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Travel warning
Local youth receives memorial scholarship
Feds urge no Mexico travel due to violence By CÉSAR G. RODRIGUEZ LAREDO MORNING TIMES
Amid recent violent clashes and drug lords’ arrest throughout the state of Tamaulipas, the U.S. De-
partment of State updated its travel warning to Mexico on Tuesday saying there’s risk of traveling to certain places, according to reports. State Department offi-
cials said U.S. citizens have reported being victims of violent crimes at the hands of criminal groups in various Mexican states. The warning mentions that people should “defer
all non-essential travel” to Tamaulipas given that violent crimes — homicide, armed robbery, carjacking, kidnapping, extortion and
See MEXICO
PAGE 11A
Zapata senior Ricardo J. Muñoz receives money for college
STORMY WEATHER
By CÉSAR G. RODRIGUEZ
TORNADOES AND RAIN
Photo by David Kent/The Fort Worth Star-Telegram | AP
Sapphire and Renee Love help clean up Friday after Thursday night’s tornado passed the area, in New Fairview. Strong storms spawned several tornadoes and dumped heavy rain on North Texas overnight, flooding roads and damaging train tracks in an area where a freight train derailed before dawn on Friday, officials said.
North Texas storms prompt flash flooding By DIANA HEIDGERD ASSOCIATED PRESS
DALLAS — One person was killed in flash flooding unleashed on North Texas by a series of severe thunderstorms. Cooke County officials say the body of 36-year-old
Brandon Henegar of Gainesville was found Friday in his vehicle in a remote creek about six miles south of Gainesville. County Judge Jason Brinkley says the vehicle apparently was swept off the road by high water Thursday night.
Brinkley also says severe flooding appeared to be a major factor in the BNSF freight train derailment near Valley View that injured four railroad employees. Meanwhile, Friday afternoon meant a new round of severe thunderstorms
and reports of tornadoes. Law enforcement reported multiple funnels in the Vernon area. Before dawn Friday, strong storms spawned several tornadoes and dumped heavy rain on
See STORMS
PAGE 11A
THE ZAPATA TIMES
ICE Special Agent Jaime J. Zapata would have turned 37 years old Thursday. To honor his memory, the nonprofit organization Friends of Jaime J. Zapata presented scholarships to students from Laredo and Zapata during a ceremony held at Guerra Centre Reception Hall. Ricardo J. Muñoz, a senior at Zapata High School, was one of the recipients along with other students from his school in addition to students from Nixon High, Laredo Community College, Texas A&M International University and the University of Texas. “I feel very honored receiving the scholarship. It’s a big accomplishment,” said Muñoz, who plans to attend St. Mary’s University and pursue a degree in the medical field. For Muñoz, Zapata was a hero. On Feb. 15, 2011, gunmen attacked Zapata and a fellow Immigration and Customs Enforcement special agent in San Luis Potosi, Mexico. Zapata died in the line of duty while the other agent survived. “Jaime Zapata was brutally murdered in Mexico. The message that we tell these students is that every time you
ZAPATA choose to do drugs … you’re just putting more money into the business of the cartels,” said Rosy Gregory, director of the nonprofit organization. “We believe that if we have educated people, we make a positive difference in (Zapata’s) honor.” Zapata’s parents were on hand giving out the scholarships and meeting the students. Mary Zapata, the agent’s mother, said every year scholarships are awarded according to her son’s age. “I’m very honored that his legacy lives on. The community continues to remember him,” she said. “We’re able to continue to do this and give these awards … to the children who will continue his legacy and remember him.” (César G. Rodriguez may be reached at 7282568 or cesar@lmtonline.com)
GARLAND TERROR ATTACK
FBI sent out bulletin about gunman before attack By ERIC TUCKER ASSOCIATED PRESS
WASHINGTON — Federal investigators learned several hours before a provocative cartoon contest in Texas that a man under investigation for extremist activities might show up and alerted local authorities, but had no indication that he planned to attack the event, FBI Director James Comey said Thursday. The information about Elton Simpson was developed about
three hours before the contest, which the FBI had already identified as a potential target for violence because it involved cartoons depicting the Prophet Muhammad. Simpson and his roommate, both from Phoenix, opened fire outside the Garland, event center but were shot dead before they were able to kill anyone. Simpson, previously convicted in a terrorism-related investigation, had come under new federal scrutiny in recent months related to online posts expressing
interest in jihad. When the FBI learned that he could be heading toward the event, the agency sent an intelligence bulletin to police in Garland, including a picture and other information, “even though we didn’t have reason to believe that he was going to attack the event. In fact, we didn’t have reason to believe that he had left Phoenix,” Comey said. The FBI had been monitoring the event, even establishing a command post at its Dallas field office, based on concerns about
the potential for violence. Drawings such as the ones featured at the event are deemed insulting to many followers of Islam and have sparked violence around the world. Mainstream Islamic tradition holds that any physical depiction of the Prophet Muhammad, even a respectful one, is blasphemous. Comey, making his first public comments on the Sunday shooting, did not disclose steps he said the FBI could have taken to prevent the attack and said those questions were still being
evaluated. But, “what I’ve seen so far looks like we did it the way we were supposed to do it,” Comey said. The FBI director said the attempted attack highlights the difficulties the FBI faces, at a time when social media has helped facilitate communication between potential homegrown extremists, in differentiating between those who merely make inflammatory comments online
See TERRORISM
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Zin brief CALENDAR
SATURDAY, MAY 9, 2015
AROUND TEXAS
TODAY IN HISTORY
SATURDAY, MAY 9
ASSOCIATED PRESS
Operation Feed the Homeless. 2 p.m. at Jarvis Plaza. Please make a donation or volunteer time. Visit Facebook: Operation Feed the Homeless. Hogs-n-Dogs & Vatos-n-Gatos Concert & Cook-off Fundraiser at LIFE Fairgrounds. The event will feature 10 Tejano bands, the Olate Dogs and Lone Star Sanctioned Cook-off, pet adoptions from LAPS and kids fingerprinting. Tickets are $5 and kids 6 and under are free. Also, $5000 in prize money for cook-off. LAPS is looking for cooks and food vendors. Call 956-2064229.
TUESDAY, MAY 12 Rock wall climbing from 4 p.m. to 5:30 p.m. at LBV Inner City Branch Library, 202 W. Plum St. People of all ages are invited. Climbers must bring an ID and sign the release form, weather permitting. Contact John Hong at john@laredolibrary.org or 795-2400 x2520.
THURSDAY, MAY 14 Scuba Club meeting at 7 p.m. at the Embassy Suites Hotel lobby restaurant in the back (not the steak house). On the agenda is future saltwater and fresh water dive trips and scuba certification classes. For more information, contact Rene de la Viña, dive master, at 956-740-2101. Spanish Book Club from 6-8 p.m. at the Laredo Public Library. For more information, contact Sylvia Reash at 763-1810.
SUNDAY, MAY 17 St. Patrick Church Men’s Club scholarship steak asado plate sale, 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. at St. Patrick grounds, 555 Del Mar Blvd. $5 per plate. Call Salo Otero at 956-324-2432.
TUESDAY, MAY 19 Rock wall climbing from 4 p.m. to 5:30 p.m. at LBV Inner City Branch Library, 202 W. Plum St. People of all ages are invited. Climbers must bring an ID and sign the release form, weather permitting. Contact John Hong at john@laredolibrary.org or 795-2400 x2520.
THURSDAY, MAY 21 Elysian Social Club will be hosting its regular meeting at 6:30 p.m. Contact Herlinda Nieto-Dubuisson at 956-285-3126.
FRIDAY, MAY 22 TAMIU commencement ceremonies at the Kinesiology and Convocation Building. College of Arts and Sciences (undergraduates only) at 10 a.m.; College of Arts and Sciences (graduates) at 2 p.m.; A. R. Sanchez, Jr. School of Business at 2 p.m.; College of Education at 6 p.m.; College of Nursing and Health Sciences at 6 p.m. Office of the University Registrar at 326-2250.
SATURDAY, MAY 23 Founders’ Day Celebration at 12 p.m. at Laredo Center for the Arts, 500 San Agustín Ave. The Webb County Heritage Foundation will host a luncheon honoring the descendants of its founder, Don Tomas Sanchez, and all the founding families of the community. The event is open to the public. Tickets are $60. For ticket information and table reservations, please call the WCHF at 956-727-0977 or visit www.webbheritage.org.
Photo by Texas Parks and Wildlife Department | AP
This undated photo provided by the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department shows zebra mussels on Lake Texoma. The Texas Parks and Wildlife Department on Thursday announced invasive zebra mussels were discovered Sept. 18 in Belton Lake as efforts continue to stop their spread.
Effort aimed at mussels ASSOCIATED PRESS
AUSTIN — Texas has kicked off a public awareness campaign to help stop the spread of invasive zebra mussels as boaters prepare for the summer. The Texas Parks & Wildlife Department on Friday said the $400,000 advertising effort is called “Clean, Drain, and Dry.” The agency is joined by a coalition of river authorities, water districts and municipalities in the effort to raise public awareness about zebra mussels. The creatures can clog water intake systems. Zebra mussels were confirmed in Texas in 2009 at Lake Texoma and have spread to several other waterways. Boaters are required, by Texas law, to drain and clean their watercraft to help stop the spread of zebra mussels.
Woman’s body found near chemical plants
School bus driver fired in child sex assault case
No injuries in natural gas well fire; blaze out
CHANNELVIEW — A security guard has found a woman’s body near a retention pond between two Houston-area chemical plants. The Harris County Sheriff ’s Office says the guard came upon the body Friday morning in Channelview. Investigators are trying to identify the woman and determine how and when she died.
AUSTIN — An Austin Independent School District bus driver has been fired as he faces allegations of sexual assault of a 6year-old girl aboard the vehicle. Williamson County jail records show 61-year-old Leon Ralph Young of Pflugerville was held Friday on a charge of aggravated sexual assault of a child.
DENTON — A natural gas well fire in North Texas has been put out as authorities try to determine whether lightning sparked the blaze. Firefighters extinguished the blaze Friday. Nobody was hurt. Authorities received word of the well fire shortly before 10 p.m. Thursday. Storms were in the area.
2 school buses collide in Fort Worth FORT WORTH — Four children were hurt when two school buses from a Central Texas district collided while bound for a band festival in Dallas. Investigators are trying to determine what caused one Robinson Independent School District bus to apparently rear-end the other Friday in Fort Worth. One child had minor injuries and was taken to a hospital.
(Submit calendar items at lmtonline.com/calendar/submit or by emailing editorial@lmtonline.com with the event’s name, date and time, location and purpose and contact information for a representative. Items will run as space is available.)
Derailment leaves 4 BNSF Railway workers hurt VALLEY VIEW — A freight train has derailed in North Texas during stormy weather leaving 17 cars off the tracks and four crewmembers slightly hurt. A BNSF Railway spokesman said the derailment happened early Friday near Valley View, 50 miles northwest of Dallas. Four engines and 13 cars derailed. The southbound train was hauling a variety of freight to the Fort Worth area, but no hazardous materials. Nothing spilled.
Moms denied temporary restraining order SAN ANTONIO — A federal judge has denied a temporary restraining order sought by three immigrant mothers who alleged retaliation against them for participation in a hunger strike at a South Texas detention center. The three women, who are from Latin America and seeking asylum, sought the restraining order as part of a of a class-action complaint. — Compiled from AP reports
AROUND THE NATION
TUESDAY, MAY 26 Rock wall climbing from 4 p.m. to 5:30 p.m. at LBV Inner City Branch Library, 202 W. Plum St. People of all ages are invited. Climbers must bring an ID and sign the release form, weather permitting. Contact John Hong at john@laredolibrary.org or 795-2400 x2520. The Color of Music, a Ballroom Gala-Dance at the Laredo Center for the Arts, 500 San Agustin, from 7 p.m. to 10 p.m. Tickets are $15 and are available at the Vidal M. Treviño School of Communications and Fine Arts office at 820 Main and at the Laredo Center for the Arts. Tickets will also be sold at the door. Contact Robert M. Lopez at 273-7811 or rmlopez004@laredoisd.org.
According to http://texasinvasives.org/zebramussels, boaters should dry the boat and trailer for a week or more before entering another water body. If unable to let it dry for at least a week, wash it with a high-pressure washer and hot (at least 140-degree), soapy water. Possession or transportation of zebra mussels in Texas is a Class C misdemeanor for the first offense, punishable by a fine of up to $500. Repeat offenses can be elevated to a Class B misdemeanor, punishable by a fine of up to $2,000, jail time up to 180 days, or both. Boaters are required to drain all water from their vessel, including live wells, bilges, motors and any other receptacles, before approaching or leaving a water body. This applies to all types and sizes of boats used on fresh waters, effective July 1.
Court: Family mistakenly notified of death can’t sue PHOENIX — For six days, the family of 19-year-old April Guerra mourned her death because they thought she was killed in a car wreck. It turns out, she wasn’t. Arizona’s highest court said Friday the family cannot sue the state for negligence after officers mistakenly told them Guerra died in a 2010 rollover crash west of Phoenix. The officers confused Guerra’s identity with that of a close friend who was killed in the Interstate 10 wreck. That woman’s parents stood vigil at a hospital with a paralyzed and badly bruised Guerra, thinking she was their daughter. The families discovered the truth when a medical examiner used dental records to confirm it was 21-year-old Marlena Cantu in the morgue. Guerra, who went by the name Abby, was the wom-
Today is Saturday, May 9, the 129th day of 2015. There are 236 days left in the year. Today’s Highlights in History: On May 9, 1945, with World War II in Europe at an end, Soviet forces liberated Czechoslovakia from Nazi occupation. U.S. officials announced that a midnight entertainment curfew was being lifted immediately. On this date: In 1754, a political cartoon in Benjamin Franklin’s Pennsylvania Gazette depicted a snake cut into eight pieces, each section representing a part of the American colonies; the caption read, “JOIN, or DIE.” In 1814, the Jane Austen novel “Mansfield Park” was first published in London. In 1864, Union Maj. Gen. John Sedgwick was killed by a Confederate sniper during the Civil War Battle of Spotsylvania in Virginia. In 1914, President Woodrow Wilson, acting on a joint congressional resolution, signed a proclamation designating the second Sunday in May as Mother’s Day. In 1926, Americans Richard Byrd and Floyd Bennett supposedly became the first men to fly over the North Pole. (However, U.S. scholars announced in 1996 that their examination of Byrd’s recently discovered flight diary suggested he had turned back 150 miles short of his goal.) In 1936, Italy annexed Ethiopia. In 1951, the U.S. conducted its first thermonuclear experiment as part of Operation Greenhouse by detonating a 225-kiloton device on Enewetak Atoll in the Pacific nicknamed “George.” In 1961, in a speech to the National Association of Broadcasters, Federal Communications Commission Chairman Newton N. Minow decried the majority of television programming as a “vast wasteland.” In 1974, the House Judiciary Committee opened public hearings on whether to recommend the impeachment of President Richard Nixon. (The committee ended up adopting three articles of impeachment against the president, who resigned before the full House took up any of them.) In 1994, South Africa’s newly elected parliament chose Nelson Mandela to be the country’s first black president. Today’s Birthdays: Actorwriter Alan Bennett is 81. Rock musician Nokie Edwards (The Ventures) is 80. Actor Albert Finney is 79. Actressturned-politician Glenda Jackson is 79. Producer-director James L. Brooks is 78. Musician Sonny Curtis (Buddy Holly and the Crickets) is 78. Singer Tommy Roe is 73. Singermusician Richie Furay (Buffalo Springfield and Poco) is 71. Actress Candice Bergen is 69. Pop singer Clint Holmes is 69. Actor Anthony Higgins is 68. Singer Billy Joel is 66. Blues singer-musician Bob Margolin is 66. Rock singer-musician Tom Petersson (Cheap Trick) is 65. Actress Alley Mills is 64. Actress Amy Hill is 62. Actress Wendy Crewson is 59. Actor John Corbett is 54. Singer Dave Gahan (Depeche Mode) is 53. Actress Sonja Sohn is 51. Thought for Today: “Television has changed the American child from an irresistible force into an immovable object.” — Laurence J. Peter, Canadian-born educator (19191990).
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Defense lawyer Dean Zabriskie consoles Meagan Grunwald at the conclusion of her trial Friday, in Provo, Utah. A jury must decide whether the teenager accused in a crime spree was violently in love or a terrified victim. an at a Phoenix hospital. Her family sued, arguing Department of Public Safety officers owed them a duty to ensure they properly identified the victim before telling the family their daughter was dead. “For six days, they went
through the ringer, and now they’re thrilled to death they have their daughter. But why did they have to go through such emotional turmoil?” their lawyer, Mick Levin, said Friday. “It was needless.” — Compiled from AP reports
SUBSCRIPTIONS/DELIVERY (956) 728-2555 The Zapata Times is distributed on Saturdays to 4,000 households in Zapata County. For subscribers of the Laredo Morning Times and for those who buy the Laredo Morning Times at newsstands, the Zapata Times is inserted. The Zapata Times is free. The Zapata Times is published by the Laredo Morning Times, a division of The Hearst Corporation, P.O. Box 2129, Laredo, Texas 78044. Phone (956) 728-2500. The Zapata office is at 1309 N. U.S. Hwy. 83 at 14th Avenue, Suite 2, Zapata, TX 78076. Call (956) 765-5113 or e-mail thezapatatimes.net
Crime
SATURDAY, MAY 9, 2015
THE ZAPATA TIMES 3A
Feds accuse man of smuggling By CÉSAR G. RODRIGUEZ THE ZAPATA TIMES
A suspected human smuggler who led lawmen on a chase but crashed in southern Webb County leaving an immigrant juvenile seriously injured was recently arrested, according to court documents obtained this week. Court records identified the suspect as 23-year-old Alex Flores, of Laredo. He was charged with transporting illegal immigrants, according to a criminal complaint filed April 28. On May 1, a federal judge ordered him detained given his criminal history that includes aggravated robbery and engaging in organized criminal activity, according to court documents.
A court order signed by U.S. Magistrate Judge Guillermo R. Garcia states Flores constiFLORES tutes a danger to others and the community. Federal agents said the human smuggling attempt occurred April 25. That day, agents in Zapata received information from agents in Laredo regarding a possible human smuggling attempt in the Salado Creek in Zapata County. Reports indicated that several people boarded a 2003 Volvo S60, which was parked off of U.S. 83. The vehicle then traveled north. An agent caught up to the Volvo and approached the
car to get a closer look. Identified as the driver, Flores accelerated to pass another vehicle along U.S. 83. By Becerra Creek in Webb County, the agent attempted to pull over the vehicle with the assistance of the Webb County Sheriff’s Office. The Volvo exited U.S. 83 by taking the Espejo Molina Road exit. Authorities said the Volvo did not slow down when an attempting an abrupt turn onto Espejo Molina Road. Flores failed to control speed and collided with one of the cement pillars under the U.S. 83 overpass on Espejo Molina. Agents removed seven occupants from the Volvo. Two individuals were found in the trunk, including a male juvenile. Records state
the seven occupants — two men, two women, one male juvenile and two female juveniles — were Mexican nationals who were in the country illegally. Flores and the seven immigrants were taken to local hospitals in Laredo for treatment. Six immigrants were medically cleared. But the male juvenile remained hospitalized due to a broken pelvis, according to court documents. Homeland Security Investigations special agents said Flores agreed to speak to them without having an attorney. Flores stated he was to be paid $900 for transporting the immigrants to Laredo, records show. (César G. Rodriguez may be reached at 728-2568 or cesar@lmtonline.com)
Man arrested over pot accusation By CÉSAR G. RODRIGUEZ THE ZAPATA TIMES
A man accused of taking part in the smuggling of about 500 pounds of marijuana in February in Zapata County has been arrested, according to federal authorities. Rolando Rivera Sainz made initial appearance in court Tuesday, where he was informed of his rights. A criminal complaint filed Monday charges Rivera Sainz with conspire to possess with intent to distribute or
dispense a controlled substance. On Feb. 5, federal agents received reports of a white pickup in the Falcon Lake area that had allegedly pulled into an abandoned warehouse. Agents then observed four people leaving the area. An investigation led to the arrest of Heraldo Chapa and Rene Romeo Guerra. Then, agents said they found 509 pounds of marijuana inside the warehouse. The contraband was valued at $407,200. Chapa allegedly admit-
ted to transporting the marijuana during a postarrest interview Feb. 6. Agents said Chapa’s role was to open and close the ranch gates for the vehicle to pick up the marijuana. Chapa told agents that a man who fled was known to him as Rivera Sainz, also known as “Gordo,” “La Calavera and “La Kalaka,” states the complaint. Rivera Sainz and another co-defendant allegedly helped Chapa load the pickup with the narcotics, according to court docu-
ments. Rivera Sainz remains in federal custody. Regarding Chapa, he pleaded guilty May 1 to conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute marijuana and possess with intent to distribute marijuana. On April 30, Guerra pleaded guilty to possess with intent to distribute a controlled substance. A sentencing date for Chapa and Guerra has not been determined. (César G. Rodriguez may be reached at 728-2568 or cesar@lmtonline.com)
Agents nab 3 in alleged incidents SPECIAL TO THE TIMES
Two illegal immigrants who had been convicted of sexually assaulting a child and another who was wanted on a murder charge have been arrested by Border Patrol agents in the Laredo Sector, the agency an-
nounced Wednesday. The arrests occurred within a 24-hour period at different Border Patrol stations in the area. On Monday, agents assigned to the Laredo West Station arrested a male Honduran national who was had been charged and
convicted in 2012 in Houston of sexual assault of a child. Later that evening, Zapata Station agents arrested a male Mexican national. A background check revealed that he was charged and convicted in 2004 in Austin for aggravated sexual assault of a child.
Another male Mexican national was arrested by Laredo South Station agents. He was wanted in connection with a homicide in Longview, located about 130 miles east of Dallas. All three cases have been referred to the Laredo Sector Prosecutions Office.
Courtesy photo
Authorities recently seized marijuana worth about $300,000.
Deputies seize $300K in pot SPECIAL TO THE TIMES
Authorities recently seized marijuana worth about $300,000, according to the Zapata County Sheriff ’s Office. Sheriff ’s officials said the seizure happened at
about 6 p.m. in the Lopeño area. Investigators and the K-9 narcotics unit seized 383 pounds of marijuana with a street value of $306,400. No other information was available. The case remains under investigation.
Happenings around town SPECIAL TO THE TIMES
Memorial Day Mayhem Memorial Day Mayhem lines up at 2312 Hidalgo Street, at the Lion’s Club, on Saturday, May 23. The 8K Run and 5K Walk will begin at 8 a.m. Registration will take place form 7 a.m. to 7:45 a.m. Early registration costs $15; registration on race day is $25. Categories include 14under, 15-19, 20-29, 30-39, 4049, 50-59, and 60 and over. For more information
contact Steve Sanchez at 956-285-9128 or Romeo Garcia at 956-750-0366.
Chamber’s newest member The Zapata County Chamber of Commerce announces Inova Data Solutions as its newest member. The company, based in Laredo, is a regional provider of voice, data, HD video conferencing, WIFI, hot spots, wireless Internet and telecom consulting services. Customers range from small businesses to multilocation firms.
PAGE 4A
Zopinion
SATURDAY, MAY 9, 2015
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COLUMN
OTHER VIEWS
S. Court rulings have great impact By CHARLES LANE THE WASHINGTON POST
Supreme Court cases have a way of changing American society far beyond the intentions and expectations of the litigants who start them — or even the justices who decide them. Marbury v. Madison began as a fight over federal appointments and ended establishing the court as the final arbiter of constitutional issues. In 1967, Loving v. Virginia struck down all state laws against interracial marriage. Today, it is cited as precedent for a much broader right to marry that encompasses same-sex couples. So anyone who cares about the issues of law enforcement and race that have been raised so dramatically in Ferguson, Missouri; North Charleston, South Carolina; Staten Island, New York and Baltimore should care about Friedrichs v. California Teachers Association, which the justices might hear as soon as next fall. What could a case about teachers have to do with cops? A lot. Rebecca Friedrichs and several colleagues object to their state’s prevailing system of mandatory dues, under which they must contribute to the California Teachers Association, whether they agree with its positions in collective bargaining or not. In 1977, the Supreme Court upheld mandatory dues in the public sector as a permissible means of avoiding “free-riding” by union-represented employees. The court feared that would spawn destabilizing conflicts among workers — as it had in unionized private industries. Later, the justices held that employees may withhold the part of dues that goes to union lobbying and political activity, but the exercise of that right has proved difficult in practice, and publicsector unions have accumulated vast political funds and vast political power. What’s potentially revolutionary about Friedrichs’s case, therefore, is her request that the court bar any mandatory dues in the public sector — even those that ostensibly fund only collective bargaining. Her clever, and convincing, argument is that, unlike labor negotiations in the private sector, bargaining in the public sector inherently touches on policy issues: Wages, benefits and work rules unavoidably affect taxes, spending and governmental efficiency. In this context, mandatory dues amount to “compelled subsidization” of a union’s “public advocacy,” as Friedrichs’s petition to the Supreme Court puts it, which a partial opt-out cannot remedy. And that violates Friedrichs’s First Amendment right to free association and expression, in that it makes her underwrite the propagation of policy views she does not necessarily support. Now you see why this could be a blockbuster. A
victory for Friedrichs would stop the automatic flow of members’ money to public-sector unions in 26 mostly blue states whose laws currently allow it, including not only California but also such public-union strongholds as New York and Illinois. And that could very well include unions representing the police. Among the factors that contribute to police impunity, where it exists, the political power of police unions belongs near the top of the list. Police unions have lobbied fiercely against civilian review boards and other reforms aimed at curbing alleged brutality; they demand elaborate procedural protections for officers accused of abuse. Remember the postFerguson campaign to reduce “police militarization”? Police unions opposed it. As for “mass incarceration,” among the staunchest supporters of draconian sentencing laws have been correctional officers’ unions, for whom full prisons mean full employment. Republicans and Democrats compete for endorsements from wellfunded law-enforcement unions. Notably, Wisconsin’s Republican governor, Scott Walker, and Republican-controlled legislature exempted police unions, many of which supported Walker’s election campaign, from the public-sector collectivebargaining limits the state enacted in 2011. Meanwhile, many Democrats advocate criminal-justice reforms. But, since their party depends on teachers unions and other civilian publicsector unions, they support mandatory dues payments — which fund police unions’ resistance to criminal-justice reform. To be sure, a ruling for Friedrichs would sweep away not only more than two dozen state laws but also the court’s own 1977 ruling in favor of mandatory dues in the public sector. That controlling precedent is still on the books, which explains why the lower courts made short work of her suit — and, indeed, why her lawyers basically consented to those defeats. They wanted to tee up their petition to the justices, who have issued two recent rulings that raised questions about the continued applicability of the 1977 decision but didn’t quite overrule it. Friedrichs’s lawyers hope that this means the court is, indeed, ready to declare that precedent outmoded and replace it with a constitutional ban on mandatory union dues in the public sector. Would that be judicial activism? Perhaps, but activism is no dirty word for this court; witness its willingness to revamp campaign finance laws or take on challenges to the “one man, one woman” marriage laws of most U.S. states. If the justices agree to hear Friedrichs’s case, it would strongly imply that they want to transform labor law, too — and, with it, the country.
EDITORIAL
Free speech applies to all THE DALLAS MORNING NEWS
Pamela Geller used her free-speech right to stamp firmly on the line between provocative and offensive and scrub it into the dust. An angry response was the purpose, not a byproduct, of her American Freedom Defense Initiative conclave last weekend in suburban Garland. A $10,000 “cartoon contest” was a thumb in the eye to Muslims who believe depictions of the prophet Muhammad are blasphemous. As incitement goes, this was intentional. Too bad, say Geller and her followers. Free speech, that bedrock American value, gives them the right. Don’t like it? Turn the page. And they’re right, within the bounds of lawful behavior. Geller, who has made a ca-
reer from stridently anti-Islamic views, is fortunate that the law does not demand like-mindedness to validate her right. You might wish she’d treat it with more respect, but that’s her choice. She also benefitted Sunday night from the quick reaction of a Garland school district security guard and Garland police, who fended off the two men who tried to crash the event. Had those gunmen gotten inside the Curtis Culwell Center with their assault rifles and body armor, who knows what carnage they may have wrought. The police saved lives, without worrying about politics or points of view. Bruce Joiner, 58, the wounded Garland ISD officer, thankfully was treated and released after being shot in the ankle. The two gun-
men were killed trying to make their own ruinous statement. Garland police pledged safety for even this controversial event and delivered. Interestingly, mainstream Muslims placed the Geller conference in proper perspective. Instead of rising to the bait, they chose to ignore the hate. We can’t speak for the two gunmen, but as we noted just four months ago in the wake of the Charlie Hebdo massacre in Paris, Islam’s true believers should be steadfast enough in their faith that a mere cartoon doesn’t push them toward bloodshed. Muslims who read their own holy book would find repeated references admonishing the faithful to restrain themselves in the face of insults. If the Charlie Hebdo debate felt abstract and distant,
gunfire in a Dallas suburb is neither. Still, acknowledging the rights of Geller’s followers may grate on the sensibilities of Americans who see no virtue in going out of their way to cause distress. Why exercise a right to say ignorant and hurtful things? Here we are reminded of followers of the Westboro Baptist Church, whose sole claim to infamy is offensive, anti-gay protests outside the funerals of members of the U.S. military. Who could agree with such a thing? Except this is precisely the kind of free speech the Constitution intended to protect. It’s easy enough to defend to the death expression with which you agree. As long as they obey the law, Geller’s followers, like Westboro’s, deserve the same protections.
WORST WEEK IN WASHINGTON
NBA’s Wizard’s dreams fractured By CHRIS CILLIZZA THE WASHINGTON POST
We Washington sports fans have so little. Was it too much to ask to have a spring when the Wizards and the Capitals were the surprise “hot” teams in the NBA and NHL playoffs? Apparently yes, according to the basketball gods. Because on Thursday - with the Wizards tied 1-1 in their series with the Atlanta Hawks, representing the worst sports city ever —
came the news that star point guard John Wall had five non-displaced fractures in his left wrist and hand. I’m no doctor, but that sounds bad. The injury stemmed from a fall that Wall took in Game 1, a road win by the Wizards. After insisting he would play in Game 2, Wall wound up sitting it out — and watched the Wizards lose without him. He hasn’t been ruled out for the rest of the series — at least not yet — but it’s hard
to imagine someone who handles the ball so much doing it with, basically, one hand tied behind his back. For Wall and the Wizards, the timing couldn’t have been worse. After making his first all-star game this season, Wall’s postseason performance had been nothing short of brilliant — wracking up double-digit assists and serving as the floor general the Wizards hoped they were getting when they chose him first overall in the 2010 draft.
The Wizards put on a brave face in the wake of the news, insisting that they would fight on. Which they will. But without Wall or with a diminished Wall, it’s hard to see the team advancing. John Wall, for suffering the curse of Les Boulez, you had the worst week in Washington. Congrats, or something. (Cillizza covers the White House for The Washington Post and writes The Fix, its politics blog.)
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CLASSIC DOONESBURY (1982) | GARRY TRUDEAU
SATURDAY, MAY 9, 2015
Entertainment
THE ZAPATA TIMES 5A
Geary to leave TV’s ‘General Hospital’ By DAVID BAUDER ASSOCIATED PRESS
NEW YORK — Actor Anthony Geary, whose character Luke Spencer’s marriage to Laura in 1981 on “General Hospital” was the biggest moment in daytime television history, is leaving the soap opera after nearly three decades in the role. It was Geary’s decision to leave, and he’ll be written out of the ABC show for an episode that will air later this summer, executive producer Frank Valentini said Friday. “Anthony is our friend and a part of our television family, but, as difficult as this may be, we understand and respect that this is his choice,” Valentini said.
story of Laura falling in love with her rapist. Actress Genie Francis, who played Laura but hasn’t been on “General Hospital” since 2013, will return this summer to participate in the story of Luke’s exit, ABC said. Geary, 67, began playing Luke in 1978 but left the show in 1984. He returned in 1991 but, tired of the character, played Luke’s lookalike cousin. Audiences didn’t like it, however, so the cousin was killed off and Geary resumed playing Luke in 1993, and has remained with the show Photo by Chris Pizzello/Invision/file | AP since then. Anthony Geary is leaving “General Hospital,” the soap opera where he has played Geary told TVInsider.com the character of Luke Spencer for nearly three decades. Frank Valenti, the show’s that he was “weary of the grind executive producer, said Friday it was Geary’s decision to leave. and have been for 20 years. “There was a point after my More than 30 million people Laura, considered a storybook back surgery last year where it tuned in to watch Luke marry event despite the creepy back- became clear to me that my
time is not infinite,” he said. “And I really don’t want to die, collapsing in a heap, on the ‘GH’ set one day.” Geary said he wasn’t retiring, however. He spends much of his nonworking time in a second home in Amsterdam, and said he’s looking forward to spending more time there. ABC wasn’t saying Friday how Geary’s unsavory character will be written out of the show. Geary said he thought suicide was an option but didn’t think the audience or network would stand for it. “If I were in his place, I’d go to Tibet or Nepal on some kind of spiritual journey, even though he’s an atheist,” Geary told TVInsider.com. “He needs to be at peace.”
State
6A THE ZAPATA TIMES
Hope flickers for pot reforms By PAUL J. WEBER ASSOCIATED PRESS
AUSTIN — At the end of a historic week for weed in Texas, state Rep. Stephanie Klick admitted Friday that she weighed the political risk of being a Republican and carrying a bill to allow a marijuana component for medicinal purposes. Full-blown legalization in Colorado and Washington is shifting public opinion, and even in such states with conservative governors such as Wisconsin and Florida, reform advocates point to tiny victories. But in Texas, Klick considered her next election. “That thought did occur to me,” she said. “But we owe it to these families that have a loved one with intractable epilepsy to give them some new hope.” Marijuana is on a roll like never before in the Republican-controlled Legislature. Three bills that would decriminalize pot or legalize a marijuana oil to treat seizures cleared key votes this week — a milestone in Texas, where tough-oncrime conservatives have long considered marijuana reform a punchline instead of a possibility. “We’ve never seen a week like in Texas before,” said Phillip Martin, deputy director of the left-leaning Progress Texas, which is pushing marijuana reforms. “This is unprecedented progress.” Most of the gains are purely symbolic. One bill sent to the House floor makes it legal to buy and sell pot in Texas, but it has virtually no chance of going further, much less to the desk of Republican Gov. Greg Abbott. Less of a longshot, but still unlikely, is a bill that would punish those having small amounts of pot with a ticket instead of arrest. That leaves Klick’s proposal as the biggest favorite, even though the measure isn’t considered medical marijuana by many advocates. It would limit legalization of Cannabidiol oil, which is extract from the marijuana plant but doesn’t produce the high associated with other parts. The proposal overwhelmingly cleared the Senate on Thursday, and a House vote could come as early as next week. Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker and Florida Gov. Rick Scott, both Republi-
Wells tested after quake ASSOCIATED PRESS
AUSTIN — The Texas Railroad Commission is requiring the operators of five disposal wells near a sharp earthquake to perform some tests. In a statement Friday, the commission says Bosque Disposal Systems LLC, EOG Resources Inc., MetroSaltwater Disposal Inc. and Pinnergy Ltd have agreed to shut down the wells temporarily until results are in on the tests, which will be made within days. The testing will help determine the effect of wastewater injection into subsurface rock formations in the area where a 4.0 magnitude earthquake was centered Thursday about 30 miles southwest of Dallas The quake was the sharpest ever detected in North Texas. It injured no one but caused minor damage to two mobile home foundations.
Marijuana is on a roll like never before in the Republicancontrolled Legislature. Three bills that would decriminalize pot or legalize a marijuana oil to treat seizures cleared key votes this week. cans, signed similar bills into law last year. That gives supporters hope that Abbott could do the same with three weeks left before the Legislature adjourns. Texas is among 22 states that prohibit all forms of recreational and medicinal marijuana use. Marijuana’s most successful session in Texas is happening under a Legislature that pushed further rightward last fall after big upsets by conservative insurgents. The Texas Republican Party platform doesn’t endorse medical marijuana, and as recently as a few months ago, the Travis County GOP narrowly declined to signal support. Even Klick said she wouldn’t support either of the decriminalization measures that have advanced. But she admits that even two years ago, she wouldn’t have backed the cannabis oil bill she now sponsors. Republican political consultant Matt Mackowiak said shifting public opinion and conservative momentum for criminal justice reforms have given Texas GOP lawmakers new perspective, as well as political cover. “There was a certainly a time, and it was pretty recently, that supporting any type of this legislation would have been a political liability,” Republican political consultant Matt Mackowiak said. “That day is changing.”
SATURDAY, MAY 9, 2015
Students take aim at statue By DAVID WARREN ASSOCIATED PRESS
DALLAS — Pity Jefferson Davis, if you will. Vandals have defaced his statue on the University of Texas campus, most recently with the words “Davis must fall” and “Emancipate UT.” Student leaders are also seeking to remove from the Austin campus the centuryold statue that recognizes the president of the Confederacy. “We thought, there are those old ties to slavery and some would find it offensive,” said senior Jamie Nalley, who joined an overwhelming majority of the Student Government in adopting a resolution in March supporting his ouster. But as students take aim at Davis, the number of sites in Texas on public and private land that honor the Confederacy is growing — despite the opposition of the NAACP and others. Supporters cite their right to memorialize Confederate veterans and their role in Texas history, while opponents argue the memorials are too often insensitive or antagonistic, while having the backing of public institutions like UT. The Texas Historical Commission has recognized more than 1,000 such sites from far South Texas to the upper reaches of the Panhandle. And the Sons of Confederate Veterans are planning others, including a 10-foot obelisk a few miles from the Davis statue to honor about 450 Confederate soldiers buried at the city-owned Oakwood Cemetery. “I don’t think we’re trying to put up stuff just to put up stuff,” said Marshall Davis, spokesman for the Sons of Confederate Veter-
Photo by Eric Gay | AP
A statue of Jefferson Davis is seen on the University of Texas campus, in Austin. University of Texas administrators are considering a request to remove this statue that symbolizes the Confederacy. ans in Texas. “We don’t want to impede anyone else from honoring their heroes. We would like to honor our heroes with the same consideration, tolerance and diversity.” Besides the obelisk, other recent projects include a Confederate memorial along Interstate 10 in the East Texas city of Orange that will feature 32 waving flags representing Texas regiments of the Confederate army, along with 13 columns for each Confederate state. That project began after a Confederate Veterans Memorial Plaza was unveiled two years ago in downtown Palestine, near what the NAACP says was the site of a “hanging tree.” As for Jefferson Davis, student leaders and the NAACP say his statue has no place on the UT campus since his link to Texas is primarily based on the state’s ties to the Confederate States of America. “I think it’s offensive that you exalt Jefferson Davis but you don’t exalt Abraham Lincoln,” said Gary Bledsoe, president of the Texas NAACP. The Student Government resolution has been forwarded to campus ad-
ministrators but no action has been taken, according to a university spokesman. Don Carleton, executive director of the Briscoe Center for American History at UT, said the Davis statue and many other memorials installed across the South in the early 1900s were commissioned by aging Civil War veterans who were increasingly outspoken that it was states’ rights and not slavery that motivated their actions. Late in his life, George Washington Littlefield — a Confederate officer, UT regent and prominent benefactor to the school — had commissioned Italian artist Pompeo Coppini to build a fountain and statues to Littlefield’s heroes, Carleton said. The artist sought to include a statue of President Woodrow Wilson and
arrange a fountain configuration that represented the country moving beyond its fractured past and unifying behind the fight against Germany and its allies in World War I. But Littlefield later died, money dried up and Coppini’s vision was never fully realized, Carleton said. Instead, statues of Davis, President George Washington, Confederate General Robert E. Lee, Confederate Postmaster General John Reagan and others were scattered about the campus without context. Carleton said aside from the symbolism of the statues, they’re works of art and should be preserved. He suggests adding explanatory plaques that describe the original intention. The Texas Historical Commission has records of the more than 1,000 sites in the state that memorialize the Confederacy — from a cemetery in San Antonio and marker honoring Gen. Lawrence “Sul” Ross at Sul Ross State University in Alpine to a building in Marshall that housed the Civil War State Government of Missouri in exile. The effort to remove the Davis statue is ill-conceived, said Marshall Davis. “The fact that the state of Texas joined the Confederate States of America is history. It happened,” he said.
State
SATURDAY, MAY 9, 2015
Lege eyes top 10 funds By MATTHEW WATKINS TEXAS TRIBUNE
A state-funded college scholarship program designed to keep top students in Texas may soon be axed due to lawmaker concerns that it doesn’t have enough money to accomplish its goal. Budget proposals passed by the House and Senate each call for $21.4 million in cuts to the Top 10 Percent Scholarship Program, leaving just enough money to cover students who are already receiving the financial aid. Once the existing students graduate or are no longer eligible, the budget would drop to zero and the program would be eliminated, meaning thousands of future students will miss out on that financial aid opportunity. The two chambers still need to reconcile their budgets and approve a final two-year spending plan, so the cuts aren’t a done deal. But lawmakers and higher education leaders say they don’t expect a late reprieve, arguing that the amount students receive from the scholarship has dwindled so much in recent years — down to $600 this year — that it’s no longer worth keeping. Meanwhile, a couple of other financial aid programs are getting boosts from the Legislature this session, leading some education advocates to question why any scholarships need to be cut at all. “It is a false choice to discuss moving $22 million from one program to another when the Legislature is simultaneously proposing almost $5 billion in tax cuts,” said Garrett Groves, program director at the liberal Center for Public Policy Priorities. “We could double our investments on nearly all financial aid programs and still have enough to provide a $3.8 billion tax cut.” Currently, all students who finish in the top 10 percent of their public high school class qualify
Currently, all students who finish in the top 10 percent of their public high school class qualify for the scholarship, as long as they can show that their expected family contribution is at least one dollar less than the cost of attending school. There were 16,590 students who met that standard this year. Under the program, each recipient gets the same amount, which is determined by how much money is available. But that amount has dropped as the number of qualified students has grown — the reason lawmakers think it’s unsustainable. for the scholarship, as long as they can show that their expected family contribution is at least one dollar less than the cost of attending school. There were 16,590 students who met that standard this year. Under the program, each recipient gets the same amount, which is determined by how much money is available. But that amount has dropped as the number of qualified students has grown — the reason lawmakers think it’s unsustainable. In 2009, the program’s first year, recipients received $2,000. As designed, the program was also to include an extra $2,000 for students who majored in a science, technology, engineering or mathematics. But from the get-go, there was never enough money in the program’s budget to fund the bonus. And in recent years, there hasn’t even been enough money to fund the first $2,000. Lawmakers cut $11.4 million from the program in 2011 to help cover a budget shortfall. Meanwhile, the number of students who qualified continued to grow, spreading the funds even thinner. “The Texas Higher Edu-
cation Coordinating Board commented that due to the demand of the program, the award has become too low to compete with scholarship programs from universities outside of Texas that attract the same students,” state Sen. Larry Taylor, R-Friendswood, said in a statement. Taylor chaired the Senate working group that handled higher education appropriations. But officials from the coordinating board, which administers the program, said they didn’t necessarily intend for the program to be axed. It raised the idea of cutting the program during a strategic budget review when it was required to say how it would handle a hypothetical 10 percent cut in its overall budget. “If we had unlimited resources, we certainly would love to fund the program at the $2,000 reward, and then the $2,000 bonus for students that were majoring in STEM fields,” said Linda Battles, deputy commissioner for the coordinating board. Another possible factor in the cuts: The creator of the program, former Senate Finance Committee
Chairman Steve Ogden, RBryan, is no longer in the Senate. Ogden didn’t return a message seeking comment Thursday. In his statement, Taylor noted that other financial aid programs will likely receive increased funding. The Senate budget that he helped write includes an additional $83.4 million for TEXAS Grants, which provide $5,000 to students who start college within 16 months of graduating from high school and have demonstrated financial need. The House version of the budget adds $37.7 million. The House and Senate budgets also propose adding money to the Texas Educational Opportunity Grant program, which targets students attending two-year colleges. The House budget adds $41 million, while the Senate’s version adds $27 million. But in addition to eliminating the Top 10 Percent scholarships, lawmakers are also likely to begin phasing out the state’s BOn-Time program, which offers students loans that are forgivable if they graduate in four years. That program received $80.5 million for the current two-year budget cycle.
THE ZAPATA TIMES 7A
Abbott’s pre-K bill easily passes Senate By MORGAN SMITH TEXAS TRIBUNE
A key early education bill backed by Gov. Greg Abbott has cleared both chambers of the Legislature, with the Texas Senate on Thursday capping funding for the pre-kindergarten grant program at $130 million and approving it 25 to 6. The money is intended to coax school districts into improving existing pre-K programs, which the state currently funds for students from low-income, English-language learning, military and foster families. The measure offers up to $1,500 per child to school districts that agree to implement certain teacher quality and curriculum measures over the next two years. The House must decide whether to accept changes made by the Senate before the bill can head to Abbott’s desk. The six votes against House Bill 4 all came from Republicans: Troy Fraser of Horseshoe Bay, Van Taylor of Plano, Konni Burton of Colleyville, Don Huffines of Dallas, Bob Hall of Edgewood and Brandon Creighton of Conroe. “I applaud Governor Abbott’s efforts to enhance the pre-kindergarten program for families that do not have the luxury of keeping their child in a home-learning environment, but our current prekindergarten funding level of $1.5 billion is more than sufficient to reach that goal,” Creighton said in a statement after the vote. The bill has encountered opposition from a number of conservative groups that view the program as a step toward requiring pre-K for every child.
The bill’s supporters — including its Senate sponsor, state Sen. Donna Campbell, R-New Braunfels — have repeatedly stated that is not the case. “I want to send a clear message that these dollars are for quality, not expansion,” Campbell said as she introduced the legislation on the floor. The plan has received lukewarm reviews from early education policy experts, who say it stops short of promoting two reforms they view as fundamental to quality pre-K: class-size limits and fullday programs. Critics also say school districts may not make long-term investments in higher standards because the funding comes in the form of grants that are subject to the whims of the Legislature, rather than through relatively more stable school finance formulas. The $130 million likely to be included in the final budget for the plan is a little over half of the $208 million the Legislature cut in 2011 from grants that helped districts expand their pre-K programs. Shortly after the vote on Thursday, Abbott issued a statement praising the Senate’s action. “Today’s vote is essential to implementing high-quality education standards for Texas pre-K students, providing them with the tools necessary to succeed, and improving accountability and transparency measures for participating pre-K programs across the state,” he said. “Working together we can — and will — strengthen the foundation for the future success of our state’s early education system for generations to come.”
Nation
8A THE ZAPATA TIMES
Warnings expanded as Ana nears US ASSOCIATED PRESS
MIAMI — A tropical storm warning was issued Friday for parts of North and South Carolina as Ana approached the U.S. coast, kicking up rough surf and rip currents ahead of what was forecast to be a rainy weekend. The storm formed nearly a month before the Atlantic Hurricane season officially kicks off June 1. The U.S. National Hurricane Center in Miami said Friday that Ana’s maximum sustained winds are near 45 mph with slight strengthening forecast during the next day or so. The storm is centered about 170 miles south-southeast of Myrtle Beach, South Carolina. The Hurricane Center says it’s been nearly stationary over the last few hours but is expected to move north-northwest later in the day. The tropical storm warning was expanded Friday afternoon and now extends from the south Santee River in South Carolina to Cape Lookout, North Carolina. Rain is a concern because the system is moving so slow and won’t clear out quickly. Ana is expected to deliver 2 to 4 inches of rain over
the weekend, with some areas getting up to 6 inches. Ana is currently a subtropical system, meaning it has characteristics of both a tropical storm, which gets its energy from warm ocean waters, and a traditional storm system driven by temperature changes. “There’s that just little prefix ‘sub’ before the storm that has meaning for meteorologists, but to the public it doesn’t really matter,” said James Franklin, chief of the Hurricane Center’s Hurricane Specialist Unit. Forecasters are also warning people to avoid dangerous surf and rip currents being kicked up by the storm. Some isolated flooding is also expected in some areas along the coast. “We’ve lost a lot of lives in rip currents, let’s try not to do that this weekend,” said Hurricane Center director Rick Knabb. May storms aren’t unusual, with one forming every few years or so, Knabb said. But Ana marks the earliest subtropical or tropical storm to form in the Atlantic since another storm named Ana in 2003, the Hurricane Center said in a tweet.
SATURDAY, MAY 9, 2015
Oklahoma braces for more By SEAN MURPHY ASSOCIATED PRESS
MOORE, Okla. — When spring arrives in Oklahoma and conditions are right for tornadoes, David Wheeler and his family don’t take any chances. Two years ago, a top-ofthe-scale twister tore a miles-long path through this Oklahoma City suburb and turned Wheeler’s son’s school into a pile of rubble. That’s when he installed a small underground shelter in his garage. Now the family regularly drills on what to do if the skies turn ominous. “Today we’ve been nervous,” Wheeler, a fifth-grade teacher whose family has survived two deadly tornadoes, said Friday. “We’ve done some dry runs before the spring. I made the kids go down there by themselves, and we’ve done the same thing with me, the wife and the kids, all together.” The Wheeler family retreated underground nearly a dozen times on Wednesday night, when a powerful thunderstorm that rumbled across the southern Plains produced more than 50 tornadoes. The menacing clouds had barely vanished before forecasters began warning of another system that could produce even more violent twisters through the weekend in parts of Kansas, Oklahoma and North Texas. “We’re going to see storms that present the risk of a full gamut of severe weather,” including large hail, high winds and tornadoes, said Todd Lindley, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service. The Plains states were not the only ones with threatening skies. Twin weather systems stretching from the Carolinas to California produced an unseasonably early tropical storm in the Atlantic and a late snowstorm in the Rocky Mountains. Snow was also possible in
Photo by Jerilee Bennett/The Gazette | AP
City street workers try to clear a drain that could be leading to street flooding on Las Vegas St. just east of Nevada Ave. on Friday, in Colorado Spring, Colorado. The Pikes Peak region is saturated because of recent storms, and more storms are in the forecast. the Nebraska Panhandle, which could get up to 5 inches, and parts of South Dakota, which could receive as much as a foot, according to the weather service. Heavy rain that accompanied the last round of storms has swollen Oklahoma creeks and rivers, dramatically increasing the likelihood of flash flooding as the next round of storms approaches, Lindley added. “There’s a lot of standing water out there, and these storms are not moving terribly fast, so they’re producing a lot of water in some places,” he said. One deluge was so heavy that a 43-year-old Oklahoma City woman drowned after becoming trapped inside her underground storm cellar. “It just flooded with her in it, and she couldn’t get out because it was like a river coming down on top of her,” police Sgt. Gary Knight said. “I don’t recall it ever raining like that before.” Skylyna Stewart’s body was discovered in an older,
underground shelter detached from the home. The 7.1 inches that fell in Oklahoma City was the third-heaviest rainfall for any day on record, dating back to 1890, said state climatologist Gary McManus. Radar data from the part of the city where Stewart’s body was recovered indicated as much as 8 to 12 inches may have fallen. “Part of the problem was that we had gotten a lot of rain earlier,” McManus said. “The soils were moist, and the rain had nowhere to go.” A few miles away in Moore, Kelly Ruffin said she and her family took shelter from the storms in an underground shelter installed in their garage when water from the heavy rains began leaking in. “It was a heavy trickle at first, and within about 10 or 15 seconds, it was gushing,” Ruffin said. “We had to decide if we were going to stay down there and drown or get out, because the sirens were going off. We decided
to get out.” Wheeler and his family are not the only ones who sought extra protection after the 2013 tornado that killed 24 people, including seven children who died in an elementary school. In the two years since, the city has issued more than 3,000 storm shelter permits. City officials estimate that about 40 percent of homes in Moore now have shelters, spokeswoman Deidre Ebrey said. Blake Lee of F5 Storm Shelters & Safe Rooms described the drowning as a “really, really freak deal.” “It was a flash-flooding situation, and we got more rain yesterday than we typically get in a month,” Lee said. It’s not uncommon for an underground shelter to leak, Lee said, and he encouraged people who have one to check them every few months to ensure they’re not filling up with water. “It can happen,” he said. “But it’s a really easy fix.”
SÁBADO 9 DE MAYO DE 2015
Ribereña en Breve INSCRIPCIONES El Zapata County Independent School District anunció que una segunda oportunidad para inscripciones estará disponible el lunes, de 8:30 a.m. a 11 a.m. y de 12 p.m. a 4:30 p.m. en el Administration Building, ubicado en 1302 de calle Glen.
CORTE DE COMISIONADOS La Corte de Comisionados del Condado de Zapata se reunirá el lunes 11 de mayo en el Palacio de Justicia del Condado de Zapata. La junta comenzará a las 9 a.m. y continuará hasta las 12 p.m.
ESPECTÁCULO DE LUCHA LIBRE MIGUEL ALEMÁN, México — A fin de recaudar fondos y adquirir equipo adecuado para realizar deporte en las escuelas de Miguel Alemán se llevará a cabo un espectáculo de lucha libre el viernes 15 de mayo en el Centro Cívico (dentro de los terrenos de la Expo Feria) a las 5 p.m. El Supervisor de Tránsito, Antonio Santos Ramírez, informó que será un evento familiar. Entre los luchadores que participarán se encuentran Granda XXX y Mascara Sagrada Junior, Ator y los minis del cuadrilátero, los luchadores enanitos Voladorcito, La Parquita y Brazalete de Plata y de Platino. Santos Ramírez agregó que previo al evento se realizará un desfile con los luchadores participantes.
CAMPAMENTO DE VERANO Del 9 de junio al 2 de julio, tendrá lugar un Campamento de Verano, para los estudiantes de ZCISD desde preescolar a quinto año. Las sesiones serán de 8 a.m. a 12 p.m. y de 12 p.m. a 4 p.m. El desayuno y el almuerzo serán proporcionados. El campamento es gratuito, sin embargo, los estudiantes deberán cumplir con las normativas de fin de año para ser elegibles. Las solicitudes de ingreso deberán ser entregadas antes del 14 de mayo. Durante el campamento no habrá servicio de transporte. Para más información puede llamar a Gerardo García al (956) 765-6917; a Dalia García, al (956) 765-4332; a Ana Martínez, al (956) 765-5611; o a Marlen Guerra al (956) 765-4321.
CAMPAÑA MÉDICO-ASISTENCIAL MIGUEL ALEMAN — Se implementará la primer campaña médico asistencial propuesta por miembros de los ministerios nacionales “Betel” el 11 de junio, de 8 a.m. a 5 p.m. El grupo de 15 personas, entre médicos y enfermeros, estarán representados por la misionera Deana Gatlin. Además traerán consigo ropa, medicamentos y despensas. El Presidente Municipal, Ramiro Cortez, informó que los misioneros evangélicos viajarán a las comunidades rurales del sur de Miguel Alemán el 13 de junio.
EXHIBICIÓN DE ARTE El Boys and Girls Club de Zapata tendrá una exhibición de arte, el sábado 27 de junio, de 1 p.m. a 4 p.m. La participación es exclusiva para integrantes del club. Las personas que gusten inscribirse pueden acudir al club o llamar al (956) 765-3892.
Zfrontera
PÁGINA 9A
CONDADO DE ZAPATA
Atención a veteranos TIEMPO DE ZAPATA
Veteranos que residen en el Condado de Zapata podrán recibir los servicios que requieren, sin necesidad de viajar 40 millas para recibir atención. Esta semana, el Congresista Henry Cuellar (D-TX28) anunció la expansión del Programa Choice del Departamento de Asuntos para Veteranos (VA), para vetera-
nos elegibles que necesiten atención médica. Ante Veteranos del Condado de Zapata, Cuellar explicó la expansión permitirá a los veteranos utilizar una instalación médica más cercana, en tanto reciban la pre-autorización por parte de TriWest, el proveedor de servicios para VA. “No es justo para muchos de estos veteranos el tener que via-
jar muchas millas solo para recibir atención médica”, dijo Cuellar. “De ahora en adelante, si un veterano vive más allá de 40 millas de una clínica VA, todo lo que tienen que hacer es obtener la preautorización de parte de TriWest para visitar otra instalación y recibir el cuidado que merecen. Esto quiere decir que veteranos en el Condado de Zapata ahora pueden obtener los servi-
cios que necesitan, merecen, aquí en casa”. De esta manera, el veterano, una vez que cuente con la preautorización, podrá acudir al hospital o clínica más cercana que sea parte de su sistema. Cuellar se reunió con Veteranos del Condado de Zapata en el Zapata County Technical and Advanced Education Center (ZTAC).
ELECCIONES 2015
COMUNIDAD
VISITAN FRONTERA
Ayudan víctimas violencia sexual
Candidatas de Distrito 1 escuchan a residentes
ESPECIAL PARA TIEMPO DE ZAPATA
TIEMPO DE ZAPATA
A fin de ofrecer sus plataformas de campaña, en vías a las elecciones del 7 de junio, candidatas a la diputación federal del Partido Encuentro Social (PES), Partido Acción Nacional (PAN), y Partido Revolucionario Institucional (PRI), viajan a las ciudades que conforman la frontera chica, y que a la vez son parte del Distrito I de Nuevo Laredo, México.
Foto de cortesía
La candidata del PRI, Yahleel Abdala Carmona recorrió Miguel Alemán, México, donde escuchó las necesidades de los residentes del sector.
Yahleel Abdala Carmona La candidata del PRI, Yahleel Abdala Carmona recorrió Miguel Alemán, México, donde dijo que respaldará iniciativas de ley que reduzcan las horas de trabajo de las madres de familia, y el aumento en el número de becas escolares. Abdala expuso que, de ganar el proceso electoral, ubicará en Miguel Alemán una oficina de gestoría para atender a los habitantes. “No sólo no nos olvidaremos de esta importante parte del distrito uno, sino que estaremos en contacto permanente con la ciudadanía a través de la oficina de gestión, porque buscaremos el beneficio de todos nuestros representados”, dijo ella. Por otra parte, visitó la presa Marte R. Gómez ubicada en la comunidad de Comales del municipio de Camargo, México. Abdala dijo que la presa tiene un potencial desaprovechado en materia pesquera y turística que puede corregirse aterrizando programas federales para mejorar el desarrollo económico de la zona. A bordo de un catamarán, Abdala atendió un acto masivo en la plaza principal de Comales donde expuso su intención de bajar recursos federales en programas de beneficio ciudadano. “Venimos a hacerles propuestas, no promesas”, dijo.
Foto de cortesía
Natalia Gisselle García Fernández, candidata del partido PES, escucha a residentes del Distrito I, durante una visita de campaña.
Natalia García Fernández La candidata del PES, Natalia Gisselle García Fernández, declaró que los gobiernos tradicionales se han olvidado de gobernar, por lo que es necesario que, para fortalecer la credibilidad en las instituciones, los titulares del INE, IFAI, CNDH, incluyendo al zar anticorrupción, deben ser nombrados por ciudadanos. “Solo mediante la participación del ciudadano que sufre (…) lograremos impulsar un gobierno que realmente responda a las exigencias de la comunidad”, destacó García. “Si abrimos los cauces legales, tal como lo concibe nuestro partido, serán los propios ciudadanos, los únicos facultados para nombrar a los titulares de organismos como el Instituto Nacional Electoral (INE), Instituto Federal de Acceso a la Información (IFAI), la Comisión Nacional de los Derechos Humanos (CNDH), así como al Fiscal Anticorrupción, para acabar con privilegios para la clase política en nuestro país”. El Distrito I lo integran los municipios de Nuevo Laredo, Nueva Ciudad Guerrero, Ciudad
Foto de cortesía
La candidata del PAN, Laura Zárate Quezada, expuso sus tres propuestas principales a los residentes de Nueva Ciudad, Guerrero, Tamaulipas. Mier, Ciudad Miguel Alemán y Camargo. García dijo que “en este esfuerzo, estamos sumados los militantes y candidatos a puestos de elección popular, porque este es un proyecto de nación que todos buscamos de cara a las elecciones”.
Laura Zárate Quezada La candidata del PAN, Laura Zárate Quezada, dijo que tiene tres propuestas principales. La primera propuesta es bajar el IVA al 11%, la segunda es aumentar el salario mínimo, y la tercera es garantizar la seguridad. “La inseguridad se combate con inteligencia, con más espacios públicos para divertirse y ocuparse, con más escuelas pre-
paratorias, con mucho más oportunidades de empleo para jóvenes, mujeres y hombres, empleos bien pagados para todos”, dijo ella. Durante una visita a Nueva Ciudad Guerrero, sus residentes le expusieron la necesidad de ayuda para recuperar la economía y fortalecer el sector productivo. “Guerrero tiene 60 años en el olvido”, indicó Zárate. “Queremos llegar al Congreso de la Unión para seguir respondiéndole a la gente, bajar recursos y programas de apoyo social, el cambio no se da en un año o tres, al cambio se le tiene que dar continuidad para seguir avanzando como se ha hecho hasta ahora”. Zárate también visitó Miguel Alemán, y el poblado de los Guerra.
WASHINGTON — RAINN lanzó apoyo confidencial y gratuito para los sobrevivientes hispanohablantes de la violencia sexual por medio de la Línea de Ayuda Nacional Online del Asalto Sexual. El nuevo servicio en español estará disponible en rainn.org/es, y en español. Un subsidio de Vision 21 de la Oficina para las víctimas de crímenes del Departamento de Justicia hizo posible este nuevo apoyo. La Línea de ayuda le proporciona a los sobrevivientes del asalto sexual ayuda individualizada, y tendrán acceso a los servicios de apoyo confidenciales, así como a la información sobre la atención a corto y a largo plazo, las opciones médicas y el proceso de justicia penal. El personal de RAINN también puede referir a los visitantes a los servicios locales que cumplan con sus necesidades a largo plazo. “Esta iniciativa de RAINN engloba el tipo de trabajo que el campo debe asumir para que todas las víctimas de crímenes tengan acceso no solamente a los servicios, sino también acceso que sea lingüísticamente accesible y competente a nivel cultural”, dijo Joye Frost, la directora de la Oficina para las víctimas de crímenes. Los visitantes pueden acceder por computador o dispositivo móvil a cualquier hora. A la fecha se han ayudado a más de 250.000 personas. “Más del 70% de nuestros visitantes son menores de 24 años de edad, y a menudo les escuchamos decir, “Usted es la primera persona a quien le he contado”“, dijo Candice Lopez, directora de la Línea de Ayuda Nacional Online del Asalto Sexual. Además, los visitantes hispanohablantes tendrán acceso a una herramienta de búsqueda nueva en centros.rainn.org. La herramienta le permite a los usuarios buscar por estado o código postal para identificar los proveedores de servicios en español más cercanos para las víctimas del asalto sexual. Los servicios proporcionados por los proveedores locales por lo general son de bajo costo o gratuitos y podrían incluir asesoría, asistencia social individualizada o defensa legal. Además se ha ampliado el contenido informativo de RAINN.org para brindar información sobre la recuperación, consejos prácticos y consejería en español. Más adelante este año, RAINN ampliará sus servicios en español para incluir un sistema de conversación en grupo online.
Consideraciones Las conversaciones online de RAINN son completamente anónimas. La tecnología no captura las direcciones IP de los usuarios. La Línea de ayuda online la operan especialistas de apoyo capacitados profesionalmente. El personal no tiene que saber información de identificación personal sobre los visitantes de la línea de ayuda para poder proporcionarles ayuda y recursos. (Con informacióm de PRNewswire-HISPANIC PR WIRE)
International
10A THE ZAPATA TIMES
SATURDAY, MAY 9, 2015
Libya rejects European Union migrant plan By CARA ANNA ASSOCIATED PRESS
UNITED NATIONS — Libya’s ambassador to the United Nations is largely rejecting a European Union plan to fight the growing migrant crisis that is centered in his crumbling country, saying his Westernbacked government hasn’t even been consulted and ruling out EU forces on Libyan soil “at this stage.” In an interview Friday with The Associated Press, Ambassador Ibrahim Dabbashi said the best way to resolve the issue is to arm the “legitimate” government. A rival regime is backed by Islamist-allied militias who have taken the capital, Tripoli. And the ambassador warned that if there is no progress in U.N.-led peace talks between the two sides in the coming weeks, his government, which is under a U.N. arms embargo, “has
Photo by Antonio Calanni | AP
Migrants stand on the Iceland Coast Guard vessel Tyr, at the Messina harbor, Sicily, Italy, on Wednesday. Smugglers in Libya took advantage of calm seas and warm weather to send thousands of would-be refugees out into the Mediterranean. to take necessary steps even to take the capital by force.” Dabbashi said his government has been left out of the urgent international discussion of the migrant crisis, with thousands of people from the Middle East and Africa departing from Libya’s shore for Europe and many dying at sea. The
crisis has grown amid the chaos that has consumed Libya since the overthrow of dictator Moammar Gadhafi in 2011, after military intervention. Diplomats have been working quickly on a draft Security Council resolution, which would be militarily enforceable, to authorize an
European Union operation that would seize suspected migrant smuggling ships on the high seas, in Libya’s territorial waters and even on the country’s coast. The EU’s foreign policy chief, Federica Mogherini, is due to brief the council Monday. Council diplomats say Libya’s blessing is needed, especially for any EU ground forces in Libya. The council expects a request from Libyan authorities to allow that to happen, Lithuanian Ambassador Raimonda Murmokaite, council president, said Thursday. On Friday, Dabbashi gave a different impression. “They never asked anything of us. Why should we send them this letter?” he asked. He added, “We will not accept any boots on the ground.” He called the idea of deploying more boats to the waters off Libya to save migrants a “completely stupid decision” because it would
encourage even more migrants to come to his country, further burdening local authorities. And he rejected the idea of destroying the migrant smuggling boats, saying it would be difficult to distinguish between those and other boats. The “only way out” of the migrant crisis, he said, is to help his government, based in the east, to extend its control throughout the country, which also is now facing the rise of groups aligned with the Islamic State organization. “Once the government retakes the capital, Tripoli, and controls the whole western area of Libya, I think it would be very easy to stop this flow of illegal immigrants to Europe because we know everyone who is involved in this business,” he said, saying the smuggling operations are largely based in the west. Several council members
earlier this year blocked his government’s request to import a large shipment of arms amid concerns that weapons would fall into the wrong hands. Because of a U.N. arms embargo, Libya’s government must ask for exemptions to import arms. A frustrated Dabbashi said arms are needed to fight the Islamic State group and that “the first victims” of such refusals will be Europe, saying “the terrorists will infiltrate ... Europe itself.” He called on European governments to pressure council members to allow arms requests, and blamed two council members in particular, the United States and Britain. “Maybe they don’t care if the immigration continues or not because they are far away from it,” he said. Dabbashi said he expressed his views just two days ago in a meeting with a deputy U.S. ambassador, Michele Sison.
SECTION A-1 NOTICE TO BIDDERS Sealed bids will be received at the Zapata County Judge’s Office, Zapata, Texas, until May 18, 2015, 2:00 p.m., and then publicly opened, read and taken under advisement for the furnishing of all necessary machinery, equipment, labor, superintendence, and all other services and appurtenances required for Zapata County Tx-DOT Lift Station Relocation U.S. 83 Project, for the County of Zapata, Texas. Said bid shall be marked, Zapata County Tx-DOT Lift Station Relocations U.S. 83 Project, Installing all required materials and equipment for a full functioning Lift Station on Veleno Creek including backup generator with ATS. Zapata County will furnish materials i.e. wet well, pumps, control panels, generator and auto transfer switch Each proposal and the proposal guaranty must be originals and must be sealed in an envelope plainly marked with the name of the project as shown above, and the name and address of the Bidder. When submitted by mail, this envelope shall be placed in another envelope addressed as indicated in this Notice to Bidders and shall be the responsibility of the sender to insure that the bid is in on time in the correct place. Only bids and bid guaranties actually in the hands of the designated official at the time set in this Notice to Bidders shall be considered. It shall be the responsibility of the contractor to insure the bid is received. Bids submitted by telephone, telegraph, or fax, will not be considered. Once bids have been opened no other bids shall be considered. Bidders are expressly advised to review Section C-3.10 of the General Conditions of the proposed Contract as to the causes, which may lead to the disqualification of a bidder and/or the rejection of a bid proposal. Unless all bids are rejected, the Owner agrees to give Notice of Award of Contract to the successful bidder within sixty (60) sixty days of the bid opening. Bidders are expected to inspect the site of the work and inform themselves regarding all local conditions. An on-site pre-bid meeting will be mandatory for this project. Copies of the Bid/Contract Documents may be obtained by depositing $100.00 with Premier Civil Engineering, LLC. for each set of documents obtained. Half of the deposit will be refunded if the documents and drawings are returned in good condition within ten (10) days following the bid opening. The County of Zapata reserves the right to reject any or all bids or to waive any informalities in the bidding process. Bids may be held by the The County of Zapata, for a period not to exceed 30 days from the date of the bid opening for the purpose of reviewing the bids and investigating the bidder’s qualifications prior to the contract award. The County of Zapata is an Equal Opportunity and Affirmative Action Employer; small, minority and female owned firms are encouraged to submit bid proposals for this project.
SATURDAY, MAY 9, 2015
THE ZAPATA TIMES 11A
THE MARKET IN REVIEW DAILY DOW JONES
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RyersonH n 7.80 +1.99 +34.3 ChGerui rs NeoPhoton 7.07 +1.32 +23.0 Calithera n SilvrSpNet 11.95 +2.16 +22.1 MYOS Imperva 53.98 +8.87 +19.7 aTyrPhm n FXCM 2.15 +.33 +18.1 AlderBioPh MarcusMill 42.64 +5.97 +16.3 LoJack TableauA 110.69+13.26 +13.6 Stamps.cm BBarrett 10.25 +1.21 +13.4 InterCld wt Koppers 26.13 +3.07 +13.3 SolarEdg n TriumphGp 65.85 +7.74 +13.3 InterCloud
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sexual assault — pose a “significant safety risk,” according to the warning. Webb County Sheriff Martin said Thursday he agreed with the warning. Cuellar added people should only go across in an emergency situation or if it’s imperative for people to go over there. “Whether they go in an emergency situation or not, it’s still dangerous,” Cuellar said. “The information that we receive (shows) there’s still unrest over there. Warnings are issued for a reason.”
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North Texas overnight, flooding roads and damaging train tracks in an area where a freight train derailed, officials said. Several tornadoes skipped through Wise, Denton and Cooke counties late Thursday, damaging some structures, said Jesse Moore, a forecaster in Fort Worth. Officials had no immediate reports of injuries. “That one thunderstorm that produced a tornado, I know it dropped down several times, but it wasn’t on the ground the whole time,” Moore said. It was the second straight night of storms, and forecasters warned that the conditions were ripe for even stronger ones Friday and Saturday. A tornado watch was in effect for parts of West Texas and the Panhandle, including Lubbock and Amarillo, until late Friday afternoon. Flooding has been reported Marshall after storms
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Stock Footnotes: g=Dividends and earnings in Canadian dollars .h= Doe not meet continued- listings tandards lf = Late filing with SEC. n = New in past 52 weeks. pf = Preferred. rs = Stock has undergone a reverse stock split of at least 50 percent within the past year. rt = Right to buy security at a specified price. s = Stock has split by at least 20 percent within the last year. un = Units. vj = In bankruptcy or receivership. wd = When distributed. wi = When issued. wt = Warrants. Mutual Fund Footnotes: b = Fee covering market costs is paid from fund assets. d = Deferred sales charge, or redemption fee. f = front load (sales charges). m = Multiple fees are charged. NA = not available. p = previous day’s net asset value. s = fund split shares during the week. x = fund paid a distribution during the week. Gainers and Losers must be worth at least $2 to be listed in tables at left. Most Actives must be worth at least $1. Volume in hundreds of shares. Source: The Associated Press. Sales figures are unofficial.
investigation last year. In March authorities opened a new investigation into his activities after suspecting a “renewed interest in jihad” in connection with the Islamic State group, Comey said. He said that investigation was “open, but far from complete” at the time of the shooting. Ahead of the Texas cartoon contest, the FBI was flagging for local authorities individuals who it thought were interested in the event and might potentially go, including Simpson. The FBI routinely supplies local law enforcement with bulletins when there is important security information it wants to convey. Garland police department spokesman Joe Harn would not confirm that the department received an intelligence bulletin about Simpson. Messages left with the Texas Department of Public Safety were not immediately returned.
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Two incidents went down unnoticed in Nuevo Laredo, Mexico, this week. People took to social media as municipal, state and federal authorities did not release information. At about 10 p.m. Monday the Nuevo Laredo en Vivo blog, a source for social media users seeking information about criminal activity happening in the Sister City, reported shots fired and a chase via Twitter in Colonia Villas de San Miguel in West Nuevo Laredo. No other information was available.
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enforcement officials to access. The terror group has been encouraging its followers to travel to Syria to join the self-created caliphate there, but if they can’t do that, to “kill where you are,” Comey said. “The siren song sits in the pockets, on the mobile phones, of the people who are followers on Twitter,” Comey said. “It’s almost as if there’s a devil sitting on the shoulder, saying ‘Kill! Kill! Kill! Kill!’ all day long.” Simpson came under FBI investigation in 2006 and was convicted five years later following a terrorism-related investigation stemming from what prosecutors said were his plans to travel to Somalia to fight alongside militants there. He was sentenced to three years of probation for making false statements to a federal agent. The FBI continued to track him for several years after that, but closed the
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TERRORISM Continued from Page 1A and those prepared to act on them. The Islamic State has many thousand English-language followers around the world on Twitter, including many in the United States, he said. Simpson himself was apparently an active Twitter user. An account linked to him included a tweet posted shortly before the shooting that said, “May Allah accept us as mujahideen,” or holy warriors. “I know there are other Elton Simpsons out there,” he said. The shooting is part of what authorities have long considered an alarming trend involving would-be recruits for whom technology makes it easier to be exposed to Islamic State propaganda. Beyond the communications that occur in the open, the Islamic State group increasingly makes contact with followers and steers them into forums that allow for encrypted communications that can be harder for law
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The blog twitted the next day at 3:10 p.m. saying shots rang out during a chase by the intersection of Calle Perú and Calle Porfirio Diaz, about two blocks from the sports complex Unidad Deportiva. No other was information was made public. “Violent conflicts between rival criminal elements and/or the Mexican military can occur in all parts of the region and at all times of the day,” states the warning referencing to Tamaulipas. (CÉSAR G. RODRIGUEZ MAY BE REACHED AT 728-2568 OR CESAR@LMTONLINE.COM)
Continued from Page 1A
dumped nearly 6 inches of rain that swamped some streets and highways. The National Weather Service said Marshall, about 140 miles east of Dallas, received more than 2.5 inches of rain by Friday. Nearby Hallsville had 5.8 inches of rain in a 24-hour period. Marshall police Chief Jesus “Eddie” Campa says nobody was hurt but 15 vehicles were caught in high water Friday, including a patrol car. The officer who was driving wasn’t hurt. Several vehicles were abandoned at a flooded underpass in Marshall, with water up to the windshields. Campa says part of U.S. 59 flooded and was closed for several hours, reopening around midmorning Friday. Showers are expected through the weekend in parts of East Texas. The Gainesville area, 65 miles northwest of Dallas,
received more than 5 inches of rain in the 24-hour period ending Friday morning, Moore said. Nearby Valley View had almost 3.5 inches of rain, according to Moore. BNSF Railway officials are trying to determine if the weather caused a 17-car derailment a mile south of Valley View early Friday. Four crewmembers were slightly hurt, said Joe Faust, a spokesman for Fort Worth-based BNSF. “Certainly high wind was reported and high water, but we have not determined a cause yet,” Faust said. Aerial views of the derailment site showed sections of track damaged or washed away. A natural gas well fire in Denton was extinguished before dawn Friday. Nobody was hurt. Eyewitness reports indicate a lightning strike may have started the fire Thursday night, said Lindsey Baker, a spokeswoman for the city.
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British pound expressed in U.S. dollars. All others show dollar in foreign currency.
MUTUAL FUNDS Name AB GlbThmtGrA m Columbia ComInfoA m Eaton Vance WldwHealA m Fidelity Select Biotech d Fidelity Select BrokInv d Fidelity Select CommEq d Fidelity Select Computer d Fidelity Select ConsFin d Fidelity Select Electron d Fidelity Select FinSvc d Fidelity Select SoftwCom d Fidelity Select Tech d T Rowe Price SciTech Vanguard HlthCare Waddell & Reed Adv SciTechA m
Total Assets Total Return/Rank Pct Min Init Obj ($Mlns)NAV 4-wk 12-mo 5-year Load Invt WS 573 91.98 +0.4 +14.5/A +8.8/E 4.25 2,500 ST 2,759 59.74 +1.9 +31.1/A +15.2/C 5.75 2,000 SH 1,076 13.39 -0.6 +35.3/C +21.8/D 5.75 1,000 SH 13,863 251.80 -1.4 +65.0/A +36.3/A NL 2,500 SF 570 76.17 +2.4 +14.3/A +11.4/C NL 2,500 ST 244 32.24 +2.0 +13.1/E +10.8/E NL 2,500 ST 736 81.64 +1.7 +17.5/E +15.5/C NL 2,500 SF 132 13.84 +1.6 +13.4/B +14.1/A NL 2,500 ST 2,221 83.97 +1.2 +32.4/A +18.1/A NL 2,500 SF 1,395 90.58 +1.3 +14.2/A +9.3/D NL 2,500 ST 2,910 116.76 +1.3 +19.3/D +20.7/A NL 2,500 ST 2,818 122.20 +1.3 +25.0/B +16.8/B NL 2,500 ST 3,429 39.91 +1.2 +25.1/B +16.3/B NL 2,500 SH 12,680 229.45 +0.6 +34.7/D +24.0/C NL 3,000 ST 3,697 15.93 +0.1 +15.3/E +18.9/A 5.75 750
CA -Conservative Allocation, CI -Intermediate-Term Bond, ES -Europe Stock, FB -Foreign Large Blend, FG -Foreign LargeGrowth, FV -Foreign Large Value, IH -World Allocation, LB -Large Blend, LG -Large Growth, LV -Large Value, MA Moderate Allocation, MB -Mid-Cap Blend, MV - Mid-Cap Value, SH -Specialty-heath, WS -World Stock, Total Return: Chng in NAV with dividends reinvested. Rank: How fund performed vs. others with same objective: A is in top 20%, E in bottom 20%. Min Init Invt: Minimum $ needed to invest in fund. Source: Morningstar.
Mistrial in NYC missing boy case By COLLEEN LONG ASSOCIATED PRESS
NEW YORK — The murder trial of a man accused in the 1979 disappearance of first-grader Etan Patz ended Friday in a hung jury, leaving one of the nation’s most wrenching missing-children cases still unresolved after nearly two generations. After 18 days of deliberating, jurors said for a third time that they were hopelessly deadlocked — 11-1, in favor of conviction — in the case against Pedro Hernandez. The judge declared a mistrial as Hernandez sat impassively. The Maple Shade, New Jersey, man was a teenage stock clerk at a Manhattan convenience store near where 6-year-old Etan vanished May 25, 1979. He would become one of the first missing children ever pictured on milk cartons. Prosecutors immediately asked to set a new trial date in the case, which frustrated authorities for decades before a tip led them to Hernandez — never before a suspect — and he confessed in 2012. His lawyers said the confession was false and concocted by mental illness, and they said another longtime suspect was the more likely killer. The mistrial left Etan’s parents, who became national advocates for the cause of missing children, to await another trial. “We are frustrated and very disappointed the jury has been unable to make a decision. The long ordeal is not over,” said his father, Stanley Patz. But, he added, “I think we have closure already.” He tried for years to bring the earlier suspect to account for Etan’s death, but after the trial, he said: “I am so convinced Pedro Hernandez kidnapped and killed my son. ... His story is simple, and it makes sense.” Hernandez will remain in jail to await another trial; the first took more than three months. He has a June 10 court date for a status update. Several jurors said they found Hernandez’s confession compellingly detailed and buttressed by admissions he’d made to friends and relatives years before, and those jurors said they felt his mental problems were the result of a guilty conscience. “Pedro Hernandez, you know what you did,” said forewoman Alia Dahhan, who works in the arts. The lone holdout said he felt Hernandez’s mental health history was “a
Photo by Kevin Hagen | AP
Alternate juror C.J. Holm speaks to a reporter after Pedro Hernandez’s murder trial ended in a hung jury, on Friday, in New York. After 18 days of deliberation, a jury couldn’t reach a unanimous decision whether Pedro Hernandez abducted and killed six-year-old Etan Patz in 1979. huge part of this case” and couldn’t stop wondering about the roughly seven hours police questioned him before administering his Miranda rights and turning on a video camera. “Ultimately, I couldn’t find enough evidence that wasn’t circumstantial to convict. I couldn’t get there,” said the juror, Adam Sirois, a health care consultant. Jurors announced they were deadlocked twice before Friday, on April 29 and on Tuesday. Both times, the judge told them to keep trying to reach a verdict. Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus R. Vance Jr. said in a statement he believed there was “clear and corroborated evidence” of Hernandez’s guilt. “The challenges in this case were exacerbated by the passage of time, but they should not, and did not, deter us,” Vance said. One of Hernandez’s lawyers, Harvey Fishbein, said he recognized the Patzes and even New Yorkers at large were yearning to resolve the case. “I would say there’s only a resolution if the correct man is held responsible, and we firmly believe Pedro Hernandez is not the right man,” he said. After Etan’s disappearance, his parents helped shepherd in an era of law enforcement advances that make it easier to track missing children and communicate among agencies. The Patzes were at the White House when President Ronald Reagan named May 25 National Missing Children’s Day. While New York City
detectives frantically searched for the sandyhaired boy, Hernandez moved back to New Jersey and slipped off the radar. His name appears in police files only once, as someone officers encountered while canvassing the neighborhood, before his 2012 confession to choking the boy in the basement of the shop, then putting the body in a bag, putting the bag in a banana box, walking it about two blocks away and dumping it. But Etan’s body was never found. Nor was any trace of clothing or his belongings. Several members of a prayer circle, an ex-wife and a friend testified that Hernandez had told them at different points during the past three decades that he’d harmed a boy in New York. The jury watched hours of his confession and heard from Julie Patz, Etan’s mother, who recounted in clear detail the last time she saw her son. But no physical evidence tied Hernandez to the crime; the corner store closed in the early 1980s. No DNA was found. Hernandez’s ex-wife testified that she once saw part of Etan’s missing-child poster in a box belonging to Hernandez, but authorities turned up nothing. “As I told you in the very beginning, Pedro Hernandez is the only witness against himself,” Fishbein said during closing arguments. “Yet he is inconsistent and unreliable.” Hernandez’s defense said all his admissions were imaginary; Hernandez, defense doctors testified, has trouble telling reality from illusion.
12A THE ZAPATA TIMES
SATURDAY, MAY 9, 2015
Vets meet for 70th V-E Day celebration By MICHAEL E. RUANE AND MARTIN WEIL THE WASHINGTON POST.
WASHINGTON — The airplanes flew in from the northwest, fighters in tight formations, bombers alone or in pairs, filling the hazy sky over Washington with the sound of a bygone war. It was an aged fleet, almost as old as the old men in wheelchairs who watched from the ground as they passed — rugged machines, with big piston engines that were built for war, and then junked when it was over. There are only a few left, like the men who flew them. B-17 Flying Fortresses. B-24 Liberators. P-51 Mustangs. Lightnings. Corsairs. Avengers. But on Friday, before a colorful crowd of thousands below, they brought back some of the sight and sounds of World War II. The occasion was the 70th anniversary of the end of the war in Europe, and hundreds of dignitaries and veterans had gathered amid the warm weather for ceremonies at the National World War II Memorial. To the strains of bagpipes and big-band music, the veterans came in wheelchairs, with walkers and canes to hear speeches and watch the flyover. Many wore badges marking their service or rank during the war, and they were lavished with thanks from bystanders. Among the veterans was former B-29 bomber pilot Thomas Robert Vaucher, 96, of Bridgewater, New Jersey, who sat in a wheelchair wearing a black ballcap that said “B-29 Superfortress.” He was in the front row of VIPs as the planes flew over, and when a B-29 rumbled overhead, “it brought back a pile of memories,” he said. His Superfortress was nicknamed “Miss Lace,” after a racy cartoon character drawn by famed cartoonist Milton Caniff. Vaucher said Caniff provided a drawing of the character, and an art-
Photo by Jacquelyn Martin | AP
WWII Veteran Bill Hare, 89, of Stewartstown, Pennsylvania, wears a hat and shirt emblazoned with B-17s after attending a ceremony at the World War II Memorial where WWII era aircraft flew over the memorial and the National Mall in honor of the 70th anniversary of Victory in Europe Day (VE Day), during the “Arsenal of Democracy: World War II Victory Capitol Flyover,” on Friday, in Washington. The Flyover above the National Mall featured historically sequenced formations of more than 50 vintage World War II aircraft. Hare was an engineer who flew on B-17s during the war, and says he enjoyed being in the military. ist painted it on the plane. “She was scantily dressed,” he remembered. He recalled the heavy anti-aircraft fire over Tokyo, and how, as long as you didn’t hear the thud of an impact on your plane, you were okay. On one mission in June, 1945, he said, his airplane was hit so many times it was retired for spare parts. He said he and his crew started counting holes after they got back from the mission, and stopped at 400. The B-29 — the plane that dropped the atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki — was capable of flying very long distances. At one point, Vaucher said, his flights began in India, went over the Himalayas, stopped for gas in China, took off again to bomb Japan, and then headed back. “We flew them at maximum weight, because we were flying them further
than they were designed to be flown,” he said. “We were always taking off overweight. We were always using the entire runway. We didn’t get off the runway until the last brick.” He said someone asked him Thursday if he was ever afraid. “I said, ’I was never, ever afraid. Sometimes concerned. But not afraid.’ That’s a very different thing, to be fearful,” he said. “You had so much going on you didn’t have time to be afraid.” He said he also happened to fly what he said was the final combat mission of World War II, leading a flight of 500 B-29s over Tokyo, as a show of force, while the Japanese surrendered on the USS Missouri in Tokyo Bay. “I just happened to be in the right place at the right time, but I was the leader of it,” he said. The flyover began at
12:10 p.m — 56 planes in 15 formations that flew along the Potomac River, turned left at the Lincoln Memorial and flew down the Mall. The planes did not fly directly over the crowd, but hugged the river for safety reasons, organizers said. People applauded as an announcer identified the planes — fighters, bombers, trainers, transports — when they flew past. One plane had some engine trouble, pulled out of its formation and landed safely at Reagan National Airport, officials said. The crowd was among the biggest to assemble around the war memorial since it was dedicated in 2004. People also watched from the terraces of the Kennedy Center and from the rooftops of Rosslyn (Virginia). On the lower Kennedy Center terrace, a crowd of about 200 watched. The passing P-38 fighter
got applause from observers and the two B-17 bombers got more applause. A number of people watched from boats, canoes and kayaks in the Potomac just downstream from the Roosevelt Bridge, and a few people watched from the pedestrian walkway on the bridge. Back at the World War II Memorial, other veterans were present. Don Egolf, 95, who lives in Washington’s Armed Forces Retirement Home, wore a blue combat infantryman badge on the lapel of his blazer as he approached the memorial before the ceremony. He had earned it as a 24-year-old Army staff sergeant and squad leader fighting in Germany. “What was it like? That’s hard to say,” he said as he stood unsteadily at the memorial. “It was exciting. . . . And when you got into combat it was more excit-
ing. How do you explain combat? That’s hard to do.” He said he was married and had two children when the war began. He enlisted, because so many others had, and served in the 102nd Infantry Division. Egolf said he was honored to be present. “I earned the right to be here,” he said. The keynote speaker during the commemorative ceremony was national security adviser Susan Rice, daughter of a member of the legendary AfricanAmerican World War II aviation group, the Tuskegee Airmen. “We honor all those brave men and women who fell, and those who survived, including the proud veterans who are here with us today,” she said. “The story of your generation will never be forgotten,” she said. “We will continued to tell it to children blessedly untouched by war. So that they understand, as this memorial reminds us, the price of freedom.” President Barack Obama issued a White House letter saluting the veterans. “As we commemorate V-E day, let us recommit to the belief that justice is the only answer to hate and intolerance, and let us extend our gratitude to all those who fought and sacrificed to carry it toward,” he wrote. “May God bless and protect all who served then and who serve today.” As the speeches were underway, Army Air Corps veteran Bernard Dupuis, 88, of Winchester, Virginia, sat in a wheelchair wearing his old “crushed” cap and his silver captain’s bars. “I was a headquarters man,” he chuckled. “The largest thing I ever flew was an LSD, which is a large steel desk.” He said he was with the 86th Fighter-Bomber Wing in Germany. He was an 18year-old draftee from Berlin, New Hampshire, when the war broke out. “I’m very proud to be here . . . pleased to be here,” he said. “It’s probably my last one for sure.”
SATURDAY, MAY 9, 2015
ON THE WEB: THEZAPATATIMES.COM
Sports&Outdoors NATIONAL FOOTBALL LEAGUE: DALLAS COWBOYS
Brent retires again Photo by Julio Cortez | AP
LSU offensive lineman La’el Collins signed a three-year deal with the Dallas Cowboys after going undrafted last week.
Dallas signs Collins LSU OL joins Cowboys after going undrafted By SCHUYLER DIXON ASSOCIATED PRESS
Photo by Charles Rex Arbogast | AP
Dallas Cowboys defensive tackle Josh Brent had been participating in workouts this offseason but announced his retirement Friday. It’s the second time Brent has retired since his conviction for intoxication manslaughter in the crash that killed teammate Jerry Brown in 2012. The Cowboys placed him on the reserved/retired list Friday.
Dallas DT ends return from drunken-driving crash ASSOCIATED PRESS
IRVING — Dallas Cowboys defensive lineman Josh Brent is retiring for the second time since the drunken-driving crash that killed teammate Jerry Brown and derailed his career. The Cowboys placed Brent on the reserve/retired list Friday, a few days after he met with coach Jason Garrett and owner and general manager Jerry Jones to discuss his future. He had been parti-
cipating in the club’s offseason program. The 27-year-old Brent returned to football briefly last year after serving a 10-game suspension. He played in one game in his first action in almost exactly two years. Brent retired before training camp in 2013 while awaiting trial in his intoxication manslaughter case. He was convicted early last year, and a 10-year prison term was suspended. Brent, who had a
NATIONAL FOOTBALL LEAGUE: CLEVELAND
previous drunken-driving conviction in Illinois, spent about six months in jail. “I have made the decision that football isn’t as much of a priority in my life as other things at this time,” Brent said in a statement released by his agent. “I will endeavor my best to make the Dallas Cowboys and their fans proud as I embark on this new journey in life.” Garrett wouldn’t offer any specifics
IRVING, Texas — Former LSU offensive lineman La’el Collins paused to keep control of his emotions at a news conference to announce his signing with the Dallas Cowboys as an undrafted free agent. Dallas owner and general manager Jerry Jones had an even harder time holding back tears while sitting next to a projected first-round pick who didn’t get selected because his name surfaced in the investigation of the shooting death of a pregnant woman he knew in his hometown of Baton Rouge, Louisiana. “I’ve not had this experience in the NFL,” Jones said Thursday. “I’ve never seen anybody have this experience that La’el’s had.” Police acknowledged days before the draft that they wanted to talk to Collins, a 2014 all-Southeastern Conference lineman, because he knew the victim, 29year-old Brittney Mills. She was shot and killed at her home in late April. After he went undrafted, Collins met with police, who say he has answered all of their ques-
See BRENT PAGE 2B See COLLINS PAGE 2B
MAJOR LEAGUE BASEBALL: TEXAS RANGERS
Last chance for Hamilton? By STEPHEN HAWKINS ASSOCIATED PRESS
Photo by Bill Wippert | AP
Cleveland Browns quarterback Johnny Manziel will enter training camp as a backup with veteran Josh McCown expected to earn the starting role.
McCown likely to start as Manziel learns By TOM WITHERS ASSOCIATED PRESS
BEREA, Ohio — Johnny Manziel’s climb back might be steeper than he realized. The Browns aren’t making any promises to Manziel, who recently spent 10 weeks in rehab following a miserable rookie season. Coach Mike Pettine said Friday that the team is taking things slowly with Manziel and that veteran Josh McCown will enter training camp as the presumptive starter this season. The Browns want Manziel
to focus on getting himself well, and they don’t want to put any other pressure on him. Manziel was discharged from rehab on April 11. “I just think we’re too close to him getting out,” Pettine said after the Browns held their first practice with rookies and undrafted free agents. “I just think it’s too early to start expanding what we’re asking him to do and what we’re wanting him to get involved in. It’s baby steps here at this point.
See MANZIEL PAGE 2B
ARLINGTON — Josh Hamilton knows in hindsight that he probably should have never left Texas. When the slugger was first acquired by the Rangers from Cincinnati a few days before Christmas in 2007, a feel-good story got even better: The former No. 1 overall draft pick became an MVP and perennial All-Star after battling cocaine and alcohol addictions, even with a few stumbles. Now he has another shot at redemption, again in Texas, in what very likely could be his last chance in baseball. “The reason I’m making certain changes in my life is because I want to be OK after baseball’s over,” Hamilton said when re-introduced by Texas. “So I’ve done a lot of growing and a lot of learning and soul-searching, as you could say, over the past few weeks. I’m excited about being a Ranger.” Hamilton is near an MLB reunion with the team he shunned after the 2012 season for a big free agent contract with AL West rival Los Angeles. The Angels last month traded him back for little in return after two disappointing seasons and the recent offseason that included not only shoulder surgery but a self-reported relapse with cocaine and alcohol. “If you’re comfortable and you can be at home and relax, but go to the field and still feel like
Photo by Tony Gutierrez | AP
Josh Hamilton was expected to play an extended spring training game Friday in Arizona and could join Triple-A Round Rock this weekend for a minor league rehab assignment. you’re at home when you get there, that’s pretty important,” said Hamilton, who went to extended spring training in Arizona before joining Triple-A Round Rock. “I love the guys on my team in LA. ... But it was LA. It wasn’t Texas. It was just really different.” Hamilton could join Round Rock this weekend. The Rangers are planning to decide Hamilton’s schedule after he plays in an extended spring training game Friday in Arizona. “He goes from live BP’s to game situations, but is being put
through a litany of drills, as far as outfield work, throwing program, baserunning drills, live BP and game situations,” Texas manager Jeff Banister said before the Rangers played Tampa Bay Thursday night. Hamilton took live batting practice Thursday. Among the pitchers he faced was Matt Harrison, who is rehabbing following spinal fusion surgery. Things won’t be exactly the same as they were in Texas, where Hamilton was the 2010
See RANGERS PAGE 2B
PAGE 2B
Zscores
SATURDAY, MAY 9, 2015
Dante Fowler out for season ASSOCIATED PRESS
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — Dante Fowler Jr. didn’t miss a game in three years of college. The former Florida star likely will miss his entire rookie year in the NFL. The Jacksonville Jaguars defensive end, the third overall pick in last week’s NFL draft, is likely out for the season after tearing a knee ligament during his first practice. Fowler tore the anterior cruciate ligament in his left knee during rookie minicamp Friday. ESPN first reported the extent of the injury. The injury looked serious live and appeared even worse in video replays. Tests revealed the extent of the damage. Fowler’s knee buckled during an 11-on-11 drill as he engaged right tackle Watts Dantzler. Fowler dropped to the ground, grabbed his leg as he rolled from side to side and eventually got helped off the field. He was carted to the locker room. “I went to apologize to him and he was like, ’You’re good, man. It’s just football,”’ Dantzler said. Fowler was the first non-quarterback selected last week, taken by the Jaguars after quarterbacks Jameis Winston (Tampa Bay) and Marcus Mariota (Tennessee). The Jaguars were counting on Fowler to be a centerpiece of the defense for years. They had expected him to be a Day 1 starter, meaning he would replace 33-year-old veteran Chris Clemons. Now, though, it’s unlikely he will play in 2015. Although players have returned from torn knee ligaments in seven months’ time, the Jaguars would have to be in playoff contention to even consider bringing Fowler back so soon. The franchise, which is nearing the end of its ground-up rebuild, has won nine games over the last three years. Fowler’s injury happened during a two-day camp that featured eight draft picks, nine first-year players and 28 workout players trying to
Photo by LM Otero | AP
Josh Brent was sentenced to 180 days in jail and 10 years of probation for a drunken car crash that killed his friend and teammate, Jerry Brown. The Dallas Cowboys defensive tackle announced his retirement Friday marking the second time he has retired since the incident.
BRENT Continued from Page 1B Photo by Fran Ruchalski | AP
Jacksonville Jaguars first-round draft pick Dante Fowler will miss the season after suffering a torn ACL on Friday on the opening day of rookie minicamp. Fowler never missed a game in college during his three years at Florida. get a shot at the NFL. Jacksonville had hoped to get all of them accustomed to the pace of practice and how to properly perform every drill. It cost the team dearly. “Well, I think you’ve got to be smart,” coach Gus Bradley said. “You weigh it to, ’Hey, we can get them acclimated, a feel for everything.’ But we didn’t have a regular practice as far as reps. Where we normally go 15 reps, we had 10. We didn’t have a blitz period. It’s just
getting them more accustomed to the flow of practice, as well as being able to evaluate some of these guys that are in for the next two days.” Fowler had 14 1/2 sacks in three years at Florida, including 8 1/2 last season, and was the best player on a solid defense. The Jaguars wanted the 6-foot-3, 265-pounder to lose about 10 pounds and become a better fit for the team’s hybrid end/linebacker position called “Leo.”.
MANZIEL
visit to Chicago, he was sidelined a week later with a calf injury and didn’t play again. Brent played in 40 games with five starts over four seasons with Dallas. In December 2012, Brent crashed his Mercedes sedan on a suburban Dallas highway on the way back from a nightclub. Brown, his former teammate at Illinois and his roommate in Texas, was in the passenger’s seat. Tests later showed Brent to have a blood-alcohol level of 0.18 percent, more than twice the legal limit for drivers in Texas.
RANGERS Continued from Page 1B
Continued from Page 1B “It’s a new system, he’s getting used to a new quarterback coach, a new coordinator and there’s plenty on his plate and there’s plenty of football between now and the start of the season for us to make an evaluation.” The team has been pleased with Manziel’s progress since getting help for an undisclosed condition. Manziel spent 73 days at Caron, a facility in Pennsylvania that specializes in substance abuse. Manziel, who hasn’t spoken to the media since his rehab stint, has been trying to win back his teammates’ trust. Pettine’s message to Manziel: keep it up and don’t worry about anything else. “We want him essentially with horse blinders on,” Pettine said. “Focus on his job, getting up every day, perfecting his craft, whatever it is, homework that the quarterbacks have or come out and working on his footwork, his releases, that he’s much more concerned about himself than really anything else.” Manziel will share snaps with Thad Lewis and Connor Shaw, one of 11 first-year players participating in this weekend’s camp. Since coming out of rehab, Manziel has received public support from veterans Joe Thomas and Donte Whitner, who said they see a more disciplined, committed player. Pettine, too, has noticed a change in Manziel. “I’ve been in the offensive meetings and when he’s been called upon, he has the right answer and he gets it out quick,” he said. “It seems to me, that he is dialed in and focused and all of that, but he’s done everything we’ve asked him so far.” Pettine is confident McCown, who went just 1-10 last season as Tampa Bay’s starter, can be productive again. He went 3-2 with Chicago in 2013, when he replaced Jay Cutler. “We’re comfortable and obviously we were comfortable because we brought him here and signed him, that we’re going to see more of the Josh McCown from Chicago than we did from the Josh McCown in Tampa,” Pettine said. NOTES: Pettine faced Tom Brady several times as a defensive coordinator and has immense respect for New England’s quarterback. However, he said he won’t feel the same way about Brady if he had a role in deflating footballs. “Nothing is surprising,” Pettine said. “I know what was put out there but he’s one of the best ever and it would be a shame to tarnish that and we’ll see how it plays out. I’ve always had a lot of respect for him, but also I lose a lot of respect for people who cheat.” ... Rookie WR Vince Mayle, a fourth-round draft pick, is unable to catch after breaking his right thumb in the Senior Bowl. ... Pettine said the Browns considered picking LSU defensive end La’el Collins, whose name surfaced before the draft in a shooting investigation. “Nobody felt comfortable making the pick.”
on why Brent decided to retire. If Brent decides to play again, the Cowboys retain his rights. “I admire Josh in a lot of ways for coming back from a really significant situation in his life. It’s not easy,” Garrett said. “He’s worked very hard to find some normalcy in his life at this point, and I think he wants to focus on that right now.” Brent missed the first two games last year after his reinstatement while working his way back into football and nursing a sore groin. After getting one tackle and one assist in a
American League MVP and an All-Star in each of his five seasons. Hamilton earlier this year filed for divorce, and court records indicate that he is prohibited from going to the couple’s home in North Texas or seeing their daughters without supervision. And the Rangers, who made their only two World Series appearances and were coming off a wild-card loss before Hamilton left, are struggling near the bottom of the league for the second year in a row. There is a new manager Banister, after Ron Washington’s unexpected resignation late last season for personal reasons. This is a low-risk deal for Texas, which is paying only about $6 million of the $80 million still owed to Hamilton through 2017 on that $125 million, five-year contract from the Angels. Plus, the Rangers don’t expect the player who turns 34 on May 21 to have the same mind-boggling numbers he once had for them. In his 2008 Texas debut, Hamilton had an AL-leading 130 RBIs and a jaw-dropping 28 home runs in one round during the All-Star Home Run Derby at old Yankee Stadium. During his MVP season, when the Rangers went to their first World Series in 2010, he led
the majors with a .359 batting average, 23 points higher than the next highest, along with 32 homers and 100 RBIs. Hamilton’s career-high 43 homers in 2012 included four in one night at Baltimore. He was the 16th player with a four-homer game, an MLB feat rarer than perfect games (23). “He’s been kind of a central figure in some of the best moments in the franchise history, recent history,” Texas general manager Jon Daniels said. “I think the game can help him at this point, but the big picture for him obviously is beyond the game ... whenever it is that he’s done playing, where he is at that point. Obviously, that’s a lot more important than the baseball piece.” The top pick in baseball’s 1999 amateur draft by Tampa Bay, Hamilton had never tried alcohol or cocaine before he got hurt in a March 2001 car accident and was on the disabled list in the minors. He didn’t play from July 2002 through 2005 because of substance-abuse issues that led to multiple suspensions and rehab stints. His major league debut was with the Reds in 2007. There were two known alcohol relapses while with the Rangers, both during the off-
season. Hamilton acknowledged being photographed getting drunk in a bar in Arizona in early 2009, and three years later apologized for another night of drinking. “I know (addiction) is something he’s going to deal with the rest of his life, and by association, we’re going to help him deal with,” said Daniels, calling that a benefit but not the reason for reacquiring Hamilton. “It’s 100 percent about that we think Josh can help us win games,” the GM said. “He can be a productive player again. Hamilton hit .305 with 152 homers and 506 RBIs in five seasons as a Ranger, but was lustily booed in his last game like he was later when returning with the Angels. The slugger struck out twice on three pitches and grounded into a double play in a home loss to Baltimore in the 2012 AL wildcard game. That came after 18 strikeouts in the last 10 regular-season games, and a dropped routine popup in the finale that allowed Oakland to go ahead to stay and clinch the division title that day. After Hamilton’s self-reported relapse before this season, a board representing both Major League Baseball and the players’ association split on whether Hamilton violated his treatment program. An arbi-
trator then ruled that MLB could not discipline him. Hamilton said he is being tested five times a week for drugs and now alcohol. He also has back the support system that had been removed or pushed away from his life, including Shayne Kelley, who again will be a constant companion. Kelley, a former minor league strength coach for the Kansas City Royals, was with Hamilton his final season in Texas and first year with the Angels. He was as assistant coach at Alabama, his alma mater, when hired by Texas in 2012 as a major league assistant whose job included supporting Hamilton. Kelley won’t be on the field or in uniform this time. Daniels described Hamilton as being “very eager” in Arizona, asking to do more than was planned for him each day. The shoulder seemed to be 100 percent healthy, and the outfielder is on track to get back in the majors later this month. “I know how much baseball means to Josh. I know that Josh loves the game,” said Michael Young, Hamilton’s teammate with the Rangers and now a special assistant for the team. “He’s really burning for an opportunity to show exactly what he’s made of.”
COLLINS Continued from Page 1B tions. Collins also submitted to a paternity test that proved he is not the father of Mills’ infant son, who was born alive after the shooting but died days later. Going undrafted in the first round has cost Collins millions of dollars. Financial details weren’t disclosed, but undrafted free agents are eligible for a three-year deal that pays $435,000 in 2015, $525,000 in 2016, and $615,000 in 2017. Also, bonuses are limited to about $87,000 for all undrafted free agents combined. “It’s not even about the money,” Collins said as he sat between his mother, Loyetta, and Jones with coach Jason Garrett nearby. “I never
played the game for the money. I played the game because I love the game. “Just to be here, I’m still getting paid. And at the end of the day, it was way more than I was getting in college,” he said as laughter broke out among reporters. The 6-foot-4, 305-pound Collins is a Baton Rouge native who was rated among Louisiana’s top high school prospects in 2010, when he committed to play near home. He was eligible for the 2014 draft, but elected to play for LSU as a senior to further refine his game. Initially, it appeared to pay off when he was projected as first-round choice this year. Instead, he was escorted off
the field during a pre-draft public appearance because of the developments back home and didn’t hear his name called for three days. “I never once was bitter,” Collins said. “I could have easily been mad at the world, taken it out on anybody. I never dropped my head. I knew what I stand for. I know the person that I am.” Baton Rouge police Lt. Jonny Dunnam has said police understood the timing of the investigation was unfortunate for Collins. He also stressed that Collins currently is “no more a person of interest than a neighbor would be.” “It’s an ongoing investigation,” Collins said Thursday.
“I’ve collaborated fully with the police. That’s all I really need to say about it.” Collins talked with Jones by phone early in the week, then met with the owner, Garrett, Tony Romo and other players at Jones’ home on Wednesday night. He said he “knew from that moment” he would sign with the Cowboys, who essentially ended up with three first-round picks. Dallas got Randy Gregory in the second round last week when the former Nebraska defensive end slid because he tested positive for marijuana and didn’t follow through on all his planned meetings with teams. The Cowboys took Connecticut cornerback Byron Jones in the first round.
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Dear Heloise: You have had many pets throughout the years. Would you do a piece on PET GRIEF and how you handle your pets’ passings? I recently lost my cat. It was a middle-aged cat, and it hurts so much. Please let your readers know how you handle this. I’m sure many people are in the same boat. Thank you. –– A Reader in Pittsburgh This can be one of life’s heartaches, but during the good times, both pet and human gain so much! It is always very difficult to deal with. It does hurt, and there is no set timeline I can give you. However, do think of how lucky you were to have had your cat in your life. Think of the good, fun, silly times. Your cat would not want you to hurt and ache for too long. It is important to allow yourself (and family members) time to grieve. Some people keep it all inside; others show their sorrow, and even other pets grieve. Those who know you and understand how you feel are
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the friends you can turn to. ––Heloise LAUNDRY QUANDARY Dear Heloise: I wear a great deal of black clothing, and no matter what type of detergent I use, I end up with white, linty streaks. I can sometimes use tape to get them off, or sponge them off, but that seems to defeat the point of washing them at all. It is so frustrating! I’ve been using a liquid detergent, and many of my items are a cotton-and-rayon blend. Any suggestions? Thank you for all the years of great service! –– Kate Roman, Sacramento, Calif. Kate, I hear you! The mysterious white lint seems to come from nowhere! Try this. Wash only with likecolored items. Don’t wash a black load after towels.
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SATURDAY, MAY 9, 2015