se declaró no culpable el 6 de marzo mientras que Chapa hizo lo mismo el jueves.

Ambos hombres fueron acusados con cargos por conspiración para posesión con intención de distribuir 100 kilogramos o más de marihuana y poseer con intención de distribuir 100 kilogramos o más de marihuana.

Se enfrentan a hasta 40 años en prisión si son declarados culpables, según la acusación. Chapa y Guer-

ra están en libertad bajo fianza, según documentos de la corte.

Las autoridades dijeron que la marihuana, que supuestamente escondieron los acusados ?era una cantidad de hasta 509,3 libras, con valor de 407.440 dólares. La detención ocurrió el 5 de febrero.

Con la ayuda de una cámara de la Patrulla Fronteriza, instalada a lo largo de una ruta de contrabando conocida, los agentes vieron un vehículo Chevrolet viajando hacia Falcon Lake en Zapata. El vehículo llegó a U.S. 83. Los agentes dijeron que más tarde la camioneta se detuvo en un almacén situado en la entrada de Remigio Guerra Ranch, fuera de U.S. 83.

Más tarde, cuatro hombres salieron del almacén a bordo de un vehículo Dodge Ram 1500, que estaba estacionado afuera. Agentes mantuvieron el vehículo Dodge vigilaron y más tarde lo interceptaron.

JUNTA DE COMISIONADOS El lunes 13 de marzo, 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.

Fue entonces cuando los dos hombres, vestidos con ropa con camuflaje para cazadores, salieron de la camioneta y huyeron entre la maleza. Mientras tanto, el conductor y el pasajero se quedaron en el interior de la Dodge.

Registros señalan que Guerra era el conductor y el pasajero era Chapa. Las autoridades preguntaron a Guerra por qué los otros dos hombres huyeron. Guerra cree que los hombres estaban en el país ilegalmente, según documentos de la corte.

Al principio, los agentes detuvieron a Guerra y Chapa como sospechosos de contrabando de personas. Pero una inspección a la bodega en el rancho dio lugar al descubrimiento de varios paquetes de marihuana.

(Localice a César G. Rodriguez en 728-2568 o en cesar@lmtonline.com)

A fin de fomentar la participación e involucrar a los jóvenes en la toma de decisiones y programas de gobierno, el Diputado Enrique Rivas Cuellar (Nuevo Laredo, México), presentó una iniciativa con proyecto de decreto que busca modificar la edad mínima para ser Diputado, de 21 a 18 años de edad.

En la Constitución local el artículo 29 en su fracción III, establece que para ser Diputado, RIVAS propietario o suplente, se requiere tener 21 años cumplidos el día de la elección.

“México y Tamaulipas requieren una mayor participación de los jóvenes en todas las decisiones y programas de gobierno, pues ello trae consigo más soluciones, más conciencia, más esperanza y un mejor futuro”, expresó Rivas durante la sesión ordinaria del Congreso del Estado.

"Resulta imprescindible contar con su participación, a fin de conducir a nuestra sociedad y, particularmente a nuestro Estado”.

Aseguró que la "imaginación, sus ideales, su energía y su visión resultan imprescindibles para el desarrollo social”.

En representación del Grupo Parlamentario de Acción Nacional, Rivas dijo que es esencial que se imprima un nuevo rostro a la concepción y la ejecución de políticas y programas para los jóvenes en todos los niveles.

Agregó que los jóvenes deben involucrarse activamente en las políticas públicas, los desafíos, condiciones sociales y económicas, pues ello incide en el bienestar de los integrantes de la sociedad mexicana.

COLUMNA

JUNTA DE COMISIONADOS El lunes 23 de marzo, 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.

bras de marihuana, con un valor de 952.000 dólares. Agentes especiales de DEA acudieron a la estación para investigar. Tristán supuestamente eligió hablar con las autoridades en relación al decomiso.

“Durante (el) interrogatorio, Tristan admitió que sabía que transportaba drogas y aceptó una compensación monetaria por ello”, señala la querella.

Una verificación de antecedentes penales sobre Tristán reveló que anteriormente fue detenido por presunto intento de contrabando de alrededor de 46 kilogramos de marihuana en el punto de revisión de Patrulla Fronteriza, Sarita, sobre Texas 77.

(Localice a César G. Rodriguez en 728-2568 o en cesar@lmtonline.com)

Narra toma de Ciudad Victoria, Tamaulipas POR RAÚL SINENCIO ESPECIAL PARA TIEMPO DE ZAPATA

Nota del Editor: El autor sita la toma y liberación de Ciudad Victoria, Tamaulipas, por elementos militares de Estados Unidos.

Por el camino que viene del norte, jinetes de EU avanzan a Ciudad Victoria, México, capital de Tamaulipas. Ésta fue la primera ocupación extranjera.

Situación Recién comienza la guerra de EU contra México.

La superioridad militar de

los soldados de EU logró imponerse desde el principio.

Por ello ocurren los reveses en la defensa de México. La entidad tamaulipeca acumula preocupantes descalabros.

Las hostilidades desembocan en el Río Bravo, entonces territorio de Tamaulipas.

Con saldo desfavorable en Palo Alto y Resaca de la Palma, Mariano Arista regresa a Matamoros, México, y evacua la plaza. Ésta es ocupada por fuerzas militares contrarias el 18 de mayo de 1846. Sujeto a un bloqueo naval, Tampico también es tomado el 14 de noviembre, tras orden de Antonio López de Santa Anna para desartillarlo.

Ya en posesión de la urbe regiomontana, el comandante en jefe, Zacarías Taylor, parte rumbo al centro tamaulipeco.

“Taylor salió de Monterrey, seguido de tropas regulares, y ordenó al general (Robert) Patterson marchar de Matamoros con tres regimientos de su división, una de ellas la caballería de Tennessee”, puntualiza Fayette Robinson.

Posesión En la zona dispone Santa Anna repliegue táctico. Ciudad Victoria, desguarnecida por completo, es abandonada por el gobernador Fran-

cisco Vital Fernández y demás autoridades estatales, el 28 de diciembre de 1846.

Militares de EU continúan avanzando.

“Nuestra ruta se encontraba a los pies de las montañas de la sierra Madre (Oriental), en medio de un hermoso panorama, y a través de naranjales y cañaverales, cruzado (el campo) por transparentes arroyos que bajaban de las montañas”, señala Dabney Herndon Maury.

El 29 de diciembre llegan alrededor de 6.000 militares.

Superan a la población de Victoria.

En apariencia los residentes se dan por vencidos.

“Por algunos días nos

mantuvimos tranquilos en Victoria”, sostiene Maury.

“Solo no inquietó el robo del caballo del general Taylor, el ‘Old Whitey’. Inmediatamente después Taylor arrestó al alcalde y lo mantuvo de rehén hasta que le fuera regresado sano y salvo ‘Old Whitey’, al día siguiente”.

De acuerdo con los planes del alto mando, a principios de 1847 los invasores desocupan Ciudad Victoria. Patterson se reúne en Tampico con Winfield Scott, quien tras apoderarse del puerto de Veracruz toma la Ciudad de México. Taylor regresa de inmediato a Monterrey.

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