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SAME-SEX MARRIAGE
SOUTHERN TEXAS BORDER
State’s gay marriage ban up next
Plan gets support
Court may have set stage for future landmark ruling
Chairman presents ‘blueprint’ for border security By LISA HAGEN HEARST NEWSPAPERS
WASHINGTON — As the polarizing issue of immigration policy remains at a stalemate, Texas lawmakers from both sides of the aisle generally support House Homeland Security Committee Chairman Michael McCaul’s plan to measure threats along the southern border and recommend resources to fill the gaps in existing security. The Austin Republican’s proposal, “Blueprint for Southern
Border Security,” statement. “This seeks to promote is the first step to practices that providing Americould enhance cans the secure border control — border they deincluding more mand and detechnology to exserve.” pand surveillance. Some of the “My proposal proposed technolmatches resources ogies include: Integrated and capabilities to fixed towers to needs on the provide track illesouthern border gal entries; to allow Border Aerostats, or MCCAUL Patrol agents to filighter-than-air nally gain complete visibility,” McCaul said in a craft, to increase monitoring in
mountainous areas; Ultralight aircraft linked to real-time sensor data; And “game cameras” to monitor low-light areas, in concert with motion detectors. The plan calls for increased funding for collaboration between law enforcements at the local, tribal, state, and federal levels. McCaul’s proposal maps out 11 sectors on and around the border, including five in Texas. The report explains each sec-
See BORDER PAGE 11A
By CONNOR RADNOVICH AND DAN FREEDMAN HEARST NEWSPAPERS
WASHINGTON — By refusing to hear same-sex marriage appeals from five states that had banned such unions, the U.S. Supreme Court may have set the stage for using Texas’ prohibition as the basis of a future landmark ruling. Without explanation, the Supreme Court Monday turned down appeals from Wisconsin, Indiana, Oklahoma, Utah and Virginia, which all had similar state laws banning gay marriage overturned by federal appeals courts. The decision immediately legalized same-sex marriage in those five states and virtually assures the same result in six additional states covered by those federal appeals courts: North Carolina, South Carolina, West Virginia, Colorado, Kansas and Wyoming. In all, same-sex couples will be able to marry in 30 states and the District of Columbia, with challenges pending in the 20 remaining states. “If the 5th Circuit decides to uphold the ban, there’s a very strong possibility that the Texas case could be a landmark (Supreme Court ruling) two years from now,” said Cary Franklin, a professor at the University of Texas School of Law in Austin. An upholding of Texas’ ban of same-sex marriage would create disagreement among the federal circuit courts, which have so far been in unison of their support of overturning such bans. In such a circumstance, the Supreme Court might be more likely to step in. Monday’s action “signals, I hope, the direction the court is going,” said Rebecca Robertson, legal and policy director of the ACLU of Texas. “It’s hard not to look at this optimistically.” Jonathan Saenz, president of conservative non-profit Texas Values, said he was also pleased by the Supreme Court’s action, because “redefinition of marriage is not going to be forced on our state at this time.” Saenz said Texans have already voted on whether same-sex marriage should be allowed in the state — a resounding “no” — and he said it’s “absurd” the court is “invalidating” so many people’s voices. He called it an “illegitimate victory” for gay-marriage proponents. The Texas ban, enshrined in a 2005 voter-approved constitutional amendment, was overturned earlier this
See BAN PAGE 12A
ARMANDO HINOJOSA
PROMOTING HISTORY
File photo by Cuate Santos | The Zapata Times
Laredo born artist/sculptor Armando Hinojosa looks at a clay model of some of his pieces of "The Tejano Monument” in this file photo.
Laredo-born sculptor proud of Hispanic heritage By MALENA CHARUR THE ZAPATA TIMES
Local artist Armando Hinojosa is proud of his Hispanic heritage, and of how he has promoted the history of South Texas and the border through his artistic talents — for more than 50 years. Hinojosa said his father, Gerónimo “Gerry” Hinojosa, introduced him to what is now his career as an artist. “My father had many achievements, such
as La India Packing Company’s logo and making figures for parade floats. He made them of wood, wire and plaster, which is more difficult,” Hinojosa said. “He then moved on to painting and sculptures. I started helping him on weekends. We painted road signs which were made by hand and were about 30 feet tall. It was dangerous. He traced the letters and I had to fill them in.” Hinojosa said his father came from New Guerrero, Mexico. Hinojosa said that when
he was a teenager he’d go there every weekend, influences of which are reflected in his paintings and sculpture. “My father told me, ’Listen, some day you’ll become better than me,’” he recalled with pride. Hinojosa said that was when he knew he wanted to pursue a career in art, so after graduating from high school he attended Texas A&I University in Kingsville, where
See HINOJOSA PAGE 11A
THE COLLEGE BOARD
Average Texas SAT math scores fall to 22-year low By WILL WEISSERT ASSOCIATED PRESS
Photo by H. John Voorhees III/Connecticut Newspapers
A high school student preps for her first SAT test in Brookfield, Conn., on Friday, March 7. Texas’ average statewide math scores on the SAT college entry exam were the lowest in 22 years — 495 for the 2013-2014 high school graduating class, according to official results.
AUSTIN — Texas’ average statewide math scores on the SAT college entry exam were the lowest in 22 years — 495 for the 2013-2014 high school graduating class, according to official results released Tuesday. The College Board, a nonprofit
which administers the exam, said mean math scores dropped four points from the 2012-2013 academic year. The state’s performance on math hasn’t been that low since 1992, when the mean score was 493. Meanwhile, reading scores slipped by a point to 476 and the latest writing mean score was 461, the same as last year. A per-
fect score in each subject area is 800. Nationally, SAT scores remained relatively stagnant: The mean score in math was 513; it was 497 in reading; and 487 for writing. In January, Texas formally scrapped its requirement that
See SAT PAGE 11A
PAGE 2A
Zin brief CALENDAR
WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 8, 2014
AROUND THE WORLD
TODAY IN HISTORY
THURSDAY, OCT. 9 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. “Look Good … Feel Better” program. 2 p.m. to 4 p.m. Program teaches beauty techniques to women in active cancer treatment to help them combat appearance-related side effects. Contact Diana Juarez at 319-3100. Planetarium movies. From 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. TAMIU Lamar Bruni Vergara Planetarium. Contact Claudia Herrera at claudia.herrera@tamiu.edu. Or visit the website www.tamiu.edu/planetarium. At 6 p.m. Wonders of the Universe. At 7 p.m. Lamps of Atlantis. The Laredo Area Retired School Employees Association will be holding its monthly meeting from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the Blessed Sacrament Parish Hall. The group will be holding a Health Fair within the meeting for the members.
FRIDAY, OCT. 10 25th Reunion for JW Nixon class of 1989. Starts at 8:30 p.m. $25/person at Falcon Lakehouse. Contact Teresa Ramos at teresa_ramos10@yahoo.com. Planetarium movies. From 6 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. TAMIU Lamar Bruni Vergara Planetarium. Contact Claudia Herrera at claudia.herrera@tamiu.edu. Or go to the website. "Laredo Little Theatre and LCC’s Teatro Chicano de Laredo present "The Thirteenth Sacrament" Oct. 10-12 and 17-19. Fri. and Sat. at 8 p.m., Sun. Matinee at 3 p.m. For more information go to clix.com/ event/TheThirteenthSacrament. For mature audiences. “Movies on the Patio.” From 7:30 p.m. Villa Antigua Border Heritage Museum, 810 Zaragoza St. Contact Margarita Araiza for more information, at 956-727-0977 or visit www.webbheritage.org .
SATURDAY, OCT. 11 “Rock for a Cure” Zumbathon. 9 a.m. Casa Blanca Ballroom. $15 per person. Contact Ricardo Peña at 722-2389. 25th Reunion for JW Nixon class of 1989. Starts at 9 p.m. $30/ person at Embassy Suites. Contact Teresa Ramos at teresa_ramos10@yahoo.com. Planetarium Movies. From 1 p.m. to 5 p.m. TAMIU Lamar Bruni Vergara Planetarium. Contact Claudia Herrera at claudia.herrera@tamiu.edu or visit website www.tamiu.edu/planetarium. 2 p.m. The Little Star that Could. 3 p.m. Force 5: Nature Unleashed. 4 p.m. Wonders of the Universe. 5 p.m. Lamps of Atlantis.
SUNDAY, OCT. 12 Blessed Sacrament Church Grand Jamaica. 4 p.m. to 10 p.m. Bingo will take place from 2 to 4 p.m. in the Parish Hall with the Jamaica to follow. Contact ehmartinez@stx.rr.com for more information.
TUESDAY, OCT. 14 Planetarium movies. From 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. TAMIU Lamar Bruni Vergara Planetarium. Contact Claudia Herrera at claudia.herrera@tamiu.edu or visit At 6 p.m. Wonders of the Universe. At 7 p.m. Lamps of Atlantis.
ASSOCIATED PRESS
Photo by Andres Kudacki | AP
People walk by an advertising calling for financial help to fight Ebola in Africa in Madrid, Spain, on Tuesday. Ebola’s victims may include a dog named Excalibur. Officials in Madrid got a court order to euthanize the pet of a Spanish nursing assistant with Ebola because of the chance the animal might spread the disease.
Dog may have Ebola By MARILYNN MARCHIONE ASSOCIATED PRESS
Ebola’s victims may include a dog named Excalibur. Officials in Madrid got a court order to euthanize the pet of a Spanish nursing assistant with Ebola because of the chance the animal might spread the disease. At least one major study suggests that dogs can be infected with the deadly virus without having symptoms. But whether or how likely they are to spread it to people is less clear. Lab experiments on other animals suggest their urine, saliva or stool might contain the virus. That means that in theory, people might catch it through an infected dog licking or biting them, or from grooming. “Clearly we want to look at all possibilities. We have not identified this as a means of transmission,” said Dr. Thomas Frieden,
Turkey: Syrian town poised to fall to militants MURSITPINAR, Turkey — Islamic State fighters were poised to capture a strategic Syrian town on the Turkish border, Turkey’s president warned Tuesday, even as Kurdish forces battled to expel the extremists from their footholds on the outskirts. The outgunned Kurdish fighters struggling to defend Kobani got a small boost from a series of U.S.-led airstrikes against the militants that sent huge columns of black smoke into the sky. Limited coalition strikes have done little to blunt the Islamic State group’s three-week offensive, and its fighters have relentlessly shelled the town in preparation for a final assault. Warning that the aerial campaign alone was not enough to halt the Islamic State group’s advance, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan called for greater cooperation with the Syrian opposition, which is fighting both the extremists and forces
THURSDAY, OCT. 16 Los Amigos Duplicate Bridge Club will meet at the Laredo Country Club from 1:15 p.m. to 5 p.m. For more information, contact Beverly Cantu at 727-0589.
SATURDAY, OCT. 25 Zapata’s Breast Cancer Awareness Walk. 5 p.m. to 8 p.m. Zapata County Courthouse.
loyal to Syrian President Bashar Assad. “Kobani is about to fall,” Erdogan told Syrian refugees in the Turkish town of Gaziantep, near the border. “We asked for three things: One, for a no-fly zone to be created; Two, for a secure zone parallel to the region to be declared; and for the moderate opposition in Syria and Iraq to be trained and equipped.” Erdogan’s comments did not signal a shift in Turkey’s position: He has said repeatedly that Ankara wants to see a more comprehensive strategy for Syria before it commits to military involvement in the U.S.-led coalition.
LED there be light: 3 share Nobel for blue diode STOCKHOLM — An invention that promises to revolutionize the way the world lights its homes and offices earned a Nobel Prize on Tuesday for two Japanese scientists and a Japaneseborn American. By inventing a new kind of
light-emitting diode, or LED, they overcame a crucial roadblock for creating white light far more efficiently than incandescent or fluorescent bulbs. Now LEDs are pervasive and experts say their use will only grow. “Incandescent light bulbs lit the 20th century; the 21st century will be lit by LED lamps,” the Nobel committee said in announcing its award to Japanese researchers Isamu Akasaki and Hiroshi Amano and naturalized U.S. citizen Shuji Nakamura. Their work, done in the 1990s, led to a fundamental transformation of technology for illumination, the committee said. And when the three arrive in Stockholm to collect their awards in December, “they will hardly fail to notice the light from their invention glowing in virtually all the windows of the city.” Nakamura, 60, is a professor at the University of California, Santa Barbara. Akasaki, 85, is a professor at Meijo University and Nagoya University in Japan, while Amano, 54, is also at Nagoya. — Compiled from AP reports
AROUND TEXAS
WEDNESDAY, OCT. 15 “The Next America: Boomers, Millennials, and the Looming Generational Showdown”. From 7:30 p.m. to 9 p.m. TAMIU Student Center Ballroom (SC 203). Contact Amy Palacios at cswht@tamiu.edu. Website: http://freetrade.tamiu.edu/whtc_services/whtc_speaker_series.asp. 120th anniversary observance in Laredo: the Sisters of Mercy will present, “Band of Sisters” from 6 p.m. to TBA. TAMIU Center for Fine & Performing Art Theatre. Contact Rosanne Palacios at rosanne.palacios@mercy.net for more information.
director of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The nursing assistant and her husband have been in isolation since she tested positive for Ebola earlier this week. She was part of team at a Madrid hospital that cared for a missionary priest who died of Ebola. The Madrid regional government got a court order to euthanize their dog, saying “available scientific information” can’t rule out it could spread the virus. The dog’s owners don’t want it killed. Carlos Rodriguez, a Spanish veterinarian and host of a talk show about animals, said the husband messaged him from the hospital, trying to grant him temporary custody of the mixed-breed dog. But now that there is a court order, “I can’t stop this from happening,” Rodriguez said.
Next steps for $1 billion Corpus Christi bridge CORPUS CHRISTI — The Texas Department of Transportation has released its request for proposals for what could be as much as a $1 billion project to replace Corpus Christi’s more than milelong Harbor Bridge. The project includes removal of the 1950s-era existing bridge, designing and building a new span 205 feet over the Corpus Christi Ship Channel and reworking several nearby roadways, including Interstate 37 and the city’s Crosstown Expressway. The existing bridge has a 138-foot clearance.
Police: East Texas robbers answer stolen cellphone LUFKIN — East Texas police have arrested two men who they say stole a cellphone from a teenager and gave away their location when they answered the
Today is Wednesday, Oct. 8, the 281st day of 2014. There are 84 days left in the year. Today’s Highlight in History: On Oct. 8, 1914, the World War I song “Keep the Home Fires Burning,” by Ivor Novello and Lena Guilbert Ford, was first published in London under the title “Till the Boys Come Home.” On this date: In 1869, the 14th president of the United States, Franklin Pierce (puhrs), died in Concord, New Hampshire. In 1871, the Great Chicago Fire erupted; fires also broke out in Peshtigo, Wisconsin, and in several communities in Michigan. In 1918, U.S. Army Cpl. Alvin C. York led an attack that killed 25 German soldiers and captured 132 others in the Argonne Forest in France. In 1934, Bruno Hauptmann was indicted by a grand jury in New Jersey for murder in the death of the kidnapped son of Charles and Anne Morrow Lindbergh. In 1944, “The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet,” starring Ozzie and Harriet Nelson, made its debut on CBS Radio. Former Republican presidential nominee Wendell Willkie, 52, died in New York. In 1945, President Harry S. Truman announced that the secret of the atomic bomb would be shared only with Britain and Canada. In 1956, Don Larsen pitched the only perfect game in a World Series to date as the New York Yankees beat the Brooklyn Dodgers in Game 5, 2-0. In 1957, the Brooklyn Baseball Club announced it was accepting an offer to move the Dodgers from New York to Los Angeles. In 1967, former British Prime Minister Clement Attlee died in London at age 84. Ten years ago: In a testy debate rematch, President George W. Bush and Sen. John Kerry quarreled over the war in Iraq, jobs, education, health care, abortion, the environment, cheaper drugs and tort reform at a town-hall session in St. Louis. Five years ago: An Arizona sweat lodge ceremony turned deadly as some participants became ill and collapsed inside the 415-square-foot structure; three died. (Motivational speaker James Arthur Ray, who’d led the ceremony, was convicted in 2011 of three counts of negligent homicide and served 20 months in prison.) One year ago: The White House said President Barack Obama would nominate Federal Reserve vice chair Janet Yellen to succeed Ben Bernanke as chairman of the nation’s central bank. Today’s Birthdays: Entertainment reporter Rona Barrett is 78. Actor Paul Hogan is 75. Rhythm-and-blues singer Fred Cash (The Impressions) is 74. Civil rights activist Rev. Jesse Jackson is 73. Comedian Chevy Chase is 71. Author R.L. Stine is 71. Actor Dale Dye is 70. Country singer Susan Raye is 70. TV personality Sarah Purcell is 66. Actress Sigourney Weaver is 65. Rhythm-and-blues singer Robert “Kool” Bell (Kool & the Gang) is 64. Country singermusician Ricky Lee Phelps is 61. Thought for Today: “Everything that irritates us about others can lead us to an understanding of ourselves.” — Carl Gustav Jung, Swiss psychiatrist (1875-1961).
CONTACT US Publisher, William B. Green........................728-2501 Account Executive, Dora Martinez ...... (956) 765-5113 General Manager, Adriana Devally ...............728-2510 Adv. Billing Inquiries ................................. 728-2531 Circulation Director ................................. 728-2559 MIS Director, Michael Castillo.................... 728-2505 Copy Editor, Nick Georgiou ....................... 728-2565 Sports Editor, Zach Davis ..........................728-2578 Spanish Editor, Melva Lavin-Castillo............ 728-2569 Photo by Yvette Vela/The Brownsville Herald | AP
Handmade Halloween ornaments are on display at the "pop-up" shop featuring Oaxacan handcrafted artisan goods in Brownsville on Sunday.
phone. KLTV-TV reports 23-year-old Makio Houston and 19-year-old Cornielus Lewis are charged with two counts of first-degree aggravated robbery and unlawful carrying of a weapon. Two teenagers tell police they
were robbed of the phone Sunday night in Lufkin. One teen’s relative called the stolen phone and says the robbers said they were at an area tobacco shop. Police went to the store and arrested the men. — Compiled from AP reports
SUBSCRIPTIONS/DELIVERY (956) 728-2555 The Zapata Times is distributed on Saturdays to 4,000 households in Zapata County. For subscribers of the Laredo Morning Times and for those who buy the Laredo Morning Times at newsstands, the Zapata Times is inserted. The Zapata Times is free. The Zapata Times is published by the Laredo Morning Times, a division of The Hearst Corporation, P.O. Box 2129, Laredo, Texas 78044. Phone (956) 728-2500. The Zapata office is at 1309 N. U.S. Hwy. 83 at 14th Avenue, Suite 2, Zapata, TX 78076. Call (956) 765-5113 or e-mail thezapatatimes.net
State
WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 8, 2014
THE ZAPATA TIMES 3A
Clinic stops abortions after confusion ASSOCIATED PRESS
EL PASO — The only remaining abortion clinic in Texas west of San Antonio has halted abortions following days of confusion over the interpretation of a federal court ruling, an official with the clinic said Tuesday. Gloria Martinez, administrative nurse at Hilltop Women’s Reproductive Center, said her center thought it was exempted from a rule that requires clinics to upgrade to surgical centers. State officials “called us
Friday, saying that we could open, so we opened Saturday. Then they called us Saturday, around 3 in the afternoon, telling us we needed to close immediately,” Martinez said. The ruling last week by the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals allowed Texas to enforce tough restrictions that effectively close all but seven abortion facilities in the state. The ruling provided exemptions for a clinic in El Paso. The exemption in the ruling was not meant for Hilltop but instead it was for Reproductive Services, another clin-
ic in El Paso that had to close in June when it failed to meet some of the mandates of the abortion law. Reproductive Services was one of the plaintiffs in the lawsuit that eventually made it to the federal court of appeals. When the court’s ruling was announced Thursday, Hilltop started referring women to another clinic they operate about 10 miles from El Paso in Santa Teresa, New Mexico. The Texas Department of State Health Services said it initially gave erroneous infor-
mation to Hilltop saying it was exempt from the rule. “We’ve notified the clinic that they are not exempt from the law and they agreed to stop providing services,” Christine Mann, a spokeswoman with Texas DSHS, said in an email. Hilltop performed abortions Saturday due to the confusion but has since stopped. They are not completely closed, though. They still take walk-ins and phone calls and instruct women requiring an abortion to go to their clinic in New Mexico.
Retrial begins for Texas man charged in 1986 killings ASSOCIATED PRESS
WACO — Opening statements were held Tuesday in the case of a central Texas man convicted in the 1986 fire deaths of his two stepsons but granted a new trial because of questions about evidence. Edward Graf, 62, is charged with two counts each of murder and capital murder and four counts of injury to a child in the deaths of his stepsons, 8year-old Jason and 9-year-old Joby. They died in a fire in the family’s backyard shed in Hewitt. Prosecutor Michael Jarrett told jurors that the two boys’ deaths are a story of greed, lies and arrogance, the Waco Tribune-Herald reported. Defense attorneys were expected to speak later. Graf spent more than 25 years in prison before the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals overturned his conviction. The court granted him a new trial after arson experts criticized and raised questions about testimony used to help convict him of arson. Two fire investigators testified at Graf ’s 1988 trial, saying a burn pattern and other signs
Photo by LM Otero/file | AP
Inmate Ed Graf pauses during an interview at the Alfred Hughes State Prison in Gatesville, Texas, on Monday, March 11, 2013. pointed to someone setting a fire to the shed from the outside with an accelerant like lighter fluid. But investigators weren’t able to study the shed’s rem-
nants because it was torn down immediately after the fire. Experts now say the investigators at trial misinterpreted those signs, which could have occurred in an accidental fire. A
state panel, which reviews arson investigations to determine if they meet current fire science standards, also found faults with the fire investigation in Graf ’s case.
Working to clear rape kit backlog ASSOCIATED PRESS
HOUSTON — A $4.4 million effort to test rape kits dating back to 1987 by the city of Houston has produced more than 1,000 DNA databank matches and charges against 19 people. The Houston Chronicle reports 10 of those suspects have been arrested for the first time. Police officials gathered with politicians at City Hall on Monday to celebrate a task force of more than 40 officers who have worked to clear the nearly three-decade old backlog. The council made the multimillion dollar allocation in 2013 to test DNA samples from nearly 9,800 cases, including 6,600 rape kits. Authorities said the backlog is nearly cleared. Houston Assistant Chief Matt Slinkard says the reviews confirmed police arrested the right person in 58 sexual assault cases. Police haven’t’ released details about the 19 suspects facing new charges. One suspect is at large. DNA testing at the department’s crime lab was temporarily suspended in 2002 after an independent audit revealed shoddy forensic work including unqualified personnel, lax protocols and inadequate facilities that included a roof that leaked rainwater onto evidence. The lab resumed operation in 2007. Mayor Annise Parker said forensic work in Houston was “sometimes an afterthought,” but praised the department for working through the backlog. “Now, 6,600 kits later, we’re in a position where we will never allow that to happen again,” Parker said. Clete Snell, a criminologist at University of Houston-Downtown, said the number of DNA matches underscores the need for fully functional crime labs. “This goes to show the importance of testing those kits as they’re coming in. There should never have been a backlog,” Snell said. “Having to wait this long a period of time is an injustice to the victims in these cases.”
PAGE 4A
Zopinion
WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 8, 2014
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EDITORIAL
OTHER VIEWS
Beatles records better in mono THE CHICAGO TRIBUNE
The world is full of geeks and snobs ready to talk too much about their personal passion for wine, for scuba diving, for vampire literature. You know the type. This is nothing like that. This is an exploration of the Beatles, and why the rerelease this month of their albums in the mono format on vinyl, the way many fans heard the records in the 1960s, is worth celebrating. OK, so maybe there is some obsessiveness to this tale, but there is broader cultural significance too. The music of the Beatles is timeless. Not only were they master songwriters, they were visionary artists who pushed the era’s recording technology and hidebound engineers to create new sounds. The result is music that is still vital and interesting more than 40 years later. Consider the elegiac beauty of “Eleanor Rigby,” or the psychedelic drone of “Tomorrow Never Knows” with its tape loops that sound like sea gulls. Play a Beatles CD, especially one from their mid- or later-period, starting with 1965’s “Rubber Soul,” and when compared to today’s artists you’ll find their music is still relevant, still influential. But if you play that Beatles CD, or dust off an album purchased after about 1968, what version of the Beatles are you hearing? Probably the stereo version. And it’s great, until you understand the history of the Beatles and the recording industry. Then, you realize what your inner Beatlemaniac might be missing. Back in the 60s, most fans had record players with one speaker. So most of the audience bought LPs in the mono format, in which all the music was pumped out on one channel. Stereos were mainly for audiophiles. When WLS played “Please Please Me” in March 1963, becoming one of the first American stations to embrace the Beatles, that audience heard it on transistor radios or in the car, in mono. Since most of the audience was listening in mono, that’s the version of the music that preoccupied John, Paul, George and Ringo in the studio. When songs are produced, recording is the first step. The song is then mixed, meaning the
instruments and vocals are blended and adjusted into a final soundscape. According to all the Beatles literature, the band labored over the mono mixes and showed little interest in the stereo versions. “In the band’s official recording history, reference upon reference piles up: long toil into the night on the mono with all four present, stereo mixed with ’not a solitary Beatle’ in sight,” writes Britain’s Uncut magazine. This is a fascinating revelation. Art lovers value original works because they want to experience exactly what the artist intended. It turns out most of us have been appreciating Beatles copies — the stereo versions, completed mainly by anonymous engineers wearing lab coats, shirts and ties at London’s Abbey Road (EMI) Studios. That was true until the “Abbey Road” and “Let It Be” albums, which were released in stereo. The Beatles music you hear today on CD represents a further, digital reproduction. Audio geeks will tell you vinyl produces a “warmer” quality sound. Certainly, listening to an LP is the most authentic way to experience the Beatles. The new vinyl collection, “The Beatles in Mono,” was produced using the original master tapes and pressed in Germany on premium vinyl. No digital technology. So what do Beatles records sound like in mono? Different and mostly better: more gripping and exciting. There is an intensity to mono because it was mixed to blast straight into you from that one speaker. By contrast, the stereo separation diffuses the atmosphere in some songs and distracts in others. “Paperback Writer” jolts in mono but collapses into an echo chamber in stereo. As Chicago Tribune writer Mark Caro noted in a critique last week, John Lennon complained of “Revolution” in stereo: “They took a heavy record and turned it into a piece of ice cream.” Songs were tweaked in many ways, Caro wrote. In mono, “Eleanor Rigby” sounds more intimate. “She’s Leaving Home” is speeded up. “Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds” has cool phasing effects on the vocals. “Blackbird” has alternate bird chirps! OK, now we’re really geeking out. But as John Lennon once sang, “the deeper you go the higher you fly.”
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EDITORIAL
Another step toward equality THE WASHINGTON POST
Since the Supreme Court struck down the worst parts of the Defense of Marriage Act in United States v. Windsor last year, lower courts have been using the logic of the ruling to sweep away state bans on samesex marriage. On Monday, the Supreme Court declined to second-guess the appeals courts that have pronounced so far, allowing their pro-marriage rulings to be implemented across every state those courts cover. The justices’ non-intervention is a win for fairness. Monday’s decision will allow same-sex marriage to go forward in 11 more states, for a total of 30 plus the District of Columbia. The action surprised many court-watchers, but in retrospect it makes sense. In this
century the court has moved cautiously and incrementally with respect to the rights of gay men and lesbians but always in the right direction - toward equality. From its 2003 ruling barring anti-sodomy laws, its decisions have encouraged, and allowed time for, public opinion to shift. There has been no counterproductive national backlash, which could not have been ruled out in a country in which, until recently, same-sex marriage bans regularly won popular approval. In the past few years, public opinion has shifted markedly. And as lower courts toppled marriage bans over the last year, the legal action obtained a measure of democratic legitimacy in states where elected officials, such as Virginia Attorney General Mark Herring, D, de-
clined to defend discriminatory laws. By standing back this fall, the court further encourages the movement toward equality, though that advance will be uneven across the country. A minority of states will be able to maintain marriage bans, a plain injustice in our view. There will be legal headaches for gay and lesbian couples who move from states that allow them to marry to states that do not. But Monday’s decision strengthens the sense that the Supreme Court will decline to stem the trend it has already abetted. From here, a negative ruling on same-sex marriage could lead to “legal chaos,” according to SCOTUSblog’s Lyle Denniston. The court’s strong signal may affect the thinking of those courts still considering same-sex
marriage cases. If no appeals court ends up ruling against same-sex couples, the justices may not have to consider the matter at all for same-sex marriage to become reality across the nation. The court has not settled all the legal issues. Even as the justices push in the general direction of equality, they have not set out the reasoning the court prefers to get there. Until that is resolved, the legal status of gay men and lesbians, a group that deserves protection as a minority historically targeted for discrimination, will remain unclear. But, unless the court just executed one of the greatest legal head-fakes ever, Monday’s decision points toward the eventual establishment of a national right protecting same-sex marriage.
EDITORIAL
Making North America the world’s most dynamic region DALLAS MORNING NEWS
Even with all of our domestic concerns, it’s a big world out there, and America must keep at least one eye focused beyond our borders. But maybe not as far beyond, says a new report from the Council on Foreign Relations. The U.S. could do itself a world of good by deepening its integration and cooperation among its closest neighbors, Canada and Mexico, and building on the foundation of the North American Free Trade Agreement. A key sector is energy, and the time is right, with Mexico pushing forward on long-needed reform and the U.S. and Canada extracting
more oil and natural gas. Unsurprisingly, capitalizing on this area would be especially important for Texas. In the same way Texas is stronger when its various municipalities pull together, a united North America has the resources and knowhow to become the world’s most dynamic region, with energy leading the way. The report, “North America: Time for a New Focus,” came from a group led by former CIA Director David Petraeus and former World Bank President Robert Zoellick. Shannon K. O’Neil, a council senior fellow for Latin American studies, directed the project. “The road to North America’s global dynamism runs through Texas,” she said.
These are words on paper, for now, but the report does offer a path to greater prosperity that connects opportunities and challenges. Importantly, it encourages stronger energy ties among the three nations. That includes increased U.S. pipeline capacity, including the long-delayed approval of the Keystone XL pipeline from Canada to refineries on Texas’ Gulf Coast. Similarly, the U.S. must support Mexican efforts to open its oil and gas sector to outside investment. The stumbling block is Mexico’s weak rule of law and inability so far to beat back the drug cartels that hold sway over large, energy-rich areas. The report also includes
a call to ease travel restrictions and for the U.S. to pass “comprehensive federal immigration reform that secures U.S. borders, prevents illegal entry, provides visas on the basis of economic need, invites talented and skilled people to settle and offers a pathway to legalization for undocumented immigrants now in the United States.” Obviously, this has proved to be a heavy lift in Washington despite bipartisan support, but here’s another reason it’s vital. Ultimately, the point isn’t whether these recommendations are likely or even possible. It’s that the U.S., Canada and Mexico sacrifice far more than they gain by not making the effort.
CLASSIC DOONESBURY | GARRY TRUDEAU
Nation
WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 8, 2014
THE ZAPATA TIMES 5A
New England schools face bomb threats By PHILIP MARCELO ASSOCIATED PRESS
BOSTON — School and law enforcement officials in New England say they are dealing with an unusually high number of bomb threats that have forced the cancellation of classes just weeks into the new academic year. Nearly a dozen schools and colleges in Massachusetts, New Hampshire and Connecticut have received the threats, forcing evacuations and cancellations in many of the schools this past week. Local school and law enforcement officials say they aren’t sure if they’re dealing with a coordinated effort or a number of copycats. But the sheer number of threats in such a short amount of time is concerning, they say. “Something unusual is taking place here,” said Thomas Scott, executive director of the Massachusetts Association of School Superintendents. “To have it at the very beginning of the school year and to have this many is an anomaly.” He said school districts tend to see bomb threats throughout the school year, including around exam time in June. The communities of Bedford, Mass. and Bedford, New Hampshire were both forced to cancel classes at their high schools when they received threats on Oct. 1. Sandy Hook Elementary School’s temporary home in Monroe, Connecticut, was also evacuated that day after receiving a bomb threat by phone, putting a community still reeling from the
Photo by Gary Emeigh/The Wilmington News-Journal | AP
Hickory Tree Child Care Center is seen Tuesday in Selbyville, Del. A girl took hundreds of packets of heroin to the day care center Monday.
Police: Girl took heroin to day care ASSOCIATED PRESS
Photo by Gillian Jones/The Berkshire Eagle | AP
Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts students, faculty and staff are evacuated into the armory in North Adams, Mass., on Monday following a bomb threat on campus. The school was evacuated for three hours until the campus was deemed safe. December 2012 massacre that killed 26 children and teachers on edge. And campus police at Harvard University tightened security over the weekend after hundreds of students and people affiliated with the Ivy League school received an email threatening a mass shooting on campus. The latest threats came Monday when school officials in the affluent Boston suburb of Winchester cancelled high school classes after receiving an emailed threat and the Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts was temporarily evacuated when police received a 911 call claiming there were multiple bombs on the western Massachusetts campus. Many of the threats remain under investigation. The FBI’s Boston office said Monday it is aware of the bomb threats and is offering
assistance as needed but leaving local officials to take the lead in the investigations. Scott says the bomb threats are causing significant disruptions early in the school year, taking away from valuable class time, causing scheduling headaches for working parents and forcing schools to expend limited resources to cover staff and administrative costs. In New Hampshire, Bedford Police Chief John Bryfonski said responding to the threats, many of which had been unfounded, hinders local department’s ability to handle other emergencies. “Thankfully, we do not receive many threats in Bedford, but we do treat each one as a serious matter that demonstrates we will vigorously investigate these cases and prosecute those responsible,” he said. In Winchester, Christian Nixon, a parent and
school committee chairman, says he appreciates the district’s “quick and decisive action” to cancel classes and the “thoroughness” of emergency responders. “Regardless of any perceived pattern, our primary focus as a district is on the safety, security, and welfare of our students, teachers, and staff,” he said. John Guilfoil, who handles public relations for some of the Massachusetts police departments that have dealt with the bomb threats, expects departments in the coming weeks will be reminding officers to continue to treat each incident seriously. “No one is going to fault a police department for deciding to cancel school because of a threat,” he said. “It’s much, much more responsible to do something out of an abundance of caution than to put young people in harm’s way.”
SELBYVILLE, Del. — A 4year-old girl mistakenly took hundreds of packets of heroin to her day care center and began passing it out to classmates, thinking it was candy, Delaware State Police said Tuesday. Several children who received the packets Monday morning went to the hospital as a precaution, police said. But no packets were opened, and all of the kids were released after being examined. Police say the child unknowingly brought the heroin to the center when her mother gave her a different backpack because the girl’s regular backpack had been ruined by the family pet. Police say the backpack contained nearly 250 packets of heroin, totaling nearly 4 grams, all labeled “Slam.” The girl’s mother, Ashley Tull, 30, of Selbyville, was charged with three counts of child endangerment and maintaining a drug property. She was arraigned Monday in Justice of the Peace Court and released on $6,000 bond. In a phone interview Tuesday, a woman who identified herself as Tull’s sister, Alicia Tull, said Ashley Tull would not comment. But Alicia Tull said the charges and the media attention are unfair. Alicia Tull said her sister had no idea that heroin was in
the backpack and would not have sent her daughter to school with the backpack if she had known. She TULL said that Ashley Tull does not use or deal drugs and that she was taken advantage of by an individual who stored the drugs in Tull’s home without her knowledge. “She had no idea of that being in her home,” Alicia Tull said. “It’s really been hurtful to her and her family.” The child endangerment counts relate to Tull’s three children, who range in age from 11 to 4. As part of her release, Tull was ordered not to have any contact with her children, who are in the custody of a relative, according to police. The charge of maintaining a drug property means that a person knowingly allows drugs in the home, said Delaware State Police spokesman Master Cpl. Gary Fournier. It is a distinct crime from drug possession. Fournier declined to comment Tuesday on details of the investigation. Police have said their investigation continues and more charges could be forthcoming. Fournier said he believes the day care center, the Hickory Tree Child Care Center in Selbyville, handled the situation properly.
Nation
6A THE ZAPATA TIMES
WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 8, 2014
Man US health providers goes expand precautions to trial By DAVID B. CARUSO ASSOCIATED PRESS
By RIK STEVENS ASSOCIATED PRESS
CONCORD, N.H. — Secret video and audio recordings will show a member of a violent Mexican drug cartel conspiring with fellow gang members and undercover FBI agents to expand the gang’s cocaine empire into the United States and Europe, prosecutors said Tuesday. Rafael Humberto Celaya Valenzuela, who prosecutors said is part of the Sinaloa cartel, is charged with conspiracy to distribute more than 1,000 kilograms (2,200 pounds) of cocaine plus heroin and methamphetamine. His trial opened in U.S. District Court in New Hampshire Tuesday. Assistant U.S. Attorney Donald Feith said Valenzuela and other members of the cartel met over the course of three years with undercover agents who portrayed themselves as members of an organized crime ring that wanted to move tons of cocaine into the U.S. and Europe. Two others arrested with Valenzuela in 2012 have pleaded guilty to working with the Sinaloa cartel. One of them, Jesus Gutierrez-Guzman, is a cousin of the cartel’s notorious leader, Joaquin Guzman, known as “El Chapo.” Joaquin Guzman escaped prison in 2001 and ran the enterprise from a series of hideouts and safe houses across Mexico, earning billions of dollars moving tons of cocaine and other drugs to the United States, prosecutors have said. He has been indicted in numerous states besides New Hampshire but it is unclear if he will be extradited. Feith said that during the meetings, which occurred in New Castle, New Hampshire, Madrid, the Virgin Islands, Miami and elsewhere, the conspirators and undercover agents at first discussed shipments of 1,000 kilos of cocaine with one of the cartel members promising they could deliver 20 tons. Following three “test loads” in which the cartel sent pineapples to make sure they weren’t being set up by law enforcement, cartel members said they would ship a fourth test but the FBI agents said enough was enough and that it was time to ship the drugs, Feith said. A shipment of 346 kilos was shipped to Spain where the conspirators were arrested in August 2012. Feith on Tuesday picked up a pink-wrapped kilo of cocaine and waved it in front of the jury of nine women and five men. He said the evidence will show Valenzuela willingly agreed to enter the conspiracy to distribute drugs. Valenzuela’s lawyers reserved their right to make an opening statement later. Before the trial started, both sides acknowledged that Valenzuela had turned down a plea agreement that would have gotten him 10 to 20 years in prison, instead of the 10 years to life he faces at trial. Also arrested with Valenzuela and GutierrezGuzman was Samuel Zazueta Valenzuela, no relationship to Rafael Valenzuela, who has pleaded guilty. Another man, Jesus Soto, pleaded guilty last month in a separate, but related, case.
NEW YORK — Public hospitals in New York City are so concerned about Ebola, they’ve secretly been sending actors with mock symptoms into emergency rooms to test how well the triage staffs identify and isolate possible cases. A small Ohio hospital has hung up signs imploring patients to let nurses know immediately if they have traveled recently to West Africa. And across the U.S., one of the nation’s largest ambulance companies has put together step-by-step instructions for wrapping the interior of a rig with plastic sheeting. There hasn’t been a single confirmed case of an Ebola infection happening on U.S. soil; the case confirmed in Dallas involves a man who, like several health care workers treated in the U.S., contracted the virus in Liberia. But health care providers are worried enough to take a wide variety of precautions. It isn’t yet clear whether these preparations are overkill, or not nearly enough. But health care experts say that at the very least, the scare is providing a chance to reinforce and test infection control procedures. “The attention has been, in a sad way, very helpful,” said Dr. Richard Wenzel, an epidemiologist at Virginia Commonwealth University and a former president of the International Society for Infectious Diseases. Even small hospitals far from international travel hubs should be reviewing protocols and screening questions, and potentially buying protective equipment such as face masks and protective suits, he said. This will help them avoid repeating the mistakes of Dallas, where a Liberian man with Ebola symptoms was sent away despite telling a hospital staffer he had traveled from Africa, and potentially infected many others before he was readmitted two days later. “The debacle in Texas should stimulate improved awareness and responses,” Wenzel said. A growing number of false alarms are already giving hospitals around the country ample opportunities to test infection control procedures. In New York, 24 patients screened for Ebola have been put into isolation over the past eight weeks in cityowned hospitals, according to Dr. Ross Wilson, the chief medical officer at the New York City Health and Hospitals Corporation. None had the disease (some had malaria and one had typhoid), but Wilson said isolating potential cases as quickly as possible is essential to keep the virus from spreading. “We’re taking this very seriously,” he said. Emergency room staffers have been confronted with actors to test their triage
Photo by John Minchillo | AP
A demonstrator holds a sign bearing the likeness of Eric Garner and Michael Brown before a march to protest the death of Garner, Saturday, Aug. 23, in the Staten Island borough of New York. The family of a man who died after being placed in a police chokehold has filed a notice of claim. Photo by Doug Strickland/Chattanooga Times Free Press/file | AP
An isolation room that could be used to quarantine an Ebola patient is shown at Memorial Hospital in Chattanooga, Tenn., on Oct. 3. measures, and some have been retrained on how to properly put on and remove protective gear, Wilson said. At the city’s flagship Bellevue Hospital Center, technicians are assembling a lab to exclusively handle Ebola blood tests, keeping samples from contaminating other equipment, and a small number of beds are ready and waiting in an isolation ward for any confirmed cases. New York City’s 911 operators have been told to ask people who describe Ebolalike symptoms and ask for ambulances if they’ve traveled to West Africa recently. That question is also becoming the norm at AMR, which operates private ambulances in 40 states. It has told its staff of 19,000 paramedics and EMTs that if patients with these symptoms answer yes, they must alert other health authorities and put on extra protective gear, including shoe coverings, a mask and goggles. “We don’t want to respond with a presumption that everyone in the field has Ebola,” said Dr. Ed Racht, AMR’s chief medical officer. “The idea is, if the travel question is positive with the symptoms, it gives us a yellow flag ... It doesn’t mean immediately putting on the space suits.” That said, the company has issued step-by-step instructions for using plastic sheeting, garbage bags and duct tape to protect the ambulance and driver from patients with the virus. Step No. 2: “Place sheeting on the floor of the rig and affix to bench seat, jump seat and walls to create a bowl affect in an effort to channel any body fluids toward the center of the floor causing fluids to collect in one area.” A more commonplace precaution is in place at the Mercer County Community Hospital in Coldwater, Ohio, a village of 4,400 people near the Indiana state border. Nicole Pleiman, an infection prevention and control nurse, said the hospital posted signs at entrances a month ago telling patients to notify the staff immediately if they’ve traveled recently to African countries hit by the outbreak. “We will definitely revisit that to see if we need to do anything additional,” she said. And three major hospitals in Dallas have establish-
ed isolation units and consulted with staff on handling anyone else with Ebola. With eight children sent home from school because they had direct contact with the lone confirmed Ebola victim, Children’s Memorial Hospital in northwest Dallas is preparing for pediatric Ebola patients, and doctors at Parkland Memorial Hospital and Baylor University Medical Center have identified teams of doctors and nurses to be ready. As has become commonplace nationwide, the Dallas hospitals are screening incoming patients to see if they’ve traveled to West Africa within the last three weeks. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has urged providers to be prepared, while also insisting that the United States isn’t likely to see the kind of outbreak that has killed thousands of people in Liberia, Sierra Leone and Guinea. Mortality rates are likely to be much lower in countries with more sophisticated health care infrastructure, and Ebola also isn’t nearly as contagious as the flu, which can be spread through the air. Nor is it like HIV, which can be transmitted by people who have no symptoms. Still, there is concern in some quarters that not enough is being done. National Nurses United, representing about 185,000 nurses nationwide, has been surveying its union members and found that many don’t feel nurses are getting enough training to properly handle Ebola, union spokesman Charles Idelson said. Many said they didn’t know whether their hospital had protective gear, he said. “It’s not enough to post a link to the Centers for Disease Control on the hospital’s website,” he added. Wenzel, the infectious disease specialist, said officials should think beyond health care facilities. For instance, cab drivers might be given pamphlets urging them to ask sick passengers on trips to hospitals the same question being posed now by ambulance drivers and triage nurses: Have you traveled to West Africa lately? “I wouldn’t put it in terms that are going to make people panic,” he said, but drivers should at least be wary of the health risks of cleaning up a mess left by a sick passenger.
$75M suit over death planned By KAREN MATTHEWS ASSOCIATED PRESS
NEW YORK — The family of a man who died after being placed in a police chokehold has filed a notice of claim to sue New York City, the Police Department and six individual police officers for $75 million. Eric Garner’s family filed the notice — the first step toward suing over the 43-year-old Garner’s death — on Monday. A spokesman for City Comptroller Scott Stringer said Tuesday that the claim is under review. Representatives of the Police Department and the city Law Department did not immediately comment on the notice of claim. Garner, who was unarmed, was stopped by police on Staten Island on July 17 on suspicion of selling loose cigarettes. A video shot by an onlooker shows Garner telling the officers to leave him alone and refusing to be handcuffed. Officer Daniel Pantaleo responded by apparently putting Garner in a chokehold, which is banned under police policy. Garner is heard gasping, “I can’t breathe.” He was later pronounced dead at the hospital. The city medical examiner found that the choke-
hold contributed to Garner’s death. A grand jury will determine whether criminal charges are filed. Garner’s death has sparked protests including an Aug. 23 march on Staten Island that drew thousands of people demanding justice. The notice of claim was filed by the law firm of Sanford Rubenstein, who is being investigated by detectives after a woman accused him of rape. The accuser said the attack happened when she went back to Rubenstein’s Manhattan apartment following a 60th birthday party last week for the Rev. Al Sharpton. Sharpton, who has championed the Garner family’s pleas for justice, said Tuesday that the fact the Rubenstein’s name is on the notice of claim does not necessarily mean that Rubenstein will be the family’s attorney going forward. Sharpton said in a statement that the notice of claim filing was planned to protect the family’s right to file a lawsuit before the deadline to file expires. He said the family would make an announcement about its legal representation during Saturday’s weekly rally at Sharpton’s Harlem headquarters.
WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 8, 2014
Zentertainment
PAGE 7A
Play about shooting to debut By MARK KENNEDY ASSOCIATED PRESS
Photo by Eric Charbonneau/Twentieth Century Fox/file | AP
Actress Jennifer Lawrence attends the global premiere of "XMen: Days of Future Past" in New York on Saturday, May 10. Lawrence, 24, is speaking out about the nude photos that were stolen via hacking and posted online.
Lawrence speaks out ASSOCIATED PRESS
NEW YORK — The people who chose to look at nude celebrity photos that hackers posted committed “a sexual offense,” actress Jennifer Lawrence says in an exclusive interview with Vanity Fair in its November issue. The Oscar winner, who was among dozens of celebrities whose photos were posted beginning on Aug. 31, attacked both the hackers and those who sought out the photos in the interview, which marked the first time she had publicly commented. “It is not a scandal. It is a sex crime,” she said about the hackers. “It is a sexual violation. It’s disgusting. The law needs to be changed, and we need to change.” Of those who looked at the photos, she said, “Anybody who looked at those pictures, you’re perpetuating a sexual offense. You should cower with shame.” The 24-year-old said the
photos were taken for her boyfriend of four years, actor Nicholas Hoult, adding that the hardest phone call she had to make was to her father, telling him that the photos were stolen and posted on the Web. She said she considered writing a statement, but each time would “cry or get angry.” Apple acknowledged computer hackers targeted and then broke into the accounts of Lawrence and several other stars whose revealing photos were posted on sites like Imgur.com, Reddit and Twitter, among others, during the Labor Day weekend; the FBI previously confirmed it was investigating. Earlier this month, Apple announced plans to tighten its online security and also urged users to use stronger passwords and enable a two-step authentication feature to prevent data thefts. The November issue of Vanity Fair goes on sale Oct. 14.
NEW YORK — A play about the Columbine High School massacre written from the perspective of the two teen shooters will make its world premiere in New York next month, penned by a playwright who was 9 at the time of the killings and calls it “a watershed moment.” Nathaniel Sam Shapiro’s “The Erlkings” will begin performances Nov. 9 at Theatre Row’s Beckett Theatre. The play takes its title from a German poem found in a journal of one of the killers. The playwright said he uses the teen killers’ own words — culled from chatroom logs, homework assignment, teacher’s notes and diaries — to paint portraits of two troubled kids, not monsters. The play never depicts the shootings. “The first step in dealing with this is in a larger social context is to acknowl-
Photo by Eric Gay/file | AP
A woman stands among 15 crosses posted on a hill above Columbine High School in Littleton, Colo., on Thursday, April 28, 1999, in remembrance of the 15 people who died during a school shooting on April 20. edge our kinship with these people,” said Shapiro, a Brown University graduate who earned a master’s in playwriting from New York University in the spring Eric Harris, 18, and Dylan Klebold, 17, opened fire at Columbine High School in Littleton, Colorado, killing 12 classmates and a teacher and wounding two dozen others before killing themselves in the school’s li-
brary in 1999. Shapiro said that many of the popular perception of Harris and Klebold— that they were members of a Trench Coat Mafia and targeted popular jocks and African-Americans — turned out to be false. “It’s kind of incumbent upon us to swallow our pride or move past our own issues and try to reach out to these people. Learning
about Eric and Dylan, one thing that sticks out is that I don’t think anyone reached out to them.” The play will star Em Grosland as Harris and James Scully as Klebold. It will be directed by Saheem Ali, who was an assistant director on Broadway’s “The Normal Heart” and “A Free Man of Color” at Lincoln Center Theater. Shapiro recalls his school’s dynamics changing profoundly after Columbine but then watched sadly as more school shootings occurred — Sandy Hook Elementary School and Oikos University, among them. He said that looking back over the Harris and Klebold documents he found numerous moments when troubling actions or words from one of the boys might have prompted an adult to stop them. “I’m going to show the audience that there were opportunities and that people shirked from them,” Shapiro said.
CBS reporter travels to Syria By DAVID BAUDER ASSOCIATED PRESS
NEW YORK — CBS News reporter Clarissa Ward traveled undercover to Syria to interview two Westerners fighting against the United States for stories airing this week, a risk the network took despite the backdrop of kidnappings and beheadings by Islamic state fighters. Ward’s stories, about a former Dutch Army fighter and an American who are fighting for rebel groups in Syria, are scheduled to air Tuesday and today on the “CBS Evening News.” Ward said she spent only
hours in Syria last week for the stories, which she began working on in June upon making online contact with a Dutch jihadist known as Yilmaz. She has been to Syria for reporting 11 times since the civil war began there. But this is the first time she has gone since Islamic state rebels, operating in Syria and Iraq, beheaded two American journalists and two British aid workers and distributed gruesome videos of the killings to the world. “I felt comfortable and secure,” Ward said. “While any trip into Syria or Iraq or Gaza entails a certain amount of risk, I did not
feel this trip was riskier than many others that journalists have made.” CBS would not give details of her security arrangements. Ward said she had several discussions with Yilmaz online and talked in person with people who said they knew him. It was Yilmaz who made Ward aware of Ibn Zubair, a Midwesterner in Syria fighting for the al-Qaida-affiliated Jabhat al-Nusra in Syria. While both men oppose the United States, they are not members of the Islamic state; Ward said she would not have traveled into Syria to meet with members of that group.
Among the executives approving her trip was Steve Capus, the “CBS Evening News” executive producer who was president of NBC News when that network’s correspondent, Richard Engel, was kidnapped in Syria in 2012. Capus said it was “a series of gut-check decisions. “It would not have been right to shut this down completely simply because of (the beheadings),” he said. Executives at ABC and NBC News did not immediately respond to requests for comment on whether their news divisions would have taken the same chance for the story.
8A THE ZAPATA TIMES
WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 8, 2014
The dangers of talking to your car By JOAN LOWY ASSOCIATED PRESS
WASHINGTON — Just because you can talk to your car doesn’t mean you should. Two new studies have found that voice-activated smartphones and dashboard infotainment systems may be making the distracted-driving problem worse instead of better. The systems let drivers do things like tune the radio, send a text message, or make a phone call while keeping their eyes on the road and their hands on the wheel, but many of these systems are so error-prone or complex that they require more concentration from drivers rather than less, according to studies released Tuesday by the AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety and the University of Utah. One study examined infotainment systems in some of the most common auto brands on the road: Chevrolet, Chrysler, Ford, Hyundai and Mercedes. The second study tested the Apple iPhone’s Siri voice system to navigate, send texts, make Facebook and Twitter posts, and use the calendar
without handling or looking at the phone. Apple and Google are working with automakers to mesh smartphones with infotainment systems so that drivers can bring their apps, navigation and music files into their cars. The voice-activated systems were graded on a distraction scale of 1 to 5, with 1 representing no distraction and 5 comparable to doing complex math problems and word memorization. The systems were tested by 162 university students and other volunteers in three settings: a laboratory, a driving simulator and in cars while driving through a Salt Lake City neighborhood. Apple’s Siri received the worst rating, 4.14. Twice test drivers using Siri in a driving simulator rear-ended another car. Chevrolet’s MyLink received the worst rating, 3.7, among the infotainment systems. Infotainment systems from three other automakers — Mercedes, Ford and Chrysler — also were rated more distracting for drivers than simply talking on a handheld cellphone. Most of the cars were 2013
Photo by DanCampbellPhotographer.com/AAA Foundation | AP
A driver is shown during the Cognitive Distraction Phase II testing in Salt Lake City on Thursday, March 6. Two new studies have found that voice-activated smartphones and dashboard infotainment systems may be making the distracted-driving problem worse. model year vehicles. “What we continue to see from customers is that they demand this level of technology in their vehicles, that access to music and access to calls is now a critical part of the driving experience and so we’re looking at innovative ways to provide that,” said Chevrolet spokeswoman Annalisa Bluhm. Apple noted in a statement that researchers didn’t use the company’s CarPlay or Siri Eyes Free, which are designed for use in cars. However, David Strayer, the University of Utah psycholo-
gy professor who led the two studies, said researchers consulted with Apple before beginning the study. The study used an iOS 7 version of Siri that was tweaked to be nearly identical to the iOS 8 version, which was just recently released, he said. The systems with the worst ratings were those that made errors even though drivers’ voice commands were clear and distinct, said Strayer. Drivers had to concentrate on exactly what words they wanted to use and in what order to
get the systems to follow their commands, creating a great deal of frustration. For example, an infotainment system might recognize a command to change a radio station to “103.5 FM,” but not “FM 103.5” or simply “103.5,” he said. Siri sometimes garbled text messages or selected wrong phone numbers from personal phonebooks, Strayer said. During one test, Siri called 911 instead of the phone number requested by the volunteer driver and the driver had to scramble to end the call before it went through. Siri found the number in the driver’s phonebook because the driver had called it once before. “When these systems become more complex, like sending text messages or posting to Facebook, it pushes the workloads to pretty high levels and may be dangerous while driving,” Strayer said. The studies contradict claims by automakers, who have been pitching the voice systems to car buyers as a way they can safely enjoy social media and connectivity. Safety advocates say drivers assume that such
Samsung expects lowest profit By YOUKYUNG LEE ASSOCIATED PRESS
SEOUL, South Korea — The world’s biggest smartphone maker is suffering a financial decline in the face of intense competition from Apple Inc. and upstart Chinese brands. In a preview to earnings due out this month, Samsung Electronics Co. said Tuesday that its quarterly profit is estimated to have fallen to its lowest level in more than three years, dragged down by weak sales of its flagship Galaxy phones. Samsung became the biggest smartphone brand on the popularity of earlier Galaxy models. But Apple’s release of larger-screen iPhones last month neutralized a key advantage Samsung had. Although Samsung’s phones are still slightly larger than the iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus, the gap has narrowed enough for Apple to lure many Americans who liked the bigger Galaxy phones. Meanwhile, in emerging markets such as India and China, local brands are making inroads into Samsung’s business, analysts say. Analysts have repeatedly cut forecasts of Samsung’s profit this year as Galaxy sales lagged expectations. They say earnings in the quarter ending in September could suffer their biggest de-
Photo by Ahn Young-joon | AP
A middle school student tries out a Samsung Electronics’ Gear VR powered by Oculus as others flock around him at the company’s showroom in Seoul, South Korea on Tuesday. cline in Samsung’s recent history. In Tuesday’s report, Samsung said the median forecast of July-September operating income was 4.1 trillion won ($3.8 billion). That was below the median of analysts’ expectations of 5.2 trillion won, according to FactSet, a financial data provider. It would be a 60 percent plunge from record-high 10.2 trillion won a year earlier. The decline in Galaxy sales has hurt demand for Samsung components such as an advanced display called OLED. High marketing costs are undermining profits. “The operating margin declined due to increased marketing expenditure and lowered average selling price,” Samsung said in a statement. The company said it
“cautiously expects increased shipments of new smartphones and strong seasonal demand for TV products.” Samsung estimated sales for the July-September period declined 20 percent from a year earlier to 47 trillion won ($44.2 billion). That was slightly below analysts’ expectations of 50.4 trillion won. In January, analysts estimated Samsung’s third-quarter operating income would exceed 10 trillion won. That expectation has been steadily lowered to about half this month. Quarterly profit from its mobile business, which reached 6.7 trillion a year earlier, is forecast to be a little over 2 trillion won. The company needs to revamp its handset designs,
said Lee Seung-woo, an analyst at IBK Securities Co. “Rather than seeking stability, Samsung should seek to distinguish (its phones) with Galaxy’s design policies,” he said. “The iPhone 6 will be a significant threat to Samsung.” The company moved the launch of the Galaxy Note 4, a large smartphone with a stylus, to late September from October after Apple unveiled the iPhone 6 Plus. It also began sales of the Galaxy Note 4 in China last month, getting a few weeks’ head start over Apple in the world’s most populous country. Last month, Samsung also received upbeat initial responses to its Galaxy Note Edge smartphone, a smartphone with a curved side screen that can display weather, news, apps and other information. But the supply volume for the Edge smartphone will be limited, likely not giving a big boost to its earnings, analysts said. With growth momentum in smartphones sagging, Samsung is moving to step up its presence in the semiconductor business. This week, Samsung announced a 15.6 trillion won ($14.7 billion) investment plan to build a new semiconductor fabrication plant in the South Korean city of Pyeongtaek. The construction will begin before the summer next year.
systems are safe because they are incorporated into vehicles and are hands-free. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, which regulates vehicle safety, has issued guidelines to automakers for dashboard systems and is working on similar guidelines for cellphones and voice-activated systems, but the guidelines are voluntary. “Infotainment systems are unregulated,” said Deborah Hersman, president of the National Safety Council and former chairman of the National Transportation Safety Board. “It is like the Wild West, where the most critical safety feature in the vehicle — the driver — is being treated like a guinea pig in human trials with new technologies.” Two of the infotainment systems were rated relatively low for distraction. Toyota’s Entune received a 1.7, the distraction equivalent of listening to an audiobook, and Hyundai’s Blue Lin Telematic System received a 2.2. “The good news is that really well-designed systems offer us the possibility to interact in ways that aren’t so distracting,” Strayer said.
Twitter sues FBI, DOJ ASSOCIATED PRESS
NEW YORK — Twitter is suing the FBI and the Department of Justice to be able to release more information about government surveillance of its users. Twitter Inc. filed a lawsuit Tuesday in a California federal court to publish its full “transparency report,” which documents government requests for user information. The published report does not include the exact number of national security requests because Twitter, along with other Internet companies, has been prohibited from disclosing that information, even if no requests were received. The San Franciscobased social media company said in a blog post that it believes it’s entitled under the First Amendment to “respond to our users’ concerns and to the statements of U.S. government officials by providing information about the scope of U.S. government surveillance.” Spokespeople for the FBI and DOJ weren’t immediately available for comment. The U.S. government
has been able to access phone networks and highspeed Internet traffic for years to catch suspected criminals and terrorists. The FBI also has started pushing technology companies like Google, Skype and others to guarantee access to their data streams and grab emails, video chats, pictures and more. The technology companies say they turn over information only if required by court order, and in the interest of transparency with their customers, want to share information about the government’s activities. Twitter’s filing follows lawsuits by Microsoft Corp., Google Inc. and others to gain permission to share more information on surveillance requests with the public. The government has said that it will publish the total number of national security requests for customer data annually. But Microsoft and Google maintain that they should be able to break out how often the feds request specific user content, such as email conversations, for example, from how often they demand subscriber data associated with an email address.
WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 8, 2014
ON THE WEB: THEZAPATATIMES.COM
Sports&Outdoors HIGH SCHOOL ATHLETICS: ZAPATA HAWKS
Lady Hawks tied for 1st Zapata even with Port Isabel, football and cross country in action By CLARA SANDOVAL LAREDO MORNING TIMES
The Zapata volleyball team finished the first round of district play tied for first place with Port Isabel after beating Rio Hondo on Saturday. The Lady Hawks start the second round with a battle for first place against the Tarpons, the only opponent to hand them a District 16-4A loss in the opening round. Against Rio Hondo, Cassey Garcia led the way with 12 kills and was followed by Tere Villarreal (5), Alex Garcia (3), Sarah Rathmell (3), Alexis Alvarez (3). Defensively, Isela Gonzalez posted a team-best 18 digs while Kaity Ramirez chipped in with 14.
Football A pair of four-win teams met this week as the Hawks traveled to Hebbronville on Friday. Zapata took care of business, beating the Longhorns 35-6 to push their non-district record 5-1. Zapata now battles Hidalgo at home on Friday at 7:30 p.m. as they search for the sixth victory of the sea-
File photo by Cuate Santos | The Zapata Times
Selissa Lopez, Alexiss Alvarez (7) and the Lady Hawks are tied in first place after the first round of district play. son. The Pirates are 1-5 this year.
Cross country The Hawks cross country team traveled south to compete in the La Feria Invitational over the weekend to evaluate their roster as it pertains to the district standings. Despite being shorthanded with only runners making the trip – knocking them out of the team standings – Zapata faired well as they were ale to run against Rio Hondo, Ray-
mondville, Rio Grande CityLa Grulla and district frontrunner La Feria. "After seeing some of these teams which we hadn’t seen before, we got a better idea as to where we stand in district and hopefully can earn our ticket to the regional meet in San Antonio," Zapata head coach Roel Ibanez said. These past few days, the Hawks have had to deal with injuries which depleted the team on Saturday, only running with four at La Feria. Varsity runners Alvaro Rodriguez and Jesus Rubio were among
those who did not make the trip. "The Hawks have been hit with some key injuries but hopefully we can get our complete team healthy and ready for district," Ibanez said. Running strong for the Hawks once again was team captain Danny Hinojosa followed by Isauro Sanchez, Mike Trevino and Luis Rodriguez. "All of them improved on their times and look to be closing the gap on some of the district teams," Ibanez said. The JV Hawks also showed signs of improvement and should be one of teams on the top end by district time. Top finisher was freshman Erick Resendiz, while teammates Pedro Gonzalez, Maycol Mendoza, Jose Alvarado, Jorge Garcia, James To, Ruben Castillo, Pascual Martinez, Juan Angel Barrientos and Ricky Garcilazo finished close behind. The Hawks will be traveling to Hebbronville Saturday to compete in their last meet before district on Oct. 20 at Progresso. Clara Sandoval can be reached at Sandoval.Clara@Gmail.com
File photo by Cuate Santos | The Zapata Times
Cassy Garcia and Zapata face off with Port Isabel in a battle of first place district teams to kick off the district’s second round.
PÁGINA 10A
Zfrontera
Agenda en Breve LAREDO 10/08— Se aplicarán vacunas contra la influencia durante XIV Semana Binacional de Salud, de 9 a.m. a 12 p.m. en el Consulado General de México en Laredo, 1612 calle Farragut. Igualmente se proporcionará información sobre nutrición y otros servicios. 10/08— Exhibición de arte realizada por adultos diagnosticados con una discapacidad mental o emocional, quienes participan en el Programa de Arte en la Salud Shira De Llano con el Border Region Behavioral Health Center, de 7 p.m. a 9 p.m. en Gallery 201, 513 San Bernardo Avenue. 10/09— Clases de Zumba en la XIV Semana Binacional de Salud, de 9 a.m. a 11 a.m. en el Departamento de Salud de la Ciudad de Laredo, 2600 calle Cedar. 10/09— La Asociación de Empleados Escolares Retirados del Área (LARSEA) tendrá su reunión mensual a las 11 a.m. en el Sacrament Parish Hall. El grupo tendrá una Feria de Salud. 10/09— Reunión de octubre del United Council of Parents (U.C.O.P.) se realizará de 11 a.m. a 2 p.m. en el Aula # 2 del Bill Johnson Student Activity Complex, 5201 Sta. Claudia Lane. No se servirá comida y no se aceptan niños. Informes al 473-6456. 10/09— Recital de Mitad del Ciclo del Estudio de Voz de TAMIU a las 12 p.m. en el Salón de Recitales del Center for the Fine and Performing Arts de la Universidad. Entrada gratuita. 10/09— PINK— La Sociedad Americana de Cáncer, en colaboración con el Centro de Tratamiento del Cáncer de Doctors Hospital realizará el programa “Verte Bien, Sentirte Mejor”, de 2 p.m. a 4 p.m. El programa enseña técnicas de belleza a las mujeres que están en tratamiento contra el cáncer para ayudarlas a restar los efectos de los tratamientos. 10/09— Planetario Lamar Bruni Vergara de TAMIU presenta “Wonders of the Universe” a las 6 p.m.; “Lamps of Atlantis” a las 7 p.m. Costo: 4 dólares, niños; y 5 dólares, adultos.
NUEVO LAREDO, MÉXICO 10/08— Cine Club presenta “Ciclo de Terror y Horror” con la película “Tesis”, a las 6 p.m. en el Auditorio de Estación Palabra. Entrada gratuita. 10/09— El grupo Teatro Popular Independiente presenta la obra teatral ‘Octubre 68’ y exposición fotográfica a las 5 p.m. y 7 p.m. en la Casa de la Cultura. 10/09— Presentación de Audiolibros de Allan Poe, a las 5 p.m. en Maquila Creativa. Entrada libre. 10/09— Cincuenta Aniversario del Teatro Adolfo López Mateos presenta al ‘Taller de Teatro Trinchera’ con “Diálogos de Salvador Novo” a las 7 p.m. en el Teatro López Mateos. Entrada gratuita. 10/10— Concierto de Horror con las bandas de rock “See the Last Beheading” y “Smegma” a las 6 p.m. en Maquila Creativa. Entrada gratuita. 10/10— Tercer Festival de Teatro ‘Vértices’ presenta “La Maquina de Volar” a las 7 p.m. en el Teatro del IMSS, entre Reynosa y Belden. 10/11— “Bazar de Arte” a las 10 a.m. y Festival Infantil a las 2 p.m. en Estación Palabra. 10/11— Tercer Festival Vértices presenta “Tengo una muñeca en el ropero” a las 7 p.m. en el Teatro del IMSS, entre Reynosa y Belden.
MIÉRCOLES 8 DE OCTUBRE DE 2014
VÍRUS DEL ÉBOLA
Precauciones POR DAVID B. CARUSO ASSOCIATED PRESS
NUEVA YORK — Los hospitales públicos de la ciudad de Nueva York están muy preocupados por el ébola. A manera de preparativo, han estado enviando en secreto personas que simularon los síntomas de la enfermedad a los servicios de urgencias para comprobar cuán bueno es personal a la hora de identificar y aislar posibles casos. Un pequeño hospital en el campo en Ohio ha instalado carteles en los que pide a los pacientes que comuniquen de inmediato a las enfermeras si han viajado recientemente a África Occidental. En todo Estados Unidos, una de las empresas de ambulancias más
grandes del país ha recopilado un manual de instrucciones paso a paso sobre cómo envolver el interior de un vehículo con sábanas de plástico mientras transportan a un paciente. El ébola todavía no ha infectado a nadie en suelo estadounidense: el único caso confirmado es el de un hombre que contrajo el virus en el extranjero. Sin embargo, proveedores de servicios sanitarios están lo suficientemente preocupados como para tomar una amplia variedad de precauciones. Funcionarios médicos y expertos en salud dice que, el miedo les está dando una oportunidad de reforzar y probar los procedimientos de control de infecciones. “La atención ha sido, tristemen-
te, muy útil”, dijo Richard Wenzel, un epidemiólogo de la Universidad Commonwealth de Virginia y ex presidente de la Sociedad Internacional para Enfermedades Infecciosas. Dijo que incluso hospitales pequeños alejados de centros de viajes internacionales deberían revisar ahora sus protocolos y preguntas y potencialmente comprar equipamiento de protección como mascarillas y trajes de aislamiento, para evitar que se repitan los problemas ocurridos en el hospital de Dallas, donde un hombre con ébola fue enviado a casa y dos días después tuvo que ser ingresado. Hospitales de todo el país están teniendo abundantes oportunidades para probar sus procedimien-
tos de control de infecciones debido al creciente número de falsas alarmas. Funcionarios del Centro para el Control de Enfermedades de Estados Unidos, aunque ha pedido a los sanitarios que estén preparadas, han dicho en repetidas ocasiones que no creen que el país vaya a sufrir un brote como el que ha matado a miles de personas en Liberia, Sierra Leona y Guinea. La tasa de mortalidad sería mucho más baja en Estados Unidos, debido a los cuidados más sofisticados, dicen los expertos. El ébola tampoco es tan contagioso como otras enfermedades como la gripe, que expande por el aire, o el VIH, que puede ser transmitido por una persona que no tiene síntomas.
CULTURA
ECOS DE SEQUÍA
ARTE ESCULTURAL Armando Hinojosa, historia de un artista
ESPECIAL PARA TIEMPO DE ZAPATA
POR MALENA CHARUR TIEMPO DE ZAPATA
Orgulloso de su origen hispano y rescatando la historia y la vida del campo en la región, es como el artista local Armando Hinojosa se inspira para realizar el trabajo artístico que ha venido desarrollando por más de 50 años. Su padre, Gerónimo “Gerry” Hinojosa, fue quien lo introdujo en lo que ahora es su carrera artística. “Mi padre hizo muchos logos como el de La India Packing Company, hacía esculturas para los carros alegóricos de los desfiles. Las hacía de madera, alambre y yeso, que es mucho más difícil”, comentó Hinojosa. “Se aventaba para hacer pinturas y esculturas. Así empecé ayudándole los fines de semana. Pintábamos los carteles de las carreteras. Se hacían a mano y estábamos como a 30 pies de altura. Era peligroso. Él hacía lo de afuera y yo rellenaba”. Hinojosa detalló que su padre llegó de Nueva Ciudad Guerrero, México, y recordó que cuando era un adolescente acostumbraban ir a esa ciudad cada fin de semana. De ahí toma mucho de la temática que refleja en su obra pictórica y de escultura. “Mi padre me decía: ‘Nombre tú vas a ser mejor que yo”, recordó con orgullo. Indicó que fue así como supo que le gustaba el arte y que quería dedicarse a ello, por lo que al graduarse de preparatoria se trasladó a Kingsville donde obtuvo su licenciatura en artes. “El primer show al que asistí fue el Starving Artist Art Show en San Antonio. Llevé 20 acuarelas con el tema de cacería. Pusimos una carpa y mis hijos debajo de la mesa de exhibición. El costo era de 20 dólares por pintura y en una hora había vendido todo”, expresó. Hinojosa comentó que participó en estas muestras por más de 13 años y empezó a ser conocido. “En ese tiempo me gustó la escultura. Aprendí la técnica e hice
IRS extiende plazo
Foto de cortesía
El artista/escultor laredense Armando Hinojosa al lado de lo que será su escultura “Joseph Cotulla”, en honor al fundador de la ciudad de Cotulla y que será instalada en una plaza de dicho municipio. una fundición chiquita atrás de mi galería. Hice unos bronces chiquitos que se vendieron bien pero implica mucho trabajo hacer escultura y además es peligroso porque el bronce se funde a 2.000 grados”, explicó. Él ha sido el artista escultor que produjo el conjunto de esculturas “Monumento Tejano” en terrenos del Capitolio en Austin, formado por 12 piezas de gran formato así como las figuras de un charro y un tejano denominadas “Entre amigos no hay fronteras” que dan la bienvenida a los viajantes en el Aeropuerto de Laredo. “Creo que el arte se lleva en la sangre. Puedes estudiar el arte hasta cierto punto pero el talento tienes que tenerlo dentro, viene del corazón, está en la sangre”, refirió. Hinojosa dijo que a pesar del tiempo que lleva trabajando y el reconocimiento a su obra y su carrera, él solo desea seguir trabajando. “Ya tengo casi 55 años en el arte. Yo trabajo todos los días. Pinto des-
de las 8 a.m. a las 5 p.m. y por la noche hago escultura”, indicó. “Tejano me hizo famoso. Quizá es el proyecto más importante pero eso ya pasó. Ahora cada proyecto es mi futuro”. Recientemente su trayectoria apareció en la revista Texas Highway Magazine. Actualmente trabaja en la escultura de Joseph Cotulla, fundador de la ciudad de Cotulla que será instalada en una plaza, así como otras obras que serán colocadas en el Centro Cívico de ésa ciudad. También dijo sentirse orgulloso de su origen México-americano y reconoce que Laredo ha sido muy generoso. “Me gusta México por sus colores. Soy hispano de indio mestizo encartado de español. Los mexicanos estaban aquí antes que los americanos pero para el arte no hay discriminación y Laredo ha sido bueno conmigo, me ha dado bastante trabajo, me ha dado mucho”, finalizó.
El Servicio de Impuestos Internos (IRS, por sus siglas en inglés) ha anunciado una extensión para el remplazo de ganado y diferir el impuesto sobre las ganancias de las ventas forzadas. Los agricultores y ganaderos que tuvieran que venden más ganado de lo que normalmente hubiesen vendido, pueden diferir el impuesto sobre las ganancias adicionales de las ventas. Para calificar, el ganado generalmente debe ser sustituido en un período de cuatro años. El IRS tiene la autorización de ampliar este plazo si la sequía continúa. A partir del 1 de octubre comenzó la prórroga de un año del período de reemplazo, que generalmente se aplica a las ganancias de capital realizadas por los agricultores y ganaderos elegibles sobre la venta de animales usados para las faenas del campo, de ordeña o sementales debido a la sequía. Las ventas de otro tipo de ganado, como animales criados para matanza o reservados para propósitos de deporte, así como las aves de corral no son elegibles. El recurso es destinado a cualquier granja ubicada en un condado, subdivisión de condado, ciudad, área o distrito reconocido por el Censo, declarado por el Centro Nacional de Mitigación de Sequía (NationalDrought Mitigation Center — NDMC, por sus siglas en inglés) durante cualquier periodo semanal entre el 1 de septiembre de 2013 y el 31 de agosto de 2014. Cualquier condado contiguo a un condado reconocido por el NDMC también califica para el alivio. Los condados designados por NDMC, están disponibles en el Aviso 2013-60, publicado en IRS.gov. Los agricultores y ganaderos de estas zonas cuyo período de venta de reemplazo por sequía tendrán hasta el final del siguiente año tributario. Debido a que el plazo normal de venta de reemplazo por sequía es de cuatro años, esta prórroga afecta las ventas por sequía del 2010.
COLUMNA
Autor Othón formaría Sociedad Literaria Nota del editor: En esta columna se cuenta parte de la vida y obra del artista mexicano, Manuel José Othón, quien por cierto periodo de tiempo vivió en Tamaulipas y quien formó una Sociedad Literaria.
POR RAÚL SINENCIO ESPECIAL PARA TIEMPO DE ZAPATA
Con esforzada pluma, Manuel José Othón enorgullece a la literatura mexicana, al ser considerado poeta de la naturaleza. Las tierras tamaulipecas
le prodigan musas que lo encubrirían.
Contexto Licenciado en derecho y con obra literaria a cuestas, llega a Tula, Tamaulipas, hacia 1888, donde radica hasta poco antes de fin de año de 1890, cuando regresa a su natal ciudad, San Luis Potosí, México. “(Mi esposo) tuvo que atravesar, por negocios de su profesión, la Sierra Madre (Oriental), en Tamauli-
pas, y yo fui con él”, recapitula Josefina Jiménez Muro. Othón había sido nombrado juez de primera instancia y, debido a la tuberculosis que padece, los médicos le prescriben aire fresco. Cabecera del IV Distrito, la urbe tulteca concentra dependencias administrativas, incluidos los juzgados. Próxima a territorios potosinos, el clima –asegura Rafael de Alba—“se califica de bellísimo; es templado y seco, lo que lo hace salubre”.
Origen Ahí Othón entabla amistad con Manuel Villarreal Ortiz, cuya casa es el escenario de veladas culturales. Departen con ellos Miguel Fritsch, compositor de piano; Emilio Ramírez; el bohemio José Ruiz Sánchez; Miguel Acuña, virtuoso del violín, y otras personas. Pronto surge el proyecto “de fundar una sociedad literaria, ya que los concurrentes “eran aficionados a todas las manifestaciones del arte y gustaban de la lec-
tura y deseaban perfeccionarse”. Dirigida Othón, “la sociedad […] quedó constituida”, “con el nombre de Ignacio M. Altamirano”, participándoselo a éste, rememora Villarreal Ortiz. Amado Nervo conceptúa que “es el ‘Himno de los bosques’ una de las más robustas poesías americanas de estos últimos tiempos, “Huele a resina, a despeinada floresta que el viento agita”. (Publicado con permiso del autor conforme aparece en La Razón, Tampico, Tamps).
WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 8, 2014
THE ZAPATA TIMES 11A
Mexico police take over city after attacks By MARK STEVENSON ASSOCIATED PRESS
IGUALA, Mexico — On the day 43 students disappeared in this southern Mexican town, the mayor’s wife was giving a speech to local dignitaries on family social services. In another town, it could have been a normal scene. But tough-looking civilians guarded Maria de los Angeles Pineda Villa, a woman with alleged family ties to organized crime. A police force that state and federal officials accuse of being infiltrated by drug gangs patrolled the streets. Into this combustible mix came the students from a radical rural teacher’s college that had defied drug cartel extortion in the past. Wellknown for blocking highways and other protests, they arrived with plans to solicit donations from passers-by. Many never made it back home after the Sept. 26 police attack that killed six and injured at least 25. Officials are conducting DNA tests to determine if some of the students are among 28 charred bodies found last weekend in freshly covered mass graves. Iguala Mayor Jose Luis Abarca is now a fugitive, and state officials have arrested 22 city officers. His wife’s whereabouts are unknown. The possible massacre has focused attention on the extent to which local police forces such as Iguala’s are permeated by organized crime. Pineda, the mayor’s wife, is from a family with known ties to the Beltran Leyva cartel. Prosecutors had identified her late brother Alberto as a main lieutenant in the cartel and he was arrested in 2009, along with her father and mother. “Everyone knew about their presumed connections to organized crime,” Alejandro Encinas, a senator from the mayor’s Democratic Revolution Party, told The Associated Press. “Nobody did anything, not the federal government, not the state government, not the party leadership.” President Enrique Peña Nieto ordered a special federal police force to take over Iguala as his top security officials rushed to contain a smear on the image of
Photo by Eduardo Verdugo | AP
A small altar sits where a student died recently in Iguala, Mexico, on Tuesday. stability and falling crime rates that they’ve projected to the outside world. Jose Miguel Insulza, secretary general of the Organization of American States, said Tuesday that he is deeply concerned about the disappearances and murders, which he said, “have brought grief not only to the Mexican people but to all the countries of the Americas.” The chief prosecutor for Guerrero state, Inaky Blanco, said suspects have testified that as many as 30 members of the local police force were members of the Guerreros Unidos drug gang, an offshoot of the Beltran Leyva group. The students were ending their fund-raising and meeting up to return home about the same time Pineda Villa was making her speech. State officials say local police went on the attack, shooting at the buses students had hijacked for their return, as well as innocent bystanders in other vehicles. At least six people were killed and more than 25 wounded. Blanco said the imprisoned municipal police deny killing anyone, but had bloodstains in the back of their pickup trucks. One policeman admitted handing over at least 10 detained students to “people he didn’t know,” Blanco added. Security camera footage showed non-uniformed men forcing people into the back of a pickup truck, as others ran to escape. One of them, Julio Cesar Mondragon, ignored his colleague’s entreaties to take refuge in the home of a local resident and kept running, said Vidufo Rosales, a lawyer for the families of the missing students. He was later found
dead on the side of the road, the skin stripped from his skull. Blanco said prosecutors later detained an alleged Guerreros Unidos gang member, who confessed to taking 17 of the students to a hillside outside of town “where they had clandestine burial pits” and killing them on order from a drug gang boss. AP journalists visited the burial pits on a wooded hillside. They are a mile (1.5 kilometers) up a narrow, muddy path from the nearest house, indicating that the victims must have walked to their death. It would have been nearly impossible for the killers to drag dead bodies up the steep path. The students may have expected beatings, but probably never expected they would be executed, said one professor at the teachers’ college who asked not to be named for fear of reprisals suggested. “We’ve lived with threats for decades, but nothing like this had ever happened,” the professor said. The drug gang’s involvement may have introduced a volatile new element into what has been a decades-long conflict between governments and the radical teachers’ colleges. What is clear is that Guerreros Unidos remains present and defiant in Iguala. On Monday, the same day officers from a special new federal police unit set up positions at the city hall, the drug gang hung banners threatening retaliation if the 22 imprisoned police weren’t released. “You have 24 hours ... then we begin to name the people in the government who support us,” one read.
BORDER Continued from Page 1A tor’s geography, current resources, and recommendations for additional needs. While he agrees with McCaul on assessing border threats and not “blindly” spending more money to secure it, Rep. Beto O’Rourke, D-El Paso, cautioned that further research should be done before purchasing new equipment and technology. “A lot of what (McCaul) says is right on the money,” O’Rourke said in a phone interview. “One major point I agree with is the agreedupon metrics and outcomes and a rational, comprehensive approach.” But the Homeland Security committee member added, “But I don’t understand why he is then making recommendations for specific solutions before we have a comprehensive strategy.” The Rio Grande Valley sector, which includes Houston and border cities such as McAllen and Brownsville, is labeled as a “high-threat,” with drug trade controlled by the Gulf Cartel. Since 2012, this sector has seen the largest increase in the number of unaccompanied children and adults from Central America. The proposal recommends that this sector increase the existing use of mobile surveillance systems and aerostats. The sector already has 3,000 border
security personnel and 54 miles of pedestrian fences. O’Rourke suggested the possibility of moving assets and tools from areas with a decreased number of apprehensions on the border to areas such as the Rio Grande Valley area that still experience high numbers. “Let’s just understand what we have and where the problems are and measure it,” O’Rourke said. The remaining Texas sectors are considered a “low” or “medium-threat.” These areas, which only rely on Border Patrol agents and fencing, have all seen a reduced number of apprehensions along the border. Rep. Henry Cuellar, D-Laredo, said McCaul’s approach is overall a good strategy to determine and respond to threats on the border as well as coordinate with other federal and international agencies. The Laredo sector, which includes Laredo, San Antonio, Austin, and Dallas, has seen a decrease in apprehensions since the early 2000s, but drug seizures have remained constant over the last decade. With 1,800 Border Patrol agents and a one-mile pedestrian fence, McCaul recommends expanded aerial and maritime detection and additional “game cameras.” “I think it’s a good way to gain control of the situation
and I think it’s something could certainly work with Congressman McCaul,” Cuellar said in a phone interview. “But we need to make sure it’s multidimensional in the sense that we’re not only playing defense, but working with our international partners also.” Rep. Lamar Smith, R-San Antonio, said he will also work with his other colleagues on the House Homeland Security committee to find ways to secure the border. “Americans — and Texans in particular — have repeatedly and overwhelmingly supported a strategy that puts border security first,” Smith said in a statement. “A nation that is serious about the security of its people must also be serious about the security of its borders.” If McCaul’s preliminary strategy eventually became legislation, McCaul said there are several options to fund his proposal, including money offset from another federal agency or reprogrammed spending to make it deficit-neutral. “I can’t think of anything more important from a federal responsibility than protecting our sovereignty,” McCaul said. “I think most Texans would say ‘you know what I want is for the federal government to commit to getting this done.’”
HINOJOSA Continued from Page 1A he earned his Bachelor of Arts degree. “Back then I didn’t do any sculptures. I mainly drew and painted but at that time modern art was predominate and my style was more realistic,” he said. He said that when he married he was teaching but due to low pay decided to participate in art shows that were plentiful on weekends in other cities. “The first show I attended was the Starving Artist Art Show in San Antonio. I took 20 watercolors which had hunting themes. We put up a tent and put my children below the display table. I charged $20 per painting and in an hour sold everything. That encouraged me, and I started painting harder,” Hinojosa said. Hinojosa said he participated in the shows for 13 years, which helped him become well known and open a gallery which closed because of lack of art to display because his work sold as he produced it. “At the time I liked sculpture. I learned the technique and made a tiny cast behind my gallery. I made a few small bronzes that sold
well, but it’s a lot of work to create sculpture, and it is also dangerous because bronze melts at 2,000 degrees,” he said. Hinojosa is the artist who produced the “Tejano Monument” on the Capitol grounds in Austin. The monument is comprised of 12 large bronze pieces. Another monument is located in front of the Laredo International Airport terminal called “Between friends there are no borders,” which features life-sized figures of a charro and a Texan. “I think art is in my blood. You can study art to some extent but the talent has to be inside, from the heart. It’s in the blood. If I see something I can paint it, draw it, create a sculpture. I can use pencil, oil, whatever. Something happens to me. It comes from within,” Hinojosa said. Hinojosa said that despite the time it takes to work and the recognition of his work and his career, he only wants to keep working. “I’ve been an artist about 55 years. I work every day. I paint from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. and in the evenings work
on sculptures,” Hinojosa said. “Tejano Monument has made me famous. It is perhaps my most important project but it’s in the past. Now every project is my future,” he added. Recently a story on his career was published in Texas Highway magazine. Hinojosa is now working on a sculpture of Joseph Cotulla, founder of the town of the same name, which will be placed in the town square, as well as other works which will be located at the town’s civic center. He expresses much pride in his Mexican-American background, and recognizes that Laredo has been very generous to him. I love Mexico for its colors. I’m Hispanic, of Indian and Spanish descent,” Hinojosa said. “The Mexicans were here before the Americans, but in art there is no discrimination. Laredo has been good to me. It has given me work, has given me a lot.” (Contact Malena Charur at 728-2583, or at mcharur@lmtonline.com. Translated by Mark Webber of the Times staff.)
SAT Continued from Page 1A most high school students take algebra II, hoping to increase course flexibility for those who want to focus on career and technical training. The Texas Education Agency announced different mean SAT scores Tuesday, accounting only for the state’s 5-plus million public school students. Math scores still dropped five points to 491, but it wasn’t clear when they’d last been that low. The public school Class of 2014’s SAT mean scores also fell one point from the previous year to 470 in reading, and to 455 in writing. The agency also in a statement that more students are taking the SAT.
More than 164,000 Texas public school students took the exam in the 2013-2014 academic year, up 4.4 percent from last year and the fifth straight year the state outpaced national SAT participation increases. The state agency added that 63 percent of public school students who took the SAT identified themselves as minority students. Also Tuesday, the Texas Education Agency said more than 225,600 public high school students took Advanced Placement exams, a 9.2 percent increase from 2013 and more than the 5.8 percent rise in participation nationally. Texas students earned at least a 3 out of 5 on 195,000-
plus AP exams, the minimum score required to receive college credit. That tally is 11.6 percent better than the previous year, and nearly 40 percent higher than 2009, according to education agency data. Participation in AP exams by black students increased by almost 12 percent this year as compared to last, and Hispanic students took AP exams at a nearly 10 percent higher rate. “These gains include a significant increase in the number of underrepresented minority students succeeding in AP,” said Stephen Waddell, superintendent of the Lewisville Independent School District northwest of Dallas.
12A THE ZAPATA TIMES
WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 8, 2014
BAN Continued from Page 1A year by San Antonio-based federal District Court Judge Orlando Garcia. Texas Gov. Rick Perry and Attorney General Greg Abbott, who is running to succeed Perry, appealed to the New Orleans-based federal 5th Circuit Court of Appeals, which leans conservative. The court has yet to schedule oral arguments and the state’s reply brief is due Oct. 10. “The Texas law is still in effect,” said Abbott spokeswoman Lauren Bean. “The attorney general’s office will continue to defend the law in this case just as we do in all cases where state laws are challenged in court.” Saenz thinks this issue is far from settled. “I don’t think time is on the side of homosexual advocates,” Saenz said. A 5th Circuit ruling that overturns Judge Garcia’s ruling and reinstates the Texas ban could well present the Supreme Court with an opportunity to do what it avoided Monday — accept the case and issue an up-or-down ruling on the constitutionality of gay marriage. “It just feels like we’re continuing the momentum, but it doesn’t mean the issue is resolved in states like Texas,” the ACLU’s Robertson said. Many constitutional law professors and Supreme Court watchers believe the justices’ action Monday signals a majority be-
“
If the 5th Circuit decides to uphold the ban, there’s a very strong possibility that the Texas case could be a landmark (Supreme Court ruling) two years from now.” CARY FRANKLIN, PROFESSOR AT UT
lieves gay marriage is constitutionally permissible and would vote to uphold it nationwide. In their view, the justices effectively crushed the hopes of gay-marriage opponents Monday and ensured that same-sex unions eventually will be legal in all 50 states. “One can easily imagine the 5th circuit will decide to be bitter-enders, and the losers would appeal,” said Sanford Levinson, also a constitutional law expert at the University of Texas School of Law in Austin. “There’d be conflict in circuits and the court would have no choice but to accept the case.” If it ruled in favor of Texas, the 5th Circuit would be the first federal appeals court to uphold a state ban. But for gaymarriage opponents, such a ruling might
be too little, too late. “Too many courts are saying the train has left the station, this issue is basically done,” Levinson said. “That’s what the Supreme Court will say.” Republican Texas Sen. Ted Cruz called the decision “judicial activism at its worst,” and said state legislatures should have the power to define marriage, not the courts and unelected judges. “By refusing to rule if the states can define marriage, the Supreme Court is abdicating its duty to uphold the Constitution,” Cruz said in a statement. “The fact that the Supreme Court Justices, without providing any explanation whatsoever, have permitted lower courts to strike down so many state marriage laws is astonishing.”
Rep. Joaquin Castro, D-San Antonio, praised the court for not taking the cases. “This decision by the nation’s highest court illustrates that, though it may be slow, the trajectory of history is toward progress,” he said. “I am hopeful that the rest of the states, like Texas, where the courts have also ruled in favor of equality, will soon catch up and reaffirm our nation’s core values of justice and equality for all.” With the court basically split 4-4 between liberals and conservatives, Justice Anthony Kennedy often is the deciding vote in close high-profile cases. A confirmed libertarian, Kennedy’s strong views on personal autonomy are a hallmark of his 26-year tenure on the court. Among other opinions, experts cite Kennedy’s lead role in writing the court’s 2003 opinion in Lawrence v. Texas, a Houston case in which the justices struck down the Texas sodomy law that prohibited consensual sex between persons of the same gender. “Justice Kennedy is a man who thinks a great deal about his legacy, and he wants to be the Earl Warren of gay liberation,” said the UT’s Levinson, referring to the chief justice between 1953 and 1969 who led the court to the 9-0 landmark ruling in Brown v. Board of Education, which banned school segregation.