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‘CAMPUS CARRY’
TEXAS-MEXICO BORDER
Colleges’ reactions Schools have a year to decide how to implement law By JUDITH RAYO THE ZAPATA TIMES
Now that the Texas governor has signed into law a bill allowing the carrying of handguns on higher education campuses, college officials will have to figure out how they will implement the law.
The “campus carry” law, which takes effect in August 2016, allows higher education instituKECK tions to create reasonable rules and regulations against carrying handguns, including
establishing gun-free zones. However, the regulations cannot “have the effect of generally prohibiting license holders from carrying concealed handguns on the campus,” the law states. Ray Keck, Texas A&M International University president, said Monday that the Texas A&M University Sys-
tem will begin working on a plan to implement the new law. “Our goal will be to implement the law in a manner consistent with the Legislature’s intent, enhancing the safety and well-being of everyone,” Keck said in a state-
Photo by Eric Gay | AP file
In this July 24, 2014 file photo, troopers patrol on the Rio Grand along the border, in Mission, Texas.
See CAMPUS CARRY PAGE 10A
What the TROPICAL STORM BILL border MORE RAIN ACROSS STATE bill can do Is Texas spending $800M to create its own border patrol? By SETH ROBBINS AND PAUL J. WEBER ASSOCIATED PRESS
Photo by Rachel Denny Clow/Corpus Christi Caller-Times | AP
A woman walks back from watching the waves roll over the end of the 29th Street Galveston rock groin Tuesday, in Galveston, Texas as Tropical Storm Bill makes landfall near Matagorda Bay on the Texas Gulf coast.
Texas communities brace for more severe weather By DAVID WARREN ASSOCIATED PRESS
DALLAS — Tropical Storm Bill moved slowly over inland Texas on Tuesday, bringing another round of heavy rains to a state weary from recent deadly floods, evacuations and washed-out
roads. The storm came ashore shortly before noon along Matagorda Island with maximum sustained winds of 60 mph, according to the National Hurricane Center in Miami. Personnel from the Federal Emergency Management
Agency who were sent to Texas and Oklahoma after severe flooding over Memorial Day weekend will remain in the region to help prepare for Tropical Storm Bill and help clean up in its aftermath, White House spokesman Josh Earnest said Tuesday. “I’m not afraid; we’ve had
so many storms,” said Maria Cedillo, who stopped by fishing boats docked in Corpus Christi on Tuesday to buy crabs. “When there’s a big one coming we move out. But this isn’t one of them.” According to projections
MCALLEN — When former Gov. Rick Perry ordered a big reinforcement of security at the Mexico border in 2011, Texas bought six new gunboats that can fire 900 rounds a minute and clock highway speeds. But the boats, which cost $580,000 each, spent more time docked than patrolling the Rio Grande. That was a small price tag compared with what Texas is about to spend. The new Republican governor, Greg Abbott, this month approved $800 million for border security over the next two years — more than double any similar period during Perry’s 14 years in office. On Texas’ shopping list is a second $7.5 million high-altitude plane to scan the border, a new border crime data center, a 5,000-acre training facility for border law-enforcement agencies and grants for year-round helicopter flights. The state also wants to hire two dozen Texas Rangers to investigate public corruption along the border and 250 new state troopers as a down payment on a permanent force along the border. Other states along the nearly 2,000-mile Southwest border — New Mexico, Arizona and California — do not come remotely close to the resources Texas has committed. And Texas is doing so long after last year’s surge in undocumented immigrants crossing the border has subsided.
See WEATHER PAGE 10A See BORDER PAGE 10A
2016 PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDACY
Jeb Bush announces run By STEVE PEOPLES AND BRENDAN FARRINGTON ASSOCIATED PRESS
MIAMI — Vowing to win the Republican presidential nomination on his own merits, Jeb Bush launched a White House bid months in the making Monday with a promise to stay true to his beliefs — easier said
than done in a bristling primary contest where his conservative credentials will be sharply challenged. “Not a one of us deserves the job by right of resume, party, seniority, family, or family narrative. It’s nobody’s turn,” Bush said, confronting critics who suggest he simply seeks to inherit the office
already held by his father and brother. “It’s everybody’s test, and it’s wide open — exactly as a contest for president should be.” Bush sought to turn the prime argument against his candidacy on its head, casting himself as the true Washington outsider while lashing out at competitors in both parties as being
part of the problem. He opened his campaign at a rally near his south Florida home at Miami Dade College, an institution with a large and diverse student body that symbolizes the nation he seeks to lead. “The presidency should not be passed on from one
See BUSH PAGE 10A
Photo by Lynne Sladky | AP
Former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush waves before announcing his bid for the Republican presidential nomination, at Miami Dade College.
PAGE 2A
Zin brief CALENDAR
WEDNESDAY, JUNE 17, 2015
AROUND TEXAS
TODAY IN HISTORY
Wednesday, June 17
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. Call 956-326DOME (3663).
Today is Wednesday, June 17, the 168th day of 2015. There are 197 days left in the year. Today’s Highlight in History: On June 17, 1775, the Revolutionary War Battle of Bunker Hill resulted in a costly victory for the British, who suffered heavy losses. On this date: In 1885, the Statue of Liberty arrived in New York Harbor aboard the French ship Isere. In 1928, Amelia Earhart embarked on a trans-Atlantic flight from Newfoundland to Wales with pilots Wilmer Stultz and Louis Gordon, becoming the first woman to make the trip as a passenger. In 1944, the Republic of Iceland was established. In 1953, U.S. Supreme Court Justice William O. Douglas stayed the execution of Julius and Ethel Rosenberg, originally set for the next day, the couple’s 14th wedding anniversary. (They were put to death June 19.) In 1961, Soviet ballet dancer Rudolf Nureyev defected to the West while his troupe was in Paris. In 1972, President Richard M. Nixon’s eventual downfall began with the arrest of five burglars inside Democratic national headquarters in Washington D.C.’s Watergate complex. In 1985, Discovery Channel made its cable TV debut. In 1992, President George H.W. Bush and Russian President Boris Yeltsin signed a breakthrough arms-reduction agreement. In 1994, after leading police on a slow-speed chase on Southern California freeways, O.J. Simpson was arrested and charged with murder in the slayings of his ex-wife, Nicole, and her friend, Ronald Goldman. (Simpson was later acquitted in a criminal trial, but held liable in a civil trial.) Ten years ago: The nation’s Roman Catholic bishops agreed to a five-year extension on their unprecedented policy of permanently barring sexually abusive clergy from church work. Five years ago: BP chief executive Tony Hayward told a congressional hearing he was “deeply sorry” for the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, but infuriated lawmakers as he disclaimed knowledge of any of the myriad problems leading up to the disaster. One year ago: The Obama administration announced that U.S. special forces had seized Ahmed Abu Khattala, described as a “key leader” in the deadly Benghazi, Libya, attack, and that he was on his way to face trial in the U.S. for the fiery assault that killed the U.S. ambassador and three other Americans. (Abu Khattala has since pleaded not guilty in federal court.) Today’s Birthdays: Actor Peter Lupus is 83. Singer Barry Manilow is 72. Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich is 72. Comedian Joe Piscopo is 64. Movie producer-directorwriter Bobby Farrelly is 57. Actor Thomas Haden Church is 54. Olympic gold-medal speed skater Dan Jansen is 50. Actor-comedian Will Forte is 45. Latin pop singer Paulina Rubio is 44. Tennis player Venus Williams is 35. Rapper Kendrick Lamar is 28. Actor Damani Roberts is 19. Thought for Today: “When all men think alike, no one thinks very much.” — Walter Lippmann, American journalist (1889-1974).
Thursday, June 18 Elysian Social Club will be hosting its regular meeting at 6:30 p.m. Herlinda Nieto-Dubuisson at 956-2853126. 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. Call 956-326DOME (3663).
Saturday, June 20 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. Call 956-326-DOME (3663). Operation Feed the Homeless – Summer Feast. Jarvis Plaza at 3 p.m. There will also be a used book sale to raise funds for future events. For more information visit Operation Feed the Homeless – Summer Feast on Facebook. The Elysian Social Club will be sponsoring its annual Fathers’ Day Scholarship Fundraiser Dance at the Laredo Civic Center Ballroom. Contact Herlinda Nieto-Dubuisson at 285-3126.
Tuesday, June 23 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. Call 956-326DOME (3663).
Wednesday, June 24 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. Call 956-326DOME (3663). Loteria for a Cause. 100 percent of proceeds will benefit furry friends. From 6:30 p.m. to 9 p.m. MVP Party Place, 9803 Sterling Loop. $20 for 4 play cards. Awesome prizes, snacks and sweets.
Thursday, June 25 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). Spanish Book Club from 6-8 p.m. at the Laredo Public Library on Calton Road. Call Sylvia Reash at 763-1810
Saturday, June 27 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. Call 956-326-DOME (3663).
Tuesday, June 30 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. Call 956-326DOME (3663).
Thursday, July 2 Renacer Couple’s Club meeting at Northtown Professional Plaza, 6999 McPherson Rd. Suite 221, from 6:30 to 9 p.m. Free and open to the public. Contact Rosario Navarro at rossnavarro83@gmail.com. (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.)
Photo by Aman Batheja | Texas Tribune
Gov. Greg Abbott tries out an Oculus Rift virtual reality system at AMD’s Austin office after signing a bill cutting the business franchise tax rate.
Abbott predicts growth By AMAN BATHEJA TEXAS TRIBUNE
Declaring “a new era of job growth in the state of Texas,” Gov. Greg Abbott on Monday signed a $2.56 billion bill cutting the franchise tax rate paid by businesses by 25 percent. Abbott signed House Bill 32, from state Rep. Dennis Bonnen, R-Angleton, at the Austin office of AMD, a California-based chipmaker, which he described as one of the largest payers of the state’s franchise tax in the Austin area. “I want AMD to know that because AMD is doing business in the state of Texas, you just got a tax cut,” Abbott said. Joining Abbott at the signing was one of the bill’s Senate cosponsors, Paul Bettencourt, R-Houston, as well as several House Republicans who supported the bill.
Abbott also signed three other bills Monday related to a $3.8 billion tax relief deal reached near the end of this year’s legislative session, including Senate Bill 1, which will cover the loss of tax revenue by school districts if Texas voters approve raising the homestead exemption by $10,000 in November. Abbott also signed House Bill 7, which eliminates certain occupational fees collected on a wide range of professions including chiropractors, dentists, interior designers and real estate brokers. “Now with this package provided by the Texas Legislature, it’s going to be so easy to sell Texas,” said Abbott, who is gearing up to travel the country in the near future to woo businesses in other states. Following the bill signing, AMD officials showed Abbott a prototype of the Oculus Rift, a virtual reality system.
Gunfire kills boy, 16, shots fired into his home
Two brothers die after pulled from surf
9-year-old fatally shot in hunting incident
KILLEEN — Killeen police are trying to determine who targeted a house in a drive-by shooting that left a 16-year-old resident dead. Investigators on Tuesday identified the victim as Darrient Lee Grant of Killeen. Grant attended Gateway High School in Killeen. No suspects have been arrested in the shooting before dawn Sunday as the teen was inside his home.
CORPUS CHRISTI — Two brothers from San Antonio have died after being washed away from shore while playing in the surf at Padre Island. Corpus Christi police identified the apparent drowning victims as 10-year-old Adrian Torres and 14-year-old Eric Torres. Investigators say the siblings were with family and in shallow water when both turned up missing Sunday afternoon.
DECATUR — A 9-year-old boy has died after authorities say he was accidentally shot in the chest by his grandfather who was hunting in Wise County. Dallas-Fort Worth media outlets report Callen Little was accidentally shot and killed around 10 a.m. on Saturday. According to Wise County Sheriff David Walker, the boy ended up in the path of his grandfather’s shotgun when he left the hunting stand.
Man convicted in 2014 killing of store owner
Nearly 100 Houston cityowned vehicles damaged
San Antonio bus killer draws 40-year sentence
CORPUS CHRISTI — A South Texas man could face execution after being convicted in the fatal shooting of a Corpus Christi convenience store owner during a robbery. The penalty phase continued Tuesday for 27-year-old Daniel Garcia. A Nueces County jury on Monday convicted Garcia of capital murder.
HOUSTON — Nearly 100 cityowned vehicles in Houston were damaged or destroyed in the Memorial Day weekend flooding. The list includes police patrol cars, ambulances and firetrucks. As many as 16 of those vehicles were flooded while parked at the Houston City Hall Annex garage. A worker apparently failed to deploy a flood gate in time.
SAN ANTONIO — A 21-yearold San Antonio man has pleaded guilty to murder in the fatal shooting aboard a city transit bus of a man he didn’t know. Zachary Gonzales agreed to the plea in return for a 40-year prison sentence. He could have been sentenced to life imprisonment. — Compiled from AP reports
AROUND THE NATION Second shark attacks minutes after first OAK ISLAND, N.C. — Paramedics Peter Joyce and Jack Baker had just returned from treating their first-ever shark attack victim when the radio crackled: A second person had just been attacked. They restocked their depleted supply of tourniquets and drove through a torrential downpour. They found a teenager lying on a narrow band of sand, the high tide washing over him. A 12-year-old girl lost her arm below the elbow and suffered a leg injury in the first attack Sunday afternoon. A 16-year-old boy lost his arm in the second attack.
Kirk Kerkorian, Las Vegas casino mogul, dies LAS VEGAS — Billionaire Kirk Kerkorian, an eighth-grade dropout who built Las Vegas’ biggest hotels, tried to take over
CONTACT US Publisher, William B. Green........................728-2501 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 Steve Bouser/The Pilot | AP
Emergency responders assist a teenage girl at the scene of a shark attack in Oak Island, N.C., Sunday. Mayor Betty Wallace of Oak Island, a seaside town bordered to the south by the Atlantic Ocean, said that hours after the teenage girl suffered severe injuries in a shark attack Sunday a teenage boy was also severely injured. Chrysler and bought and sold MGM at a profit three times, has died. He was 98. He died Monday night in Beverly Hills. The reserved, unpretentious Kerkorian spent much of his life trying to stay out of the spotlight and rarely gave interviews. He
called himself a “small-town boy who got lucky.” He shunned glitzy Hollywood parties. Rather than arrive at an event by limousine, he often drove himself in a Mercury station wagon. — 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
National
WEDNESDAY, JUNE 17, 2015
THE ZAPATA TIMES 3A
Is race becoming fluid? By JESSE J. HOLLAND ASSOCIATED PRESS
Photo by Richard Drew | AP
Developer Donald Trump delivers remarks during his announcement that he will run for president of the United States, in the lobby of Trump Tower, New York, Tuesday.
Trump runs for president By JONATHAN LEMIRE AND STEVE PEOPLES ASSOCIATED PRESS
WASHINGTON — The Donald is running for president. Real-estate mogul and reality-television star Donald Trump said Tuesday he will seek the Republican nomination for president. He’s the 12th highprofile Republican to enter the 2016 race, with more to come in the weeks ahead. “All of my life, I have heard, a truly successful person, a really successful person, and even a modestly successful person, cannot run for public office. Just can’t happen,” Trump said. “Yet that’s the kind of mindset you need to make this country great again. “So, ladies and gentlemen, I am officially running for president of the United States, and we are going to make our country great again,” he said. Trump made the announcement at the midtown Manhattan tower that bears his name before a small crowd of supporters, some wearing campaign shirts saying “Make America Great Again!” and “No More Career Politicians.” A few held homemade signs: “Trump knows business” and “Donald, we
need you.” Trump has teased presidential runs before, but has always backed out. But in preparation for the 2016 campaign, Trump decided not renew his contract with NBC for his reality show, “The Apprentice.” He cannot appear on the network and run for president at the same time. After forming a presidential exploratory committee in March, Trump has also hired political operatives on the ground in Iowa, New Hampshire and South Carolina. He has also been a frequent visitor to the early voting states in recent months. He joins a GOP 2016 class that offers voters a little bit of everything. There is the top tier, a group that includes former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush, who formally launched his candidacy Monday. There are the single-issue candidates such as South Carolina Sen. Lindsey Graham, who talks about national security and little else. And there is Trump, a businessman, television celebrity and a master of selfpromotion who is positioned to have a greater impact on the early months of the Republican presidential primary contest than many GOP lead-
ers would like. That could mean taking part in the GOP presidential primary debates. He’s doing just well enough in early public opinion polls so that he may earn a place on stage at the first event in August. “Selfishly, the networks would put me on because I get great ratings,” Trump said in a recent interview with The Associated Press. Trump will also be required to release a personal financial disclosure that would reveal intimate details about his personal finances. The disclosure would include his net worth, sources of income, liabilities and assets. He would have to reveal the same information for his wife and dependent children. Trump is ready to do so. On Tuesday, he was expected to share details about his personal finances that reveal a net worth of $9 billion, according to a person close to his potential campaign who spoke on the condition of anonymity so as not to pre-empt the announcement. The financial disclosure, required of all candidates for president, was thought to be the final obstacle blocking Trump from launching a 2016 campaign.
WASHINGTON — Rachel Dolezal, born to white parents, self-identifies as black — a decision that illustrates how fluid identity can be in a diversifying America, as the rigid racial structures that have defined most of this country’s history seem, for some, to be softening. Dolezal resigned as the leader of the NAACP’s Spokane, Washington, branch after questions surfaced about her racial identity. When asked directly on NBC’s “Today” show Tuesday whether she is “an African-American woman,” Dolezal replied, “I identify as black.” Her parents identified her as white with a trace of Native American heritage, and her mother, Ruthanne Dolezal, has said Rachel began to “disguise herself” as black after her parents adopted four black children more than a decade ago. Dolezal isn’t the first person to make this type of change. Millions of Americans changed racial or ethnic identities between the 2000 and 2010 censuses, even though their choices may have contradicted what their skin color appeared to be, or who their parents said they are. “It forces us to really question whether or not this biological basis for identity is a smart path to continue down in the future,” said Camille Gear Rich, a University of Southern California law and sociology professor who writes about elective race choices. Americans have become comfortable with people self-identifying their race, Rich said, “but often that invocation of identity based on a biological claim isn’t backed up by anything else after the claim is made.” In the United States,
Photo by Anthony Quintano/NBC | AP
In this image released by NBC News, former NAACP leader Rachel Dolezal appears on the "Today" show set on Tuesday. there is an expectation that people would have a biological connection to a racial or an ethnic identity they are claiming, said Nikki Khanna, a University of Vermont sociology professor. She co-authored a 2010 study that found increasing numbers of biracial adults were choosing to self-identify as multiracial or black instead of white. “There really is no biological basis to race, but what I’m saying is that in our society the everyday person tends to think race must have some link to ancestry,” Khanna said. “So we expect that when people self-identify with a particular group they must have some ancestral link to that group.” In the past, race was determined mostly by what other people thought a person was. For example, the Census Bureau’s enumerators would determine on their own what a person’s race was, and classify them as such. By the 1960s and 1970s, census officials were allowing people to self-identify. Currently, the Census Bureau allows people to choose a racial category, or even multiple categories, to which they think they belong. The census identifies races as white; black or African-American; American Indian or Alaska Native; Asian; Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander; and “some other
race” for those claiming more than one race. There is also a Hispanic ethnic category. People have been using that freedom since the early 2000s to move back and forth. They switched between races, moved from multiple races to a single race or back, or decided to add or drop Hispanic ethnicity from their identifiers on census forms. Last year, a study showed that 1 in 16 people — or approximately 9.8 million of 162 million — who responded to both the 2000 and 2010 censuses gave different answers when it came to race and ethnicity. In addition, in the 2010 census, more than 21.7 million — at least 1 in 14 — went beyond the standard labels and wrote in such terms as “Arab,” “Haitian,” “Mexican” and “multiracial.” Dolezal, 37, said Tuesday that published accounts described her first as “transracial,” then “biracial,” then as “a black woman.” “I never corrected that,” she conceded, adding that “it’s more complex than being true or false in that particular instance.” She and her parents have disagreed about her backstory. Dolezal says she started identifying as black around age 5, when she drew self-portraits with a brown crayon. Her mother told Fox News on Tuesday that’s not true.
PAGE 4A
Zopinion
WEDNESDAY, JUNE 17, 2015
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COLUMN
OTHER VIEWS
Democrats turn into Tea Party with trade defeat Democrats went against ideals when they shot down agreement Last week, the Congressional Democrats defeated the underpinnings of the Trans-Pacific Partnership trade agreement. Let’s count up the things these Democrats will have done if this policy stands. Impoverish the world’s poor. There’s an argument over what trade agreements do to workers in the nation’s rich countries, but there is no question they have a positive impact on people in the poorer ones. The North American Free Trade Agreement, for example, probably didn’t affect the American economy too much. But the Mexican economy has taken off. With more opportunities, Mexican workers feel less need to sneak into the U.S. As Fareed Zakaria has pointed out, a regime that was anti-American has turned into one that is pro-American. In Asia, the Americanled open trade era has created the greatest reduction in poverty in human history. The Pacific trade deal would lift the living standards of the poorest Asians, especially the 90 million people of Vietnam. As Tyler Cowen, an economist at George Mason University, wrote in his Marginal Revolution blog: “Do you get that progressives? Poorest country, biggest gainer. Isn’t that what we are looking for?” Damage the American economy. According to a survey by the University of Chicago’s Booth School of Business, 83 percent of the nation’s leading economists believe that trade deals have been good for most Americans. That’s not quite the level of consensus on man-made global warming, but it is close. That’s because free trade is not a zero-sum game. The global poor benefit the most, but most people in rich countries benefit, too. As Jason Furman, the chairman of President Barack Obama’s Council of Economic Advisers, pointed out in a speech at the Brookings Institution, since World War II, reductions in U.S. tariffs have contributed an additional 7.3 percent to American incomes. Trade treaties have led to significant growth in American manufacturing exports. According to Furman, export-intensive industries pay workers up to 18 percent more than nonexport-intensive ones. Rising imports also give American consumers access to a wider range of inexpensive products, leading to huge standard of living increases for those down the income scale. The authoritative study on Pacific trade deal, by Peter Petri, Michael Plummer and Fan Zhai, suggests it would raise U.S. incomes by 0.4 percent per year by 2025. Stifle future innovation. Democrats point out that some workers have been hurt by trade deals. And that’s true. Most manufacturing job losses have been caused by tech-
“
DAVID BROOKS
nological improvements. But those manufacturing jobs aren’t coming back. The best way forward is to increase the number of high-quality jobs in the service sector. The Pacific trade deal would help. The treaty is not mostly about reducing tariffs on goods. That work has mostly been done. It’s mostly about establishing rules for a postindustrial global economy, rules having to do with intellectual property, investment, antitrust and environmental protection. Service-sector industries like these are where America is strongest, where the opportunities for innovation are the most exciting and where wages are already 20 percent higher than in manufacturing. Imperil world peace. The Pacific region will either be organized by American rules or Chinese rules. By voting against the trade deal, Democrats went a long way toward guaranteeing that Chinese rules will dominate. As various people have noted, the Democratic vote last week was a miniversion of the effort to destroy the League of Nations after World War I. It damaged an institution that might head off future conflict. The arguments Democrats use against the deal are small and inadequate. Some Democrats are suspicious because it was negotiated in secret. (They seem to have no trouble with the Iranian nuclear treaty, which is also negotiated in secret). Others worry that the treaty would allow corporations to sue governments. But these procedures are already in place, and as research from the Center for Strategic and Internatioanl Studies has demonstrated, the concerns are vastly overblown. They mostly protect companies from authoritarian governments who seek to expropriate their property. In reality, the opposition to the trade pact is part of a long tradition of populist reaction. When economic stress rises, there is a strong temptation to pull inward. The Republican Tea Partiers are suspicious of all global diplomatic arrangements. The Democrats’ version of the Tea Partiers are suspicious of all global economic arrangements. It would be nice if Hillary Clinton emerged and defended the treaty, which she helped organize. Rejecting the Trans-Pacific Partnership will hurt economies from the U.S. to Japan to Vietnam. It will send yet another signal that America can no longer be counted on as the world’s leading nation. (David Brooks is a columnist for The New York Times.)
COLUMN
Taking photos of wrecks, shootings and ‘my bad side’ As a community newspaper editor, Willis Webb’s responsibilities often bled into other fields. In this column, he remembers his time spent as a photographer At community newspapers, often the editor-publisher is the principal newsperson, the main ad salesman and, usually by default, the photographer. In that role, all too often, you see things you’d really rather not see. One particularly disturbing result of witnessing these acts of blood and gore and, all too often, the absolutely horrible side of humankind, is that you are force fed death in its most grisly forms. At one point in time, car wreck photos were a staple of community newspaper front pages. When you’re all things at the paper, including chief cook and bottle washer, you take the path of least resistance to putting something that “sells” on page one. Unfortunately, blood and gore “sells.” If you don’t believe it, the next time you’re driving down the highway and there’s an accident scene, look at the slowed traffic on the opposite side from the accident. The rubberneckers will be craning to see if there’s anything gruesome and sensational to view. Back in the day, as we old newsmen-storytellers say, I shot lots of wreck photos and, more often
than not, the investigating officers would ask me for prints of the wreck, shot from every angle. State troopers weren’t issued cameras in those days. I understand that most now are equipped with cameras with which to augment accident investigation. In all probability, I’ve told the story of the time I witnessed a shooting looking over the shoulder of the shooter. I was into a habit I knew “big city news photogs” had and that was to hang out with the police because, sooner or later, you were going to get a crime scene shot that you thought was worthy of a Pulitzer Prize. In Rosenberg one Saturday night, I was coffeeing up with the cops at the station when a call came in that there’d been a shooting death at a cantina. I accompanied an officer to the club “to secure the scene” for the crime lab guys who would be just moments behind. The killer, who’d stabbed the victim with a pocketknife, was holding
several bar patrons at bay against one wall, when the officer and I arrived through the front door. Quickly, the killer turned toward us and began to advance. Despite several warnings to drop the knife, he kept advancing menacingly. As I looked over the officer’s shoulder, he promptly put three bullets in a triangle in the shooter’s chest. Omigawd!! Perhaps two years later, I was covering a sports banquet at Dulles High School in Stafford. The speaker was a hero of mine, Bill Yeoman, who was then the coach at the college where I attained my degree, the University of Houston. He’d revolutionized college football by instituting the Veer offense and his Cougars were chewing up giant chunks of yardage with a running game that disguised the ultimate handoff to the point of completely fooling the defense. Yeoman was hailed as a genius. I loved it. So, came the night of the Dulles banquet and I took my trusty Yashica D camera to the dinner to get photos, especially of the famed coach. I secured a seat at a table close to the head table,
but off to one side, so I could get up and shoot photos without disturbing too many people. Yeoman was introduced and got a rousing welcome. After all, Stafford, Missouri City and Sugar Land (which comprised the Dulles school district) were back fence neighbors to Houston. After he got comfortably into the speech, I got up and eased up to one side of the speaker’s podium and I saw Yeoman’s head turn in my direction as he said, “That’s my bad side.” Of course, that produced uproarious laughter from the audience and a red face for me. Undeterred, however, I took about five steps toward the other side of Yeoman, which evoked even more uproarious hoo-hawing from the audience and a red face from Yeoman. To which the good-natured coach said, “Touché.” I’d done a rare one-up on the great coach. Humor shots are much better than blood and gore, no matter what you think your readers want. Willis Webb is a retired community newspaper editor-publisher of more than 50 years experience. He can be reached by email at wwwebb1937@att.net.
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National
WEDNESDAY, JUNE 17, 2015
THE ZAPATA TIMES 5A
Weather hinders hunt for loose killers on Day 11 By RODRIQUE NGOWI ASSOCIATED PRESS
DANNEMORA, N.Y. — Search teams hindered by cool, rainy weather combed through woods for an 11th day trying to track down two escaped murderers on Tuesday as one official raised doubts the escapees relied solely on a now-jailed prison worker to help them get away after their breakout. More than 800 law enforcement officers who are searching for convicts David Sweat and Richard Matt shifted their focus eastward along Route 374 leading from the village of Dannemora, home of the Clinton Correctional Facility, in far northern New
York. State police said Tuesday the manhunt will be expanded beyond where it’s been most intense, 16 square miles of woods, fields and swamps around a road where search dogs caught the scent of both men and searchers found evidence indicating they may have spent time there. Clinton County Sheriff David Favro said rain has been washing away any scent dogs might find and interfering with thermal imaging devices being used to detect body heat. Matt and Sweat escaped June 6 from the maximum-security prison near the Canadian border. Sweat, 35, was serving a
Photo by Jacob Hannah/New York Times | AP
New York state troopers patrol an area for two inmates that escaped from Clinton Correctional Facility over a week ago. life sentence without parole in the killing of a sheriff ’s deputy. Matt, 48, was doing 25 years to life for the kidnap, torture and
hacksaw dismemberment of his former boss. Meanwhile, the prison worker charged with helping the killers flee by pro-
viding them with hacksaw blades, chisels and other tools was visited in jail Tuesday by her husband, also a prison worker. Favro described Joyce Mitchell as “composed” during the morning visit with her husband, Lyle Mitchell. Prosecutors say Joyce Mitchell, a prison tailoring shop instructor who befriended the inmates, had agreed to be the getaway driver but backed out because she still loved her husband and felt guilty for participating. District Attorney Andrew Wylie said Monday that there was no evidence the men had a Plan B once Mitchell backed out, and no vehicles have been re-
ported stolen in the area. That has led searchers to believe the men are still near the prison. But Favro said Tuesday that while he has “no concrete information,” he doesn’t believe the escapees would have counted only on Mitchell for the success of their “elaborate, well-thought-out escape plan.” “My theory — my theory only — is that she was Plan B,” he said. “I would have viewed her as baggage, almost, for them to be able to escape into freedom because she’s leaving behind a family and a husband.” He said investigators won’t be certain until the fugitives are caught.
Six killed in California balcony collapse during party By KRISTIN J. BENDER AND MARTHA MENDOZA ASSOCIATED PRESS
BERKELEY, Calif. — A 21st-birthday party thrown by a group of visiting Irish college students turned tragic early Tuesday when the fifth-floor balcony they were crammed onto collapsed with a sharp crack, spilling them about 50 feet onto the pavement. Six people were killed and seven seriously injured. Police and fire and building officials were working to figure out why the small balcony broke loose from the stucco apartment house a couple of blocks from the campus of the University of California, Berkeley. But one structural engineer said it may have been overloaded if, as city officials said, it was holding 13 people. High school student Jason Biswas’ family nearby was awakened by the noise. “They thought there was an earthquake, but then we looked out the window and saw seven or eight people
on the ground,” the 16-yearold said. “There were piles of blood everywhere.” Five of the dead were 21year-olds from Ireland who were in the country on socalled J-1 visas that enable young people to work and travel in the U.S. over the summer, while the sixth victim was from California, authorities said. The accident brought an outpouring of grief in Ireland from the prime minister on down, with the country’s consul general in San Francisco calling it a “national tragedy.” Police had gotten a complaint about a loud party in the apartment about an hour before the accident but had not yet arrived when the metal-rail balcony gave way just after 12:30 a.m., spokesman Byron White said. It landed on the fourth-floor balcony just beneath it, leaving the pavement strewn with rubble and the red plastic cups that are practically standard at college parties. “I just heard a bang and a lot of shouting,” said Dan
Photo by Jeff Chiu | AP
Workers look at a fourth floor balcony railing as it rests on the balcony below at the Library Gardens apartment Tuesday. Sullivan, a 21-year-old student from Ireland who was asleep in the five-story building. Mark Neville, another Irish student in the building, said: “I walked out and I saw rubble on the street and a bunch of Irish students crying.” The U.S. government’s J-1 program brings 100,000 college students to this country every year, many of them landing jobs at resorts, summer camps and other attractions. The San Francisco Bay area is especially popular with Irish
students, about 700 of whom are working and playing here this summer, according to Ireland’s Consul General Philip Grant. Many work at Fisherman’s Wharf and other tourist sites. Sinead Loftus, 21, who attends Trinity College Dublin and is living this summer in a different apartment in Berkeley, said Berkeley is “the Irish hub.” In fact, she said, “I’ve heard people complain there are too many people from Ireland here.” “It’s student-friendly, it’s
warm and it’s a lot cheaper than San Francisco,” she said. Investigators will look at such things as whether the balcony was built to code, whether it was overloaded and whether rain or other weather weakened it, said Kevin Moore, chairman of the structural standards committee of the Structural Engineers Association of California. Berkeley officials said the building code would have required the balcony to hold at least 60 pounds per square foot. Its exact dimensions were not released, but Grace Kang, a structural engineer and spokeswoman for Pacific Earthquake Engineering Research Center at Berkeley, said it looked to her to be 4 by 6 feet, or 24 square feet. That would mean it was supposed to hold at least 1,440 pounds. She said it appeared small for the crowd that had apparently gathered on it, Kang said. “They were packed like sardines, and then they were moving,” Kang said.
When people “are moving about a lot or dancing, that impact load may further exacerbate” the strain. Also, the apartment house appeared to have been wood-frame construction, and the balcony was cantilevered out from the building, with no additional support beneath. Both can make a balcony more vulnerable to dry rot and weathering in general, Kang said. In the meantime, city inspectors barred use of the building’s other balconies while they are checked for safety. The Library Gardens apartment complex, completed in 2007, is in a lively part of downtown Berkeley close to the campus and is a popular place for students to live. Several tenants reached by telephone said it is well-maintained. Berkeley Police Chief Michael Neeham said the response to the noise complaint had been given a lower priority after police received a call of shots fired elsewhere.
International
6A THE ZAPATA TIMES
WEDNESDAY, JUNE 17, 2015
Egypt court confirms ex-president’s death sentence By SARAH EL DEEB ASSOCIATED PRESS
CAIRO — An Egyptian court on Tuesday confirmed the death sentence of ousted Islamist President Mohammed Morsi over a mass prison break during the country’s 2011 uprising, making him the first leader in Egypt’s modern history to potentially face execution. While this is the first death sentence for Morsi, courts have handed out hundreds of similar sentences against Islamists in mass trials since his 2013 overthrow and a mass crackdown on dissent. The ruling, which will be automatically reviewed by Egypt’s highest appeals court, brought no immediate outcry on the streets as thousands remain imprisoned, though the country faces threats from Islamic extremists, including an affiliate of the Islamic State group. It is not clear if Morsi will be executed. Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah el-
Sissi, who led the military’s ouster of Morsi, repeatedly has defended the independence of the judiciary, though their mass rulings have faced international criticism. Meanwhile, former autocrat Hosni Mubarak, overthrown in Egypt’s 2011 revolt and detained since, has eventually been cleared of corruption charges. He now only faces a November retrial on charges over the killings of protesters after initially receiving a life sentence. Morsi, who served a year as Egypt’s first freely elected president, appeared in court Tuesday in a blue prison uniform, enclosed in a cage separate from other defendants held in a glass-covered cage covered in mesh wire. He first raised his arms to cameras and those in the courtroom. He listened to the verdict with a slight smile, but said nothing. Judge Shaaban al-Shami, who led a panel of three judges, issued the ruling after he consulted with
Photo by Belal Darder | AP
Supporters of the Muslim Brotherhood chant slogans against the Egyptian court ruling of the death sentence for Mohammed Morsi. Egypt’s Mufti, a religious authority affiliated with the judiciary. The Mufti’s opinion must be sought in all capital punishment cases. “The court panel has unanimously agreed that there is no room for leniency or mercy for the defendants,” al-Shami said. He said the Mufti sanctioned the death sentences under crimes of “haraba,” an Islamic term for banditry,
bloodshed and waging war on God and society. The judge also confirmed death sentences for five imprisoned members of Morsi’s Muslim Brotherhood, including Mohammed Badie, the group’s leader, and Saad el-Katatni, the head of its short-lived political party. Another 21 imprisoned defendants received life sentences, which in Egypt is equivalent to 25 years in
prison. Another 93 defendants tried in absentia, including Egyptian-born cleric Youssef el-Qaradawi, were sentenced to death, though they will be automatically retried once they are in custody. They also include 70 Palestinians, at least two of whom were killed in Israeli airstrikes in Gaza the past years. Defendants were found guilty of conspiring and attempting to kill police officers in the mass breakout targeting three Egyptian prisons, enabling some 20,000 inmates to flee, causing chaos and breaching Egypt’s borders with the Gaza Strip. This was done with the help of Palestinian Hamas militant group, Lebanon’s Hezbollah and Sinai extremists, al-Shami said. The breakout freed Morsi, who had been arrested soon after the 2011 protests started. He later rode on the Brotherhood’s popularity among conservatives and Islamists to become the country’s president in 2012. Mor-
si is already serving a 20year sentence for his part in the killings in 2012 of protesters outside his palace when he was still president. The verdict drew immediate international condemnation. United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon expressed deep concern over verdicts he said “may well have a negative impact on the prospects for longterm stability in Egypt,” U.N. deputy spokesman Farhan Haq said. White House spokesman Josh Earnest said the U.S., a major provider of military assistance to Egypt, was “deeply troubled” by the verdict, without saying if it would affect American aid. The Geneva-based International Commission of Jurists also called on Egyptian authorities to end the imposition of mass death sentences in “grossly unfair” trials. Earlier Tuesday, the same judge sentenced Morsi to life in prison over charges of conspiring with foreign groups, including Hamas.
EU nations fail to bridge divide over refugee plan By LORNE COOK ASSOCIATED PRESS
LUXEMBOURG — European Union nations failed to bridge differences Tuesday over an emergency plan to share the burden of the thousands of refugees crossing the Mediterranean Sea, while on the French-Italian border, police in riot gear forcibly removed dozens of migrants. Around 100,000 migrants have entered Europe so far this year, with some 2,000 dead or missing during their perilous quest to reach the continent. Italy and Greece have borne the brunt of the surge, with many more migrants expected to arrive from June through to September. At talks in Luxembourg, EU interior ministers disagreed over how 40,000 new refugees arriving in Italy and Greece should be split up equitably among the 28-
nation bloc to ease the load on the two southern nations. “There is a divergence of views on this matter. There is no common view on whether it should be voluntary or compulsory,” Latvian Interior Minister Rihards Kozlovskis, whose country currently holds the EU’s rotating presidency, said after the meeting. Past voluntary efforts to host migrants have proved inadequate. The current plan to relocate Syrians and Eritreans over the next two years is politically explosive, however, since it would legally set in stone each EU country’s commitment to host a certain number of refugees. Only about 10 of the EU’s 28 nations support the scheme and even those that do want changes in how the refugee distribution is calculated. “We know that there is significant resistance in
Photo by Lionel Cironneau | AP
A migrant kneels in prayer, in Ventimiglia, at the Italian-French border Tuesday. some member states to an obligatory measure,” German Chancellor Angela Merkel said in Berlin. The emergency relocation plan was drawn up after 800 migrants were feared to have drowned trying to reach Italy in April. No other alternatives were presented at the talks, officials said. EU leaders will now discuss the plan when they meet in
Brussels on June 25-26, and interior ministers will take the issue up again at their next meeting in July. “Relocation will only work if all member states participate. Only with a binding system can we make sure that every member state takes a share of the responsibility,” said the EU’s top migration official, Dimitris Avramopoulos.
Earlier Tuesday, police in Ventimiglia on Italy’s border with France removed a few dozen African migrants who had been camping out for days in hopes of continuing farther north. Some migrants protested, grabbing onto signposts, while others had to be carried off by their legs and arms — a violent scene underlining Italy’s contention that the rest of Europe must do more to deal with the migrant crisis. Migrants on dangerous rocks jutting out into the sea were left alone. “We are human beings. We are not animals,” said Saddam, a Sudanese migrant who watched the police operation Tuesday and only gave his first name. “I know we are black and we come from Africa, but we are still humans.” Alfano said the scene in Ventimiglia was “a punch in the eye for those who refuse to see.”
His French counterpart, Bernard Cazaneuve, denied that France had closed its border at Ventimiglia. “When migrants cross borders and it is established that they arrived in Italy, then it is only normal that they return to Italy,” Cazaneuve said in Luxembourg. In Greece, hundreds of Syrian and Iraqi refugees, including women and children, protested Monday on the eastern island of Lesvos, demanding better living conditions and faster processing of their asylum registrations. They also want to be housed separately from Afghan arrivals after a fight broke out in one of the island’s camps. Lesvos has borne the brunt of a huge influx of migrants from the Middle East, Asia and Africa crossing from Turkey to nearby Greek islands. More than 50,000 migrants have arrived in Greece so far this year.
WEDNESDAY, JUNE 17, 2015
Zentertainment
PAGE 7A
Judd Apatow reflects in new book By JAKE COYLE ASSOCIATED PRESS
Photo courtesy of Random House | AP
This book cover image released by Random House shows, "Sick in the Head: Conversations About Life and Comedy," by Judd Apatow. The book was released on Tuesday.
NEW YORK — The comedy education of Judd Apatow began with unusual access to great comic minds, which he pried for straightforward instruction: How do you tell a joke? Growing up on Long Island as a comedy nerd before there was such a thing, Apatow managed to land interviews with the likes of Jerry Seinfeld, Jay Leno and Steve Allen, most of whom turned up expecting something other than a 15-year-old kid with a high school radio show. It was a foundational beginning for what became a career that has done a lot to define comedy in the last 20 years, from “The Larry Sanders Show” to “Freaks and Geeks,” from “The Cable Guy” to “The 40 YearOld Virgin.” In a new book, “Sick in the Head: Conversations About Life and Comedy,” out Tuesday, Apatow, 47, returns to those high-school interviews (he kept the tapes) to publish them, as well as add new, more recent talks with many oth-
‘Briefcase’ helps families By FRAZIER MOORE ASSOCIATED PRESS
NEW YORK — Consider: a reality show that spotlights the struggling middle class by handing families a cash windfall plus the option to help another deserving family to some, or even all, of that $100,000 gift. Is this a chance for viewers to meet remarkable families who can use a little help and yet are drawn to help others? Or, as some are beefing, is this cruel, manipulative and “poverty porn”? CBS’ “The Briefcase” (tonight at 8 p.m. EDT) has set off a firestorm among certain TV critics and the 22,000-and-counting signers of a website petition whose battle cry is: “Don’t let CBS exploit the poor and profit from this!” The petitionistas are few in number when compared with last week’s 4.9 million viewers of the show, but they have made a lot of noise, with a hearty assist from unquestioning media outlets. Reality-TV veteran David Broome (“The Biggest Loser”) is the creator, executive producer and an on-camera host of “The Briefcase,” and he’s flabbergasted by the knives drawn against it. “It’s as if the mission was to turn this into a class story: Poverty-stricken families pitted against each other in a ‘Hunger Games’ scenario,” he marvels. On the contrary, while the families are quite varied on the surface (for instance, a Bible-Belt family is paired with a Boston family headed by an interracial samesex couple), the series hunts for common ground, while
Photo courtesy of CBS | AP
This image shows the Bailey Family, from the Dorchester neighborhood of Boston, who are participants in "The Briefcase." its participants spend the allotted 72 hours weighing a fundamental life issue: their own needs measured against those of others. “It not only provides an opportunity to receive a blessing, but also the opportunity to bless someone else,” says Broome. “The show is so little about the money! That gets you in the door, but then things go from there. If it was all about the money, I’d just give $100,000 to a family and see what they do with it.” This week’s show features Rich and Espy Mata, both teachers and first-generation Mexican-Americans living in Los Angeles who have two children, play in a mariachi band and run a mariachi conservatory for local youngsters to keep them off the streets. Meanwhile, the Matas are barely getting by and heavily in debt. So are Cara and Mark Melanson, who live near Boston. The parents of four, Mark is a firefighter and Cara is studying to earn a law degree so she can advocate for children.
These families, like the others on “The Briefcase,” originally thought they would be taking part in a documentary “about middle-class families struggling to make ends meet who also feel that helping others is important, and who find strength in their religious faith,” says Broome. Only later is the briefcase, and what it represents, sprung on them. “From the start,” says Cara, “I told the producers, ‘I just want to be very clear: We’re not poor. Our debt is very real, our struggles are very real. But I don’t want to come off as crying that we don’t have anything.’ The producers said, ‘No, we feel like your struggles are relatable.’” “We wouldn’t have sought out an opportunity to be on television,” says Leila Bailey-Stewart, who, like her partner, Tanya, works in the nonprofit field and lives in Boston, where they are raising their two nephews (and, like the Melansons, had not spoken publicly before about their experience on “The Briefcase”).
ers (Louis C.K., Jon Stewart, Chris Rock). Proceeds go to Dave Eggers’ 826, which provides free literacy programs to kids. The conversations center on comedy but grow into more expansive and intimate reflections on life from some of the sharpest, most thoughtful minds around. The intervening decades reveal less about Apatow’s much-improved standing than his continuing comedy-nerd curiosity and his ongoing pleasure in what Stewart calls “the joy of the funny.” Here are excerpts from a recent Associated Press interview with Apatow:
ence: “Hey, I don’t know how to respond to hecklers so I’d like you to heckle me so I can learn how to do it.” And then the whole crowd started cursing me out. I used to have a tape of it and on the tape you could hear my friend, Kevin Weltmann, screaming at people to shut up because they wouldn’t stop cursing me out. So they would curse for a while, then I would take a long pause and say, “See, I don’t know what to say. I gotta think of something to say.”
On His First Time Performing Standup
Rosanne (Barr) gave me the job that changed my life the most because she was the first person to pay me well. That was the day I realized I could afford valet
The first time I did standup, I said to the audi-
On His First Paying Gig
parking. I always say money doesn’t really change much in life once you can pay for valet parking.
On Working With Comedians For me to sit in a restaurant talking to Steve Martin, it feels very otherworldly. I always wanted to be part of those groups of comedians, like Second City. I wasn’t able to join “Saturday Night Live” or Second City, but in my own way, I was able to create my own groups of funny people that worked together a lot. That was always the dream. It wasn’t for me to be successful, it was really for me to collaborate with people I respected. I just loved comedy people and I wanted to be around them.
8A THE ZAPATA TIMES
WEDNESDAY, JUNE 17, 2015
Twitter’s lame-duck CEO excited about changes By MICHAEL LIEDTKE ASSOCIATED PRESS
SAN FRANCISCO — Twitter’s lame-duck CEO Dick Costolo says he is leaving the company stocked with new features that will boost revenue and help make the short-messaging service useful to more people. “We have things rolling out this fall that I am over the moon about and can’t wait for people to see,” Costolo said Tuesday during an appearance at a Bloomberg technology conference. Twitter will have a differ-
ent leader by the time those products appear because Costolo is ending his nearly five-year COSTOLO reign as CEO on July 1 as part of a shakeup announced last week. Twitter co-founder Jack Dorsey is stepping in as interim CEO while the San Francisco company’s board searches for a permanent replacement. Without providing further details, Costolo said the upcoming features will cre-
ate engaging experiences that appeal to broad audiences. He also indicated the new features will generate more advertising. If Costolo’s predictions pan out, it would address some of the problems that have caused many investors to sour on Twitter and contributed to the company’s change in command. Twitter’s stock has fallen by more than 30 percent since the late April release of a disappointing first-quarter earnings report. Although Twitter has more than 300 million users, the service’s growth has
slowed in recent years largely because its system of showing bursts of often disjointed information has proven too confusing and tedious to many people coming back after they open accounts. The company also has an uninterrupted history of losses since Dorsey sent out the service’s first tweet in March 2006. Dorsey, who served as Twitter’s CEO in its early years before being ousted in 2008, is believed to be interested in taking on the job again permanently. Costolo, who will remain on Twitter’s board, praised
Dorsey for his “clarity of thinking” about the shortmessaging service while stressing that the company intends to interview other candidates. Costolo said the decision to search for a new CEO prompted Twitter’s board to decide after a three-hour meeting that he should step aside next month to avoid distractions and speculation. If he had remained CEO while the board looked for his successor, Costolo said he would have been “walking around with a timer on his head. We just thought that was going to
be ridiculous.” Twitter’s next CEO will have the leeway to make changes, but “we like the strategy that is in place,” Costolo said. The endorsement of Twitter’s current plans echoed comments that both Costolo and Dorsey made last week after the company revealed the CEO switch. Investors evidently would like to the company to pursue a different direction. Twitter’s shares gained 15 cents to $34.82 on Monday, slightly below their price before Costolo’s departure was announced.
Sons take new post July 1 ASSOCIATE PRESS
Photo by David Zalubowski | AP file
In this Feb. 5, 2007 file photo, a 2007 Toyota Corolla sedan and Matrix wagons sit on the lot at a Toyota dealership in the southeast Denver suburb of Centennial, Colo.
Vehicles added to recall ASSOCIATED PRESS
DETROIT — Toyota is adding nearly 1.4 million cars, trucks and SUVs to a growing recall for air bags that can explode with too much force. The company says it’s expanding a previous recall after Takata Corp. of Japan agreed in May to double the size of its air bag inflator recall to 33.8 million. Vehicles added to a passenger air bag inflator recall include the 2003 to 2007 Corolla and Matrix, 2005 and 2006 Tundra pickup, 2005 to 2007 Sequoia SUV and the 2003 to 2007 Lexus SC430 convertible. The propellant in some Takata inflators can burn too quickly, blowing apart a metal canister and sending shrapnel into the passenger compartment. The problem has been blamed for at least seven deaths and more than 100 injuries. Last month Takata bowed to pressure from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration and declared many of its products defective, agreeing to double the number of air bag inflators being re-
called. It’s now the largest auto recall in U.S. history. Some cars are equipped with both driver and passenger air bags made by
Takata. The recall expansion brings to 2.9 million the number of Toyota and Lexus vehicles being recalled in the U.S.
NEW YORK — TwentyFirst Century Fox said Tuesday that Rupert Murdoch will turn over more power to his sons James and Lachlan on July 1. James Murdoch, 42, will become CEO and Lachlan Murdoch, 43, will become executive cochairman of the company that day. News of the Murdoch brothers’ promotions at Fox emerged last week but the timing had not been confirmed. Twenty-First Century Fox’s holdings include Fox News Channel, Fox broadcast network and the 20th Century Fox movie studio. Corporate functions as well as TV and film operations will jointly report to the Murdoch brothers, the company said. Eighty-four year-old Rupert Murdoch has been CEO of the company since 1979 and chairman since
Photo by Dan Steinberg/Invision | AP
News Corp. Exeuctive Chairman Rupert Murdoch, center, and his sons, Lachlan, left, and James Murdoch in March 2014. 1991. He is also the executive chairman at News Corp., the company that now contains The Wall Street Journal and New York Post newspapers and book publisher HarperCollins. Chase Carey, president and co-chief operating of-
ficer, will stay with Twenty-First Century Fox until June 30, 2016 as its executive vice chairman. In March 2014 the company named James as cochief operating officer and Lachlan was promoted to nonexecutive co-chairman.
WEDNESDAY, JUNE 17, 2015
ON THE WEB: THEZAPATATIMES.COM
Sports&Outdoors MLB: ST. LOUIS CARDINALS
NATIONAL HOCKEY LEAGUE: STANLEY CUP
A new dynasty Photo by Scott Kane | AP
The St. Louis Cardinals are being investigated for a possible hacking scandal involving the database of the Houston Astros.
Hacking scandal rocks MLB By R.B. FALLSTROM AND JIM SALTER ASSOCIATED PRESS
ST. LOUIS — Federal law enforcement authorities are investigating whether the St. Louis Cardinals illegally hacked into a computer database of the Houston Astros to obtain information on players, a person familiar with the situation said Tuesday in an unusual case involving two former division rivals in Major League Baseball. The person spoke on condition of anonymity because MLB, law enforcement officials and the two teams were not disclosing details of the investigation that were first reported by The New York Times. The Times said the FBI and Justice Department were investigating whether Cardinals’ front-office officials were behind the effort to steal information from the Astros’ database, called Ground Control. “Major League Baseball has been aware of and has fully cooperated with the federal investigation into the illegal breach of the Houston Astros’ baseball operations database,” MLB said in a statement. “Once the investigative process has been completed by federal law enforcement officials, we will evaluate the next steps and will make decisions promptly.” The Cardinals and Astros said they were also cooperating with the investigation but declined further comment. Astros manager A.J. Hinch said his team would focus on baseball. Houston held a two-game lead atop the American League West entering the day. “Obviously from the baseball perspective we’ll deal with the baseball and all other questions will go elsewhere,” Hinch said. His counterpart in St. Louis, Mike Matheny,
sounded a similar tone and said the case at this point wouldn’t be a distraction for his first-place Cardinals, who have the best record in baseball. He said he’d been unaware of the investigation until he “got pulled out of the weight room” Tuesday morning. The Astros and Cardinals were rivals in the National League Central until Houston moved to the American League in 2012, but there is a prominent connection between the two: The Astros hired former Cardinals scouting and player development executive Jeff Luhnow as general manager in December 2011, and he has helped lead turn the team from a laughingstock that into a contender. The Astros rely heavily on sabermetrics in their evaluation of players and have been open about the fact that they use an online database to house their proprietary information. Last year, the Houston Chronicle had a detailed report on Ground Control, noting the team even had a director of decision sciences and that everything from statistics to contract information to scouting reports were stored at a web address protected by a password.
Photo by Nam Y. Huh | AP
Chicago forwards Jonathan Toews and Patrick Kane celebrate after defeating the Lightning in Game 6 of the Stanley Cup on Monday as the Blackhawks won their third title in six years.
Chicago wins 3rd Stanley Cup in 6 years By JIM LITKE ASSOCIATED PRESS
The stars and the scrubs alike took a spin with the Stanley Cup before it finally wound up in Joel Quenneville’s hands. The Blackhawks coach wouldn’t have it any other way. The last team standing had just put away a tough young Tampa Bay squad 2-0 in Game 6 and earned the right to call itself a dynasty after winning its third NHL title in six seasons. But only minutes later, Quenneville recalled the sting they all felt barely a year ago, when the Los Angeles Kings elbowed Chicago out of their way by converting a fortunate bounce in overtime of Game 7 of the Western Conference finals. When Quenneville gathered the team before this season, the first thing he told his players was, “It’s going to be a battle and a war just to try to make the playoffs.” “I’m fortunate to be around them,” Quenneville added. “I walked into a team ready to go. They took off and they keep going. ... They make guys around them better, play the right way, send the right message. New guys coming into the team, they see that’s the message, how important winning is to the team, to the players, to the town, to the
organization. It’s infectious.” The Blackhawks climb back toward the top began with the end of the lockout in 2005, when former player and then-general manager Dale Tallon quit pursuing draft picks and free agents with wide bodies and narrow skill sets, instead rolling the dice on two skinny kids — Toews in 2006 and Kane in 2007 — who hardly looked the part of AllStars and Olympians they were about to become. Quenneville came aboard four games into the 2008 season and Bowman, whose shrewd personnel moves have kept the Hawks on top during the salary cap era, joined the next year. By then, the Hawks had already surrendered the league’s longest consecutive playoff streak — making 28 appearances in a row, until 1997 — and failed to make the postseason in nine of the 10 previous campaigns. But Toews and Kane gave the Hawks more than a burst of youth and energy. Teaming up with Keith and Brent Seabrook — two of the league’s top attacking defensemen, already in the fold — they also gave Chicago one of the most potent offenses in the league. The problem, at least at first, was how few people in town noticed there was a revival under way. Average attendance jumped
7,000 seats by the end of the 200809 season. The product on the ice was reflected in the fastclimbing value of the franchise. The season after that brought the first of the three Stanley Cups during the current run, giving one of the NHL’s “Original Six” some recent history finally worth boasting about. A quiet gesture at the end of this latest title demonstrated just how much the Hawks have returned the warm embrace the city holds them in now. Considered one of the worst franchises in sports less than a decade ago, the Blackhawks have remade the franchise into the model of professionalism. They looked lucky to be in the series, let alone up 3-2 headed into Game 6. Once the puck dropped, though, the same team that looked tired and out of sync somehow kicked their game into another gear. Tampa Bay’s leader Steven Stamkos, who hopes to lead the Lightning into that same tier for seasons to come, couldn’t help but admire how Chicago had accomplished the feat. “They know how to win in these situations,” he said. “It’s pretty impressive what they’ve done... It just seems that whatever reason, we didn’t get bounces. “But,” he said finally, “you earn those.”
10A THE ZAPATA TIMES
WEDNESDAY, JUNE 17, 2015
BUSH Continued from Page 1A liberal to the next,” he declared in a jab at Democratic favorite Hillary Rodham Clinton. And he said: “We are not going to clean up the mess in Washington by electing the people who either helped create it or have proven incapable of fixing it.” That was an indirect but unmistakable swipe at Republican presidential rivals in the Senate. Among them is his political protege, Florida Sen. Marco Rubio, who welcomed Bush into the 2016 contest earlier in the day. Bush enters a 2016 Republican contest that will test both his vision of conservatism and his ability to distance himself from family. Neither his father, former President George H.W. Bush, nor his brother, former President George W. Bush, attended Monday’s announcement. The family was represented instead by Jeb Bush’s mother and former first lady, Barbara Bush, who once said that the country didn’t need yet another Bush as president, and by his son George P. Bush, recently elected Texas land commissioner. Before the event, the Bush campaign came out with a logo — Jeb! — that conspicuously leaves out the Bush surname. Bush, whose wife is Mexican-born, addressed the packed college arena in English and Spanish, an unusual twist for a political speech aimed at a national audience. “In any language, my message will be an optimistic one because I am certain that we can make the decades just ahead the greatest time ever to be alive in this world,” he said. “I will campaign as I
would serve, going everywhere, speaking to everyone, keeping my word, facing the issues without flinching,” In the past six months, Bush has made clear he will remain committed to his core beliefs in the campaign to come — even if his positions on immigration and education standards are deeply unpopular among the conservative base of the party that plays an outsized role in the GOP primaries. Tea party leader Mark Meckler on Monday said Bush’s positions on education and immigration are “a nonstarter with many conservatives.” “There are two political dynasties eyeing 2016,” said Meckler, a co-founder of the Tea Party Patriots, one of the movement’s largest organizations, and now leader of Citizens for Self-Governance. “And before conservatives try to beat Hillary, they first need to beat Bush.” Yet a defiant Bush has showed little willingness to placate his party’s right wing. Instead, he aimed his message on Monday at the broader swath of the electorate that will ultimately decide the November 2016 general election. Minority voters, in particular, have fueled Democratic victories in the last two presidential elections. Of the five people on the speaking program before Bush, just one was a white male. He was not planning to address immigration on Monday, but protesters left him little choice. Just as he introduced his mother, a group of several people removed their outer shirts, revealing yellow T-shirts that spelled out: “Legal status is not enough.”
BORDER Continued from Page 1A So why is Texas setting up what appears to be a parallel border patrol alongside the federal force? “Google ‘cartel crime in Mexico’ and just put a time period of the last week, and you’ll see some dramatic instances of what the cartels are doing in Mexico right now,” Abbott told reporters this month following the legislative session. “The first obligation of government is to keep people safe and that means ensuring that this ongoing cartel activity, which is not abating whatsoever, gains no root at all in the state of Texas.” The 320-mile Rio Grande Valley sector of the border was ground zero last year for a wave of Central American migrants, mostly unaccompanied minors and women with children. The Valley sector accounted for 53 percent of all migrants captured in the Southwest during the fiscal year ending September. That alarmed Texas Republicans, who called for a crackdown during the election campaign last year. But the number of migrants caught is down 44 percent in the first eight months of this fiscal year. Raul Ortiz, deputy chief of the federal border patrol’s Rio Grande Valley sector, attributed the decrease mainly to beefed-up law enforcement on the Mexican side, especially along its own borders with Central America. He also gave a nod to the Texas Department of Public Safety, or DPS, and other law enforcement for helping. Critics worry that the border buildup is open-ended, with little accounting for how the money will be spent and whether it will be effective. Republican lawmakers in the final weeks of the legislative session stripped language from the bill Abbott signed that would have required monthly updates and crime data from a new oversight board. The panel is only tasked with giving lawmakers a single report by 2017. “In a third-grade classroom or with DPS, if you have no metrics and no way to evaluate success, you are wasting your money,” Dallas Democratic state Rep. Rafael Anchia
said. In one report, the Texas public safety agency defined a secure border as “interdiction of all people, drugs and other contraband.” “That is so far from reality,” said Adam Isacson, a longtime border analyst at the Washington Office On Latin America, a humanrights advocacy group. “Even the most secure sectors of the border still have thousands of people get through.” Texas officials say they have tracked more than $2 billion in drug seizures, mostly marijuana, and discovered more than 150 stash houses used by human smugglers in the past year alone. But it is has not always been clear what DPS has gotten for its money. Records provided to The Associated Press in 2013 showed that the state’s new gunboats on the Rio Grande were used as little as one day a week or docked for repairs during the first year of deployment. At the time, agency leaders said that the boats spent about 30 percent more time in the water than what records suggested. DPS spokesman Tom Vinger said this month that those records are dated and the boats now conduct round-the-clock operations, performing more than 1,400 missions in the last year alone. Down in the Rio Grande Valley, Texas troopers are stationed about every quarter mile inland from the border along Highway 83. The heavy trooper presence has alarmed the large community of immigrants living permanently in the area, many of whom crossed illegally years ago, said Efren Olivares, a lawyer for the South Texas Civil Rights project. “Local police are used to interacting with undocumented people,” Olivares said. “But with DPS it’s particularly bad because most are not from here.” Other locals see improvements in safety. Othal E Brand Jr., president of the water district that supplies the McAllen area, said employees used to be threatened by smugglers but now work safely night and day.
CAMPUS CARRY Continued from Page 1A ment. “The law asks that we consult with students, staff and faculty during the implementation process, and we will make sure those voices are heard. “We will have the necessary rules and policies in place by the time legislation goes into effect.” Keck said he was hesitant to commit to any possible gun-free zones yet because “he didn’t know the issues.” “We haven’t gone through the process of discussing it with the community,” he said. “The details have to be worked out.”
Laredo Community College officials could not be reached for comment Monday. They previously said if the bill passed, the college would take precautionary measures to ensure the safety of its students. “LCC has been monitoring the state legislation activity, and we have provided our employees with safety trainings on how to deal with campus emergencies, as well as educated incoming students during our orientations about safety issues such as the issue of having guns on campus,” said Vincent Solis, LCC vice president for
instruction and student services, in a statement. Myrna Rodriguez, a senior at TAMIU, said she was unsure how she felt about the new law. “Allowing guns on campus changes everything,” she said. Rodriguez said she was concerned with students using handguns to intimidate professors. “If a student gets a bad grade, will it come down to a student using it against the professor?” she said. Keck said it was normal for individuals to be afraid of something new. “I think we have to live
through this to understand it,” he said. “Like most changes, it’s easy to be frightened before it happens.” TAMIU senior Leonel Salinas approved of the new law. “I completely agree with the bill. If somebody feels the need to take the extra measure of safety, they have that right,” he said. “Again, the bill is to carry concealed (firearms), and each campus can create their own rules as to where people will be allowed to carry.” (Judith Rayo may be reached at 728-2567 or jrayo@lmtonline.com)
WEATHER Continued from Page 1A by the National Weather Service, average rainfall through noon Wednesday for portions of Texas will be 3 to 6 inches, but some isolated areas could see up to 12 inches. Arkansas and Oklahoma could get up to 9 inches of rain in the coming days, and Missouri could get more than 7. After last month’s historic rains and floods, the forecast was expected to complicate ongoing floodcontainment efforts. Major flooding could occur along the Trinity River as it extends through East Texas, according to the weather service, with one portion northeast of Houston nearly 4 feet above flood stage Tuesday. The Guadalupe River north of Corpus Christi also is swollen as it ran more than 5 feet above flood stage. “We’re more vulnerable to flooding right now than usual because we just got through the wettest month on record,” Texas state climatologist John Nielsen-Gammon said. Galveston County officials already have directed voluntary evacuation of the low-lying Bolivar Peninsula, where Hurricane Ike wiped out most structures in 2008. School districts from Galveston
to the Houston suburbs canceled Tuesday’s classes and the Coast Guard closed waterways and prohibited the use of smaller vessels. The National Weather Service has issued flash flood warnings for many coastal areas and tornado warnings for other areas. The ground remains waterlogged in many parts of Texas so it’s unable to absorb much more rain, he said, and that increases the likelihood of flooding. Nielsen-Gammon said it’s not unusual for tropical storms to swarm Texas in June, but he notes it’s the early-season storms that are responsible for about a third of “extreme rainfall events,” meaning 20 inches or more of rain. An average statewide rainfall of nearly 9 inches was recorded in May, he said, which is more than 2 inches above the previous record. Memorial Day weekend storms brought widespread flooding to Oklahoma and Texas, killing more than 30 people. At one point last month, 11 inches of rain fell in some parts of the Houston area, resulting in flooding that damaged thousands of
homes and other structures and forced motorists to abandon at least 2,500 vehicles across Houston. Rafael Lemaitre, spokesman for the Federal Emergency Management Agency, said FEMA has paid nearly $38 million this year in Texas flood insurance claims, with the vast majority associated with last month’s deluge. More than 10 inches of rain fell over a 30-day period across nearly the entire central and eastern portions of Texas — from the Panhandle south to the Mexico border. Isolated areas received 15 to more than 20 inches. Those wet conditions could help strengthen the storm, according to Marshall Shepherd, director of atmospheric sciences at the University of Georgia. While tropical storms usually gather power from the warm waters of the ocean and then weaken once they move over land, NASA-funded research has shown some storms can actually strengthen over land by drawing from the evaporation of abundant soil moisture, Shepherd said. The phenomenon is known as the “brown ocean” effect. “All the things a hurri-
cane likes over the ocean is what we have over land right now,” said Shepherd, one of the principals who conducted the research. On Monday, portions of the Red River were near or above flood stage as it runs between Oklahoma and Texas and then extends into Louisiana. Meanwhile, the Trinity River was above flood stage in many areas of East Texas. Lake levels across Oklahoma remain high from May rainfall, which has forecasters watching rivers in Arkansas ahead of the tropical system. “We have had time to recover but not a whole lot,” said NWS hydrologist Tabitha Clarke in North Little Rock, Arkansas. “(The tropical system) is going over areas that are already sensitive. ... It’s kind of a perfect storm. There are a lot of things lining up.” Shepherd said it won’t be immediately known if the brown ocean effect holds true for this storm but an indicator will be whether it forms an eye while well inland. He cautioned that often it’s not the larger category storms that produce the most rainfall, but instead smaller tropical storms.
MIÉRCOLES 17 DE JUNIO DE 2015
Agenda 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.
Zfrontera
PÁGINA 11A
TEXAS
Reacción ante ley ASSOCIATED PRESS
MCALLEN— Texas ha comenzado una serie de gastos mayores para aumentar la seguridad de su frontera con México, lo que ha generado interrogantes en torno a si el estado está creando su propia patrulla fronteriza. El nuevo gobernador republi-
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. 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) 7654332; a Ana Martínez, al (956) 765-5611.
cano Greg Abbott aprobó este mes un gasto por 800 millones de dólares para seguridad fronteriza que serán empleados en los próximos dos años, ABBOTT más del doble de lo que se destinó en un periodo si-
milar en los últimos 14 años bajo el gobierno de Rick Perry. Texas usará este dinero en un momento en el que el número de inmigrantes que cruzan la frontera sin autorización disminuye. Entre los artículos que ha comprado el estado para la frontera destacan un segundo avión
espía de 7,5 millones de dólares, un centro de entrenamiento de 2.023 hectáreas (5.000 acres), así como la contratación de 24 investigadores contra la corrupción y 250 policías estatales. Los críticos señalan que hay pocos registros de cómo se está gastando el dinero o si la inversión es efectiva.
TAMAULIPAS
INVESTIGACIÓN
REPORTE
Acusan sujeto; apoyaría ataque ASSOCIATED PRESS
TORNEO DE GOLF Zapata Lions Club invita al Segundo Torneo de Golf Leobardo Martinez Jr. Scholarship, el sábado 20 de junio en Los Ebanos Golf Course. El estilo es 3 Men Florida Scramble. Donación es de 65 dólares y 10 dólares por Mulligans. Registro a las 8 a.m., inicio a las 9 a.m. Informes llamando al campo de golf al (956) 7658336 o con Lioan Eduardo Martinez en el (956) 7658449 y/o Lion Aaron Cruz al (956) 240-3408.
FESTIVAL DE LA LIBERTAD RIO GRANDE CITY — El 2015 Rio Grande City Freedom Fest se realizará el viernes 26 de junio, a partir de las 6 p.m. en el Parque Municipal Basilio Villarreal. Presentación de Marshall Law, Palominos y Jack Ingram. Habrá comida gratis, puestos, juegos infantiles gratis y fuegos artificiales. Costo en preventa: 15 dólares; el día del evento a 25 dólares. Evento a beneficio del Rio Grande City Boys and Girls Youth Club.
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 llamen al (956) 765-3892.
DESFILE DE MODAS MIGUEL ALEMAN — Damas representantes de la Fundación “Vive en Paz y Haz el Bien” invitan a un Desfile de Modas que se llevará a cabo el 8 de julio en el Casino Milenium. La fundación que lucha contra el cáncer, espera que con el desfile de modas se recauden fondos que les permitirán continuar con su misión.
CAMINATA Se realizará la Tercer Carrera Anual “5K Memorial Run”, el 18 de julio a partir de las 8 a.m., frente a al Palacio de Justicia sobre 7th y calle Hidalgo. El costo de inscripción anticipada es de 15 dólares, mientras que el día del vento se podrá inscribir, de 7 a.m. a 7:45 a.m., por un costo de 20 dólares.
Foto de cortesía
Elementos del orden y autoridades estatales se reunieron para analizar la Estrategia de Seguridad puesta en marcha en Tamaulipas y sus resultados, en el municipio de El Mante, el lunes.
Plan resulta en más de 150 arrestos TIEMPO DE LAREDO
D
urante los últimos 13 meses, se han neutralizado a 14 de los 15 objetivos primarios que tenía por objetivo la Estrategia de Seguridad Gobierno de la República y el Gobierno de Tamaulipas, anunciaron autoridades estatales. Durante una reunión itinerante del Grupo de Coordinación Tamaulipas, junto al Gobernador Egidio Torre Cantú, en el municipio de El
Mante, se analizaron los logros contra la actividad criminal. De acuerdo con el análisis, los 14 elementos neutralizados pertenecen a los dos principales grupos delictivos que operan en el estado, señala un comunicado. Asimismo, se citó la neutralización de 150 operadores regionales que se desempeñaban como jefes de plaza, jefes de estacas y jefes de halcones por parte de esos dos grupos delictivos, añade el comunica-
do. Durante la reunión, en la que también participaron presidentes municipales de Tamaulipas, ellos señalaron que “la inseguridad ha estado disminuyendo notablemente en los últimos dos años”, indica el reporte. La estrategia continuará en vigor para seguir fomentando la seguridad en el Estado para que el “combate de la delincuencia vaya en crecimiento”, finaliza.
PHOENIX, Arizona— Un hombre fue acusado de ayudar a planear un ataque en Texas contra una exhibición de caricaturas del profeta Mahoma que se saldó con la muerte de dos atacantes el mes pasado. La acusación presentada en un tribunal de Phoenix la semana pasada sostiene que Abdul Malik Abdul Kareem albergó en su casa a los tres atacantes a principios de enero y les dio las armas utilizadas en el ataque del 3 de mayo. Nadir Soofi y Elton Simpson eran compañeros de cuarto en Phoenix y condujeron a Garland, para atacar la exposición de caricaturas que los musulmanes consideran ofensivas. Ambos murieron a manos de la policía luego de que abrieran fuego afuera de la sede, causando lesiones a un guardia de seguridad. Ninguno de los asistentes al acto, que se llevaba a cabo en un suburbio de Dallas, resultó herido. Kareem practicó tiro con Simpson y Soofi en un área apartada del desierto en las afueras de Phoenix entre enero y mayo, señala la acusación. También alojó a los hombres para hablar de la exposición y el plan para viajar a Texas y cometer el ataque, señala el documento. Kareem, también conocido como Decarus Thomas, está acusado de complicidad, hacer declaraciones falsas y transportar armas de fuego de un estado a otro con la intención de cometer un crimen. Fue detenido por el FBI el 11 de junio y el martes tiene programada una audiencia ante la corte en Phoenix.
COLUMNA
Piratería surge en costas de Tamaulipas POR RAÚL SINENCIO ESPECIAL PARA TIEMPO DE ZAPATA
Nota del editor: El historiador narra cómo surge y se desarrolla la piratería en Tamaulipas y la región. Remoto y extenso, el noreste costero del virreinato novohispano permanece mal guarnecido. Justo ahí se registra la presencia de piratas. Aunque esporádicas y diversas, sus huellas invitan a seguirlas.
Contexto En 1568, el inglés John Hawkins, huye del puerto de Veracruz. Navega hacia el norte con maltrecha flota. Tanto escasean los víveres, que el 8 de octubre desembarca a 114 compinches en la barra de Ostiones, municipio de Altamira, Tamaulipas, México. Hambrientos e
indefensos, los fuereños cruzan por tierras de aborígenes. “Visto por ellos […] cuán desfallecidos estábamos, nos indicaron […] el rumbo que habríamos de tomar para ir a Pueblo Viejo, Veracruz, que después vimos estaba a 10 leguas”, dice Miles Phillips, del grupo que busca el sur. “Llegados al río (Pánuco)”, sigue Job Hortop. “Vinieron a nosotros los españoles […] Conocían que éramos de los que habían peleado contra sus paisanos” en Veracruz, y van “presos a [la villa de] Pánuco […] De allí nos enviaron a México, que está a noventa leguas”, juzgándolos la Inquisición por herejes luteranos. “En el río Pánuco hay un pez como un ternero, que […] llaman mallatín (o manatí); he comido de él y sabe casi a tocino”, dijo Hortop.
Litorales Más adelante, cerca de Haití, la isla de la Tortuga da refugio a bucaneros que forman los Hermanos de la Costa. Destaca en dicha cofradía el holandés Laurent Graff, “Lorencillo”. Cobra éste triste fama por asolar los puertos de Campeche y Veracruz al transcurrir el último tercio del siglo XVII. Con el piloto Ricardo Quadre al frente, en la bocana del Pánuco secuaces de “Lorencillo” hacen lo suyo. Llegan el 23 de abril de 1684 a bordo de la fragata “Presbíteros” y cuatro balandras, asestándole tremendo golpe a Pueblo Viejo, por entonces única villa en la ribera extrema. El 8 de mayo acude la Armada de Barlovento, que somete y captura a 104 malhechores. Terminan 90 “aherrojados en parte segura” de la urbe jarocha para re-
mitirlos a España, aplicándose “en capitanes o cabezas la pena de horca” el 14 de junio, asientan los documentos respectivos. Y añaden: “Con todo y el castigo ejemplar pronto habían vuelto los enemigos a entrar en” la misma población “con cuatro embarcaciones”, ante la falta de “castillo o fortín en que poder defenderse” aquellos litorales.
Marea Se dice que son explotadores. Adquiere por ello pertinencia la noticia que proporciona fray Vicente de Santa María. “En las riberas del río Bravo se halló […] el año de [17]47 […] cierta nación de […] mulatos”, “descendientes de los africanos”. “En los tiempos de su numerosa gentilidad […] decían que […] habían venido sus mayores […] hombres
solos, negros enteramente, en no poco número”. “El arribo de estos negros […] no puede atribuirse […] a los tiempos anteriores al descubrimiento del Nuevo Mundo y […] es necesario creer que de las islas del” Golfo de México “o de algunas de las colonias establecidas en el continente por otras naciones europeas, arribaron a él”, indica Santa María. Conjetura: “O […] algunos europeos, por algún contratiempo, arribaron con ellos a la playa […] y ellos se deshicieron de sus amos, quitándoles la vida y quedándose solos, o […] por derrota [naufragio] de alguna embarcación que los conducía, ellos solos se salvaron, con la casualidad de haber sido traídos por la […] marea a estas costas”. (Publicado con permiso del autor, como aparece en La Razón, Tampico, México.)
12A THE ZAPATA TIMES
WEDNESDAY, JUNE 17, 2015