The Zapata Times 9/17/2014

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NUEVO LAREDO, MEXICO

Explosion reported Blast claims 2 lives; cause may be gas leak

By CÉSAR G. RODRIGUEZ THE ZAPATA TIMES

A child and a woman died following an explosion reported in Colonia Infonavit Fundadores in Southeast Nuevo Laredo, Mexico, authorities said.

Initial reports show that a gas leak might have

caused the blast. Tamaulipas state officials identified the deceased as Socorro Cárdenas Tapia and 5-yearold Alfonso de Jesús Nájera.

Ulises Ochoa, director of Nuevo Laredo’s Civil Protection and Fire Department, said first responders received reports of an ex-

plosion at 9:15 a.m. Tuesday at Privada Emilio Barrera No. 26. Cárdenas Tapia lived in the home where the blast originated. Authorities manned the intersection of Privada Emilio Barrera and Avenida Luis Echeverria, blocking off access to the affected area.

People could be heard cry-

ing.

First responders arrived at the scene to find three homes collapsed. Rescue workers searched within the debris for survivors.

Several homes in the surrounding areas had their windows shattered, Ochoa

See EXPLOSION PAGE 12A

Courtesy photo

Nuevo Laredo citizens walk to the site of an explosion. Initial reports show that a gas leak might have caused the blast.

MEXICAN INDEPENDENCE DAY

LCC

DIECISÉIS DE SEPTIEMBRE CELEBRATION Photo by Cuate Santos | The Zapata Times

Phoenix high school teacher Fred Lajvardi, right, and his former student Lorenzo Santillan kicked off the 2014-2015 Distinguished Speaker Series at Laredo Community College Tuesday morning with a pair of presentations at the Guadalupe and Lilia Martinez Fine Arts center.

Photo by Eric Gay | AP

Austin High School Ballet Folklorico dancers perform at the Texas state capitol Tuesday in Austin, Texas. The dancers took part in a Dieciséis de Septiembre celebrations, marking Mexican Independence Day.

HUNTSVILLE, TEXAS

ASSOCIATED PRESS

HUNTSVILLE, Texas — When paramedics responding to a 911 call arrived at a North Texas apartment, they found on the bathroom floor a dead boy clad only in bandages and a disposable diaper. He appeared to be 3 to 5 years old.

Further investigation determined Davontae Williams actually was 9.

His emaciated body weighed only 36 pounds, about half of what a boy his age should weigh.

Evidence showed he had been restrained repeatedly at his wrists and ankles. A pediatrician later would testify that he had more than 250 distinct injuries, including burns from cigarettes or cigars and scars from ligatures, and that a lack of food made him stop growing.

Today, Lisa Ann Coleman, the live-in girlfriend of Davontae’s

mother, is set to be executed for the child’s July 2004 death in Arlington.

Coleman’s trial lawyers said his death was an COLEMAN accident, that the boy had mental health issues, was difficult to handle and she and Marcella Williams, his mother, didn’t know how to deal with him in a positive manner.

Coleman, 38, would be the ninth Texas inmate to receive a lethal injection this year. She would be the sixth woman put to death in the nation’s busiest capital punishment state since executions resumed in Texas in 1982 and the second this year.

Nationally, she would be only the 15th woman executed since the Supreme Court in 1976 allowed the death penalty to resume. During that same time, nearly 1,400 men have been executed.

After a Tarrant County jury in 2006 convicted Coleman and gave her a death sentence, Marcella Williams, facing similar charges, took a plea deal and accepted a life prison term. Now 33, she not eligible for parole until 2044.

Attorneys for Coleman argued in appeals that prosecutors improperly defined Davontae’s restraints and confinement in a closet as kidnapping to find an aggravating factor so Coleman could be eligible for the death penalty. They also argued that jurors who convicted her of capital murder did so because her trial lawyers were deficient.

“It has never been Lisa Coleman’s position that she should not be punished for what she did,” attorney John Stickels said in an appeal the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, which was rejected Tuesday. “The position of Lisa Coleman is that she is not guilty of a capital crime.”

Man led students to national championship

By JUDITH RAYO

Woman to die for child’s death

By MICHAEL GRACZYK

Cali teacher visits Laredo

He said he would take the appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court.

Dixie Bersano, an assistant Tarrant County district attorney who prosecuted Coleman, said the punishment was appropriate.

“Davontae died of malnutrition, a slow and cruel process,” she said. “There was not an inch of his body that had not been bruised or scarred or injured.”

Photos of Davontae shown to jurors were “horrendous” and illustrated his suffering, trial defense attorney Fred Cummings acknowledged, but he believed a life sentence also would have been appropriate for Coleman.

“It just doesn’t seem that the system was fairly applied here,” Cummings said last week.

Evidence showed child welfare officials repeatedly investigated Marcella Williams but would lose track of her because she kept moving to evade them, fearing they would take away her son and two younger daughters.

THE ZAPATA TIMES

The story of a man who helped his high school students become national champions in a robotics competition made its way to Laredo Community College students.

Fred Lajvardi, a California high school teacher along with his former student Lorenzo Santillan, presented to LCC students Tuesday the story of their journey and the challenges they faced along the way.

Their story goes back to 2004 when Lajvardi and the high school robotics team entered in the Marine Advanced Technology Education National Remotely Operated Vehicle Championships in California. Lajvardi said the team entered the competition not expecting much success.

“We were trying to set up our failure ahead of time,” Lajvardi said, adding that the team decided to pursue competing against universities rather than against a high school.

“We decided to do what we knew what would happen,” Lajvardi said.

“Enter the university competition and get last.

“We wanted to do this as a learning experience.”

See VISIT PAGE 12A

PAGE 2A

Zin brief CALENDAR

WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 17, 2014

AROUND THE NATION

TODAY IN HISTORY

THURSDAY, SEPT. 18

ASSOCIATED PRESS

Grief support group. Noon to 1:30 p.m. First United Methodist Church, 1220 McClelland Ave. Free and open to public. Contact Patricia Cisneros at 722-1674 or pcisneros@mhm.org.

Los Amigos Duplicate Bridge Club will meet at the Laredo Country Club from 1:15 to 5 p.m. For more information, contact Beverly Cantu at 727-0589.

Spanish Club Meeting. 5 p.m. to 6 p.m. Laredo Public Library-Calton.

Sylvia Reash 763-1810

SATURDAY, SEPT. 20 The community is invited to celebrate Mercy Day with the Sisters of Mercy at a Mass at Christ the King Church. From 3 p.m. to 4 p.m. For more information contact Rosanne Palacios at rosanne.palacios@mercy.net.

Planetarium movies: At 2 p.m.

The Little Star that Could, at 3 p.m.

Force 5, at 4 p.m. Wonders of the Universe, and 5 p.m Lamps Of Atlantis. $5 general admission. $4 children under age of 12 & Tamiu students with school ID. At the Lamar Bruni Vergara Planetarium, TAMIU. Contact Claudia Herrera for more information at claudia.herrera@tamiu.edu.

Ms. Melissa Escamilla with VAILValley Association for Independent Living, Inc. (a center for independent living), will be speaking on the following topics: 1) Class-DADS, 2) Independent Living for All Ages, 3) Working Incentive Planning Assistance (WIPA). The first families who arrive will be able to participate in Bingo games and win prizes. From 2 p.m. to 4 p.m.VAIL, 1419 Corpus Christi St., Laredo, TX. Contact Raquel Canizales at raquelucha56@yahoo.com.

15th Annual Asthma Screening & Education Program. 10:00 a.m.-1:00pm. Mall Del Norte near Dillard’s Entrance. A proclamation will be presented by Webb County Judge Danny Valdez and City of Laredo Mayor Raul Salinas at 10:00 a.m. This event is provided at no cost to the public.

For additional information call Area Health Education Center at (956)7120037.

TUESDAY, SEPT. 23 Planetarium movies. From 5 p.m. to 8 p.m. At 6 p.m. Wonders Of The Universe, at 7 p.m. Lamps of Atlantis, $5 general admission, $4 children 12 and under, Tamiu students with ID. At the Lamar Bruni Vergara Planetarium, TAMIU. Contact Claudia Herrera at claudia.herrera@tamiu.edu. Or go to the website, www.tamiu.edu/planetarium, for more information.

THURSDAY, SEPT. 25 Grief support group. Noon to 1:30 p.m. First United Methodist Church, 1220 McClelland Ave. Free and open to public. Contact Patricia Cisneros at 722-1674 or pcisneros@mhm.org.

Villa de San Agustin de Laredo Genealogical Society meeting. 3 p.m. to 5 p.m. St. John Newmann Church, Parish Hall. Presentation of “Peru and the Legacy of the Incas,” by Sylvia Reasch. Contact Sanjuanita MartinezHunter at 722-3497.

Planetarium movies. From 5 p.m. to 8 p.m. At 6 p.m. Wonders of the Universe, at 7 p.m. Lamps of Atlantis, $5 general admissions, $4 children under age of 12 and Tamiu Students with ID. Lamar Bruni Vergara Planetarium, TAMIU. Contact Claudia Herrera at claudia.herrera@tamiu.edu for more information. Or go to the website Tamiu.edu/planetarium.

Photo by NASA | AP

In this undated image provided by NASA, astronaut Randy Bresnik prepares to enter The Boeing Company’s CST-100 spacecraft for a fit check evaluation at the company’s Houston Product Support Center. On Tuesday, NASA announced two private companies the right to transport astronauts to the International Space Station.

NASA picks 2 companies

By MARCIA DUNN ASSOCIATED PRESS

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. — NASA is a giant step closer to launching Americans again from U.S. soil.

On Tuesday, the space agency picked Boeing and SpaceX to transport astronauts to the International Space Station in the next few years.

NASA Administrator Charles Bolden named the winners of the competition at Kennedy Space Center, next door to where the launches should occur in a few years.

The deal will end NASA’s expensive reliance on Russia to ferry astronauts to and from the space station. NASA has set a goal of 2017 for the first launch from Cape Canaveral, but stressed it will not sacrifice safety to meet that date.

NASA ended up going with a blend of old

Man with history of stabbings gets 25 years WHITE PLAINS, N.Y. — A man who has been attacking women with knives for decades — and has spent half his life in prison as a result — is unlikely to get out again.

Lucius Crawford, 61, was sentenced Tuesday to 25 years to life for stabbing his girlfriend to death in 2012 — a killing discovered by chance by investigators who wanted to question Crawford in two other fatal stabbings.

Transcripts made public before the trial included Crawford telling police he stabbed women for no reason, usually when high and after sex: “I have a demon inside me and I just snap.”

“You stab one, stab ‘em all,” he said, according to the transcripts. “Kill once, you’ll kill again.”

Westchester County Court Judge Barbara Zambelli imposed the maximum sentence, and said it was her responsibility to keep the gray-bearded Crawford be-

SUNDAY, SEPT. 28 Semi-annual all-you-can-eat spaghetti lunch. From 12 p.m. to 1:30 p.m.

First United Methodist Church. Contact Sue Webber at fumc_office@sbcglobal.net.

(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.)

hind bars for the rest of his life.

Crawford was convicted of murder in the killing of Tonya Simmons at Crawford’s Mount Vernon home. He was arrested in December 2012, as detectives were looking for him in connection with the two cold cases from 1993. They found her body, with more than 30 stab wounds, in Crawford’s bed, then captured him nearby.

The jury that convicted Crawford in Simmons’ killing was unable to reach a verdict on one of the old cases, the 1993 knife killing of a prostitute, which may be retried. Crawford is awaiting trial in the Bronx on the other 1993 killing.

Teen critical from stun gun; FBI investigates case

KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Doctors were trying Tuesday to awaken a suburban Kansas City teenager who was put in a medically induced coma after a police officer critically injured him with a stun gun in an incident the FBI is investigating.

Bryce Masters, 17, of Independence, is being treated for a lack of oxygen to the brain that occurred when his heart stopped after he was shocked Sunday afternoon, his family members said Tuesday.

Haus said the family contacted the FBI’s Kansas City office, which is now looking into whether excessive force was used during the traffic stop. Masters’ father is a Kansas City police officer, but FBI spokeswoman Bridget Patton said Tuesday that the case isn’t being given special treatment because of that.

She said the FBI looks into all allegations of excessive force by a law enforcement officer that are brought to its attention.

In a statement asking the U.S. Department of Justice to investigate, the family said it was “because of significant inconsistencies between public statements made by the Independence Police Department and information made available to the family in the form of statements of eyewitnesses and video and audio footage of the occurrence.”

— Compiled from AP reports

AROUND TEXAS

FRIDAY, SEPT. 26 Los Amigos Duplicate Bridge Club will meet at the Laredo Country Club from 1:15 to 5 p.m. For more information, contact Beverly Cantu at 727-0589.

Planetarium movies. From 6 p.m. to 7 p.m. at 7 p.m. Stars of Pharoahs. $5 General Admission. $4 Children 12 and under & Tamiu Students with ID At the Lamar Bruni Vergara Planetarium, TAMIU.Contact Claudia Herrera at claudia.herrera@tamiu.edu. Or go the website at www.tamiu.edu/planetarium.

and new space: big traditional Boeing, which helped build the space station and prepped the space shuttles, and smaller, scrappier upstart SpaceX. Just 12 years old, the California-based SpaceX already is delivering supplies to the space station — its crew capsule is a version of its cargo carrier.

NASA will pay Boeing $4.2 billion and SpaceX $2.6 billion to certify, test and fly their crew capsules. The two contracts call for at least two and as many as six missions for a crew of four as well as supplies and scientific experiments, said NASA’s Kathy Lueders, commercial crew program manager. The spacecraft will double as emergency lifeboats at the orbiting outpost.

SpaceX billionaire founder and chief executive, Elon Musk, was elated by Tuesday’s news, as were Boeing’s top managers.

Hidalgo clinics separate from Planned Parenthood MCALLEN — Five women’s health clinics in Hidalgo County severed ties with Planned Parenthood Federation of America in an effort to reclaim state dollars for women’s health in a region where more than half of female residents live in poverty.

As of Monday, the clinics in McAllen, Edinburg, Mission, San Juan and Weslaco will operate through a new independent nonprofit called Access Esperanza Clinics Inc. so they can provide services to more women, men and teens. The split was recently approved by Planned Parenthood Association of Hidalgo County board.

The women’s clinics have served the area for 50 years through the Planned Parenthood Association of Hidalgo County, and they will continue to provide the same services through Access Esperanza Clin-

Today is Wednesday, September 17, the 260th day of 2014. There are 105 days left in the year.

Today’s Highlight in History: On September 17, 1939, the Soviet Union invaded Poland during World War II, more than two weeks after Nazi Germany had launched its assault.

On this date: In 1787, the Constitution of the United States was completed and signed by a majority of delegates attending the Constitutional Convention in Philadelphia.

In 1862, more than 3,600 men were killed in the Civil War Battle of Antietam (anTEE’-tum) in Maryland.

In 1908, Lt. Thomas E. Selfridge of the U.S. Army Signal Corps became the first person to die in the crash of a powered aircraft, the Wright Flyer, at Fort Myer, Virginia, just outside Washington, D.C. In 1937, the likeness of President Abraham Lincoln’s head was dedicated at Mount Rushmore.

In 1944, during World War II, Allied paratroopers launched Operation Market Garden, landing behind German lines in the Netherlands.

(After initial success, the Allies were beaten back by the Germans.)

In 1954, the novel "Lord of the Flies" by William Golding was first published by Faber & Faber of London.

In 1964, the James Bond movie "Goldfinger," starring Sean Connery, premiered in London.

In 1994, Heather Whitestone of Alabama was crowned the first deaf Miss America.

In 2011, a demonstration calling itself Occupy Wall Street began in New York, prompting similar protests around the U.S. and the world.

Ten years ago: President Vladimir Putin said Russia was "seriously preparing" for pre-emptive strikes against terrorists, as Chechen warlord Shamil Basayev took responsibility for a school hostagetaking and other attacks that had claimed more than 430 lives.

Five years ago: President Barack Obama abruptly canceled a long-planned missile shield for Eastern Europe, replacing a Bush-era project that was bitterly opposed by Russia with a plan he contended would better defend against a growing threat of Iranian missiles.

One year ago: Engineers declared success as the Costa Concordia cruise ship was pulled completely upright during an unprecedented, 19-hour operation to wrench it from its side where it had capsized off Tuscany in 2012.

Today’s Birthdays: Actor David Huddleston is 84. Sen. Charles E. Grassley, R-Iowa, is 81. Retired Supreme Court Justice David H. Souter is 75.

Singer LaMonte McLemore (The Fifth Dimension) is 79.

Retired Marine Gen. Anthony Zinni is 71. Basketball Hall of Fame coach Phil Jackson is 69. Singer Fee Waybill is 64.

Actress Cassandra Peterson ("Elvira, Mistress of the Dark") is 63. Comedian Rita Rudner is 61. Muppeteer Kevin Clash (former voice of Elmo on "Sesame Street") is 54. Directoractor Paul Feig is 52. Movie director Baz Luhrmann is 52.

Thought for Today: "The great tragedy of life is not that men perish, but that they cease to love." — W. Somerset Maugham, English author and dramatist (1874-1965).

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

Cameron County Public Works employees fill sand bags to be given out to residents of Cameron County on Tuesday in Brownsville. According to the National Weather Service Brownsville has received 5.43 inches of rain since last Friday. ics Inc. They may also be able to accept a state insurance program covering 113,000 low-income women by next month.

The Texas Women’s Health Program helps to provide birth control and other family planning services to women who

couldn’t otherwise afford them through private health insurance.

In 2010, the Hidalgo County clinics provided care to more than 23,000 women each year, according to officials.

— Compiled from AP reports

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The Zapata office is at 1309 N. U.S. Hwy. 83 at 14th Avenue, Suite 2, Zapata, TX 78076. Call (956) 765-5113 or e-mail thezapatatimes.net

WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 17, 2014

THE ZAPATA TIMES 3A

Books spark new battle

By WILL WEISSERT ASSOCIATED PRESS

Courtesy photo

Twenty-two packages containing a total of nearly 54 pounds of alleged cocaine, shown, were recently discovered by CBP.

CBP seizes $3M worth of narcotics SPECIAL TO THE TIMES

Almost $3 million worth of narcotics were seized and 21 violations of immigration law were uncovered over the weekend at Laredo ports of entry, U.S. Customs and Border Protection announced Monday.

“Our officers kept busy this weekend with an unrelenting flurry of hard narcotics seizures and discovery of numerous immigration law violations,” said Joseph Misenhelter, CBP port director of Laredo, in a news release. “This brisk amount of enforcement activity exemplifies the border security aspect of our mission and demonstrates our commitment to keep our community safe.”

The larger of the two narcotics seizures occurred Saturday at the Gateway to the Americas International Bridge. CBP officers said they discovered 22 packages containing a total of nearly 54

AUSTIN, Texas — The ideological dispute over what gets taught in Texas classrooms flared anew over proposed history textbooks Tuesday, with academics decrying lessons they said exaggerate the importance of Christian values on the nation’s Founding Fathers while conservatives complained of anti-American, proIslam biases.

The Board of Education will approve new history textbooks for the state’s 5-plus million public school students in November. But it heard hours of complaints about 104 proposed books during a sometimes heated public hearing.

Jacqueline Jones, chairwoman of the University of Texas’ History Department, said one U.S. history high school book cheerleads for President Ronald Reagan and the significance of America’s free enterprise system while glossing over Gov. George Wallace’s attempt to block school integration in Alabama. She also pointed to a phrase stating that “the minimum wage remains one of the New Deal’s most controversial legacies.”

“We do our students a disservice when we scrub history clean of unpleasant truths,”

Jones said “and when we present an inaccurate view of the past that promotes a simpleminded, ideologically driven point of view.”

Objections such as Jones’ were the most common, but some conservatives complained that the books marginalized Reagan and other top Republicans, even as they heaped praise on former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.

“I guess Ronald Reagan did nothing in two terms,” scoffed Republican board member Ken Mercer of San Antonio.

Debates over academic curriculum and textbooks have for years thrust Texas’ Board of Education into the national spotlight, sparking battles over issues such as how to teach climate change and natural selection. In 2010, while approving the history curriculum standards that this year’s round of new books are supposed to follow, conservatives on the board required that students evaluate whether the United Nations undermines U.S. sovereignty and study the Congressional GOP’s 1994 Contract with America.

Kathleen Wellman, a history professor at Southern Methodist University, said many books give Moses — the biblical Hebrew leader who received the Ten Command-

ments from God — credit for influencing the U.S. Constitution, so much so that Texas students might believe “Moses was the first American.”

“Moses shows up everywhere doing everything,” Wellman said.

All of Tuesday’s comments are sent to the publishers, who can provide responses in defense of what’s written, or make changes, before final approval of the books.

Some community leaders complained that proposed books downplayed Hispanic accomplishments, incorrectly depicted jihad as a call to holy war, or were biased in favor of Israeli points of view in Middle East conflicts. But conservative activists said they didn’t go far enough in accurately depicting religious extremism in modern terrorism.

Amy Jo Baker, a retired history teacher and former social studies director for the San Antonio Independent School District, said she was saddened that one book for sixth graders incorrectly described jihad, for many Muslims, as the struggle to be a better person. She also noted a high school history text that said young people in Cuba receive “many benefits” from the communist government, while also noting that they live in a police state.

LA PRESA, ‘YOU GOT MAIL’ Courtesy photo

CBP recently discovered 36 packages containing a total of nearly 38 pounds of methamphetamine, which is shown. pounds of alleged cocaine hidden within a 2002 Chevy Silverado 1500 driven by a 28year-old female U.S. citizen from Austin during a routine examination. The cocaine has an estimated street value of $1.7 million.

The other seizure occurred Sunday at Lincoln-Juarez International Bridge when CBP officers referred a

2002 Chevy Malibu driven by a 35-year-old male Mexican citizen from Nuevo Laredo, Mexico for a secondary examination. CBP officers said they discovered 36 packages containing a total of nearly 38 pounds of alleged methamphetamine hidden within the vehicle.

The estimated street value for the narcotics is $1.2 million.

Courtesy photo

Webb County Commissioner Precinct 1 Linda Ramirez, together with La Presa community residents and the U.S. Postal Service, gather for the ribbon cutting ceremony of La Presa’s new mail boxes. The mail boxes, located directly across from La Presa Community Center, now allow the residents to have mail delivery services.

PAGE 4A

Zopinion

WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 17, 2014

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EDITORIAL

OTHER VIEWS

Don’t give safety to government THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

The U.S. Forest Service was thoroughly mocked for a recent exhaustive article on the eve of National Roasted Marshmallow Day (Aug. 30), instructing Americans how to successfully toast a marshmallow without injuring themselves. The USFS also suggested replacing the chocolate with fruit and the graham cracker with angel food cake, in the name of nutrition.

Why stop there? Why not replace the marshmallow with a Brussels sprout, and the fire with a TV set? It would be safer, healthier and absolutely ghastly. The truth is, safer is not always better.

The article author’s intentions were good, and the tips are recommendations, not codified into law — at least, not yet — but this is indicative of the troublesome trend of making health and safety paramount over everything, including both freedom and enjoyment.

Take, for example, motorcycle helmet laws. Yes, it is very dangerous to ride a motorcycle without a helmet. But do riders’ heads belong to the state?

Shouldn’t riders be able to decide for themselves?

The fundamental argument for helmet laws is that the state pays some medical costs for riders’ injuries and, therefore, has an interest in keeping riders safe, but that rationale is an endless path.

As taxpayers shoulder more and more health care costs, the state can claim that every decision

that impacts health falls within their jurisdiction.

America is fatter than ever, so we are seeing attempts to tax, ban or regulate soda. Can candy and snack foods be far behind?

And guns? If it weren’t for that pesky Constitution, firearms would have been banned long ago.

Parents in several states recently have been arrested and forced to fight for custody of their children, just for allowing their kids to walk to the neighborhood park to play.

Sometimes, a safety concern doesn’t have to be proven; governments are rushing to regulate or ban e-cigarettes in spite of the fact that we do not yet even know whether they are a health danger or benefit to smokers.

Anything we are afraid of gives lawmakers the chance to grab a little more power, a little more money, impose another regulation, or look like defenders of the public good while picking economic winners and losers — and, therefore, campaign contributions — from the industries they target.

However, ceding control of our lives to the state is just about the least-safe thing we could ever do.

How many times at work have you heard, “Safety is our first priority”? Don’t believe it. If you work at a toy factory, the first priority is making toys. If safety was really important, they would close up shop and fire you so you could go sit safely at home.

COMMENTARY

Voters are not divided

By PAUL WALDMAN SPECIAL TO THE WASHINGTON POST

Last week, President Obama laid out his plan for attacking the Islamic State, and the immediate response from Republicans was almost uniformly negative. That wasn’t surprising, given that one of the opposition’s duties is to say that the president is wrong about everything, but if you expected that all Republican voters would fall in line with their leaders, you’d be wrong. A poll from the Pew Research Center taken after the speech shows a remarkable level of agreement about this new military undertaking.

Overall, 53 percent of the respondents said they approved of Obama’s plan, with 29 percent disapproving. That’s solid if not overwhelming support, but what’s notable is that Democrats and Republicans were almost identical: Democrats, 60 percent approving to 24 percent disapproving; Republicans, 64 percent to 27 percent.

Two groups of people can come to the same conclusion for different reasons; it might well be that, in this case, Republicans support action because of their inclination toward hawkishness while Democrats favor the policy of a president they support.

And there was one significant difference: By 66 percent to 27 percent, Republicans say they’re more concerned that U.S. military action won’t go far enough, while by 54 percent to 27 percent, Democrats say they’re more concerned that U.S. involvement will go too far.

The most interesting result, however, comes on the question of whether this action will increase the chance of terrorism in the United States. You’ll recall that Obama and Republicans have very different perspectives on this question. When he made his case for this engagement, Obama said that the Islamic State could become a threat to the United States “if left unchecked.” Republicans, on the other hand, are arguing that the Islamic State is already a threat, a dire one at that. When you combine that with the general conservative presumption that terrorist threats are alleviated only with force and anything less only demonstrates weakness that invites attack, you’d think that Republicans would say that taking military action would reduce the threat.

That is not happening, nor is there much support from anyone for the idea that this campaign will make us safer.

COMMENTARY

Domestic violence hot topic

By PETULA DVORAK THE WASHINGTON POST

Domestic violence is a hot topic right now — a conversation being fueled by what we’ve witnessed inside a fancy hotel elevator and on the stage of the Miss America pageant.

See, it even happens to a football star’s fiancee or a woman with a tiara. This is progress, to talk about the unlikely victims.

Now, let’s talk about women who may not be wearing high heels and evening gowns, make-up or anything but orange. Women in prison.

Most of the women in lockup - about 75 percent have been severely, physically abused, according to the Correctional Association of New York.

For many of them, the abuse was the very beginning of the events that led to their incarceration. Desiree Pearson, 42, knows this firsthand. She just got out of the District of Columbia Jail in July after doing time for attempted armed robbery - a fate she says was tied to abuse at the hands of a man who hit her and forced her to do things she never wanted to do.

“I just want to get something to get on my own, to sell the house we owned together, to start over,” she tells Katrina Cheshier, who works for a nonprofit called Consultants For Change, Inc. and is helping her practice for job interviews.

“Ms. Pearson, you come

to those interviews as the person you are, not the person you were,” Cheshier says.

Pearson is wearing a white straw fedora, bermuda shorts and a daffodil yellow top with butterfly sleeves. She hates that prison orange she was forced to wear — an outfit right out of the acclaimed Netflix series “Orange is the New Black” — and doesn’t want to go back to it. She vows that she’s going to break the cycle that kept her drugging, getting abused, then coming back for more.

“You put your hands on me now? Nuh-uh. It’s not going to get me down this time,” she said. “I’m not going to get abused this time, I’m not going to back down.”

Across the nation, women are being incarcerated at alarming rates, increasing far faster than those among men. Between 2010 and 2013, the female county and local jail population jumped by nearly 11 percent, which was 10,000, according to the Bureau of Justice Statistics.

In the past 30 years, the number of women in lockup — around 200,000 right now — increased by 832 percent.

Most of them are in their 30s and 40s, nearly twothirds of those prisoners are mothers, and nearly twothirds of them are in for drug-related or nonviolent offenses, according to the Women’s Prison Association. So basically, the largest growing prison population is basically a mom

whose kid, boyfriend or husband was hitting her and dealing dope out of her house and she got popped for it. Or something close to that.

“Orange is the New Black” fans got a good look at that dynamic in the back story of fictional prison chef Gloria Mendoza, a tough and cool-headed woman in the lockup who was physically and emotionally abused on the outside. She got caught in a food stamp scam she was running to save up enough cash to escape from him.

When Gloria gets out, Arturo won’t be around to abuse her (spoiler alert: he died in a fire). But for most other women, the abuse problem continues after they get out because, in many cases, back to the attacker is the only place to go.

For many years in the District, women who wanted to avoid that situation went to Our Place, DC, a nonprofit run out of a small office in Washington. Many women used their get-out-ofjail bus fare to get to the offices after counselors visited them while they were on the inside.

It was the place to start putting their lives back together, where they could get their IDs, their paperwork, résumés, clothes other than the prison sweats.

The counseling team traveled all over: to the D.C. Jail; to the prisons in Hazelton, West Virginia; even to Danbury, Connecticut, the

setting for “Orange is the New Black.”

But all of that ended last year, when donations and grants dried up and the place cratered.

As I said when I profiled the organization four years ago: “These kinds of programs are the first to get cut from government and donors’ budgets. Especially when you’re dealing with ex-cons.”

One of its last executive directors, Ashley McSwain, kept counseling women even after she left the job.

She knew how the system worked, how to get women the help they needed and which employers were good at hiring people with a record.

McSwain kept track of the prisoner logs and intercepted women at the prison gates, getting them straight to a shelter or other safe place before they went back into the danger zone.

Eventually, she assembled a couple counselors and got some funding for a government grant to run her own program, Consultants for Change, that understands domestic violence and jobs and kids and custody hearings mixed with parole officer check-ins. On Monday night, the group hosted an event at Busboys and Poets focusing on re-entry, with stories from the women they have helped as they are released from prison.

“Sometimes, it’s in that hour right after they get out that you lose them,” McSwain said.

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

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

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

We want to assure our

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

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

ing or gratuitous abuse is allowed.

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

CLASSIC DOONESBURY | GARRY TRUDEAU

WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 17, 2014

THE ZAPATA TIMES 5A

National

6A THE ZAPATA TIMES

WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 17, 2014

3,000 troops to fight Ebola

By JIM KUHNHENN ASSOCIATED PRESS

ATLANTA — Under pressure to boost the U.S. response to the Ebola crisis, President Barack Obama is ordering 3,000 military personnel to West Africa amid worries that the financial and human cost of the outbreak is rapidly growing.

The military response is part of a heightened U.S. role that will include erecting new treatment and isolation facilities, training health care workers and increasing communications and transportation support, officials said.

Obama was announcing the stepped-up effort Tuesday during a visit to the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta following appeals for a greater U.S. effort to confront the crisis and alarm that the Ebola virus could spread and even mutate into a more easily transmitted disease.

The president said the CDC was “one of the crown jewels” in fighting disease and that the outbreak had provided a timely opportunity for him to thank everyone there for extraordinary efforts. Obama was joined at the meeting by National Security Adviser Susan Rice and Health and Human Services Secretary Sylvia Mathews Burwell.

White House press secretary Josh Earnest said the 3,000 troops would not provide direct care to Ebola patients. A substantial number will be stationed at an intermediate base in Senegal, Earnest said, with others at locations in Liberia where they will provide logistical, training, engineering and other support.

The World Health Organization warned that the number of Ebola cases in West Africa could start doubling every three weeks and that the crisis could end up costing nearly $1 billion to contain. Joanne Liu, president of Doctors Without Borders, said the global response was falling short. “The window of opportunity to contain this outbreak is closing,” Liu told a meeting Tuesday at the United Nations in Geneva.

Nearly 5,000 people have become ill from Ebola in Liberia, Sierra Leone, Guinea, Nigeria and Senegal since it was first recognized in March. WHO says it anticipates that figure could rise to more than 20,000. At

Photo by Darvin Atkeson/YosemiteLandscapes.com | AP Photo by Pablo Martinez Monsivais | AP

President Barack Obama, center, and Secretary of Health and Human Services Sylvia Mathews Burwell, left, meet with Emory University Doctors and healthcare professionals at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta on Tuesday. least 2,400 people have died, with Liberia bearing the brunt.

With the addition of military personnel, administration officials said that the new U.S. initiatives aim to: Train as many as 500 health care workers a week.

Erect 17 heath care facilities in Liberia of 100 beds each.

Set up a joint command headquartered in Monrovia, Liberia, to coordinate between U.S. and international relief efforts.

Provide home health care kits to hundreds of thousands of households, including 50,000 that the U.S. Agency for International Development will deliver to Liberia this week.

Carry out a home- and community-based campaign to train local populations on how to handle exposed patients.

Meanwhile, a Senate panel held an afternoon hearing on the crisis. Expected to testify were Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, and Dr. Kent Brantly, an American physician who contracted Ebola while working in Liberia but recovered after treatment with an experimental drug.

Obama met with Brantly at the White House on Tuesday before departing for Atlanta.

At the hearing, Sen. Tom Harkin, D-Iowa, declared, “This outbreak has spread in ways that are potentially catastrophic for the world.”

Sen. Lamar Alexander, RTenn., said urgent action was needed. “We must take the dangerous, deadly threat of the Ebola epidemic as seriously as we take ISIS,” he said, referring to the extremist group in Syria and Iraq.

2 cities site of anti-terror program

By AMY FORLITI ASSOCIATED PRESS

MINNEAPOLIS — The cities of Minneapolis and St. Paul will participate in a Department of Justice pilot program designed to detect American extremists who are looking to join terror organizations overseas, U.S. Attorney Andy Luger said Tuesday.

Luger announced the Twin Cities’ participation during an interview with The Associated Press.

Authorities have said a handful of people have left Minnesota to join militant groups in Syria. At least one man has died while fighting for the Islamic State.

“We all share the same goal,” Luger said. “The community wants this recruitment of people to travel to end. We in the federal government want it to end, and local law enforcement wants it to end. The question is: What’s the best way to get there?”

He said the solution starts with building trust in the community. Authorities have already been reaching out to members of Minnesota’s large Somali community, but this pilot program will bring in more resources from Washington to help solve the problem.

Two other cities will also participate in the pilots, which were announced a day earlier by Attorney General Eric Holder. Those cities have not been publicly named, and Luger de-

clined to disclose them on Tuesday.

The program — which brings together prosecutors, religious leaders and community representatives — is a natural for Minnesota, which already has a long history of reaching out to members of at-risk communities. Authorities have been working with members of the state’s large Somali community for years, after more than 22 men went to Somalia to join the terror group alShabab.

Now, this nationwide effort is designed to stop a new wave of Westerners being recruited for Islamic State militant groups in Syria and Iraq.

Authorities in Minnesota are investigating how a handful of people were recruited to travel to Syria and take up arms with militants. Several Somalis have been subpoenaed to testify before a federal grand jury — some back in June and others as recently as last week.

Authorities have confirmed that at least one Minnesota man has died while fighting for the Islamic State, and some families fear their daughters have also gone overseas to take up the cause.

Luger said one advantage to having Minneapolis and St. Paul participate in the program is that “some of the best minds in the country” are focused on building partnerships in the community and solving the problem.

Separately, House Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio, said, “Frankly, I’m a bit surprised the administration hasn’t acted more quickly to address what is a serious threat, not just to Africa but to others across the world.” He predicted action “in the coming weeks” by the executive and legislative branches of government “to look at how do we best contain this very horrible disease.”

Obama administration officials said money for the stepped-up effort to combat the disease would come from $500 million in overseas contingency operations, such as the war in Afghanistan, that the Pentagon already has asked Congress to redirect to carry out humanitarian efforts in Iraq and in West Africa. Officials said it would take about two weeks to get U.S. forces on the ground.

Ebola is spread through direct contact with the bodily fluids of sick patients, making doctors and nurses especially vulnerable to contracting the virus, which has no vaccine or approved treatment.

The U.S. effort will include medics and corpsmen for treatment and training, engineers to help erect the treatment facilities and specialists in logistics to assist in patient transportation.

Obama’s trip came a day after the United States also demanded a stepped-up international response to the outbreak.

The U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, Samantha Power, called Monday for an emergency meeting of the U.N. Security Council on Thursday, warning that the potential risk of the virus could “set the countries of West Africa back a generation.”

A fire approaches the shore of Bass Lake, Calif., on Sunday. Crews are attempting to get better access to two raging wildfires in California.

Lumber town takes stock after wildfire

By JEFF BARNARD ASSOCIATED PRESS

WEED, Calif. — Despite warnings about the dangers of wildfires and drought-parched forests, the inferno that swirled through the California lumber town of Weed caught the entire community off guard.

In just a few hours, wind-driven flames destroyed or damaged 100 homes, the saw mill and a church.

At times, the fire moved so fast that residents had only a few minutes to get out of the way.

On Tuesday, the “Weed Like To Welcome You” town sign still stood, but nothing else was normal as stunned residents assessed the damage, took stock of what they lost and gave thanks for what was saved.

“At the peak, essentially the entire town was evacuated,” state fire spokesman Robert Foxworthy said.

Disastrous as it was for the community of 3,000 people, daybreak brought gratitude and relief that there were no reports of death or even serious injuries.

The intense blaze erupted Monday south of Weed. Elsewhere in the state, hundreds of firefighters battled about a dozen other persistent blazes.

The cause of the Weed fire is still under investigation. Winds gusting up to 40 mph pushed the flames into town, where they quickly chewed through a hillside neighborhood.

“It went through here so fast it was unbelievable. I’ve never seen anything like this,” Jim Taylor, a retired butcher who has lived in the town for 30 years said Tuesday. “I’m not a real religious person, but somebody was looking out for me.”

Taylor said fire bombers dropped

retardant over his house. As his home and his deck furniture turned pink from the retardant, another house nearby erupted into flames.

Across the street, pine and oak trees were burned to a crisp, and small flames and smoke drifted up from chunky embers.

The town and the forest that surrounds it were a tinderbox this summer after three years of drought. And Weed’s winds are notorious. The steady breezes were what attracted town founder Abner Weed to build his lumber business there in 1897, after he realized that wood dried more quickly when fanned by nature.

The town’s saw mill, once the world’s largest, was among the structures damaged in the blaze.

On Tuesday, chimneys were the only thing still standing in the rubble, and broken pipes spurted water over the blackened landscape. The remnants of the Holy Family Catholic Church were still smoldering, its metal girders twisted on the ground.

“I mean it was devastating,” said Maureen Campbell, the church’s music minister who was baptized, confirmed and married at the church, along with her children.

She lost her home to the fire.

“The house up there is no big deal. It can be rebuilt,” she said.

“But this is my family church, you know? It’s much more endearing to me.”

Tasha Davis, 30, said she was given two minutes to grab what she could from her apartment and evacuate.

“We then packed my car and sat on the road and just watched everything burn,” she said Tuesday in an email from Mount Shasta.

General: Ground troops possible

By DAVID ESPO AND DONNA CASSATA ASSOCIATED PRESS

WASHINGTON — American ground troops may be needed to battle Islamic State forces in the Middle East if President Barack Obama’s current strategy fails, the nation’s top military officer said Tuesday as Congress began debating Obama’s plan to expand airstrikes and train Syrian rebels.

“To be clear, if we reach the point where I believe our advisers should accompany Iraqi troops on attacks against specific ISIL targets, I will recommend that to the president,” Army Gen. Martin Dempsey declared in testimony to the Senate Armed Services Committee, referring to the militants by an alternative name.

Pressed later by Sen. Carl Levin, D-Mich., the panel’s chairman, the fourstar general said if Obama’s current approach isn’t enough to prevail, he might “go back to the president and make a recommendation that may include the use of ground forces.” Obama has maintained repeatedly that American forces will not have a renewed ground combat mission in Iraq in this new phase of a long war against terrorists.

Tuesday’s remarks by the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff drew a prompt, polite rebuttal from the White House.

Obama “will not deploy ground troops in a combat role into Iraq or Syria,” said spokesman Josh Earnest.

Dempsey’s testimony underscored the dilemma confronting many lawmakers as the House moves through its own debate on authorizing the Pentagon to implement the policy

Photo by J. Scott Applewhite | AP

Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel, left, and Army Gen. Martin Dempsey, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, appear before the Senate Armed Services Committee in Washington on Tuesday.

Obama announced last week.

Democrats spoke of a fear that the United State might inevitably become dragged into yet another ground war on the heels of Afghanistan and Iraq.

Democratic Rep. Lloyd Doggett of Texas said approving Obama’s plan “will make our families less secure, not more secure.”

Republicans said they worried that Obama was responding tepidly to the current threat by terrorists who have overrun large sections of Iraq and Syria and beheaded two American journalists. “If it’s important enough to fight, it’s important enough to win,” said Rep. Jack Kingston, RGa., one of the first lawmakers to address the subject in several hours of scheduled debate.

A vote is expected in the House today, and in the Senate within days. In the Senate, Republican leader Mitch McConnell announced he would support the measure and Democratic leader Harry Reid predicted bipartisan approval.

The timetable was remarkably rapid by congressional standards, the result of a strong desire by lawmakers in both parties to adjourn quickly and return home to campaign for re-election.

Only seven weeks before voters go to the polls, most Republicans had little stomach to oppose Obama on a matter of national security, particularly when polls suggest he has the support of large segments of the public. As a result, the likelihood was that Congress would swing behind his request, and then return for a fuller debate of his war strategy in a postelection session of Congress.

“I think there’s a lot more that we need to be doing, but there’s no reason for us not to do what the president asked us to do,” said Speaker John Boehner, the leader of House Republicans.

The legislation also drew support from Sen. Levin, an influential voice among Democrats on military matters. He is retiring, but fellow Democrat Jeanne Shaheen of New Hampshire, who is in a difficult re-election race, said she intended to back Obama’s request. Even so, she added it “would be a mistake” for Congress not to debate the issue in depth in the future.

Dempsey and Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel fielded questions as Obama met in the Oval Office with retired Marine Gen. John Allen, who is coordinating

international efforts to combat the Islamic State militants.

Sen. John McCain, RAriz., seemed incredulous, saying the United States evidently intended to train Syrian rebels without anticipating they would be attacked from the air by forces loyal to President Bashar Assad, whom they are sworn to drive from power.

He asked how U.S. forces would respond in the event Assad’s air force bombed the U.S.-trained forces. “We will help them, and we will support them,” Hagel eventually said.

Sen. Jim Inhofe, R-Okla., posed a different hypothetical question, asking Dempsey if U.S. forces will be prepared to mount search and rescue operations and “be prepared to put boots on the ground” if American pilots are shot down.

“Yes and yes,” responded the general.

There was skepticism, as well, that the United States would be able to properly identify as many as 5,000 Syrian rebels who could be trusted to carry out Obama’s mission in a region where religious and tribal loyalties frequently collide.

Hagel said the U.S. will monitor them closely to ensure that weapons don’t fall into the wrong hands. “We have come a long way” in our ability to vet the moderate opposition, and the U.S. has learned a lot as it has funneled non-lethal aid to the rebels, Dempsey said.

Dempsey said it would take three to five months to establish the training program, working with moderate Syrians who have been driven from their homes by Islamic militants. An estimated two-thirds of the approximately 30,000 extremists are in Syria.

WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 17, 2014

ON THE WEB: THEZAPATATIMES.COM

Sports&Outdoors HIGH SCHOOL ATHLETICS: ZAPATA HAWKS

Hawks win in San Diego Football, Volleyball pick up wins

By CLARA SANDOVAL THE ZAPATA TIMES

The Hawks cross country teams traveled to San Diego this past weekend to run at the third annual Walter Reyna Classic Invitational.

Despite the inclement weather throughout the morning as dark clouds and rained filled the meet, Zapata was able to return home with a first place team plaque in the varsity division. The JV team also finished only a few points back placing second.

Leading the Hawks was team captain senior Danny Hinojosa, crossing the finish line in third place. Not too far behind were his teammates Isauro Sanchez (4th), Alvaro Rodriguez (12th), Luis Rodriguez (21th), Mike Trevino (24th) and Jose Alvarado (42th).

In the JV division, Job Alvarado won the boys’ individual title while the rest of the Hawks followed closely behind. Pedro Gonzalez grabbed sixth place while Maycol Mendoza placed eighth giving the Hawks three in the top 10.

Albert Hinojosa (13th), Pascual Martinez (18th) plus the endurance of James To, Ricky Garzilazo, Juan Angel Barrientos and Hector Barrientos rounded out the JV team for the Hawks.

Football The Hawks have rebounded from their season opening loss to Laredo Cigarroa and have been able to put that game behind them these past two weeks.

Zapata beat (2-1) Crystal City 30-20 Friday night for their second consecutive victory this season. The Hawks sneaked by

MLB: ASTROS

Astros lose young star

By KRISTIE RIEKEN ASSOCIATED PRESS

HOUSTON — Houston rookie George Springer, who has been out since July 20 with a left quadriceps injury, won’t play again this season.

There was some hope that Springer might return for the last few games of the season, but interim manager Tom Lawless said on Tuesday that they decided to shut him down.

Lawless said that team officials and Springer came to the decision together and decided that getting a few more at-bats this season wasn’t worth the risk of having a setback.

“For me it’s tough and being a player and a competitor I want to play,” he said. “But at the same time you have to protect yourself and sometimes you have to do things you don’t want to do.”

Springer, who was the 11th overall pick in the 2011 draft, hit .231 with 20 homers and 51 RBIs in 78 games.

Valley View 34-28 a week earlier and were able to ride that momentum as they met the Javelinas.

Against Crystal City, Zapata did the majority of the scoring in the first half, coming up with 22 points while the defense allowed 14. For the next two quarters, it was a stalemate for both teams as the defense took over and no scoring occurred from either team.

Crystal City came back and scored to open the fourth quarter. Zapata was able to get those points back with a touchdown and added two more on a two-point conversion.

Zapata amassed 248 total yards, their best output of the season after only grabbing 198 against Valley View and 226 against Laredo Cigarroa.

Volleyball The Lady Hawks continued to roll through their preseason schedule as Zapata picked up another victory. ZHS beat Crystal City 3-1 (20-25, 25-15, 25-20, 25-19) Tuesday night.

The Zapata offense dominated at the net as the Lady Hawks had the defense on their heels all night. The 1-2 punch of Cassy Garcia and Alexis Alvarez combined for 34 kills and became a nightmare for Crystal City.

Garcia recorded a game-high 22 kills on the night while Alvarez had 14.

Zapata could not find that same magic which has carried the Lady Hawks through the preseason as they dropped the District 16-4A opener to Port Isabel Saturday.

Clara Sandoval can be reached at Sandoval.Clara@Gmail.com.

Courtesy photo

The Zapata cross country team took first in San Diego at the Walter Reyna Classic Invitational.

PÁGINA 8A

Zfrontera

Agenda en Breve LAREDO

09/17— Estudio de La Biblia a las 7 p.m. en Lighthouse Assembly of God Church, 8731 Belize Dr. Informes con Ricardo Rangel Jr al (956) 333-9294.

09/18— El Grupo Español se reunirá de 5 p.m. a 6 p.m. en la Biblioteca Pública de Laredo. Más información llamando al 7631810.

09/19— Foster In Texas (FIT), un programa de Lutheran Social Services of the South, invita al Child Welfare Stakeholders Conference, en el Embassy Suites of Laredo, 110 Calle Del Norte Dr., de 8:30 a.m. a 4:30 p.m. Entrada gratuita. Llame a Edgar D. Ricalde en el (956) 220-0603.

09/19— El Circo Alzafar Shrine 2014 se presenta en Laredo Energy Arena a las 8 p.m. Costo del boleto es de 18 dólares y 28 dólares.

09/20— Se realizará la Segunda Carrera Anual de Cross Country por parte de Elementary y Middle Schools Dr. Sara Carrasco, a partir de las 8 a.m. en Shirley Field Sports Complex, ubicado en 2400 de avenida San Bernardo.

09/20— Se realizará un evento Evento de Inspección de Asientos para Menores de 9 a.m. a 12:30 p.m. en las Oficinas del Departamento de Transportes de Texas del Distrito de Laredo, ubicadas en 1817 de Bob Bullock Loop.

09/20— El Planetario Lamar Bruni Vergara proyectará “The Little Star that Could”, a las 2 p.m.; “Force 5”, a las 3 p.m.; “Wonders of the Universe”, a las 4 p.m.; “Lamps Of Atlantis”, a las 5 p.m. Costo de entrada general 5 dólares y 4 dólares para niños menores de 12 años y estudiantes de TAMIU con credencial.

09/20— La Asociación de Padres de niños con Síndrome de Down se reunirá a las 2 p.m. en VAIL, ubicado en 1419 de calle Corpus Christi.

DE 2014

NUEVO LAREDO, MÉXICO

Explosión fatal POR MELVA LAVÍN-CASTILLO TIEMPO DE ZAPATA

Dos personas perdieron la vida, y seis resultaron lesionadas, después de que ocurriera una explosión por acumulación de gas natural la mañana del martes en una vivienda ubicada en Nuevo Laredo, México.

Los hechos fueron reportados a las 8:50 a.m. en Privada Domingo Barrera y Luis Echeverría, en la Colonia Infonavit.

Las víctimas fueron identificadas como, Socorro Cárdenas Tapia, de 60 años de edad, con residencia en Privada Domingo Barrera número 26; y, Alfonso de Jesús Nájera Solís, de 5 años, con domicilio en Privada Domingo Barrera número 28.

Los nombres de los lesionados son, Diana Gatica Ceballos, de 24 años; Laura Gatica Ceballos, de 26; Ximena Gatica Ceballos, de 4 años; y, María Alicia Ceballos Maldonado, de 52 años. Ellas con residencia

en Privada Domingo Barrera número 24. Otras dos personas lesionadas son: Adelaida Solís, de 28 años; y, Renata Valerio Solís, de 11 meses de edad, con domicilio en Privada Domingo Barrera, número 28.

Se reportó que Adelaida Solís está embarazada.

Todos los lesionados fueron trasladados al Hospital General de Zona No. 11 del IMSS. Al menos dos de ellos ya fueron dados de alta, informó la Dirección de Protección Civil y Bomberos. “(La explosión) se derivó de una fuga de gas en el interior de la segunda planta (del domicilio en el número 26)”, indica un comunicado de prensa de la Coordinación General de Protección Civil en Tamaulipas. “El poder de la explosión provocó que casas ubicadas a dos cuadras a la redonda sufrieran daños en los vidrios de las ventanas”.

El Gobierno de Nuevo Laredo anunció que cubrirá los gastos funerarios de las víctimas y el trata-

Foto de cortesía

La acumulación de gas natural en una vivienda en Nuevo Laredo, México, provocó una explosión que dejó como saldo a dos personas muertas y seis heridos, el martes. miento médico de los lesionados.

Igualmente estará a cargo de recoger los escombros del sector y reconstruir las viviendas afectadas.

El Gobierno de Tamaulipas informó que en el operativo de emer-

TAMAULIPAS

COMUNIDAD

Organismo cambia su nombre

CELEBRAN DÍA DE INDEPENDENCIA

TIEMPO DE ZAPATA

SAN ANTONIO 09/17— SAN ANTONIO — Patricia Nash, diseñadora, estará en Macy’s La Cantera para la premier de su colección Otoño/Invierno, de 1 p.m. a 3 p.m. Los primeros 10 clientes en comparar 100 dólares o más en mercancía de Nash recibirán una tarjeta de regalo de Macy’s por 20 dólares.

Foto de cortesía | Gobierno de Tamaulipas

Superior: El Gobernador de Tamaulipas, Egidio Torre, encabezó en Ciudad Victoria, México, la ceremonia en el marco del 204 Aniversario del Inicio de la lucha de Independencia. En los diversos municipios hubo la presentación de grupos artísticos y musicales. Inferior: El Presidente Municipal de Nuevo Laredo, México, Carlos Canturosas, ondea la Bandera Mexicana, después de celebrar la ceremonia por el Grito de la Independencia de México, desde el balcón del Palacio Federal, ante aproximadamente 35.000 personas, el lunes por la noche.

NUEVO LAREDO, MÉXICO

09/17— Cine Club presenta “Canciones de mi Padre”, a las 6 p.m. en el Auditorio de Estación Palabra.

Evento gratuito.

09/17— Exposición “Retrospectivas”,, por Sergio Froylán Higareda Sánchez, a las 6:30 p.m. en la Casa de la Cultura. Entrada gratuita.

09/17— Semana Cultural Otoño 2014 presenta: Exposición “Retrospectiva del artista mierense Sergio Froylán Higareda Sánchez” a las 6:30 p.m. en la Galería de Casa de la Cultura.

09/17— Feria Expomex 2014 presenta a Grupo La Firma en el Teatro del Pueblo. Evento tiene costo.

09/18— En el marco del Mes de Happening y Arte Performático se proyectará el video La Congelada de Uva, a las 4 p.m. en Maquila Creativa. Evento para público adulto. Entrada gratuita.

09/18— Inauguración de la exhibición “Arte/Sano ÷ Artistas 3.0” a las 6:30 p.m. en el Museo Reyes Meza del Centro Cultural.

09/18— Feria Expomex 2014 presenta a Ema Huevo en el Teatro del Pueblo.

Evento tiene costo.

gencia participaron más de 160 elementos de la Secretaría de la Defensa Nacional, Policía Militar, Policía Federal, Protección Civil, Bomberos, Procuraduría General de Justicia y Cruz Roja.

Foto de cortesía | Gobierno de Nuevo Laredo

Una organización sin fines de lucro en Texas, encargada de erradicar el hambre en las comunidades, anunció su cambio de nombre, el martes.

La Red de Bancos de Alimentos (TFBN, por sus siglas en inglés) ahora será conocida como Feeding Texas (Alimentando a Texas).

“El cambio tiene como finalidad reflejar una nueva energía y dirección estratégica por parte de una fundación estatal que ha luchado en contra del hambre en Texas desde 1986”, indica un comunicado de prensa.

A la par, Feeding Texas dio a conocer su nueva página en Internet (feedingtexas.org) donde se podrán encontrar las herramientas más reciente de ayuda al público.

El comunicado agrega que el sitio en línea también busca hacer conciencia en las comunidades sobre la existencia del hambre, y relacionar a las personas en situaciones vulnerables a encontrar ayuda en su localidad.

“Estamos orgullosos de ayudar a más de tres millones de tejanos a encontrar la seguridad alimenticia cada año, a través del alivio inmediato del hambre, así como a promover soluciones a largo plazo”, dijo Celia Cole, CEO para Feeding Texas. “Nuestro nuevo nombre refleja nuestra misión principal y también recuerda a las personas de nuestra relación con la red nacional de bancos de alimentos, Feeding America”.

La nueva dirección incluye la alimentación de los tejanos en situaciones vulnerables, el fortalecimiento de la respuesta colectiva al hambre en Texas, y liderar la conversación pública y la acción colectiva necesaria para resolver el hambre, sostiene el comunicado.

“Feeding Texas ayuda a los bancos de alimentos locales a ser más eficaces”, dijo Dennis Cullinane, directora ejecutiva del Banco de Alimentos del Este de Texas y nueva presidenta de la Junta de Feeding Texas. “Ellos también nos ayudan a desarrollar las estrategias de avance para ‘alimentación con impacto’”.

COLUMNA

Ocurren daños al patrimonio de entidad POR RAÚL SINENCIO CHÁVEZ ESPECIAL PARA TIEMPO DE ZAPATA

Huracanes, guerras e inundaciones provocan en Tamaulipas daños al patrimonio arquitectónico con valía histórica y cultural.

En la República Mexicana, Victoriano Huerta usurpa el poder. El presidente Francisco I. Madero es asesinado junto con el vicepresidente José María Pino Suárez el 22 de febrero de 1913.

Huerta, quien ofrece meter orden y salvaguardar riquezas de la nación, gobierna por medio de las bayonetas. Pone al General Joaquín Téllez en Nuevo Laredo, México.

Soldados constitucionalistas pronto sitian la plaza

fronteriza de Tamaulipas, y la mantienen en jaque durante meses. Provistos de armamento, los sitiados resisten contra viento y marea. Cambia todo empero cuando sus oponentes cortan las comunicaciones ferroviarias desde Monterrey, México, interrumpiéndoles el flujo de pertrechos y reclutas. Incluso así se mantienen firmes, hasta que al cabo de algunas semanas pierden cualquier esperanza de triunfo.

Entonces, las fuerzas del “orden” deciden huir, pero antes (el 14 de abril de 1914) prenden fuego a los principales edificios, entre estos el Palacio Municipal de Nuevo Laredo.

Triunfante luego, el movimiento revolucionario

promete mejores horizontes. Tamaulipas se esfuerza en dejar atrás el periodo de enfrentamientos desarrollados por facciones internas.

Precisamente, acaba de sofocarse la asonada del fallido aspirante presidencial Adolfo de la Huerta, secundada por César López de Lara, jefe del ejecutivo tamaulipeco.

Sur Con motivo de celebrarse en 1923 el primer centenario del puerto de Tampico, las antiguas casas consistoriales y el techo de teja habían sido remozados. Sin embargo, terminan de improviso convertidas en montones de escombro.

Aunque resisten vendavales, desaparecen hacia 1926 al caerles encima la piqueta.

El Gobernador Emilio Portes Gil sustituye las instalaciones edilicias, pero además levanta cacicazgo estatal, intacto casi al mediar aquella centuria. El presidencialismo resuelve desmontarlo. Con tal fin, remueve los poderes de Tamaulipas, quita el mando a portesgilistas y hace creer que habría institucionalización plena, exenta de las decisiones caprichosas de antaño.

Aunque se dijo que habría convocatoria a comicios extraordinarios, esto no ocurre. Al iniciar su mandato provisional de Tamaulipas, en 1949, Raúl Ga-

rate Legleu, ordena demoler el teatro Juárez de Ciudad Victoria, México.

Definido por líneas neoclásicas y fachada dividida en dos niveles, el recinto cobra forma en fechas decimonónicas. Espacio dedicado a la cultura, intramuros se ofrecían conciertos, montajes escénicos y funciones de cine. Los informes gubernamentales congregaban ahí en forma periódica a las elites dirigentes. Bien público, sobre la superficie que albergara otrora al teatro Juárez dos años después se inaugura el actual palacio de gobierno.

(Con permiso del autor, según fuera publicado en La Razón, Tampico, el 1 de agosto de 2014)

International

WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 17, 2014

THE ZAPATA TIMES 9A

Mexico to airlift tourists after hurricane

By ALBA MORA ROCA ASSOCIATED PRESS

CABO SAN LUCAS, Mexico — The Mexican government prepared to begin airlifting tens of thousands of stranded tourists out of the hurricane-ravaged resort area of Los Cabos on Tuesday, as residents picked up the pieces of shattered, flooded homes.

The Interior Ministry said military and commercial planes would be sent to ferry travelers out through the airports of La Paz and Los Cabos, the latter of which remained closed to commercial flights due to damage from Hurricane Odile when it tore through the area late Sunday and Monday.

Images on Mexican television showed the terminal full of debris, but Ministry official Jose Maria Tapia told Milenio Television that the runway was usable and work was nearly complete

to make the control tower operable.

Tapia said travelers would be flown to Tijuana and Mazatlan, where they can catch connecting flights and, in the case of foreigners, receive consular assistance.

A boat was on its way to Baja California Sur with humanitarian aid, and authorities were working to restore electricity and phone service.

President Enrique Peña Nieto was scheduled to tour the area later in the day and oversee evacuations, after presiding over an independence day military parade in the capital.

Downgraded to a tropical storm, Odile continued to soak parts of the Baja California Peninsula, and forecasters said it was still capable of unleashing dangerous flash floods and mudslides.

In Los Cabos, Enrique Cota wept as he stood in

Photo by Victor R. Caivano | AP

Maria Ramirez, left, puts the shoes on her one-year-old niece Maritza in Los Cabos, Mexico, on Monday. murky, ankle-deep water and surveyed the destruction at his home. On the kitchen wall, a muddy mark nearly waist-high showed how deep the floodwaters got.

“We’ll have to start over, little by little,” Cota said, “because the stove, the refrigerator, the television, the kid’s computer — it’s all ruined.”

He rode out Odile’s landfall in a shelter with fire-

fighters, and said he hadn’t slept for two days.

Homes, stores and resorts along Los Cabos’ famed hotel row all suffered severe damage, with room windows shattered, facades crumbled and lobbies full of debris.

Authorities said about 30,000 tourists, 26,000 of them foreigners, were being put up in temporary ref-

uges or hotel areas converted to shelters.

Luis Felipe Puente, national coordinator for Civil Protection, said the airlift would prioritize the elderly and people with health problems.

For some, it was a dream vacation turned nightmare.

Charly Park, 52, flew in from Los Angeles with his wife on Sunday, but they never even got to check into their room. Instead, they were put directly into the hotel shelter where they spent a hot, cramped night as the hurricane raged outside.

“It’s a horrible experience, no air conditioning, no fans ... the power lines all fell down,” Park said.

He was considering renting a car to drive to Tijuana, a little over 1,000 miles (1,600 kilometers) to the north, and cross the border back into California.

Emergency officials in Baja California reported that 135 people were treated for minor injuries from flying glass or falling objects.

But surprisingly for a hurricane of this intensity — it made landfall as a monster Category 3 storm — there were no reports so far of fatalities directly related to Odile.

The U.S. National Hurricane Center said that by Tuesday afternoon Tropical Storm Odile had maximum sustained winds near 50 mph (85 kph). It was centered about 15 miles (25 kilometers) southeast of Bahia de Los Angeles, Mexico, and was moving to the north-northwest near 9 mph (15 kph).

Farther south in the Pacific, Tropical Storm Polo formed off southern Mexico early Tuesday. It was centered 275 miles (440 kilometers) south of Acapulco.

International

10A THE ZAPATA TIMES

WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 17, 2014

Egypt says restoration of oldest pyramid on track

By SAMUEL MCNEIL ASSOCIATED PRESS

SAQQARA, Egypt — Egypt’s antiquities minister took journalists inside a 4,600-year-old pyramid on Tuesday to reject recent accusations of mismanagement at the site as false and “without evidence.”

At a press conference at the Saqqara pyramid complex, some 30 kilometers (20 miles) south of Cairo, Minister of Antiquities Mamdouh el-Damaty decried recent media reports alleging that the Djoser pyramid might collapse.

“All these repetitions that there are fallen stones inside or outside the pyra-

mid are not true,” el-Damaty said.

He welcomed small groups of journalists inside the towering stone pyramid to view the inner chamber’s steel and wood support scaffolding.

“You were with us inside the pyramid, you saw it from the inside,” el-Damaty said. “It is not destroyed, it is safe.”

Criticism of the project centers on the government’s choice of a contractor, the Shurbagy construction company, which has no antiquities experience. Critics point to a new brick wall built on top of the pyramid’s base, which they say risks damaging the ancient

Photo by Samuel McNeil | AP

Wooden scaffolding covers the Djoser Pyramid in Saqqara, Egypt, on Tuesday. structure.

“This company is full of corruption, they didn’t hire professional people,” said Monica Hanna, an Egyptian archaeologist. She ad-

vocates the formation of an independent committee of Egyptian conservationists to oversee the restoration of all the country’s historical sites, including Saqqa-

ra.

“Looking at archival images of Saqqara over the past 100 years, the pyramid actually looks new,” Hanna said. “This should never be the case: we have to conserve these monuments in a way that is unnoticeable.”

During the conference, el-Damaty angrily blamed journalists for not contacting the ministry about the “rumors” of the pyramid’s structural integrity.

He singled out the website “Archaeologists Against the Coup,” run by Islamist supporters of ousted President Mohammed Morsi, as being “behind the spread of rumors which the media helped exaggerate.”

Morsi was overthrown by the military in July 2013 amid mass demonstrations calling for his resignation after a tumultuous year in power. His supporters view the current government as illegitimate.

The government has recently announced a range of programs to revitalize the tourism sector, which fell by nearly 46 percent following the 2011 uprising that toppled longtime autocrat Hosni Mubarak.

Funded by museum and site ticket sales, the ministry of antiquities is facing bankruptcy as international tourists remain wary of visiting Egypt after three years of turmoil.

67 dead after Ukraine lawmakers ratify deal building collapse

By LAURA MILLS

ASSOCIATED PRESS

By SUNDAY ALAMBA AND MICHELLE FAUL ASSOCIATED PRESS

LAGOS, Nigeria — The death toll in the collapse of a building in Nigeria last week rose on Tuesday when the South African president said 67 South Africans died and dozens were injured in the accident.

Separately, a Nigerian official said 63 bodies had been recovered at the site of the disaster in the city of Lagos, but it was not immediately clear whether the bodies were those of the South Africans cited by President Jacob Zuma.

“This is a particularly difficult time for South Africa,” Zuma said in a statement. “Not in the recent history of our country have we had this large number of our people die in one incident outside the country.”

The fallen multistory

building served as a shopping mall and guesthouse at the sprawling campus of televangelist T.B. Joshua’s Synagogue, Church of All Nations, on the outskirts of Lagos, Nigeria’s commercial capital.

“We rescued a woman, alive, around 2 a.m. this morning,” said Ibrahim Farinloye of the Nigerian Emergency Management Agency. “We found her under the rubble. She walked away with only a little dislocation on her hand.

She is very, very lucky.”

Rescue workers had recovered 63 bodies and rescued 131 survivors, Farinloye said. More than 1,000 rescuers were at the scene, he said of the pancaked building that was destroyed in clouds of dust and debris on Friday.

South Africa’s government said its diplomats were at the scene since at least five South African church tour groups were there at the time.

KIEV, Ukraine — Ukraine moved to resolve months of crisis Tuesday by strengthening ties to Europe and loosening some controls over the country’s rebellious eastern regions where it has been fighting Russianbacked separatists.

The actions by lawmakers began to flesh out the emerging picture of a new Ukraine, where a determined pivot toward Europe has come at great cost: concessions to Russia and a war with rebels that killed more than 3,000 people and pushed the West’s relations with Moscow to Cold War-era lows.

The measure deepening the economic and political ties with Europe was the issue that sparked the crisis last fall, when then-President Viktor Yanukovych’s decision to shelve the deal in favor of closer ties with Russia sparked pro-

Photo by Sergei Chuzavkov | AP

Ukrainian activists rejoice outside the Ukrainian parliament after legislators pass a key reform bill in Kiev, Ukraine, on Tuesday. tests by hundreds of thousands. Those demonstrations eventually drove him from power in February and led to the annexation of Crimea by Moscow and the rebellion in the east, where a shaky cease-fire began Sept. 5.

The deal lowers trade tariffs between Europe and Ukraine, requires Ukrainian goods to meet European regulatory standards and forces the Kiev government to undertake major political and economic reforms.

After parliament rati-

fied the measure, lawmakers leapt to their feet to applaud and sing the Ukrainian national anthem. A live broadcast of the session was beamed to the European parliament.

President Petro Poroshenko called the vote a “first but very decisive step” toward bringing Ukraine fully into the European Union.

He said the protesters who died in clashes with riot police in Kiev and the government troops killed by rebels in the

east “have died not only for their motherland.

They gave up their lives for us to take a dignified place among the European family.”

“After World War II, not a single nation has paid such a high price for their right to be European,” he said. “Can you tell me, who now after this will be brave enough to shut the doors to Europe in front of Ukraine?”

Earlier Tuesday, the parliament also approved laws granting temporary self-rule to rebellious, pro-Russian regions in the east, as well as amnesty for many of those involved in the fighting.

The lawmakers took that action behind closed doors, in stark contrast to the patriotic fanfare of that vote on the European agreement. In his thunderous speech, Poroshenko did not mention those two measures, which are likely to generate more controversy among Ukrainians.

WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 17, 2014

THE ZAPATA TIMES 11A

Speculation over language

By MARTIN CRUTSINGER ASSOCIATED PRESS

WASHINGTON — When the Federal Reserve issues a policy statement after it meets this week, the financial world will be on high alert for two words: “Considerable time.”

The presence or absence of that phrase will trigger a rush to assess the likely timing of the Fed’s first increase in interest rates since it cut them to record lows in 2008.

The Fed’s recent statements have said it expects to keep its key short-term rate near zero for a “considerable time” after it stops buying Treasurys and mortgage bonds.

Those bond purchases have been intended to keep long-term rates down to support the economy.

But the purchases are set to end in November, so the Fed may soon see the need to use some phrasing other than “considerable time” to signify when it might start raising rates.

It could sub out that phrase in this week’s statement. Or it could wait until its next meeting in October.

Whatever the statement says when the Fed’s twoday meeting ends today, Chair Janet Yellen will be pressed when she meets with reporters later to clarify the Fed’s intentions.

Most economists think the Fed will raise rates starting around mid-2015.

But as the U.S. economy has strengthened, speculation has intensified about whether it might do so sooner, perhaps by March.

With job growth solid, manufacturing and construction growing and unemployment at a near-normal 6.1 percent, many analysts think the Fed is edging closer to a rate increase to prevent a rising economy from igniting inflation. If so, it might send such a signal by dropping “considerable time” and substituting other language to suggest a likely rate hike by early 2015.

On the other hand, the

New study released

By KEVIN BEGOS ASSOCIATED PRESS

Photo by John Locher | AP

Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen arrives for a dinner during the Jackson Hole Economic Policy Symposium at the Jackson Lake Lodge in Grand Teton National Park near Jackson, Wyo., on Aug. 21.

Fed could drop “considerable time” but substitute vaguer language suggesting it might wait longer to raise rates than many expect. Yellen has cautioned that the drop in unemployment may overstate the job market’s improvement.

She has said the Fed also takes into account the number of people unemployed for more than six months; the number of part-timers who want fulltime work; and average wages. Those measures remain less than healthy.

Whatever the Fed’s intentions, some economists think it will make no major changes in its policy statement for now.

“All the trend lines for the economy look pretty good right now,” said Mark Zandi, chief economist of Moody’s Analytics.

“I don’t think the Fed wants to upset the apple cart.”

Over the past several years, the Fed’s ultra-low rates have helped the economy, cheered the stock market and shrunk mortgage rates. A rate increase could threaten to reverse those trends.

In August, U.S. employers added just 142,000 jobs, well below the 212,000 average of the previous 12 months. The slowdown was seen as likely temporary. But some analysts say it underscored that the economic outlook may re-

main too hazy for the Fed to signal an earlier-thanexpected rate hike.

The Fed was reminded last year that markets are highly sensitive to signals about the end of a prolonged period of low rates.

In June 2013, when Chairman Ben Bernanke suggested that the Fed might start slowing its bond purchases before year’s end, the stock market plunged over two days. And bond rates headed up, slowing the housing recovery and jolting developing countries that had benefited from ultra-low U.S. rates.

“The adverse market reaction last year really did scare the Fed,” said Diane Swonk, chief economist at Mesirow Financial. “For that reason, they are treading cautiously now.”

Those who think the Fed will modify the “considerable time” language this week point to recent comments from some officials. For example, Charles Plosser, president of the Fed’s Philadelphia regional bank, dissented at the last Fed meeting in July because he opposed the continued use of the “considerable time” phrase. He said it didn’t reflect progress the economy has made toward the Fed’s goals.

Plosser is among the Fed’s “hawks” — those who worry that super-low rates will stoke inflation

or fuel asset bubbles.

With some hawks as well as doves expressing unease about the Fed’s use of “considerable time,” some analysts say the Fed could tweak the language this week even at the risk of jolting markets.

“The Fed has been a major player in supporting the rise in the stock market, and that makes the markets highly sensitive,” said David Jones, the author of a new history of the Fed. “But if the Fed doesn’t start to signal the coming end of extremely low rates, the markets will keep rallying and the correction will be even sharper when it does come.”

Jones expects the Fed to drop the “considerable time” language. He also thinks it will modify its statement’s reference to “significant underutilization of labor resources” to note the strengthening job market. He expects the first rate increase by March.

But David Wyss, a former Fed economist who teaches at Brown University, said he still foresees June as the most likely time.

“Things are going pretty good now, but there is still an awful lot that can go wrong,” Wyss said.

“June 2015 is still the best guess for the first rate hike.”

PITTSBURGH — The final report from a landmark federal study on hydraulic fracturing, or fracking, found no evidence that chemicals or brine water from the gas drilling process moved upward to contaminate drinking water at a site in western Pennsylvania.

The Department of Energy report, released Monday, was the first time an energy company allowed independent monitoring of a drilling site during the fracking process and for 18 months afterward.

After those months of monitoring, researchers found that the chemical-laced fluids used to free gas stayed about 5,000 feet below drinking water supplies.

Scientists used tracer fluids, seismic monitoring, and other tests to look for problems, and created the most detailed public report to date about how fracking affects adjacent rock structures.

The fracking process uses millions of gallons of high-pressure water mixed with sand and chemicals to break apart rocks rich in oil and gas. That has led to a national boom in production, but also concerns about possible groundwater contamination.

But the DOE report is far from the last word on the subject. The Energy Department monitored six wells at one site, but oil or gas drilling at other locations around the nation could show different results because of variations in geology or drilling practices.

Environmentalists and regulators have also documented numerous cases where surface spills of chemicals or wastewater damaged drinking water supplies.

“There are a whole wealth of harms associated with shale gas development” separate from fracking, said Maya K. van Rossum of the Delaware Riverkeeper group.

She

mentioned methane gas leaks, wasteful use of fresh water, and air pollution, and said the DOE study confirms a point that the Riverkeeper has been making: that faulty well construction is the root cause of most problems, not natural geologic migration of chemicals.

A separate study published this week by different researchers examined drilling sites in Pennsylvania and Texas using other methods.

It found that faulty well construction caused pollution, but not fracking itself.

Avner Vengosh, a Duke University scientist involved with that study, just published in The Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, said in an email that it appears the Energy Department report on the Pennsylvania site is consistent with their findings.

The leading industry group in Pennsylvania said the DOE study reaffirms that hydraulic fracturing “is a safe and well-regulated technology.”

Marcellus Shale Coalition president Dave Spigelmyer said in an email that the study reflects “the industry’s long and clear record of continuously working to enhance regulations and best practices aimed at protecting our environment.”

The Energy Department report did yield some surprises. It found that the fractures created to free oil or gas can extend up to 1,900 feet from the base of the well. That’s much farther than the usual estimates of a few hundred feet. The Energy Department researchers believe that the long fractures may have followed existing fault lines in the Marcellus Shale or other formations above it.

The DOE study also ran into problems with the man-made markers meant to track possible long-term pollution. DOE said it was able to track the markers for two months after fracking, but then that method had to be abandoned when it stopped working properly.

UPS expects to hire up to 95K seasonal workers

By DAVID KOENIG ASSOCIATED PRESS

DALLAS — UPS plans to hire up to 95,000 workers to help deliver packages during the busy holiday season — an increase from last year, when the company was caught unprepared for a boom in online shopping.

The Atlanta-based company said Tuesday that the positions will include pack-

age sorters, loaders, delivery helpers and drivers.

Last year, UPS underestimated the surge in deliveries during the holiday shipping season, which peaked several days later than the company had expected as shoppers jumped at offers of free shipping right up until a few days before Christmas. With faulty forecasts, the company didn’t hire enough seasonal

help.

UPS originally planned to hire 55,000 seasonal workers in 2013 but wound up adding 30,000 more to handle the surge in deliveries, which drove up costs and reduced earnings.

Even with the additional hiring, UPS couldn’t keep up with the volume of packages, and some lastminute deliveries were delayed until after Christmas.

“We feel like we are much more prepared this year to have better volume forecasting — we are working closely with our largest customers to get as close as possible to those volume projections,” Lytana Kids, UPS’ vice president of work force planning, said in an interview.

After last year’s debacle, some analysts suggested that UPS needed to adjust

pricing or make other changes to avoid another surge in last-minute shipments. UPS officials declined to describe their discussions with key shippers.

UPS has taken several other steps to prepare for this year’s onslaught of deliveries. It has installed temporary mobile sorting and delivery centers and added thousands of new or leased trucks and trailers.

Last year, UPS leased 23 extra planes, and Kids said that number would rise this year. It will add operating days and shifts, including a regular schedule of ground pick-ups and deliveries on the Friday after Thanksgiving.

The company said much of this year’s increase in package deliveries will come from online purchases.

12A THE ZAPATA TIMES

WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 17, 2014

EXPLOSION Continued from Page 1A said. Eight motor vehicles parked in the area were also damaged.

Paramedics rendered aid to five people who were identified as María Alicia Cevallos Maldonado, 52, Laura Gatica Cevallos, 26, Diana Gatica Cevallos, 24, Adelaida Solís, 28, and Renata Valeria Solís, 11 months old.

Adelaida Solís is pregnant. Paramedics transported the patients to a local hospital.

Reports show that the home on Privada Emilio Barrera No. 26 had their natural gas service suspended. Residents then connected butane gas without upgrading the connections, Ochoa said.

Clean up crews and heavy machinery remained at the scene throughout the day clearing the debris. Authorities shut down electricity and temporarily suspended gas service in surrounding homes to allow crews to work at the scene, Ochoa said.

Nuevo Laredo Mayor Carlos Canturosas Villarreal visited the site. Canturosas Villarreal spoke to the families affected

and offered his help to repair the damaged homes.

“The municipality is concerned about the welfare … of the families affected and also for the families living in the surrounding area where the incident occurred. As soon as we heard about this, we came to offer our support,” Canturosas Villarreal states in a news release.

He added the city will provide financial, medical and psychological support. City officials are assessing the damages to homes located in the surrounding area where the explosion occurred.

Tamaulipas authorities estimated that about 160 people from military troops, federal police, civil protection and fire department, the state’s attorney general and the Red Cross responded to the scene.

“Everyone was there to minimize the burden on those affected,” Ochoa said.

(Alejandra Machorro contributed to this report. César G. Rodriguez may be reached at 7282568 or cesar@lmtonline.com)

VISIT Continued from Page 1A What the team didn’t expect was to become national champions.

Together, they learned how to build an underwater robot and defeated the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in a national competition.

“We realized the world was flat when we beat MIT,” Lajvardi said.

One obstacle faced by the team was that it had four undocumented Mexican immigrants. Lajvardi said the community seemed more interested in the students being undocumented rather than their accomplishments.

“I received death threats.

People asked why the students would not just become citizens,” Lajvardi said.

He said the team’s success in winning the competition led to students no longer making excuses for not succeeding. They now wanted to succeed.

In January, a movie

based on their journey will be released. Directed by Sean McNamara, the “Spare Parts” stars celebrities such as George Lopez, Jamie Lee Curtis, Marisa Tomei and Carlos Peña Vega.

Additionally, LCC students had the opportunity to view the documentary “Underwater Dreams” directed and written by Mary Mazzio.

“Individuals who have seen the documentary have changed their perspective in many things,” Lajvardi said.

“To those students overall who are struggling, keep pursuing your education. Your degree is very important. For parents, don’t let your children suffer. Education is the number one tool we can use as a weapon in the United States to prove everyone wrong,” Santillan said.

(Judith Rayo may be reached at 728-2567 or jrayo@lmtonline.com)

Hunger map removal ASSOCIATED PRESS

SAO PAULO — The Brazilian government Tuesday hailed a new United Nations report that for the first time removed Latin America’s biggest country from the World Hunger Map. “Leaving the Hunger Map is a historic milestone for Brazil. We are very proud because overcoming hunger was a priority for the Brazilian state,” Social Development Minister Tereza Campello said in a statement.

The State of Food Insecurity in the World 2014 was released Tuesday by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, the International Fund for Agricultural Development, and the United Nations World Food Program.

According to the report, the number of undernourished Brazilians has fallen by more than 80 percent in 10 years.

A feat Campello said was achieved through a “mix of public policies that have ensured more income for the poorest Brazilians, an increased food supply and a consolidation of Brazil’s social safety net.”