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US-MEXICO BORDER
LAREDO
New avenues Leaders hope for more agricultural trade By KRISTEN MOSBRUCKER THE MONITOR
PHARR — More than 40 entrepreneurs trekked nearly 500 miles from the Mexican state of Zacatecas to the Texas-Mexico border this week to tour the Pharr-Reynosa International Bridge and participate in two days of exportation seminars.
Leaders hope the visit will spur more cross-border agricultural trade through the Pharr bridge. Mexican farmers rely on a slew of service companies to export fruit and vegetables, earning slim profits, said Fransisco Gamboa, president of the Mexican Business Council for Foreign Trade Investment and Technology of
Zacatecas, a central Mexico state. “The intermediation (brokering) is very expensive for the producers, we are at the greenhouses and open fields producing tomatoes, cucumbers — it’s a very tough part of the chain,” Gamboa said. Growers may spend upwards of 60 percent of their profits on brokers while
only about 30 percent goes to logistics and transportation. With labor and materials added in, that leaves only about 4 percent for the grower. “We want to empower the growers to get more involved in the process to merchandise and export the products,” he said. Courtesy photo | LFD
See TRADE PAGE 10A
U.S. and Mexico authorities participated during an annual hazmat drill at the Colombia Solidarity International Bridge.
MEXICO
DRUG LORD ESCAPES
Area officials conduct hazmat drill By CÉSAR G. RODRIGUEZ THE ZAPATA TIMES
Photo by Marco Ugarte | AP
Authorities at both sides of the border combined forces during an annual binational hazmat drill at the Colombia Solidarity International Bridge on Friday morning in Laredo. Laredo Fire Chief Steve Landin said Mexican first responders simulated a fuel spill on the Mexican side of the river and called U.S. authorities to notify them about that emergency. LFD sent out their hazmat response team and requested air surveillance via a chopper. The helicopter was streaming live footage to the emergency command vehicle. In turn, first responders streamed the information live to the emergency operations center, Landin explained. “Anything that could affect Mexico could end up affecting our commu-
“
Anything that could affect Mexico could end up affecting our community. It’s always good for us to know what’s going in Mexico.” LAREDO FIRE CHIEF STEVE LANDIN
nity,” Landin said. “It’s always good for us to know what’s going in Mexico.” If something threatens the water, then the in-
See DRILL PAGE 10A
Federal police guard a drainage pipe outside of the Altiplano maximum security prison in Almoloya, west of Mexico City, Sunday. Mexico’s most powerful drug lord, Joaquin "El Chapo" Guzman, escaped from a maximum security prison.
Authorities seek ‘El Chapo’ for second time
RIO GRANDE VALLEY
Recent rain cuts revenue Less residential water usage means less money for cities’ utility funds GUZMAN By CHRISTOPHER SHERMAN AND ELLIOT SPAGAT ASSOCIATED PRESS
Photo courtesy of Mexico’s Attorney General’s Office | AP
In this photo provided by Mexico’s attorney general, authorities inspect the exit of the tunnel they claim was used by drug lord Joaquin "El Chapo" Guzman to break out of the Altiplano maximum security prison in Almoloya, west of Mexico City, Sunday. A massive manhunt is underway after Guzman, escaped from the maximum security prison through the tunnel that opened into the shower area of his cell, the country’s top security official announced.
ALMOLOYA, Mexico — The kind of tunnel that led Mexico’s most powerful drug lord to freedom would have been more than a year in planning. The digging would have caused noise. The entrance would have to be in a place beyond the view of security cameras at Mexico’s toughest prison. As authorities hunted
See EL CHAPO PAGE 10A
By EMILY SIDES AND SKY CHADDE THE MONITOR
PHARR — Lizbeth Davila hasn’t used her water hose as much this rainy season. Three years ago, she watered her front lawn every other day during the summer months. “I remember watering more last year,” Davila said. “We’re watering less because of the rain. It’s not as green as we like, but we’re using less water.” For residents and business owners, rain usually means cutting back on watering the lawn. Water bills may not be drastically lower, but col-
lectively the lower usage means less revenue for cities’ utility funds. McAllen, Pharr and Edinburg officials reported lower water revenues this year because of the rain. “We’re all in the same boat with lower-than-normal revenues,” said Mark Vega, the McAllen Public Utility’s general manager. Customer demand has softened as rainfall amounts have been above average this year across the Rio Grande Valley. Heavy rainfall since September ended years of drought across the re-
See WATER PAGE 10A
PAGE 2A
Zin brief CALENDAR
WEDNESDAY, JULY 15, 2015
AROUND TEXAS
TODAY IN HISTORY
WEDNESDAY, JULY 15
ASSOCIATED PRESS
Planetarium shows at TAMIU Lamar Bruni Vergara Planetarium from 3 to 5 p.m. 3 p.m.: Little Star that Could; 4 p.m.: Origins of Life; 5 p.m.: Cosmic Adventures. General admission is $3. Call 956-326-DOME (3663).
Today is Wednesday, July 15, the 196th day of 2015. There are 169 days left in the year. Today’s Highlight in History: On July 15, 1971, President Richard Nixon delivered a televised address in which he announced that he had accepted an invitation to visit the People’s Republic of China. On this date: In 1799, French soldiers in Egypt discovered the Rosetta Stone, which proved instrumental in deciphering ancient Egyptian hieroglyphs. In 1834, the Spanish Inquisition was abolished more than 3 1/2 centuries after its creation. In 1870, Georgia became the last Confederate state to be readmitted to the Union. Manitoba entered confederation as the fifth Canadian province. In 1948, President Harry S. Truman was nominated for another term of office by the Democratic national convention in Philadelphia. In 1954, a prototype of the Boeing 707, the model 367-80, made its maiden flight from Renton Field south of Seattle. In 1964, Sen. Barry M. Goldwater of Arizona was nominated for president by the Republican national convention in San Francisco. In 1975, three American astronauts blasted off aboard an Apollo spaceship hours after two Soviet cosmonauts were launched aboard a Soyuz spacecraft for a mission that included a linkup of the two ships in orbit. In 1979, President Jimmy Carter delivered his “malaise” speech in which he lamented what he called a “crisis of confidence” in America. In 1985, a shockingly gaunt Rock Hudson appeared at a news conference with actress Doris Day (it was later revealed Hudson was suffering from AIDS). In 1992, Arkansas Gov. Bill Clinton was nominated for president at the Democratic national convention in New York. In 1995, Park Seung-hyun, a 19-year-old sales clerk, was rescued after being buried in the rubble of the Sampoong Department Store in Seoul (sohl), South Korea, for 16 days. Ten years ago: A federal appeals court ruled that a Guantanamo detainee who once was Osama bin Laden’s driver could be tried by a military tribunal. Five years ago: After 85 days, BP stopped the flow of oil into the Gulf of Mexico using a 75-ton cap lowered onto the well earlier in the week. One year ago: Israel resumed heavy bombing of Gaza after the Islamic militant group Hamas rejected an Egyptian truce plan and instead unleashed more rocket barrages at the Jewish state. Today’s Birthdays: Author Clive Cussler is 84. Actor Patrick Wayne is 76. Singer Linda Ronstadt is 69. Arianna Huffington, co-founder of The Huffington Post news website, is 65. Model Kim Alexis is 55. Forest Whitaker is 54. Actress Shari Headley is 52. Actress Brigitte Nielsen is 52. Actor Reggie Hayes is 46. Actor Scott Foley is 43. Rapper Jim Jones is 39. Actress Diane Kruger is 39. Actor Taylor Kinney is 34. Actor-singer Tristan “Mack” Wilds is 26. Thought for Today: “A sure way to lose happiness, I found, is to want it at the expense of everything else.” — Bette Davis, American actress (1908-1989).
THURSDAY, JULY 16 Planetarium shows at TAMIU Lamar Bruni Vergara Planetarium from 3 to 5 p.m. 3 p.m.: Little Star that Could; 4 p.m.: Origins of Life; 5 p.m.: Cosmic Adventures. General admission is $3. Call 956-326-DOME (3663).
SATURDAY, JULY 18 Planetarium shows at TAMIU Lamar Bruni Vergara Planetarium from 2 to 5 p.m. 2 p.m.: Cosmic Adventures; 3 p.m.: Little Star that Could; 4 p.m.: Seven Wonders; 5 p.m.: Led Zeppelin. General admission is $3. Call 956326-DOME (3663). Photo by Jennifer Reynolds/The Daily News | AP
TUESDAY, JULY 21 South Texas Food Bank “Strike Out Hunger” bowling tournament and fundraiser at 5:30 p.m. at Jett Bowl North. Lanes are $125 for five bowlers. Open to everyone. Sponsorship advertising is open for $250. Call Cindy Liendo at 726-3120 or email cliendo@southtexasfoodbank.org. Planetarium shows at TAMIU Lamar Bruni Vergara Planetarium from 3 to 5 p.m. 3 p.m.: Accidental Astronaut; 4 p.m.: Extreme Planets; 5 p.m.: Zula Patrol: Under the Weather. General admission is $3. Call 956-326DOME (3663).
WEDNESDAY, JULY 22 Planetarium shows at TAMIU Lamar Bruni Vergara Planetarium from 3 to 5 p.m. 3 p.m.: Accidental Astronaut; 4 p.m.: Extreme Planets; 5 p.m.: Zula Patrol: Under the Weather. General admission is $3. Call 956-326DOME (3663).
THURSDAY, JULY 23 Planetarium shows at TAMIU Lamar Bruni Vergara Planetarium from 3 to 5 p.m. 3 p.m.: Accidental Astronaut; 4 p.m.: Extreme Planets; 5 p.m.: Zula Patrol: Under the Weather. General admission is $3. Call 956-326DOME (3663).
SATURDAY, JULY 25 Gateway Gatos of Laredo “Cat Appreciation Day” from 2-3 p.m. at Petco North. Proceeds will go toward protection projects for local cats, including a trap, neuter, and return program. Call Birdie at 286-7866. Planetarium shows at TAMIU Lamar Bruni Vergara Planetarium from 2 to 5 p.m. 2 p.m.: Accidental Astronauts; 3 p.m.: Wonders of the Universe; 4 p.m.: New Horizons; 5 p.m.: Led Zeppelin. General admission is $3. Call 956-326-DOME (3663).
SUNDAY, JULY 26 Operation Feed the Homeless. 3 p.m. at Jarvis Plaza. The Laredo Free Thinkers is organizing this event. Free food, good fun and free literature. See Facebook page, Operation Feed the Homeless-Summer Feast for more information.
TUESDAY, JULY 28 Planetarium shows at TAMIU Lamar Bruni Vergara Planetarium from 3 to 5 p.m. 3 p.m.: Accidental Astronaut; 4 p.m.: Extreme Planets; 5 p.m.: Zula Patrol: Under the Weather. General admission is $3. Call 956-326DOME (3663).
WEDNESDAY, JULY 29 Planetarium shows at TAMIU Lamar Bruni Vergara Planetarium from 3 to 5 p.m. 3 p.m.: Accidental Astronaut; 4 p.m.: Extreme Planets; 5 p.m.: Zula Patrol: Under the Weather. General admission is $3. Call 956-326DOME (3663).
THURSDAY, JULY 30 Spanish Book Club from 6 – 8 p.m. at the Laredo Public Library on Calton Road. Contact Sylvia Reash at 763-1810. (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.)
The Capt. Joel trawls the Galveston Ship Channel on July 7. Freshwater runoff in Galveston Bay over the past couple of months is expected to hamper this year’s shrimp and oyster season.
Rains could affect shrimp ASSOCIATED PRESS
GALVESTON — A surge of freshwater runoff brought on by heavy spring rains could cause problems for Galveston Bay shrimp and oyster harvesters this season, according to new predictions from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Scientists say the influx of freshwater pushed many young shrimp out of the bay earlier in their lifecycle than usual in search of favorable salinity levels, possibly leading to smaller shrimp. Higher freshwater levels also wiped out many oyster reefs. Unlike shrimp, oysters thrive in higher salinity levels and are not mobile. NOAA predicts the 2015-16 catch of brown shrimp could be about 30 percent below the historical average of 25.7 million pounds. The prediction is the lowest for the area
since the 1980s. The Galveston County Daily News reports that area officials have declared a state of emergency for the industry as a result of the rain, creating opportunities for possible funding to help in the recovery. Mary Smith, of the Hillman’s wholesale and retail seafood market in Dickinson, said the market will have to look to Louisiana shrimpers if the season is far enough below average. “The signs aren’t looking good,” Smith said. “But there are always up years and down years for us. You can never really tell how it is going to be.” But more shrimp may live to spawn and create a larger catch next year as a result of fewer being caught this year, said Lance Robinson, deputy director of the Coastal Fisheries Division of Texas Parks and Wildlife.
Federal agents rescue 3 immigrants from river
Parole officer, boyfriend face child porn charge
Austin officer makes stop, saves choking driver
MISSION — Border Patrol agents in Texas have rescued three immigrants who were struggling to swim across the Rio Grande. A Border Patrol statement says the rescue happened early Tuesday as officers patrolled the river by boat. Agents located a boy from Mexico and two men from Honduras in the water near Bentsen State Park, south of Mission.
VICTORIA — A Texas prison system parole officer and her boyfriend have been charged with production of child pornography based on her cellphone. Victoria police responded to the Texas Department of Criminal Justice parole office in Victoria on allegations of possession of child pornography. Officers met with Proschko and discovered a video on her cellphone of a girl engaged in a sexual act.
AUSTIN — A Central Texas police officer who pulled over a woman for illegal use of a cellphone while driving has saved her from choking on some food. Austin police on Monday released patrol car video of the July 5 incident in which the choking woman apparently was trying to call 911. Officer Dustin Clinkscales walks to the woman’s car and is heard asking, “Are you OK? Are you choking?”
Judge arrested on bribery, 1 Fort Hood soldier killed drug-related charges during feral hog hunting RIO GRANDE CITY — A South Texas judge has been accused of possession of cocaine and soliciting bribes to lower bond in for drug suspects. Starr County Justice of the Peace Salvador Zarate was arrested Monday on charges of possession of a controlled substance and two counts of bribery. He’s free on $23,000 bond.
KILLEEN — One Fort Hood soldier has died and another was critically hurt in a vehicle accident while hunting feral hogs near the Central Texas post. Bell County sheriff ’s Lt. T.J. Cruz said Tuesday that officials are investigating what caused two soldiers to fall from the bed of a pickup truck. The accident happened July 6 near Killeen.
Store clerk fatally shoots 2 suspected robbers HOUSTON — Police say a convenience store clerk in Houston has fatally shot two masked men who allegedly tried to rob the place. Houston police on Tuesday did not immediately release names of the two men who were killed. Both were shot Monday night and died at a hospital. — Compiled from AP reports
AROUND THE NATION Family: Settlement isn’t victory in chokehold case NEW YORK — The relatives of an unarmed black man who died after being put in a white police officer’s chokehold said Tuesday that the nearly $6 million settlement they reached with the city wasn’t a victory as they continued pressing for federal civil rights charges. “The victory will come when we get justice,” Eric Garner’s mother, Gwen Carr, said a day after the $5.9 million settlement was announced. “Justice,” added one of Garner’s children, Emerald Snipes, “is when somebody is held accountable for what they do.”
Boston’s tower of filthy snow finally melts away BOSTON — The last of Boston’s winter nightmare has finally melted away. Mayor Martin Walsh an-
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The Rev. Al Sharpton, center, is joined by Eric Garner’s mother Gwen Carr, left, daughter Erica Garner, second from left, son Eric Garner, third from left, daughter Emerald Snipes, second from right, and wife Esaw Snipes, as he speaks Tuesday. nounced Tuesday that Boston’s once-massive pile of filthy snow has officially dwindled to nothing. The pile accumulated into a 75-foot tower of snow after a record-breaking winter that dumped more than 110 inches on the city.
The mound made Bostonians shiver into the summer, but not because of the temperature: It was laden more than 80 tons of garbage, transforming it into a repulsive trash heap as the snow melted. — Compiled from AP reports
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State
WEDNESDAY, JULY 15, 2015
THE ZAPATA TIMES 3A
School districts by the numbers By ROSS RAMSEY TEXAS TRIBUNE
Texas has more kids in public school than 28 states have residents. The student population here — 5.1 million — is in the same ballpark as the total population of Colorado. And you can see the state’s near future in the latest numbers from the Texas Education Agency: 51.8 percent Hispanic, 29.4 percent Anglo, 12.7 percent African-American, 3.7 percent Asian. That syncs up with recent numbers from the Office of the State Demographer, which says Hispanics will outnumber Anglos by 2020 — that’s five years from now — and will account for more than half of the state’s population by 2042. That’s already happening in Texas classrooms, according to the TEA’s Snapshot 2014 — an annual statistical report on the public schools. The numbers are everyday stuff to educators and administrators, but are mind-boggling to the rest of us. Size differences jump out of the numbers. The number of small and tiny districts — many of them smaller than the graduating classes at individual suburban and urban high schools — tells you why policymakers periodically bring up the idea of consolidating districts to increase efficiencies, cut administrative staff and costs, and increase class offerings. They nearly always run into the politics of public education: Each district represents some local interest — sometimes the strongest unifying institution in a community — and voters so far have turned back every attempt at mergers. Other stats that jump out: Counting charter schools, the state has 1,227 school districts. The num-
ASSOCIATED PRESS
Photo by Jennifer Whitney | Texas Tribune
A reading assistant reads on the classroom floor with a small group of fourth graders at Wanke Elementary School in San Antonio on March 9, 2012. bers include 202 charter schools. 29 percent of the state’s students are enrolled in 18 of those school districts. 111,438 of the state’s public school students are being educated in one of the 429 school districts with 500 or fewer students. That’s 2.2 percent of all students in 35 percent of all districts. 676 districts each have fewer than 1,000 students. 821 districts each have fewer than 1,600 students. 959 districts each have fewer than 3,000 students. That’s 78.2 percent of the districts in Texas. 51 percent of the state’s 5.1 million public school students are educated in 4 percent of its school districts. Put that another way: There are 49 superintendents for 2.6 million students and 1,178 for the other 2.5 million. Overall, 60.2 percent
of the students in Texas public schools are classified as economically disadvantaged; 17.5 percent are English language learners. The largest school district in the state, Houston ISD, has 210,716 students. The next three are Dallas ISD, with 159,487; Cypress-Fairbanks ISD in Harris County, with 111,173; and Northside ISD in Bexar County, with 101,549. Another 14 school districts each have 50,000 to 100,000 students. Race and ethnicity vary widely among the districts, as they do throughout the state. Hispanics have large majorities in Houston (62 percent), Dallas (69.8 percent) and some other big districts. Eleven of the top 20 districts have Hispanic majorities. Only one of the state’s 20 largest districts, Conroe ISD, has an Anglo majority (52.7 percent). Anglo students are in small mi-
Texas businessman invests in Blue Bell ASSOCIATED PRESS
BRENHAM, Texas — An investment by a prominent Texas businessman will ensure the return of Blue Bell ice cream to the market after listeria contamination prompted a shutdown in manufacturing, the company said Tuesday. Billionaire businessman Sid Bass, an investor and philanthropist whose father and uncle built an oil fortune, has become a partner in Brenham-based Blue Bell Creameries, CEO and President Paul Kruse said in a statement. The privately held company stopped production at its Brenham; Broken Arrow, Oklahoma; and Sylacauga, Arkansas, facilities after issuing a national recall in April because of concerns about listeria. Its ice cream was linked to 10 listeria illnesses in four states, including three deaths in Kansas. A Food and Drug Administration investigation found that Blue Bell knew that it had listeria in one of its plants for almost two years before the recall. No date has been given for when Blue Bell products could be back in stores. Blue Bell last week announced plans to test production runs at its Alabama plant. After a trial period, the company plans to begin building inventory to resume commercial sales. The company did not reveal the amount of Bass’ investment, but Kruse said Bass made a “significant investment” and the “additional capital will ensure the successful return of our ice cream.” Blue Bell is extremely popular in its home state,
Rebel flags at schools eyed
Photo by Orlin Wagner | AP file
Blue Bell delivery trucks are parked at the creamery’s location in Kansas City, Kansas. Blue Bell Creameries announced on Tuesday that an investment by prominent Texas businessman Sid Bass will "ensure" the return of its ice cream products to the market. and Bass and his family have deep ties to Fort Worth. Forbes last year ranked Bass as the 324th wealthiest person in the U.S. “Blue Bell is the quality leader in the ice cream industry,” he said in the statement. “We believe quality is the principle attribute that ensures the success, growth and longevity of a business.” Bass did not return a message Tuesday seeking additional comment. Listeria is a type of bacteria that can cause serious illness, particularly in older adults, pregnant women and those with weakened immune systems. Contaminated products were found at Blue Bell’s Texas and Oklahoma plants. Tests found listeria on a plant catwalk at the Alabama factory, but not in ice cream samples, according to Alabama health officials. The recall prompted
Blue Bell to lay off a third of its workforce. Blue Bell said it would implement improved testing procedures, reconfigure lines and equipment, and add troughs and splash guards to ensure condensation does not drip into ice cream products. Blue Bell will also require workers to wear provided coverings in production areas. Chris Pisarski, a research analyst for New York-based PrivCo, a data provider on privately held companies, estimates revenue for Blue Bell this year could fall as low as $500 million. The company in 2014 was estimated to have had $680 million in revenue, up from nearly $621 million the year before, Pisarski said Tuesday. PrivCo derives its numbers by evaluating units sold, sales in some markets, market share and other data.
norities elsewhere: In San Antonio ISD (1.8 percent), Aldine ISD (2 percent), Dallas (4.7 percent) and Houston (8.2 percent). African-American students account for more than 20 percent of the population in six of the top 20 districts, accounting for 25.2 percent of Houston’s students and 23.4 percent of Dallas’. The balance in Fort Bend ISD stands out: 29.2 percent African-American, 26.4 percent Hispanic, 22.9 percent Asian, 18.6 percent Anglo. In Plano ISD, it’s 40.2 percent Anglo, 23 percent Hispanic, 21.5 percent Asian and 11.4 percent African American. The state’s districts have the equivalent of 656,541 full-time employees (a way of counting part-timers and full-timers to get a total workforce size). Of those, 51 percent are teachers, 9.4 percent are educational aides, 13.2 percent are administrative
employees and 26.3 percent are auxiliary staff. The average teacher salary is $49,692. The average administrative salary at the school level is $72,764, and the average administrative salary at the central offices of districts is $94,630. The average teacher has 11.2 years of experience, and 23.8 percent of them have advanced degrees. About one teacher in six quits every year, an average turnover rate of 16.2 percent. A third of teachers — 33.6 percent — have five or fewer years of experience. On average, the number of students per teacher in public schools is 15.4. On average, Texas schools spend $8,327 per year per student, including $4,759 on instructional expenditures. It’s big and complicated and fascinating: A glimpse, in many ways, of what Texas is becoming.
EVADALE, Texas — A few Texas school districts are under scrutiny for using Confederate symbols that backers say stand for tradition but critics believe are in support of racism. The Rev. Kyev Tatum, president of the Fort Worth chapter of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference, wants all such symbols to be taken down. Tatum has filed complaints with the Texas Education Agency asking that the Birdville Independent School District change the rebel mascot names at Richland High School in North Richland Hills, near Fort Worth. Hundreds of people rallied Sunday to keep the rebel names, maintaining the Dixie Bells and Johnny Rebs are not divisive words. Scott Maywald of Fort Worth attended the rally and draped a Confederate battle flag over his vehicle. “Everybody’s saying (the rally) is not about the flag, but it is about the flag,” Maywald told the Fort Worth Star-Telegram. “It’s all connected. It’s not one thing. They’re trying to take the peoples’ rights away, one at a time, and that’s not right.” In Evadale, a town of about 1,500 located 25 miles north of Beaumont, the school district’s website features a crest with the words “Rebel Pride” and the school song with the phrase, “Colors gold and blue; True to all our Rebel colors, Evadale to you.” The rebel flag is part of a sign outside the high school, and a crest with the Confederate markings is inside a high school gymnasium.
PAGE 4A
Zopinion
WEDNESDAY, JULY 15, 2015
LETTERS TO THE EDITOR SEND YOUR SIGNED LETTER TO EDITORIAL@LMTONLINE.COM
COLUMN
OTHER VIEWS
Shale gas and climate change By JOE NOCERA NEW YORK TIMES
Every columnist has his “go to” sources, people we rely on for their deep understanding of a particular subject, and a mode of thinking about that subject we find persuasive. My one such person is Michael Levi, a senior fellow for energy and the environment at the Council on Foreign Relations. Levi believes in the power of facts. Though sensitive to the importance of dealing with climate change, he doesn’t indulge in the hyperbole you sometimes hear from environmentalists. And while he appreciates the economic import of fracking and shale gas, he isn’t afraid to call out the industry on its problems. Early in the fracking boom, he went to Pennsylvania to observe what drilling for shale gas was doing to communities — and came away believing that “it was going to stir up much more local controversy than many were assuming.” Which is exactly what happened. For the latest issue of Democracy, a quarterly magazine focused on progressive ideas, Levi has written an article titled “Fracking and the Climate Debate,” which he described to me the other day as a kind of summing up of his views about the role of cheap natural gas and fracking in the fight against climate change. There are many people, of course, who believe that natural gas shouldn’t have any role at all in the climate change fight; while it may emit half the carbon dioxide of coal, it is still a fossil fuel that will keep us from going all-in on renewable energy. And the methane that can leak from fracked wells is a potent greenhouse gas that can negate natural gas’ advantage over coal. There are others who see natural gas as a panacea. They believe that so long as we keep increasing production of inexpensive natural gas — mooting the need to build more coalfired power plants, and even making it possible to shut some down — then we will be doing more than enough to control carbon emissions. In his article, Levi says, in effect: You’re both wrong. After recounting a little history — was it really only a half-dozen years ago that environmentalists like Robert F. Kennedy Jr. were promoting natural gas as a “step toward saving our planet”? — Levi delves into the three rationales behind their abrupt change of heart. One is the disruption that fracking imposes on communities. The second is the methane problem. The third is the “rapid progress” being made by renewable energy,
which many environmentalists believe makes further reliance on natural gas unnecessary. Levi believes that appropriate rules by both state and federal governments can mitigate the first two problems. Indeed, he believes that the industry needs to be better regulated for its own sake; otherwise, people will continue to fear the worst. As for renewables, the hard truth is that if the country were to move away from natural gas, the big winner would be coal, not solar or wind. But that doesn’t mean that those who cling to the “free-market fundamentalist dream that a thriving shale gas industry will make climate policy unnecessary” have got it right. On the contrary, Levi writes, “merely making natural gas more abundant may do little, if anything, to curb carbon dioxide emissions.” How can this be? The answer is that, although cheap natural gas is helpful in that it “shoves aside coal,” it also boosts economic growth (which means more emissions), and "gives an edge to industries that are heavy energy users and big emitters.” These two conflicting forces effectively cancel each other out. The best way to maximize the good that shale gas can do, Levi concludes, is to make it a key component of an overall energy policy that is bent on driving down carbon emissions. The government could promote policies to move the country away from coal, “which accounts for three-quarters of carbon dioxide produced in U.S. electricity generation.” And while he doesn’t say so explicitly, he does seem to see shale gas as a potential bridge to renewables: If the government enacted policies that “reward emission cuts” no matter what technology achieves that goal, then coal users would gravitate to natural gas, while natural gas users might well move toward renewables. Government would also have to encourage policies that “drive down the cost of zero-based emissions.” My own belief is that shale gas has been a blessing for all kinds of reasons: It has given us a degree of energy security that we haven’t seen in many decades, and has been a key source of economic growth. And, no matter how much environmentalists gnash their teeth, it is here to stay. That’s why the responsible approach is not to wish it away, but to exploit its benefits while straightforwardly addressing its problems. Ideologues will never get that done. That’s why Michael Levi’s realism — and his pragmatism — are so critical to hear.
LETTERS TO THE EDITOR POLICY The Zapata Times does not publish anonymous letters. To be published, letters must include the writer’s first and last names as well as a phone number to verify identity. The phone number IS NOT published; it is used solely to verify identity and to clarify content, if necessary. Identity of the letter writer must be verified before publication. We want to assure
our readers that a letter is written by the person who signs the letter. The Zapata Times does not allow the use of pseudonyms. Letters are edited for style, grammar, length and civility. No namecalling or gratuitous abuse is allowed. Via e-mail, send letters to editorial@lmtonline.com or mail them to Letters to the Editor, 111 Esperanza Drive, Laredo, TX 78041.
COLUMN
Proving bravery with snakes My upbringing involved all the morals and accompanying rules that guided my mother. It also included all her fears and phobias. One of the latter was her sheer terror with the mention of the word, “snake.” And four mischievous sons soon learned that a mere hissing sound — ssssssss — would bring shudders from Mom and delighted giggles from the demonic quartet. Even though Boy Scouting required a quantity of respect for the slithering serpents, it also fostered an “I ain’t skeered uh nuthin’” mantra that came with earning the Snakes Merit Badge. Talk about your false bravado. Only the ain’t-afeareduh-nothin’ morons of that age group would show no fear of a snake. While the Scout training wisely included being able to tell the difference between a poisonous viper and a “harmless” snake, who wanted to get close enough to tell? As they were striking, who knew if the head was triangular (poisonous) versus the more rectangular shape of the “harmless” serpent? (After all, weren’t those the critters referred to in Gene-
sis and the Garden of Eden?) And, although not all snakes are venomous, all snakes bite. That is good enough for me. But, good Scout that I was, I “scouted on” to earn the merit badge. Several of us formed a collective to accomplish the award and, at the same time, create a “snake exhibit” for public view … meaning younger ‘fraidy-cat kids that we could scare witless. Through that good ol’ Boy Scout Handbook, we learned to build containers to protect one and all from the vile vipers. These included getting wooden boxes (about 4–5 inches deep) from grocery stores, tacking screen wire over the top, leaving just enough of an opening on one corner to be able to place the snake in the box, then tack down the wire. One had to be mindful of where his hands were in that process so they weren’t where the demons could strike — fangs can go through screen wire into a stray
hand. I didn’t mention this particular badge to Mother, but rather got in a little fright with the display of the cloth emblem she had to sew on my merit badge sash. She almost made a mess of it as she shrieked her disdain for such dangerous exploits by boys. As for catching snakes in the first place, we learned to use broom or hoe handles. First, drill a hole from the side angled toward the end of the handle. Then, run a strong picture frame wire through the hole to the end of the handle securing it to the surface with a small nail. Finally, loop the wire and tack it down to complete the trap. Usually a team of three Scouts — one equipped with a forked pole, two armed with a homemade snake-catcher — penned the reptile with the forked pole. Then they looped a “catcher” over the snake’s head, another secured his tail. The loop was placed just far enough over the snake’s head to eliminate its striking capability and the “tail” noose limited its slithering capacity. On one outing, I and three other Explorer Scouts corralled a huge water
moccasin. One of the Scouts had a 1938 Chevrolet 4-door sedan. The front wheel wells were fenders with headlights atop them. Two of us sat on those fenders, thighs clamped onto the headlights, and held the snake as near arm’s length in front of us as possible. That moccasin’s belly almost dragged the ground and it was extremely heavy, at least to a pair of skinny 14year-old Explorers. We drove almost two miles that way, creeping along, to the Scoutmaster’s house where the exhibit boxes were kept. Our “snake show” was a big hit with the community (the early 1950s were that way). Mother almost didn’t recover and, I believe, took extra doses of her nerve medicine for a couple of weeks until we turned the snakes back into the wild, a forested area with a sizable creek running through it at the north edge of town. To be honest, I was a little relieved, too. Willis Webb is a retired community newspaper publisher of more than 50 years experience. He can be reached by email at wwebb1937@att.net.
EDITORIAL
Soccer isn’t playing fair THE PHILADELPHIA INQUIRER
As American soccer fans chanted “I believe that we will win” from the stands in Vancouver, British Columbia, at the Women’s World Cup final a week ago, the U.S. team proved them right by beating Japan 5-2. Later, Carli Lloyd was awarded the Golden Ball as the tournament’s best player, and the team took home $2 mil-
lion in prize money. But wait a minute: That’s $33 million short of the prize that the German men’s team collected after winning their World Cup last summer. The women’s $2 million will go to the U.S. Soccer Federation, which sets the amount each player will receive. The federation also sponsors the National Women’s Soccer League, which
pays players a fraction of what men playing Major League Soccer earn. FIFA officials have defended the difference in World Cup prize money by noting that the men’s tournament brings in more revenue. The National Women’s Soccer League, too, brings in far less cash than Major League Soccer. Given the current FIFA scandal, with a score of offi-
cials accused of bribery and former president Sepp Blatter forced to step down, FIFA could use a positive shot in the arm. But this isn’t just about good publicity; it’s about doing what is right. While women’s professional soccer still has a long way to go to reach the popularity of the men’s sport, when it comes to the World Cup, the women have already arrived.
CLASSIC DOONESBURY | GARRY TRUDEAU
Nation
WEDNESDAY, JULY 15, 2015
THE ZAPATA TIMES 5A
Obama eyes prison time Iran nuclear deal struck By JOSH LEDERMAN ASSOCIATED PRESS
WASHINGTON — Calling it an issue America can’t afford to ignore, President Barack Obama on Thursday laid out an expansive vision for fixing the criminal justice system by focusing on communities, courtrooms and cellblocks. He announced a federal review of the use of solitary confinement and urged Congress to pass a sentencing reform bill by year’s end. In a speech to the NAACP’s annual convention, Obama also called for voting rights to be restored to felons who have served their sentences, and said employers should “ban the box” asking job candidates about their past convictions. He said long mandatory minimum sentences now in place should be reduced — or discarded entirely. “In far too many cases, the punishment simply doesn’t fit the crime,” Obama told a crowd of 3,300 in Philadelphia. Low-level drug dealers, for example, owe a debt to society, but not a life sentence or 20-year prison term, he said. With his speech to the prominent African-American advocacy group, Obama sought to put a spotlight on the need for new legislation as he mounted a weeklong push on criminal justice reform. A day earlier, Obama commuted the sentences of 46 nonviolent drug offenders — the most commutations a president has issued on a single day in at least four decades. Upon arriving Tuesday in Philadelphia, Obama met with a number of former prisoners to discuss their experience re-entering society, the White House said. And on Thursday, Obama planned to put a personal face on the nation’s mushrooming prison population with a visit El Reno Federal Correctional Institution outside of Oklahoma City — the first visit to a federal prison by a sitting U.S. pres-
ident. The assertive moves reflected a president eager to wield his executive power during his waning years in office to reduce harsh sentences, cut costs and correct disparities he said have disproportionally burdened minorities. Earlier in his presidency, as he spent his political capital carefully on major domestic priorities, Obama spoke cautiously and only intermittently about the need for smarter sentencing and other justice changes. But as of late, public attention has been piqued by a serious of upsetting incidents across the country. In places like Baltimore, New York and Ferguson, Missouri, tensions between law enforcement and their communities have spilled out into the open, underscoring longstanding concerns among minority communities that they’re treated differently in the criminal justice system. Obama pointedly acknowledged that many people in the U.S. need to be in prison — “murderers, predators, rapists, gang leaders” — yet he said that in too many instances, law enforcement is treating young black and Latino men differently than their white peers. “This is not just anecdotal. This is not just barbershop talk,” he said. The White House said Obama wouldn’t hesitate to commute more sentences in the coming months if the circumstances were right. Yet Obama’s ability to address the problem unilaterally is limited, as the White House readily concedes. So Obama has set his sights on the kind of comprehensive fix that only Congress can provide. “The statistics cannot be ignored. We cannot close our eyes anymore,” Obama said. Working in Obama’s favor: tentative but optimistic signs of common ground between Republicans and Democrats. Republicans in particular
have spoken with growing enthusiasm about the need for structural change. Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, has been working on legislation that could reduce some mandatory minimums. Republican Sen. John Cornyn of Texas and Democratic Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse of Rhode Island are backing a bill that would steer lower-risk inmates into programs where they could earn earlier release by participating in recidivism-reduction programs. In another positive sign for the prospects of justice reform, a number of 2016 presidential candidates have taken an active interest in the issue. Sen. Rand Paul, a Kentucky Republican, has mounted a vocal push to restore voting rights to nonviolent felons who have served their terms and to make it easier for people with criminal records to get jobs. Gov. Chris Christie, RN.J., planned to give a speech Thursday in the troubled city of Camden focusing on nonviolent drug offenders. But not all Republicans were receptive to Obama’s pitch. A group of 19 Republicans, led by House Judiciary Committee Chairman Bob Goodlatte of Virginia, wrote a letter Tuesday to Attorney General Loretta Lynch accusing Obama of blatantly usurping congressional authority and of using his pardon power for political purposes. Since Congress enacted mandatory minimum sentences for drug crimes, the federal prison population has multiplied, from just 24,000 in the 1980s to more than 214,000, according to Families Against Mandatory Minimums. In 2010, Obama signed the Fair Sentencing Act, cutting penalties for crack cocaine offenses. And last year, the independent Sentencing Commission reduced guideline ranges for drug crimes and applied those retroactively.
By DEB RIECHMANN ASSOCIATED PRESS
WASHINGTON — Just hours after announcing a landmark nuclear agreement with Iran on Tuesday, the White House launched a robust lobbying campaign to persuade skeptical Democrats in Congress to approve the deal. Vice President Joe Biden started calling his Democratic colleagues on Capitol Hill and plans to head to the House on Wednesday to brief Democrats. President Barack Obama and senior members of Obama’s national security team also are calling members of Congress to brief them on the contents of the agreement that is well over 100 pages long. After receiving a copy of the pact, lawmakers will have 60 days to read the fine print, vote yea or nay — or take no action. Soon after it was announced, Democrats expressed skepticism about the agreement under which Tehran would curtail its nuclear program in exchange for billions of dollars in relief from international sanctions that have been crippling the Iranian economy. “I will only support it if this deal prevents every Iranian pathway to develop a nuclear weapons capability,” said Sen. Chris Coons, D-Del., who listed several other provisions he will check in the agreement. Rep. Steny Hoyer of Maryland, the No. 2 Democrat in the House, joined many other Democrats who said verification provisions will determine whether they support it. “Without verification, this is a useless agreement,” Hoyer said. Republicans were uniform in their opposition, with House Speaker John Boehner saying the GOP would do what it can to
Photo by Ebrahim Noroozi | AP
A group of jubilant Iranians cheer and spray artificial snow during street celebrations following a landmark nuclear deal, in Tehran, Iran, Tuesday. After long, fractious negotiations, world powers and Iran struck an historic deal Tuesday. undermine the deal. “In the coming days, Congress will need to scrutinize this deal and answer whether implementing the agreement is worth dismantling our painstakingly constructed sanctions regime that took more than a decade to establish,” said Sen. Bob Corker, R-Tenn., the chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. “Iran continues to be the lead sponsor of terrorism in the world and relieving sanctions would make the Tehran regime flush with cash and could create a more dangerous threat to the United States and its allies.” If Congress votes to disapprove the agreement, Obama reiterated Tuesday that he would veto the measure. A twothirds majority in both the House and Senate would be needed to override a veto. “That’s not a scenario that we think is going to happen,” White House Press Secretary Josh Earnest told reporters on Air Force One en route to Philadelphia. He said the administration feels confident that if lawmakers can take off their political hats and focus on the
details of the deal “there’s a lot in here to like.” Even the chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee, Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., said he doesn’t see how Congress can prevent the deal from being implemented. “You can’t stop it,” McCain said. “It can be unraveled. It can be undone by a Republican president who cares about the security of this nation.” The foreign policy committees in both chambers — and possibly other panels on intelligence and the armed services — are expected to begin holding hearings next week. It appears unlikely, though, that Congress will take any formal action before the August recess, when they most certainly will hear from constituents on the issue. When it comes to a vote, all eyes will be on Democrats to figure out whether they will back the deal brokered by the administration or turn their back on the president, as many of his fellow Democrats did in a recent battle involving trade negotiating authority for presidents.
Nation
6A THE ZAPATA TIMES
Harper Lee novel out
WEDNESDAY, JULY 15, 2015
Two dead in floods
By HILLEL ITALIE
By BRUCE SCHREINER
ASSOCIATED PRESS
ASSOCIATED PRESS
NEW YORK — Shortly after sunrise Tuesday, the doors opened at the Old Courthouse Museum in Monroeville, Alabama, and a bell tolled. In the hometown and residence of Harper Lee, it was time to start a marathon and occasionally painful reading of “Go Set a Watchman,” the second book no one ever thought they would see from the author of “To Kill a Mockingbird.” Lee fans worldwide stayed up late, awakened early and dashed off during meal breaks to pick up a copy of the year’s most anticipated novel, “Go Set a Watchman,” which came out Tuesday after months of the most unusual prepublication attention in memory. From the moment publisher HarperCollins announced “Watchman” in early February, reactions of ecstatic disbelief have been shadowed by concerns about the book’s quality, the 89-year-old Lee’s involvement in the release and the jarring transformation of Atticus Finch. “I don’t think it’s going to damage Harper Lee’s legacy,” Susan Scullin, a reading teacher in New York City, said of “Watchman” as she prepared to buy a copy at the Barnes & Noble in Manhattan’s Union Square. “It might damage Atticus Finch’s legacy, and that makes me a little nervous.” Booksellers from Cambridge, Massachusetts to Downers Grove, Illinois opened at midnight Tuesday, while Barnes & Noble stores began selling copies at 7 a.m., two hours earlier than usual. Pre-orders have already made “Go Set a Watchman” one of the year’s top books and did not let up despite lukewarm reviews and the unwelcome news that Finch, one of the all-time literary heroes, was a bigot in “Watchman.” Amazon.com has called
FLAT GAP, Ky. — Doris Hardin watched the water rise from the window of her mobile home in rural Johnson County. Her lights flickered off then her neighbor banged on the door, shouting for her to flee. She ran for her car but it was already gone. “I grabbed my keys and my purse and went out to get my car and it was floating down the creek.” The floodwaters rising around Hardin late Monday killed one man and one woman, left six more missing and sent rescue crews to comb the hilly Appalachian terrain Tuesday, as the threat of more floods bore down on rescue efforts. The water swept up Hardin’s trailer, her two cats still inside, and smashed it into a growing heap of mangled debris: other mobile homes, wrecked cars, snapped trees and downed power lines. “One started and then they all just followed, and started piling into each other,” she said, referring to the other mobile homes. Emergency personnel in the hardest-hit neighborhoods in Johnson County struggled with the debris and difficult communication as they went door-todoor Tuesday, searching for those who might be trapped in their homes, Kentucky State Police Trooper Steven Mounts said. Some people were rescued from trees they climbed to escape the floodwaters, according to county Sheriff Dwayne Price. The missing range in age from 22 to 74. Kentucky Gov. Steve Beshear declared a state of emergency to give local officials immediate access to state resources to assist in recovery efforts. The search area stretches more than 8 miles, from the town of Flat Gap south to Staffordsville — an area with 500 homes and 1,200 residents, police said at a Tuesday morning news conference. Authorities esti-
Photo by Brynn Anderson | AP
A man to the right and the dome of the old Monroe County Courthouse are both reflected in a Monroeville bookstore Monday. “Watchman” its most popular pre-order since the last Harry Potter book, which came out in 2007. At Barnes & Noble, the comparisons were not to a phenomenon like Potter, but to a follow up: Mary Amicucci, the superstore chain’s vice president for adult trade and children’s books, said that pre-orders were the highest since the 2009 release of Dan Brown’s “The Lost Symbol,” his first novel after “The Da Vinci Code” and itself a million seller. Sales for “Mockingbird,” already a consistent favorite, have doubled at Barnes & Noble since “Watchman” was announced. The book’s first printing exceeds 2 million copies. In slightly varying accounts, Lee attorney Tonja Carter has said she came upon the “Watchman” manuscript last year while looking through some of the author’s papers. “Watchman” was written before “Mockingbird,” which won the Pulitzer Prize in 1961. But it takes place 20 years later, in the 1950s. Carter and literary agent Andrew Nurnberg have also speculated that Lee planned a trilogy of novels, although HarperCollins in its “Watchman” press notes cited “scant reference to support this theory.” “Watchman” finds a grown-up Scout, now living
in New York, visiting her native Maycomb, Alabama, and observing a community terrified by the Supreme Court’s recent ruling that school segregation was unconstitutional. Scout herself is shaken when among those joining the racist mob is the man who in “Mockingbird” stood against it, her father, Atticus. In Monroeville, which has long had an ambivalent relationship with Lee, only around 20 people were in attendance as volunteers took turns reading from “Watchman.” Ann-Michael Winstead, 20, endured reciting Atticus’ ugly warning to Scout: “Do you want your children going to a school that’s been dragged down to accommodate Negro children?” Winstead wiped her eyes after the reading. “It was tough. You grow up with this book (’Mockingbird’) ... You think of him as the perfect gentleman, colorblind,” she said as she choked back tears. At the Waterstones bookstore in London’s Piccadilly Circus, shoppers were hopeful as they used their lunch hour Tuesday to pick up copies of “Go Set a Watchman.” Some said they planned it to be their holiday reading, others said they wanted to know more about the beloved characters in “To Kill a Mockingbird.”
Teen survives crash By MARTHA BELLISLE AND GENE JOHNSON ASSOCIATED PRESS
SEATTLE — With her step-grandparents dead or dying in the burning wreckage of their small plane, 16year-old Autumn Veatch needed to somehow find her way off the remote, thickly forested Washington state mountainside where they crashed Saturday afternoon. Bruised by the impact, singed by the fire, fearing an explosion and knowing she couldn’t help the other victims, the girl did what she could: She headed down the steep slope, following a creek to a river. She spent a night on a sand bar, where she felt safer. She drank small amounts of the flowing water, but worried she might get sick if she drank more. She followed the river to a trail, and the trail to a highway. Two men driving by stopped and picked her up Monday afternoon, bringing her — about two full days after the crash — to the safety of a general store in Mazama, a tiny town in north-central Washington, near the east entrance of North Cascades National Park. “We crashed, and I was the only one that made it out,” she told a 911 operator, after a store employee called for her. “I have a lot of burns on my hands, and I’m kind of covered in bruises and scratches and stuff.” As authorities continued searching for the plane’s wreckage Tuesday, aided by clues Veatch provided, they also marveled at the wherewithal of a teenager who managed to survive — and to later joke from her hospital bed about how it was a good thing her dad made her watch the television show “Survivor.” “She’s got an amazing story, and I hope she gets to tell it soon,” said Okanogan
Photo by Sierra Lundy | AP
This May 9 photo provided by Sierra Lundy shows Autumn Veatch in Bellingham, Wash. The 16-year-old survived a small plane crash. County Sheriff Frank Rogers, who had interviewed Veatch and relayed details of her ordeal to The Associated Press. “It’s pretty impressive when you talk to her.” According to Rogers, Beech A-35 was flying over north-central Washington on its way from Kalispell, Montana, to Lynden, Washington, when it entered a cloud bank. Then the clouds suddenly parted, and from her seat behind the cockpit, Veatch could see the mountain and trees ahead. Her step-grandfather, Leland Bowman, of Marion, Montana, was piloting with his wife, Sharon, by his side. He tried to pull up — to no avail. They struck the trees and the plane plummeted to the ground and caught fire. “When they came out of the clouds, she said it was obvious they were too low,” Rogers said. “They crashed right into the trees and hit the ground. She tried to do what she could to help her grandparents, but she couldn’t because of the fire.” Veatch had no life-threatening injuries but was dehydrated and suffering from a treatable muscle tissue breakdown caused by vigorous exercise without food or water, said Scott Graham, CEO of Three Rivers Hospi-
tal in Brewster. She stayed at the hospital overnight and was expected to be released Tuesday. “It’s a miracle, no question about it,” Lt. Col. Jeffrey Lustick of the Civil Air Patrol told reporters, saying he has spent 30 years in search and rescue. “Moments of joy like this can be hard to find.” Lustick said even with the clues Veatch provided, finding the wreckage and getting to it remains a daunting challenge — especially considering that the plane may have broken apart and now be hidden under the thick tree canopy. “It’ a really steep mountain, and it’s going to be difficult to spot,” he said. “This is a place where it was difficult for her to come down, but it’s going to be even tougher going up. This isn’t the kind of place where you can just go in by foot.” Veatch’s father, David Veatch of Bellingham, told reporters outside the hospital late Monday that his daughter was exhausted but doing remarkably well. She was able to joke with him about the survival shows they watched together on television, he said. “She’s just an amazing kid,” David Veatch said. “There’s more to her than she knows.”
Photo by David Stephenson | AP
Vehicles came to rest in a creek after deadly flooding in Flat Gap, Ky., Tuesday. Flash floods in Kentucky destroyed homes. mate more than 150 homes were damaged or destroyed. Hebert Hayden, 78, left home with his wife for a doctor’s appointment. While they were away, their mobile home was swept from its foundation and crashed nearby. They lost everything. “All I can say is God was on our side,” he said. “If we would have been here, we would have drowned.” The man who died was caught in floodwaters that stalled his vehicle, Price said. The victim stepped out of the truck and was pulled in by the rising water, he said. A second person, a 74year-old woman, was found dead Tuesday, authorities said. They recovered her body in debris near the creek at a mobile home park. Authorities have not yet identified them. Fleeing residents had to run for their lives to escape the rushing water. Hardin sprinted up a hill, as utility poles crashed down around her. The roads now are lined with empty foundations, where trailers or homes once stood. Cars are strewn upside down, trees uprooted and mobile homes demolished. Fifteen people were treated at a local hospital and released. Hardin had still not found her cats Tuesday afternoon, and feared she
never would. “I don’t think anything else is going to be salvageable,” she said. Authorities worried that the muddy, rushing creek, still swollen Tuesday afternoon, had not finished its destruction. Buddy Rogers, spokesman for Kentucky Emergency Management, said the ground is thoroughly saturated from the overnight rains and heavy storms from the past several weeks. More rain is expected Tuesday afternoon, and the water will have nowhere to go but into roads, yards and homes, he suspects. Many of the same areas are likely to be underwater again. The waterlogged ground also threatens to topple more power lines, trees and utility poles in high winds. “Any more rain at all is going to be detrimental, it will hurt us,” said Bobby Moore, a Johnson County 911 dispatcher. Moore said the flood washed away a number of rural roads and left others clogged with fallen trees and debris, forcing rescuers to turn to all-terrain vehicles to reach homes and search for residents. A helicopter hovered overhead to aid in the search, which included more than 100 from local departments, the state police, the Department of Fish and Wildlife and the National Guard.
International
WEDNESDAY, JULY 15, 2015
THE ZAPATA TIMES 7A
Greece’s left pushes for austerity deal By DEREK GATOPOULOS AND ELENA BECATOROS ASSOCIATED PRESS
ATHENS, Greece — Greece’s left-wing government launched a frantic 24hour effort late Tuesday to push more austerity measures through Parliament and meet demands from European creditors as it faced down mounting anger at home. The belt-tightening measures, which include pension cuts and higher sales tax rates on everything from condoms to race horses, were agreed upon with eurozone leaders to prevent the Greek economy from collapsing, and as part of a planned third bailout worth 85 billion euros ($93 billion). The new measures mean economically-battered Greeks will have to pay more for most goods and services by the end of the week. Hard-liners in Prime Minister Tsipras’ own Syriza party were in open revolt, and unions and trade associations representing civil servants, municipal workers, pharmacy owners
and others called or extended strikes to coincide with Wednesday’s Parliament vote. Energy Minister Panagiotis Lafazanis said lead eurozone lender Germany and its allies had acted like “financial assassins” by forcing the deal on Athens, and urged Tsipras to reject it. “The deal is unacceptable,” Lafazanis said in a statement. “It may pass through Parliament ... but the people will never accept it and will be united in their fight against it.” In an interview on state TV, Tsipras said he would not step down, despite the open dissent within his own Cabinet and party. “I will not run away from my responsibilities,” he said. He also criticized the deal, but said it was the best Greece could get. “The policies imposed on us were irrational,” Tsipras said. “We faced a tough and punitive position from our partners ... But the (agreement) does offer a way out of the crisis.” Pro-European opposition parties have pledged
“
There was a coup. A coup in the heart of Europe. They want the government to fall and replace it with one not elected by the Greek people.” DEFENSE MINISTER PANOS KAMMENOS
support for the bailout bills, but Tsipras could effectively lose his majority in Parliament, weakening his ability to push through measures that he had himself vehemently opposed until a few weeks ago. Tsipras’ coalition partner, Defense Minister Panos Kammenos, also bitterly denounced the new deal. “There was a coup. A coup in the heart of Europe,” said Kammenos, who heads the right-wing Independent Greeks party. “They want the government to fall and replace it with one not elected by the Greek people.” The government holds 162 seats in Greece’s 300-
member Parliament, and more than 30 of Syriza’s own lawmakers have publicly voiced objections. There was speculation Tsipras might choose to reshuffle his Cabinet, which would remove dissenters from key positions. Athens was forced to accept harsh terms to remain in the euro after defaulting on its debts to the International Monetary Fund and closing banks to prevent a deposit run. On Tuesday, the International Monetary Fund said Greece’s finances were even more dire than previously reported. The IMF said Greece’s debts would peak over the next two
years at 200 percent of the country’s economic output; earlier it had said the debt burden would peak last year at 177 percent. The IMF now says Greece needs more debt relief and 85 billion euros in new financing (up from an earlier estimate of around 60 billion euros) through 2018. The IMF said that “Greece’s debt can now only be made sustainable through debt relief measures that go far beyond what Europe has been willing to consider so far.” Greece faces a deadline Monday to repay 4.2 billion euros ($4.6 billion) to the European Central Bank. It is also in arrears on 2 billion euros to the IMF. It will take an estimated four weeks for Greece to access the new bailout loans, leaving EU finance ministers scrambling to find ways to get Athens some of the money sooner. U.S. Treasury Secretary Jacob Lew is traveling to Europe to confer with officials about the Greek crisis. Lew will meet Wednesday in Frankfurt with European Central Bank chief Mario Draghi. On Thurs-
day, he will meet German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble and French Finance Minister Michel Sapin. The months-long standoff between Greece and its creditors has taken a heavy toll on an economy that started the year with a 2.9 percent growth forecast. A Greek small business association said Tuesday that the new austerity measures were likely to cause the economy to shrink for a seventh year, with a 3.5 percent drop in output. Despite the bleak forecasts, some Greeks appeared to take the latest turmoil in stride, saying the measures Greece will have to pass are harsh but that the alternative would have been worse. “We aren’t in a good position within the European Union under the current measures and under this present situation,” said Kostas Plafoutzis, an Athens merchant. “But under the current conditions, if we exit the EU, we will find ourselves in a considerably worse situation.”
Stampede kills 27 during religious festival By OMER FAROOQ ASSOCIATED PRESS
HYDERABAD, India — At least 27 people were killed and dozens injured Tuesday in a stampede during a Hindu religious bathing festival on a river bank in southern India. The stampede occurred in Andhra Pradesh state as tens of thousands of people pushed forward to bathe in the Godavari River on the first day of the Pushkaralu festival, said Arun Kumar, a state administrator. The stampede was trig-
gered by some pilgrims who were trying to retrieve their shoes, which had fallen off in the rush to the river bank, police said. Kumar said the incident, which occurred in the town of Rajahmundry, happened not long after the 12-day bathing festival started in the early morning hours. Andhra Pradesh’s chief minister, Chandrababu Naidu, said 27 people died in the stampede. An additional 34 people were hospitalized with injuries, Kumar said.
Festival participants believe a bath in the river can rid them of their sins, and many believe it is more auspicious to bathe on the festival’s first day. V. Satyanarayana, a pilgrim who was at the site, said the stampede lasted nearly 20 minutes. “It was a frightening situation, with women and children crying for help,” he said. “The policemen on duty were helpless and it took more than an hour to bring the situation under control.” With the bodies of victims lying around, rela-
tives wailed and cried for help. Some pilgrims said ambulances took time to reach the site because the roads were overcrowded with people. Officials said that a small place like Rajahmundry could not cope with the rush of hundreds of thousands of people, and that the situation became almost unmanageable. Thousands of pilgrims, riding in buses, trains and other vehicles, started reaching the pilgrimage center two days ahead of
the start of the festival. “There is a false belief that taking a holy dip in the river on the first day of the festival will be more auspicious,” said Swamy Swaroopanand, a Hindu holy man. “It’s the same as taking dip on any other day.” Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi expressed grief over the tragedy, tweeting that he was “deeply pained” by it. Rajahmundry is 450 kilometers (280 miles) east of Hyderabad, the joint capital of Andhra Pradesh and newly created Telan-
gana state. About 24 million people are expected to take part in the festival at varying points along the Godavari River, which flows through the two states. Deadly stampedes are fairly common during Indian religious festivals, where large crowds gather in small areas with few safety or crowd control measures. In October 2013, a stampede in Madhya Pradesh state in central India killed more than 110 people, mostly women and children.
WEDNESDAY, JULY 15, 2015
ON THE WEB: THEZAPATATIMES.COM
Sports&Outdoors PGA TOUR: JORDAN SPIETH
NCAA: TEXAS A&M
Grand Slam pursuit
Sumlin likes Chavis’ defense By JOHN ZENOR ASSOCIATED PRESS
Photo by Jon Super | AP
Former Texas golfer Jordan Spieth has won the first two majors of the year as he pursues taking the third leg of a Grand Slam competing at the British Open this week.
Texan Jordan Spieth arrives in Scotland for British Open By DOUG FERGUSON ASSOCIATED PRESS
ST. ANDREWS, Scotland — There was no escaping Jordan Spieth even before he arrived Monday at St. Andrews to resume his pursuit of the Grand Slam. Behind the practice range, one British television network talked to any player willing to stop. After a few gratuitous questions about the weather (cool and cloudy) and the Old Course (magnificent shape), the reporter got to the point. What about Spieth’s chances? “The odds are against him,” said Soren Kjeldsen, relying entirely on history. Spieth is only the fourth player since 1960, the year Arnold Palmer proposed the concept of the modern Grand Slam in golf, to win the first two majors of the year only to be stopped at the British Open. Palmer and Jack Nicklaus (1972) finished one shot behind. Tiger Woods was in good position in 2002 until he was blown away by the wind and rain at Muirfield and shot 81 in the third round. Spieth only added to the hype by winning the John Deere Classic in a playoff Sunday for his fourth win of the year. He flew on a charter flight from Illinois with other players at the John Deere Classic, arriving in Scotland about 10:30 a.m. and checking into his house before coming out to the Old Course to a quiet reception. In need of a shave — he’s 21, but yes, he shaves — Spieth and his manager walked through a group of about 100 fans who camped out near the entrance to the player lounge to get his autograph. Spieth signed everything shoved his way, turned and tossing the last item to a delighted young British boy. The jet lag apparently wasn’t an issue Monday. Spieth planned to hit balls and play nine holes if he felt up to it. He wound up going 18 holes, and the fans who hung around into the evening were in for a rare treat — Spieth playing, with Woods right behind him. Woods used to tee off before breakfast, but waited until afternoon when most of the drizzling weather cleared out. They chatted briefly on the
Photo by Jon Super | AP
Jordan Spieth the fourth player since 1960 to win the first two majors of the year. The other three all failed to win the British Open. 16th green, and Spieth had some fun on the Road Hole at No. 17. He hit three shots out of the famous bunker, all of them onto the green. Then he headed toward the stone wall behind the road and asked a few fans still left, “Can you play it off the wall?” “I didn’t come here to play boring golf,” Spieth said. He tried it four times, and didn’t reach the green with any of them. What makes Spieth different from other players in pursuit of the Grand Slam — or even Rory McIlroy, who won the last two majors a year ago, is that he does not overpower golf courses. He just scores. And he wins. And that’s what golf is all about, anyway. “He beats you with better golf,” Geoff Ogilvy said. “He doesn’t beat you because he hits it further. Tiger’s intimidation was that he always did something amazing. Jordan — don’t get me wrong, his body of work is amazing — but he doesn’t beat you with a crazy par, or a crazy chip-in from the back of the 14th at Muirfield (Village). He just beats you because he’s better.” Ogilvy was asked how he would feel going into the final
round two shots behind Spieth compared with going against Woods or McIlroy. “It would be different. It shouldn’t be,” he said. “There’s more of an intimidation factor to Rory because he’s going to hit it 30 (yards) past you all day, and it appears like he’s better than you. Jordan doesn’t appear like he’s better than you. But his body of work proves that he’s better than everybody — well, maybe everybody but Rory.” That now is in reach. With his victory at the John Deere, Spieth is within range of his goal of reaching No. 1 in the world. He would have to win The Open this week to get past McIlroy, who is out with an ankle injury with no clear indication when he will be able to return. “What he’s doing is phenomenal,” Nick Faldo said. “And he’s confident. ... He’s seeing the right shot, he’s visualizing the shot. ... And he keeps churning out good shots. When you’re doing that, you just jump back on the saddle and ride again. That’s what he’s doing.” Only in this case, Spieth had to first jump on a plane. Not long after he won the U.S. Open, questions arose whether Spieth would change his sched-
ule and skip the John Deere Classic so he could get to Scotland earlier. He never gave it a second thought. He wanted competition at a tournament where he picked up his first win. He wasn’t worried about jet lag. He wasn’t interested in changing his routine for the sake of an extra practice round or two on a course that has been around as long as golf has been played. “He’s young enough where he’ll probably overcome it with a good night’s sleep,” Paul Casey said. The R&A put Spieth in the same group with Dustin Johnson and Hideki Matsuyama for the opening two rounds. Johnson had a 12-foot eagle putt on the final hole at Chambers Bay to win the U.S. Open. He three-putted for par, and Spieth was halfway home to the Grand Slam. More than the Old Course, the real challenge is the players Spieth has to beat. One of those figures to be Johnson, who was asked what he thought about the young Texan’s chances in this unlikely bid to win all four majors in one year. “Well, I’m playing the next two,” Johnson said with a smile, “so we’ll have to see.”
HOOVER, Ala. — Texas A&M coach Kevin Sumlin figured if he couldn’t score against John Chavis, he should hire him. “That’s exactly what I did,” Sumlin said. “There’s really nothing more to the answer than that. That’s true. We’ve studied the defense. We get it. “We struggled. It’s a great fit for us and a great fit for him.” Chavis’ hiring was the hot topic for Sumlin’s appearance Tuesday at Southeastern Conference media days, trumping returning quarterback Kyle Allen and star defensive end Myles Garrett. Sumlin’s Aggies have been struggling on defense and mostly prolific on offense — just not against Chavis’ defenses. Texas A&M had averaged just 15 points in going 0-3 against the Tigers under Sumlin. Sumlin was impressed enough to give Chavis a three-year, $5 million deal to rebuild the league’s worst defense in 2014. He thinks the hiring of the veteran coordinator brought an instant infusion of needed confidence to the Aggies defense. Sure sounds like it. “Look at his track record,” defensive lineman Julien Obioha said. “He always turns things around. The first day he came in here, he said, ’Look, I expect to win championships while I’m at A&M. I’ve got the talent and I’ve got the pieces to do it right now.”’ The hiring might also add some spice to the LSU-Texas A&M rivalry, though Sumlin says he’s not sure “if it can get any more spicy than it is now.” Chavis and LSU have sued each other since his departure over a $400,000 buyout. Sumlin denied reports that he called Chavis just before LSU’s bowl game, a conversation reported by the A&M coach’s (presumably now former) pool cleaner on Twitter. As for the suits, Sumlin said: “It hasn’t been a distraction to me at all.” There’s no doubt defense was the big offseason priority after a promising season that opened with a rapid rise into the top 10. The Aggies swooned to a 2-5 regular-season finish, including a 59-0 loss to Alabama, after winning their first five games. They did rebound with a Liberty Bowl win over West Virginia, and Sumlin can point to a number of talented young players such as Allen, Garrett and wide receivers Speedy Noil and Ricky SealsJones as reasons for optimism. “I’m as excited as any year that I’ve ever coached because I’ve got a lot of really, really good young talent that really went through a year unlike any other year I’ve been a part of,” Sumlin said.
MIÉRCOLES 15 DE JULIO DE 2015
Ribereña en Breve
Zfrontera
PÁGINA 9A
FUGA DEL ‘CHAPO’
Caen funcionarios carcelarios
DECOMISO MIGUEL ALEMÁN, México — El Grupo de Coordinación Tamaulipas informa que oficiales de Fuerza Tamaulipas aseguraron 377 kilogramos de marihuana durante un operativo. El viernes, policías estatales circulaban por una brecha sobre avenida Los Alamos, de la colonia Los Presidentes, cuando se percataron que entre los matorrales estaban abandonados 38 paquetes de diferentes tamaños envueltos en cinta canela, por lo que procedieron a asegurarlos. No hubo personas detenidas. La droga fue puesta a disposición del Ministerio Público Federal.
ARRESTOS RÍO BRAVO, México — Policías de Fuerza Tamaulipas detuvieron a tres personas quienes presuntamente resguardaban varios kilogramos de marihuana. Los hechos sucedieron en el Fraccionamiento Misiones del Puente. Un probable delincuente fue identificado como Alejandro Sánchez Esquivel. También fueron detenidos dos menores de edad. De acuerdo al reporte del Grupo de Coordinación Tamaulipas, las personas resguardaban seis paquetes de diferentes tamaños que contenían 120 kilogramos de marihuana, la cual estaba oculta en una vivienda. Detenidos y droga fueron puestos a disposición del Ministerio Público para las investigaciones correspondientes.
RESCATE EL MANTE, México — Elementos de la Secretaría de la Defensa Nacional interceptaron el jueves, en Nueva Apolonia, un tractocamión en cuyo interior se encontraban 150 migrantes centroamericanos. El camión circulaba por un camino de terracería que va desde Tamuín, San Luis Potosí, hasta González, Tamaulipas. El conductor del tractocamión logró darse a la fuga. Elementos militares encontraron 70 personas originarias de El Salvador, 53 de Guatemala y 27 de Honduras, de ambos sexos. En el grupo había algunos menores de edad. A los migrantes se les brindó atención y fueron puestos a disposición de la delegación del Instituto Nacional de Migración (INM) en Tampico.
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. La inscripción a la carrera para niños costará 5 dólares. Inscríbase acudiendo a Boys and Girls Club en 302 de avenida 6th. La carrera contará con las siguientes divisiones: carrera de 5 kilómetros, caminata de dos millas y carrera para niños, de 10 años y menores.
POR MARIA VERZA ASSOCIATED PRESS
MÉXICO — La fuga de Joaquín ‘El Chapo’ Guzmán el fin de semana cobró el lunes sus tres primeras víctimas políticas, todos funcionarios del ámbito penitenciario y ningún responsable de primer nivel del gobierno de Enrique Peña Nieto. El secretario de Gobernación, Miguel Ángel Osorio Chong, cesó al máximo responsable de los centros penitenciarios del país, a la coordinadora de las cárceles federales y al director del penal de máxima seguridad del que se escapó el narcotraficante, quien —dijo el funcionario— ‘tuvo que haber contado con la complicidad’ de funcionarios de la prisión. Los cesados, aclaró, son personas con relación ‘directa’ con los hechos que ‘de entrada tenían algo que ver o mucho que ver y por eso se tomó la decisión’. Osorio Chong, número dos del gobierno mexicano, calificó la fuga como ‘un acto de corrupción, deslealtad y traición a los mexicanos’, pero limitó el alcance de esta corrupción al entorno de la cárcel y dijo que no era la hora de hablar de dimisiones. ‘Los momentos de crisis no son para renunciar, son para enfrentarlos’, manifestó para después reconocer que ‘las acciones de algunos manchan los esfuerzos de todas las instituciones’. El titular de Interior aseguró, no obstante, que ‘no habrá lugar para la impunidad’. ‘Todo funcionario público federal, estatal o municipal que haya participado en estos he-
Foto por Marco Ugarte | Associated Press
Policías federales montan guardia cerca de una casa a medio construir no muy lejos del penal del Altiplano en Almoloya, el lunes. chos, será castigado. Caerán chos Humanos. El dispositivo todos los involucrados en esse desconectó al entrar en el ta fuga’, sentenció. túnel. En una conferencia de Osorio Chong garantizó prensa ofrecida el lunes por que se cumplieron todos los la noche, Osorio Chong suprotocolos de seguridad y brayó que el penal cumplía que se activaron justo cuanGUZMÁN con certificaciones internado el capo inició su huida, un cionales iguales a las que tiemomento que fue captado nen penales similares de EU. Indicó parcialmente por el sistema de moque disponía de 750 cámaras de vi- nitoreo instalado en su celda, que deo y 26 filtros de seguridad, entre solo tenía dos puntos ciegos para otras medidas, y que elementos de garantizar sus derechos. la Policía Federal y del ejército conEn este sentido, se comprometió trolaban el perímetro carcelario. a hacer públicos todos los protocoCon el Chapo había, además, un los con horarios de reacción que es‘doble cuidado’ con cámaras adicio- tán ‘totalmente documentados’, y el nales y un brazalete que registraba video en el que ‘se alcanza a ver el su ubicación dentro del penal, pero momento en el que se inicia la fuque no contaba con GPS porque ga’ por el sofisticado túnel. Guzesa tecnología no está permitida mán fue rompiendo a su paso la por la Comisión Nacional de Dere- iluminación de su ruta de escape,
CONDADO STARR
NEGOCIOS
Acusan por soborno a JP
INVERSIONISTA
ASSOCIATED PRESS
RIO GRANDE CITY— Un juez del sur de Texas ha sido acusado de posesión de cocaína y solicitar sobornos para reducir la fianza de sospechosos por cargos relacionados con drogas. El Juez de Paz del Condado de Starr Salvador Zarate fue arrestado el lunes por cargos de posesión de una sustancia controlada y dos cargos por soborno. Se encuentra libre después de pagar una fianza de 23.000 dólares. El teléfono de la oficina de Zarate no se encontraba recibiendo mensajes. Su abogado J.M. “Chuy” Álvarez, dice que él piensa los cargos son por motivos políticos. Archivos de la corte indican que un informante reportó que Zarate pidió 500 dólares para bajar la fianza de 30.000 dólares a dos hombres acusados con entrega de sustancias controladas. Zarate supuestamente aceptó el soborno en la víspera de Navidad del 2014. Los investigadores dieron al informante billetes de 20 dólares marcados, mismos que fueron recuperados después del arresto de Zarate. Una acusación del 30 de junio dice que juez también tenía cocaína.
Foto de archivo/Orlin Wagner | Associated Press
En esta imagen de archivo de abril, un camión repartidor de Blue Bell se encuentra estacionado en las oficinas de Kansas City, Kansas. Blue Bell Creameries anunció el martes que el prominente empresario de Texas, Sid Bass, estará invirtiendo en la empresa, para asegurar el regreso de sus productos al mercado. Blue Bell dio a conocer en un comunicado de prensa el martes, que Bass se haba convertido en socio.
TEXAS
Revelan venta libre de impuestos ESPECIAL PARA TIEMPO DE ZAPATA
AUSTIN — El Contralor de Texas, Glenn Hegar, recuerda a los compradores que pueden ahorrar dinero en ciertos artículos con precio menor a 100 dólares durante la venta anual libre de impuestos. Este año, la venta libre de impuestos se realizará del viernes 7 de agosto, al
TORNEO DE BOLICHE El Banco de Alimentos del Sur de Texas (STFB, por sus siglas en inglés) invita a la comunidad de Laredo y la región a participar del evento “Strike Out Hunger”. El torneo de boliche tendrá lugar el martes 21 de julio, a las 5:30 p.m. en Jett Bowl North. El evento es abierto al público. Para inscribirse debe formar parte de un equipo de cinco jugadores (para tres juegos), por un costo de 125 dólares.
lo que ralentizó los movimientos de las fuerzas de seguridad que iban tras él para capturarlo. El objetivo del gobierno, agregó, es investigar, sancionar a los culpables y recapturar al ‘Chapo’ usando todos los medios posibles. La fiscalía general ofrece una recompensa de 60 millones de pesos (casi 4 millones de dólares) para quien brinde información sobre su paradero y apeló a la participación ciudadana, aunque Osorio Chong dijo entender que los mexicanos tengan ‘gran molestia’ ante este suceso. Además, se lanzó una alerta de búsqueda a través de Interpol en más de cien países, con una colaboración especial de EU, Guatemala y Belice. Hasta el momento han declarado en la fiscalía general 34 personas que trabajaban en la cárcel, cuya situación jurídica todavía debe determinarse, y también se ha interrogado a 17 internos recluidos en estancias próximas a la celda del ‘Chapo’. Asimismo, la procuraduría ha solicitado análisis periciales a ingenieros, arquitectos, fotógrafos y expertos en videos, y considera posible que toda la tierra originada por la excavación del túnel se ocultara en la casa en la que este desembocaba. El titular de Gobernación adelantó que una vez concluya la investigación se presentarán propuestas para una revisión completa del sistema penitenciario, con especial atención a los elementos que han fallado, y añadió que esta crisis es también un ‘momento de oportunidad’ para corregir errores.
domingo 9 de agosto. La ley exenta del pago de impuestos a la mayoría de la ropa, calzado, artículos escolares y mochilas, cuyo precio sea menor a 100 dólares, lo cual podría ahorrar al comprador alrededor de 8 dólares por cada 100 dólares gastados durante el fin de semana. “Como padre de tres hijos, sé que los gastos del re-
greso a clases realmente pueden significar una presión en el presupuesto de las familias”, dijo Hegar. “Esta es una oportunidad para que las familias ahorren dinero y se preparen para el inicio del ciclo escolar”. La lista de ropa y artículos escolares que pudiera ser adquirida libre de impuestos puede ser encon-
trada en el sitio de internet del contralor visitando TexasTaxHoliday.org. Este año, compradores se ahorrarán un estimado de 87 millones de dólares en los impuestos por ventas a nivel estado y locales, durante la celebración de ventas libre de impuestos. Esta actividad ha sido un evento anual desde 1999.
TAMAULIPAS
En 14 meses han rescatado a 157 personas TIEMPO DE ZAPATA
Al menos 157 personas que se dedicaban a privar de su libertad a otros, han sido detenidas por parte del Grupo de Coordinación de Tamaulipas, en un periodo de 14 meses, dio a conocer el Gobierno de Tamaulipas a través de un comunicado de prensa. Durante la segunda fase
de la Estrategia de Seguridad, comprendida del 13 de mayo al 31 de diciembre del 2014, se detuvieron a 65 secuestradores, cuya mayoría se encuentran bajo proceso, indica el reporte. En tanto que del primero de enero al 9 de julio del 2015, se han detenido 92 secuestradores que integraban 17 bandas delictivas que operaban en la Zona
Norte, Centro y Sur de Tamaulipas, de acuerdo al comunicado. De los 92 presuntos delincuentes, 71 se encuentran actualmente bajo proceso. La reunión celebrada el lunes en Ciudad Victoria, estuvo encabezada por el Gobernador de Tamaulipas, Egidio Torre Cantú, y participaron representantes de la Secretaría de la
Defensa Nacional, Armada de México, Policía Federal, PGR, CISEN, Policía Militar, Procuraduría General de Justicia y Secretaría de Seguridad Pública del Estado. También se dio a conocer que del 6 al 12 de julio, en el municipio de Matamoros se logró rescatar a 10 personas, entre las que se encontraban tres empre-
sarios que tenían en promedio 21 días privados de su libertad. Torre Cantú encomió el trabajo de las fuerzas federales y estatales y pidió que durante los meses de julioagosto, se refuercen los operativos que permitan salvaguardar la integridad y seguridad de los miles de paseantes que se esperan en Tamaulipas.
10A THE ZAPATA TIMES
WEDNESDAY, JULY 15, 2015
Spacecraft makes successful Pluto flyby By MARCIA DUNN ASSOCIATED PRESS
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. — In a day of both jubilation and tension, scientists waited anxiously Tuesday for NASA’s New Horizons spacecraft to send word across 3 billion miles and confirm it got humanity’s first up-close look at Pluto. All indications were that the craft successfully made its flyby, and a cheering, flag-waving celebration swept over the mission operations center in Maryland. But confirmation was not expected to reach Earth from the edge of the solar system for another 13 hours, or about 9 p.m. EDT. The unprecedented encounter was the last stop on NASA’s grand tour of the planets over the past halfcentury. New Horizons arrived at the small icy world after an epic journey that began 91/2 years ago, back when Pluto was still considered a full-fledged planet. “This is truly a hallmark in human history,” said
John Grunsfeld, NASA’s science mission chief. “It’s been an incredible voyage.” According to NASA’s best calculations, the spacecraft the size of a baby grand piano swept to within 7,700 miles of Pluto at 31,000 mph. It was programmed to then go past the dwarf planet and begin studying its far side. To commemorate the moment of closest approach, scientists released the best picture yet of Pluto, taken on the eve of the flyby. Even better images will start “raining” down on Earth beginning Wednesday, promised principal scientist Alan Stern. But he cautioned everyone to “stay tuned” until New Horizons contacted home. It takes 41/2 hours for signals to travel one-way between New Horizons and Earth. The I’ve-arrived message was due to go out late in the afternoon during a brief break in the spacecraft’s data-gathering frenzy. “We’re counting” on good news, said Stern, a Southwest Research Institute
Photo by NASA | Washington Post
It’s been a long journey, but we’re finally at Pluto’s doorstep. New Horizons zipped by Pluto at about 30,000 miles per hour. planetary scientist. “But there’s a little bit of drama because this is true exploration. New Horizons is flying into the unknown.” Jim Green, NASA’s planetary science director, admitted to being “on pins and needles” while waiting for New Horizons to tell flight controllers, “I made it!” Among the possible dangers: cosmic debris that could destroy the mission. But with the chances of a problem considered ex-
tremely low, scientists assembled at Johns Hopkins University’s Applied Physics Laboratory erupted in jubilation when the moment of closest approach occurred at 7:49 a.m. EDT. The lab is the spacecraft’s developer and manager. Joining in the hoopla were the two children of the American astronomer who discovered Pluto in 1930, Clyde Tombaugh. (Some of his ashes are aboard the spacecraft.)
The White House and Congress offered congratulations, and physicist Stephen Hawking was among the scientists weighing in. “Hey, people of the world! Are you paying attention?” planetary scientist Carolyn Porco, part of the New Horizons’ imaging team, said on Twitter. “We have reached Pluto. We are exploring the hinterlands of the solar system. Rejoice!” The U.S. is now the only nation to visit every planet in the solar system. Pluto was No. 9 in the lineup when New Horizons left Cape Canaveral, Florida, on Jan. 19, 2006, but was demoted seven months later to dwarf status. Scientists in charge of the $720 million mission hope the new observations will restore Pluto’s honor. Stern and other so-called plutophiles posed for the cameras giving nine-fingersup “Pluto Salute.” The picture of Pluto taken on Monday showed a frozen, pockmarked world, peach-colored with a heart-
shaped bright spot and darker areas around the equator. It drew oohs and aahs. “To see Pluto be revealed just before our eyes, it’s just fantastic,” said mission operations manager Alice Bowman. The Hubble Space Telescope had offered up the best pre-New Horizons pictures of Pluto, but they were essentially pixelated blobs of light. Flight controllers held off on having New Horizons send back flyby photos until well after the maneuver was complete; they wanted the seven science instruments to take full advantage of the encounter. New Horizons is also expected to beam back photos of Pluto’s big moon, Charon, and observe its four little moons. It will take 16 months, or until late 2016, for all the data to reach Earth. NASA also confirmed that Pluto is 1,473 miles in diameter, or about 50 miles bigger than estimated.
management,” Landin said. Agencies participating in the event included LFD, Laredo police, U.S. Customs and Border Protection,
Webb County Sheriff ’s Office, Starr, Zapata and Jim Hogg County. (César G. Rodriguez may be reached at 728-2568 or cesar@lmtonline.com)
DRILL Continued from Page 1A takes would have to be shutdown and utilize other sources of water until the risk to the city’s drinking water is eliminated, Landin said.
The purpose of the training is to respond accordingly should an emergency ever occur, Landin said. After the hazmat drill, Landin said U.S. authorities ex-
ecuted a table top exercise simulating, in discussion only, an explosion along Mines Road in Laredo. Also, a regional communication exercise took
place to test radio infrastructure and the ability to communicate among the agencies. “It was a three-in-one day for us in emergency
TRADE Continued from Page 1A “They need to understand the logistics, administration, and have more control of the process to help guarantee the safety of the customers.”
MORE TRADE The Mexican Consulate in McAllen offered advice to entrepreneurs about how to export products, hoping to spur more trade between the two nations. “The U.S. and Mexico border is a space of opportunity. It’s not just a wall that di-
vides, but something that we share,” said José Guillermo Ordorica Robles the Mexican Consular of McAllen. Pharr bridge officials said they’re hoping that once the growers are ready to export goods through Texas they will choose their port of entry. “We’re here to talk to them about our future infrastructure projects about how it will help them move cargo more efficiently,” said Luis Bazan, industrial development manager at the Pharr-Reynosa International Bridge. Funding was recently ap-
WATER Continued from Page 1A
proved for the Highway 365 truck toll road meant to connect Hidalgo County’s international bridges to help expedite commercial traffic. “We have a brand new state inspection facility that is not currently in use because there’s no connector from the federal to the state side, so this project will create that route,” Bazan said. “The goal is to get more of the traffic off of the bridge, allow for more queuing inside the port, and release the cargo that needs to be released without being stuck in traffic.”
gion. Parts of Hidalgo County received more than 10 inches of rain — more than what the area averages in six months — between May 1 and June 25, according to the National Weather Service. Residents may have not seen a decrease in their bill if their water usage has not significantly changed. Nearly 90 percent of McAllen’s water fund’s $16.4 million revenue received last year
comes from the city’s water sales, according to the city’s annual financial report. The city reported about $14.7 million in water sales last year. Pharr collected nearly 4 percent less in fiscal year 2013-14 from the previous year when the city collected more than $7.7 million and $7.4 million, respectively. Pharr has collected roughly $4 million in water sales from Octo-
ber through April, according to data obtained through a public information request. Edinburg Utilities Director Arturo Martinez said the city has billed customers for more than 2 billion gallons of water from October to May. Last year, Edinburg billed 3.8 billion gallons of water, down from the previous year when they billed more than 4 billion gallons.
EL CHAPO Continued from Page 1A Monday for any sign of Mexico’s most powerful drug lord, it was clear that Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzman’s escape must have involved inside help on a grand scale. Interior Secretary Miguel Angel Osorio Chong said as much Monday night. He announced that three prison officials had been fired, including Valentin Cardenas, director of the facility known as Altiplano, a maximum security prison 55 miles west of Mexico City. “They had something or a lot to do with what happened, and that’s why we made that decision,” Osorio Chong said. Still, he did not say who exactly is suspected of aiding the escape. Nor did he talk about rooting out the kind of corruption that led to the escape. The prison has the same high-security standards as those in the U.S. and Canada, he said, and Guzman was given extra surveillance, including a tracking bracelet, although it worked only inside the prison. Osorio Chong said the 1mile tunnel had been dug about 62 feet below the surface and called it a “high-tech” breach of the prison’s extensive security measures, including 750 cameras and 26 security filters. The Mexican government announced that it is offering a 60 million-peso ($3.8 million) reward for Guzman’s recapture. An
Interpol alert was sent to 10 countries and at least 49 people have been questioned by the government’s organized crime unit, including more than 30 prison employees. A tunnel of such sophistication — with lights, air venting, and a customized motorcycle rigged up on a rail line — would normally take 18 months to two years to complete, said Jim Dinkins, former head of Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations. “When it’s for the boss, you probably put that on high speed,” he said. If anyone was capable of pulling off such a feat, it was Guzman, who is believed to have at least a quarter-century of experience in building large, sophisticated tunnels to smuggle drugs under the U.S.-Mexico border and to
escape from hideouts as authorities closed in. His Sinaloa Cartel also has been most successful in coopting officials, said Edgardo Buscaglia, an organized crime expert at Columbia University. “By far they are the most infiltrated in Mexico’s government institutions,” he said. Experts expressed skepticism that such an engineering project could go on undetected. Joe Garcia, who retired this year as interim special agent in charge of U.S. Homeland Security Investigations in San Diego, has extensive experience in tunnel investigations. He said the tunnel at Altiplano was longer than any passage ever found on the U.S.-Mexico border. To pull off such a feat, rescuers likely had intelligence on the prison even before Guzman was ar-
rested, Dinkins said. Designers and workers would have needed access to sensitive information such as prison floor plans and alarm and camera systems. And just the noise alone as they bored the final 30-foot vertical shaft directly under the prison to reach Guzman’s cell would have generated some attention. “It’s not just like someone took a couple tools, shovels and pickaxes. This is a very sophisticated operation,” said Alonzo Pena, a former senior official at U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. “How could they be there and not hear that construction was going on underneath? It’s just impossible.” The area around the prison is a sprawling construction site, with giant water pipes, trenches and excavation crisscrossing
the landscape, and that would have made it easy for the tunnel work to go unnoticed, Garcia said. “It’s the removal of dirt and debris that can cause attention,” Dinkins said. An Associated Press reporter who viewed the partially built house where the tunnel ended observed that the dirt level in the yard surrounding the house was 2 feet to 3 feet higher than the rest of the terrain, indicating workers may have just spread dirt around the property rather than haul it out. Osorio Chong also said much of the excavated dirt, which he described as fine and thin, may simply have been scattered or compacted at the site. By Monday afternoon, the search for Guzman in the area near the prison had died down dramatically. Road blocks were gone
and Federal Police patrols had lightened. Reporters traveled the area unhampered. Flights at the nearby Toluca airport that had been suspended on Sunday were back to normal. The prison break is the second for Guzman, who infamously fled a different maximum-security facility in 2001. He was on the loose for 13 years before being captured in February 2014 at a condominium overlooking the Pacific in Mazatlan. He last was seen about 9 p.m. Saturday as he entered the shower area of his cell, where Osorio Chong said there are “blind spots” from the cameras in respect of human rights. After a time without seeing the prisoner, guards went to look for him and found something else entirely — a 20-by-20inch leading into the tunnel.
WEDNESDAY, JULY 15, 2015
THE ZAPATA TIMES 11A
Rise in loans helps lift Retail sales fall in June JPMorgan earnings By CHRISTOPHER S. RUGABER ASSOCIATED PRESS
By NATHANIEL POPPER NEW YORK TIMES
JPMorgan Chase said on Tuesday that secondquarter earnings rose 5 percent from a year ago as the bank increased loan business and reduced expenses. The loan portfolio grew by 12 percent from a year ago and 5 percent from the previous quarter, an optimistic sign for growth in the broader economy. “"It’s solid to strong pretty much across the board,” Marianne Lake, the bank’s chief financial officer, said, referring to the loan growth on a conference call with analysts Tuesday morning. Other business lines showed strength: The bankers who help provide advice on mergers and acquisitions continued to see strong performance, increasing revenues from last quarter and last year. And the results for the latest quarter were not affected by any of the big fines or one-time costs that have been so significant in recent years.
Still revenue declined in several of the bank’s divisions, with particularly notable drops in mortgage banking and fixedincome trading. Overall, JPMorgan, the nation’s largest bank, earned $6.3 billion, or $1.54 a share, up from $6 billion, or $1.46 a share a year ago. Wall Street analysts had expected earnings of $1.44 a share, according to a survey by Thomson Reuters. Shares of JPMorgan ended the day up 1.4 percent, at $69.06. Jamie Dimon, the bank’s chief executive, said in a statement, “This quarter was another example of the power of our platform and risk discipline, and of being there for our clients — as we always are — in good times and in volatile markets.” In the mortgage division, originations were up, but revenue from servicing old mortgages was down, pushing down revenue in the overall division by 21 percent. JPMorgan cut costs most aggressively in its Wall Street division, re-
ducing expenses to $5.1 billion for the quarter from $6.1 billion a year ago, a reduction of 15 percent. JPMorgan executives have been pushing to reduce costs in the investment bank as once-lucrative trading desks have struggled. In the latest quarter, revenue declined 10 percent at the large bond and fixed-income trading desks. Expenses in the investment bank were also down as a result of businesses that JPMorgan has sold, such as commodities. In past conference calls, Dimon has been a feisty presence at times, criticizing regulations and sparring with analysts. At the end of Tuesday’s call with analysts, however, Dimon suggested that he would bow out in the future, saying that the chief financial officer, Lake, had been doing a good job on the calls. “So don’t be surprised if one of these days I don’t show up,” Dimon said. “Don’t read anything into it.”
WASHINGTON — Americans cut back their spending at stores and restaurants last month, a sign that they remain cautious despite robust job growth in the past year. Retail sales fell 0.3 percent in June, the Commerce Department said Tuesday, the weakest showing since February’s harsh winter weather kept shoppers indoors. That followed a robust 1 percent jump in May, though that was revised down from a previous estimate of 1.2 percent. Economists had expected that consumers would rein in their spending after May’s large gain. But the reversal was much sharper than projected. “It certainly is a case of ‘two steps forward, one step back’ for the U.S. economy,” Dan Greenhaus, an economist at BTIG, said in a note to clients. The figures suggest that Americans are still reluctant to spend freely, possibly restrained by memories of the Great Recession. “Household caution still appears to be holding back a more rapid pace of spending growth,” Michael Feroli, an economist at JPMorgan
Chase, said in a note to clients. Still, consumers spent more in the April-June quarter than in the first three months of the year, the data shows. That, in turn, should boost growth in the second quarter to about a 2.5 percent to 3 percent annual rate, up from the first quarter, when the economy shrank 0.2 percent. And there are signs that consumers are more confident, suggesting that sales could rebound in the coming months. “One soft month is not a trend,” Ian Shepherson, chief economist at Pantheon Macroeconomics, said. “We expect spending to strengthen in the second half.” The Conference Board’s consumer confidence index jumped in June to its second-highest level since the recession ended in June 2009. It is now 17.4 percent higher than a year ago. And Americans are borrowing more: Consumer credit, which includes auto, student and credit card loans and excludes mortgages, rose a healthy 6.5 percent in May from a year earlier. Even so, June’s weak spending was broad-based. Excluding autos, gas, building materials and restau-
rants, so-called core retail sales — which factor into the government’s official measure of economic growth — fell 0.1 percent in June, after an increase of 0.7 percent in May. Spending at restaurants and bars, an area of strength in recent months, slipped 0.2 percent. Sales of building materials fell 1.3 percent. Online and catalog retailers reported a 0.4 percent drop in sales. Sales at auto dealers fell 1.1 percent, but that drop came after a big gain in the previous month. Auto purchases reached the highest level in a decade in May, so even with the decline, sales remain at a healthy level. Economists watch the retail sales report closely because it provides the first indication each month of the willingness of Americans to spend. Consumer spending drives 70 percent of the economy. Yet retail sales account for only about one-third of spending, with services such as haircuts and Internet access making up the other two-thirds. Overall consumer spending surged in May, the Commerce Department said last month. It jumped 0.9 percent, the most in nearly six years, as income rose and Americans saved less.
Public Notice
US stocks post 4th straight gain By BERNARD CONDON ASSOCIATED PRESS
NEW YORK — Stocks climbed broadly on Tuesday as investors who had been fretting over the Greek debt crisis and plunging Chinese stocks turned their attention back to the U.S. economy and corporate earnings reports. JPMorgan Chase and Johnson & Johnson reported second-quarter profits that were stronger than expected. A government report showed that Americans cut back on spending at retailers last month, but some investors interpreted that as good for stocks since it may make the Federal Reserve more cautious when it starts raising rates for the first time in nine years. “It’s back to the mindset that bad news is good news,” said James Abate, chief investment officer of Centre Funds. “We think (the Fed) will raise rates in September, but we don’t think it will be an aggressive tightening cycle.” The gains were modest but widespread. Among the 10 industry sectors of the Standard and Poor’s 500 index, only utilities fell. It was the fourth straight gain in a row for the broader index. The S&P 500 increased 9.35 points, or 0.5 percent, to 2,108.95. The Dow Jones in-
dustrial average gained 75.90 points, or 0.4 percent, to 18,053.58. The Nasdaq composite climbed 33.38 points, or 0.7 percent, to 5,104.89. The Commerce Department said retail sales slipped 0.3 percent in June, the weakest showing since February. That followed a robust 1 percent jump in May. A separate report from National Federation of Independent Business showed an index of small business optimism fell in June. Investors were also keeping an eye on Greece after the country struck a preliminary deal with its creditors. Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras has to convince lawmakers to approve tax hikes and spending cuts by Wednesday to receive emergency money and re-open the country’s banks, but he faced dissent even within his left-wing party. Peter Cardillo, chief economist at Rockwell Global, a brokerage firm, thinks the Greek crisis may still spook the stock market. He said investors seemed to be more focused Tuesday on earnings, and hoping some decent reports so far will continue and buck the currently low expectations investors have. “The earnings announcements are probably going to be the real driving force of
the markets over the next few weeks,” Cardillo said. Earnings for companies in the S&P 500 index are expected to fall 4.4 percent compared with the prior year, according to S&P Capital IQ. That would be the first drop since 2009. Companies reporting in the coming days include Delta Air Lines and Netflix on Wednesday, Ebay and Google on Thursday and General Electric on Friday. Among stocks making big moves, loan servicing company Navient cut its earnings forecast because of weakened credit trends on some student loans and a drop in loans that are coming out of deferment compared with previous years. Its stock plunged $1.94, or 10.6 percent, to $16.42. Micron Technology jumped 11 percent on reports that a Chinese company is preparing a $23 billion bid for the chip maker in what would be China’s largest takeover of a U.S. company. Some media reports said that Tsinghua Unigroup Ltd. would bid $21 per Micron share, and that an offer could come this week. Micron gained $2 to $19.61. Twitter briefly spiked 8.5 percent after a fake story said the company received a $31 billion buyout offer. The story appeared on a website made to look like Bloom-
berg’s business news page. A Bloomberg spokesman said the story was bogus. Twitter closed up 94 cents, or 2.6 percent, to $36.72. The main Chinese index lost 1.2 percent after three straight gains. The government has been trying to lift stocks after the Shanghai Composite Index lost as much as 30 percent over the past month. Among other measures, executives and big shareholders have been barred from selling. Analysts say it is unclear whether the market can hold up once the barriers to selling are relaxed. In oil trading, benchmark U.S. crude rose 84 cents to close at $53.04 a barrel in New York. Brent crude, a benchmark for international oils used by many U.S. refineries, rose 66 cents to close at $58.51 a barrel in London. In other futures trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange: Wholesale gasoline fell 0.9 cents to close at $1.931 a gallon. Heating oil rose 0.7 cent to close at $1.725 a gallon. Natural gas fell 2.4 cents to close at $2.840 per 1,000 cubic feet. U.S. government bond prices rose. The yield on the 10-year Treasury note fell to 2.40 percent from 2.45 percent late Monday.
Region 11 of the Department of State Health Services, in partnership with the Texas Military Forces may conduct a health care program called “Operation Lone Star” in Cameron, Hidalgo, Starr, Jim Hogg, Zapata and Webb Counties. Free medical and dental services may be provided for up to one week in late July and/or early August 2017. Questions should be addressed to: Innovative Readiness Coordinator ATTN: MSG Sanchez Enrique J7 DOMOPS J7 NCOIC 2200 W. 35th St.,Bldg 8 A125 Austin, TX 78703 512-431-8343. L-53
12A THE ZAPATA TIMES
WEDNESDAY, JULY 15, 2015