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EBOLA
BORDER BRIDGE CROSSING PROGRAM
Unsure results HICKOX
VINSON
Bridge operators say wait times are shorter By JULIAN AGUILAR TEXASTRIBUNE.ORG
Two nurses fight back against confinement
Nine months into a federal pilot program created
to reduce wait times at international ports of entry, operators of bridges on the Texas-Mexico border say it appears to be accomplish-
ing that goal. But they also say it’s difficult to measure whether cars, trucks and pedestrians are moving faster across the border.
Launched in late January, the project allows local governments and private
See BRIDGES
PAGE 12A
IMMIGRATION
NO TO CITIZENSHIP
Both object to quarantine rules, hire lawyers to challege isolation By RAY HENRY ASSOCIATED PRESS
ATLANTA — A nurse who fueled Ebola fears by flying to Cleveland after being infected by her dying patient was released Tuesday from a hospital isolation unit, where doctors defended her as a courageous front-line caregiver. Another nurse, held for days in a medical tent in New Jersey after volunteering in West Africa, was in an undisclosed location in Maine, objecting to quarantine rules as overly restrictive. While world leaders appeal for more doctors and nurses on the front lines of the Ebola epidemic, health care workers in the United States are finding themselves on the defensive. Lawyers now represent both Amber Vinson, who contracted the virus while caring for a Liberian visitor to Texas, and Kaci Hickox, who is challenging the mandatory quarantines some states are imposing on anyone who came into contact with Ebola victims. The virus is still spread-
ing faster than the response, killing nearly half of the more than 10,000 people it has infected in West Africa. World Bank President Jim Yong Kim said Tuesday that at least 5,000 more health workers are urgently needed in Liberia, Sierra Leone and Guinea. U.N. Secretary-General Ban Kimoon, traveling with him in Africa, said mandatory quarantines for health care workers, Ebola-related travel restrictions and border closings are not the answer. The Pentagon announced Tuesday that the Joint Chiefs of Staff recommended to Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel that he require all U.S. troops returning from Ebola-fighting missions in West Africa to be kept in supervised isolation for 21 days. Balancing that and similar quarantines announced by several state governors, President Barack Obama said the Ebola response needs to be “based on science.” “We’ve got to make sure that those workers who
Photo by Chris Carson| AP
Luis Sanz, a multimedia and design specialist at the University of California-Riverside, poses with a photo of his family in Riverside, Calif. “When I came to the US, I didn’t speak any English,” Sanz said. “And with all the process with my papers, I felt very mistreated, and I felt like a secondhand person.”
Reasons many some won’t become citizens By LAURA WIDES-MUÑOZ ASSOCIATED PRESS
MIAMI — More than an estimated 8.5 million immigrants living in the U.S. were eligible for citizenship in 2012. Yet fewer than 800,000 took the leap, ac-
cording to the latest Department of Homeland Security numbers. If statistics hold, nearly 60 percent of the remainder eventually will — a percentage that has been slow-
See CITIZENSHIP
PAGE 12A
Photo by Wilfredo Lee | AP
Lena Dyring poses at PortMiami in Miami. Dyring came to the U.S. in 2005, and has no plans of becoming an American citizen.
See EBOLA PAGE 11A
2010 GULF OIL SPILL
Official: Program to help spill-affected states By JANET MCCONNAUGHEY ASSOCIATED PRESS
NEW ORLEANS — A new $40 million partnership will give money for conservation projects to landowners in states affected by BP’s 2010 oil spill in the
Gulf of Mexico, U.S. Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack says. He said the department’s Natural Resources Conservation Service and the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation could eventually provide a total of up to
$100 million over five years, each giving half the money. “We know some private landowners who would love to be part of that recovery, but because of restrictions or requirements have been left out,” Vilsack said in a brief phone interview Mon-
day with The Associated Press. Thomas Kelsch, the foundation’s vice president for the Gulf, noted that it’s helping to pay for Mississippi’s restoration planning, which is expected to identify potential ways to im-
prove areas such as Biloxi’s Back Bay and the Mississippi Sound. Should that study identify private lands that need wetlands restoration or invasive species control, those might be “great candidate projects,” Kelsch said. He said some of the foun-
dation’s share will come from plea deals with Transocean Ltd, which owned the Deepwater Horizon drilling rig, but money for Louisiana projects must come from other sources. Settlement
See PROGRAM
PAGE 11A
PAGE 2A
Zin brief CALENDAR
WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 29, 2014
AROUND TEXAS
TODAY IN HISTORY
THURSDAY, OCT. 30
ASSOCIATED PRESS
LULAC Council #12 will present its 20th Annual Tejano Achiever Awards Banquet at 7 p.m. at the Laredo Country Club. Recognition of outstanding citizens of the community and enables LULAC Council #12 to raise funds for scholarships. Contact Ed Bueno at 7632214 for ticket information. 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 www.tamiu.edu/planetarium. 6 p.m. Wonders of the Universe. 7 p.m. Lamps of Atlantis. First Annual Down Syndrome Awareness Month Event. From 4:00pm to 7 p.m. Imaginarium at Mall Del Norte. Contact Raquel Canizales at raquelucha56@yahoo.com for more information. Dog Costume Contest. From 6 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. Puppy Palace Etc 517 Shiloh Dr. Ste. 2 .Contact Sandra Solis at puppypalaceetc@hotmail.com or visit the website at https://www.facebook.com/puppypalaceetc.laredo.
Today is Wednesday, Oct. 29, the 302nd day of 2014. There are 63 days left in the year. Today’s Highlight in History: On Oct. 29, 1964, thieves made off with the Star of India and other gems from the American Museum of Natural History in New York. (The Star and most of the other gems were recovered; three men were convicted of stealing them.) On this date: In 1787, the opera “Don Giovanni” by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart had its world premiere in Prague. In 1901, President William McKinley’s assassin, Leon Czolgosz (CHAWL’-gahsh), was electrocuted. In 1929, Wall Street crashed on “Black Tuesday,” heralding the start of America’s Great Depression. In 1966, the National Organization for Women was formally organized during a conference in Washington, D.C. In 1994, Francisco Martin Duran fired more than two dozen shots from a semiautomatic rifle at the White House. (Duran was later convicted of trying to assassinate President Bill Clinton and was sentenced to 40 years in prison.) In 1998, Sen. John Glenn, at age 77, roared back into space aboard the shuttle Discovery, retracing the trail he’d blazed for America’s astronauts 36 years earlier. In 2012, Superstorm Sandy came ashore in New Jersey and slowly marched inland, devastating coastal communities and causing widespread power outages; the storm and its aftermath are blamed for at least 182 deaths in the U.S. Ten years ago: Four days before Election Day in the U.S., Osama bin Laden, in a videotaped statement, directly admitted for the first time that he’d ordered the September 11 attacks and told Americans “the best way to avoid another Manhattan” was to stop threatening Muslims’ security. Five years ago: President Barack Obama paid a postmidnight visit to Dover Air Force Base in Delaware to honor the return of 18 soldiers killed in Afghanistan. One year ago: The U.N. confirmed an outbreak of polio in Syria for the first time in over a decade, warning the disease threatened to spread among an estimated half a million children who had never been immunized because of the civil war. Today’s Birthdays: Bluegrass singer-musician Sonny Osborne (The Osborne Brothers) is 77. Singer Melba Moore is 69. Actor Richard Dreyfuss is 67. The former president of Turkey, Abdullah Gul, is 64. Actor Dan Castellaneta (TV: “The Simpsons”) is 57. Comic strip artist Tom Wilson (“Ziggy”) is 57. Singer Randy Jackson is 53. Rock singer SA Martinez (311) is 45. Musician Toby Smith is 44. Actress Winona Ryder is 43. Actress Tracee Ellis Ross is 42. Actress Gabrielle Union is 41. Olympic gold medal bobsledder Vonetta Flowers is 41. Rock musician Chris Baio (Vampire Weekend) is 30. Actress India Eisley is 21. Thought for Today: “Numerous politicians have seized absolute power and muzzled the press. Never in history has the press seized absolute power and muzzled the politicians.” — David Brinkley, American broadcast journalist (1920-2003).
FRIDAY, OCT. 31 Feria de la Hispanidad from Oct. 31 to Nov. 2 from 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. Laredo Energy Arena. Contact Melissa Santillana at m.santillana@hispanicinternational.com or www.FeriadelaHispanidad.com.
SATURDAY, NOV. 1 7th Annual Dia de los Muertos Festival. 3 p.m. to midnight in the 400 and 500 blocks of Starr and 500 to 700 blocks of Mesquite streets in downtown Corpus Christi. Wear a costume. Contact Michelle Smythe at info@kspacecontemporary.org. Autism Ties support meeting. 10 a.m. to 12 p.m. My Sunny Gardens Day Rehab, 1320 Laredo St. Contact us at : 255-0713 or autismties@gmail.com. Autism Ties is on Facebook, too. Registration is now in progress for the 35th Guajolote 10K Race. Register at Hamilton Trophies (1320 Garden), Hamilton Jewelry (607 Flores), or online at www.raceit.com, Guajolote 10K Race. For information, call (956) 724-9990 or (956) 722-9463. The Laredo North side Market Association. 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. at North Central Park on International Blvd. For more information about our free Halloween give away on our facebook page.
TUESDAY, NOV. 4 Alzheimer’s support group. 7 p.m. Meeting room 2, building B of the Laredo Medical Center. If you have any questions, please leave a message at 956-693-9991. Les Amies Birthday Club. At 11:30 a.m. Ramada Inn (formerly the Holiday Inn). The Honorees are Amparo Garcia and Imelda Gonzales. The hostesses are Lely Garza, Aurora Miranda and Ma Eugenia Garcia.
SATURDAY, NOV. 8 1st Annual Community Remembrance Ceremony. From 6:30pm to 9 p.m. For more information please contact Jaqueline Vasquez at (956) 7183000 or jvasquez@altushospicecare.com.
SATURDAY, NOV.15 Football tailgate party. 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. at El Metro Park & Ride (by Hillside). Contact LULAC Council 14 at lulac14@yahoo.com or call 286-9055. Registration is now in progress for the 35th Guajolote 10K Race. Register at Hamilton Trophies (1320 Garden), Hamilton Jewelry (607 Flores), or on-line at www.raceit.com, Guajolote 10K Race. For information, call (956) 724-9990 or (956) 722-9463.
MONDAY, NOV. 24 Monthly meeting of Laredo Parkinson’s Disease Support Group. 6:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. Laredo Medical Center, Tower B, First Floor Community Center. Patients, caregivers and family members invited. Free info pamphlets available in Spanish and English. Call Richard Renner (English) at 645-8649 or Juan Gonzalez (Spanish) at 2370666.
THURSDAY, NOV. 27 Registration is now in progress for the 35th Guajolote 10K Race. Register at Hamilton Trophies (1320 Garden), Hamilton Jewelry (607 Flores), or on-line at www.raceit.com, Guajolote 10K Race. For information, call (956) 724-9990 or (956) 722-9463.
Photo by Bob Own/San Antonio Express-News | AP
Phil Collins holds a Bowie knife that belonged to Jesse Robinson who fought under Jim Bowie at the Battle of Concepción and the Siege of Bexar on Tuesday in San Antonio. Collins has handed over his vast collection of artifacts related to the Battle of the Alamo and the Texas Revolution to the state of Texas.
Collins donates artifacts ASSOCIATED PRESS
SAN ANTONIO — British pop star Phil Collins on Tuesday handed over his vast collection of artifacts related to the Battle of the Alamo and the Texas Revolution to the state of Texas. Collins was in San Antonio to donate what’s considered the world’s largest private collection of Alamo artifacts. It includes a fringed leather pouch and a gun used by Davy Crockett, Jim Bowie’s legendary knife and letters from garrison commander William B. Travis. “There’s things in there that will make your mouth drop,” Collins said. The 1980s pop artist and Genesis singerdrummer has joked that he spent all the money he made from music on artifacts related to the 1836 battle.
The collection was given to Texas Land Commissioner Jerry Patterson, the state steward of the Alamo who is pushing for a new historical center that would house Collins’ collection. “Texans are deeply indebted to Phil Collins,” Patterson said. “He is giving us back our heritage. Now these Texas treasures need a home where all can see them and study from them and learn about how Texans won our liberty.” Collins, who’s a Grammy and Academy Award winner, donated a collection of more than 200 items for display. Five crates full of artifacts were unloaded from a cargo truck Tuesday. “This completes the journey for me. I’m 64. When I was 5 or 6 years old, this thing began,” Collins said of his fascination with the Alamo.
Man found guilty in 1980 slaying
Repairs begin on vandalized headstones
Houston-area school district suspends officer
GEORGETOWN — A man has been found guilty of capital murder in the 1980 death of a 73-yearold Williamson County woman. The Austin American-Statesman reports a jury found 56-yearold Steven Thomas guilty of capital murder Monday in the death of Mildred McKinney. Thomas was charged in the slaying in 2012 after investigators said his DNA matched DNA found at the scene.
LONGVIEW — Work has started to repair nearly 90 headstones damaged by vandals at an East Texas cemetery. James “Rusty” Brenner, owner of Texas Cemetery Restoration, says the work will include taking the tombstones apart, and constructing new foundations and reassembling the monuments.
HOUSTON — A Houston-area school district has suspended a police officer demanded to smell the socks and underwear of a woman he pulled over. A woman reported Quinn stopped her vehicle around 3 a.m. on Aug. 11. Hefound a marijuana grinder in the car. Quinn told her he would release her if she let him lick and smell her feet. He then asked for a piece of her underwear.
Police: East Texas bank robber jailed after search
ALLEN — The first phase of repairs to a $60 million high school football stadium in North Texas is complete. An Allen Independent School District administrator told the school board Monday night that the stadium is on track to reopen by May 1. The arena was built just two years ago and seats 18,000 people. It was shuttered in June after structural cracks and other problems were found.
TYLER — Police in East Texas say a bank robber has been captured about eight minutes after the heist after officers found him out of breath about a block away from the building. Riley Womack was charged with aggravated robbery with a deadly weapon. Womack robbed the Austin Bank in Tyler on Monday.
Repair work ongoing at $60M high school stadium
Plans continue for toll road despite opposition DALLAS — State transportation officials are pushing for construction of a toll road in North Texas even though many towns near the planned route are condemning the project. The Northeast Gateway is part of the state’s 10-year plan for transportation projects. It would extend from the Dallas suburb of Garland northeast to Greenville. — Compiled from AP reports
AROUND THE NATION NY voters to decide on digital legislation ALBANY, N.Y. — If New York voters approve proposition No. 2 on the ballot next week, their 213 legislators will join the digital age. Their desks in the ornate chambers of the Capitol will have computers instead of thick stacks of bills they’re supposed to read. Other states have already made such efforts, but New York’s change has required a number of hurdles because the state constitution requires bills to be printed and “upon the desks” of lawmakers for three days before they can be passed. The change is expected to save millions of dollars in printing.
Large flightless bird closes Indiana highway PERU, Ind. — A large flightless bird forced the closing of a northern Indiana highway while
CONTACT US Publisher, William B. Green........................728-2501 Account Executive, Dora Martinez ...... (956) 765-5113 General Manager, Adriana Devally ...............728-2510 Adv. Billing Inquiries ................................. 728-2531 Circulation Director ................................. 728-2559 MIS Director, Michael Castillo.................... 728-2505 Managing Editor, Nick Georgiou ................. 728-2565 Sports Editor, Zach Davis ..........................728-2578 Spanish Editor, Melva Lavin-Castillo............ 728-2569 Photo by Mike Groll | AP file
Budget bills sit on legislators’ desks in the Assembly Chamber at the Capitol in Albany, N.Y in March. If New York voters approve a proposition on the ballot next week, their 213 legislators will join the digital age. police officers and motorists tried to chase it down. The 5-foot-tall bird called a rhea escaped from a farm Monday and ran onto U.S. 24 near Peru. Rheas are native to South America and similar to ostriches and emus.
An animal control arrived and shot the rhea with a tranquilizer dart. The tranquillizer didn’t take effect immediately, causing officers to block the highway for around 10 minutes as they attempted to capture it. — 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
Local/Area
WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 29, 2014
Police arrest man wanted in Zapata County By CÉSAR G. RODRIGUEZ THE ZAPATA TIMES
A man wanted in Zapata County on an assault charge was arrested in Webb County, according to Laredo police. Authorities identified the suspect as Raymundo Sanchez, 40. Police arrested him at a residence in the 4200 block of Marla Drive in South Laredo. Sanchez was served with an active Zapata County Sheriff ’s Office warrant for assault causing serious bodily injury, a Class A misdemeanor.
Sanchez was booked at police headquarters and later taken to the Webb SANCHEZ County Jail. He remained in custody at the Webb County Jail as of Tuesday. If convicted, Sanchez faces up to one year in jail and/or a $4,000 fine. (César G. Rodriguez may be reached at 7282568 or cesar@lmtonline.com)
THE ZAPATA TIMES 3A
Zombie Run to take place Sat. SPECIAL TO THE TIMES
The Boys & Girls Club of Zapata is holding a 5K Zombie Run on Saturday at 8 a.m.
Preregistratiobn is $15 and same day registration is $20. Kids run for $5. According to their website at active.com, the race will begin “flat and
fast” for about two miles with runners passing zombies on the side of the road. Then runners will enter the woods and face obstacles such as mud
and water, and more zombies. For more information call 956-765-3892. Participants can register at active.com.
Home tour to take place Dec. 7 SPECIAL TO THE TIMES
The Zapata Chamber of Commerce
will hold several historic house tours on Dec. 7 in San Ygnacio. Some of the houses are hundreds of years old and
date back to the founding of the area. All proceeds will benefit Arturo L. Benavides Elementary.
Firm marks 45 years of business SPECIAL TO THE TIMES
Ramirez Insurance Agency is celebrating 45
years of business. To thank their customers for their loyalty, they are hosting a Customer Apprecia-
tion Week from Nov. 3 through 7. There will be daily raffles, door prizes and food.
They are located at 902 U.S. Hwy 83. For more information, call 956-7654444.
Bush nephew could be facing oil men By NEENA SATIJA TEXASTRIBUNE.ORG
For his first step in what many expect to be a long political climb, Republican George P. Bush is pursuing an office that will require him to look out for Texas schoolchildren by extracting money from the very industries — oil and gas — that have fueled his family’s wealth and political fortunes. Polls indicate Bush is poised to coast to election as state land commissioner and take the helm of the General Land Office. The typically obscure agency is certain to draw more notice if Bush becomes responsible for butting heads with some of the state’s most powerful and politically influential interests. Key among the GLO’s jobs is negotiating and enforcing leases for mineral rights on millions of acres of state-owned land. Royal-
ties feed the state’s $34 billion Permanent School Fund, which helps cover the state’s share of public education. “Our top job here at the General Land Office is to earn money for the school kids of Texas,” outgoing Commissioner Jerry Patterson said in a statement last month, announcing that the oil boom had helped pump a record $1 billion into the fund during fiscal 2014. Sometimes, earning that money means fighting with drilling and production companies. “I sued them over price, I sued them over environmental issues, I sued them over royalty payments,” said Garry Mauro, a Democrat who was land commissioner from 1983 to 1999. Patterson told State Impact Texas in 2012 that he is negotiating with two oil companies that may have underpaid royalties by upwards of $100 million. The
Photo by Joy Lewis/The Abilene Reporter-News | AP
Republican George P. Bush is pursuing an office that will require him to look out for schoolchildren by extracting money from the oil and gas industries that have fueled his family’s wealth. agency would not name the companies, and has been tight-lipped about such disputes. It named one lawsuit it is involved in regarding royalties but did not provide details. An oil and gas investment consultant, Bush raised hundreds of thousands of dollars from Texasbased energy magnates be-
fore even announcing what office he would seek. The contributions provided campaign fodder for his Democratic opponent, former El Paso Mayor John Cook, who pledged not to take money from companies doing business with the GLO. (In the latest campaign finance filings, Bush had more than $3 million in
cash on hand, while Cook reported just over $3,000.) In an interview, Bush said past land commissioners fought with energy companies after taking campaign donations from the industry, and he expects to do the same. “My team will be in the courtroom, if I’m elected, to hold private producers accountable,” he said, adding that “an overwhelming majority of private producers of state minerals are honoring their obligations.” Should he choose to run for a higher office in the future, a good relationship with energy companies may prove useful. “Oil companies have a long memory,” Mauro said. “I’ve never had an energy client since I left office.” The next land commissioner will also inherit tasks given to the GLO after goof-ups by other state agencies, including handling billions of federal dollars for
disaster recovery, and overseeing the Alamo, which was transferred in 2011 after allegations of mismanagement by the Daughters of the Republic of Texas. Then there are some uncomfortable realities on the 627 miles of Texas’ publicly owned coastline. It is slowly disappearing under rising sea levels, and scientists say climate change is mostly to blame. In an interview, Bush said he’s deeply concerned about the coast’s erosion and vulnerability to storms. The public nature of Texas beaches may also be an open question after a 2012 Supreme Court ruling that favored private beachfront property owners. While Bush said he supports the ruling, Cook opposes it. Patterson also opposes the ruling, though he said, “Whether the next commissioner supports it or opposes it, I don’t think it makes any difference.”
PAGE 4A
Zopinion
WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 29, 2014
LETTERS TO THE EDITOR SEND YOUR SIGNED LETTER TO EDITORIAL@LMTONLINE.COM
COLUMN
OTHER VIEWS
Perry could be president or prisoner AUSTIN — We now have another data point in this sociopolitical experiment: Does facing 109 years in prison put a crimp in a potential presidential campaign? Joanne Drake, chief administrative officer of the Ronald Reagan Presidential Foundation, got near the topic Monday in California in introducing our indicted governor. (“Gov. Rick Perry to Deliver Major Speech at Reagan Presidential Library” is how his political team billed it.) Drake was appropriately generous in her intro, citing Perry’s public service and high visibility. “Over the last few months it has been hard to watch the evening news without seeing Gov. Perry as he is in the forefront of our country’s very serious health scare since Texas was the site of the first two Ebola cases within our borders,” she said. “He’s also been traveling overseas and making more than a few visits to the state of Iowa.” He’s also been in the news for the abuse of power indictments he’s now defending against. How ’bout that, Ms. Drake? Gonna go there? “And oh yes,” she said as she did, “there was something recently about the Texas state office of public integrity and a visit to an Austin courthouse.” The line drew laughs. Go figure. “Yes,” Drake said, “he’s been a busy man.” “That was the elephant in the room,” she said of the indictments. Actually, there were a lot of metaphorical elephants in the room, this being a meeting of Reaganites gathered at the shrine built to him. Perry then delivered a perfectly serviceable speech about domestic and world affairs and devoid of mention of his legal problems. The short version of his speech: America good. Obama bad. Texas good. North Korea and the Islamic State very bad. Reagan very great. I was among about 200 people who watched the official livestream of the event, which included a qand-a session. Drake, who
“
KEN HERMAN
funneled the questions to Perry, told him “almost every question” touched on his aborted 2012 presidential bid. “Can you tell us some lessons you learned running for president last time?” she said in boiling the questions down to one final one. Perry joined others in the room in laughing. “How much time we got?” he asked. “Probably not enough,” Drake replied. Perry said the 2012 campaign “was one of the most difficult, frustrating processes I’ve ever been through in my life.” “I was probably a little arrogant, thinking I’ve been the governor of Texas for three times,” he said. “I mean what can be harder than that, right?” More laughs, with, not at, Perry. Citing his July 2011 back surgery, he said he was “not physically nor mentally at the top of my game” back then. Perry reported that two years ago he began a “very methodical process” to prepare for a 2016 presidential bid. He’s been meeting with a variety of experts on a variety of topics. He name-dropped Henry Kissinger and Dallas Federal Reserve Bank President Richard Fisher. “I did not do that in 2011 and 2012,” he said of the prep sessions. “And I will suggest I paid a pretty substantive price for that. Now, I may not run for the presidency in 2016, but if I don’t, the reason I don’t run is not because I’m not prepared.” There are many reasons folks don’t run for the presidency. Not that anybody seems to seriously think this will be Perry’s fate if convicted, but incarceration is among those reasons. Presidency or prison? Free government housing either way. Ken Herman is a columnist for the Austin American-Statesman. E-mail: kherman@statesman.com.
EDITORIAL
Concern for rich-poor gap PITTSBURGH POST-GAZETTE
When a Federal Reserve chair talks, Wall Street listens — and sometimes quakes. While Fed chairwoman Janet Yellen’s speech Oct. 17 on economic inequality didn’t rattle the stock exchanges, it should have caught everyone else’s attention. It’s not the first time that a Fed chair has engaged the issue but Yellen’s address in Boston questioned whether the growing gap between rich and poor “is compatible with values rooted in our nation’s history.” Her basis for concern was the Federal Reserve’s latest Survey of Consumer Finances, published last month. The poll of 6,000 households
confirmed more wealth and income in the United States is being concentrated in fewer hands. In dollars adjusted for 2013, the share of U.S. income held by the top 5 percent of households — those with at least $230,000 in gross earnings — rose from 31 percent in 1989 to 37 percent in 2013. The households in the bottom half of income distribution — $47,000 or less per year — saw their portion of the nation’s total income slide from 16 percent to 14 percent. The nation needs more — a manufacturing policy to re-industrialize the United States and a trade policy to grow familysustaining jobs. Without that kind of change, more Americans will continue to struggle.
WORST WEEK IN WASHINGTON
QB Cousins had a bad week By CHRIS CILLIZZA THE WASHINGTON POST
Kirk Cousins, the bench. The bench, Kirk Cousins. Why don’t you two take a little while to get reacquainted? That’s the hard reality facing the onetime starting quarterback of the Washington Redskins. He was called into action when Robert Griffin III got hurt — don’t act surprised — in Week 2, but the Cousins era lasted a whopping six games before coming to a crashing halt after the first half of the Skins game last Sun-
day against the equally woeful Tennessee Titans. Cousins was escorted to the sideline after fumbling and throwing an interception — his 10th and 11th giveaways since taking over in the Jacksonville game. (I’m no math major, but two turnovers a game ain’t so good.) Cousins’s replacement, former University of Texas great Colt McCoy, came in and immediately threw a 70-yard touchdown — rallying the team to a 1917 victory, its second win of the season. McCoy was quickly named the starter for the
Redskins’ next game — an appearance on “Monday Night Football” against the hated Dallas Cowboys, whom Washington beat 20-17. “Right now we’re going to move forward with Colt,” Coach Jay Gruden said before the game. Of Cousins, Gruden offered this gem: “Kirk is going to get the reps he gets.” Right-o. Cousins’s problem is that Griffin is expected back against the Minnesota Vikings, whom the Redskins play Sunday. That means McCoy gets the
backup role and Cousins gets, well, bupkis. And not just bupkis for this season, either. In six weeks he went from an unproven backup with potential to that guy who throws the ball to the wrong team too much. Not a big market for that guy in the NFL. Kirk Cousins, for going back to whence you came, you had the worst week in Washington. Congrats, or something. Chris Cillizza writes “The Fix,” a politics blog for the Washington Post. He also covers the White House.
EDITORIAL
Time to let Bae out of prison THE SEATTLE TIMES
North Korea’s decision this week to free American Jeffrey Fowle revives hope for the release of former Washington state resident Kenneth Bae. Bae, 46, is one of two Americans still held captive by the communist country. First arrested on Nov. 3, 2012, he is the longest-detained U.S. prisoner since the Korean War. The former tour operator and father of three was sentenced to 15 years of hard labor for allegedly plotting to overthrow the regime. In an Aug. 14 Time magazine report, Human Rights
Watch denounced the decision as an overly harsh method of punishment. On Tuesday, U.S. State Department spokeswoman Marie Harf said diplomats “remain focused on the continued detention of Kenneth Bae and Matthew Miller, and again call on the (North Korean government) to immediately release them.” U.S. officials are actively engaged behind the scenes, but that is little consolation for Bae’s family in the Edmonds area. Family members just want Bae released so he can receive medical attention for serious back and heart problems.
In court, Bae admitted to committing the crimes he was charged with. Bae’s sister, Terri Chung, is hoping that will lead to Bae’s release soon. “We know that the (Democratic People’s Republic of Korea) wants to be fair and has recently shown signs that it desires to engage with other nations,” Chung said in a statement. “We hope DPRK leaders will have mercy on my brother to show goodwill to our family and to the world.” Since the U.S. has no formal diplomatic relations with the North Korean government, Swedish diplo-
mats are negotiating on its behalf. Harf says the Swedish diplomats played a major role in Fowle’s release. This continues to be a vital connection in communicating with Pyongyang officials, whose motives remain unclear. The reclusive regime’s willingness to allow a U.S. military plane to enter and transport the 56-year-old Fowle out of the country — reportedly in exchange for nothing — is a promising sign. Imprisoning Kenneth Bae serves no real purpose. The next carrier out of Pyongyang should include the remaining Americans.
LETTERS TO THE EDITOR POLICY The Zapata Times does not publish anonymous letters. To be published, letters must include the writer’s first and last names as well as a phone number to verify identity. The
phone number IS NOT published; it is used solely to verify identity and to clarify content, if necessary. Identity of the letter writer must be verified before publication. We want to assure our
readers that a letter is written by the person who signs the letter. The Zapata Times does not allow the use of pseudonyms. Letters are edited for style, grammar, length and civility. No name-call-
ing or gratuitous abuse is allowed. Via e-mail, send letters to editorial@lmtonline.com or mail them to Letters to the Editor, 111 Esperanza Drive, Laredo, TX 78041.
CLASSIC DOONESBURY | GARRY TRUDEAU
Mexico
WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 29, 2014
Gully combed for 43 students By MARK STEVENSON ASSOCIATED PRESS
COCULA, Mexico — Forensic experts combed a gully in southern Mexico on Tuesday for the remains of 43 missing students, as frustration mounted among relatives of both the disappeared and the detained for the lack of answers more than a month into the investigation. Workers in protective gear focused on a 25-by-25 foot-square area below the ridge of the municipal dump in Cocula, a town in Guerrero state where police have been arrested and linked to the Sept. 26 disappearances. But they have not said so far how many bodies have been found or in what condition. Parents of the students say they were not even notified of the latest remains, discovered Monday based on the testimony of four new detainees in the case. “We’re angry and very tired,” said Mario Cesar Gonzalez, father of missing Cesar Manuel Gonzalez. “We have an overwhelming sense of helplessness.” Attorney General Jesus Murillo Karam said Monday that two of the detainees were members of the Guerreros Unidos cartel who handled the disappearances of the students. The two said they received a large group of people around Sept. 26, the date the students went missing. The arrests Monday put the total at 56 detainees so far in the case, yet there is still nothing concrete on the whereabouts of the students. Authorities saw clothing but nothing resembling remains.
THE ZAPATA TIMES 5A
Mexico City running out of cemeteries By OLGA R. RODRIGUEZ ASSOCIATED PRESS
MEXICO CITY — Edgardo Galvan watched as two gravediggers shoveled muddy soil from his father’s grave until they reached a set of bones mixed with wood chips, the remnants of the coffin he was buried in seven years earlier. The gravediggers placed the bones in a black plastic bag and handed them to Galvan, who planned to cremate them and put the ashes in a small crypt the family bought in a church. “I’ve had to go through two difficult moments, first burying him and now unburying him,” the 42year-old carpenter said as he stood in the San Isidro cemetery in the Mexico City borough of Azcapotzalco. Mexico’s capital is rapidly running out of gravesites and many residents of this growing metropolis of 9 million people have to exhume the remains of their loved ones once the burial rights expire to make room for new bodies. Offi-
Photo by Rebecca Blackwell | AP
A coffin containing human remains is hauled away after being exhumed to free up space for new burials at the San Isidro cemetery in northern Mexico City on Oct. 14. cials say there is no public land available for new cemeteries. The lack of cemetery space has prompted the city’s legislative assembly to propose a law that would reduce the time a body can remain in a grave and encourage people to cremate the bodies of their love ones, a move that critics say will
threaten Mexico’s long and rich traditions surrounding burying and celebrating the dead. Assemblywoman Polimnia Sierra, who proposed the law, said the city’s 119 cemeteries only have 71,000 gravesites available and that each year about 30,000 people die in the capital.
“In less than three years (the cemeteries) will be completely filled,” said Sierra in defense of the law which was passed by the assembly this summer but sent back by Mayor Miguel Angel Mancera who wanted changes to its language. A vote on the revised law is expected soon. It would require that the city government educate people about cremation as an option and build more crematoriums — there are currently just two public crematoriums. It would also lower the maximum gravesite tenure from 21 years to 15 years, as long as cemetery rights are paid. While other countries around the world reuse graves, it is a sensitive issue in Mexico where celebrating the dead is still a living part of the culture. The law has become a tug-of-war between government officials in the center of this sprawling metropolis, which is increasingly growing vertically, and residents of its outer, more rural boroughs who preserve pre-Columbian traditions.
State
6A THE ZAPATA TIMES
WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 29, 2014
Texas executes ex-gang member for deaths of 3 By MICHAEL GRACZYK ASSOCIATED PRESS
HUNTSVILLE, Texas — A former gang member was put to death Tuesday evening for the fatal shootings of three rivals 14 years ago in San Antonio. Miguel Paredes, 32, was convicted along with two other men in the September 2000 slayings of three people with ties to the Mexican Mafia. The victims’ bodies were rolled up in a carpet, driven about 50 miles southwest, dumped and set on fire. A farmer investigating a grass fire found the remains. Paredes was pronounced dead at 6:54 p.m. CDT. The execution was carried out after the U.S. Supreme Court turned down a last-day appeal from attorneys who contended Paredes was mentally impaired and his previous lawyers were deficient for not investigating his mental history. His execution was the 10th this year in Texas, the nation’s most active death-penalty state. One other Texas inmate is set to die in December and at least nine are scheduled for execution in early 2015, including four in January. Paredes’ attorney, David Dow, said the execution should have been stopped because Paredes had “a significant mental disease” that may have affected his judgment when he told his previous lawyer 10 years ago not to investigate his family background. In a response filed Tuesday morning, state lawyers said Paredes “presented no evidence that he is or ever has been mentally ill or incompetent,” and that his earlier attorney
couldn’t be considered deficient when he “abided by Paredes’ explicit instructions.” Lower courts sided with the state, PAREDES which also noted that the latest appeal was filed after a deadline. Prosecutors said Paredes, who turned 18 six weeks before the slayings, was the most aggressive shooter when the three victims showed up to collect drug money. They told jurors at his capital murder trial in 2001 that Paredes was suspected in several other crimes, including other killings and drive-by shootings. Defense attorneys argued that he grew up in a gang-infested neighborhood, and the only way to survive was to join a gang. Paredes was convicted of fatally shooting Nelly Bravo and Shawn Michael Cain, both 23, and Adrian Torres, 27. Prosecutors said the three were shot when they tried to collect drug money at the home of John Anthony Saenz, a leader in Paredes’ gang. “Evidence showed Miguel seemed to be the most aggressive and an active shooter,” said Mary Green, the Bexar County district attorney who prosecuted Paredes. Police got a break in the case when paperwork carrying Saenz’s name was found in the debris with the three burning bodies. Saenz, 32, claimed self-defense at his trial and avoided the death penalty when jurors sentenced him to life. The third suspect, Greg Alvarado, 35, pleaded guilty and also is serving life in prison.
Photo by Shannon Wilson/Lubbock Avalanche-Journal | AP
Texas Republican gubernatorial candidate Greg Abbott smiles during a rally in Lubbock, on Tuesday.
Abbott: Patrick toned down immigration rhetoric By BETSY BLANEY ASSOCIATED PRESS
LUBBOCK, Texas — Republican gubernatorial candidate Greg Abbott said Tuesday that the tea-party star who’s the GOP candidate for lieutenant governor has toned down his fiery rhetoric on immigration. Abbott and lieutenant governor candidate Dan Patrick appeared in Lubbock ahead of next week’s election to encourage Republicans to vote. It was the first time since the March primary that Abbott and Patrick have campaigned together. Patrick, a state senator and talk radio host from Houston, is known for bombastic rhetoric about ending the “invasion” of people entering the U.S. illegally from Mexico. But Abbott said that despite Patrick’s past comments, he would be more inclusive than divisive. Abbott, whose wife is Hispanic and who has worked to gain the Hispanic vote, says he’s seen a shift from Patrick. “I have seen him tone down rhetoric like that, and I think that he has and will continue to tone down rhetoric like that and
cast a vision that is inclusive of everyone in this state,” Abbott, the state’s attorney general, said after he and Patrick spoke to a room of about 200 people. Patrick declined to speak to the media following his comments to the crowd. “I do not” have time, he said, walking away with his back turned after several attempts to get his attention. “I have some calls to make.” Abbott, in response to a question about whether Patrick is too far right from him, said he believes the senator will be a tenacious lieutenant governor. “I run on my own platforms and my own positions,” Abbott said. “But I think Dan Patrick is going to be a staunch leader in helping secure the border. He cares deeply about improving education and we will work on those issues together.” Patrick told the crowd Republicans need to do more than just win every election for statewide offices. “We want to crush the Democrats,” he said. “I believe in my heart that we are America’s last hope, Texas.” Abbott told the crowd that electing his Democratic oppo-
nent, Wendy Davis, would be tantamount to bringing President Barack Obama’s policies to Texas. “I will not let the next four years in Texas look like the last six years under Barack Obama because we will win this election,” he said. Davis spokesman Zac Petkanas said Abbott’s record on education alone is enough reason to vote for Davis. He noted that Abbott’s office is defending the state in a lawsuit brought by more than two-thirds of its school districts last year as a result of education budget cuts in 2011. “He cannot hide the fact that he has spent the last year of this campaign being called out for his terrible record on education, spending the last three years in court fighting to protect $5.4 billion in cuts to public education that have led to overcrowded classrooms, teacher layoffs and closed public schools,” he said. The gathering is one of about 25 Abbott’s campaign has organized during the early voting period. Abbott and Patrick were scheduled to be in Amarillo Tuesday afternoon.
International
WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 29, 2014
Islamic State hostage ‘reports’ for captors By ZEINA KARAM ASSOCIATED PRESS
BEIRUT — A captive British photojournalist has been used by the Islamic State group to take on the role of a war correspondent in the extremists’ latest propaganda video. In the video, made public on Monday, John Cantlie calmly stands before a camera in what he identifies as the embattled Syrian town of Kobani. He asserts in the video that Islamic State group fighters have pushed deep into the town despite airstrikes by a U.S.-led coalition and that they are winning the battle against Kurdish forces. The strange spectacle of a prisoner who has admitted to being afraid for his life being used as a spokesman is the latest of example of the IS’s attention-getting approach to propagating its message and its threats. The Associated Press could not independently verify the video as authentic, although some of the images, including footage the Islamic State group says was shot by a drone, appear to be Kobani, a town near the Turkish border. Sporadic gunfire can be heard in the background. At one point in the 51/2-minute report, a Turkish flag can be seen flying atop a grain silo; Cantlie is not in the same shot. Although it was unclear exactly when the video was recorded, Cantlie mentions specific news reports and statements by Western officials from as recently as last week. “Without any safe access, there are no journalists here in the city,” Cantlie intones in the video. He wears black clothes and is bearded. In previous videos, he wore an orange jumpsuit — as did the hostages beheaded by the extremists.
Associated Press
In this still image taken from an undated video published on the Internet by the Islamic State group militants, captive British journalist John Cantlie speaks into a camera in what he identifies as the embattled Syrian town of Kobani. IS militants launched an offensive on Kobani in midSeptember, capturing dozens of Kurdish villages and entering parts of the town. The attack has displaced more than 200,000 people. American officials say the U.S. has conducted dozens of airstrikes against the militants in and around the town, killing hundreds of Islamic State fighters. In contrast to those accounts, Cantlie gave the IS’s different slant on the fighting. “Airstrikes did prevent some groups of mujahedeen from using their tanks and heavy armor as they’d have liked, so they’re entering the city and using light weapons instead, going house to house,” Cantlie says in the video, a fly buzzing around his head. “The battle for Kobani is coming to an end,” he continues. “The mujahedeen are just mopping up now, street to street and building to building. ... As you can hear, it is very quiet — just occasional gunfire.” The video is entitled “Inside Ayn Al-Islam,” the name IS uses for Kobani. The Arabic name for the
predominantly Kurdish town is Ayn al-Arab. Since September, IS has used Cantlie as a public face. “Now, I know what you’re thinking. You’re thinking he’s only doing this because he’s a prisoner. He’s got a gun at his head, and he’s being forced to do this. Right?” Cantlie said in the first Islamic State group video featuring him. “Well, it’s true, I am a prisoner. That I cannot deny. But, seeing as I’ve been abandoned by my government and my fate now lies in the hands of the Islamic State, I have nothing to lose.” Cantlie said he worked for publications including The Sunday Times, The Sun and The Sunday Telegraph and was kidnapped by the Islamic State group shortly after he came to Syria in November 2012. He was previously held by militants for several days in July 2012 along with a Dutch journalist. Nicolas Henin, a French journalist held prisoner with Cantlie and released in April, expressed admiration for his friend and his journalistic skills.
THE ZAPATA TIMES 7A
PÁGINA 8A
Zfrontera
Ribereña en Breve VACANTE PARA POLICÍA El Departamento de Policía de la Ciudad de Roma informa que tiene una vacante para oficial patrullero, de tiempo completo. El oficial patrullero realiza labores para apoyar las actividades policiacas de aplicación de la ley, así como provee servicio a los ciudadanos. Con un sueldo que varía de 27.000 dólares anuales a 35.000 dólares anuales, los interesados deben poseer diploma de Preparatoria (High School) o su General Education Degree (GED). Los interesados pueden acudir al Departamento de Policía ubicado en 987 E Grant St. para conocer el resto de los requisitos.
REUNIÓN DE BIENVENIDA La Preparatoria Roma invita a su Reunión de Bienvenida 2014 (Homecoming), razón por la cual solicita el apoyo de todos los seguidores ‘Gladiator’ para que apoyen al equipo de casa. El desfile está programado para el jueves a partir de las 5 p.m., desde Garcia Street, tomando hacia el norte, hasta Roma High School. Los interesados en participar en el desfile pueden comunicarse con Ricky Pérez al (956) 847-1690. Posteriormente habrá un Pep Rally en el gimnasio de la escuela. El partido de los Gladiators será el viernes a partir de las 7:30 p.m. en The Gladiator Arena. Roma recibe a Sharyland Pioneer.
MIÉRCOLES 29 DE OCTUBRE DE 2014
ECONOMÍA
Analizan impacto TIEMPO DE ZAPATA
A fin de analizar el impacto energético que se prevé vivan en un futuro cercano Texas y Tamaulipas, el lunes se celebró una reunión entre representantes de ambas entidades. A decir del Senador Jesús Hinojosa, presidente de la Comisión Senatorial de EU, la reforma energética que se aprobó en México recientemente vuelve a Tamaulipas ‘una gran economía’. “El estado de Texas está muy interesado, porque nosotros miramos a Tamaulipas como una gran economía en la que podemos participar juntos para que estos beneficios lleguen a ambas entidades”, dijo Hinojosa. “Somos líderes en Estados Unidos haciendo trabajos y empleos bien remunerados explotando recursos energéticos”. Durante la reunión celebrada en Reynosa, México, el Gobernador de Tamaulipas, Egidio Torre Cantú
Foto de cortesía | Gobierno de Tamaulipas
De izquierda a derecha, el Senador de EU Jesús Hinojosa; el Gobernador de Tamaulipas Egidio Torre Cantú; y el Alcalde de McAllen, Jim Darling, durante una reunión para analizar el impacto de la reforma energética en los sectores petroleros de Texas y Tamaulipas, celebrada el lunes. presentó las oportunidades y beneficios de la Agenda Energética del estado. “Las oportunidades ya están da-
das con la reforma energética y hoy, más que nunca, es importante que Texas y Tamaulipas trabajen conjuntamente para aprovecharlas”,
ROMA
INVESTIGACIÓN
BRINDAN SOLIDARIDAD
Buscan a tres oriundos de EU Víctimas visitaban a su padre en México
FIESTA ACCIÓN DE GRACIAS El Departamento de Parques y Recreación de la Ciudad de Roma invita a la Primera Competencia Anual de Comida y Fiesta ‘Gobble Till Ya Wobble!’ en Acción de Gracias Comunitaria, el sábado 22 de noviembre en el Parque Municipal de Roma. La cuota de entrada es de 150 dólares por equipo. La comunidad está invitada a una cena de acción de gracias gratuita. Las categorías de la competencia serán Fajitas, Costillas de Puerco, Carne Guisada, Frijoles, Pan de Campo y Pavo. Pida informes acudiendo a las oficinas de la Ciudad de Roma en 77 E Convent Ave. o bien llamando al (956) 849-1411.
ORACIÓN Y TALLER El Grupo Rompiendo Cadenas invita a Noche de Oración y Taller, a celebrarse a un costado de Lino’s Pharmacy, el viernes, de 7 p.m. a 9 p.m. La invitación es realizada por JC’s Worship Center, a cargo de los Pastores Victor y Esmeralda Villegas. Pida informes llamando al 437-3850.
TALLER DE DANZA CON ARNÉS El Instituto Tamaulipeco para la Cultura y las Artes (ITCA), a través del Parque Cultural Reynosa (PCR), comenzará con el taller de danza con arnés “Laboratorio vertical”, el 30 de octubre. El taller terminará el 2 de noviembre. El taller será impartido por Bárbara Foulkes, coreógrafa y bailarina argentina. El taller es gratuito y abierto al público, esto con la finalidad de que llegue a los artistas de la comunidad y adquieran herramientas adicionales para el desarrollo de su profesión. Participantes deberán tener 15 años o más. Para más información puede escribir a desarrolloartisticoyacademico@gmail.com.
sostuvo Torre. "Si le va bien a Tamaulipas, le va bien a Texas, por la estrecha relación entre estas entidades”.
ASSOCIATED PRESS
Fotos de cortesía | Ciudad de Roma
La población de Roma, Texas, fue testigo de la caminata organizada por el Departamento de Parques y Recreación de la Ciudad de Roma. La Primer Caminata Comunitaria "Caminando Sobre el Cáncer", contó con la participación de familias que vestían camisetas alusivas al cáncer de seno, como apoyo a los sobrevivientes de esta enfermedad y en memoria de aquellas personas que han fallecido en la batalla. La caminata se desarrolló el sábado, desde el Citizens State Bank hasta Guadalupe Plaza. Las donaciones recaudadas durante el evento serán destinadas a Pink Positive Breast Cancer Foundation. Octubre es el Mes de Sensibilización contra el Cáncer de Seno.
EL CONTROL, México — La madre de tres estadounidenses que desaparecieron hace dos semanas en el norte de México afirma que no hay información sobre el paradero de sus hijos. Raquel Alvarado dijo el lunes que según testigos, individuos armados se llevaron a Erica, de 26 años, Alex, de 22, y José Angel, de 21, todos de apellidos Alvarado Rivera, el 13 de octubre en El Control, una pequeña localidad cerca de la frontera con Texas, al oeste de Matamoros. Las tres víctimas, originarias de Progreso, Texas, visitaban a su padre en México. Alvarado afirmó que los testigos identificaron a los individuos armados como miembros del grupo Hércules, una unidad de la policía que provee seguridad a la presidenta municipal de Matamoros. Una portavoz de la ciudad de Matamoros no estuvo disponible de inmediato para que hiciera declaraciones sobre el particular. Un portavoz de la embajada norteamericana confirmó que autoridades estadounidenses dan seguimiento al caso y brindan asistencia consular.
SALUD
Misioneros ofrecerán atención médica POR MALENA CHARUR TIEMPO DE ZAPATA
Los habitantes de la ciudad de Zapata tendrán la oportunidad de recibir servicios médicos y dentales gratuitos cuando los Misioneros Médicos de la Divina Misericordia de Sugar Land, realicen la Feria de la Salud en noviembre. Por quinto año consecutivo cerca de 40 personas entre personal médico y voluntarios traerán servicios de salud a la ciudad. “Este es el quinto año que vamos a Zapata. Cerca de 40 personas entre médicos, dentistas y practicantes de otras especialidades como enfermería o terapia física y voluntarios acuden a atender a niños y adultos”, explicó Rebecca Solloa, directora ejecutiva de Servicios Sociales Católicos de la Diócesis de Laredo. Será en el salón de la iglesia ca-
“
Queremos que los habitantes de Zapata aprovechen esta oportunidad de recibir servicios médicos de manera gratuita”. REBECCA SOLLOA, DIRECTORA EJECUTIVA DE SERVICIOS SOCIALES CATÓLICOS DE LA DIÓCESIS DE LAREDO.
tólica de Nuestra Señora de Lourdes donde los misioneros médicos estarán atendiendo a adultos y niños en el horario de 8 a.m. a 4 p.m., los días lunes 10 y martes 11, mientras que el miércoles 12, el horario de atención al público será únicamente de 8 a.m. a 2 p.m. “Los servicios a proporcionar incluyen revisiones médicas generales así como dentales. Aún no sa-
bemos si se incluirá revisión de la vista pero al menos estamos listos para proporcionar lentes para lectura en el momento”, indicó. Agregó que también proporcionan los medicamentos y si son con prescripción médica ellos se encargan de ordenarlos para entregarlos posteriormente. Los servicios son gratuitos y no se requiere identificación para re-
cibir atención. “Sólo requerimos que las personas se presenten a solicitar el servicio. No pedimos ningún tipo de identificación o que estén afiliados a alguna aseguradora. Los servicios son completamente gratuitos”, dijo Solloa. Cada tarde se realizarán en las instalaciones de la iglesia otros servicios tales como misas de sanación, pláticas espirituales, unción de enfermos y confesiones entre otros. “Queremos que los habitantes de Zapata aprovechen esta oportunidad de recibir servicios médicos de calidad de manera gratuita”, finalizó. Si requiere mayor información puede llamar a Servicios Sociales Católicos al 722-2443. (Localice a Malena Charur en el 728-2583 o en mcharur@lmtonline.com)
WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 29, 2014
ON THE WEB: THEZAPATATIMES.COM
Sports&Outdoors NATIONAL FOOTBALL LEAGUE: DALLAS COWBOYS
Romo’s status in doubt Cowboys awaiting word on latest back injury for starting quarterback ASSOCIATED PRESS
IRVING, Texas — Tony Romo’s dramatic return from his latest back injury doesn’t mean he is cleared to face the next opponent. Coach Jason Garrett said Tuesday that Dallas was waiting on additional testing for an injury he says is unrelated to the herniated disk Romo sustained in Washington last December, when surgery kept him out of a season-ending loss to Philadelphia with a playoff berth on the line. Romo hurt his back against the Redskins again Monday night, getting what Garrett called a contusion on a thirdquarter sack. X-rays were negative, and Romo took a pain injection before returning for the final series of regulation and a failed possession in overtime of a 20-17 loss that snapped Dallas’ six-game winning streak. After saying on his radio show earlier in the day that he anticipated Romo being ready to face the Cardinals (6-1), Garrett was more evasive when he met with reporters. The coach said Romo “seemed good” when they spoke by phone, but he hadn’t seen the quarterback before Romo went for a CT scan. The Cowboys (6-2) were off Tuesday, and Romo has skipped the Wednesday practice every week during the regular season as part of his post-surgery routine. He had a procedure to remove a
Photo by Tim Sharp | AP
Dallas Cowboys quarterback Tony Romo was injured on this sack by Washington Redskins inside linebacker Keenan Robinson. He returned late but the Cowboys lost 20-17 in overtime.
cyst from his back in April 2013 and missed all the offseason workouts last year. “We’ve just got to wait and see how he feels, obviously,” Garrett said. “Because we played late last night, we’ll be more abbreviated anyway, more of a jog through-type mode.” Garrett said it was a medical decision to allow Romo to return, but didn’t discount the resolve of a quarterback who led a comeback victory over the Redskins while playing with the herniated disk and did the same thing against the 49ers in 2011 with cracked ribs and a punctured lung. Romo didn’t even come close to a rally this time. The last drive of regulation, starting at the Dallas 3, stalled after one first down. The game ended in the extra period on a four-and-out sequence when the Cowboys couldn’t convert secondand-2 on three straight pass plays. The question now is whether the Redskins took away Romo for another game, or longer. Bailey calls it a career after 15 years in NFL DENVER — Champ Bailey has decided to retire after a 15-year NFL career that included 12 Pro Bowl berths, a record for a cornerback. Bailey’s agent, Jack Reale, said from Atlanta that Bailey had opportunities to play this season but decided to pursue other opportunities.
NCAA FOOTBALL: TEXAS A&M
Texas A&M considers benching Kenny Hill By KRISTIE RIEKEN ASSOCIATED PRESS
COLLEGE STATION, Texas — Texas A&M quarterback Kenny Hill may be headed for the bench. Offensive coordinator Jake Spavital said Tuesday that Hill and freshman Kyle Allen have been taking snaps with the first team this week and a starter for Saturday’s game against Louisiana-Monroe will be decided later this week. “We opened it back up and we’ve had some good experiences throughout last week in live scrimmage situations,” Spavital said. “We’ve put them in different scenarios ... and are still challenging them in different ways. It’s still wide open.” Hill won the job over Allen in fall camp and got off to a great start, throwing for a school-record 511 yards in his debut and leading the Aggies to a 5-0 start. He even earned the Kenny Trill nickname after two years of Johnny Football at Texas A&M for Heisman winner Johnny Manziel. Texas A&M has since dropped
Photo by Butch Dill | AP
Texas A&M could bench quarterback Kenny Hill after losing three straight games including a 59-0 loss to Alabama. three straight, including a 59-0 loss to Alabama — the team’s first shutout since 2003. Allen has thrown for 264 yards and three touchdowns in four
games. “I’m pleased with how he’s handled the whole situation from fall camp through those eight games leading up to this point,” Spavital
said of Allen. “He shows up every day, he gets extra work in and you can tell he’s really trying to exert himself to try to go out there and try to win this job.”
Spavital said Allen was stunned when he called him into his office to deliver the news. “(He) asked me if this was for real and I said: ‘Yeah, it is,”’ Spavital said. “And he was like: ‘Good, because I’m going to try to go get it.”’ The conversation with Hill, who is a sophomore, was much more difficult. “That is tough, especially when you’ve started for eight games and then you’re thrown in that situation where your job is on the line,” Spavital said. “I think he’s handled it pretty well. He’s out there competing. He’s motivating those younger guys when he’s going with the No. 2 offense and I see that as leadership.” Hill leads the Southeastern Conference and is sixth in the nation with 2,649 yards passing, but has struggled with turnovers lately and has seven in the last three games combined. Senior receiver Malcome Kennedy said the team is confident in both quarterbacks and that he thinks the renewed competition has made each of them better.
Nation
10A THE ZAPATA TIMES
Sandusky investigation won’t reopen By SUSAN SNYDER THE PHILADELPHIA INQUIRER
STATE COLLEGE, Pa. — During a raucous special meeting Tuesday, Pennsylvania State University trustees defeated a resolution to reopen the controversial investigation into how school leaders handled the Jerry Sandusky sex-abuse scandal. The proposal, introduced by alumni-backed trustees who for more than a year have been pushing the board to act — and preferably reject — the damning findings of former FBI Director Louis Freeh, won the support of only nine of the 26 board members who voted. Opponents said that too much remains unknown about Penn State’s role in Sandusky’s abuse of young boys on and off campus, and that they want to wait for the conclusion of criminal proceedings against former administrators on perjury, conspiracy and other charges. They also cite pending litigation by some Sandusky victims. "I believe patience is the order of the day," said one trustee, Richard Dandrea, a Pittsburgh-area lawyer. Freeh’s July 2012 report said former Penn State President Graham B. Spanier, Athletic Director Tim Curley and Vice President Gary Schultz had conspired to cover up child-sex abuse allegations against the former assistant football coach to preserve the university’s reputation. Critics of the report have long wanted the board to repudiate it, reopen the investigation and perhaps wipe clean the blemish on the late football coach Joe Paterno’s legacy and the other former ad-
ministrators. The alumni trustees maintain that there is no credible evidence of a cover-up. Their motion would have created a board committee to reinvestigate Freeh’s work and report back to the board. "We need to defend Penn State," alumni-elected trustee Anthony Lubrano, a Chester County businessman, told board members during the 90-minute meeting at the Nittany Lion Inn, spurring vigorous applause from the audience. "If not now, then when? If not us, then who?" Dandrea argued that the ad hoc board committee being advocated by alumni trustees would run into the same roadblocks as Freeh: It would not have access to key witnesses or subpoena powers to get critical information. The debate became heated at times and board chair Keith Masser, a Schuylkill County potato farmer, ejected several audience members for outbursts critical of the majority of trustees. Lubrano and Al Lord, another trustee and the former head of student loan lender Sallie Mae, said they would press to gain access to Freeh’s investigatory files, through the courts if necessary. "I’m going after that information," Lord said after the meeting. "If they don’t want to do it as a group, so be it." Masser said after the meeting that the board could look foolish if it were to take a stand only to have evidence incriminating to the university surface at the criminal trials. "There are a lot of issues that could reveal facts one way or the other," he said.
WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 29, 2014
Hawaii lava nears homes By JENNIFER SINCO KELLEHER ASSOCIATED PRESS
HONOLULU — Hawaii officials will make arrangements for those living in the path of a lava flow to watch the destruction of their homes. That accommodation is being made to “provide for a means of closure,” Hawaii County Civil Defense Director Darryl Oliveira said Monday. “You can only imagine the frustration as well as ... despair they’re going through.” Dozens of residents have been told they might have to evacuate as lava from Kilauea heads toward their homes. The lava was about 70 yards from a home Monday evening, officials said. After weeks of fitful advancement, the lava crossed Apaa Street on Sunday in Pahoa Village, considered a main town of the Big Island’s isolated and rural Puna district. It was getting dangerously close to Pahoa Village Road, which goes straight through downtown. The flow advanced about 275 yards from Sunday morning to Monday morning, moving northeast at about 10 to 15 yards per hour. At other times, the lava slowed to about 2 yards per hour or sped up to about 20 yards per hour, depending on topography, said Janet Babb, a spokeswoman for the Hawaiian Volcano Observatory. Teams of scientists from the observatory were walking alongside the flow day and night to provide updates, she said. Officials closed part of Pahoa Village Road to everyone except residents as the flow front moves closer. Those living downslope of the flow are under an evacuation advisory. Most residents have left, and Oliveira said he doesn’t anticipate having to issue a mandatory evacuation order. The couple living in the house closest to the flow
Photo courtesy of U.S. Geological Survey | AP
This photo shows a Hawaii Volcano Observatory geologist mapping the margin of the June 27 lava flow in the open field near the town of Pahoa on the Big Island of Hawaii on Sunday. have left but have been returning periodically to gather belongings, Oliveira said. Apaa Street resident Imelda Raras, said she and her husband are ready to go to a friend’s home if officials tell them they should leave. “We are still praying,” she said. “I hope our home will be spared.” Scientists began warning the public about the lava on Aug. 22. At the time, residents were cleaning up from a tropical storm that made landfall over the Puna district. The lava has advanced and slowed as residents waited and watched. Kilauea volcano, one of the world’s most active, has been erupting continuously since 1983. This is not an eruption at the caldera, the things that make for stunning pictures as red lava spews from the mountaintop. Decomposition of vegetation in the lava’s path has created methane gas, which if it accumulates and is ignited by heat can cause a blast, Babb said. “It’s not a massive explosion,” she said. “But it can dislodge rocks. It can hurl large rocks several feet.” Initially, the lava seemed headed for the Kaohe Homesteads, a widespread,
sparsely populated subdivision in the Puna district. It reached vacant lots before it stalled. It skirted a corner of the subdivision and then headed toward Pahoa. Pahoa has small-town charm, but it’s “the only town in a commercial sense in lower Puna,” said state Sen. Russell Ruderman, who represents Puna and runs a natural food store in Pahoa. Because the lava could change direction, any community in Puna is at risk. Everyone in the district lives on the volcano. The lush, agricultural district is about a 30-minute drive from the coastal town of Hilo. Why would someone live on an active volcano? Unlike Honolulu, the state’s biggest city on the island of Oahu, Puna has affordable land and offers a more rural way of life. Located on the island’s southeast side, the area is made up of subdivisions that have unpaved roads of volcanic rock. Many live off the grid on solar power and catchment water systems. Residents know the risks because there are special insurance requirements to buy land in certain lava zones. Sporadic suspensions in
the lava’s movement gave emergency crews time to work on building alternate routes to town. Crews near the leading edge have been wrapping power poles with concrete rings as a layer of protection from lava heat. Raras said they began putting their belongings in storage in September. What they aren’t able to take with them, they’re photographing for insurance purposes. No one knows if the lava flow will stop, change direction or hit homes. In the 1990s, about 200 homes were destroyed by lava flows from Kilauea. The last evacuations from the volcano came in 2011. One home was destroyed and others were threatened before the lava changed course. Kilauea is home to Pele, the Hawaiian volcano goddess. Some residents expressed anger at suggestions to divert the flow. They say it’s culturally insensitive to interfere with Pele’s will. The lava isn’t a reason to cancel a Big Island vacation because it’s an isolated event. But officials have warned people to stay away from the area and imposed flight restrictions because of helicopter tours hoping to see lava.
Navajo president vetoes changes By FELICIA FONSECA ASSOCIATED PRESS
FLAGSTAFF, Ariz. — The president of the Navajo Nation dealt a major setback to a candidate for the tribe’s top elected post when he vetoed a bill to let voters decide whether presidential hopefuls are proficient in the Navajo language. Tribal law requires that anyone seeking the presidency speak fluent Navajo and understand the language inextricably tied to the culture. Lawmakers amended that requirement last week on an 11-10 vote, but Navajo President Ben
Shelly rejected the legislation Tuesday. The decision was being watched closely by Chris Deschene, who had been disqualified from the race over the fluency requirement. He ceased campaigning following the veto and said he would not explore any other legal options to stay in the race, said his spokeswoman, Stacy Pearson. “It is with tremendous pride in our campaign and disappointment with the president’s veto that the future of my candidacy is uncertain,” Deschene said in a statement. The tribe’s general election was
scheduled Tuesday with Deschene’s name still on the ballot facing former President Joe Shirley Jr. The Navajo Supreme Court has ordered him removed from the race and the ballots reprinted with the thirdplace finisher from the August primary election, but election officials have yet to act on the order. Attorneys for two men who challenged Deschene’s candidacy have asked the Supreme Court to hold election officials in contempt for defying a court order. Election officials said they are awaiting advice from the tribe’s attorney general on how to implement the order. Photo courtesy of NASA TV | AP
Two shot at NC courthouse
Rocket explodes at liftoff
By JONATHAN DREW ASSOCIATED PRESS
NASHVILLE, N.C. — A gunman opened fire on two men in front of the courthouse in this small North Carolina town on Tuesday, sending panicked lunchtime shoppers ducking into shops along the normally quiet main drag. The suspect was caught by late afternoon after a manhunt that included dozens of armed officers canvassing the woods along a state highway with a police helicopter flying overhead. A second suspect was still on the loose. Authorities didn’t offer a motive but believe the victims were targeted. Both were expected to survive. The shooting shattered the calm of the sunny lunch hours along Nashville’s main street, which is flanked by the courthouse on one side and one-story shops across the street. Witnesses on the strip that includes a flower shop, cafe and furniture store said violence is unusual in the town of about 5,500. “We heard gunshots, like: Pow! Pow! Pow! Pow! Pow!” said Judy Winstead, who works at a real estate office across from the court. “It was very loud, and when we came out we even smelled gunpowder.” Nash County Sheriff Dick Jenkins said he believes the gunman targeted his two victims when he opened fire around 11:15 a.m. He said a suspect was taken into custody in the late afternoon but declined to release his name.
This image taken from video provided by NASA TV shows Orbital Sciences Corp.’s unmanned rocket blowing up over the launch complex at Wallops Island, Va., just six seconds after liftoff. The company says no one was believed to be hurt and the damage appeared to be limited to the facilities.
By MARCIA DUNN ASSOCIATED PRESS
Photo by Adam Jennings/The Rocky Mount Telegram | AP
The State Highway Patrol works at the scene of a shooting on Tuesday at the Nashville courthouse in Nashville, N.C. Two people were shot outside the courthouse. He says one victim ran inside the Nash County Courthouse and collapsed after being hit in the hand and leg. The other victim ran down the street and was found in a lot with a back wound. Both men were taken to hospitals, said Jenkins, who didn’t offer further descriptions. Nashville Police Chief Thomas Bashore said the victims didn’t work at the courthouse. Bashore said the gunman ran up in front of the courthouse, shot several times and ran away before he got into a light-colored car and es-
caped. Officers found four or five bullet casings at the scene. “It’s senseless to me that anybody would shoot anything let alone in front of the courthouse,” Jenkins said. At the real estate office nearby, Winstead said she heard the gunshots as she sat at her desk. She ran to the front door and locked it as an uninjured woman screamed on the courthouse steps. Within minutes, Winstead said “there were deputies all over the place and cop cars zooming in.”
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. — An unmanned commercial supply ship bound for the International Space Station exploded moments after liftoff Tuesday evening, with debris falling in flames over the launch site. No injuries were reported following the first catastrophic launch in NASA’s commercial spaceflight effort. Orbital Sciences Corp.’s Antares rocket blew up over the launch complex at Wallops Island, Virginia, just six seconds after liftoff. The company said everyone at the launch site had been accounted for, and the damage appeared to be limited to the facilities. Flames could be seen shooting into the sky as the sun set. “Maintain your consoles,” Orbital Sciences’ Mission Control informed the roomful of engineers and technicians. All data were being collected for use in the ensuing investi-
gation. The Cygnus cargo ship was loaded with 5,000 pounds of experiments and equipment for the six people living on the space station. It was the fourth Cygnus bound for the orbiting lab; the first flew just over a year ago. NASA spokesman Rob Navias said there was nothing urgently needed by the space station crew on that flight. In fact, the Russian Space Agency was proceeding with its own supply run on Wednesday. NASA is paying the Virginia-based Orbital Sciences and the California-based SpaceX company to keep the space station stocked in the postshuttle era. Until Tuesday, all of the companies’ missions had been near-flawless and the accident was sure to draw criticism in Washington. The commercial spaceflight program has been championed by President Barack Obama. NASA said the six residents of the orbiting lab were informed of the accident.
WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 29, 2014
THE ZAPATA TIMES 11A
Facebook’s advertising revenue soars in 3Q By BARBARA ORTUTAY ASSOCIATED PRESS
NEW YORK — Facebook grew its advertising revenue by 64 percent in the third quarter, helped by a boost in mobile ads that are becoming an increasingly large chunk of the social networking giant’s advertising business. The steady increase indicates that Facebook has succeeded in steering ad-
vertisers to its mobile platform at a time when most of its users are using Facebook on phones and tablets. Investors were initially worried about the desktop Web era-born company’s ability to succeed in mobile advertising, but those concerns are long gone. Advertising revenue at the company totaled $2.96 billion. Mobile ad revenue, a closely watched figure, was $1.95 billion, or 66 per-
PROGRAM Photo by Marcio Jose Sanchez | AP
This Jan. 3, 2013 file photo shows Google’s headquarters in Mountain View, Calif. Google’s latest "moonshot" project, announced Tuesday involves detecting cancer by swallowing a pill. The pill is packed with tiny magnetic particles, which can travel through a patient’s bloodstream, search for malignant cells and report their findings to a sensor device that you wear.
Google working on pill that detects cancer By BRANDON BAILEY ASSOCIATED PRESS
LAGUNA BEACH, Calif. — Google is working on a cancer-detecting pill in its latest effort to push the boundaries of technology. Still in the experimental stage, the pill is packed with tiny magnetic particles, which can travel through a patient’s bloodstream, search for malignant cells and report their findings to a sensor on a wearable device. As many as 2,000 of these microscopic “nanoparticles” could fit inside a single red blood cell to provide doctors with better insights about what is happening inside their patients. The project announced Tuesday is the latest effort to emerge from Google’s X lab, which has been trying to open new technological frontiers to solve nettlesome problems and improve the quality of people’s lives. The same division is also working on several other outlandish projects that have little to do with Google’s main business of Internet search and advertising: Self-driving cars, a computer called Glass that looks like eyeglasses, Internet-beam balloons and contact lenses that can measure glucose in tears. Some investors frustrated with the costs of financing X’s projects ridicule them as expensive flights of fancy, but Google CEO Larry Page likens them to moonshots that could unleash future innovation and money-making
opportunities. It could be a decade before Google’s nanoparticle research pays off, according to the Mountain View, California, company. At this point, Google believes the cancer-detecting nanoparticles can be coated with antibodies that bind with specific proteins or cells associated with various maladies. The particles would remain in the blood and report back continuously on what they find over time, said Andrew Conrad, head of life sciences at Google X, while a wearable sensor could track the particles by following their magnetic fields and collecting data on their movement through the body. The goal is to get a fuller picture of the patient’s health than the snapshot that’s obtained when a doctor draws a single sample of blood for tests that aren’t comprehensive enough to spot the early stages of many forms of cancer. “We want to make it simple and automatic and not invasive,” Conrad added. Like Google is doing in the contact lens project, the company is here looking for ways to proactively monitor health and prevent disease, rather than wait to diagnose problems, he said. Data from the sensor could be uploaded or stored on the Internet until it can be interpreted by a doctor, he said. That could raise questions about privacy or the security of patient data. But when asked if Google
could use the information for commercial purposes, Conrad said, “We have no interest in that.” The effort to develop a better way to detect cancer was inspired by the experience of Google engineer Tom Stanis. After getting hit by a car while bicycling, Stanis wound up in a hospital emergency room where a medical scan looking for internal bleeding alerted doctors that there was a tumor growing in his kidney. The diagnosis probably wouldn’t have been made at such an early stage if Stanis hadn’t been seriously injured, prompting Google’s X lab to explore better ways for doctors to keep watch for early warning signs. Stanis, who is now cancer-free, is part of the team working on X’s nanoparticle technology. Conrad described the project during an appearance at a tech industry conference organized by the Wall Street Journal. He said the team working on the nanoparticle project includes a cancer specialist and other doctors, as well as electrical and mechanical engineers and an astrophysicist who has been advising on how to track the particles through the body. Google is looking for partners who would license the technology and bring products to market. “Our partners would take care of all that stuff. We’re the inventors and creators of the technology,” Conrad said.
money may be used only for projects in Louisiana’s master plan. Another fund, which will get 80 percent of civil penalties for the spill, has been paying for projects on public land, while the new partnership will help private landowners in Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama and Florida, Kelsch said. “It’s a way to ensure that private landowners can receive the right sort of incentives to undertake the kinds of good stewardship work that ultimately contribute to broader res-
cent of Facebook’s total advertising revenue for the quarter. That’s up from 62 percent in the second quarter and 59 percent in the first three months of the year. The 10-year-old company began offering mobile ads in 2012. Now, Facebook is expanding into highly lucrative video ads, and earlier this year re-launched Atlas, a tool that measures how well the ads work.
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toration goals for the Gulf,” he said. Vilsack and Kelsch were interviewed in advance of a teleconference planned Tuesday from Norco, in suburban St. Charles Parish, to make the official announcement. Potential projects include things such as wetlands conservation, stream and riverbank restoration, and farm and ranch land protection including practices such as no-till farming, improving soil health and enhancing wildlife habitat. The total put into the
new program will depend on demand and landowners’ desire to put up their share of the cost, Vilsack said. The foundation is a private nonprofit chartered by Congress in 1984 to get public conservation money to the most pressing environmental needs, matching the money with private contributions. The Deepwater Horizon rig exploded on April 20, 2010, killing 11 workers and spewing millions of gallons into the Gulf of Mexico over nearly three months.
EBOLA Continued from Page 1A are willing and able and dedicated to go over there in a really tough job, that they’re applauded, thanked and supported. That should be our priority. And we can make sure that when they come back they are being monitored in a prudent fashion,” Obama said after calling Vinson from the White House. Vinson’s trip home to join her bridesmaids for wedding preparations was one of several moves by doctors and nurses that could have exposed others in the United States. In Ohio alone, 163 people were still being monitored Tuesday because of contact or potential contact with Vinson in a bridal shop and on the airplanes she used. Vinson arrived in Dallas on Tuesday evening, after tests showed she is now free of the virus. New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie said voluntary stay-at-home measures were obviously insufficient, since even doctors and nurses had moved around in public before getting sick. He was among the first to announce mandatory 21-day quarantines for anyone who had contact with possibly infected people. Vinson, 29, was infected while caring for Thomas Eric Duncan, who died at Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital Dallas on Oct. 8. She inserted catheters, drew blood, and dealt with Duncan’s body fluids, all while wearing protective gear. Dr. Bruce Ribner, an infectious disease expert who oversaw Vinson’s recovery at Emory University Hospital, said her doctors in Atlanta don’t know how she got infected in Dallas. He released no details about her treatment and wouldn’t say whether certain drugs are proving more effective. “The honest answer is we’re not exactly sure,” he said. But Emory University Hospital spokeswoman Holly Korschun later confirmed that Vinson received blood plasma from
Ebola survivor Kent Brantly, and said Ebola survivor Nancy Writebol also donated her plasma, but it wasn’t ultimately needed. Ebola is only contagious when people who carry the virus get sick, and Vinson didn’t show symptoms before flying to Ohio on Oct. 10. She reported her temperature to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, as required, on Oct. 13, and was cleared to fly back to Dallas. The next day, she developed a temperature, and on Oct. 15, she tested positive for Ebola. Another nurse, Nina Pham, also was infected by Duncan, and was released Oct. 24 from the National Institutes of Health. Vinson didn’t take any questions at Emory. Instead she read a statement thanking God, her relatives and her doctors, appealed for privacy as she returns home to Texas, and asked “that we not lose focus on the thousands of families who labor under the burden of this disease in West Africa.” Hickox, the Doctors Without Borders volunteer, was staying meanwhile in an “undisclosed location,” said Steve Hyman, one of her lawyers. Maine health officials announced she will be quarantined at home for 21 days after the last possible exposure to the disease, following the state’s health protocols. But Hyman said he expected her to remain in seclusion for the “next day or so” while he discusses her situation with Maine health officials. Hyman said the state should follow the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention guidelines, which require only monitoring, not quarantine, for health care workers who show no symptoms after treating Ebola patients. “She’s a very good person who did very good work and deserves to be honored, not detained, for it,” he said.
12A THE ZAPATA TIMES
WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 29, 2014
CITIZENSHIP ly rising. Still, there are many holdouts. Immigrants give a variety of explanations as to why, most commonly: The cost of the process that most of the time takes seven years. It usually costs $680, though fee waivers are available for some, and the cost is often multiplied by several family members; A lack of English. Immigrants must demonstrate basic knowledge of U.S. history and government and pass an English proficiency language exam, unless they are over 50, and then certain waivers may apply. The potential loss of benefits from their native land, such as the ability to freely travel and work across Europe. Still others say they simply don’t see the need. Here, some legal permanent residents explain their reticence in their own words to The Associated Press.
Language barrier Nancy Alvarez, 35, came to the United States a decade ago from Havana. She ticks off the list of jobs she’s held since then: nursing assistant, notary, childcare worker, school nutritionist. She has half a dozen diplomas and certificates, but the one she doesn’t have: citizen. Alvarez blames her lack of English skills. “I should have studied English when I first came here,” she says. But in the Miami suburb of Hialeah where she first landed, everyone spoke Spanish. Only a few years later did she notice that even employers doing business primarily in Spanish still wanted an English speaker. By then, she was working all day, coming home to prepare meals for her husband, son and new baby. With only one car and a spouse working nights, she says she would have had to take the bus and find someone to watch her baby. And with cutbacks to county education programs, few classes were offered. “Now I’m too embarrassed,” she says. Recently, she moved to the Orlando area. Maybe with fewer Spanish speakers there, she’ll finally start learning English, she says, and then she will think about citizenship.
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The European passport “I guess it’s an emotional thing,” said Lena Dyring, as to why she hasn’t sought to become a U.S. citizen. “I’d have to renounce my Norwegian citizenship. “It’s not that I don’t like the U.S. I love it here. It would be almost to renounce my family, my background.” Dyring came to the U.S. in 2005 with her husband, a naturalized U.S. citizen who was born in Colombia. The two met at a bar in Norway. She still isn’t used to some American customs: the hello hug —or in Miami, the hello kiss — and the “how are you?” greeting. In Norway, people don’t ask that question until halfway into the conversation when they really want to hear an answer, she says. But her decision to opt out is more than an emotional one. The Norwegian Seafarer’s labor union representative acknowledges the practical benefits. “If I wanted to live or work in Europe one day, I could do that without much difficulty. And my children can have Norwegian citizenship through me.” Although in Norway, individuals must give up their citizenship to become Americans, other European countries allow people to retain dual citizenship. Dyring says she’d like to be able to vote, not so much for president but on local issues. Still, she isn’t convinced becoming a citizen offers her that much. The blonde 39-year-old mother of two fears neither racial profiling nor deportation. And since health care is cheaper in Norway, she wants to keep all options.
Planned to go back Maria Jimenez has been a U.S. resident for decades and counsels other immigrant women on becoming politically empowered. But she rarely talks about her own immigration status. “I’m too ashamed to tell friends I’ve been here so long and haven’t done it,” she says of becoming a citizen. Jimenez came to the U.S. from the Jalisco, Mexico, town of San Juan de los Lagos in 1986, to help her brother and his wife care for their newborn. That year Congress passed a massive immigration bill, which allowed millions of those in the country illegally to get their
green cards. Jimenez was among those. “We always thought we would go home. We never thought we were going to stay. But the time kept passing,” she says. “We tried to go back several times but couldn’t find work. And our families depended on us for the money.” Besides, her three U.S.born children didn’t feel at home in Mexico. She keeps telling herself one of these days she will take the plunge because she wants to have a say in the laws that affect her. “But my own son who is fluent in English and was born here says he wouldn’t be able to answer a lot of the (citizenship test) questions, so I think ‘how can I?”’ she says. “I’ve heard of people who think they speak English well and are humiliated.” Test your knowledge with this quiz: http://www.uscis.gov/citizenship/quiz/learners/studytest/study-materials-civics-test/ naturalization-self-test-1
Never felt quite welcome “I thought that American girl was extremely interesting,” Luis Sanz says of falling for his future wife while she studied Spanish in his native Madrid. When she returned home, he decided to visit, never imagining he would stay. More than a decade later in the U.S., the couple has three children. Sanz works as a website designer for the University of California, Riverside. “When I came to the U.S., I didn’t speak any English,” he says. “And with all the process with my papers, I felt very mistreated, and I felt like a secondhand person. It really bothered me, so at the beginning I thought: ‘I’ll just stay here, but I don’t know how long.”’ They did move briefly to Spain, “but I’d become too used to the United States, to the freedom,” he says. “I truly love this country. We know we are not moving back,” Sanz says, adding that he has yet to take the oath of allegiance for a combination of reasons. “I get a little lazy, but I still keep a little bit of that pain — and I feel it every day because of my accent — and if people meet me, they still view me as a secondhand citizen. It makes me feel bad, and that I don’t want to completely commit.”
BRIDGES companies to help pay for increased U.S. Customs and Border Protection staffing at international ports, bridges and airports during peak times. Texas sites chosen for the public-private partnerships include international bridges in El Paso and South Texas and international airports in Houston and Dallas. “In many cases, it has been very successful, particularly in the passenger lanes,” said Sam Vale, president of the South Texas Assets Consortium, which runs bridges in Laredo, Cameron County, Pharr, McAllen and Rio Grande City. For example, the program helped two of the consortium’s bridges open additional lanes during this year’s Easter travel rush, reducing wait times from four hours to 40 minutes, Vale said. It also helped add a commercial inspection lane at the Rio Grande City bridge, which increased the numbers of vehicles inspected per hour to nine from just over four, he said. Supporters of the program, which passed in 2013 with a bipartisan vote, said it would speed up international trade and travel even as the federal government failed to keep enough agents on duty. It also allows local governments and private companies to pay for improvements to international ports. Meanwhile, the federal government is in the process of hiring up to 2,000 additional Customs and Border Patrol officers. More than $100 million in economic output is lost per minute during bridge delays at the nation’s five busiest southern ports, which include El Paso, Hidalgo County and Laredo, according to a 2013 U.S. Department of Commerce study. Mexico is Texas’ largest trade partner and the United States’ third largest, behind Canada and China. More than 1.8 million northbound trucks passed through Laredo in 2013, and about 739,000 passed through El Paso, according to the U.S. Bureau of Transportation. As of late July, the program had led to U.S. Customs and Border Protection opening lanes and booths for an additional 24,000 hours at ports in El Paso, South Texas, Dallas, Houston and Miami, according to the agency. The program, which began in Texas and Florida, is slated to expand soon in those states as well as to California, Nevada, Colorado, Delaware and Pennsylvania. It offers local governments some flexibility to negotiate the terms of the partnerships. The city of El Paso, which oper-
Continued from Page 1A ates three international bridges, uses a portion of bridge toll revenue to provide additional agents. As a result, pedestrians walking to or from Ciudad Juárez are moving more quickly, said Paul Stresow, director of El Paso’s bridge system. That has an economic impact because many people walk over the bridge to shop in downtown El Paso, he said. Wait times in El Paso have decreased about 1.2 minutes per vehicle and more than four minutes per pedestrian, said U.S. Rep. Beto O’Rourke, D-El Paso, citing information he received from U.S. Customs and Border Protection. The program "has been a big part of it, but I also think there’s been a lot of increased awareness and attention and pressure on CBP to be more effective," O’Rourke said. There is limited data available on the program’s impact on bridge wait times, so observations are largely anecdotal, Vale said. “There is a big hesitation to provide a lot of numbers because nobody wants to be held accountable,” Vale said of bridge operators and federal officials. Border wait times are difficult to measure, said Erik Lee, executive director of the North American Research Partnership, a nonprofit organization that analyzes North American trade information. “The methodology is not yet an exact science,” Lee said. “Mexico has its own history, its own set of customs and its unique circumstances.” Many factors can affect wait times, Stresow said, like change in traffic flows due to security concerns in Mexico or staffing during early-morning hours. “The anomaly is that at 2 a.m., there are only two lanes open and the lines are longer,” he said. “It skews the overall results.” Stresow said El Paso is considering asking manufacturers in Ciudad Juárez to help pay for the bridge staffing. Lee said there is growing interest in the project and lauded its creation, but also cautioned against expecting the private sector to play an integral role too quickly. “The thinking is that these are industries that provide jobs in an already economically distressed region,” he said. “To burden them with additional fees is kind of unfair.” He added that dealing with wait times at bridges — though not ideal — is better than the alternative: waiting weeks for a shipment from China.