The Zapata Times 6/3/2015

JENKINS LOOKS TO REVIVE CAREER FREE

WEDNESDAY JUNE 3, 2015

FORMER FIRST-ROUND PICK JOINS DALLAS AT WR, 5A

DELIVERED EVERY SATURDAY

TO 4,000 HOMES

A HEARST PUBLICATION

ON THE WEB: THEZAPATATIMES.COM

TEXAS LEGISLATURE

RIO GRANDE VALLEY

‘Campus carry’ a go

After rains, fewer aphids

Lawmakers lift ban, Abbott poised to sign

By PAUL J. WEBER AND WILL WEISSERT ASSOCIATED PRESS

Photo by Eric Gay | AP file

In this Jan. 13 file photo, a gun-rights advocate carries a rifle on his back and a cardboard cutout of a pistol on his waist as a group protests outside the Texas Capitol, in Austin, Texas.

AUSTIN — The Texas Legislature wound down Sunday by lifting a ban on firearms on college campuses after years of thwarted attempts, putting a final conservative stamp on new Republican Gov. Greg Abbott’s debut that included tax cuts and a dramatic rise in border security spending.

The official last day for the Legislature was Monday, and that day was mostly ceremonial; unlike the

previous 14 years under Rick Perry, lawmakers went home instead of being marched into a special summer session to finish business.

The last major bill sent to Abbott was both a symbol of the Republican dominance flaunted over the last 140 days of the session and the most emotionallycharged issue when he took office — expanding gun rights.

Allowing concealed handguns in college classrooms — known as “cam-

See CAMPUS CARRY PAGE 9A

HOUSE BILL 40

DENTON SAYS FIGHT ISN’T OVER Fracking starts up again

By JIM MALEWITZ TEXAS TRIBUNE

DENTON – Seven months after a rag-tag group of local activists scored a surprising victory over the state’s powerful oil and gas industry by convincing voters in this North Texas city to ban hydraulic fracturing, heavy trucks bearing piping, perforating guns and other high-powered equipment waited at well site early Monday.

After police arrested three protesters trying to block the path of workers, Colorado-based Vantage Energy, a natural gas driller, officially revved up its fracking operations on a pad site on the western outskirts of town. That effectively ended the brief but intense life of an ordinance that Denton officials say they can no longer enforce due to a new Texas law — House Bill 40 — passed in response that pre-empts local control over a wide range of oil and gas activities.

“Since the ban on hydraulic fracturing took effect in 2014, we have maintained regular dialogue with Denton City officials, presented path forward alternatives and last week followed the city’s

See FRACKING PAGE 9A

Cooper Neill | Texas Tribune

Vantage Energy on June 1 resumed hydraulic operations on a pad site on the western outskirts of Denton. It was the first company to frack within city limits after the Texas Legislature overturned the Denton’s ban on the process.

Infestations down in sorghum crops ASSOCIATED PRESS

HARLINGEN — Researchers suspect steady rains and other factors may be responsible for a drop in a tiny bug’s infestation of a grain crop so far this year.

Farmers in the Rio Grande Valley had feared the sugarcane aphid would again invade their sorghum crop following experts’ predictions they would come back in full force after an increase in population across the region last year, the Valley Morning Star reported.

The pests had swarmed the Valley’s sorghum fields, gnawing away at the plants in 2014. The bugs also infested crops from Mississippi to southern Oklahoma while devastating Mexico’s sorghum crop, according to researchers.

They had warned that sorghum growers in the Valley who didn’t take preventive measures by spraying their fields with insecticide would face heavy crop losses. But they think rains and humidity may have helped stop the insect in attacking the crops.

“We have an enigma as to what’s happening,” said Raul Villanueva, an entomologist at Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service in Weslaco. “We were predicting them to be very abundant this year.”

Farmer Ricardo Lopez, who has around 2,200 acres of sorghum in San Manuel, said he had worried that aphids would infest his fields this year. But he said he and other workers haven’t seen signs of the bug ruining their grain harvest.

In Santa Rosa, Sam Sparks III said he’ll continue to spray insecticide in fields where he has found the pests.

“We’ve had to spray some areas but others are clean,” said Sparks, who farms about 2,000 acres of sorghum. “They’re a problem but not at the severity that they were last year.

We’re not out of the woods yet.”

TEXAS LEGISLATURE

Despite push, immigration bills fall flat

By JULIÁN AGUILAR TEXAS TRIBUNE

As the sun begins to set on the 84th Texas Legislature, promises to enact tough immigration legislation remain unfulfilled.

State Sen. Donna Campbell says she’s not giving up just because the last gavel is about to drop.

Campbell, a New Braunfels Republican, tried unsuccessfully to pass Senate Bill 1819, which would have elimi-

nated a 14-year-old policy that allows non-citizens, including some undocumented immigrants, to pay in-state tuition rates at public colleges and universities.

“Unfortunately, it takes a [three-fifths] vote to bring a bill to the floor, and I was unable to find those final two to three affirmative votes once the bill passed out of committee,” she said in an email Saturday. “I am disappointed that we were un-

able to get this bill passed under the current body, but I have two years to change a couple members’ minds and try again next session."

Republican lawmakers could take a similar conciliatory tone on another contentious issue, Senate Bill 185, by state Sen. Charles Perry, R-Lubbock.

That bill sought to ban socalled “sanctuary cities” – the common term for local governments whose peace officers don’t en-

force immigration laws.

The proposals seemed likely to pass, at minimum, the upper chamber in the early months of the session. The crush of unauthorized migration last summer in the Rio Grande Valley kept the issues at the forefront, and some GOP senators said during their campaigns that passing immigration legislation was a priority.

But two Republican senators, Kevin Eltife, RTyler, and Craig Estes, R-

Wichita Falls, opposed the measures. Eltife said the issues were about local control; Estes said he feared both could have dire unintended consequences. Their opposition blocked both from going before the full chamber for a vote.

State Sen. Kirk Watson, D-Austin, said a coalition opposing the bills formed early, and it held “regardless of a great deal of pressure that was put on some people.”

“We spent time talking to individual members and talking to people outside the Capitol who in turn talked to members, so that we could be sure we weren’t making any assumptions about where someone might be on these bills, simply because of their party,” said Watson, chairman of the Senate Democratic Caucus.

When then-Gov. Rick Perry declared eliminat-

See BILLS PAGE 9A

PAGE 2A

Zin brief CALENDAR

WEDNESDAY, JUNE 3, 2015

AROUND TEXAS

TODAY IN HISTORY

WEDNESDAY, JUNE 3

ASSOCIATED PRESS

Planetarium shows at TAMIU Lamar Bruni Vergara Planetarium from 2 to 5 p.m. 3 p.m.: Cosmic Adventures; 4 p.m.: The Secret of the Cardboard Rocket; 5 p.m.: Secrets of the Sun. General admission is $3. For more information call 956-326-DOME (3663).

Today is Wednesday, June 3, the 154th day of 2015. There are 211 days left in the year.

Today’s Highlight in History: On June 3, 1965, astronaut Edward H. White became the first American to “walk” in space during the flight of Gemini 4.

On this date: In 1621, the Dutch West India Co. received its charter for a trade monopoly in parts of the Americas and Africa.

In 1808, Confederate President Jefferson Davis was born in Christian County, Kentucky.

In 1924, author Franz Kafka, 40, died near Vienna.

In 1935, the French liner Normandie set a record on its maiden voyage, arriving in New York after crossing the Atlantic in just four days.

In 1937, Edward, The Duke of Windsor, who had abdicated the British throne, married Wallis Warfield Simpson in a private ceremony in Monts, France.

In 1948, the 200-inch reflecting Hale Telescope at the Palomar Mountain Observatory in California was dedicated.

In 1955, convicted murderer Barbara Graham, 31, was executed in the gas chamber at San Quentin State Prison in California, as were two accomplices, Jack Santo and Emmett Perkins, for the 1953 slaying of Mabel Monahan.

In 1963, Pope John XXIII died at age 81; he was succeeded by Pope Paul VI. In 1972, Sally J. Priesand was ordained as America’s first female rabbi at the Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion in Cincinnati, Ohio.

In 1983, Gordon Kahl, a militant tax protester wanted in the slayings of two U.S. marshals in North Dakota, was killed in a gun battle with lawenforcement officials near Smithville, Arkansas.

In 1989, Iran’s spiritual leader, Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, died. Chinese army troops began their sweep of Beijing to crush student-led pro-democracy demonstrations. SkyDome (now called Rogers Centre) opened in Toronto, Ontario, Canada.

Ten years ago: U.S. military officials said no guard at the Guantanamo Bay prison for terror suspects had flushed a detainee’s Quran down the toilet, but disclosed there were instances in which Qurans were abused by guards, intentionally or accidentally.

Five years ago: BP sliced off a pipe with giant shears to make way for a cap in the latest bid to curtail the worst oil spill in U.S. history.

One year ago: President Barack Obama arrived in Warsaw, Poland, at the start of a three-country swing, pledging to boost U.S. military deployments and exercises throughout Europe.

Today’s Birthdays: TV producer Chuck Barris is 86.

The president of Cuba, Raul Castro, is 84. Author Larry McMurtry is 79. Rock musician Richard Moore is 66. Actress Suzie Plakson is 57. Actor Scott Valentine is 57. Rock singer-musician Mike Gordon is 50. TV host Anderson Cooper is 48. Rhythm-and-blues singer Lyfe Jennings is 42.

Tennis player Rafael Nadal is 29. Actress-singer Lalaine is 28. Actor Sean Berdy is 22.

Thought for Today: “It is best to act with confidence, no matter how little right you have to it.” — Lillian Hellman, American playwright (19051984).

THURSDAY, JUNE 4 Elysian Social Club will be hosting its regular meeting at 6:30 p.m. Herlinda Nieto-Dubuisson at 956-285-3126.

Planetarium shows at TAMIU Lamar Bruni Vergara Planetarium from 2 to 5 p.m. 3 p.m.: Cosmic Adventures; 4 p.m.: The Secret of the Cardboard Rocket; 5 p.m.: Secrets of the Sun. General admission is $3. For more information call 956-326-DOME (3663).

SATURDAY, JUNE 6 Villa San Agustin de Laredo Genealogical Society meeting with speaker Albino Salinas Arreola on the Founding of Nuevo Laredo at the Laredo Public Library-Calton, from 10 a.m. to noon.

Sanjuanita Martinez-Hunter at 722-3497.

First United Methodist Church used book sale from 8:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. at 1220 McClelland. Hardcovers, $1; paperbacks, $.50; magazines, $.25; children’s books, $.25.

The Laredo North Side Market association will host its monthly market day at North Central Park from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Grave Yard Ethics Band will play at the market. Save the date and pick up some gifts for Father’s Day. For more information visit Facebook at Laredo North Side Market.

Planetarium shows at TAMIU Lamar Bruni Vergara Planetarium from 1 to 5 p.m. 2 p.m.: Accidental Astronaut (Matinee Show – $1 less); 3 p.m.: Cosmic Adventures; 4 p.m.: Attack of the Space Pirates; 5 p.m.: Led Zeppelin.

General admission is $4 for children and $5 for adults. Admission is $4 for TAMIU students, faculty and staff. For more information call 956-326-DOME (3663).

MONDAY, JUNE 8 The Laredo Stroke Support Group will be holding its monthly meeting at 7 p.m. at the San Martin de Porres Church Family Life Center. Visit www.laredostrokesupport.com for more information.

Rock Fitness event for teens from ages 11-17, June 8 to July 3. A great way for adolescents to get a head start on fitness and nutrition in an enjoyable and engaging way. Email info@rock-fitness.com

TUESDAY, JUNE 9 Planetarium shows at TAMIU Lamar Bruni Vergara Planetarium from 2 to 5 p.m. 3 p.m.: Cosmic Adventures; 4 p.m.: The Secret of the Cardboard Rocket; 5 p.m.: Secrets of the Sun. General admission is $3. For more information call 956-326-DOME (3663).

WEDNESDAY, JUNE 10 Planetarium shows at TAMIU Lamar Bruni Vergara Planetarium from 2 to 5 p.m. 3 p.m.: Cosmic Adventures; 4 p.m.: The Secret of the Cardboard Rocket; 5 p.m.: Secrets of the Sun. General admission is $3. For more information call 956-326-DOME (3663).

THURSDAY, JUNE 11 Planetarium shows at TAMIU Lamar Bruni Vergara Planetarium from 2 to 5 p.m. 3 p.m.: Cosmic Adventures; 4 p.m.: The Secret of the Cardboard Rocket; 5 p.m.: Secrets of the Sun. General admission is $3. For more information call 956-326-DOME (3663).

FRIDAY, JUNE 12 Planetarium shows at TAMIU Lamar Bruni Vergara Planetarium from 6 to 8 p.m. 6 p.m.: Stars of the Pharaohs; 7 p.m.: Live Star Presentation (Observing will occur after the show, weather permitting). For more information call 956-326-DOME (3663).

SATURDAY JUNE 13 South Texas Food Bank bucket brigade fundraiser 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. at seven Laredo corners: Hillside-McPherson, Zacatecas-Zapata Highway, McPherson-Shiloh, Saunders-Bartlett, Arkansas-Clark, Guadalupe-Meadow, Springfield – Del Mar. (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.)

Photo by Eric Gay | AP

Texas Rep. Kenneth Sheets, R-Dallas, poses with three of the six solid, mahogany gavels he broke during the legislative session this year, Monday, in Austin. At 5-feet-5-inches, Sheets is one of the smallest members of the Texas Legislature, but he’s broken six gavels crafted by Texas prison inmates this session alone, outpacing any other lawmaker.

Leaving gavels in pieces

By EVA RUTH MORAVEC ASSOCIATED PRESS

AUSTIN — At 5 feet 5 inches tall, Texas Rep. Kenneth Sheets is one of the smallest members of the Texas Legislature.

But he’s often called to the House dais to preside over the chamber, where he’s broken six solid, walnut gavels, crafted by Texas prison inmates, in this past 140-day session alone. None of the chamber’s other 149 members — even House Speaker Joe Straus, who wields them far more often — broke any.

“I’m just passionate,” said Sheets, a Dallas Republican.

Three of the fragmented gavels, which Sheets said suffered “construction defects,” were sent back to the East Texas prisoners who make them to evaluate why they failed.

Wear-and-tear — namely, repeatedly pounding a piece of wood against a steel plate —

caused the other three to chip, separate and crack. About 1,150 of the gavels were sold to the House and Senate this year at $38 each, with the money going to the Texas Department of Criminal Justice. They’re among the items made by 4,800 men and women in Texas lockups that are sold to lawmakers and public agencies, schools and hospitals for about $5 million a year total.

The gavels are available to counties but are purchased almost exclusively by the Legislature. They’re used to mark the beginning and end of meetings, get the attention of legislators and signify the end of a vote. Lawmakers hand out gavels ceremoniously, as they recently did on “John Wayne Day” to relatives of the late movie star.

The sales by Texas Correctional Industries are easily swallowed by the program’s $68 million budget.

Texas State Aquarium back to near capacity

Some flood victims could get federal help

Police fatally shoot theft suspect who had BB gun

CORPUS CHRISTI — The Texas State Aquarium is nearly full of fish again after a chemical accident in April killed hundreds of creatures.

Aquarium president Tom Schmid told the Corpus Christi Caller-Times that as of Monday the fish collection topped 95 percent. Nearly 400 fish died when a mislabeled container led aquarium personnel to put a poisonous chemical in the water.

AUSTIN — People in three Texas counties recovering from last month’s devastating floods and tornadoes could be eligible for federal assistance. The Federal Emergency Management Agency on Tuesday urged residents of Hays, Harris and Van Zandt counties to consider applying. A May 29 presidential disaster declaration covers eligible families, individuals and business owners in those areas.

County reaches $400K settlement with ex-inmate

Inmate, 67, set to die for 4 slayings 31 years ago

PALESTINE — Police have fatally shot an East Texas man suspected of stealing beer and pointing a BB gun at officers trying to question him. Officers Sunday night responded to a theft report at a Wal-Mart and a suspect seen leaving the store. Alexander says officers located the man hiding in the bathroom of a nearby restaurant. Police say Bushey left the restaurant, struggled with officers and pointed what appeared to be a pistol at them.

HOUSTON — A mentally ill inmate left unattended for weeks in his filthy Harris County jail cell will receive a $400,000 settlement. Commissioners approved paying Terry Goodwin, over his physical and emotional suffering. Goodwin was jailed in 2013 on a marijuana charge when he was found in his shredded uniform amid trash and feces.

LIVINGSTON — Sixty-sevenyear-old Lester Bower will be the oldest Texas inmate executed if his scheduled lethal injection is carried out this week in Huntsville for the slayings of four men at a North Texas ranch.

Bower insists he didn’t kill the four at a ranch hangar where he says he bought an ultralight airplane in October 1983.

Man not prosecuted in fatal shooting of dog HOUSTON — A Houston-area man who was facing a charge of animal cruelty after he shot and killed a Staffordshire bull terrier at a dog park will not be prosecuted.

A Harris County grand jury on Monday declined to indict 27year-old Joseph Potts.

— Compiled from AP reports

AROUND THE NATION Gunman says he called crisis line before shooting CENTENNIAL, Colo. — Colorado theater gunman James Holmes has said he called a mental health hotline minutes before the 2012 massacre, thinking someone might be able to talk him out of killing people watching a movie.

In a videotape played for jurors on Tuesday, Holmes says the phone call was disconnected before anyone answered.

Holmes says he lingered outside a moment, then walked into the theater, threw a tear gas canister and began firing into the crowd.

Holmes says he was “on autopilot” during the shootings. He says he heard one scream.

Eastwood to make biopic of ‘Sully’ Sullenberger NEW YORK — Clint Eastwood will follow his box-office sensa-

CONTACT US Publisher, William B. Green........................728-2501 Account Executive, Dora Martinez ...... (956) 765-5113 General Manager, Adriana Devally ...............728-2510 Adv. Billing Inquiries ................................. 728-2531 Circulation Director ................................. 728-2559 MIS Director, Michael Castillo.................... 728-2505 Copy Editor, Nick Georgiou ....................... 728-2565 Sports Editor, Zach Davis ..........................728-2578 Spanish Editor, Melva Lavin-Castillo............ 728-2569 Photo by RJ Sangosti | AP file

In this July 23, 2012, file photo, James Holmes, who is charged with killing 12 moviegoers and wounding 70 more in a shooting spree in a crowded theatre in Aurora, Colo., sits in Arapahoe County District Court in Centennial, Colo. tion “American Sniper” with a biopic of pilot Chesley “Sully” Sullenberger.

Warner Bros. announced Tuesday that Eastwood will direct and produce the not-yet-titled drama as his next film.

The film is to be adapted from

Sullenberger’s 2009 memoir, “Highest Duty: My Search for What Really Matters,” which chronicled his personal history before he famously landed a US Airways plane in the Hudson River in New York in 2009.

— 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

State

WEDNESDAY, JUNE 3, 2015

THE ZAPATA TIMES 3A

Diversity issues linger as Powers leaves UT

By BENJAMIN WERMUND HOUSTON CHRONICLE

AUSTIN — Bill Powers won’t be the University of Texas at Austin president who decides whether to keep a statue of Jefferson Davis, a tribute to the president of the Confederacy, on campus.

But Powers has spent his near-decade in office grappling with the kind of tension that’s been on display in recent weeks as students have called for the statue’s removal.

The Houston Chronicle reports the episode is the latest example of UT, a nationally renowned research university, struggling to sever the more troubling bits of its Old South roots.

When Powers took office in 2006, diversifying the flagship and making the campus a more inclusive place were among his top priorities. Nine years later, as Powers prepares to leave this week, he has achieved much of that goal.

He’s been a fierce defender of the race-conscious admissions policies that have drawn national attention to UT through high-profile legal challenges. The Supreme Court this week could consider taking the case up again.

Despite his efforts, though, challenges remain, as suggested by the Davis statue and several other relics of the Old South still on campus, including an inscribed ode to the men and women of the Confederacy. UT’s black student population hasn’t grown in Powers’ time, white students still outperform their minority peers, and the faculty remains overwhelmingly white.

“From the students’ point of view, it still is challenging to come to what was the Big White University,” Powers said.

A growing Latino student population and the creation of an entire arm of the university to focus on

diversity will be among Powers’ most important legacies.

The efforts include outreach to historically disadvantaged communities like East Austin, which long looked at UT as something of an adversary. Under Powers’ tenure, UT has established two ethnic studies departments — a pricey commitment to institutional diversity, even during tough economic times — that are among the few of their kind in the nation.

“In a time of extreme austerity, they’ve still tried to keep diversity on the front burner,” said Edmund T. Gordon, chair of the African and African Diaspora Studies Department. “It is completely unprecedented that in a time of cutbacks, the university would be creating new units like this department. … That’s unheard of. In many places, they’re cutting out these kinds of programs, rather than building them.”

UT’s undergraduate population has become less white in Powers’ time — 46 percent of undergraduate students were white in 2014, compared with 57 percent when he took office.

But UT’s black student population hovered between 4 percent and 5 percent for each of Powers’ years in office.

And while the university has made gains in graduating minority students, a significant gap remains between their success rate and that of their white peers. Just 42 percent of black students who started in 2010 graduated in four years, for example, compared with 61 percent of white students. Of the Hispanic students who started in 2010, just 44 percent graduated four years later.

The tiny black student population at UT — African-Americans make up 12 percent of Texas’ population — is a “blemish” on the university, said Mi-

Photo by Eric Gay | AP file

In this May 5 photo, a statue of Jefferson Davis is seen on the University of Texas campus in Austin. Bill Powers won’t be the UTAustin president who decides whether to keep a statue of Jefferson Davis, a tribute to the president of the Confederacy, on campus. chelle Asha Cooper, president of the Institute for Higher Education Policy, a nonprofit that aims to promote access to and success in higher education for all students.

“I have to be honest, that blows my mind,” Cooper said. “When I think about diversity I don’t necessarily think about UT-Austin, except I think it is a school that can do more, given the percentage of people of color that live in the state. . If you’re not educating students who come from that population, then who are you educating? Because the white population is only going to be decreasing over time.”

UT faculty also has been slow to diversify. The vast majority — 77 percent — of the school’s teaching faculty is white. Just 147 of UT’s 1,549 tenured teaching professors were black or Hispanic in 2014. UT also has struggled to attract minority doctoral students, espe-

cially black doctoral students.

Officials hope that the school’s new ethnic studies departments, the African and African Diaspora Studies and the Mexican American and Latino/a Studies departments, will be powerful recruiting tools. The departments show a “commitment to institutional diversity,” said Gregory J. Vincent, UT’s vice president for diversity and community engagement — a position elevated to a vice presidency by Powers in 2006.

The departments are a costly commitment — UT has spent $19.3 million on them since 2011 — but they’ve already shown promise.

Caitlin O’Neill, a doctoral student in her second year at UT, went to Austin from Oberlin College in Ohio, which was famously the first institution of higher education in America to regularly admit women

and black students.

Going from such a liberal place to a state on the opposite end of the political spectrum was daunting, but O’Neill was swayed when UT’s new black studies department — one of only about a dozen in the nation — lured a professor O’Neill wanted to work with away from the University of Minnesota. Since its creation in 2011, the department has hired 54 percent of all new black faculty at UT. O’Neill said she’s seen the department become something of a haven for black students, many of whom she works with as a teaching assistant.

The Mexican American and Latino/a Studies Department, which is in its first year and bills itself as the first of its kind in the nation, has become a magnet. Three students chose to major in the field as freshmen in the first months of the department’s existence. That was relatively unheard of for a field that had historically taken two or three years to even get on UT students’ radar, said Domino Perez, director of the Center for Mexican American Studies.

“One of the things students look for — Hispanic students — in deciding where to go is whether there is an established area of study that focuses on their group or if there is a support system to aid students like them,” Perez said. “I think it’s going to be a huge recruiting tool.”

Beyond recruiting, the school has made strides in helping students graduate.

While the success rates for minority students lag behind whites, they have made progress. The percentage of black students who graduated in four years jumped a full 11 points to 42 percent between 2009 and 2014, for example.

Much of that is because of work being done by the

Division of Diversity and Community Engagement and by David Laude, referred to as the “graduation czar” in the provost’s office.

Laude drew national attention to UT with his datadriven approach to boosting the university’s graduation rate. Laude’s data can help predict which students are more likely to succeed, which helps the school focus on those who need the most help. His data has guided admissions, helped change degree pathways and created financial aid programs that incentivize four-year graduation.

The university, meanwhile, has worked more with K-12 schools to help prepare students before they arrive on campus.

UT’s elementary charter school in East Austin, for example, has become a “great model on how to effectively teach students in low-income areas,” Vincent said.

UT also offers $20,000 scholarships and leadership training to mostly first-generation students who would otherwise be at risk of dropping out through the University Leadership Network. The university also recently created a $15 million scholarship aimed at attracting the best-performing, most at-risk students. And UT has summer programs to help new students get acclimated to college life.

Despite the progress, the school has a ways to go.

Powers said the new strategies UT has adopted are “where computers were 15 years ago.”

“I think we’re at the start of a renaissance on that,” Powers said. “We’re learning a lot about subtler forms of disparities. I think there’s still a lot of work to do.”

But it will be Greg Fenves, who takes office this week as UT’s new president, who will see UT through that renaissance.

PAGE 4A

Zopinion

WEDNESDAY, JUNE 3, 2015

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

COLUMN

OTHER VIEWS

Campus crusaders Every generation has an opportunity to change the world. Right now, college campuses around the country are home to a moral movement that seeks to reverse centuries of historic wrongs.

This movement is led by students forced to live with the legacy of sexism, with the threat, and sometimes the experience, of sexual assault. It is led by students whose lives have been marred by racism and bigotry. It is led by people who want to secure equal rights for gays, lesbians and other historically marginalized groups.

These students are driven by noble impulses to do justice and identify oppression. They want to not only crack down on exploitation and discrimination, but also eradicate the cultural environment that tolerates these things. They want to police social norms so that hurtful comments are no longer tolerated and so that real bigotry is given no tacit support. Of course, at some level, they are right. Callous statements in the mainstream can lead to hostile behavior on the edge. That’s why we don’t tolerate Holocaust denial.

But when you witness how this movement is actually being felt on campus, you can’t help noticing that it sometimes slides into a form of zealotry. If you read the website of the group FIRE, which defends free speech on campus, if you read Kirsten Powers’s book, “The Silencing,” if you read Judith Shulevitz’s essay “In College and Hiding From Scary Ideas” that was published in The Times in Sunday Review on March 22, you come across tales of professors whose lives are ruined because they made innocent remarks; you see speech codes that inhibit free expression; you see reputations unfairly scarred by charges of racism and sexism.

The problem is that the campus activists have moral fervor, but don’t always have settled philosophies to restrain the fervor of their emotions. Settled philosophies are meant to (but obviously don’t always) instill a limiting sense of humility, a deference to the complexity and multifaceted nature of reality. But many of today’s activists are forced to rely on a relatively simple social theory.

According to this theory, the dividing lines between good and evil are starkly clear. The essential conflict is between the traumatized purity of the victim and the verbal violence of the oppressor.

According to this theory, the ultimate source of authority is not some hardto-understand truth. It is everybody’s personal feelings. A crime occurs when someone feels a hurt triggered, or when someone feels disagreed with or “unsafe.” In the Shulevitz

“

DAVID BROOKS

piece, a Brown student retreats from a campus debate to a safe room because she “was feeling bombarded by a lot of viewpoints that really go against” her dearly and closely held beliefs.

Today’s campus activists are not only going after actual acts of discrimination — which is admirable.

They are also going after incorrect thought — impiety and blasphemy. They are going after people for simply failing to show sufficient deference to and respect for the etiquette they hold dear. They sometimes conflate ideas with actions and regard controversial ideas as forms of violence.

Some of their targets have been deliberately impious. Laura Kipnis is a feminist film professor at Northwestern University who wrote a provocative piece on sexual mores on campus that was published in February. She was hit with two Title IX charges on the grounds, without evidence, that her words might have a “chilling effect” on those who might need to report sexual assaults. Other targets of this crusade had no idea what they were getting into. A student at George Washington wrote an essay on the pre-Nazi history of the swastika. A professor at Brandeis mentioned a historic slur against Hispanics in order to criticize it.

The scholar Wendy Kaminer mentioned the N-word at a Smith College alumni event in a clearly nonracist discussion of euphemism and free speech.

All of these people were targeted for purging merely for bringing unacceptable words into the public square. As Powers describes it in “The Silencing,” Kaminer was accused of racial violence and hate speech. The university president was pilloried for tolerating an environment that had been made “hostile.”

We’re now in a position in which the students and the professors and peers they target are talking past each other. The students feeling others don’t understand the trauma they’ve survived; the professors feeling as though they are victims in a modern Salem witch trial. Everybody walks on egg shells.

There will always be moral fervor on campus. A more mature moral fervor would be structured by the classic ideal of the worldly philosopher, by the desire to confront not hide from what you fear, but to engage the complexity of the world, and to know that sometimes the way to wisdom involves hurt feelings, tolerating difference and facing hard truths.

(David Brooks is a columnist for The New York Times.)

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

To be published, letters must include the writer’s first and last names as well as a phone number to verify identity. The phone number IS NOT published; it is used solely to verify identity and to clarify content, if necessary. Identity of the letter writer must be verified before publication.

We want to assure

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

Letters are edited for style, grammar, length and civility. No namecalling or gratuitous abuse is allowed.

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

COLUMN

Newspaper family suffers loss Those of us who have been privileged to do something we love dearly all of our lives belong to a group I named in a speech years ago as the Brotherhood of Community Newspapers.

Over time, with more experience in that genre, I decided it could also be called the Texas Country Newspaper Family.

That is in reference, of course, to small town newspapers and, more succinctly, to those folks who man the presses, so to speak.

Therein lies one of the major reasons I found that segment of the journalism profession to be most appealing to me as a way to make a living doing something I love.

People in country newspaper publishing have more in common than the old saying “ink in my blood.” The connections of shared experiences extends to a family affection that is so strong that we can finish each other’s sentences or resume an interrupted conversation by a newspaper convention adjournment at the next gathering months or even a year away.

Perhaps this is not unique to our profession, but I daresay the affection

and closeness created by the commonality of experience in serving a community in our manner is somehow extra special.

Other than spousal and familial love, I’ve experienced no greater or stronger feeling than those bonds between country newspaper editor-publishers.

And, so it is that when there is a loss, we all feel it deeply. There are those who may have additional connections to a fellow country newsperson and the death of a compatriot is even more painful.

Such an experience happened recently with the deaths of several dear friends in the country paper business: Nick and Mary West of the Palacios Beacon (just months apart); Bill Wilkerson, publisher of the Pleasanton Express; and Vana Tidwell of Granbury — wife, helpmate and partner — of Hood County News publisher Jerry Tidwell.

In addition to newspa-

pering, Nick and Mary shared the common bond with Julie and me of fighting cancer. And, we often met during his and my treatments at Houston’s M.D. Anderson Hospital.

Their spirit, determination and refusal to let the disease stop them from enjoying life was a great boost to my spirits and provided an impetus for my fight. Nick’s battle went on for almost a decade, so intense was his mind-set.

Bill Wilkerson’s great, happy spirit was silenced recently at age 90. This great, gregarious man was an inspiration to young journalists. He could encourage you but keep your ego from puffing beyond tolerance with some offhand remark.

Once, early in my career when I was making a move to a better job every few years, I was greeted at a press convention by Bill with an arm around my shoulder and a foghorn question ricocheting off the walls: “Where in hell are you now?!”

However, he never hesitated to help when I sought his advice and took advantage of his fine newspaper mind.

Julie and I enjoyed shared experiences with Jerry and Vana Tidwell — Texas Press Association conventions and meetings (he and I both served as president of that group); and National Newspaper Association meetings in Kansas City and Washington D.C. Vana’s omnipresent and dazzling smile was always a beacon to great visits.

Her great sense of humor exhibited her optimism and enjoyment of life.

Those who knew Vana well, knew she fought back problems for years. Yet, her good humor glowed and charmed all who knew her.

While we will all miss Vana’s great smile, we are grateful for the time we were able to know and enjoy her.

The Texas newspaper family has lost some wonderful members — friends whose value is incalculable. Additionally, the communities each of these folks served have suffered a great loss as well.

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

EDITORIAL

Chris Christie’s about-face THE WASHINGTON POST

Completing his Common Core U-turn, New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, R, offered the explanation that the rigorous academic standards simply aren’t working. That’s news to much of his state’s education leadership, which embraced them as central to preparing students for college, career and life. When we asked the governor’s office in what way the standards are “not working,” no specifics were forthcoming.

Mr. Christie’s rhetoric about the Common Core has nothing to do with educa-

tion and everything to do with his possible bid for the White House. Mr. Christie not so long ago was an unabashed supporter of the K-12 standards, developed at the impetus of governors and state education officials who recognized the value of consistent, real-world learning goals. As he tested the waters for a presidential run and encountered implacable opposition to the standards from his party’s most conservative wing, he expressed mounting doubts.

On Thursday, he completed his abandonment of principle, announcing an effort

to develop a new set of standards that would be unique to New Jersey.

Given the experience of other states that rolled out their own standards because of backlash against Common Core, chances are that any effort in New Jersey will produce something that bears a striking resemblance to Common Core. The development of duplicative standards will mean added expense and possible disruption for New Jersey teachers, students and parents who have been adjusting to Common Core. If that mattered to Mr. Christie, he at

least would have waited for the report, due in July, from the commission he appointed last year to review testing and standards.

Apparently waiting until July doesn’t suit Mr. Christie’s political calendar. Sadly, he is not the only GOP presidential hopeful turning his back on previous support of Common Core.

His fellow panderers include Bobby Jindal, Mike Huckabee and Scott Walker. What distinguishes Mr. Christie’s betrayal is that he promotes himself as a straight talker willing to stand up for principle, no matter the consequence.

CLASSIC DOONESBURY | GARRY TRUDEAU

WEDNESDAY, JUNE 3, 2015

ON THE WEB: THEZAPATATIMES.COM

Sports&Outdoors NATIONAL FOOTBALL LEAGUE: DALLAS COWBOYS

Jenkins looking for turnaround Former first-round pick tries to revive career with the Cowboys

By DWAIN PRICE MCCLATCHY-TRIBUNE

IRVING — A.J. Jenkins cringes when he hears the word "bust" attached to his name.

"I know I was a firstround pick years ago," the newest Dallas Cowboys receiver said. "But I’m not even on that Earth any more.

"I’m kind of just trying to make a team. I’m trying to be a part of this great organization, and they gave me an opportunity, so I’m going to make the best of it."

Jenkins signed a contract with the Cowboys last week, nearly three months after he was released by the Kansas City Chiefs.

The San Francisco 49ers gave up on Jenkins after just one uneventful season. They chose Jenkins in the first round No. 30 overall - of the 2012 NFL Draft.

But the 49ers were so uninspired by Jenkins’ performance that he was only active for three games as a rookie, played just 37 offensive snaps, had no catches and was targeted only once during a season in which San Francisco advanced to the Super Bowl.

After that season, the

49ers quickly parted ways with Jenkins.

Things weren’t much better for Jenkins with the Chiefs. In his two years in Kansas City, Jenkins caught only 17 passes for 223 yards in 25 games.

Suddenly, Jenkins found himself unemployed again when the Chiefs released him on Feb. 17.

Even Jenkins admits that, although the Cowboys have given him new life, his career is on shaky ground.

The Cowboys continue organized team activities next week at Valley Ranch.

"I know how it looks. I definitely know how it looks," Jenkins said. "But just the position that I was put in at that point and time 1/8in San Francisco3/8, I don’t really see myself as being a failure or nothing like that.

"My clock is ticking, I know that. So I’ve got to hurry up and make some plays and do something."

The Cowboys lost receiver Dwayne Harris to free agency and recently cut Chris Boyd to make room for Jenkins. Along with Devin Street, the Cowboys are hoping Jenkins will be able to add some depth at the receiver spot behind Dez Bryant, Terrance Williams and

Photo by Brandon Wade | AP

Dallas signed wide receiver A.J. Jenkins in the offseason as the former first-round pick from Illinois looks to get his career on track with the Cowboys.

Cole Beasley.

And although he is in catch-up mode as far as learning the playbook is concerned, Jenkins is not in position to offer any excuses.

"I have to definitely go out there every single day and work hard," Jenkins said. "That’s one thing that coach 1/8Jason3/8 Garrett does talk about

every single day is every guy is accountable.

"Even though I came late, I’m not trying to be that guy that doesn’t know what he’s doing and that doesn’t know what’s going on. Pretty much my main focus right now is just trying to study that playbook and just get as much knowledge and catch up as fast as I can."

The Cowboys view Jenkins as a player with a huge upside.

"We’re always trying to improve our team," Garrett said. "I think our personnel department has done a great job always kind of examining the landscape of personnel, and finding different guys that they think can help our team that we can evaluate.

"In some cases, we bring them in. We signed A.J. Jenkins, the receiver from that workout last week, so we think all those things are positive for us."

The 49ers had high expectations for Jenkins, who made 146 receptions for 2,022 yards and 15 touchdowns during his last two seasons at Illinois.

But the All-Big Ten selection never did live up to San Francisco’s expec-

tations and couldn’t fit in with a talented 49er cast of receivers that included Randy Moss, Michael Crabtree, Ted Ginn Jr., Mario Manningham and Kyle Williams.

Jenkins, 25, hopes that all changes with the Cowboys, although he’s more inclined now to just fly under the radar.

"I’m just trying to be part of the Cowboys," the 6-foot, 200-pound Jenkins said. "I don’t need to have any expectations.

"I want to see if I can go out there every day and just show the coaches and the organization that they made a good decision by signing me. That’s my main focus."

Although his stay was short-lived, Jenkins was appreciative of the time he spent with the 49ers.

"That was a program that was pretty stacked at the time," he said. "We went to the Super Bowl, so I experienced that.

"It was cool, it was a good run, it was a long season, but it was a good stretch. The guys that I was able to play with like Randy Moss and Crabtree, I don’t take it for granted, so I took as much advice as I could from those guys and now I’m trying to find my way in this league."

PÁGINA 6A

Zfrontera

Ribereña en Breve RECAUDACIÓN DE FONDOS El Boys and Girls Club del Condado de Zapata se encuentra recaudando fondos para sus programas juveniles y eventos programados para el 2015. Interesados en apoyar la causa, la compañía Tupperware se encuentra ofreciendo que por cada producto Tupperware que se compre, un 40 por ciento de las ventas se destinará directamente al club de Zapata. Le meta es recaudar 3.000 dólares. Pida informes llamando al (956) 765-3892.

MERCADO AGRÍCOLA Y DE ARTESANOS El Mercado Agrícola y de Artesanos de Zapata se realizará el sábado 6 de junio, de 9 a.m. a 1 p.m. en el estacionamiento del Centro Comunitario, 605 N US Highway 83. Pida informes en el (956) 536-7171.

REUNIÓN DE COMISIONADOS La corte de comisionados se reunirá en el Palacio de Justicia de Zapata, el lunes 8 de junio, de 9 a.m. a 12 p.m.

Más información llamando a Roxy Elizondo al (956) 7659920.

MIÉRCOLES 03 DE JUNIO DE 2015

FRAUDES

CORTE

Emite alerta

Dictan pena a 2 hombres

TIEMPO DE ZAPATA

El lunes, el Procurador General de Texas Ken Paxton, alertó a los residentes del Estado sobre posibles fraudes y aumentos ilegales en el precio de productos, tras los desastres.

A través de una conferencia de prensa celebrada en San Marcos, Paxton, junto a funcionarios de la región, dio a conocer la información.

Asimismo, visitaron centros de emergencia y voluntarios en San Marcos y Wimberley para conocer el daño tras las inundaciones que devastaron el área.

“Deseo alertar a todas las personas del área impactada por las inundaciones para que sean sumamente cuidadosas con las personas que ofrecen servicios”, señaló Paxton, de acuerdo con un comunicado. “En Texas, la Procuraduría General es la voz de la víctima, ya sea una víctima de delito o víctima de una tormenta. O, desafortunadamente, a veces de las dos cosas.”

Los fraudes por parte de

contratistas que no cumplen con el trabajo por el que ya han recibido pago son comunes después de un desastre como este, señaló Paxton, de acuerdo con un comunicado de prensa.

A las víctimas de las inundaciones se les pide ser precavidos con contratistas que vienen de fuera del área, no apresurarse para firmar un contrato, solicitar referencias y verificar con el Better Business Bureau para asegurarse de que están tratando con una empresa confiable. Además, bajo la ley estatal, una vez que el gobernador emite una declaración de desastre, los vendedores tienen prohibido cobrar precios exorbitantes por necesidades durante y después de la crisis.

“Hemos sido testigos del valor de nuestros oficiales de primeros auxilios y de la generosidad de los vecinos que se han unido para ayudar a otros tejanos”, dijo Paxton.

“Lo último que necesitan las personas que han perdido todo es que aparezcan personas con falsas pretensiones aprovechándose de sus circuns-

tancias”.

El Gobernador Greg Abbott declaró estado de desastre en 70 condados de Texas.

Estos son: Angelina, Archer, Bastrop, Blanco, Bosque, Bowie, Burleson, Caldwell, Cass, Cherokee, Clay, Collin, Comal, Cooke, Denton, Dewitt, Eastland, Edwards, Ellis, Fannin, Fayette, Gaines, Garza, Gillespie, Grayson, Grimes, Guadalupe, Harris, Harrison, Hays, Henderson, Hidalgo, Hill, Hood, Houston, Jasper, Johnson, Kaufman, Kendall, Lamar, Leon, Liberty, Lynn, Madison, Milam, Montague, Navarro, Newton, Nueces, Parker, Real, Red River, Refugio, Rusk, Sabine, San Jacinto, Smith, Travis, Tyler, Uvalde, Van Zandt, Victoria, Walker, Waller, Wharton, Wichita, Williamson, Wilson, Wise y Zavala.

Los residentes en los condados afectados que creen haber sido defraudados o encontrado aumento ilegal de precios deben llamar gratis a la línea de quejas de la Procuraduría General al (800) 621-0508 o presentar una queja en línea en www.texasattorneygeneral.gov.

POR PHILIP BALLI TIEMPO DE ZAPATA

Dos hombres acusados del tráfico de 23 inmigrantes indocumentados en el Condado de Jim Hogg, fueron sentenciados el martes en una corte federal de Laredo.

Agentes federales arrestaron a Jaime Rosali Reyes y a Cervando Bustos-Peñaloza, el 9 de junio de 2014.

Un gran jurado los acusó formalmente el 8 de julio, con un cargo por conspiración para transportar inmigrantes indocumentados a Estados Unidos y cuatro cargos por transportar e intentar transportar inmigrantes indocumentados a cambio de un pago.

Bustos-Peñaloza se declare culpable el 5 de diciembre, a los cinco cargos de la acusación.

La Juez de Distrito de EU, Diana Saldaña, sentenció a Bustos-Peñaloza a dos años en prisión federal.

Reyes se declaró culpable el 16 de enero, a un cargo por transportar e intentar transportar inmigrantes indocumentados. Como parte del acuerdo de culpa, la fiscalía desestimó los cargos restantes de la acusación formal. Saldaña le ordenó 18 meses en prisión. Los dos hombres fueron arrestados cuando un oficial de la Oficina del Fiscal del Condado de Jim Hogg notificó a las autoridades federales que tenía en custodia a dos sospechosos de traficar a 23 inmigrantes indocumentados. Además autoridades federales tomaron a 23 inmigrantes en custodia, y decomisaron dos paquetes de marihuana y 19.700 dólares.

TAMAULIPAS

CAMPAMENTO DE VERANO

CIERRE DE CAMPAÑAS

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. No habrá transporte.

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.

Para más información puede llamar a Gerardo García al (956) 765-6917; a Dalia García, al (956) 765-4332; a Ana Martínez, al (956) 7655611; 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.

TORNEO DE PESCA A partir del jueves 11 de junio, a las 8 a.m., y hasta el sábado 13 de junio, a las 8 p.m. se realizará el Torneo de Pesca API, en Beacon Lodge.

Foto de cortesía

Foto de cortesía

La candidata a diputada del Distrito I, por el Partido Revolucionario Institucional (PRI), junto a su equipo de trabajo durante el cierre de campaña en Miguel Alemán, México.

La candidata del Partido Acción Nacional (PAN) al Distrito I de Tamaulipas, junto a su equipo durante el cierre de campaña en Nuevo Laredo, México.

Candidatas llegan a cierre con mensaje a comunidad TIEMPO DE ZAPATA

C

on el día de elecciones próximo, los candidatos a diputado por el Distrito I de Tamaulipas, han comenzado con los cierres de campañas en las diferentes ciudades que integran el distrito, tal fue el caso de las candidatas a la diputación por los partidos Revolucionario Institucional (PRI) y Acción Nacional (PAN).

Yahleel Abdala El martes, la candidata a diputada por el PRI, Yahleel Abdala, estuvo en Miguel Alemán, México, donde simpatizantes le manifesta-

ron su apoyo.

Durante el evento, la candidata estuvo acompañada por su suplente Claudia Ochoa y con Cristina Díaz Salazar, secretaria general de la Confederación Nacional de Organizaciones Populares (CNOP), señala un comunicado.

“El proyecto político no es sólo de Claudia Ochoa y Yahleel Abdala, es de la ciudadanía del primer distrito, son sus peticiones, sugerencias, propuestas y expresión de las necesidades que vamos a resolver”, dijo la candidata. “Somos mujeres entregadas, trabajadoras, comprometidas y cumplidoras. Estaremos atentas a sus necesidades en todo momento, todos los días, porque el contacto permanente con la gente

es una obligación del diputado federal”.

Abdala expresó su agradecimiento a los habitantes de Miguel Alemán que acudieron al evento, por la confianza depositada en su proyecto. Asimismo reafirmó que, en caso de ser electa, volverá a los municipios que ya visitó, culmina el comunicado.

Laura Zárate Para culminar con su campaña la candidata por el PAN, realizó un evento en Nuevo Laredo, México, donde realizó un recuento de las actividades realizadas hasta el momento.

PARTIDO AMISTOSO

“Soy una mujer, que sabe lo que necesitan aquí en la región… Soy una empresaria, que sabe lo que necesitan los negocios para crecer…

Soy madre, se lo que nuestros hijos necesitan para seguir estudiando, para conseguir empleo… Para salir a divertirse con seguridad”, dijo Zarate durante su discurso, de acuerdo con un comunicado.

Durante la campaña Zarate visitó a residentes de Nuevo Laredo, Ciudad Guerrero, Ciudad Mier, Miguel Alemán y Camargo, México, de acuerdo con un comunicado.

Zarate reafirmo su compromiso con los residentes y ciudadanos.

“Volveré a cada municipio que ya visité y lo haré con resultados”, finaliza el comunicado.

EDUCACIÓN

REUNIÓN DE COMISIONADOS

Invitan a cursos de capacitación

La corte de comisionados se reunirá en el Palacio de Justicia de Zapata, el lunes 8 de junio, de 9 a.m. a 12 p.m.

Más información llamando a Roxy Elizondo al (956) 7659920.

TIEMPO DE ZAPATA

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.

Los integrantes del club interesados en participar pueden llamar al (956) 7653892.

La participación es exclusiva para integrantes del club.

Las personas que gusten inscribirse pueden acudir al club o llamar al (956) 765-3892.

Foto de cortesía

El domingo, la selección de Nueva Ciudad Guerrero, México, se enfrentó a "Botafogo", equipo subcampeón de Nuevo Laredo, México. El encuentro amistoso fue en la cancha de Fútbol 7, Profr. Evereardo Barrientos, en Nueva Ciudad Guerrero.

El Departamento de Educación Continua del Laredo Community College, está buscando estudiantes para el programa Academia de Construcción de una Carrera en Texas, cuyo objetivo es proporcionar entrenamiento y certificación en construcción de carreteras.

En el proyecto también colabora el Departamento de Transportes de Texas y la Universidad de Texas en Arlington.

La academia hace hincapié en impartir entrenamiento de calidad para los

estudiantes y así cumplir con la demanda de trabajadores de la construcción de carreteras. Entre los temas/ cursos que se impartirán están: Introducción a la Industria de la Construcción de Carreteras; Administración de Seguridad y Salud en el Trabajo, una certificación de 10 horas; primeros auxilios/CPR/AED para trabajadores; entre otros. El programa será en dos sesiones, del 10 al 12 de julio y del 17 al 19 de julio, y continuará del 20 al 31 de julio, de 8 a.m. a 5 p.m. en el salón 108 de De la Garza Building, en el Campus Fort McIntosh.

Nation

WEDNESDAY, JUNE 3, 2015

NSA bill sent to Obama

By ERICA WERNER ASSOCIATED PRESS

WASHINGTON — Congress approved sweeping changes Tuesday to surveillance laws enacted after the Sept. 11 attacks, eliminating the National Security Agency’s disputed bulk phone-records collection program and replacing it with a more restrictive measure to keep the records in phone companies’ hands.

Two days after Congress let the phone-records and several other anti-terror programs expire, the Senate’s 67-32 vote sent the legislation to President Barack Obama, who said he would sign it promptly.

“This legislation will strengthen civil liberty safeguards and provide greater public confidence in these programs,” Obama said in a statement. The bill signing could happen late Tuesday or early Wednesday, but officials said it could take at least several days to restart the collection.

The legislation will revive most of the programs the Senate had allowed to lapse in a dizzying collision of presidential politics and national security policy.

But the authorization will undergo major changes, the legacy of agency contractor Edward Snowden’s explosive revelations two years ago about domestic spying by the government.

In an unusual shifting of alliances, the legislation passed with the support of Obama and House Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio, but over the strong opposition of Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell. McConnell failed to persuade the Senate to extend the current law unchanged.

THE ZAPATA TIMES 7A

Obama picks envoy to Mexico

By JULIE HIRSCHFELD DAVIS AND RANDAL C. ARCHIBOLD NEW YORK TIMES

WASHINGTON — President Barack Obama will nominate Roberta S. Jacobson, the top State Department official for Latin America and his point person in negotiations to re-establish diplomatic ties with Cuba, to be the U.S. ambassador to Mexico, White House officials said Monday.

In choosing Jacobson, 53, a Mexico specialist who rose through the ranks of the State Department and made the rare transformation from career civil servant to senior diplomat, Obama turned to a trusted official with allies in both political parties whose résumé seems tailor-made for the post.

Congressman Henry Cuellar, D-Laredo, applauded this nomination in a press release.

“I have been impressed with Ms. Jacobson’s deep

knowledge of Mexico and the rest of Latin America and fully support her nomination,” Cuellar said.

“Ms. JacobJACOBSON son and I have worked together before, including on the Mérida Initiative, and she has proven herself to be an able and effective leader. I know she will serve well as the U.S. Ambassador to Mexico, and I look forward to working together to continue to improve and grow the relationship between the U.S. and Mexico.”

Over the span of both the Bush and the Obama administrations, she has handled every aspect of the delicate and vital relationship between the United States and Mexico, starting as the desk officer at the State Department and rising to the top post overseeing the Western Hemisphere.

Her work to restore dip-

lomatic relations with Cuba could make her nomination a flashpoint for critics of Obama’s new policy.

Yet CUELLAR her selection also suggests that the talks on opening embassies in Havana and Washington, the latest round of which concluded last month without a final resolution, are in their final stages.

If confirmed, Jacobson would be the first woman to serve as the ambassador to Mexico. She is fluent in Spanish and formerly served as deputy assistant secretary of state for Canada, Mexico and North American Free Trade Agreement issues. She also led the Office of Mexican Affairs.

The selection represents a change of approach for Obama in choosing an envoy to Mexico, the closest of American allies in the La-

tin world.

His initial pick for the post was Maria Echaveste, the daughter of Mexican immigrants and a former Clinton administration aide with no diplomatic background.

She was a strong supporter of the Democratic presidential contender Hillary Rodham Clinton and a vocal proponent of an immigration overhaul. Echaveste’s nomination languished for months without so much as a hearing on Capitol Hill. She withdrew her name in late January.

Jacobson, by contrast, has support from both Republicans and Democrats.

But opponents of Obama’s rapprochement with Cuba may seek to block her confirmation over the matter, as Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., a presidential candidate, did temporarily when Jacobson was named to her current post. Asked whether Rubio would seek to do so again, a spokeswoman, Brooke Sammon, said only

that he would be “closely reviewing” her record.

The current ambassador, E. Anthony Wayne, has kept a low profile, attending business and educational conferences. Jacobson, analysts said, is likely to be more comfortable engaging a wide range of Mexicans.

“She really has been the person who has managed the relationship, starting with day-to-day stuff on the Mexico desk and up to high strategic levels from the past decade,” said Andrew Selee, director of the Woodrow Wilson Center’s Mexico Institute.

Jacobson’s appointment will probably be welcomed in Mexico City, where she is a well-known figure with a reputation for a pragmatic approach to the recurrent frictions in the countries’ relationship.

“I cannot think of a diplomat as well prepared for this as she is,” said Rafael Fernandez de Castro, chief of international studies at ITAM, a university in Mexico City.

Nation

8A THE ZAPATA TIMES

WEDNESDAY, JUNE 3, 2015

FBI behind mysterious planes

By JACK GILLUM, EILEEN SULLIVAN AND ERIC TUCKER ASSOCIATED PRESS

Photo by Mindy Schauer/The Orange County Register | AP

Workers with JW Landscape work on removing 300,000 square feet of turf at Suzuki headquarters in Brea, Calif.

Californians used less water

By FENIT NIRAPPIL AND ELLEN KNICKMEYER ASSOCIATED PRESS

SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Californians are using less water, but they’ll have to conserve a lot more to achieve the mandatory cuts taking effect this month, according to the latest numbers released Tuesday.

California residents reduced overall water usage by 13.5 percent compared to the same month in the benchmark year of 2013, water officials said.

That’s the second-best conservation achievement since state officials started closely tracking water use more than a year ago, but falls short of the 25 percent cuts Gov. Jerry Brown made mandatory for cities and towns as of June 1.

“Local communities are stepping up in a way they weren’t before, and I’m hoping that’s why we are starting to see the uptick” in conservation, said Felicia Marcus, chairwoman of the state Water Resources Control Board.

“The real challenge is, we really have to step it up for the summer months,” Marcus said. “If we miss the summer, we are toast.”

April’s still-lackluster overall achievement reported by the roughly 400 water agencies in the state could raise concerns about whether Californians have fully acknowledged the drought’s severity.

This year’s Sierra Nevada snowpack, which feeds the state’s rivers, was the lowest on record — a grim image that served as Brown’s backdrop when he announced unprecedented conservation measures on April 1.

“When they saw the governor out on that dry meadow and saw what was in his executive order, and realized it was really time to step up, they really started to step up,” said board scientist Max Gomberg, who is overseeing conservation.

April’s best conservers included Santa Rosa, a city of 170,000 north of San Francisco, which reported a 32 percent drop compared to 2013. The city offered a host of programs to achieve this, paying residents to reduce 52 football fields’ worth of lawn and giving away 50,000 low-flush toilets since 2007.

Saved water “is the cheapest water you can find,” said David Guhin, water director for Santa Rosa.

“It’s gotten to where lawns are uncool.”

Cool or no, many communities are still falling far short.

“Fifty-thousand toilets?

Really? We don’t have that kind of money,” said Alan Tandy, city manager of Bakerfield, where water use actually increased by 1 percent in the latest state count.

Besides offering some modest rebate programs for water conservation, the working-class city of farms and oil rigs was finding it “difficult to get the word out to everybody” about saving, Tandy said.

The Southern California coast, a region including Los Angeles and San Diego, cut just 9 percent in April, compared to a 20 percent reduction in the San Francisco Bay Area and 24 percent in the Sacramento area.

Among cities of 40,000 or more, the steepest reduction in the state, 45 percent, was reported by the water company serving Livermore.

The worst was Escondido, reporting a 20 percent increase.

Water districts missing their targets face potential fines of up to $10,000 a day once June numbers are in, although a far more likely outcome will be state-ordered changes in local regulations, like tougher limits on lawn-watering.

Each community was assigned a reduction target, with some ordered to cut back as much as 36 percent.

Water waste also is being tracked, and the board could penalize local agencies that don’t crack down.

WASHINGTON — Scores of low-flying planes circling American cities are part of a civilian air force operated by the FBI and obscured behind fictitious companies, The Associated Press has learned.

The AP traced at least 50 aircraft back to the FBI, and identified more than 100 flights in 11 states over a 30-day period since late April, orbiting both major cities and rural areas. At least 115 planes, including 90 Cessna aircraft, were mentioned in a federal budget document from 2009.

For decades, the planes have provided support to FBI surveillance operations on the ground. But now the aircraft are equipped with high-tech cameras, and in rare circumstances, technology capable of tracking thousands of cellphones, raising questions about how these surveillance flights affect Americans’ privacy.

“It’s important that federal law enforcement personnel have the tools they need to find and catch criminals,” said Charles Grassley, chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee. “But whenever an operation may also monitor the activities of Americans who are not the intended target, we must make darn sure that safeguards are in place to protect the civil liberties of innocent Americans.”

The FBI says the planes are not equipped or used for bulk collection activities or mass surveillance.

The surveillance equipment is used for ongoing investigations, the FBI says, generally without a judge’s approval.

The FBI confirmed for the first time the wide-scale use of the aircraft, which the AP traced to at least 13 fake companies, such as FVX Research, KQM Aviation, NBR Aviation and PXW Services.

“The FBI’s aviation program is not secret,” spokes-

Photo by Andrew Harnik | AP

A small plane flies near Manassas Regional Airport in Manassas, Va. The plane is among a fleet of surveillance aircraft by the FBI. man Christopher Allen said in a statement. “Specific aircraft and their capabilities are protected for operational security purposes.”

The front companies are used to protect the safety of the pilots, the agency said.

That setup also shields the identity of the aircraft so that suspects on the ground don’t know they’re being followed.

The FBI is not the only federal law enforcement agency to take such measures.

The Drug Enforcement Administration has its own planes, also registered to fake companies, according to a 2011 Justice Department inspector general report. At the time, the DEA had 92 aircraft in its fleet.

And since 2007, the U.S. Marshals Service has operated an aerial surveillance program with its own fleet equipped with technology that can capture data from thousands of cellphones, the Wall Street Journal reported last year.

In the FBI’s case, one of its fake companies shares a post office box with the Justice Department, creating a link between the companies and the FBI through publicly available Federal Aviation Administration records.

Basic aspects of the FBI’s program are withheld from the public in censored versions of official reports from the Justice Department’s inspector general, and the FBI also has been careful not to reveal its sur-

veillance flights in court documents. The agency will not say how many planes are currently in its fleet.

The planes are equipped with technology that can capture video of unrelated criminal activity on the ground that could be handed over to prosecutions.

One of the planes, photographed in flight last week by the AP in northern Virginia, bristled with unusual antennas under its fuselage and a camera on its left side.

Some of the aircraft can also be equipped with technology that can identify thousands of people below through the cellphones they carry, even if they’re not making a call or in public. Officials said that practice, which mimics cell towers and gets phones to reveal basic subscriber information, is used in only limited situations.

“These are not your grandparents’ surveillance aircraft,” said Jay Stanley, a senior policy analyst with the American Civil Liberties Union. Stanley said the flights are significant “if the federal government is maintaining a fleet of aircraft whose purpose is to circle over American cities, especially with the technology we know can be attached to those aircraft.”

The Justice Department recently published a privacy policy for its agencies’ use of drones and unmanned aircraft systems.

But that policy does not apply to piloted aircraft. An

FBI spokesman said the FBI’s flights comply with agency rules.

Those rules, which are heavily redacted in publicly available documents, limit the types of equipment the agency can use, as well as the justifications and duration of the surveillance.

Evolving technology can record higher-quality video from long distances, even at night, and can capture certain identifying information from cellphones using a device known as a “cellsite simulator” — or Stingray, to use one of the product’s brand names. These can trick pinpointed cellphones into revealing identification numbers of subscribers, including those not suspected of a crime.

The FBI has recently begun obtaining court orders to use this technology. Previously, the Obama administration had been directing local authorities through secret agreements not to reveal their own use of the devices, even encouraging prosecutors to drop cases rather than disclose the technology’s use in open court.

Officials say cellphone surveillance from FBI aircraft was rarely used.

Details confirmed by the FBI about its air force track closely with published reports since at least 2003 that a government surveillance program might be behind suspicious-looking planes slowly circling neighborhoods.

One such plane was spotted during the recent disturbance in Baltimore that followed the death of 25year-old Freddie Gray, who sustained grievous injuries while in police custody. In that instance, the FBI was helping local police with aerial support, which it occasionally does when asked.

Those types of requests are reviewed by senior FBI officials. During the past few weeks, the AP tracked planes from the FBI’s fleet on more than 100 flights over at least 11 states plus the District of Columbia, most with Cessna 182T Skylane aircraft.

WEDNESDAY, JUNE 3, 2015

THE ZAPATA TIMES 9A

MAGDALENA E. GUZMAN Magdalena E. Guzman, 66, passed away on Saturday, May 30, 2015 at Laredo Specialty Hospital in Laredo, Texas.

Mrs. Guzman is preceded in death by her daughters, Juana Estela Guzman and Juana Elena Guzman; parents, Seferino and Eloisa Escamilla and a brother, Rodolfo Escamilla.

Mrs. Guzman is survived by her husband, Francisco J. Guzman; sons, Francisco J. Jr. (Maria L.) Guzman, Israel Guzman, Luis A. (Rosalinda) Guzman, Miguel A. Guzman, Juan F. (Aida) Guzman; daughters, Eloisa (Jose L.) Sanchez, Ana (Antonio) Benitez, Adelita Guzman, Dora A. (Serafin) Briseño, Maria T. Guzman, Martha L. (Miguel) Salazar, Margarita E. (Lorenzo) Soliz; forty grandchildren; four greatgrandchildren and by numerous brothers, sisters, nephews, nieces, other family members and friends.

Visitation hours were held on Monday, June 1, 2015, from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. with a rosary at 7 p.m. at

Rose Garden Funeral Home.

The funeral procession departed on Tuesday, June 2, 2015, at 9:30 a.m. for a 10 a.m. funeral Mass at Our Lady of Lourdes Catholic Church.

Committal services followed at Zapata County Cemetery.

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

BILLS Continued from Page 1A ing sanctuary cities an emergency item in 2011, the business community and some conservative groups worked behind the scenes to stop the legislation. Watson said this year saw a repeat of those actions.

“There was a lot of effort that went into melting away labels and looking, with some level of precision, at what these bills actually did,” he said.

Immigrant rights groups are also sharing the credit for stopping the measures. They cite public testimony, which at times lasted until the early-morning hours during committee hearings, as a possible game-changer this session.

“No doubt this was made possible through your help in contacting your Senators and sharing your stories,” the Latino Center for Leadership Development, a coalition of educators, business groups and advocates, said in a statement issued after key deadlines for the bills had passed. “Thanks to the strong coalition that you helped build in order to KeepHB1403 intact for our families.

Thank you for your efforts!”

The House steered away from the issues all session, and lawmakers in the lower chamber said they would not amend border security bills with immigration legislation.

What could have been the

final vehicle for the "sanctuary cities" bill, House Bill 11, a broad-based border security bill by state Rep. Dennis Bonnen, RAngleton, was sent to Gov. Greg Abbott’s desk late last week.

The Senate sponsor of that measure, state Sen. Brian Birdwell, R-Granbury, did not allow amendments, and Bonnen said he wasn’t sure if any others senators discussed attaching anything. But he wouldn’t have allowed it, he said.

"It would have made it harder on the bill," he said. "I personally support the sanctuary cities bill.

But it doesn’t belong on the border security bill."

The conservative grassroots is also likely to continue hounding lawmakers after the session. Several Tea Party groups released a statement as key deadlines approached in May warning lawmakers that they wouldn’t settle for excuses about “running out of time” on several issues, including immigration-enforcement legislation.

“It’s beginning to look as if some of those campaign promises are ‘all hat and no cattle,’” JoAnn Fleming, the executive director of Grassroots America, a conservative East Texas group, said in a statement. “With the condition our country is in, we’re in no mood for any stalling, slow walking, or backtracking from Texas leaders.”

FRACKING Continued from Page 1A guidelines in communicating our plans to resume work on June 1st,” Seth Urruty, the company’s vice president of development, said in a prepared statement. “We work hard to be a good neighbor in the communities where we work and Denton is no exception.”

Activists and city officials said they aren’t precisely sure what’s next for the city of roughly 123,000, but agreed that its antifracking push — and the Legislature’s swift move to quash it — have fundamentally changed attitudes, stirring outrage and a conversation that could last for years.

“What they did with HB 40 is raising awareness, and it’s giving people a voice,” said Cathy McMullen, who spearheaded Denton’s push against fracking, the practice of blasting apart underground shale to bolster oil and gas production.

McMullen, a home health nurse, said she has fielded messages from angry residents of drilling towns across Texas, and is in some ways “grateful” that the Legislature enacted such a far-reaching law.

“This is a unifying thing for communities.”

Denton will weigh its next step Tuesday evening when its City Council takes up a measure that would remove the fracking ban from its books — a debate that’s sure to turn emotional.

“It’s a big deal when you invalidate a vote,” said Mayor Chris Watts. “I think we expected something like that, and we knew fracking would be-

gin. But this is just another step, another stage in the journey.”

Nearly 59 percent of Denton voters supported the fracking ban last November after backers — outspent by petroleum interests 10 to 1 — canvassed neighborhoods, staged puppet shows and performed song-and-dance numbers.

The ban’s proponents called it a last-ditch effort to address noise and toxic fumes that spew from wells just beyond their backyards, saying loopholes and previous zoning decisions rendered changes to the city’s drilling ordinance unenforceable.

Opponents – including most Texas regulators and lawmakers – say the policy effectively halted all drilling inside Denton, keeping mineral owners from using their property.

The Texas Oil and Gas Association — the state’s largest petroleum group — and the Texas General Land Office each filed suits against Denton just hours after the votes were tallied, calling the ban unconstitutional. (Parties in those disputes both say they are now negotiating a resolution, but have not released a timeline. Whether the city formally drops its ban will affect the outcome.)

And in May, Gov. Greg Abbott signed HB 40 into law, saying Texas needed to avoid a “patchwork of local regulations” that threaten oil and gas production and private property rights.

Energy companies and industry groups support the law, whose preamble

states that the act “expressly pre-empts regulation of oil and gas operations by municipalities and other political subdivisions.”

“The whole process in Denton certainly shined a light on the whole dilemma and started the process of people thinking about, how clear is the law,” Todd Staples, former agriculture commissioner and current president of the oil and gas association, said in an interview, calling the law a “balanced approach to regulation.”

“This is not an environment where everybody gets what they want,” he added.

The new law lists some areas cities can still regulate, including fire and emergency response, traffic, lights and noise — but only if such rules are “commercially reasonable.” The language also allows cities to enact some setbacks between drilling sites and certain buildings, but critics call the language vague and likely to trigger more litigation.

“It has provided some line of clarity, but in other ways it hasn’t addressed the root problem, which I think poses a high risk of continued litigation,” Watts told The Texas Tribune.

Though fracking’s resumption seemed to bring Denton full circle on Monday, Watts said that he had no regrets about defending the ban in court and before the Legislature – even if it cost the city some $220,000 in legal fees alone.

“It raised these questions of local control. It raised these questions

about health and safety,” he said. “There comes a time when your values and your principles are paramount, and if you strongly believe in something, you just have to do what you need to do.”

Not all Dentonites agreed.

“Minerals in Texas were never meant to be voted on, and they take precedence over surface,” said Bobby Jones, who owns mineral rights on 82 acres of land in town and was the local face of the industry’s campaign against the fracking ban last year. “I think it’s back where it used to be."

Though Vantage resumed fracking on Monday, it did so a bit later than planned. That’s because three residents – flanked by a sign displaying the language of Denton’s fracking ordinance and cheered on by a gaggle of fellow activists nearby – blocked the entrance to the company’s pad site on Nail Road for about hour, keeping some trucks from entering.

Police arrested the trio on criminal trespassing charges.

Adam Briggle, a North Texas University philosophy professor who was among those booked, said state lawmakers were “sowing the seeds of their own undoing” by overturning the local ban.

“We’re not done fighting,” he said after a threehour stint in the county jail. “It’s like the vote in November, they can’t take that away from us, and they can’t take the community we built away from us.”

CAMPUS CARRY Continued from Page 1A pus carry” — had repeatedly stalled under Republican majorities in Texas since a student killed 32 people at Virginia Tech in 2007. But last-minute concessions that give skittish university leaders leeway to carve out “gun-free zones” finally won the support to push the bill through.

Guns brought into college classrooms must remain out of sight. But most everywhere else in Texas, openly carrying a holstered gun in public will become legal in September — another measure approved this session.

“The men and women of Texas who carry have been waiting to go to classrooms, but we have been asking them to put their weapons up,” said Republican state Rep. Allen Fletcher, a former Houston police officer who sponsored the bill.

The House passed the measure 98-47. Abbott is ex-

pected to sign the bill into law, which won’t take effect on campuses until fall 2016.

Loosening gun restrictions give newcomers Abbott and Republican Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick, the powerful Senate leader who used big-money donors as a private sounding board for legislation, the bragging rights of succeeding where their predecessors failed.

But it also provided extra cover with tea party voters who helped put them in office.

Republicans will leave Austin with a long list of conservative victories: the biggest Texas tax cuts in a decade, doubling spending on security at the border with Mexico and weakening the power of judges and public corruption prosecutors in liberal Travis County.

But other proposed crackdowns on immigration went nowhere, and efforts to defy the U.S. Su-

preme Court if gay marriage is legalized this summer fizzled. Both were craved by the most conservative bloc of Republican voters and lawmakers, but drew defiance from outnumbered Democrats and business groups.

Watching those hot-button issues wither, were of little consolation to Democrats whose party was whipped on Election Day last November and then further pushed to the sidelines upon coming back to work.

Health care was practically a non-issue and public schools only received a small bump in funding despite billions of dollars in revenue that Republicans are leaving unspent. When Abbott made boosting pre-K his first education initiative and dangled an extra $130 million in front of schools — far less than what Texas cut from pre-K in 2011 while slashing the

state budget to the bone — Democrats considered that figure as a starting point.

Instead, the bottom line never budged.

“Certainly the funds are there for a variety of those things. But the political will wasn’t there,” said Democratic state Rep. Chris Turner, who ran Wendy Davis’ failed run for governor last year.

Abbott wields line-item veto power over the budget.

The last time Texas had a new governor, Perry stunned lawmakers by vetoing dozens of bills in a show of power, though Abbott’s political style is more reserved than the bravado of his predecessor.

Gun advocates say there will likely be very few concealed weapons on campus because most students won’t qualify for one. Texas has about 850,000 concealed handgun license holders, all of whom must be 21 or older.

10A THE ZAPATA TIMES

WEDNESDAY, JUNE 3, 2015