The Zapata Times 3/18/2015

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ZAPATA COUNTY

BORDER PATROL

BP arrest smuggler

Mexican citizen arrested in Zapata

Man allegedly intended to distribute 523 pounds of pot

By CÉSAR G. RODRIGUEZ THE ZAPATA TIMES

An elderly man accused of driving a marijuana-laden, phony oilfield pickup was arrested recently in Zapata County, according to court records obtained this week.

Wayne Howard Masters, 71, of Progresso, was charged via

criminal complaint with possess with intent to distribute 523 pounds of marijuana. The pot had an estimated street value of $418,400. Masters remains in federal custody.

U.S. Border Patrol said one of their agents was patrolling at about 6:45 a.m. March 3 in the area of U.S. 83 and FM 2687 Road, a primary route for

northbound travel and a corridor often utilized by criminal organizations to move humans or narcotics, the complaint states. The agent then noticed a white Ford pickup pass his location. “(The agent) observed the truck was outfitted to look like and oilfield truck and was displaying the company Rock Wa-

ter Energy Solutions,” court documents state.

Agents said the pickup appeared to be “unusually clean” given recent rains within the area. Oilfield vehicles are known to operate inside ranch lands in dirt and caliche roads.

Vehicles are expected to be cov-

By CÉSAR G. RODRIGUEZ See SMUGGLER PAGE 11A

DENTON FRACKING BAN

OIL AND GAS VS. LOCAL CONTROL Most lawmakers favor state, not city, regulation

By JIM MALEWITZ TEXAS TRIBUNE

As policy dilemmas go, the one triggered when Denton voters decided last fall to ban hydraulic fracturing in their city looked like a whopper: The oil and gas industry versus local control — two things Texas holds dear — in intractable opposition.

There seemed little doubt lawmakers would weigh in upon their return to Austin.

But four months after the North Texas city’s historic vote, top state lawmakers don’t appear to be scratching their heads. Petroleum is winning hands down, and local control appears headed for a beating.

Several legislative proposals so far leave less wiggle room for Texas cities to regulate oil and gas production.

“We need to restate that principle that the state has re-

Man charged with harboring immigrants

sponsibility to regulate the oil and gas industry,” said state Rep. Drew Darby, R-San Angelo, who chairs the House Energy Resources Committee. “I don’t know where people might have believed that the state was not going to assert fully its rights to regulate that.”

Texas lawmakers this session have filed at least 11 bills that would discourage local governments from enacting or amending certain drilling rules.

Meanwhile, those watching legislation on the issue say they haven’t noticed one proposal to bolster — or even support — local control on petroleum development.

“We didn’t expect these to be just completely one-sided," said Bennett Sandlin, executive director of the Texas Municipal League.

“Instead, they’re swinging for the fen-

See FRACKING PAGE 11A Photo by Dylan Hollingsworth | The New York Times

This Oct. 1, 2014 photo shows a hydraulic fracturing drill site in Denton, Texas. Denton sits smack dab in the middle of one of the nation’s richest reserves of gas, and a referendum to ban the gas-extraction process called hydraulic fracturing, or fracking, in the city has alarmed oil and gas companies.

THE ZAPATA TIMES

A Mexican citizen was recently arrested in Zapata accused of transporting immigrants from Zapata to Laredo for monetary gain, according to court documents obtained this week.

A criminal complaint filed March 11 charges Benjamín Garcia Hernandez with bringing in and harboring illegal immigrants.

The case was reported at 9:30 p.m. March 8. That night, the Zapata County Sheriff ’s Office called the Zapata Border Patrol Station regarding a human smuggling attempt involving a dark colored sport utility vehicle.

Agents who responded to the call observed a dark Ford Explorer coming out of County Road and heading north on U.S. 83. Agents said they could observe multiple occupants inside the vehicle while a front passenger was ducking in an attempt to hide, according to court documents.

Agents said the vehicle began driving erratically, changing lanes without signaling, swerving and speeding. The agent then activated its unit’s emergency lights to conduct an immigration inspection on the driver and its occupants. Records state the vehicle eventually stopped abruptly in the center turning lane of U.S. 83.

Identified as the driver, Garcia Hernandez and the nine occupants allegedly admitted to being in the country illegally, according to court documents.

All people were taken to the Zapata station for further processing.

Garcia Hernandez stated he made arrangements with a man in Laredo to pick up immigrants near Zapata. Records show Garcia Hernandez expected a $1,000 payment for transporting the people from Zapata to Laredo.

Two men held as material witnesses admitted paying $4,500 each to be smuggled to Houston, the complaint states.

Both identified Garcia Hernandez as the driver of the Explorer.

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

STATE LEGISLATURE

Texas’ unusual grand jury system under new scrutiny

By JUAN A. LOZANO ASSOCIATED PRESS

Photo by Jessica Kourkounis/Houston Chronicle | AP file

In this Oct. 10, 2005 file photo, Alfred Dewayne Brown, left, is seated next to defense attorney Robert Morrow, right. Brown was convicted and sentenced to death for the 2003 killing of a Houston police officer, but grand jury testimony shows a police officer who was included on the panel may have persuaded one of Brown’s alibi witnesses to change her story. Brown’s appeal is ongoing.

HOUSTON — Grand juries in Texas are chosen like no other place in the country.

Rather than picking from a pool of randomly selected residents to hear criminal cases, judge-appointed commissioners are allowed to nominate prospective jurors under a system the U.S. Supreme Court has called “susceptible of abuse.”

Now, more than four decades after federal courts stopped us-

ing a similar method, Texas is under pressure to make the shift amid criticism that its grand juries sometimes include biased members connected to the criminal justice system.

With support from judges, attorneys and a prominent district attorney, the Texas Legislature is considering a set of bills that would end the socalled key-man system and allow only randomly selected panels to consider whether prosecutors have sufficient evidence to seek charges.

Supporters say the bills would help end the perception of an unfair grand jury process, while others warn a new system would make it more difficult to find grand jurors who have enough time to serve.

“If we are going to have a workable criminal justice system, people are going to have to have confidence in all components of it,” said state Sen. John Whitmire, a Houston Democrat who sponsored the

See JURY PAGE 11A

International

10A THE ZAPATA TIMES

WEDNESDAY, MARCH 18, 2015

Israel’s tight race ends in contested win

By JOSEF FEDERMAN ASSOCIATED PRESS

JERUSALEM — Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu appeared to have fended off a strong challenge from the country’s opposition leader in parliamentary elections Tuesday, emerging from an acrimonious campaign in a slightly better position to form Israel’s next government.

But with the sides nearly evenly divided, a victory by Netanyahu’s Likud Party still was not guaranteed.

His chief rival, Isaac Herzog of the Zionist Union, said he would make “every effort” to form a government, and an upstart centrist party led by a former Netanyahu ally-turned-rival was set to be the kingmaker. The country now heads into weeks of negotiations over the makeup of the next coalition.

Both Netanyahu and Herzog will now compete for a chance to form a coalition that commands a majority in the 120-seat parliament, a daunting task in Israel’s fractured political landscape. Netanyahu appeared to have a better chance of cobbling together a government with rightwing and religious parties.

Herzog would have to appeal to more ideologically diverse parties.

Either will likely need the support of Moshe Kahlon, whose new Kulanu

Photo by Oded Balilty | AP

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu Likud party supporters react to exit poll results at the party’s election headquarters In Tel Aviv, Tuesday. Israelis are voting in early parliament elections following a campaign focused on economic issues such as the high cost of living. party captured nine or 10 seats. Kahlon, whose campaign focused almost entirely on bread-and-butter economic issues, has thus far refused to take sides.

The election was widely seen as a referendum on Netanyahu, who has governed the country for the past six years, and recent opinion polls had given Herzog a slight lead.

As the results were announced on the nation’s

three major TV stations, celebrations erupted at Likud’s campaign headquarters in Tel Aviv.

In a statement released on Twitter, Netanyahu said that “against all odds” Likud had won a “great victory.”

“This is a great victory.

It’s almost a miracle,” Likud lawmaker Ofir Akunis told The Associated Press.

“For months, everybody attacked the Likud. And to-

day is a beautiful day for the Likud. It sends a message that the people of Israel will decide for themselves.”

Netanyahu focused his campaign on security issues, while his opponents portrayed him as out of touch and instead focused on the country’s high cost of living and soaring housing prices.

Early Wednesday, Herzog addressed his supporters, saying that he had already

begun efforts to court potential coalition partners.

In a nod to Kahlon, he said he was committed to forming a “real social reconciliation government.”

Netanyahu’s return to power would likely spell trouble for Mideast peace efforts and could further escalate tensions with the United States.

Netanyahu, who already has a testy relationship with President Barack Oba-

ma, took a sharp turn to the right in the final days of the campaign, staking out a series of hard-line positions that will put him at odds with the international community.

In a dramatic policy reversal, he said he now opposes the creation of a Palestinian state — a key policy goal of the White House and the international community. The Palestinians, fed up after years of deadlock with Netanyahu, are now likely to press ahead with their attempts to bring war crimes charges against Israel in the International Criminal Court.

“We call upon the international community to support our efforts to join the international treaties and our effort in the ICC,” said Saeb Erekat, a top Palestinian official.

“What Netanyahu is doing and stating are war crimes and if the international community wants peace it should make Netanyahu accountable for his acts,” Erekat said. He said the Palestinian leadership will meet Thursday to discuss its next steps.

Official results from Tuesday’s election won’t be known for several days.

Two exit polls on Israeli TV showed Likud and the Zionist Union deadlocked with 27 seats each, and a third gave Likud a slight lead of 28-27. That breakdown could change as final results pour in.

Evidence of child-abuse cover-up

By JILL LAWLESS ASSOCIATED PRESS

LONDON — A toxic mix of misuse of power and official silence has become Britain’s shame as the country faces up to a growing web of evidence that the abuse of vulnerable children by powerful men was covered up for decades.

Several lawmakers said Tuesday that former detectives and intelligence officers should be guaranteed protection from prosecution if they speak out about child abuse by senior police, politicians or other prominent people.

“I would just very much hope the police now can investigate this very thoroughly without fear or favor, get to the bottom of the truth,” Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg said after

the BBC aired new claims of a cover-up of pedophile behavior three decades ago.

CYRIL SMITH “I would urge anyone who has any information that can cast any light on what happened way back then to come forward and co-operate with the police.”

Many Britons have felt a creeping horror over the last few years as allegations of child abuse have piled up.

There was the revelation that the late children’s entertainer Jimmy Savile had abused children in hospitals, children’s homes and TV studios for decades.

Separately, police announced they were investigating claims of a pedophile ring involving power-

ful politicians. And gangs of men in several regional towns were convicted of sexually exploiting teenage girls.

The latest allegations came Monday, when the BBC’s “Newsnight” program reported that an exdetective had told it that a lawmaker, Cyril Smith, was arrested in the early 1980s as part of an investigation into child-sex parties, but was released hours later.

He said officers were ordered to hand over notebooks and video footage from their undercover operation, and were told they would be violating the Official Secrets Act if they revealed what had happened.

The BBC did not identify the former detective because of the legal threat hanging over him.

After Smith died in 2010, prosecutors revealed that

in 1970 eight men had accused the Liberal lawmaker of abusing them as teens. The prosecutors said Smith was never charged, but should have been.

Labour Party lawmaker Tom Watson, who has campaigned to expose sexual abuse by politicians, said former police officers and civil servants with information have a duty to come forward, and should be protected from prosecution.

Legislator Simon Danczuk, who represents the Rochdale constituency that Smith once held, also said whistleblowers “should be given the freedom to speak out” without fear of prosecution.

A dam of official silence around child abuse in Britain began to break after the 2011 death of Savile allowed his long-silent victims to come forward.

Russia flexes missile muscles

By VLADIMIR ISACHENKOV ASSOCIATED PRESS

MOSCOW — Russia plans to station state-of-the art missiles in its westernmost Baltic exclave and deploy nuclear-capable bombers to Crimea as part of massive war games to showcase its resurgent military power amid bitter tensions with the West over Ukraine.

The Russian military exercises this week range from the Arctic to the Pacific Ocean and involve tens of thousands of troops, the Defense Ministry said Tuesday.

The Iskander missiles will be sent to the Kaliningrad region that borders NATO members Poland and Lithuania as part of the maneuvers, said a Defense Ministry official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because he wasn’t authorized to comment publicly.

The official also said Russia will deploy longrange, nuclear-capable Tu-22M3 bombers to Crimea, the Black Sea peninsula that Russia annexed from Ukraine a year ago.

In a statement, the Defense Ministry said the Baltic Fleet, the Southern Military District and the Airborne Forces have been brought to the highest stage of combat readiness and have started moving to shooting ranges as part of the drills.

The wide-ranging exer-

Photo by Alexander Zemlianichenko | AP file

In this Tuesday, May 7, 2013 file photo, Russian Iskander missiles make their way through Red Square in Moscow, Russia. Russia plans to station state-of-the art missiles to its westernmost Baltic exclave and deploy nuclear-capable bombers to Crimea. cise started Monday, when President Vladimir Putin ordered the Northern Fleet and other military forces on combat alert as part of the exercise in the Arctic.

Other units in the Pacific region, southern Siberia and southwestern Russia also launched drills.

The Iskander missiles deployment to Kaliningrad reflects Moscow’s readiness to raise the ante in response to NATO moves to deploy forces closer to Russia’s borders. The missiles, which are capable of hitting enemy targets up to 500 kilometers (310 miles away) with high precision, can be equipped with a nuclear or a conventional warhead. From Kaliningrad, they could reach several NATO member states.

Polish Prime Minister Ewa Kopacz interpreted the move as an attempt by

Russia to pressure EU nations as they consider possible new sanctions against Russia over Ukraine.

“Russia is making this gesture before the European Council meeting,” she said. “It is trying to influence European Council decisions concerning extending or adding new sanctions.”

Foreign Minister Edgars Rinkevics of Latvia, which holds the EU presidency, said Tuesday he did not expect “a discussion of new sanctions or any decisions” when EU leaders meet Thursday in Brussels.

Igor Sutyagin, a Russia expert at the Royal United Services Institute, said beefing up forces in the Baltic exclave was a top priority for the Russian military.

Iskander missiles already had been sent briefly to Kaliningrad during De-

cember’s military maneuvers, but were pulled back afterward.

U.S. Air Force Gen. Philip Breedlove, NATO’s supreme commander in Europe, has termed Russia’s “threats to deploy nuclearcapable Iskander-M missiles in Kaliningrad” part of what he called the Kremlin’s “pattern of continuing behavior to coerce its neighbors in Central and Eastern Europe.”

The Kremlin, in its turn, has voiced concern about U.S. plans to beef up its military presence near Russia’s borders. Later this month, U.S. troops are holding joint exercises with forces from EU nations Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania.

Four Polish NATO MiG-29s flew training missions in Lithuania on Monday, under the command and control of an alliance AWACS surveillance aircraft in a small corridor between Belarus and the Kaliningrad region. The mission — described as ‘routine’ by NATO officials — prompted the Russian military in Kaliningrad to scramble half a dozen fighter jets to monitor the exercise.

Monday’s AWACS mission was flying from Oerland airbase, near Trondheim in Norway. The AWACS flights were part of efforts to reassure NATO members in eastern Europe, in particular the Baltic states.

Photo by Alexandre Meneghini | AP file

In this Feb. 9, 2011 file photo, Mexican journalist Carmen Aristegui gives a press conference in Mexico City.

Mexican journalist fired

By RANDAL C. ARCHIBOLD NEW YORK TIMES

MEXICO CITY — One of Mexico’s best-known journalists, who exposed a possible conflict of interest involving the first lady’s purchase of a house from a government contractor, was fired Sunday in a dispute that defenders see as an act of retaliation and an attack on press freedom.

The journalist, Carmen Aristegui, who has a long record of exposing the foibles of the elite in an often brusque, opinionated manner — as well as clashing with her bosses — was dismissed from MVS Radio, where she hosted one of the country’s most popular morning news and talk radio shows.

Officials at the station said she was fired after she threatened to quit if they did not reinstate two members of her investigative team. They were fired last week for using the station’s brand in promoting a new web initiative, Mexicoleaks, to collect tips and leaks about government and political corruption.

The site, which began operating last week, has reported receiving several tips, on which a group of journalists plan to report.

Aristegui, who still has a daily talk show on CNN Español, vowed to challenge her dismissal. She has characterized her confrontation with the station as a battle over freedom of expression, and many Mexican journalists and intellectuals rushed to defend her on social media.

At least three prominent journalists said they would no longer appear on MVS Radio.

One of those journalists, Denise Dresser, a widely read columnist at Reforma, one of the country’s largest dailies, said the station’s complaints about misusing

its brand were "a smoke screen."

Aristegui was briefly fired from MVS in 2011 after reporting on unsubstantiated rumors about Felipe Calderón, the president at the time. Station managers later said they had been pressured by the president’s staff.

"It is not known if it is for economic benefits, political pressure, requests from Los Pinos" — as the president’s office is known — "or simple fear in the face of the implications of the work Carmen does and has done," Dresser wrote.

Andrew Selee, a veteran Mexico scholar at the Wilson Center in Washington, said that while Aristegui often left little doubt about her left-leaning politics, her investigative journalism filled a void in Mexico.

"In a country where newspapers have not always done in-depth investigative reporting, like other countries, she filled that role," Selee said. "Almost everyone tunes in to see what she is reporting on. She is certainly seen as a voice of the left, but her team’s investigative stories have credibility across ideological lines."

President Enrique Peña Nieto’s office had no immediate comment.

Aristegui and the two reporters who were dismissed, Daniel Lizárraga and Irving Huerta, first reported in November that the first lady, Angelica Rivera, was buying a house on credit from a contractor doing business with the government. She later agreed to end the deal, though the president’s office said there was no wrongdoing and no conflict of interest under Mexican law.

Aristegui and her team published the article on her news website, AristeguiNoticias.com, but their association with MVS was wellknown.

WEDNESDAY, MARCH 18, 2015

THE ZAPATA TIMES 11A

Activists accuse Syrian military of gas attack

By BASSEM MROUE AND RYAN LUCAS ASSOCIATED PRESS

BEIRUT — Syrian activists and the Western-backed opposition accused the government Tuesday of carrying out a chlorine gas attack against a rebelheld town that killed at least six people and left dozens, including children, choking and gasping for breath.

The purported use of poison gas on the town of Sarmin in northwestern Idlib province is the first alleged chemical attack since the U.N. Security Council approved a U.S.-drafted resolution this month that condemns the use of toxic chemicals such

as chlorine in Syria. That measure also threatens militarily action in case of further violations.

But any action would require the consent of the Security Council, which remains deeply divided over Syria’s civil war. The U.S. and its allies support the opposition, while Russia backs Syrian President Bashar Assad — and Moscow has used its veto on several occasions to shield its ally.

The attack on Sarmin, located some eight kilometers (five miles) east of Idlib city, took place late Monday, according to the Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights and the Local Coordination Committees activist collective. The two activ-

ist groups said that six people were killed and dozens more suffered from severe breathing difficulties.

A Syrian military official in Damascus denied any government role in the attack and blamed it on anti-Assad rebels.

“The army did not and will never use any internationally-prohibited weapon,” the official said on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to brief the media.

The main Western-backed opposition group, the Syrian National Coalition, said government helicopters dropped four “barrel bombs,” two of which contained chlorine gas. It said

about 70 people suffered breathing problems.

“Unless the U.N. Security Council takes enforceable measures to ensure accountability, we would be fooling ourselves to believe that Assad will stop gassing innocent people in Syria,” Coalition spokesman Salem alMeslet said in a statement.

An opposition medical official in the area of Sarmin said there were two attacks, the first targeting rebels that injured 20 people, mostly men, while the second hit a residential area. He said the six dead were all from one family, including three young children.

Amateur videos posted online

purported to show the aftermath of the attack. In one video, three children stripped of their clothes can be seen lying on hospital beds as medics try to resuscitate them. One dazed child slowly lolls his head to the side. A woman wrapped in blankets and showing no sign of life lies on another gurney.

Another video shows several bearded men inside what appears to be a hospital room as paramedics put oxygen masks on their faces.

The videos, which could not be independently verified, appeared genuine and corresponded to other Associated Press reporting of the events.

JURY Continued from Page 1A legislation. “(People) have to believe they are getting a fair review by a grand jury.”

A Senate committee approved Whitmire’s bill last week. A similar version is being reviewed in the House.

Critics derisively describe the key-man system as “pick a pal” because grand jury commissioners often repeatedly nominate people they know for duty.

They say commissioners tend to be white men who often recommend people

with similar backgrounds and pro-law enforcement viewpoints. Most Texas counties use the key-man system, though some do use random selection.

Whitmire’s proposal follows public outcry over a series of high-profile grand jury decisions involving officer-involved incidents across the country. But the legislation is targeted specifically to complaints about Houston’s Harris County, where hundreds of shootings involving Houston

police since 2004 have not resulted in the indictment of any officers.

In another controversial case, a grand jury panel that included a police officer investigated the 2003 fatal shooting of a police officer in Houston. Defendant Alfred Brown was later convicted and sent to death row, but grand jury testimony shows the officer may have persuaded one of Brown’s alibi witnesses to change her story.

Brown is appealing his conviction.

The Supreme Court expressed concern about the key-man system in 1977.

California stopped using it in criminal cases about 15 years ago, but still permits it for civil grand juries.

“California figured this out a while ago,” said Robert Sanger, a criminal defense attorney who was involved in a lawsuit that helped spur the change.

“I’m disappointed that it’s still going on.”

Michael McSpadden, a state district judge for 33

years in Harris County, said changing Texas’ criminal grand jury process would “be a disaster” because of the difficulty in finding randomly selected people who can make the time commitment. Grand juries in Harris County meet twice a week for three months.

Other states have taken steps to make the random system work. Lake County, Illinois, provides childcare for jurors, while Arizona started a fund to pay jurors up to $300 a day for

lost income. Others have expanded the databases used to compile jury pools.

Ryan Patrick, a district judge in Harris County who uses a method incorporating random selection and the key-man system, said a new approach might have problems but was worth considering.

“At the end of the day, the community at large is not served if the perception is the system does not have legitimacy,” he said.

SMUGGLER Continued from Page 1A ered in mud, records state. “(The agent’s) experience has revealed that (drug and human trafficking organizations) have exploited the recent boom in oilfield industries by acquiring vehicles that match the typical description of an oil field truck and vehicles utilize this tactic to blend in with local traffic and avoid detection by law enforcement entities in the Zapata area

of responsibilities,” states the complaint.

Further investigation revealed the pump attached to the auxiliary fuel tank was loose and dangling back and forth. The agent also observed the tool box on the auxiliary tank was completely separated from the tank.

The agent also noticed that the vehicle was traveling below speed limit. He conducted an im-

migration inspection on the driver.

Identified as Masters, the driver stated he was on his way to the Galvan Ranch in Laredo, records show.

“The Galvan Ranch is a large ranch/property that is known by law enforcement to be used by (human and drug trafficking organizations) to circumvent the United States Border Patrol

checkpoint,” states the complaint.

Masters allegedly consented to a drug dog sniff. The K-9 unit alerted to possible presence of narcotics or human contraband.

A closer inspection of the auxiliary tank revealed an aftermarket compartment. At the Zapata station, agents said they discovered 96 cellophane-wrapped marijuana bundles inside the auxil-

iary fuel tank.

Contents on the bed of the pickup also revealed four 5-gallon buckets containing one marijuana bundle each, for a total of 100 bundles. Masters requested to speak to an attorney upon his arrest. DEA special agents have taken over the case.

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

FRACKING Continued from Page 1A ces, and it’s quite alarming."

The trend is part of a broader debate — touching on issues including plastic bag bans and sanctuary cities — that some Republicans have sought to reframe as a debate about the size of government.

Supporters of Denton’s fracking ban “accused me of violating my conservative principles, arguing that since a local government passed a measure, any attempt to overturn it would be using ‘big government’ to squash dissent,” state Rep. Phil King, R-Weatherford, wrote in a recent op-ed in the Fort Worth Star-Telegram. “They have it backwards, because ‘big government’ is happening at

the local level.”

One of King’s bills would require cities to get the attorney general’s blessing before enacting or repealing any ordinance by voter initiative or referendum, the tool Denton activists used to push that city’s fracking ban. Another would require cities that tighten drilling regulations to reimburse the state for any lost tax revenue.

Other bills have addressed compensation for mineral rights owners harmed by a local ordinance, while legislation from state Sen. Konni Burton, R-Colleyville, gets right to the point of the Denton debate: It would ban fracking bans.

Perhaps the most controversial proposals, how-

ever, are those most likely to pass. Identical bills from Darby and Sen. Troy Fraser, R-Horseshoe Bay, chairman of the Senate Committee on Natural Resources, would limit cities’ power to regulate the industry to “surface activity that is incident to an oil and gas operation, is commercially reasonable, does not effectively prohibit an oil and gas operation, and is not otherwise preempted by state or federal law.”

Texas law says the state intends its mineral resources to be “fully and effectively exploited,” but courts have said the power isn’t absolute. The Texas Railroad Commission oversees the state’s oil and gas industry, with authority to adopt “all neces-

sary rules for governing and regulating persons and their operations.” Local governments have the right to impose reasonable health and safety restrictions, and the Legislature has granted most Texas cities the power to “regulate exploration and development of mineral interests.”

Those cities have long sought to regulate noise and to control the location of wells or related sites like compressor stations.

Where fracking falls on that spectrum is unclear.

Darby said his legislation, backed by the Texas Oil and Gas Association, seeks to add clarity on the matter. “We’re establishing legislative intent that there should be a test to view these ordinances," he

said in an interview.

But critics and some legal experts say the language as is would only add to the confusion, with the potential to take away tools cities have long used to police health and safety.

That could include enacting setbacks – buffer zones between wells and homes or businesses – that operators do not consider "commercially reasonable."

“That is a total wildcard for a city to have to satisfy,” said Jim Bradbury, a Fort Worth-based lawyer who focuses on environmental and energy issues.

As written, Darby’s bill might even retroactively strike down drilling ordinances across Texas, Bradbury added, because it says cities may not “en-

act or enforce” certain measures.

Cathy McMullen, who led Denton’s push against fracking, said she was “absolutely shocked,” by the language – particularly because she had recently attended a meeting in Darby’s office, where she initially felt he was responsive to her concerns.

“It was like we drove to Austin and didn’t have our voice heard,” she said.

Darby said he does not intend to keep cities from using setbacks or tampering with ordinances already on the books.

“This is not a nuclear option. It’s an attempt to bring some common sense to this issue,” he said.

“There’s plenty of opportunity to address those concerns.”

12A THE ZAPATA TIMES

WEDNESDAY, MARCH 18, 2015

PAGE 2A

Zin brief CALENDAR

WEDNESDAY, MARCH 18, 2015

AROUND TEXAS

TODAY IN HISTORY

FRIDAY, MARCH 20

ASSOCIATED PRESS

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

Today is Wednesday, March 18, the 77th day of 2015. There are 288 days left in the year.

Today’s Highlights in History: On March 18, 1965, the first spacewalk took place as Soviet cosmonaut Alexei Leonov went outside his Voskhod 2 capsule, secured by a tether.

Farouk I, the former king of Egypt, died in exile in Rome.

On this date: In 1766, Britain repealed the Stamp Act of 1765.

In 1913, King George I of Greece was assassinated in Thessaloniki.

In 1925, the Tri-State Tornado struck southeastern Missouri, southern Illinois and southwestern Indiana, resulting in some 700 deaths.

In 1937, some 300 people, mostly children, were killed in a gas explosion at a school in New London, Texas.

In 1959, President Dwight D. Eisenhower signed the Hawaii statehood bill. (Hawaii became a state on Aug. 21, 1959.)

In 1974, most of the Arab oil-producing nations ended their 5-month-old embargo against the United States that had been sparked by American support for Israel in the Yom Kippur War. In 1980, Frank Gotti, the 12year-old youngest son of mobster John Gotti, was struck and killed by a car driven by John Favara, a neighbor in Queens, New York. (The following July, Favara vanished, the apparent victim of a gang hit.)

In 1990, thieves made off with 13 works of art from the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum in Boston (the crime remains unsolved).

In 1995, Spain’s Princess Elena married a banker, Jaime de Marichalar y Saenz de Tejada, in Seville; it was Spain’s first royal wedding in 89 years. (The couple separated in 2007, and later divorced.)

Ten years ago: Doctors in Florida, acting on orders of a state judge, removed Terri Schiavo’s feeding tube. (Despite the efforts of congressional Republicans to intervene and repeated court appeals by Schiavo’s parents, the brain-damaged woman died on March 31, 2005, at age 41.)

Five years ago: President Barack Obama signed into law a $38 billion jobs bill containing a modest mix of tax breaks and spending designed to encourage the private sector to start hiring again.

One year ago: With a sweep of his pen, President Vladimir Putin added Crimea to the map of Russia, provoking denunciations from the Western leaders who called Putin a threat to the world.

Today’s Birthdays: Composer John Kander is 88.

Country singer Charley Pride is 81. Nobel peace laureate and former South African president F.W. de Klerk is 79. Jazz musician Bill Frisell is 64. Actor Geoffrey Owens is 54. Singer-actress Vanessa L. Williams is 52. Actor Michael Bergin is 46. Rapper-actress-talk show host Queen Latifah is 45. Actor-comedian Dane Cook is 43.

Actress-singer-dancer Sutton Foster is 40. Rock singer Adam Levine (Maroon 5) is 36. Actor Adam Pally is 33. Actressdancer Julia Goldani Telles is 20.

Thought for Today: “It’s easy to be independent when you’ve got money. But to be independent when you haven’t got a thing — that’s the Lord’s test.” — Mahalia Jackson, American gospel singer (19111972).

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.

Mary Help of Christians School Bingo. Doors open at 10:30 am at Mary Help of Christians School. 11 am to 3 pm.

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.

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 ,PhD at 722-3497 for more information.

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. Tickets $30 at door. Call STFB marketing director Salo Otero at 324-2432.

SATURDAY, MARCH 28 66th annual Flower and Art Show. Fellowship Hall, First United Methodist Church. 1 to 6 p.m. Public invited; admission fee.

Texas Food Bank-TAMIU Big Event at 1907 Freight at Riverside, 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. More than 200 TAMIU students called the Love Committee will bag and sort for STFB clients and paint STFB offices. Call interim executive director Erasmo Villarreal 763-4408 or 726-3120.

SUNDAY, MARCH 29 66th annual Flower and Art Show. Fellowship Hall, First United Methodist Church. 1 to 6 p.m. Public invited; admission fee.

TUESDAY, MARCH 31 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).

SATURDAY, APRIL 4 Used book and magazine sale at First United Methodist Church. 8:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. Public invited; no admission fee.

Photo by Bob Daemmrich | Texas Tribune

Former House member Suzanna Hupp, who lost her parents in the Killeen Luby’s massacre, testifies for open carry bills in House Homeland Security Committee on March 17.

Open carry discussed

By RYAN MCCRIMMON TEXAS TRIBUNE

The same day the Texas Senate passed a bill to loosen state handgun regulations, a House committee Tuesday considered proposals to allow the open carry of handguns with a license and the concealed carry of handguns on college campuses.

The House Committee on Homeland Security and Public Safety listened to public testimony on House Bill 937 by state Rep. Allen Fletcher, R-Cypress, which would allow students to carry concealed handguns on a college campus, and House Bill 910 by Committee Chairman Larry Phillips, R-Sherman, which would allow concealed handgun license owners to openly carry a handgun in public.

The committee did not vote on either bill.

An open carry bill similar to House Bill

910 was tentatively approved by the Senate 20 to 11 on Monday after several hours of debate. On Tuesday, the Senate gave the bill final approval and sent it to the House.

A University of Texas/Texas Tribune poll last month found a large majority of Texans are opposed to open carry with or without a license.

At a Capitol hearing Tuesday, Suzanna Gratia Hupp, a former state representative, spoke in favor of the campus gun measure.

Hupp, a Republican whose parents were killed in the 1991 mass shooting at Luby’s restaurant in Killeen, was an advocate for concealed carry during her time as a lawmaker. “If I’m a madman that wants to rack up a big body-bag count and beat the last guy’s body-bag count, I’m not going to go to an NRA convention or the dreaded gun show,” she said.

Abducted clerk found in Fort Worth, 1 arrested

Decapitated body found in bay near Texas beach

Chopper used to rescue man who fell from cliff

COLLEGE STATION — A clerk abducted from Central Texas gas station has been found in the Fort Worth area and the man accused of kidnapping him was arrested.

College Station police say the clerk, Kevin Garcia, was assaulted and kidnapped before dawn Tuesday and forced to drive his own vehicle from the station. Police responded after a customer found the store empty.

SOUTH PADRE ISLAND — Authorities are investigating the discovery of a headless body floating in a bay South Padre Island. Cameron County Sheriff Omar Lucio said Tuesday that fishermen found the nude body.

Authorities have identified the victim as 30-year-old Franklin Rodriguez Palacios Paz, a Mexican national whose fingerprints were in a federal system after his previous arrest for illegally entering the United States.

SIERRA BLANCA — Border Patrol agents in a helicopter have helped save a Mexican man who fell from a 40-foot cliff in West Texas.

Agents were on patrol Monday morning when they spotted a campfire in a canyon. Another man was seen caring for the victim, who apparently suffered broken bones and possible internal injuries. Officials say the victim was transported to University Medical Center in El Paso and should survive.

18 students hurt in school bus accident in Houston HOUSTON — A school bus containing East Texas high school students on a field trip collided with a semitrailer on a Houston freeway, injuring 18 students. A Houston Fire Department statement says the 18 Cleveland High School students aboard the bus were between the ages of 13 and 16 and were taken to hospitals as a precaution.

Plan rating schools with letter grades off to Senate AUSTIN — A plan to rate public schools statewide by letter grades A through F is headed to the full Senate. The Senate Education Committee approved the much-watched bill Tuesday. It would issue letter grades based on student standardized test scores. Republicans largely back the idea.

Police: Saddled horse fatally hit by vehicle FORT WORTH — Fort Worth police are investigating why a saddled horse was on a highway when it was fatally struck by a vehicle over the weekend.

Police say they found the carcass Sunday on Interstate 35 West near Altamesa Boulevard.

— Compiled from AP reports

AROUND THE NATION Officer kills man upon return from leave KENOSHA, Wis. — On his first day back from a mandatory leave for shooting and wounding a knife-wielding man earlier this month, a Wisconsin police officer shot and killed an armed suspect. Kenosha police officer Pablo Torres returned from leave Saturday, 10 days after shooting a man who advanced on police armed with knives, the department said. On Saturday morning, police chased a car driven by 26-year-old Aaron Siler, who was wanted on a felony probation.

Siler crashed at around 9:30 a.m. and took off running. When Torres confronted Siler, Siler “armed himself with a weapon” and Torres fatally shot him, Hetlet said.

US Air Force vet tried to join Islamic State group NEW YORK — A U.S. Air

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The Kenosha Police Department investigates the scene of a shooting, Sunday in Kenosha. On Saturday morning, police gave chase to a car driven by 26-year-old Aaron Siler, who "armed himself with a weapon" and an officer fatally shot him.

Force veteran and airplane mechanic plotted to travel to Syria to join the Islamic State group and was arrested on terrorism charges, federal prosecutors said Tuesday.

Tairod Nathan Webster Pugh, of Neptune, New Jersey, was due

Wednesday in a New York federal court after being indicted on answer charges of attempting to provide material support to a terrorist group and obstructing justice. Pugh wrote a letter declaring allegiance to ISIS. — Compiled from AP reports

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State

WEDNESDAY, MARCH 18, 2015

THE ZAPATA TIMES 3A

Senate revives divisive immigration bill

By JIM VERTUNO ASSOCIATED PRESS

AUSTIN — The Texas Senate on Monday revived a divisive immigration enforcement bill that bans so-called “sanctuary cities,” rekindling an issue that rocked the Legislature in years past with emotional debates over racial profiling.

While similar measures have failed to pass in previous years, and this one still has a long way to go, newly-emboldened Texas Republicans have promised to get tough on illegal immigration.

The term “sanctuary city” has no legal meaning; it is typically used to describe local govern-

ments that ban police from asking about a person’s immigration status. A bill

by Sen. Charles Perry, RLubbock, would prohibit local governments from prohibiting such bans.

The state House, meanwhile, tackled immigration too, but in a much less contentious way. The full chamber voted unanimously to pass a separate measure meant to curb human trafficking as part of a broader plan on border security, its first approved bill of the legislative session that began Jan. 13.

Such consensus was nowhere to be found, though, during a meeting of the Senate Subcommittee on Border Security, which mulled Perry’s bill. The

author said police shouldn’t be barred from using all tools at their disposal when enforcing the law.

“These criminals swarm into our major cities knowing full well nothing will be done to them,” Perry said. “The rule of law is important. ...

A society without law is anarchy.”

Civil rights activists warn immigration status inquiries are likely to lead to racial profiling of minorities. And some law enforcement groups warn it will likely cause some crime victims to not call police if they fear be asked about their immigration status.

“This will push people

SXSW to feature safety changes after 4 killed

By PAUL J. WEBER ASSOCIATED PRESS

AUSTIN — Several new safety measures will be in place when this year’s South by Southwest music festival begins.

Event organizers and civic leaders in Austin, Texas, began looking into how to improve safety after a driver plowed through a barricade during last year’s event into a crowd of concertgoers, killing four people and injuring many others.

There will be an increased police presence during the music portion of South by Southwest, which kicks off Tuesday.

Organizers also have taken steps to cut down on

Photo by Deborah Cannon/Austin American-Statesman | AP

Anne Fulenwider, Editor in Chief of Marie Claire, interviews Julia Louis-Dreyfus, right, during South by Southwest on Monday. overcrowding in concert venues and free alcohol giveaways, and this year’s curfew has been moved up.

Several lawsuits alleging lax safety were filed after last year’s accident.

The driver is charged with murder.

further into the shadows, which harms public safety,” said Harris County Sheriff Adrian Garcia.

El Paso County Sheriff Richard Wiles said local law enforcement officials don’t want to engage in federal immigration law.

“What’s next? The county sheriff ’s going to be knocking on your door asking if you’ve paid your income taxes?” Wiles said.

Perry said the bill ban’s racial profiling and Perry said he trusts law enforcement would use proper discretion.

Police also would not be able to detain someone to question them solely about their immigration status, Perry said.

Business groups have opposed the bill, warning

that it could have a negative impact on trade with Mexico.

The bill was expected to be left pending in the subcommittee with a vote expected at a later date.

In 2011, former Gov. Rick Perry made the issue a legislative priority and a bill passed the Republicancontrolled Senate but failed without a final vote in the House under pressure from business groups.

The Senate vote in 2011 came after eight hours of debate in which Democrats railed against the bill as a racist and a tool to harass Hispanics.

In the House later Monday, members voted 143-0 to approve a proposal sponsored by Houston

Democratic Rep. Senfronia Thompson, a 47-year lower chamber veteran.

The bill makes it easier to prosecute the crime of forcing minors into prostitution by expanding the statute of limitations for committing such an offense. It also increases human trafficking related training for state judiciary officials and establishes a special state anti-sex trafficking unit.

Thompson’s bill was fast-tracked through the Legislature because Gov. Greg Abbott made border security an “emergency item.” It now goes to the Senate, where it’s expected to enjoy bipartisan support — unlike Perry’s sanctuary cities measure.

PAGE 4A

Zopinion

WEDNESDAY, MARCH 18, 2015

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EDITORIAL

OTHER VIEWS

Youngsters prefer print CHICAGO TRIBUNE

For years, we’ve been hearing that print is dead and the electronic reading medium is the future — the whole future. And it’s not hard to imagine a day when no tree has to die for people to get all the reading they could want.

Half of Americans have already sprung for e-reading devices, where they can consume books, magazines, newspapers and other virtual fare. They are lightweight; they can hold large libraries in a small space; they can light up in the dark; and they can provide audio and video.

But there is one important group of people who would much rather do their reading in traditional formats. Not crotchety geezers living in the past, but teens and young adults, who confess a marked bias for doing things the way their greatgrandparents did them.

A poll last year found that two-thirds of youngsters ages 6 to 17 prefer to read actual paper books.

A Pew Research study found that 78 percent of those from ages 18 to 24 have read a print book in the past year — compared with 21 percent who have read an e-book. This inclination is somewhat surprising, because young people are less likely than their elders to read newspapers and magazines in print.

The University of Washington did a pilot study that provided e-textbooks free — and found that 1 of every 4 students bought the physical textbooks anyway.

Asked what format they would have chosen absent the free e-book option, only 2 percent of the students

said they would have gotten the digital version, with three-quarters opting for a hard copy.

That’s right. A lot of undergrads, given the choice between a free ebook on a device that weighs next to nothing, would rather spend money or go to the library so they can stuff their backpacks with bulky, heavy volumes. They’d rather tote a hard copy of whatever they’re reading for pleasure too.

Why? The e-reader’s ready access to the Internet can be a major distraction. Email and YouTube aren’t conducive to serious study. Naomi Baron, a linguistics professor at American University, did a survey of college students in several countries and found that 92 percent say they concentrate best reading a physical book.

Some young adults articulate strong feelings on the topic. "It’s my worst nightmare that some Christmas I’ll get a Kindle and have to pretend I like it," says one recent university graduate of our acquaintance.

She likes the satisfaction of finishing a book, placing it on a shelf alongside others and letting it quietly remind her of its contents. "I have a growing collection and I intend to add to it," she says.

Baron says that of the college students polled in Slovakia, "1 out of 10 talked about the smell of books. There really is a physical, tactile, kinesthetic component to reading."

For many young people, and a few older ones, an ebook is a bit like seeing and hearing a loved one on Skype: It’s a useful option, but nothing beats a physical connection.

EDITORIAL

Petraeus’ light punishment NEW YORK TIMES

Granted, Americans love a comeback story.

But it is astonishing how quickly David Petraeus seems to have bounced back from the sordid aftermath of his extramarital affair, which cost him his job running the Central Intelligence Agency and added a rap sheet to the carefully managed legacy of the most famous American general of his generation.

Compared with the Obama administration’s aggressive prosecution of whistle-blowers and other leakers of classified information, Petraeus stands to emerge largely unscathed despite the extraordinarily poor judgment he showed while serving in one of the nation’s most critical national security jobs.

Abbe Lowell, an attorney for Stephen Kim, a former State Department contractor serving a 13month term for leaking information about North Korea to Fox News, complained in a letter to the Department of Justice that the disposition in Petraeus’ case showed a "profound double standard."

Federal prosecutors have charged more public servants for leaking classified information to journalists during the Obama administration than all previous administrations.

Yet top officials, who often

seek to advance self-serving political agendas in their dealings with the press, appear to enjoy significant leeway in disclosing classified information.

Prosecutors agreed not to seek jail time when Petraeus is sentenced next month as part of his guilty plea to a misdemeanor charge of mishandling classified information.

Petraeus, who charmed and provided extraordinary access to handpicked journalists and national security experts during his tours running the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, was all too familiar with the currency of classified information in the battleground of public opinion. Journalists and think tank analysts who could be trusted to report favorably often got invited to sit in on his classified briefings.

Petraeus took that custom to a new level with Paula Broadwell, who was his biographer and lover.

His decision to give her access to personal notebooks that contained information classified at the highest levels appeared to have been motivated by vanity, lust or a combination of the two. On Monday, Petraeus’ rehabilitation seemed complete when the White House spokesman Josh Earnest said that it "makes a lot of sense" for senior administration officials to consult with him.

COLUMN

‘Soul Bubba’ needed a complete self-recycling job Truthfully, many of us have pasts we’d just as soon forget except, perhaps, the resurrection of some episodes might serve as cautions and detours to others. This piece is written in that hope.

Those in creative professions, it seems, tend to be more susceptible to the misguided notion that the “pressures” of such endeavors call for induced relaxation. That becomes a “cause celebre” that leads most often to alcohol although, unfortunately, in more recent times it seems to point toward some more harmful, and illegal, drugs as a means to unwind.

The term, “more harmful” is used advisedly while, though I consider alcohol a drug and thus addictive, the immediate effects of other, usually illegal, drugs often bring about more destructive personal damage.

A significant segment of society engages in what most call “social drinking,” in and of itself a harmless enough undertaking. Alcohol’s addictive qualities are usually underplayed. People fall into the trap of regularly overimbibing. If you go beyond one drink, you’re probably going to be over the legal limit on a Breathalyzer test.

Heavy drinking and addiction are a serious health threat, not to mention a public safety issue when an over-imbiber gets behind the wheel of a car.

Uh-oh, Soul Bubba (selfchosen nickname), you done stopped preaching and started meddling.

Bear with me. I don’t speak without some experience and understanding of alcohol’s addictive qualities and dangers. Thankfully, I came to that realization before it became a long-term, life-threatening habit.

I still can enjoy a glass of wine with a good meal or I may nurse or sip one highball through a long reception at some convention or meeting. The effects beyond that are not appealing to me. Believe me, I’m relaxed enough at my age, a threat to fall asleep on my own at any minute. Any driving on such trips, where there is a convention/reception/ meal, only requires pushing my floor button on the hotel elevator to retire at an hour conducive to my age and sleep needs.

My usual newsman-so-

cial imbibing, after some ‘normal’ collegiate shenanigans, took an upturn when I entered the sales field. This was in 1970s-80s Houston, which, after liquor-by-the-drink got Texas voters approval, seemed to have bars everywhere a “thirsty” man looked.

Often, the job involved entertaining clients at a two-hour (minimum) lunch that included drinks before the meal and cognac or some similar after-meal imbibing.

To compound the situation, while I worked in Houston those six years, I lived in Conroe, a minimum hour’s (often two) drive in afternoon rush traffic. There were plenty of bars lining the homeward bound route, so if traffic got too heavy, and/ or a barstool called with a “Soul Bubba” label on it, I got off clogged IH-45.

A longtime friend, known only by his selfanointed nickname of Freddy Fudpucker III, also worked in a graphics-related sales job. He and I usually coordinated our departures so we could socialize and make “new acquaintances” in those wholesome establishments. We also knew that if one had car trouble, the other could come to his aid.

Ultimately, I came to the realization I was making part of the drive home without remembering how I got there.

That’s when I decided the friendly small town confines with a lessening of temptations, where one could again publish country newspapers, were screaming “Soul Bubba.”

I took a job publishing The Lockhart Post-Register, which turned out to be a fortuitous move. There was a raven-haired beauty on the staff, and she ultimately became my Life Partner and my complete Soul Mate (LP-SM) as well.

While the move was the beginning of my “recycling” into the newspaper business, it was also a lifesaving extraction from drowning in alcohol. LPSM played no small role in that.

Now, by my ordained family rule, “driving” after imbibing my healthy one glass of white wine (I’m allergic to red), involves only a short walk to our master bedroom or punching the button on the elevator ride to our hotel room at a meeting or convention.

Willis Webb is a retired community newspaper editor-publisher of more than 50 years experience. He can be reached by email at wwebb1937@att.net.

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

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

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

We want to assure our

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

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

ing or gratuitous abuse is allowed.

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

CLASSIC DOONESBURY | GARRY TRUDEAU

WEDNESDAY, MARCH 18, 2015

ON THE WEB: THEZAPATATIMES.COM

Sports&Outdoors NATIONAL FOOTBALL LEAGUE: DALLAS COWBOYS

Hardy meets with Dallas Cowboys discussing deal with the talented but troubled defensive end

By SCHUYLER DIXON ASSOCIATED PRESS

IRVING — The Dallas Cowboys met with free agent defensive end Greg Hardy on Tuesday as they explore ways to improve a shaky pass rush from last season.

Hardy’s agent, Drew Rosenhaus, said the former Pro Bowl player for Carolina was visiting Cowboys headquarters.

The 26-year-old Hardy could be suspended to start the season because of a conviction on two counts of domestic violence in North Carolina.

The conviction was dismissed in February when his accuser couldn’t be found.

Hardy remains on the commissioner’s exempt list as he seeks reinstatement by the NFL. He played in the opener last year before he was suspended. Hardy tied a Carolina franchise record with 15 sacks in 2013.

The NFL has said the 6foot-4, 275-pound Hardy is free to sign with another team while it investigates

File photo by Chuck Burton | AP

Former Carolina DE Greg Hardy is meeting with Dallas as they discuss a deal in free agency. Hardy played in the season opener in 2014 before being suspended the rest of the year with a pending domestic violence case. He set a Panthers record with 15 sacks in 2013. his case. League spokesman Greg Aiello said Tuesday there was no change in Hardy’s status.

The Cowboys were 28th in the NFL in sacks with 28 last season, according to STATS. Jeremy Mincey,

a low-cost defensive end added in free agency last year, led Dallas with six sacks, and defensive tackle Henry Melton had five despite battling injuries.

Melton signed with Tampa Bay.

Dallas moved up in the second round of last year’s draft to grab DeMarcus Lawrence after cutting franchise sacks leader DeMarcus Ware in a salary cap move. But Lawrence missed the first half of the

season after breaking his foot in training camp.

Hardy made $13.1 million last season as Carolina’s franchise player despite playing just one game.

A judge convicted Har-

dy last year after a woman testified that Hardy threw her in the bathroom and later onto a futon filled with guns, placed his hands on her throat and threatened to kill her. Hardy denied those allegations, saying the woman became angry when he wouldn’t have sex with her.

Mecklenburg County prosecutors tried to get the accuser to testify at Hardy’s appeal. But they couldn’t find her despite extensive searching after she earlier said she didn’t want to testify again.

The NFL’s new personal conduct policy, approved by owners after Hardy’s conviction, calls for a sixgame suspension for firsttime violations involving assault, sexual assault and domestic violence. Previously, first-time offenders typically received twogame suspensions.

The league unsuccessfully petitioned courts to have evidence from Hardy’s first trial unsealed.

Without that evidence, it may be difficult for the league to suspend him.

Nation

6A THE ZAPATA TIMES

WEDNESDAY, MARCH 18, 2015

Tsarnaev borrowed gun

By DENISE LAVOIE ASSOCIATED PRESS

BOSTON — A close friend of Boston Marathon bomber Dzhokhar Tsarnaev testified Tuesday that Tsarnaev borrowed a gun from him two months before the 2013 attack and “kept coming up with excuses” for not returning it.

Prosecutors have identified the Ruger handgun as the gun used by Tsarnaev and his brother to kill a Massachusetts Institute of Technology police officer as they attempted to flee the area three days after the bombings.

Stephen (STEF’-ihn) Silva testified that several weeks after he first showed Tsarnaev the gun, Tsarnaev asked if could “potentially borrow” it.

“He said he wanted to rip (rob) some kids from URI,” Silva said, apparently a reference to the University of Rhode Island.

Silva said that after a few weeks, he asked Tsar-

naev for the gun back, but Tsarnaev repeatedly made up excuses for why he didn’t return the gun.

The bombing killed three people and injured more than 260 others. Testimony in the case began March 4. Tsarnaev, 21, faces the possibility of the death penalty if convicted.

Silva, who was charged last year with possession of a gun with an obliterated serial number and drug charges, said Tuesday he was testifying against Tsarnaev as part of a plea agreement with prosecutors. He acknowledged that he is hoping prosecutors will recommend a sentence below five years.

Silva appeared uncomfortable, sighing at times as he testified against the man he described as a close friend he had known since the eighth grade.

Tsarnaev, seated at a table with his attorneys about 12 feet away from Silva, gave him several long looks during his testimony.

During opening statements in the trial, Tsarnaev’s lawyer admitted that he participated in the bombings, but said his older brother, Tamerlan, was the mastermind and recruited him to help. His lawyer said it was Tamerlan who used the gun to shoot MIT police Officer Sean Collier.

But prosecutors, through Silva’s testimony, established that Tsarnaev is the one who obtained the gun used in Collier’s killing.

During cross-examination, Tsarnaev’s lawyer suggested again that Tamerlan was a domineering older brother and had a powerful influence over Dzhokhar. Attorney Miriam Conrad asked Silva if he knew why Dzhokhar had never introduced him to his brother.

“Did he tell you ‘You don’t want to meet my brother,”’ Silva said.

“Yes,” replied Silva. “He said his brother was very strict ... very opinionated,

and that since I wasn’t a Muslim, you know, he might give me a little (expletive) for that.”

Prosecutors say the Tsarnaevs committed the bombings to retaliate against the U.S. for wars in Muslim countries.

Silva recalled a discussion about American foreign policy during a high school class he had with Dzhokhar. Silva said Dzhokhar said U.S. foreign policy “tends sometimes to be a little hostile toward the Middle East,” persecutes Muslims and tries to “take over people’s culture.”

Under questioning from Tsarnaev’s lawyer, Silva said he didn’t recall Tsarnaev ever making strong anti-American statements and had posted on Twitter in November 2012 that he was celebrating the re-election of President Barack Obama.

The Ruger handgun was also used during a carjacking shortly after Collier’s killing.

Fraternity suspended for photos

By MARK SCOLFORO ASSOCIATED PRESS

HARRISBURG, Pa. — A Penn State University fraternity was suspended for a year Tuesday after police began investigating allegations that members used a private, invitationonly Facebook page to post photos of nude and partly nude women, some apparently asleep or passed out.

A former member of Kappa Delta Rho at the university’s flagship campus in State College tipped police off to the page, telling them in January that it had been used by members to share photos of “unsuspecting victims, drug sales and hazing,” according to a copy of a police warrant obtained Tuesday by The Associated Press.

The ex-member also provided authorities with printouts from the page.

The fraternity’s national executive director, Joe Rosenberg, told the Penn State chapter in a letter on Tuesday that it is banned from most activities for the near future

Photo by Christopher Weddle/Centre Daily Times | AP

This Tuesday photo shows The Kappa Delta Rho fraternity house at Penn State University in State College, Pa. and must reorganize.

He said the suspension was “for the most serious misconduct, most serious disregard of fraternity rules, policies and property by the chapter.”

Chapter officials, who can appeal the decision, did not respond to messages seeking comment.

A Penn State administrator called the allegations a violation of the standards and values required for recognized student organizations.

“The evidence offered by the Facebook postings is appalling, offensive and inconsistent with the university community’s values and expectations,” Damon Sims, Penn State’s

vice president for student affairs, said in a news release.

Sims said the school continues to investigate, and vowed that the university would find those responsible and hold them accountable.

Police said anyone who posted the photos could face misdemeanor charges of harassment or invasion of privacy, with a fine the most likely sentence.

An investigation of the informant’s computer “yielded information on two victims whose images would rise to the level of criminal action,” State College police Lt. Keith Robb said Tuesday.

Facebook was contact-

ed to disable the site and to obtain more information for the investigation, Robb said.

Some of the postings involved nude women in “sexual or embarrassing positions,” the warrant reads. “It appears from the photos provided that the individuals in the photos are not aware that the photos had been taken.”

Penn State’s Interfraternity Council said a full review of Kappa Delta Rho’s conduct will be launched.

According to the ex-fraternity member who went to police, a second page dubbed “2.0” was started in about April 2014 after a woman depicted on the first Facebook page, called “Covert Business Transactions,” complained.

The informant said the woman was visiting the fraternity when a member accidentally left his Facebook page logged in, and she noticed a topless photograph of her had been posted to the group.

Robb told the AP she wanted the photo removed but did not wish to press charges.

Conn. priest ran meth ring

By DAVE COLLINS ASSOCIATED PRESS

HARTFORD, Conn. — A suspended Roman Catholic priest who authorities say dealt pounds of methamphetamine and bought a sex shop to possibly launder his drug money is asking a federal judge for leniency when he is sentenced next week.

Monsignor Kevin Wallin’s public defender filed a sentencing request in federal court in Hartford on Monday citing Wallin’s three decades of charitable service as well as more than 80 letters of support, including one from the late New York Cardinal Edward Egan.

Wallin, 63, dubbed “Monsignor Meth” in some media reports, pleaded guilty in 2013 to a methamphetamine conspiracy charge and agreed to a potential prison sentence of 10 to 11 years. Already imprisoned for the past two years, he is now asking for a sentence of no more than four years in prison followed by a year of home confinement, 500 hours of community service and drug treatment. Sentencing is scheduled for March 24.

“The record evidence demonstrates that Kevin Wallin is an extraordinary man whose remarkable character and acts have touched thousands of people,” Wallin’s public defender, Kelly Barrett, wrote in the sentencing request. “Kevin tragically became a methamphetamine addict. He fell from grace and did criminal wrong, but has confessed his crimes and has been working hard to atone for them.”

Barrett wrote that Wallin’s numerous accomplishments include serving as pastor of St. Peter’s Parish in Danbury and the Cathedral Parish in Bridgeport, volunteering with a variety of community groups, helping found an AIDS ministry program, leading an inner city charity group, serving on the Danbury Cultural Commission and serving on the board of directors of Sacred Heart University.

Egan, who died earlier this month, was bishop of

the Diocese of Bridgeport from 1988 to 2000.

He praised Wallin in a letter to the court.

WALLIN “He was outstanding in the fulfillment of his assignments and in his concern for people in need,” Egan wrote. “Father Wallin was held in highest regard as a dedicated clergyman and an outstanding citizen as well.”

Federal prosecutors say Wallin committed serious crimes and most people convicted of conspiring to sell meth are sentenced to at least 10 years in prison.

Federal investigators said Wallin had associates in California send him methamphetamine beginning in late 2008 or early 2009. By 2011, Wallin’s partners were sending him one to three pounds of meth a month and Wallin was running the drug operation out of his apartment in Waterbury, investigators said.

Wallin also bought the “Land of Oz & Dorothy’s Place” adult video and sex toy shop in North Haven and apparently intended to launder drug proceeds that totaled in the hundreds of thousands of dollars, federal agents said in court documents.

Wallin’s two accomplices in California — Chad McCluskey of San Clemente and Kristen Laschober of Laguna Niguel — were both sentenced last year to five years in prison. Two men who helped Wallin sell drugs in Connecticut also were convicted. Kenneth Devries of Waterbury was sentenced to more than two years in prison and Michael Nelson of Manchester awaits sentencing.

Brian Wallace, a spokesman for the Diocese of Bridgeport, said Wallin is still a priest, but remains suspended from public ministry.

“We’re asking for prayers for him, understanding and recognizing that many people ... suffer from addiction and they lose control of their lives,” Wallace said. “It’s time for him to try to rebuild his life.”

Durst had 150 grams Girl was run to death of pot when arrested

By JAY REEVES

ASSOCIATED PRESS

By JANET MCCONNAUGHEY AND BRIAN MELLEY ASSOCIATED PRESS

NEW ORLEANS — Authorities found more than a quarter-pound of marijuana and a revolver in millionaire Robert Durst’s hotel room when he was arrested over the weekend, a prosecutor said Tuesday.

Durst appeared before a judge for a second straight day to face the drug and weapons charges. He also is charged with murder in a Los Angeles killing 15 years ago, and has been suspected — but never charged — in the disappearance of his first wife in New York. In 2003, he was acquitted of murder in a dismemberment death in Texas.

In a documentary that just wrapped up about Durst’s troubled life, he mumbled about how he “killed them all,” providing a dramatic kick to the end of the series. But a law enforcement official said his arrest on the murder charge was based on words he wrote.

Analysis linked a letter Durst wrote to his friend Susan Berman a year before her killing with one that pointed police to her body, and that was the key new evidence in the longdormant investigation into the 2000 killing, the official not authorized to speak publicly told The Associated Press on the condition of anonymity because the investigation was ongoing.

Durst, 71, was charged

Monday in Los Angeles with first-degree murder in the shooting of Berman, the DURST daughter of a prominent Las Vegas mobster. He could face the death penalty under special circumstances that allege he ambushed her and murdered a witness to a crime.

He waived extradition in New Orleans, but authorities there charged him late Monday with being a felon in possession of a gun because he had a revolver and carrying a weapons while possessing pot when he was arrested Saturday.

Assistant District Mark Burton said they found the pot and gun in his hotel room.

It was not clear how soon he would be returned to California.

Attorney Dick DeGuerin said he wants a hearing in Louisiana as soon as possible to contest the arrest.

“The warrant we believe is based on a television show and not on actual fact,” he said. “We want a hearing as quickly as possible so Mr. Durst can go to California and face trial as quickly as possible.”

The judge in New Orleans, Magistrate Harry Cantrell, scheduled another hearing for next Monday.

In the documentary “The Jinx: The Life and Deaths of Robert Durst” that aired its finale Sunday on HBO,

Durst was presented with the two letters. He blinked, burped oddly, pulled his ear and briefly put his head in his hands before denying he was the killer.

Then he stepped away from the tense interview and went to the bathroom, still wearing the live microphone that recorded what he said next.

“There it is. You’re caught!” Durst whispered before the sound of running water is heard. “What the hell did I do? Killed them all, of course.”

That moment didn’t just make for a captivating ending to the documentary on the eccentric life of an heir to a New York real estate fortune, it could also provide additional evidence for prosecutors.

The official who spoke on the condition of anonymity said the bathroom recording was not presented to prosecutors before charges were filed because detectives were still trying to determine if the recording was tampered with in any way.

But legal experts said the audio and other parts of the interview could become key evidence.

“Any statement that the defendant makes that they want to use against him, they can use against him,” said Andrea Roth, a law professor at the University of California, Berkeley.

Durst is still worth millions despite his estrangement from his family, whose New York real estate empire is worth about $4 billion.

GADSDEN, Ala. — Jurors received differing pictures of the relationship between an Alabama woman and the granddaughter she is accused of running to death, with a principal testifying Tuesday that she saw no problems and a doctor saying she was worried about odd family dynamics.

The contrasting testimony came as the defense also tried to raise new doubts about the victim’s autopsy.

Prosecutors are seeking the death penalty against Joyce Hardin Garrard, 49.

She is accused of making 9year-old granddaughter Savannah Hardin run for hours as punishment for a lie about candy on Feb. 17, 2012.

The girl collapsed and died days later, and neighbors testified earlier that they saw the woman forcing the girl to run even after she vomited and begged to stop.

Garrard, of Boaz, says she is innocent, and two defense witnesses who passed the property that day have testified that they only saw Garrard and the child picking up sticks, not any running.

Longtime elementary school principal Donna Joy Bone Johnson testified that she didn’t see any cause for concern in the relationship between Garrard and the girl, who attended her school. Johnson portrayed Garrard as the primary caregiver for the girl, the daughter of Garrard’s son

Robert Hardin, who was overseas at the time.

Savannah was “a competitor” who GARRARD wanted to do well in school and athletics, Johnson said, and Garrard often came to school to talk with her about Savannah’s behavior or seek advice.

“I’ve been doing this a long time. There were no red flags,” said Johnson, the sister of Garrard’s lead attorney, Dani Bone.

The child’s pediatrician testified that she worried about the relationship between Garrard, the child, and stepmother Jessica Mae Hardin, who also is charged in the girl’s death.

Dr. Deborah Smith said the relationship among the three “was not a normal dynamic” and that she had considered contacting authorities but didn’t. Smith didn’t explain exactly what she considered to be odd, and a prosecutor didn’t press her.

Earlier prosecution witnesses testified that Garrard was in the yard with the child for hours making her run and pick up sticks and firewood while Hardin sat on the porch with a laptop computer.

Garrard is charged with capital murder while Hardin faces the lesser charge of murder for allegedly failing to intervene and help the child.

The defense has tried to show that the child’s autopsy was flawed and doesn’t match the allegations from Garrard’s indictment. De-

fense lawyers called a former forensics worker to try to bolster those claims.

Chris Crow, who helped Dr. Emily Ward with the post-mortem investigation, testified that a report indicated Ward didn’t have the girl’s medical records before conducting the autopsy. The final autopsy report wasn’t completed until weeks after Garrard already had been indicted, he said.

Crow said the autopsy took Ward only an hour, which he described as “pretty quick” for such an examination.

But Crow testified under cross-examination that Ward was more experienced than other pathologists in her office, possibly accounting for her speed.

And Crow said that he, Ward and others attended a meeting during which prosecutors were given detailed medical information about the girl’s death before Garrard was charged, even though the final autopsy wasn’t complete.

The autopsy blamed the girl’s death on seizures caused by a low sodium level linked to prolonged physical exertion and heat exhaustion.

A defense expert, former state medical examiner Dr. James Lauridson, raised questions about the girl’s autopsy.

Lauridson agreed with autopsy results that showed the girl’s death was linked to seizures and extreme exercise.

“I agree that this case would not have happened had there not been physical exertion,” he said.

WEDNESDAY, MARCH 18, 2015

Johnson to be honored

by CFDA ASSOCIATED PRESS

NEW YORK — Betsey Johnson will receive a lifetime achievement award from the Council of Fashion Designers of America.

Fellow designer Diane von Furstenberg, president of the fashion industry trade association, and Nadja Swarovski of JOHNSON the Swarovksi Group announced the selection Monday night, along with other nominees and honorees for the 2015 CFDA awards, to be presented June 1 at Lincoln Center.

Tom Ford was last year’s recipient of the CFDA’s Geoffrey Beene Lifetime Achievement Award.

Johnson is being honored during her 50th year in fashion. She started her whimsical label in 1978, expanding in 2004 as a lifestyle brand encompassing handbags, leather goods, footwear, eyewear, luggage, fragrances and jewelry.

Johnson is known for an eternally youthful vibe.

Zentertainment

PAGE 7A

NBC keeps its lead in news, barely

By DAVID BAUDER ASSOCIATED PRESS

NEW YORK — Behind substitute anchor Lester Holt, NBC’s “Nightly News” won its 286th consecutive week in the ratings — but only by the barest of margins.

The Nielsen company said NBC’s news program averaged 8.13 million viewers last week, a mere 11,000 viewers more than ABC’s “World News Tonight.” The “CBS Evening News” had 6.9 million viewers. ABC won among the 25-to-54-year-old demographic that advertisers consider most valuable.

In an annual oddity, evening news ratings sank like a stone the week after clocks leaped forward an hour for Daylight Savings Time. With it now still

light out when the news airs in most of the country, the three broadcasts collectively lost three and a half million viewers from the previous week, when darkness reigned.

As is often the case, “Nightly News” is hit harder by this phenomenon than its closest rival.

Over the past decade, NBC and CBS lost an average of 11.8 percent of its viewership on the first week of Daylight Savings Time, while ABC lost 7.3 percent.

This year, NBC lost 16.5 percent, ABC lost 12.3 percent and CBS 9.8 percent, Nielsen said.

Holt is anchoring for Brian Williams, who was suspended for six months for misleading viewers about his coverage of the Iraq War, and trying to preserve a winning streak

Photo by Charles Sykes/NBC | AP

This Sept. 16, 2012 photo shows Lester Holt on the set of “Today.” Holt, NBC’s choice to fill in for suspended anchor Brian Williams at “Nightly News,” has maintained the network’s ratings lead. that has lasted almost five and a half years.

Another impressive

streak continued in prime time, where Fox’s “Empire” has increased its audience every week that it has been on the air. Last week, the music business soap opera reached 14.9 million viewers on Wednesday night.

There were few other surprises in prime time, where the CBS one-two punch of “NCIS” and “The Big Bang Theory” were the two most popular programs. Eighteen of the 25 most-watched shows were on CBS, Nielsen said.

CBS averaged 9.2 million viewers last week, easily outdistancing NBC, which had 6.4 million.

ABC had 5.6 million, Fox had 4.6 million, Univision had 3 million, Telemundo had 1.3 million, the CW had 1.1 million and ION Television had 1 million.

Fox News Channel was the week’s most popular cable network, averaging 1.83 million viewers in prime time. AMC had 1.81 million, the Disney Channel had 1.8 million, ESPN had 1.75 million and TBS had 1.67 million.

For the week of March 9-15, the top 10 shows, their networks and viewerships: “NCIS,” CBS, 16.22 million; “The Big Bang Theory,” CBS, 16.13 million; “Empire,” Fox, 14.92 million; “The Voice” (Monday), NBC, 13.95 million; “The Walking Dead,” AMC, 13.78 million; “The Voice” (Tuesday), NBC, 13.73 million; “NCIS: New Orleans,” CBS, 12.61 million; “60 Minutes,” CBS, 11.49 million; “Madam Secretary,” CBS, 11.26 million; “Blue Bloods,” CBS, 11.07 million.

Politics

8A THE ZAPATA TIMES

Secret Service scrutinized

By ALICIA A. CALDWELL ASSOCIATED PRESS

WASHINGTON — The new head of the Secret Service admitted to Congress Tuesday that he didn’t learn until days later that two senior agents were supposedly drunk when they drove into a barrier at the White House — and only then from an anonymous email.

Joseph Clancy has only been the permanent director since mid-February and was making his first official appearance on Capitol Hill when he became the third consecutive Secret Service director to try to explain to lawmakers an embarrassing alcohol-related incident involving his agency.

Responding to angry members of a House Appropriations subcommittee, Clancy said he was frustrated that it took five days for him to learn about the March 4 incident, when two agents were accused of being drunk when they drove a government vehicle into barrier at the White House complex.

“I think part of this ... goes to a culture of trust,” Clancy said. “Do you have the trust in your leadership that you can bring this to leadership’s attention? And I’ve got to work to earn that trust, and I’m going to do that through my actions.”

He said changing the agency’s culture will take time.

Lawmakers objected to his response, saying it should have already been clear to agency employees that such behavior wouldn’t be tolerated.

“You can’t run an agency like this, for God’s sake,”

Photo by Molly Riley | AP

Secret Service Director Joseph Clancy prepares to testify on Capitol Hill in Washington, Tuesday. said Rep. Hal Rogers, head of the House Appropriations Committee.

Rep. Nita Lowey, a New York Democrat, echoed Rogers’ criticism.

“Before you even know the facts, you can say, based on the allegations, if, in fact, you are not aware that this kind of activity is inappropriate for a member of the Secret Service, you better get it now and go find another job,” Lowey said.

Clancy agreed with much of the criticism, but said he had to wait for a Homeland Security Department inspector general’s investigation to be completed before he could take action beyond reassigning the two agents to non-supervisory desk jobs outside the White House.

“I don’t have the authority to dismiss them on the spot,” Clancy said, adding that he wanted to ensure due process for the agents.

“I cannot terminate people this afternoon.”

Homeland Security Inspector General John Roth said Tuesday that his office had launched its investigation, which he promised

would be “thorough and independent.”

The incident was initially described in press reports as two agents crashing a government vehicle into a security barrier. Clancy testified that video of the incident that he has seen shows the agents’ vehicle “nudge” a large construction barrier as they drove through a secure area. He said while he has not spoken to the agents involved or those who were working that night, he has “seen nothing to indicate this incident as described occurred.”

Still, he told lawmakers, “I should have been informed.”

And that delay, he said, suggests there is still a lot of work to be done to change the agency’s culture, including the use of alcohol.

“I will say that there is an element within our agency — there’s an element within our agency that does cope with the stresses (of the job) by using alcohol.

There’s no question we have that element,” Clancy said, adding that many others use exercise or other options to reduce work stress.

Illinois representative resigns suddenly

By ERICA WERNER ASSOCIATED PRESS

WASHINGTON — Illinois Rep. Aaron Schock abruptly resigned Tuesday following a monthlong cascade of revelations about his business deals and lavish spending on everything from overseas travel to office decor in the style of “Downton Abbey.”

“I do this with a heavy heart,” Schock said in a statement. He said he had given the people of his Peoria-area district his all since his election in 2008, “but the constant questions over the last six weeks have proven a great distraction that has made it too difficult for me to serve the people of the 18th District with the high standards that they deserve and which I have set for myself.”

Schock, 33, a young, media-savvy Republican, had drawn attention for his physical fitness and fundraising prowess. But more recently he has come under scrutiny for extravagant spending, payments to donors for flights on private jets and improperly categorized expenses.

The questions raised have included Associated Press investigations of his real estate transactions, air travel and Instagram use.

On Monday, the AP confirmed that the Office of Congressional Ethics had reached out to Schock’s associates as it apparently began an investigation.

In a statement, House Speaker John Boehner said: “With this decision, Rep. Schock has put the best interests of his constituents and the House first. I appreciate Aaron’s years of service, and I wish him well in the future.”

Schock did not inform any House leaders before making his decision, and the announcement took Republicans by surprise. Although the questions around his spending had begun to attract attention and raise concerns, he was not yet facing concerted public pressure from party members to step down.

He is the second House Republican to give up his seat this year under unfavorable circumstances. Mi-

Photo by Seth Perlman | AP file

In this Feb. 6 file photo, Rep. Aaron Schock, R-Ill. speaks to reporters in Peoria, Ill. Schock announced Tuesday his resignation. chael Grimm, who pleaded guilty on tax evasion charges, resigned his New York seat in early January.

Illinois Gov. Bruce Rauner will have five days from the March 31 effective date of Schock’s resignation to schedule a special election, which must be held within 120 days of the vacancy.

GOP state Sen. Darin LaHood is considered the front-runner to replace Schock in the heavily Republican district. LaHood is the son of Ray LaHood, who served in Congress and lat-

er as President Barack Obama’s transportation secretary.

Schock, an energetic real estate investor who catapulted from the Illinois Legislature to win a congressional seat at the age of 26, touted his status as the House’s first millennial lawmaker.

He posed shirtless for Men’s Health magazine to promote fitness, and used Instagram the way older politicians rely on press releases, photo bombing his growing fan base from London to the Florida beach scene.

WEDNESDAY, MARCH 18, 2015

MIÉRCOLES 18 DE MARZO DE 2015

Ribereña en Breve DECOMISO Personal de la Secretaría de la Defensa Nacional aseguró en cinco operativos realizados en los municipios de Miguel Alemán, Díaz Ordaz, Camargo y Río Bravo, México, cuatro toneladas 209 kilogramos de marihuana.

Los operativos se realizaron del 12 al 14 de marzo. El jueves 12, en las inmediaciones del poblado Los Ángeles del municipio de Miguel Alemán, se localizan ocultos entre la maleza diversos paquetes que contienen 290 kilogramos de marihuana.

Mientras tanto, el viernes 13 de marzo, en las inmediaciones del ejido Miguel Hidalgo del municipio de Díaz Ordaz, se localiza entre la maleza una fosa cubierta con ramas. En su interior se aseguran 452 paquetes conteniendo 2.260 kilogramos de marihuana. Asimismo, el sábado 14, en el municipio de Camargo, se localizan 160 paquetes que contienen 847 kilogramos de marihuana; también el sábado sobre las riberas del Río Bravo, en las inmediaciones del poblado Los Guerra del municipio de Miguel Alemán, son localizados 68 paquetes conteniendo 612 kilogramos de marihuana; y por último, en la misma fecha, alrededor del rancho San Pedro del municipio de Río Bravo, son localizados 20 paquetes que contienen 200 kilogramos de marihuana.

SIMPOSIO ANUAL SOBRE TRÁFICO DE PERSONAS El jueves y viernes, 25 y 26 de marzo, se realizará el Simposio Anual sobre el Tráfico de Personas, del Colegio del Sur de Texas, en el Campus Pecan en McAllen.

Las personas que acudan al evento recibirán información y asesorías sobre el fenómeno que ha afectado el Valle del Río Grande y al norte de México.

La conferencia se realizará de 8 a.m. a 5:30 p.m. ambos días. El evento es gratuito y abierto al público. El Campus Pecan está ubicado en 3201 de W. Pecan Blvd.

Para registrarse puede ingresar a http://academicaffairs.southtexascollege.edu/womens_studies/conference/register.html.

FESTIVAL INTERNACIONAL DE CINE A partir del 26 de marzo y hasta el 29 de marzo tendrá lugar el segundo Festival Internacional de Cine de Tamaulipas (FICTAM) 2015, en las ciudades de Nuevo Laredo, Reynosa, Victoria y Tampico, México.

Durante el festival se proyectarán los filmes mexicanos: “Los Hámsters” del director Gilberto González Penilla; “Llévate mis amores” dirigida por Arturo González Villaseñor; y se estrenará “González: Falsos profetas” bajo la dirección de Christian Díaz Pardo.

Las producciones, que conforman el FICTAM, se podrán apreciar en el teatro experimental del Centro Cultural Nuevo Laredo, del Parque Cultural Reynosa, del Espacio Cultural Metropolitano, en Tampico, y en la Cineteca del Centro Cultural Tamaulipas, en Ciudad Victoria.

Las proyecciones son gratuitas. Cada centro cultural ha establecido un horario de proyección, para más información puede ponerse en contacto con el centro de su interés.

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.

Zfrontera

PÁGINA 9A

CONDADO DE ZAPATA

Incautan droga POR CÉSAR G. RODRIGUEZ TIEMPO DE ZAPATA

Un hombre de la tercera edad, acusado de conducir una camioneta del campo de petróleo falsa y cargada con marihuana, fue arrestado recientemente en el Condado de Zapata, de acuerdo con documentos de la corte obtenidos esta semana.

Wayne Howard Masters, de 71 años, de Progreso, fue acusado a través de una querella criminal con cargos por posesión con intento de distribuir 523 libras de marihuana.

Los narcóticos tenían un valor estimado en las calles de 418.400 dólares.

Patrulla Fronteriza dijo que uno

de sus agentes estaba patrullando alrededor de las 6:45 a.m. del 3 de marzo, en el área de U.S. 83 y FM 2687 Road, una ruta primaria para conductores que se dirigen al norte y un corredor utilizado frecuentemente para el contrabando de humanos y narcóticos, señala la querella. Entonces el agente se percató de la presencia de una camioneta Ford pick up, blanca, que pasaba por su ubicación. “(El agente) observó que la camioneta fue equipada para lucir como una camioneta del campo petrolero y se presentaba como de la compañía Rock Water Energy Solutions”, señalan documentos de la corte.

“La experiencia (de los agentes) ha revelado que (las organizaciones para el tráfico de narcóticos y humanos) han explotado el reciente auge de las industrias petroleras al adquirir vehículos que concuerden con la descripción típica de las camionetas y vehículos del sector petrolero, utilizando esta táctica para mezclarse entre el tráfico local y evitar ser detectados por parte de entidades del orden en el área de Zapata”, señala la querella criminal.

Investigaciones revelaron que la bomba conectada al tanque de combustible auxiliar estaba suelto y colgando hacia atrás y adelante. El agente también observó la caja de herramientas en el tanque auxiliar

estaba completamente separado del tanque. El agente realizó una inspección de inmigración sobre el conductor. Masters señaló que se dirigía a Galvan Ranch en Laredo, muestran registros de la corte. Una unidad K-9 alertó sobre un posible contrabando. Una inspección más de cerca al tanque auxiliar reveló un compartimiento fabricado. En la estación de Zapata, los agentes dijeron haber descubierto 96 paquetes de marihuana envueltos en celofán dentro del tanque auxiliar. El contenido de la caja de la camioneta también reveló cuatro baldes de 5 galones que contienen un paquete de marihuana cada uno. Masters pidió un abogado. DEA tomó el caso.

OFICINA DEL ALGUACIL

COMUNIDAD

Le acusan de tráfico humano

COMPROMISO SOCIAL

POR CÉSAR G. RODRIGUEZ TIEMPO DE ZAPATA

Recientemente un ciudadano mexicano fue arrestado en Zapata y fue acusado de transportar inmigrantes desde Zapatra a Laredo para obtener una ganancia monetaria, de acuerdo a documentos de la corte obtenidos esta semana.

Una querella criminal presentada el 11 de marzo, acusa a Benjamín García Hernández con traer y albergar a inmigrantes ilegales.

El caso fue reportado a las 9:30 p.m. del 8 de marzo. Ésa noche, la Oficina del Alguacil del Condado de Zapata llamó a la Estación de la Patrulla Fronteriza de Zapata en relación a un intento para contrabando de humanos que involucraba a un vehículo todo terreno, color oscuro.

Los agentes que respondieron a la llamada observaron a una Ford Explorer, color oscuro, saliendo de County Road y tomándo U.S. 83 para dirigirse al norte.

Agentes dijeron que pudieron observar a varios ocupantes dentro del vehículo mientras que un pasajero en el frente estaba intentando agacharse, en un intento por esconderse, de acuerdo con documentos de la corte.

Agentes dijeron que el vehículo comenzó a moverse erráticamente, cambiando de carriles con colocar la señal, virar y acelerar. Entonces, el agente activó sus luces de emergencia para realizar una inspección de inmigración al conductor y a sus ocupantes. Registros señalan que el vehículo finalmente se detuvo abruptamente en el carril central de U.S. 83.

Identificado como el conductor, García Hernández y nueve ocupantes supuestamente admitieron estar en el país de manera ilegal, de acuerdo con documentos de la corte. Todas las personas fueron llevadas a la estación de Zapata para ser procesados.

García Hernández señaló que realizó los arreglos con un hombre en Laredo para recoger a los inmigrantes cerca de Zapata. Registros de la corte muestran que García Hernández esperaba un pago de 1.000 dólares para transportar a las personas de Zapata a Laredo. Los dos hombres fueron retenidos como testigos materiales, admitiendo haber pagado 4.500 dólares, cada uno, para ser traficados a Houston, señala la querella.

Foto de cortesía

Estudiantes de preparatoria de Laredo acudieron a un curso donde se les enseña a responder en caso de emergencia.

Enseñan a responder ante emergencias ESPECIAL PARA TIEMPO DE ZAPATA

E

studiantes de preparatoria aprovecharon el Receso de Primavera para convertirse en integrantes activos de la comunidad, tras entrenamiento para actuar en casos de emergencia.

El Campus Regional UTHSC de Laredo, sirvió como sede de 29 estudiantes que participaron en un entrenamiento de tres días y se graduaron como integrantes del Equipo Comunitario de Respuesta a Emergencias, impartido por el Centro de Educación en el Área de la Salud Fronteriza del Río Grande (AHEC, por sus siglas en inglés).

Estos estudiantes también son integrantes del Programa de Liderazgo Estudiantil de AHEC. El propósito del evento de tres días fue dar a los jóvenes, las he-

rramientas, conocimiento y la confianza para actuar en una situación de emergencia que son causada por un desastre natural o por acciones del hombre. Los requisitos de formación incluyen un plan de estudios diseñado específicamente para que los integrantes de la comunidad que trabajan como voluntarios brinden ayuda en situaciones de emergencia.

El entrenamiento también proporciona una oportunidad para todos los participantes de demostrar sus habilidades de liderazgo al tomar parte de escenarios de la vida real que van desde salvar una vida de un edificio en llamas hasta asistir en las necesidades médicas de una víctima que fue impactada por una tormenta mortal.

Aprender la necesidad de trabajar en equipo y entender la

importancia de seguir un protocolo para cada comunidad es vital cuando se sirve como voluntario, para asegurarse de que las víctimas y las personas afectadas por el desastre sean asistidas con dignidad y respeto.

El programa de Liderazgo Estudiantil de AHEC, ofrece durante todo el año a estudiantes de preparatoria de los condados de Webb, Zapata, Jim Hogg, La Salle Duval y Dimmit. El programa está diseñado para aumentar la conciencia sobre la importancia de la educación media superior, desarrollar habilidades de liderazgo, aprender sobre diversidad poblacional y convertise en integrantes activos de la comunidad a través de proyectos de voluntariado. Para información adicional puede visitar www.mrgbahec.org o llamar al (956)712-0037.

COLUMNA

Autor narra historia de puerto marino Nota del Editor: El autor narra la manera en que la Ciudad de Soto la Marina se desarrolló como puerto marino.

POR RAUL SINENCIO EPECIAL PARA TIEMPO DE ZAPATA

La Ciudad de Soto la Marina, tiene un secreto bien guardado, ya que alguna vez fue puerto de altura. Circunstancias insospechadas contrariaron esta categoría.

Contexto Colonizador del extremo

noreste de México, José de Escandón desde el inicio alega la apertura de la entonces villa de Soto la Marina a las maniobras de estiba y alijo. Subraya que ello contribuiría a fortalecer la obra colonizadora.

Denota que de antemano contempla dicho proyecto al replicar el nombre de su natal Soto la Marina, enclave portuario de Cantabria.

Lo planeado se lleva a la práctica. Escandón adquiere “La Judía”, goleta que inicia el trasiego procedente de Veracruz, México. Las circunstancias obligan a sustituirla con “Nuestra de las Caldas”, en 1752.

Escandón pretendía extender la ruta a Campeche y La Habana. Al sentir en riesgo su control mercantil sobre el virreinato, los comerciantes de la Ciudad de México presionaron para la clausura relativa de Soto la Marina.

La referida villa es fundada a orillas del río homónimo. En 1810 el vómito prieto lleva a reubicarla ribera arriba. Quedando a mayor distancia del punto en que el río, tras cruzar la laguna Madre, alcanza el Golfo de México. Los bajos arenosos impiden el acceso de los barcos, que anclaban frente al litoral, atendién-

dose la carga o descarga en La Pesca, al norte de la desembocadura.

Diputado a las cortes gaditanas y conocedor del área, Miguel Ramos Arizpe demanda en 1811 una rehabilitación. El puerto de Soto la Marina “es de muy conocidas comodidades” y “una vez abierto libremente, los interesados mismos impedirán por medio de estacadas, etcétera, la avenida de arenas de las lagunas, que suelen hacer peligrosa la barra para buques mayores”, afirma. En 1824, regresa a México, por Soto la Marina, Agustín de Iturbide, costándole la vida en

virtud de encontrarse proscrito. Distintas razones dan la plaza mala fama. Posee características que favorecen corruptelas, dejándose el lugar “sólo habilitado para el cabotaje”, determina un ordenamiento en 1833. Bajo el bloqueo francés Tampico y Veracruz durante la Guerra de los Pasteles, entre 1838 y 1839 Soto la Marina recupera el tráfico de altura. Vuelve a tenerlo en 1846, cuando ocurre la invasión estadounidense.

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