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FEDERAL COURT
Common concerns
4 men accused of smuggling marijuana
Border sheriffs discuss security, funding, and more By CÉSAR G. RODRIGUEZ THE ZAPATA TIMES
Grant funding issues, information sharing and the gruesome case study of a baby raped and killed in Laredo were some of the topics covered Thursday during the Texas Border Sheriff ’s Coalition meeting held in Zapata County. Don Reay, Texas Border Sheriff ’s Coalition executive director, said sheriffs gathered to talk about issues their offices have due to the reduction in funding from the state. This translates into reduction of manpower
Funding is needed to have officers out on the field to secure the border ….funding allows authorities to buy state-of-the-art equipment and better protect the officers. “desperately” needed, Reay said. “Across the state, 39 positions were lost by the sheriffs that had been funded by grants on the border,” Reay said. Sheriffs are currently looking at ways to try to fund the coalition with other
than grants, for example, private money, he said. Zapata County Sheriff ’s Office Chief Raymundo del Bosque said the funding is needed to have officers out on the field to secure the border. In addition, the fund-
ing allows authorities to buy state-of-the-art equipment and better protect the officers. Sheriffs also heard a doctor talk about diseases in jail, for example tuberculosis. “Diseases can spread like crazy in our jails. That’s a major problem for our sheriffs because they are responsible for our jails,” Reay said. “Any training that the individual officer can pick up or that their managers can take back to their troops is a benefit to the entire community, not just to the jail population.”
See MEETING
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MUSIC HISTORY
SAVING MUSIC HISTORY
Photo by Jesse Mendoza/Valley Morning Star | AP
Lionel Betancourt, left, and Texas Conjunto Music Hall of Fame and Museum founder Ray Avila, right, are shown with donated record presses to be displayed at the museum’s new complex earlier this month in San Benito.
San Benito gives boost to conjunto hall of fame By FERNANDO DEL VALLE VALLEY MORNING STAR
SAN BENITO — Legends like Narciso Martinez and Freddy Fender sang into the old microphones that once stood in the legendary Ideal Recording Co. studio in San Benito. A tall Ampex Corp. recording
machine captured many of the classics of conjunto music’s pioneers on reel-to-reel tapes before three old Finebilt record presses stamped nickel-plated masters into vinyl recordings. Since the Ideal Recording Co. closed in 1988, the relics have gathered dust in storage rooms. Now, the city plans to build a
museum complex that will give the Texas Conjunto Music Hall of Fame and Museum the space to showcase the artifacts in recreations of Ideal’s recording studio and record factory, said Rey Avila, the museum’s founder. “I’m ecstatic,” retired businessman Lionel Betancourt, who donated the artifacts to the
museum in 2008, told the Valley Morning Star of Harlingen. Betancourt said he ran the record company for about 10 years after his father, co-founder Paco Betancourt, died in 1971. “The museum wants to recre-
See MUSEUM
PAGE 11A
By MATTHEW NELSON THE ZAPATA TIMES
Four men made their first appearance in federal court Wednesday in connection to the attempted smuggling of more than 700 pounds of marijuana two miles west of Hebbronville in Jim Hogg County. The arrest of Mario Alberto Escobedo, Carlos Manuel Vela, Jose Maria Rivera-Rodriguez and Erasmo Geronimo Mendoza on Jan. 5 netted Border Patrol 33 bundles of marijuana with a gross weight of more than 700 pounds. Border Patrol agents became suspicious of a gray Chevrolet truck discovered hidden in brush off of a dirt road after a black rubber mat was found in the bed of the truck. “U.S. Border Patrol agents in Hebbronville, Texas have recently encountered several trucks where smugglers use black rubber mats to conceal the marijuana bundles being transported in the bed of the truck,” the criminal complaint states. The agents hid in nearby brush and surveyed the area for two hours when they saw Rivera-Rodriguez and Mendoza enter and drive the truck a short distance to a black GMC truck where Vela, Escobedo and a third person who evaded apprehension were waiting. Vela observed as the other men loaded bundle after bundle into the Chevrolet until all were loaded and the black rubber mat was placed on top. At this point, the agents approached the men and identified themselves as Border Patrol, causing all but Vela to flee. The Drug Enforcement Administration conducted the post-arrest interrogation, wherein Vela seemed to tell the only truthful story in that he admitted “he had agreed with others to facilitate the transportation” of the drugs to Houston, for which he expected $5,000. Escobedo said he stumbled upon the Chevrolet truck and intended to steal the marijuana. Rivera-Rodriguez and Mendoza stated they were undocumented immigrants headed to Houston and had no knowledge of the drugs. These statements, the complaint states, “contradict the actions seen by agents on that day.” All four men are scheduled to be in federal court Jan. 14 for a detention hearing. (Matthew Nelson may be reached at 728-2567 or mnelson@lmtonline.com)
PUBLIC EDUCATION
Number of failing schools nearly doubles Drop attributed to newer, higher education standards in the state’s accountability system for public schools ASSOCIATED PRESS
AUSTIN — Texas education authorities said the number of schools falling short of minimum standards and placed on the Public Education Grant list doubled from 2012 because of newer, higher standards. The list released by the Texas Education Agency on Thursday includes a total of 892 schools in 2013, up from 456 in 2012.
TEA spokeswoman DeEtta Culbertson said that, “historically, when changes are made to the accountability system (the state uses to measure student performance), the number of schools that are included in the list tends to rise.” Over the years, TEA has added student groups or components to the accountability system. They have also increased the passing grades, Culbertson added. As schools and districts become more
familiar with the new system, the number of schools that fail to meet the standard begins to decline. To be included in the PEG list, at least half of a school’s students have to have failed the accountability tests in two of the three previous years or be rated academically unacceptable in 2011 or “Improvement Required” last year. Those are the lowest categories in the Texas Assessment of Knowl-
edge and Skills and the State of Texas Assessments of Academic Readiness test that was implemented in 2013. There were no accountability ratings given in 2012, however they can remain up to three years in the list. When a school is included in the list, its students are allowed to transfer to other campuses and even to different district. Schools receiving incoming students from
PEG-list campuses receive 10 percent more funding for each of those students. The new accountability system was implemented in August 2013, and focuses on overall student achievement and progress as well as how well schools help disadvantaged student groups close the performance gaps. It also measures the level of readiness schools give students for when they enter college or the work force.
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Zin brief CALENDAR
SATURDAY, JANUARY 11, 2014
AROUND TEXAS
TODAY IN HISTORY
Saturday, Jan. 11 3rd Annual “Let’s Move for Scholars.” On-site registration for race 7:30 a.m. Race 9 a.m. Zumbathon 9:30 a.m. Registration for run and walk $25 for adults, $10 for UISD students. Registration for Zumbathon $15 per person. Registration to any two events include free entrance to health fair. Proceeds benefit scholarships. Call 473-6283 or 473-6201. CFC Trail Ride and Rib Cook Off. Alexander Station, Jacaman and McPherson roads behind Texas Community Bank. Round robin from Alexander Station to Crescent Loop Park. Riders $20. Hay ride $5. Registration onsite 8 a.m. Trail ride 10 a.m. Rib cookoff (beef and pork categories) $100 per team. Benefits local charities. Call United Way of Laredo office at 7239113, extension 2. Bike and Hike. 10 a.m. to 11 a.m. Eastwood Parks, 2607 Derby St. Event highlights efforts of students from United South High School carpentry class; volunteers from United South and Nixon aided. Contact Natalie Hernandez 724-3177 or natalie.hernandez@scan-inc.org.
Monday, Jan. 13 Zapata County Commissioners Court meeting. 9 a.m. Zapata County Courthouse. Call Roxy Elizondo at 7659920.
Tuesday, Jan. 14 Registration for Healthy Living/Viviendo Mejor Program’s Diabetes SelfManagement Education Series. Starting 8 a.m. City of Laredo Health Department Auditorium. Participants need to fast for at least 12 hours on this day. Bring Texas-issued ID or Matricula Consular, along with utility bill. 18 years or older. Call 721-4994.
Saturday, Jan. 18 Crime Stoppers Menudo Bowl. 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. L.I.F.E. Fairgrounds, Highway 59. Admission for adults $5 and children 12 years and under free. Live music, Brush Country Trail Ride, Laredo Wrestling Alliance, motorcycle ride, merchandise booths, children’s games and rides, food booths, displays on federal agencies, ranch rodeo starting at 10 a.m. and team roping at 2 p.m. Proceeds benefit Crime Stoppers. Contact 724-1876 or rimestoppers@bizlaredo.rr.com.
Sunday, Jan. 26 Border Bike Challenge. 8 a.m. Shiloh Trails, intersection of Shiloh Drive and Livingston Drive. Online registration $30. Late registration $40 day of competition, 6 a.m. to 7:30 a.m. Packet pickup Jan. 25, from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m., at Laredo Ciclomania, 611 Shiloh Drive, Suite No. 2. Participants receive complimentary ticket to attend Border Beer Festival. Contact David Kash Vasquez at 744-5274 or david@borderbeerfest.com.
Monday, Jan. 27 Zapata County Commissioners Court meeting. 9 a.m. Zapata County Courthouse. Call Roxy Elizondo at 7659920.
Wednesday, Jan. 29 Documentary showing of “A Place at the Table.” 6:30 p.m. De La Garza Building, Room 101, of Laredo Community College Fort McIntosh Campus. Free. Refreshments served. Brings awareness to hunger issue in America. Call Salo Otero at 324-2432 or Sarah Lamm at 726-3120.
Thursday, Feb. 13 Zapata County Fair. 8 a.m. to 1 a.m. Zapata County Fairgrounds.
Friday, Feb. 14 Zapata County Fair. 8 a.m. to 1 a.m. Zapata County Fairgrounds.
Saturday, Feb. 15 Zapata County Fair. 8 a.m. to 1 a.m. Zapata County Fairgrounds.
Thursday, Feb. 20 Winter Texan & Senior Citizen Appreciation Day. 12:30 p.m. to 5 p.m.
Monday, March 10 Zapata County Commissioners Court meeting. 9 a.m. Zapata County Courthouse. Call Roxy Elizondo at 7659920. Submit calendar items at lmtonline.com/calendar/submit or by emailing editorial@lmtonline.com.
ASSOCIATED PRESS
Photo by J. Scott Applewhite | AP
Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, and other lawmakers arrive for votes in the Senate at the Capitol in Washington, on Monday. Cruz told a conservative conference in Austin on Friday that President Barack Obama is lawless, dangerous and terrifying, providing the right-wing rhetoric to his base that makes him so popular in his home state.
Cruz: Obama is ‘dangerous’ By CHRIS TOMLINSON ASSOCIATED PRESS
AUSTIN — U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz told a conservative conference in Austin on Friday that President Barack Obama is lawless, dangerous and terrifying, providing the right-wing rhetoric to his base that makes him so popular in his home state. The conservative Republican laid out his reasoning for why he thinks the president is “dangerous and terrifying,” noting last minute exemptions that the Obama administration made to key provisions of the Affordable Care Act, refocusing enforcement of immigration laws away from certain groups of people in the country illegally, and deciding to allow Colorado and other states to experiment with legalizing marijuana. Cruz has garnered national attention by frequently condemning the Obama adminis-
tration and the federal health care overhaul. He has called for the complete repeal of the Affordable Care Act and said he would replace it with a conservative alternative that would expand health care coverage but not regulate policies. Texas has the highest percentage of uninsured people of all states — about 24 percent. Obama has said that enacting his health care legislation has been difficult in the face of Republican opposition, and therefore he’s had to slow enforcement of some provisions. Regarding marijuana legalization, Obama says states should be allowed to experiment with new laws without federal interference. Cruz mocked Obama on the final day of the conference, but offered few new ideas. “There is a level at which all of this is ludicrous, and there is a level at which this is dangerous and terrifying,” Cruz said.
More than 100 turtles saved after cold snap
New park planned for explosion-damaged town
Fire sends some Corpus Christi residents to roof
GALVESTON — Experts say more than 100 green sea turtles have been rescued after this week’s cold weather in South Texas left them paralyzed. The Houston Chronicle reports most of the reptiles discovered Tuesday were in the upper part of the Laguna Madre.
WEST — Plans have been unveiled for a renovated park in West, a Central Texas town where a fertilizer plant explosion claimed 15 lives. The playground would be called “Parker’s Park” in honor of 4-year-old Parker Pustejovsky (poo-stah-JOW’-skee). His father, Joey Pustejovsky, was killed in the explosion.
CORPUS CHRISTI — Several people have been safely rescued from the roof of a burning twostory apartment building in South Texas. The Corpus Christi Fire Department used ladders to help with Tuesday night’s rescue. Officials say one person was transported to a hospital to be checked out as a precaution.
Customs helicopter crashes in South Texas
Man gets life term for killing ex-girlfriend
FALFURRIAS — A U.S. Customs and Border Protection Office of Air and Marine helicopter has crashed in South Texas injuring three aboard. The crash occurred Friday near Falfurrias. Brooks County Sheriff ’s Chief Deputy Benny Martinez said three agents aboard the helicopter were flown to a McAllen hospital for treatment of what were not believed to be life-threatening injuries.
FORT WORTH — A North Texas man has been sentenced to life in prison for the fatal shooting of his ex-girlfriend. Jurors in Fort Worth on Thursday convicted 37-year-old Raheem Smith of murder and then ordered him to serve the maximum life behind bars. The case involves the March 2013 slaying of 23-year-old Natasha McDade. — Compiled from AP reports
2 school officials accused of stealing millions BEAUMONT — Two top officials of a Southeast Texas school district have been indicted on charges accusing them of stealing more than $4 million from the district. Devin Wayne McCraney is the Beaumont Independent School District’s finance director, and Sharika Baksh Allison is the district’s comptroller. The 19-count indictment by a federal grand jury in Beaumont on Wednesday names both in a single conspiracy count and 18 fraud counts.
AROUND THE NATION DNA links executed convict to 1984 murder OTTUMWA, Iowa — Investigators have linked a 1984 triple homicide in southeastern Iowa to a man who was later executed for the murder of a 12-year-old girl. The Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation announced Friday that new DNA evidence implicates Andrew Six in the bludgeoning deaths of 20-year-old Justin Hook Jr., Hook’s fiancée, 19-yearold Tina Lade, and Hook’s mother, 41-year-old Sara Link. Missouri authorities executed Six by lethal injection in 1997 for the 1987 kidnapping and murder of 12-year-old Kathy Allen.
$23K donated for caller who warned of gunman WEST HAVEN, Conn. — A charitable fund has collected nearly $23,000 for a homeless woman who alerted authorities
Today is Saturday, Jan. 11, the 11th day of 2014. There are 354 days left in the year. Today’s Highlight in History: On Jan. 11, 1964, U.S. Surgeon General Luther Terry issued “Smoking and Health,” a report by an advisory committee which concluded that “cigarette smoking contributes substantially to mortality from certain specific diseases and to the overall death rate.” On this date: In 1759, the first American life insurance corporation, for “poor and distressed” Presbyterian ministers and their widows and children, was chartered in Philadelphia. In 1805, the Michigan Territory was created by an act of Congress. In 1861, Alabama became the fourth state to withdraw from the Union. In 1908, President Theodore Roosevelt proclaimed the Grand Canyon National Monument (it became a national park in 1919). In 1913, the first enclosed sedan-type automobile, a Hudson, went on display at the 13th National Automobile Show in New York. In 1927, the creation of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences was proposed during a dinner of Hollywood luminaries at the Ambassador Hotel in Los Angeles. In 1935, aviator Amelia Earhart began an 18-hour trip from Honolulu to Oakland, Calif., that made her the first person to fly solo across any part of the Pacific Ocean. In 1977, France set off an international uproar by releasing Abu Daoud, a PLO official behind the massacre of Israeli athletes at the 1972 Munich Olympics. In 1989, nine days before leaving the White House, President Ronald Reagan bade the nation farewell in a primetime address, asserting he had forged “a satisfying new closeness” with the Soviet Union and saying overall of his eight years in office: “We meant to change a nation and instead we changed a world.” Ten years ago: Democrat Howard Dean defended his record on race in the last debate before the Iowa caucuses, as he was forced to acknowledge that no blacks or Hispanics had served in his cabinet during his 12 years as governor of Vermont. Five years ago: The movie “Slumdog Millionaire” won four Golden Globes, including best drama; the late Heath Ledger won best supporting actor for “The Dark Knight” while Kate Winslet received two acting awards for “Revolutionary Road” and “The Reader.” One year ago: The video game industry, blamed by some for fostering a culture of violence, defended its practices at a White House meeting hosted by Vice President Joe Biden on how to prevent horrific shootings like the Connecticut elementary school massacre. Today’s Birthdays: Producer Grant Tinker is 89. Actor Rod Taylor is 84. Composer Mary Rodgers is 83. The former prime minister of Canada, Jean Chretien (zhahn kraytee-EHN’), is 80. Actor Mitchell Ryan is 80. Actor Felix Silla is 77. Movie director Joel Zwick is 72. Thought for Today: “For thy sake, tobacco, I/ Would do anything but die.” — Charles Lamb, English essayist (17751834), in his 1805 poem “A Farewell to Tobacco.”
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Madison Chock and Evan Bates skate during the ice dance short program at the U.S. Figure Skating Championships on Friday, in Boston.
to the presence of a man with a gun at the University of New Haven. University President Steven Kaplan says more than 400 people have contributed to the fund and that the woman is very grateful.
The woman dialed 911 when she saw the man take guns from his car near campus on Dec. 3. University officials later learned that the caller is homeless and collected the donations to help her get on her feet. — 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
SATURDAY, JANUARY 11, 2014
THE ZAPATA TIMES 3A
BLOTTER Accident An accident was reported at 6:22 p.m. Jan. 3 in the intersection of Second Street and Flores Drive. An accident was reported at 5:07 p.m. Jan. 4 in the intersection of U.S. 83 and Davis Lane.
Assault Jose Aurelio Maldonado was arrested and charged with assault, family violence Jan. 4 in the 1000 block of Ramireño Avenue. Cynthia Vanessa Hernandez was arrested and charged with assault Monday in the 3000 block of U.S. 83.
Burglary A burglary of a vehicle was reported at 5:46 p.m. Jan. 4 in the 1300 block of Ninth Street. A burglary of habitation was reported at 9:33 p.m. Monday in the intersection of 12th Street and Mier Avenue. A burglary of habitation was reported at 3:26 a.m. Thursday in the 5400 block of South Siesta Lane. A burglary of habitation was reported at 5:20 a.m. Thursday in the 5400
block of South Siesta Lane. A burglary of habitation was reported at 8:15 p.m. Thursday in the 100 block of Third Street. A burglary of habitation was reported at 8:53 p.m. Thursday in the 1200 block of Bravo Street. Jose Guillermo Cantu was served with a burglary warrant Thursday along U.S. 83 in Zapata County. Enrique Sanchez was arrested and charged with burglary of habitation Friday at the Zapata County Sheriff’s Office.
rested and charged with driving under the influence Monday in the intersection of Roma Avenue and Sixth Street.
DWI Erik Cisneros was arrested and charged with driving while intoxicated Jan. 5 in the intersection of Seventh Street and Laredo Avenue.
Harassment Alex Daniel Araiza was arrested and charged with harassment Friday at the Zapata County Sheriff’s Office.
Capias Reckless driving
Gilberto Sanchez was served with a capias for failure to appear in court for a burglary of habitation charge Wednesday in the intersection of 13th Street and Zapata Boulevard.
Romeo Trinidad Flores IV was arrested and charged with reckless driving Friday in the 100 block of Valle Verde Road in San Ygnacio.
Disorderly conduct
Terroristic threat
Mario Medina Jr. was arrested and charged with disorderly conduct Tuesday at the Conoco Pump-N-Shop, off U.S. 83.
Fernando Cuellar Jr. was arrested and charged with terroristic threat Friday at the Zapata County Sheriff’s Office. Andres Centeno was arrested and charged with terroristic threat Friday at the Precinct No. 2 Justice of the Peace Office.
DUI Juan Carlos Gonzalez Jr. was ar-
Suspect faces several charges Faces up to 10 years on each of 3 counts By CÉSAR G. RODRIGUEZ THE ZAPATA TIMES
A suspected human smuggler was indicted Tuesday in federal court in Laredo. Fernando Ramirez-Araguz was formally charged with one count of conspiracy to transport illegal immigrants within the United States, and two counts of transport and attempt to transport illegal immigrants for financial gain. Each count could be punishable with up to 10 years in federal prison, the indictment reads. Ramirez-Araguz has arraignment set for 11 a.m. Jan. 16 before U.S. Magistrate Judge Guillermo R. Garcia. Ramirez-Araguz is accused of transporting six illegal immigrants. U.S. Bor-
Candidate faces new complaint By JUAN A. LOZANO ASSOCIATED PRESS
HOUSTON — A white Houston man who was accused of misleading voters into thinking he was black in order to help him get elected as a community college trustee is now being accused of not living in the district he was chosen to represent. Dave Wilson narrowly won a seat on the Houston Community College board of trustees in November. His opponent alleged campaign mailers that Wilson sent out to voters implied that Wilson was black. Wilson, a Republican, won in a district made up of mostly black voters. Wilson has said he never lied on his mailers. Harris County Attorney
Vince Ryan alleges Wilson is ineligible to serve because he was not living in his district at the time of the election. A judge on Dec. 30 granted a temporary restraining order preventing Wilson from taking the oath of office. But Wilson, who has told the Houston Chronicle he wasn’t aware of the judge’s order, has already filed paperwork needed for him to be sworn in. A court hearing on the restraining order was set for Friday afternoon. In its lawsuit, Ryan’s office alleges the address Wilson listed on election documents is a commercial property and not a residential one. Wilson, 67, has said he lives in an apartment inside
the commercial building and that the lawsuit is part of an effort to keep him from serving on the community college board. Wilson, who has a history of making anti-gay statements, has unsuccessfully run for political office on multiple occasions, including a 2011 bid for mayor. When Houston Mayor Annise Parker, who is openly gay, first ran for the position in 2009, Wilson sent out fliers asking people to not vote for her, saying her election would lead to the “promotion and demand for legal and political approval for homosexual behavior that will stifle religious freedom and trap millions of more people in its deadly grip.” Before his election in November, his only political
success came in 2001, when he helped push a city charter amendment barring benefits for the same-sex partners of Houston city employees. In his election to the community college board, Wilson sent out direct mailers with pictures of AfricanAmericans that said, “Please vote for our friend and neighbor, Dave Wilson.” There were no photos of Wilson in the mailers. Another mailer said, “Endorsed by Ron Wilson.” If individuals didn’t pay attention to the fine print that said Ron Wilson is Dave Wilson’s cousin, voters might have believed the Ron Wilson being referenced was a former longtime state representative from Houston who is black.
der Patrol agents detained him Dec. 21 along U.S. 83, about one mile north of San Ygnacio. That day, a Texas Department of Public Safety trooper requested the assistance of federal agents during a traffic stop. The trooper had pulled over a 2000 Ford F-150 for speeding. Authorities identified the driver as Ramirez-Araguz. Six passengers inside the pickup were determined to be illegal immigrants, a complaint filed Christmas Eve states. Court records allege Ramirez-Araguz picked up the six immigrants in an alley in Roma. His intended destination was the Gateway Inn in Laredo. (César G. Rodriguez may be reached at 728-2568 or cesar@lmtonline.com)
Charge for illegal entry By CÉSAR G. RODRIGUEZ THE ZAPATA TIMES
A man was detained in Zapata County for being in the country illegally, a criminal complaint filed Thursday states. Jose Carmen Garcia-Ibarra was apprehended near Zapata on Monday. After a brief interview, it was determined that he was an undocumented immigrant from Mexico. Further investigation revealed that Garcia-Ibarra had been previously removed from the United States on Aug. 1, 2002, in El Paso, court records show. There’s no record indicating that GarciaIbarra had applied for or received permission to re-enter the United States after deportation, according to court documents. Garcia-Ibarra was charged re-entry of a deported person. (César G. Rodriguez may be reached at 728-2568 or cesar@lmtonline.com)
PAGE 4A
Zopinion
SATURDAY, JANUARY 11, 2014
LETTERS TO THE EDITOR SEND YOUR SIGNED LETTER TO EDITORIAL@LMTONLINE.COM
COLUMN
OTHER VIEWS
Trip sends wrong message By CUI TIANKAI SPECIAL TO THE WASHINGTON POST
Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s recent homage at the Yasukuni war shrine deeply disturbed people in China and much of Asia. The dispute surrounding his actions is about more than symbolism; it goes to the heart of his intentions for Japan’s future and his willingness to build an atmosphere of trust, respect and equality in East Asia. Fourteen Class A war criminals who were tried by the International Military Tribunal for the Far East after World War II are honored at Yasukuni. These include former prime minister Hideki Tojo, who launched the attack on Pearl Harbor and started the war in the Pacific that cost millions of lives, and commanders of the Nanking massacre in China in which some 300,000 people were killed. But this is just part of the story. The recent homage cannot be separated from the prime minister’s denial of Japan’s wartime atrocities, and it colors his initiative to revise Japan’s constitution to transform its Self-Defense Forces into a military force capable of projecting power outside Japan. This aggressive posture imperils regional security and economic prosperity. By contrast, Japan’s acceptance of and repentance for its war crimes would build a foundation for peace and security in the world’s most economically dynamic region. The Yasukuni war shrine is ground zero for the unrepentant view of Japan’s wartime aggression. Established in the 19th century to honor Japan’s war dead, the shrine imparted a spiritual dimension to Japanese militarism and colonial rule during World War II and became a revered living symbol of that militarism. The shrine includes a war museum, Yushukan, whose deliberately revisionist narrative of World War II lauds “Japan’s salvage of Asian countries from the colonial rule of Western countries” and details “crimes committed by the United States.” The Japanese government’s attitude toward this shrine is a test of its ability to understand and confront its legacy of militarism and war crimes. Because Abe is prime minister, his homage has implications inside and outside Japan. It is by no means the act of a private individual. As China’s ambassador to Japan from 2007 to 2009, I witnessed many of the ups and downs of Japan’s relations with its neighbors. I also saw how the homage at Yasukuni by then-Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi created tensions with China. Abe was the chief cabinet secretary in the Koizumi administration, and at one time he appeared to understand the consequences of such visits. He refrained from visiting the shrine during his first term as prime minister, which opened the door to improving Japan’s historically strained relations with its neighbors. Unfortunately, he now says he extremely regrets that decision, and his recent actions have closed the door to dialogue. My country’s government believes that Abe’s actions since returning to power undermine his stated aim to increase Japan’s engagement in safeguarding world peace. His government’s efforts to accelerate Japan’s military buildup and his initiative to rewrite Japan’s largely U.S.-drafted pacifist constitution are disconcerting, particularly in the context of his assertions, when talking about World War II, that the term “aggression” has yet to be defined and that no evidence exists proving that “comfort women” were forced into sexual servitude during the war. The prime minister has said that his changes to Japan’s constitutional military posture would only make Japan a “normal country.” Is he suggesting that the peaceful path Japan has followed is not normal? We see the homage at Yasukuni as nothing less than a challenge — not only to us but to the world. Japanese militarism brought great suffering to the Chinese people as well as the people of many other countries, including the United States, which was forced to fight a grueling island-by-island campaign against an intractable and fanatical enemy. Of course, the Japanese people were also victims of Japanese militarism, and today’s generation is not responsible for the crimes of the war criminals memorialized in Yasukuni. But the prime minister and his supporters implicitly embrace that responsibility for themselves and their fellow countrymen by paying homage at the shrine. Japan can embrace a constructive and cooperative future for East Asia by discarding militarism. Ensuring the continued peace and prosperity of our part of the world is in the best interest of all people and countries in this region. Abe is threatening the hard work we have all done to make East Asia the growth engine of the global economy. By listening to their neighbors and abandoning confrontational rhetoric, Japanese leaders can join with China, the United States, the Republic of Korea and other countries to continue to build prosperity and stability for all of Asia. The alternative is simply untenable. The writer is China’s ambassador to the United States and a former Chinese ambassador to Japan.
COLUMN
The 2016 GOP presidential preseason comes to town
“
KEN HERMAN
AUSTIN — The 2016 presidential primary preseason (which began 10 minutes after the 2012 presidential primary season ended) rolled through Austin on Thursday. Potential GOP candidates Rick Santorum and Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal spoke at the Texas Public Policy Foundation’s “Policy Orientation for the Texas Legislature 2014,” which is interesting because if things go as planned there will be no Texas Legislature 2014. TPPF is a conservative bunch. Its three-day session attracts folks like the bewhiskered guy at Thursday’s breakfast buffet who said: “I’m not shaving until there is a Republican in the White House.” (Should one’s personal grooming decisions be based on the ballot-box whims of others?) As Thursday’s events kicked off, Texas Reps. James White, R-Hillister, and Cecil Bell, R-Magnolia, were goodnaturedly yukking it up about the Obama administration. “Whatever they’re for,” White
said, “we’re against.” The sessions included one called “Getting Rid of Unnecessary Criminal Laws.” A promo for that noted Texas has “11 felonies related to oysters!” PolitiFact Texas has decreed that “mostly true.” Seems there are as many as 16 or as few as seven oysterrelated felonies. (I wonder what kind of prison cred oyster-related felons get on the cellblock.) Like many people, Santorum did a stint as a top-tier GOP presidential candidate in 2012. GOP primary voters brought that to an end. He also did a stint as a U.S. senator from Pennsylvania. Voters there brought that to an end. Santorum is now a Texas businessman, though not a Texan, as CEO of Flower Mound-based EchoLight Studios, “America’s Fastest-Growing Faith and Family Film Company.” The firm recently released “The Christmas Candle” and saw it as “the next holiday classic.” Some critics from the dreaded mainstream media saw otherwise. “It’s as if a little plastic holiday village came to life,” wrote Joe Neumaier of the New York Daily News. “Except that might be interesting.” Referring to the plot, the
New York Post’s Kyle Smith said the movie “may appeal to the kind of viewers who regard electricity as disturbingly newfangled.” And despite now doing business in a business-friendly state that reformed its torts to get even business friendlier, Santorum is embroiled in courthouse unpleasantness. His firm has sued two of its ex-execs, claiming they orchestrated “a campaign of sabotage” including implicitly threatening to “malign Santorum.” Santorum is an inspiring home-crowd public speaker. He offered important words here Thursday, particularly about the impact of changing notions about marriage, and he was not talking just about same-sex marriage. “Marriage is not about romantic love between two people,” he said, quickly acknowledging: “That’s a part of it.” I asked him how it goes at home after he tells the world “marriage is not about romantic love between two people.” “I said it’s not only about romantic love,” he reminded me. “It is, of course, about romantic love, but it’s not just that.” So how does it go at home?
“I have seven children,” Santorum said. “It goes well.” Jindal rallied the crowd by railing against the Obama administration as the most “extremely liberal” ever or the “most incompetent” ever. He’s a great public speaker, so good that if he runs in 2016, he might be able to make people forget something he publicly spoke in 2012: “Rick Perry is the candidate who can lead our party to victory in 2012.” Jindal would be a good addition to the candidate mix. And I’m hoping Santorum runs. The more Texans in the race (even part-time ones like him), the better as we move toward ending one of those annoying interims without a Texas president. I also want Perry and U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz to run. The only thing better than a good intrastate scrum is a good intrafamily scrum. That’s why I want ex-U.S. Rep. Ron Paul of Texas and son Sen. Rand Paul of Kentucky to run, producing the best father-son political family feud since the last time George W. Bush did something to annoy George H.W. Bush. Ken Herman is a columnist for the Austin American-Statesman. E-mail: kherman@statesman.com.
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SATURDAY, JANUARY 11, 2014
THE ZAPATA TIMES 5A
The governor’s in a jam Band leader Welk’s More documents home was sold released in NJ bridge scandal
By JAMES MACPHERSON
By GEOFF MULVIHILL AND ANGELA DELLI SANTI
BISMARCK, N.D. — Pop the cork and start the bubble machine: North Dakota has agreed to buy the boyhood home of Lawrence Welk, the maestro of “champagne music” and one of the state’s most famous sons. The North Dakota State Historical Society voted 6-5 Friday to buy the Strasburg homestead from Welk’s nieces, Evelyn Schwab, 84, and Edna Schwab, 80. The property in the southern part of the state has been listed for sale for more than a year, with an asking price of $125,000. A final sale price hasn’t been negotiated. “Twenty years ago, we would never have thought of selling it,” Evelyn Schwab said. “The time has come now.” The Schwabs have given tours of the farmstead since it was restored with private funds in the early 1990s. Welk donated about $140,000 for the restoration before his death in 1992 at age 89. The site drew more than 7,000 people in 1992, but attendance has since slipped to only a few hundred per year, the Schwabs said. Last year, the Legislature allocated $100,000 for the society’s purchase of the 6-acre homestead, but lawmakers stipulated that repairs must be made first. The purchase agreement is contingent on negotiated repairs being made to the property, which is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. The home on the outskirts of the town of about 400 people, many of whom still converse in German, features a life-size cutout of an accordion-wielding Welk to greet guests. The homestead includes a barn, summer kitchen, granary, buggy house, blacksmith shop and outhouse. The historical society envisions the property as a tourist destination to tout the importance of agriculture and the region’s German-Russian heritage. The purchase comes two decades after Congress earmarked $500,000 in federal funds to develop a tourist industry in Strasburg. The money included a museum of German-Russian heritage that was intended to draw visitors to the band leader’s
ASSOCIATED PRESS
ASSOCIATED PRESS
TRENTON, N.J. — A New Jersey legislative committee investigating the traffic-jam scandal that has rocked Gov. Chris Christie’s administration released hundreds of documents Friday that could shed more light on the politically motivated lane closings that created gridlock at the George Washington Bridge. The subpoenaed records — including correspondence involving Christie’s inner circle — were made public a day after the Republican governor moved quickly to contain the scandal that could damage his expected run for the White House in 2016. Christie on Thursday fired a top aide, cut ties to one of his chief political advisers and apologized repeatedly to the people of New Jersey for the “stupid” behavior of his staff. He again denied he had any role in the apparent attempt to punish the mayor of Fort Lee — the town at the foot of the bridge — for not endorsing Christie for re-election last fall. The four days of traffic jams last September delayed emergency vehicles, school buses and countless commuters at the bridge, one of the busiest spans in the world, crossed by more than 100 million cars and trucks a year. “I am embarrassed and humiliated by the conduct of some of the people on my team,” an uncharacteristically subdued Christie said in an extraordinary news conference nearly two hours long, during which he patiently took dozens of questions. Allies of Christie suggested the worst is behind him. But critics promise to keep probing what happened, federal
Photo by Louis Lanzano/file | AP
New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie leaves City Hall in Fort Lee, N.J., after apologizing to Mayor Mark Sokolich on Jan. 9. Christie fired a top aide Thursday and apologized repeatedly for the “abject stupidity” of his staff. prosecutors are examining the case, and the internal documents released Friday could take the scandal in new directions. “Unless something new develops, I think he’ll survive,” said former New Jersey Gov. Tom Kean, a Republican who was a mentor to Christie. “But if there’s a pattern of these things, if other incidents emerge with similar characteristics, that’s going to be a real problem.” David Axelrod, a top adviser to President Barack Obama’s campaigns, said Christie handled the high-profile news conference “as well as he could.” Unless a smoking gun turns up, “he lives to fight another day,” Axelrod tweeted. Christie had previously assured the public that his staff had nothing to do with the lane closings. But emails and text messages revealed Wednesday that his administration may have intentional-
ly caused the traffic mess to exact vengeance against Mayor Mark Sokolich. Christie said he fired Deputy Chief of Staff Bridget Anne Kelly, “because she lied to me” when he demanded weeks ago that anyone who knew anything about the episode come forward. He also jettisoned former campaign manager Bill Stepien, asking him to withdraw a bid to become the next state GOP chairman. The governor said he was disturbed by the “callous indifference” Stepien displayed in the emails released this week. Stepien had widely been seen as a potential campaign manager for Christie if he runs for president. Christie said he is still looking into the episode and will take action against other senior staff members if warranted. The governor traveled to Fort Lee on Thursday to apologize in person to the mayor.
birthplace. Lawmakers later withdrew the money when the idea was mocked as a national symbol of wasteful spending. The National TaxWELK payers Union said at the time it was “hard to imagine a more inappropriate use of taxpayer funds.” Several people, most of them elderly, packed the Historical Society’s meeting in Bismarck and spoke in favor of the purchase. “It would be a shame and national embarrassment to let it fall down,” said Gary Satern of Bismarck. Satern said he feared if the state did not purchase the property, it would be turned into a hunting lodge with “beer cans in the yard.” Merl Paaverud, director of the State Historical Society of North Dakota, estimated the site would require an annual state appropriation of about $60,000 for maintenance and to pay part-time staff. Repairs and improvements totaling more than $500,000 also are needed, he said. “We don’t have the funding to operate and maintain it right now,” Paaverud said. Volunteers from the region have pledged to help staff the facility through the summer of 2015, he said. That is when the Legislature next meets. Welk left Strasburg at age 21 to start a musical career that took him from dance halls in the Dakotas to national television. He became known as the “King of Champagne Music” for his bubbly dance tunes and added to the national lexicon with his heavily German-accented phrases, “Ah-one, an’ ah-two” and “wunnerful, wunnerful.” Board member Kelly Schmidt, who also is the state treasurer, said she was troubled by locking the state into the purchase of the Welk farmstead when so many of the details remained unknown. She also wondered if it might set a precedent, mentioning University of North Dakota alumnus and NBA legend Phil Jackson as an example. “Heck, maybe we should be buying the dorm room for Phil Jackson.”
6A THE ZAPATA TIMES
SATURDAY, JANUARY 11, 2014
Candidate announces education plan By NOMAAN MERCHANT ASSOCIATED PRESS
Photo courtesy of the Hunt family | AP
Kari Hunt Dunn’s 9-year-old daughter tried to call 911 from the hotel room where she could hear her mother dying but didn’t know to dial 9 first.
Extra number deadly Hotel death prompts petition to allow 911 direct dial By NOMAAN MERCHANT ASSOCIATED PRESS
DALLAS — Hank Hunt’s granddaughter tried calling 911 from the East Texas hotel room where she could hear her mother dying, just as she was taught to do in an emergency. She didn’t know she had to dial 9 on the hotel phone first. “Papa,” Hunt remembers the 9-year-old telling him later. “I tried, but it wouldn’t work.” Now Hunt has launched a national push to require hotels and other businesses to do away with dialing anything before calling 911. So far, an online petition for a federal law has gotten 390,000 signatures, and one 911 advocacy group says Hunt has hit on a perhaps under-documented issue. “I never dreamed that it would take a life of its own like this,” Hunt said this week. “There’s been a lot of good people out there helping us.” Hunt’s petition calls for “Kari’s Law,” in honor of his daughter, Kari Hunt Dunn, who was stabbed to death inside a Baymont Inn hotel, allegedly by her estranged husband. The law as described by the petition would require hotels and motels to upgrade to “Enhanced 911” systems that would let guests call for help just by dialing 911 and give the operator the caller’s exact location. The National Emergency Number Association, a group representing 911 call takers and industry professionals, says such changes are long overdue. Government affairs director Trey Forgety said the association did not know exactly how many callers try to dial 911 and fail. But officials hear “with some regularity” from member law enforcement agencies about callers who couldn’t get through, he said. “If it makes it onto our radar a few times a year, then it does sort of beg the question: How many identical situations are out there that we just don’t hear about?” Forgety said. Police in Marshall, about 150 miles east of Dallas, say Brad Dunn entered a room in the Baymont Inn where Kari Dunn and their three children were staying. Hunt said Brad Dunn took his estranged wife into the bathroom, leaving the children
outside. Det. Sonya Johnson said that as Brad Dunn began stabbing Kari Dunn, their eldest daughter tried to call for help. Four times, Hunt said, she dialed 911. Each time, it came up with static. Hunt said the children eventually ran into the hallway and found someone in a nearby room to call 911. Brad Dunn would flee with their younger daughter and was arrested in a neighboring county. He’s now accused of murder and being held on $5 million bond. His attorney, Scott Rectenwald, declined to comment. Hunt and Johnson could not say how much extra time it took to call 911 due to the delay, or whether that time could have saved Kari’s life. “We have no sense of knowing, because she never did make the call,” Johnson said. There were no immediate figures available on how many hotels require guests to dial 9 to make outside calls. Wyndham Hotel Group, which owns the Baymont Inn brand, said in a statement it was “looking into the issues that have been raised in the petition,” but declined to say how many of its hotels require guests to dial 9 or what changes it was making. Hotel experts say an industry-wide change could be made without a national law. Don O’Neal, a Dallasbased hotel technology consultant for more than 30
years, said one hotel he worked with recently made 8 the code for outside calls — but programmed 911 calls to work without a prefix. A handful of hotels either use old systems or more basic phone systems that aren’t intended for hospitality use. “If this particular hotel did not have it set up properly, it was strictly because they didn’t have the programming done, or else they had a telephone system that was not very current,” O’Neal said. One issue is that a directdial system might notify police, but not a hotel’s front desk, about an urgent situation to which staff could respond more quickly, said Chad Callahan, safety and security consultant for the American Hotel & Lodging Association. Callahan said he didn’t think a law was necessary. “Working together on these things, hotels can be reasonable about it,” Callahan said. “As long as they understand it, they’ll probably do the right thing in most cases.” But NENA officials said some requirements are needed for all businesses that serve guests. “The brand knowledge of 911 is one of the highest in the world,” said Ty Wooten, the group’s education director. “When you put anything or do anything that requires someone to do something other than dialing 911, it lends itself to potential problems.”
ARLINGTON — Texas gubernatorial candidate Wendy Davis made the first policy announcement of her campaign Thursday, offering proposals aimed at luring new public school teachers with guaranteed college admission, teaching jobs and loan forgiveness. The Fort Worth state senator and presumptive Democratic nominee didn’t say how much her ideas would cost. She said she would not seek a tax increase. “Within existing state resources, I absolutely believe that we can fund and make a priority public education in the state of Texas,” she said following an event at the University of Texas at Arlington. “It takes leadership and a partnership between the governor’s office and her Legislature in order to make that happen, and that will be one of my priorities.” Davis sought again to tie Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott, her expected Republican rival, to $5 billion in school funding cuts the Republican-controlled Legislature made in 2011 in response to a massive shortfall in state revenue. Much of those cuts were reversed during last year’s session. “I think it’s a pretty clear distinction between what our focus and what our priorities are,” she said. Abbott has declined to take a position on the funding cuts, though his office is representing the state in an ongoing case brought by more than half of Texas’ 1,000-plus
Photo by LM Otero | AP
Sen. Wendy Davis reads her education proposals to reporters after a meeting in Arlington, on Thursday. public school districts after the cuts were made. In an email Thursday, Abbott spokesman Matt Hirsch called Davis’ proposals “fuzzy math — a plan that will increase spending and impose more mandates on Texas universities without explaining how to pay for it.” Davis said high school students in the top 20 percent of their classes should be guaranteed admission to the University of Texas at Austin or other state institutions and a job teaching in a state school after graduation. She said the state should forgive one year of student loan debt for every teacher who works two years in a qualifying school, and that loan forgiveness should be available to potential teachers in all fields of study. Davis said Texas teachers were underpaid and
decried stories of some teachers working a second or third job to make ends meet, saying they “simply aren’t earning enough.” According to the National Education Association, the national teachers’ union, starting Texas teachers were paid about $1,000 less than the national average during the 2011-12 academic year. She also wants to boost the number of teacher’s aides and school counselors in the state. Two years before her 11-hour filibuster of an anti-abortion measure brought her national attention, Davis staged a filibuster in 2011 over the Republican-controlled Legislature $5 billion cuts to school funding. Much of the money cut then was restored during last year’s legislative session.
SATURDAY, JANUARY 11, 2014
THE ZAPATA TIMES 7A
PÁGINA 8A
Zfrontera
Agenda en Breve SÁBADO 11 DE ENERO LAREDO — Jornada Sabatina del Consulado de México en Laredo se realizará de 9 a.m. a 1 p.m. en las oficinas ubicadas en 116 calle Farragut. Se tramitan pasaportes, matrículas consulares y se asiste en el ámbito de protección. LAREDO — Feria de Beneficios para Veteranos será de 10 a.m. a 1 p.m. en el VA Laredo Outpatient Clinic, 4601 N. Bartlett Ave. Una cantidad de representantes de servicios estarán disponibles para otorgar información sobre una variedad de servicios disponibles para los veteranos. LAREDO — La Biblioteca Pública de Laredo invita a conocer a la escritora Lacy Wise, autora de “Schizoaffective Disorder: Victory Is Possible!”, a las 3 p.m. en el Salón de Usos Múltiples HE-B de la Biblioteca Pública de Laredo, 1120 E. Calton Road. Wise ha combatido su enfermedad mental durante 29 años. LAREDO — Exposición de arte “Zoolirium” de Ricardo A. Guerrero III, se presentará de 7 p.m. a 10 p.m. en Caffe Dolce, 1708 Victoria. La exhibición incluye ilustraciones en acuarela y acrílico.
DOMINGO 12 DE ENERO NUEVO LAREDO, México— El grupo de Teatro Laberintus estará presentando la obra infantil “La Nave”, de José Luis Pineda Servín, a las 12 p.m. dentro del teatro del IMSS, entre Reynosa y Belden (sector centro). Costo 20 pesos.
SÁBADO 11 DE ENERO DE 2014
UNO DE LOS CINCO NIÑOS SOBREVIVIENTES CONTINÚA EN CUIDADOS INTENSIVOS
Después de fatalidad POR CÉSAR G. RODRÍGUEZ TIEMPO DE ZAPATA
Uno de los niños que sobrevivió a una volcadura fatal ocurrida en la Autopista Monterrey-Nuevo Laredo, México, continúa en la unidad de cuidados intensivos, dijo un familiar el jueves. Pero los doctores en Monterrey, México, dijeron a la familia que no pueden mantener a Mario González Torres, de 12 años, estudiante de Christen Middle School, conectado a la unidad ICU por mucho tiempo, dijo Zelica Salinas, su prima. “Estamos esperando un helicóptero para que lo trasladen a San Antonio y darle la oportunidad de regresar. Aún está aquí”, dijo Salinas. Mario ha movido las manos, pero no ha despertado, dijo Deyanira Salinas, una prima de él, a Laredo Morning Times. Briana Nicole Rojas, de 5 años, sufrió una fractura de cadera y en el muslo. Fue dada de alta del hospital la noche del jueves. Portará un yeso por dos o tres meses, dijo Deyanira Salinas, señalando que la niña está bien. Lizandra Torres, de 1 año, fue sometida a cirugía el jueves. Una hemorragia que padecía fue reducida. Estaba despierta y comiendo esa
ROXANA
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tarde, de acuerdo con sus familiares. Emmanuel de la Rosa, de 3 años y Keziah Monik de la Rosa Torres, de 3 años, no presentaron lesiones. Fueron dados de alta el día del accidente, el lunes, después de una revisión de rutina. Se encuentran en Cerritos, San Luís Potosí, México, con su padre. Las autoridades mexicanas dijeron que la Ford Expedition, color negro, en la que viajaban 12 miembros de la familia, se salió de la carretera el lunes, al momento en que la llanta trasera se desprendió del vehículo, lo que causó la volcadura. Autoridades mexicanas han informado a los familiares que hay una posibilidad de que la montura de la rueda se rompiera, lo que causó el desprendimiento de la llanta. Una fuente federal dijo que la Expedition, transportaba a cuatro pasajeros más de lo recomendado. La familia regresaba de Cerritos, San Luís Potosí, donde habían pasado
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las fiestas decembrinas. Las autoridades dijeron que siete personas murieron en el lugar. Fueron identificados como Roxana Torres, de 40 años, Tania Torres, de 20 años, Ashly Torres, de 17 años, Víctor González Torres, de 12 años, Jesús Manuel Torres, de 16 años, Héctor Collazo Jesús Torres, de 4 años y Vianey Carolina de la Rosa, de 2 años. Roxana Torres, madre de siete de los niños en el vehículo, fue identificada como la conductora. Tania Torres era la madre de Vianey Carolina de la Rosa, Keziah Monik de la Rosa Torres y Manuel de la Rosa Torres. Ashley Torres era la madre de Lizandra Torres. “Es muy duro. La única cosa que podemos hacer es orar”, dijo Deyanira Salinas. Los servicios funerales se llevarán a cabo en San Luís Potosí, a petición de los familiares. Ahora, la familia espera recaudar dinero para los gastos médicos y funerarios.
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Una vez que la trágica noticia golpeó Laredo, miembros de la comunidad ofrecieron su ayuda a la familia. Algunos han ofrecido arroz y frijoles o cocinar para la venta de platillos. Ashly Torres y su hermano, Jesús Manuel Torres, estaban inscritos en Martin High School. En Christen Middle y Martin High se están solicitando donaciones para la familia. Cualquiera que quiera ayudar a la familia puede donar en la cuenta bancaria de Falcon International Bank No. 240640020. También pueden llamar al (956) 489-4909. “Estamos agradecidos con lo que la gente ha donado. Nos estamos centrando en (los niños) que todavía están aquí con nosotros. Esa es nuestra meta, para darles el futuro que todavía tienen por delante”, dijo Zelica Salinas. (Localice a César G. Rodriguez en 728-2568 o en cesar@lmtonline.com)
INTERNACIONAL
CORTE
TURISMO MÉDICO
Juez Federal pide retomar demanda de Agente Zapata
McAllen fue sede para promover varios servicios
POR MARK REAGAN THE BROWNSVILLE HERALD
TIEMPO DE ZAPATA
MARTES 14 DE ENERO NUEVO LAREDO, México— El grupo de Teatro Laberintus estará presentando la obra para adolescentes y adultos “Sueño de una noche de verano” de William Shakespeare, a las 7 p.m. dentro del teatro del IMSS, entre Reynosa y Belden (sector centro). Costo 20 pesos.
VIERNES 17 DE ENERO NUEVO LAREDO, México — “Tamaulipas en Corto” es una muestra de cortometrajes de cineastas tamaulipecos. Se presentarán “Muy en el fondo” de Víctor Contreras; “Disculpe las molestias” de Antonio Rotunno; “El cielo en el lago” de Ruy Portillo; “Leticia y la moneda” de Adrián Contreras; y, “La vulka” de Ramiro Medina, a las 6 p.m. en el Auditorio de Estación Palabra. Entrada gratuita.
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urante miércoles y jueves se llevó a cabo el 26º International McAllen Travel Show, con alrededor de 8.000 personas visitando las 150 exhibiciones. El Gobierno de Tamaulipas participó por tercer año consecutivo aprovechando para promover los servicios de salud que ofrece la entidad. Salvador Treviño Salinas, titular de la Secretaría de Desarrollo Económico y Turismo, informó que en el módulo se ofrecieron revisiones de presión, peso, estatura y masa corporal, así como información sobre los servicios de salud, especialidades, hospedaje, restaurante, transporte, servicios complementarios y folletos turísticos. El International McAllen Travel Show es organizado por la Cámara de Comercio y Oficina de Visitantes y Con-
DOMINGO 19 DE ENERO NUEVO LAREDO, México— El grupo de Teatro Laberintus estará presentando la obra infantil “La Nave”, de José Luis Pineda Servín, a las 12 p.m. dentro del teatro del IMSS, entre Reynosa y Belden (sector centro). Costo 20 pesos.
— Reportes Tiempo de Zapata
Foto de cortesía | Gobierno de Tamaulipas
Personal de salud del Gobierno de Tamaulipas ayuda a un visitante del módulo estatal durante el 26º International McAllen Travel Show, el miércoles. venciones de McAllen, y asisten operadores turísticos, agencias de viajes y prestadores de servicios en materia de salud, con el objetivo de impulsar el turismo médico en el plano internacional. En el 2014, el turismo de salud en Tamaulipas busca
consolidarse como un destino con amplio potencial, sobre todo en la frontera, en donde se han generado las sinergias adecuadas entre Gobierno e iniciativa privada para mostrar las bondades competitivas del Turismo Médico en la entidad.
SALUD
SÁBADO 18 DE ENERO LAREDO — “Menudo Bowl” de Alto al Crimen será de 10 a.m. a 7 p.m. en terrenos del LIFE Fair Grounds por la Carretera 59. Costo: 5 dólares, adultos; gratis para niños de 12 años de edad y menores. Concurso de Menudo de 1 p.m. a 3:30 p.m.; actividades varias a partir de las 10 a.m. LAREDO — El equipo de baloncesto femenil de TAMIU recibe a St. Mary’s a la 1 p.m. en el Kinesiology-Convocation Building; en tanto que el equipo de baloncesto varonil de TAMIU recibe a St. Mary’s a las 3 p.m. en el Kinesiology-Convocation Building. Costo por partido: 5 dólares.
JESÚS MANUEL
Tamaulipas: Fallecen ocho debido a influenza TIEMPO DE ZAPATA
En lo que va de la temporada de invierno 2013-2014, en Tamaulipas han fallecido ocho personas por causa de la influenza. En total, la entidad ha tenido 69 casos reportados de influenza, por lo que el Gobierno del Estado ha continuado la vigilancia permanente en sus unidades de salud, monitoreo de pacientes y difusión de medidas preventivas entre la población para evitar esta enfermedad de las vías respiratorias. “La forma de trasmisión de la influenza es de persona a persona a través de la boca, nariz y ojos, de forma principal cuando un enfermo o portador del virus expulsan gotas de saliva al estornudar o toser sin cubrirse boca y nariz”, dijo Norberto Treviño García Manzo, Secretario de Salud. “La influenza es curable y controlable con una atención médica oportuna y los cuidados
necesarios”. Especificó que es importante que las personas comprendan los signos de alarma y medidas TREVIÑO preventivas para proteger a las familias. Otras maneras de contagio de la enfermedad son al saludar de mano, beso o abrazo; compartir alimentos o utensilios con una persona enferma; a través del contacto con superficies contaminadas con el virus como pueden ser las manos, barandales, pañuelos desechables, telas y otros, sostuvo. “Importante es el lavado frecuente de manos”, dijo Treviño. Los síntomas más comunes de la influenza son fiebre, tos, dolor de cabeza, escurrimiento, enrojecimiento y congestión nasal, dolor en el pecho, muscular o de articulaciones, decaimiento y a veces diarrea, indica un co-
municado de prensa. “En caso de identificar estos síntomas, en fundamental acudir con su médico para efectuar un diagnostico clínico y de ser positivo, indicar el tratamiento adecuado para la influenza”, agregó. La Secretaría de Salud indica que, como manera preventiva, es importante completar esquemas de vacunación en los grupos vulnerables que son menores de 5 años, mayores de 60 y personas con ciertas comorbilidades como obesidad, diabetes e hipertensión arterial. Otras sugerencias es evitar automedicarse; no tomar antibióticos y no tomar antigripales. “Si se toman antivirales cuando no se está enfermo, se genera resistencia y no serán efectivos cuando el cuerpo realmente los necesite, por ello, sólo deben ser prescritos por el médico”, explicó Treviño.
El Juez de Distrito de EU Andrew S. Hanen dijo en corte, el miércoles, que los procesos judiciales en una demanda civil presentada por los padres de un agente del U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement asesinado, se han desviado. “Quiero que retome el rumbo, pero no será sencillo”, dijo Hanen. El Agente Especial del ICE Jaime J. Zapata fue asesinado el 15 de febrero del 2011, cuando sicarios, quienes lo más probable estaban ligados a un cartel de las drogas, lo emboscaron a él y otro agente mientras conducían sobre la Carretera 57 cerca de Santa María del Río, San Luis Potosí. El Agente Especial del ICE Victor Ávila resultó herido de gravedad durante el ataque al recibir seis disparos, dijo Edward Michael Rodríguez, uno de los abogados para Ávila y los padres de Zapata, Mary M. y Amador Zapata. Acusados en la demanda incluyen al gobierno de EU, agencias federales, oficiales de EU y México, traficantes de armas y lo que la demanda sostiene eran compradores intermediarios y surtidores de armas. Los demandantes buscan 75 millones de dólares en daños y sostienen que existe una conspiración, encubrimiento y negligencia en relación al ataque contra los agentes, que está por cumplir su tercer aniversario. El Departamento de Justicia ha presentado una moción para desestimar el caso. Dos tiendas que venden armas, así como la compañía que tenía un contrato gubernamental para blindar la SUV donde Jaime J. Zapata fue asesinado, han presentado mociones argumentando que la corte carece de jurisdicción. Hanen ordenó a las tiendas — JJ’s Pawn Shop Inc. y Off-Duty Enterprises Inc., junto
con la compañía que compró a la empresa que blindó la SUV ZAPATA — OGaraHess & Eisenhardt Armoring Co. LLC — involucrarse en el limitado descubrimiento jurisdiccional con los abogados de los demandantes para determinar si pueden ser demandados en el Distrito Sur de Texas. Rodríguez argumentó durante la audiencia que los padres de Jaime J. Zapata y Ávila son víctimas de un encubrimiento y están demandando por aflicción emocional intencional porque el gobierno no responderá sus indagaciones sobre por qué se le ordenó a Jaime J. Zapata tomar la carretera junto con Ávila y porque Ávila ha contraatacado contra el ICE. De acuerdo a Rodríguez, a Ávila se le ha pedido retirarse, renunciar o reubicarse y él desconoce por qué y que generalmente agentes problemáticos se les pide retirarse o resignar. La demanda sostiene que los acusados fallaron en continuar las políticas y regulaciones sobre exportaciones de armas, viajes seguros y supervisar a los empleados. También sostiene alegatos involucrando emisiones de vehículos defectuosos, transporte de armas y fallas para informar peligros conocidos involucrando el contrabando de armas. Tres armas recuperadas por investigadores mexicanos, salieron de Estados Unidos, de acuerdo a la demanda. Supervisores mexicanos giraron instrucciones a Ávila para manejar por la carretera y le ordenaron llevar a Zapata con él, a quien acababa de conocer ése día, y recogieron equipo para un caso al que ninguno de ellos estaba asignado, dijo Rodríguez el miércoles. Hanen no dio dictamen sobre la moción para desestimar.
SATURDAY, JANUARY 11, 2014
THE ZAPATA TIMES 9A
Weak jobs report is puzzling By CHRISTOPHER S. RUGABER ASSOCIATED PRESS
WASHINGTON — It came as a shock: U.S. employers added just 74,000 jobs in December, far fewer than anyone expected. This from an economy that had been adding nearly three times as many for four straight months — a key reason the Federal Reserve decided last month to slow its economic stimulus. So what happened in December? Economists struggled for explanations: Unusually cold weather. A statistical quirk. A temporary halt in steady job growth. Blurring the picture, a wave of Americans stopped looking for work, meaning they were no longer counted as unemployed. Their exodus cut the unemployment rate from 7 percent to 6.7 percent — its lowest point in more than five years. Friday’s weak report from the Labor Department was particularly surprising because it followed a flurry of data that had pointed to a robust economy: U.S. companies are selling record levels of goods overseas. Americans are spending more on big purchases like cars and appliances. Layoffs have dwindled. Consumer confidence is up and debt levels are down. Builders broke ground in November on the most new homes in five years. “The disappointing jobs report flies in the face of most recent economic data, which are pointing to a pretty strong fourth quarter,” said Sal Guatieri, an economist at BMO Capital Markets. It’s unclear whether the sharp hiring slowdown might lead the Federal Reserve to rethink its plan to slow its stimulus efforts. The Fed decided last month to pare its monthly bond purchases, which have been designed to lower interest rates to spur borrow-
Millions more affected: Target By ANNE D’INNOCENZIO AND MICHELLE CHAPMAN ASSOCIATED PRESS
Photo by Lynne Sladky/file | AP
Luis Mendez, 23, left, and Maurice Mike, 23, wait at a job fair held by the Miami Marlins, at Marlins Park in Miami on Oct. 23. Employers added just 74,000 jobs in December, fewer than anyone expected. ing and spending. Janet Yellen, who will take over as Fed chairman next month, “is probably scratching her head looking at the report,” said Sun Wong Sohn, an economics professor at the University of California’s Smith Business School. Certainly many economists were. Some predicted that the job gain would be revised up in the coming months. The government adjusts each month’s jobs figure in the following two months as more companies respond to its survey. Few analysts saw the sharp slowdown as the beginning of a much weaker trend. “There is a good possibility this is just a one-shot deal that could either get revised away or made up for in next month’s release,” Scott Anderson, chief economist at Bank of the West, said in a note to clients. Cold weather affected the report in several ways. Construction companies, which stop work during bad weather, cut 16,000 jobs, the most in 20 months. And the average workweek dipped as more people
worked part time. An unusually large number of people missed work in December because of the weather, the government’s surveys found. Michael Hanson, an economist at Bank of America Merrill Lynch, estimated that all told, the cold weather lowered hiring by about 75,000 jobs. Several economists also highlighted statistical quirks in the report that they say are unlikely to be repeated. Mark Vitner of Wells Fargo noted that several industries reported unusually steep job losses. Accounting and bookkeeping services, for example, lost 24,700 jobs, the most in nearly 11 years. And performing arts and spectator sports cut 11,600, the most in 2 1/2 years. The movie industry shed 13,700 jobs. “We should expect to see at least one fluky employment report each year,” Vitner said. “December’s ... was likely that report.” Perhaps as surprising as last month’s weak job growth was the flood of people — 347,000 — who stopped looking for jobs. The proportion of people
either working or looking for work fell to 62.8 percent, matching a 36-year low. Last month’s expiration of extended benefits for 1.3 million long-term unemployed could accelerate that trend if many of them stop looking for work. Beneficiaries are required to look for work to receive unemployment checks. The likely increase in people who no longer are looking for work could cause the unemployment rate to fall by up to a quarter-percentage point early this year, economists say. The Obama administration and Democrats in Congress are pushing to extend the benefits for three more months. For all the fluctuations in monthly job growth, hiring has been strikingly stable for three years: Employers added 2.2 million jobs in 2013 and 2012, up slightly from 2.1 million in 2011. Low-wage industries produced the biggest job gain last year, one reason wage growth has been weak. Employment in the temporary help industry rose nearly 10 percent — the biggest percentage increase for any major industry.
NEW YORK — Target’s pre-Christmas security breach was significantly more extensive and affected millions more shoppers than the company reported last month. The nation’s second largest discounter said Friday that hackers stole personal information — including names, phone numbers as well as email and mailing addresses — from as many as 70 million customers as part of a data breach it discovered in December. Target Corp. disclosed last month about 40 million credit and debit cards may have been affected by a data breach that happened between Nov. 27 and Dec. 15 — just as the holiday shopping season was getting into gear. According to new information gleaned from its investigation with the Secret Service and the Department of Justice, Target said Friday that criminals also took non-credit card related data from some 70 million shoppers who could have made purchases at Target stores outside the late Nov. to mid-Dec. timeframe. Some overlap exists between the two data sets, the company said Friday. “I know that it is frustrating for our guests to learn that this information was taken and we are truly sorry they are having to endure this,” said Gregg Steinhafel, Target chairman, president and CEO, in a statement. While Target investors have been largely unmoved, the incident has shaken shoppers. The company’s stock has traded at about $63 since news of the breach leaked on Dec. 18. It
slipped just 67 cents, or 1 percent, to $62.67 in morning trading Friday. Target revealed on Friday, however, that the breach diminished holiday sales. The company cut its forecast for fourthquarter earnings, a key sales barometer. The theft from Target’s databases is still the second largest data breach on record. Target said in December that customers’ names, credit and debit card numbers, card expiration dates, debit-card PINs and the embedded code on the magnetic strip on the back of cards had been stolen.
Late discount Target tried to woo scared shoppers back to stores on the last weekend before Christmas with a 10 percent discount on nearly everything in its stores. But Customer Growth Partners LLC, a retail consultancy, estimated that the number of transactions at Target fell 3 percent to 4 percent on the Saturday before Christmas, compared with a year ago. “You have violated that person’s trust. And it’s going to take time to regain that trust,” said Brian Sozzi, CEO & Chief Equities Strategist of Belus Capital Advisors. Target lowered its fourth-quarter adjusted earnings guidance to a range of $1.20 to $1.30 per share, down from $1.50 to $1.60 per share. Analysts surveyed by FactSet expect earnings of $1.24 per share. The Minneapolis company also said that it now foresees fourth-quarter sales at stores open at least a year will be down about 2.5 percent.
10A THE ZAPATA TIMES
SATURDAY, JANUARY 11, 2014
Dems join House GOP in targeting health bill By DONNA CASSATA ASSOCIATED PRESS
WASHINGTON — The Republican-led House voted overwhelmingly Friday to bolt new security requirements onto President Barack Obama’s health care law, with 67 Democrats breaking ranks to join with the GOP. It was the first skirmish of what is certain to be a long and contentious election-year fight. The vote was 291-122 with Republicans relentlessly focusing on “Obamacare,” convinced that Americans’ unease with the troubled law will translate into significant election gains in November. Dozens of Democrats, nervous about their re-election chances or their campaigns for other offices, voted for the GOP bill. “Americans have the right to know if the president’s health care law has put their personal information at risk, and today’s bipartisan vote reflects that concern,” said Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio. Among the Democrats joining the Republicans was Rep. Steve Israel of New York, the chairman of his party’s campaign committee dedicated to electing Democrats. “I voted for this bill because I want to make sure confidential information is protected. That’s just common sense,” Israel said in a statement. “This is an added consumer safeguard on top of the many consumer protections in the law that already exist.” The bill would require the secretary of health and human services to notify an individual within two business days of any security breach involving personal data provided to the government through the health care website HealthCare.gov. White House press secretary Jay Carney said Friday that the administration opposes the measure as an unnecessary and costly
burden. He said the government already has imposed stringent security standards, uses sensors and other tools to deter unauthorized access and conducts regular testing. He said Americans will be notified if personal information has been compromised. Several House Democrats said the measure was a GOP message bill designed to scare people away from enrolling in coverage. The bill stands no chance for final approval in the Democratic-led Senate. Elsewhere on Friday: The administration said it was parting ways with the lead outside contractor for the sign-up website, which had to be rebuilt after its disastrous launch last fall. Obama lunched at a Washington restaurant with five young people to call attention to a need for young Americans to enroll for insurance through the law. The administration needs millions of Americans, but especially young, healthier people, to enroll to keep prices low for everyone. On Capitol Hill, Republicans said their legislation on the overhaul addressed potential security breaches, though they offered no specific examples of compromised information to this point. Instead, they pointed to the recent security breach at Target Corp. The nation’s second-largest retailer said Friday that personal information connected to about 70 million customers through credit and debit card accounts had been stolen in a pre-Christmas data breach. “What if Target had not bothered to tell anyone?” asked Rep. Joe Pitts, R-Pa., who argued the Health and Human Services Department’s promise to notify ifsecurity breaches needed the force of law. Rep. Kevin McCarthy, RCalif., spoke of “credible and documented fear” of
the health care website. But Democrats said there had been no breaches at the health care website. The bill was a Republican effort to “put fear into the public,” according to Rep. Frank Pallone, D-N.J. Rep. Diane DeGette, DColo., described the legisla-
tion as a “solution in search of a problem.” In fact, there was at least one breach last year. A North Carolina man tried to log onto the website and got a South Carolina man’s personal information. Republicans used debate on the bill to assail the
health care law more broadly. The goal of the Affordable Care Act is to expand coverage to tens of millions of Americans who lack insurance, to lower health care costs, to increase access to preventive services and to eliminate some of
the pre-existing condition requirements that insurance companies have used to deny coverage. The health care website got off to a calamitous start on Oct. 1, followed quickly by widespread reports of canceled policies and higher premiums.
SATURDAY, JANUARY 11, 2014
THE ZAPATA TIMES 11A
THE WEEK IN REVIEW WEEKLY STOCK EXCHANGE HIGHLIGHTS
u
NYSE 10,371.13 +74.36
u
NASDAQ 4,174.66 +42.75
GAINERS ($2 OR MORE)
GAINERS ($2 OR MORE)
Name Last Chg %Chg VersoPap 4.15 +3.50 +538.5 Intrexon n 29.87 +6.37 +27.1 EKodk wtA 19.82 +4.07 +25.8 PennVa 11.25 +2.13 +23.4 Pharmerica 25.91 +4.81 +22.8 Acuity 132.66 +24.51 +22.7 NBGre pfA 17.34 +3.14 +22.1 BkIreland 17.31 +3.08 +21.6 Yelp 82.21 +14.55 +21.5 Pandora 33.47 +5.88 +21.3
Name Last Chg %Chg InterceptP 445.83+376.66+544.5 ConatusP n 14.25 +8.07 +130.6 Galectin wt 10.30 +5.78 +127.6 ChinaYida 7.24 +4.02 +125.1 Neurcrine 19.15 +9.50 +98.4 Epizyme n 40.41 +19.84 +96.5 GalectinTh 15.10 +7.06 +87.8 LiveDeal 8.65 +3.77 +77.3 Galectin un 35.00 +14.74 +72.8 Oramed n 28.91 +10.90 +60.5
LOSERS ($2 OR MORE)
LOSERS ($2 OR MORE)
Name GNIron Cyan n hhgregg RadioShk Dolan pfB CSVLgNGs Twitter n USEC rs NatResPtrs Penney
Last Chg 22.92 -44.15 3.56 -1.73 10.62 -2.98 2.12 -.53 10.05 -2.25 18.54 -3.91 57.00 -12.00 5.12 -1.06 16.60 -3.16 7.34 -1.40
%Chg -65.8 -32.7 -21.9 -20.0 -18.3 -17.4 -17.4 -17.2 -16.0 -16.0
Name PrDvrsty n YRC Wwde ChelseaTh support.cm NV5 wt ProceraN ChinaNRes FairwayG n PacSunwr Brightcove
Last 3.23 13.58 2.50 2.84 2.65 11.57 8.51 14.49 2.88 11.54
Chg -1.49 -5.60 -1.00 -1.03 -.82 -3.35 -2.29 -3.83 -.76 -3.03
%Chg -31.6 -29.2 -28.6 -26.6 -23.7 -22.5 -21.2 -20.9 -20.9 -20.8
MOST ACTIVE ($1 OR MORE) MOST ACTIVE ($1 OR MORE) Name
Vol (00)
Last Chg Name
BkofAm 5024892 16.77 +.36 S&P500ETF4156104184.14+1.26 iShEMkts 3430984 40.27 +.15 FordM 2565055 16.07 +.56 Alcoa 1884497 10.11 -.46 Penney 1766766 7.34 -1.40 SPDR Fncl 1754855 22.03 +.14 AMD 1666632 4.17 +.17 RiteAid 1551861 5.60 +.13 GenElec 1494781 26.96 -.52
Vol (00)
Volume
Last Chg
SiriusXM 9541373 3.70 +.13 PlugPowr h 3607737 3.65 +1.04 Facebook 3311174 57.94 +3.38 MicronT 2683183 23.71 +2.74 Microsoft 2128005 36.04 -.87 BlackBerry 2083051 8.76 +1.15 Cisco 1710649 22.22 +.24 PwShs QQQ1414944 87.30 +.66 Intel 1317018 25.53 -.25 Groupon 1060703 11.56 -.52
DIARY Advanced Declined New Highs New Lows Total issues Unchanged
DIARY
2,073 1,132 411 42 3,239 34 16,887,827,164
WEEKLY DOW JONES
Advanced Declined New Highs New Lows Total issues Unchanged
Volume
1,503 1,183 459 42 2,741 55 11,043,881,678
MEETING
Dow Jones industrials
STOCK MARKET INDEXES
-44.89 105.84 -68.20
-17.98
-7.71
MON
THUR
FRI
Close: 16,437.05 1-week change: -32.94 (-0.2%) 17,000
TUES
WED
52-Week High Low 16,588.25 7,468.05 537.86 11,334.65 2,471.19 4,182.74 1,849.44 19,719.24 1,167.97 5,635.74
16,500 16,000
Dow Jones Industrials 16,437.05 Dow Jones Transportation 7,466.03 Dow Jones Utilities 493.87 NYSE Composite 10,371.13 NYSE MKT Composite 2,375.50 Nasdaq Composite 4,174.66 S&P 500 1,842.37 Wilshire 5000 19,674.01 Russell 2000 1,164.37 Lipper Growth Index 5,635.74
MONEY RATES
15,000
Last
14,500
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STOCKS OF LOCAL INTEREST Last
Wk Wk YTD Chg %Chg%Chg
Name
Ex
Div
AT&T Inc Alcoa AEP BkofAm BlackBerry Caterpillar CCFemsa CmtyHlt ConocoPhil Dillards EmpIca ExxonMbl Facebook FordM GenElec HewlettP HomeDp iShEMkts Intel IntlBcsh IBM
NY NY NY NY Nasd NY NY NY NY NY NY NY Nasd NY NY NY NY NY Nasd Nasd NY
1.84 33.62 -.72 -2.1 -4.4 .12 10.11 -.46 -4.4 -4.9 2.00 47.20 +1.09 +2.4 +1.0 .04 16.77 +.36 +2.2 +7.7 ... 8.76 +1.15 +15.1 +17.7 2.40 90.51 +.69 +0.8 -.3 1.19 118.35 -.75 -0.6 -2.8 ... 41.33 -1.19 -2.8 +5.2 2.76 68.87 -1.09 -1.6 -2.5 .24 93.23 -3.45 -3.6 -4.1 ... 8.33 +.14 +1.7 -1.4 2.52 100.52 +1.01 +1.0 -.7 ... 57.94 +3.38 +6.2 +6.0 .50 16.07 +.56 +3.6 +4.1 .88 26.96 -.52 -1.9 -3.8 .58 27.70 -.64 -2.3 -1.0 1.56 82.01 +.12 +0.1 -.4 .87 40.27 +.15 +0.4 -3.6 .90 25.53 -.25 -1.0 -1.6 .46 25.54 -.27 -1.0 -3.1 3.80 187.26 +.62 +0.3 -.2
Last
Wk Wk YTD Chg %Chg%Chg
Name
Ex
Div
Lowes Lubys MetLife MexicoFd MicronT Microsoft Modine Penney PlugPowr h RadioShk S&P500ETF Schlmbrg SearsHldgs SiriusXM SonyCp SPDR Fncl UnionPac USSteel UnivHlthS WalMart WellsFargo
NY NY NY NY Nasd Nasd NY NY Nasd NY NY NY Nasd Nasd NY NY NY NY NY NY NY
.72 49.68 +.73 ... 6.81 -.67 1.10 54.10 +.29 2.94 29.59 +.49 ... 23.71 +2.74 1.12 36.04 -.87 ... 12.85 +.30 ... 7.34 -1.40 ... 3.65 +1.04 ... 2.12 -.53 3.35 184.14 +1.26 1.25 88.17 -.18 ... 36.71 -9.42 ... 3.70 +.13 .25 17.80 +.62 .32 22.03 +.14 3.16 170.38 +3.53 .20 28.56 -1.34 .20 85.52 +4.01 1.88 78.04 -.61 1.20 45.94 +.60
+1.5 -9.0 +0.5 +1.7 +13.1 -2.4 +2.4 -16.0 +39.8 -20.0 +0.7 -0.2 -20.4 +3.6 +3.6 +0.6 +2.1 -4.5 +4.9 -0.8 +1.3
+.3 -11.8 +.3 +1.0 +9.0 -3.7 +.2 -19.8 +135.5 -18.5 -.3 -2.2 -25.1 +6.0 +2.9 +.8 +1.4 -3.2 +5.2 -.8 +1.2
Stock Footnotes: g=Dividends and earnings in Canadian dollars .h= Doe not meet continued- listings tandards lf = Late filing with SEC. n = New in past 52 weeks. pf = Preferred. rs = Stock has undergone a reverse stock split of at least 50 percent within the past year. rt = Right to buy security at a specified price. s = Stock has split by at least 20 percent within the last year. un = Units. vj = In bankruptcy or receivership. wd = When distributed. wi = When issued. wt = Warrants. Mutual Fund Footnotes: b = Fee covering market costs is paid from fund assets. d = Deferred sales charge, or redemption fee. f = front load (sales charges). m = Multiple fees are charged. NA = not available. p = previous day’s net asset value. s = fund split shares during the week. x = fund paid a distribution during the week. Gainers and Losers must be worth at least $2 to be listed in tables at left. Most Actives must be worth at least $1. Volume in hundreds of shares. Source: The Associated Press. Sales figures are unofficial.
Prime Rate Discount Rate Federal Funds Rate Treasuries 3-month 6-month 5-year 10-year 30-year
Wk Wk YTD Chg %Chg %Chg -32.94 +138.66 +12.47 +74.36 -22.12 +42.75 +11.00 +132.28 +8.28 +93.30
-.20 -.84 +1.89 +.88 +2.59 +.67 +.72 -.28 -.92 -2.09 +1.03 -.05 +.60 -.32 +.68 -.16 +.72 +.06 +1.68 +.81
12-mo %Chg +21.86 +33.98 +7.61 +19.04 -1.09 +33.56 +25.16 +26.74 +32.22 +33.20
3.25 0.75 .00-.25 0.04 0.06 1.62 2.86 3.80
Courtesy photo
49th District Judge Joe Lopez, District Attorney Isidro R. “Chilo” Alaniz, Zapata County Sheriff Alonso Lopez and Zapata County Sheriff’s Office Chief Raymundo del Bosque pose Thursday, in Zapata. officers so authorities can be better prepared for a serious crime investigation. Del Bosque said the Katherine Cardenas case represented how well prosecutors and law enforcement worked hand-in-hand to bring the killer to justice. “The outcome was tremendous, four life sentences for the crimes (Arredondo) committed,” del Bosque said. Other topics covered during the meeting included drugs and people smuggling. Del Bosque said it’s becoming a trend that illegal immigrants are smuggling narcotics as payment for their crossing fee. These immigrants are known as drug mules in law enforcement. (César G. Rodriguez may be reached at 728-2568 or cesar@lmtonline.com)
MUSEUM
Pvs Day
All others show dollar in foreign currency.
Name
Total Assets Obj ($Mlns) NAV
Alliance Bernstein GlTmtcGA m Columbia ComInfoA m Eaton Vance WldwHealA m Fidelity Select Biotech d Fidelity Select BrokInv d Fidelity Select CommEq d Fidelity Select Computer d Fidelity Select ConsFin d Fidelity Select Electron d Fidelity Select FinSvc d Fidelity Select SoftwCom d Fidelity Select Tech d PIMCO TotRetIs T Rowe Price SciTech Vanguard 500Adml Vanguard HlthCare Vanguard InstIdxI Vanguard TotStIAdm Vanguard TotStIdx Waddell & Reed Adv SciTechA m
WS 609 ST 2,449 SH 847 SH 7,959 SF 921 ST 255 ST 703 SF 251 ST 979 SF 745 ST 3,394 ST 2,231 CI 150,959 ST 2,927 LB 82,357 SH 9,635 LB 87,843 LB 86,541 LB 105,008 ST 3,577
Total Return/Rank Pct Min Init 4-wk 12-mo 5-year Load Invt
81.26 +3.5 49.95 +4.3 11.70 +6.1 204.04 +15.5 74.53 +4.7 29.72 +4.9 73.89 +2.9 16.50 +4.2 62.44 +4.0 82.60 +4.2 119.08 +5.4 123.54 +4.5 10.76 0.0 38.74 +3.9 169.89 +2.4 192.91 +5.6 168.81 +2.4 46.64 +2.8 46.63 +2.8 16.25 +5.3
+19.8/C +20.5/E +44.3/C +72.8/A +41.6/A +25.2/D +27.6/D +26.5/C +32.1/B +29.7/C +47.0/A +29.1/C -1.2/D +38.3/B +27.8/C +42.5/C +27.8/C +29.0/B +28.9/B +53.6/A
+14.4/D +17.8/E +17.6/E +30.0/A +19.6/A +20.5/D +25.2/A +15.1/C +23.1/B +13.7/D +28.3/A +27.0/A +6.6/C +23.4/B +18.2/B +19.8/D +18.2/B +19.1/A +19.0/A +24.8/A
4.25 2,500 5.75 2,000 5.75 1,000 NL 2,500 NL 2,500 NL 2,500 NL 2,500 NL 2,500 NL 2,500 NL 2,500 NL 2,500 NL 2,500 NL1,000,000 NL 2,500 NL 10,000 NL 3,000 NL5,000,000 NL 10,000 NL 3,000 5.75 750
CA -Conservative Allocation, CI -Intermediate-Term Bond, ES -Europe Stock, FB -Foreign Large Blend, FG -Foreign LargeGrowth, FV -Foreign Large Value, IH -World Allocation, LB -Large Blend, LG -Large Growth, LV -Large Value, MA -Moderate Allocation, MB -Mid-Cap Blend, MV - MidCap Value, SH -Specialty-heath, WS -World Stock, Total Return: Chng in NAV with dividends reinvested. Rank: How fund performed vs. others with same objective: A is in top 20%, E in bottom 20%. Min Init Invt: Minimum $ needed to invest in fund. Source: Morningstar.
HOUSTON — On the second level of a parking garage at Houston Methodist Hospital, behind an inconspicuous door, sits a workshop of aging machines that have helped make significant contributions in the field of cardiovascular medicine. And at the heart of this workshop is a modest man, the hospital machinist, Juan Fernandez. He spends his days in the former storage facility measuring, drilling and carving out tools that help mend failing hearts, heal broken limbs and foster scientific discoveries. While Fernandez has no medical expertise or formal education in engineering, he has worked in the Texas Medical Center for more than 25 years, building tools for physicians and researchers, turning their visions into realities. Working with various materials from plastics to metals, Fernandez has created everything from microscope slide holders and surgical instruments to prototypes for cardiovascular devices. In the 1990s, he helped world-renowned heart surgeon Dr. Michael DeBakey create a prototype for the left ventricular assist device, known as the LVAD, a blood flow pump that has saved the lives of countless heart patients awaiting transplants. “He’s helped advance science and medicine in the Texas Medical Center,” Stephen Igo, director of the
Entrepreneurial Institute for the Houston Methodist DeBakey Heart & Vascular Center, told the Houston Chronicle. “There’s no doubt about it.” Fernandez, 65, began his career in the medical center in 1985 at the Baylor College of Medicine, where he ran the machine shop. However, in October 2010, due to budget cuts, Baylor closed the machine shop, leaving Fernandez without a job. Igo, who has worked with Fernandez for about 20 years, jumped on the opportunity to bring him to Methodist, which purchased all of his old machines from Baylor and provided the new shop for him in 2011. “He’s absolutely a resource,” Igo said. “People will show up with drawings on napkins, envelopes or a piece of paper and he’ll turn into a finished product.” Born in Mexico, Fernandez and his family moved to Houston when he was 7. His first brush with machines came in high school when he took a vocational welding class. After graduating in 1968, one of his older brothers, a tool grinder, got him work with a company that made parts and tools for oil rigs. Soon he was learning to use lathes and mills, making valves and drill bits for rigs. He spent a short time with the U.S. Marine Corps Reserve, returning home by 1971 to work at the machining company. He also wed his junior high sweet-
heart. The couple, now 43 years strong, share two daughters and a son. After more than 15 years making parts for oil rigs, his company relocated, leaving him searching for other jobs. He ran across a newspaper job listing from Baylor for a machinist. “Why would Baylor need a machinist? “ he remembered thinking. Three months later, he started. While he has built tools for various physicians from pediatricians to plastic surgeons, Fernandez said his most important work has been done in the cardiovascular field. In 1991, Fernandez began working with DeBakey on the left ventricular assist device. Designed to assist with the function of a failing heart, the LVAD, now owned by Micromed, was part of a number of heart assist devices that made an impact in the cardiovascular field, creating both a bridge to transplantation for patients as well permanent implants. For six years, Fernandez said he worked on the model, designed by DeBakey and NASA engineers. There were 15 to 16 models of the LVAD before the final version was ready to be manufactured. He still has the first prototype. “They were going to throw it away and I said ‘I’ll keep it,’ “ he said. The project was especially important to him. Only a few years after immigrating to the United States, Fernandez’s father suddenly died at 52 from heart failure.
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Photo by Jesse Mendoza/Valley Morning Star | AP
Close-up photos of reel-to-reel recording units donated by Lionel Betancourt to the Texas Conjunto Music Hall of Fame and Museum are seen in San Benito earlier this month. displays its exhibits in a 600square-foot area, Avila said. “We’ve squeezed in every inch,” Avila said. “Every square
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3.25 Australia 1.1119 1.1253 0.75 Britain 1.6474 1.6471 .00-.25 Canada 1.0892 1.0866 Euro .7320 .7358 0.07 Japan 104.03 104.78 0.09 Mexico 12.9760 13.1154 1.74 Switzerlnd .9031 .9084 3.00 3.93 British pound expressed in U.S. dollars.
Machinist helps docs
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murderer Jose Eduardo “Lalo” Arredondo, 18, killed the baby, he absconded into Nuevo Laredo, Mexico. It took a collaborative effort for local, state and federal law enforcement on both sides of the border to bring the killer back. “The cases along the border are so unique,” Alaniz said. Following a two-week trial, Arredondo was convicted in April 2012 of capital murder, aggravated kidnapping and two counts of aggravated sexual assault. He was given four life sentences as punishment. Alaniz also talked about the importance of securing statements and preserving evidence because passage of time can represent a challenge in court cases. He presented techniques used in the case to assist
CURRENCIES Pvs Week
MUTUAL FUNDS
By ANITA HASSAN
ate the heritage of our company,” Betancourt said. “Now my father’s efforts will be preserved.” The city used part of a new $1.2 million federal grant to buy resaca-side land to construct a complex to house the city’s three museums, including the conjunto museum. Officials will use money from a 2012 $1 million federal grant and 2007 certificates of obligation to fund the $1.8 million construction of the museum complex, said Pete Claudio, president of the San Benito Economic Development Corporation. Plans include construction of a 6,000-square-foot to 8,000square-foot complex to house the conjunto museum along with the San Benito History Museum and the Freddy Fender Museum, said Salomon Torres, the EDC’s executive director. “They’re going to get a real home now,” Torres said. “This is going to be a boon for the city and our heritage.” Since the museums opened in 2007, they have shared cramped quarters at the city’s Community Building on Heywood Street. There, the conjunto museum
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Del Bosque said attendants received training as to how correctional officers or deputies should handle a person with a disease. Del Bosque said the doctor recommended authorities to constantly use gloves, wipes, hand sanitizers or any other sort of personal hygiene items. By an officer protecting himself against a disease, he protects his family, the chief said. Another topic in the meeting, and perhaps the most gruesome one, was the case study of baby Katherine Cardenas, the infant raped and murdered in Laredo in September 2009. District Attorney Isidro R. “Chilo” Alaniz, who was the presenter, said the case had its challenges given the geographical location. Soon after convicted
13,293.13 5,455.86 455.75 8,573.26 2,186.97 3,076.60 1,451.64 15,305.26 871.01 4,189.79
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inch has been taken.” So the museum has stored Ideal’s relics for about six years. Soon, the city’s new complex
will give the museum about 1,500 square feet, Avila said. “Now we can bring out the whole deal,” he said.
Avila said the museum plans to showcase the three Finebilt record presses and the Ampex recording machine in recreations of Ideal’s recording studio and record plant. “It will give visitors a better picture of the recording process and how records were recorded and pressed way back before CDs,” Avila said. “I think it will be one of the better attractions.” The exhibit will feature the glistening nickel-plated “stampers,” or masters, that pressed their grooves onto vinyl more than 25 years ago, Avila said. Artifacts include rows of old cardboard boxes that hold hundreds of vinyl records, with crisp album covers featuring the portraits of stars like Paulino Bernal, Beto Villa, Tony de la Rosa and many more. Stacks of vintage record jackets, many wrapped in cellophane, chronicle the history of conjunto music’s legends. “It’s very important to preserve all of this,” Avila said. “For a time, San Benito was the capital of recording conjunto and Tejano in the Valley. All the pioneers were here. In time, they became legends.”
12A THE ZAPATA TIMES
SATURDAY, JANUARY 11, 2014
SATURDAY, JANUARY 11, 2014
ON THE WEB: THEZAPATATIMES.COM
Sports&Outdoors NCAA FOOTBALL: TEXAS
HIGH SCHOOL ATHLETICS: ZAPATA HAWKS
Track season Cross country standouts back By CLARA SANDOVAL THE ZAPATA TIMES
Photo by Clara Sandoval | Laredo Morning Times
The Lady Hawks did not wait until the spring semester to start preparing for the upcoming track season. Zapata has been gearing up for the season since Dec. 1, when it opened track practice. The track team has focused on the foundational work, including some extended runs for the long-distance runners. A familiar face leading the Lady Hawks is senior all-state runner Jazmine Garcia, who came off a strong cross country season where she picked up several postseason awards. Garcia was recently named the inaugural Zapata Times Female Athlete of the Year after a stellar senior season. For the fourth consecutive year, she earned a trip to Round Rock, site of the state cross country meet at Old Settlers Park. She won the District 31-3A title and was crowned the Region IV-3A champion as she pulled away from the competition. At state she finished 23rd. Now Garcia is looking to make the most of what’s left of her high school career as soon as the track season opens. She made it to regionals each of the last three years and will try to make it four consecutive seasons. Jeanette Chapa placed in the 400meter run while Cassandra Pena placed in the pole vault to make a trip to regionals and join Garcia. On the boys’ side, there is no bigger name in long distance than senior Luis Garza, who is coming off a state berth in cross country. Garza took the district and regional title to complete Zapata’s sweep on the boys’ and girls’ side. Garza improved from his third place finish at the Region IV-3A meet a year ago and upped the pace this year to finish in first place and earn his second straight trip to the state meet. Garza did not fare as well at the state meet and will try to get an opportunity to improve on that finish in
Zapata senior Luis Garza won the district and regional title in cross country last fall. He will look to improve on his finish at the state meet at the end of the track season.
Photo by Brandon Wade | AP
Texas defensive end Cedric Reed (88) announced via Twitter Thursday that he will return to Austin for his senior year.
UT gets rolling with Strong By BRIAN DAVIS MCCLATCHY-TRIBUNE
AUSTIN — Day 4 of the Charlie Strong era certainly was a memorable one. The new Texas football coach proved Thursday he could handle big-money boosters, laugh along with national media and secure three major cornerstones for 2014. Not bad for a "great position coach, maybe a coordinator." Strong started the day on the phone with mega donor Red McCombs, whose negative comments about Strong’s competency ignited a firestorm. Strong explained on the Paul Finebaum Show that the two men spoke and the coach told the 86-yearold billionaire, "I want you around." Then Thursday afternoon, the school announced that defensive end Cedric Reed, cornerback Quandre Diggs and running back Malcolm Brown would all return for their senior year and skip the NFL Draft. "Will be returning for my senior year!," Reed tweeted. "Excited to come back with my teammates, continue my education, and play for a new coach! #hookem." Diggs tweeted: "Preciate all the love, wanna have a great healthy year!" The full day was probably an eye-opener for Strong, who is being indoctrinated into the politicking that goes along with the job. Whether he wanted to or not, Strong helped extinguish the fire that was engulfing McCombs, someone who has given Texas more than $100 million and has his name on
See TRACK PAGE 2B See STRONG PAGE 2B
Seahawks face Saints Colts, Luck eye upset By TIM BOOTH
By HOWARD ULMAN
ASSOCIATED PRESS
ASSOCIATED PRESS
SEATTLE — After nearly two weeks of waiting, the Seattle Seahawks finally get a chance to prove they were worthy of the No. 1 seed they earned in the NFC. After winning on the road in the postseason last week, the New Orleans Saints no longer have that stigma clouding their franchise history. Less than six weeks after Seattle made a resounding claim to NFC supremacy with a rout of New Orleans, the Seahawks and Saints collide again on Saturday in the NFC divisional playoff. Since that Dec. 2 matchup where the Seahawks all but wrapped up home-field advantage in the NFC playoffs with a 34-7 win, both teams have seen some of their definitions changed. Seattle has lost some of its home invincibility after losing to Arizona in Week 16 to snap a 14-game home win streak. And the Saints are no longer seeking a validating victory away from New Orleans after knocking off Philadelphia 26-24 last Saturday in the NFC wild-card game, the first road playoff win in franchise history.
seeds in the divisional round of the postseason. Here are five other things to watch as Seattle tries to advance to its second NFC championship game while the Saints. MORE THAN BREES Drew Brees is not accustomed to being stifled, but that is what Seattle did in the first meeting. His 147 yards passing were a season-low by nearly 100 yards. His 3.87 yards per pass at-
FOXBOROUGH, Mass. — Tom Brady has been leading successful comebacks for more than a decade. Andrew Luck is just getting started. One of them should have a chance to do that again Saturday night. The New England Patriots and Indianapolis Colts, who have overcome big deficits this season, will meet in the AFC divisional round. The Colts are here with the second biggest comeback in NFL postseason history. They outlasted the Kansas City Chiefs in a wild-card game 45-44 after trailing 38-10 early in the third quarter. “It’s pretty remarkable,” Brady said. “Down 28 points there in the third quarter, they just made a bunch of good plays and it took them until the very end to win.” The Colts had other impressive comebacks in the regular season — beating Houston after trailing by 18 in the third quarter and overcoming fourth-quarter deficits to win three other
See SEAHAWKS PAGE 2B
See COLTS PAGE 2B
Photo by Elaine Thompson | AP
Seattle quarterback Russell Wilson had one of the best games of his young career in a December matchup against New Orleans. “They’re going to know what to expect from our crowd, they’re going to know what to expect from us, and we’re going to know what to expect from them,” Seattle cornerback Richard Sherman said. “It’s almost like a division game in that sense because we’ve just seen each other and you understand what the game is going to be and what it’s going to come down to.” There’s also a bit of history on the side of the Saints. Since 2005, No. 6 seeds are 5-2 against No. 1
Photo by Elise Amendola | AP
New England quarterback Tom Brady and head coach Bill Belichick are trying to make a run at their fourth Super Bowl together.
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Zscores
SATURDAY, JANUARY 11, 2014
Brooks, Dungy HOF finalists ASSOCIATED PRESS
CANTON, Ohio — Firstyear nominees Derrick Brooks, Tony Dungy, Marvin Harrison and Walter Jones were among the 15 modern-era Pro Football Hall of Fame finalists in voting announced Thursday night. Brooks was a linebacker with Tampa Bay; Dungy coached Tampa Bay and Indianapolis, leading the Colts to a Super Bowl title in 2007; Harrison was a receiver for Indianapolis; and Jones was an offensive tackle with Seattle. Former New York Giants defensive end Michael Strahan also was selected a modern-era finalist along with defensive end/linebacker Charles Haley, defensive end/linebacker Kevin Greene, receiver Andre Reed, running back Jerome Bettis, receiver/returner Tim Brown, safety John Lynch, guard Will Shields, cornerback/safety Aeneas Williams, kicker Morten Andersen and former San Francisco owner Edward DeBartolo Jr. Punter Ray Guy and defensive end Claude Humphrey were announced as senior nominees in August. The 46-member selection committee will vote Feb. 1 in New York, with a minimum 80 percent required
for induction. Former NFL Commissioner Paul Tagliabue failed to advance. Former coaches Jimmy Johnson and Don Coryell and general manager George Young also dropped out along with fellow semifinalists Steve Atwater, Roger Craig, Terrell Davis, Joe Jacoby, Karl Mecklenburg and Steve Wisniewski. Strahan, Andersen and Lynch are in their second year of eligibility. Shields is in his third year, Bettis his fourth, Brown and Williams their fifth, Reed his ninth, and Greene and Haley their 10th. The modern-era finalists were chosen by the selection committee from a list of 126 nominees that was reduced to 25 semifinalists. Each finalist received a minimum vote of 80 percent. To be eligible, modern-era players and coaches must have last played or coached more than five seasons ago. If selected, Guy would become the first punter to be inducted. Andersen would become the second pure kicker, following Jan Stenerud. Cris Carter, Jonathan Ogden, Larry Allen, Bill Parcells, Warren Sapp, Dave Robinson and Curley Culp were inducted last year, the 50th anniversary celebration of the hall.
the necessary paper work completed, including a physical, before the first day of practice. If anyone has any questions, contact head coach Jaime Garcia. E-mail: sandoval.clara@gmail.com
Photo by Ricardo Brazziell | AP
New Texas head coach Charlie Strong talked things over with Red McCombs after the booster publicly denounced the hire.
Photo by LM Otero | AP
Former Buccaneers and Colts head coach Tony Dungy was among the 15 modern-era finalists for the Pro Football Hall of Fame.
Photo by AJ Mast | AP
Colts linebacker Robert Mathis (98) led the league with 19 1/2 sacks and will be chasing Tom Brady all day. list of injuries. Patriots linebacker Brandon Spikes went on injured reserve with a knee injury and Colts cornerback Greg Toler went on his team’s list with a groin injury. New England already had lost for the season linebacker Jerod Mayo, defensive tackles Vince Wilfork and Tommy Kelly, tight end Rob Gronkowski and offensive tackle Sebastian Vollmer. Indianapolis has been without wide receiver Reggie Wayne, running back Ahmad Bradshaw, linebacker Pat Angerer and offensive guard Donald Thomas for much of the season. RUNNING PATS The Patriots are coming off their best ground game of the season with 267 yards.
track this spring. Softball season nears Softball is around the corner and the season will officially start on Jan. 23 for the first day of practice. All girls interested in trying out should have all
STRONG Continued from Page 1B
COLTS Continued from Page 1B games. Easing up with a big lead on the Patriots also can be dangerous. They erased a 24-point halftime deficit to beat Denver in overtime, topped New Orleans on a touchdown pass with 5 seconds left and scored two touchdowns in the last 61 seconds to come from 12 points back and beat Cleveland by one. Brady “has definitely set the standard for success at the quarterback position,” Luck said. The Patriots quarterback has led them to 41 wins in games in which they trailed or were tied in the fourth quarter. Luck has 11 of those, the most by a quarterback in his first two seasons since 1970. This season, the Patriots (12-4) are 8-4 in games decided by seven points or fewer, while the Colts (12-5) are 6-1 when the final margin is six or fewer. “We’ve been in a lot of close games. They’ve been in a lot of close games,” Brady said. “They find a way to win them. That’s how they got to this point. Hopefully, we can go out and be the team that goes out on top.” Here are five things to watch for as the Patriots try to advance to their third straight AFC championship game: INJURIES KEEP COMING Each team had a starter added this week to a long
TRACK Continued from Page 1B
With rain likely for their second straight game, another solid rushing attack would help. LeGarrette Blount has emerged as the top runner after rushing for 189 yards in the regular-season finale, a 34-20 win over Buffalo. HERE COMES MATHIS The Colts linebacker led the NFL with a team-record 191/2 sacks then added a strip-sack of Kansas City’s Alex Smith that led to a Colts fumble recovery last Saturday. He has five career sacks against Brady, the most against any quarterback not in the Colts’ division. “He’s a great player,” Brady said. “You try to put guys around him and double
team him, but he still seems to be making all the plays. I just know I don’t have a lot of time back there in the pocket to sort things out.” THE LAST TIME Neither team is putting much stock in the Patriots’ 59-24 rout of the Colts last season when Luck threw two interceptions that were returned for touchdowns. Both teams have made numerous personnel changes since then, and Luck has progressed since his rookie season, lowering his interceptions from 18 to nine. “He’s done such a great job this year from year one to year two in managing the offense and managing the game and taking care of the football,” Colts coach Chuck Pagano said. “We had the fewest amount of turnovers in the league this year at 14, and I know we had (four) last week, but he does a great job of putting that behind him.” KICKIN’ IT Two of last weekend’s four playoff games were decided by field goals on the last play. And the Colts and Patriots have two of the NFL’s top kickers. New England’s Stephen Gostkowski led the NFL in scoring for the second straight season with 158 points. Adam Vinatieri, in his eighth season with Indianapolis after 10 with New England, holds the NFL postseason record with 49 field goals and 205 points.
the business school and the north end of Royal-Memorial Stadium. It’s unclear who reached out to the other first. But Strong detailed the conversation with Paul Finebaum on his nationally syndicated radio show. "We had a really great conversation," Strong said. "I told him ’You’ve done a lot for this university. And I want you around. I want you to be a part of this program and I want you to support this program.’" McCombs did his part by apologizing in an interview with the San Antonio Express-News. On Monday, the day Strong was introduced as the new coach, McCombs blasted the hire on San Antonio radio. "He couldn’t have been more cordial," McCombs told the Express-News. "He said, ’C’mon up. I need your help. Let’s go to work. He has my total support. He’s the coach. I’m a team player. He’s got my total support." Two highranking school officials said they hope the McCombs issue will now die out considering it involves one of their most prominent boosters, their new football coach and the hint of racial undertones. The focus was back on football by day’s end with the announcement that Reed, Diggs and Brown were all set to return. Reed’s announcement was the biggest of the three. The 6-6, 260-pound junior finished third in tackles last season, forced a team-high five fumbles and had 10 sacks. Reed should be labeled as one of the Big 12’s best players when preseason magazines roll out this summer. "I think I can fit into Coach Strong’s scheme well, and I’m looking forward to having a great senior year under him, while I can also finish my degree," Reed said in a statement issued by UT. Diggs (5-10, 200 pounds) had a team-high 10 pass
breakups last season. He’s played safety, cornerback and can handle return duties on special teams. Brown (6-0, 225) was the team’s No. 1 running back by season’s end. The Cibolo product finished the year with 904 yards rushing and nine touchdowns. "We all have to wait our turn to be complete senior leaders, and it’s our time now," Brown said. "I feel like we have an abundance of leaders in this class, not just me. It’s going to be exciting." Suddes leaving UT: Patrick Suddes, the director of player personnel under former coach Mack Brown, is not being retained by Strong. He was credited with streamlining the football staff ’s recruiting procedures and mapping out future recruiting plans. "Thanks to all Texas staff, coaches, players and fans!" Suddes tweeted late Thursday. "Great place with great people! Hookem! #ontothenext1." Ominous warning?: McCombs also told the Express-News that he’s happy with the overall direction of the UT athletic program but "we’ve been concerned for the last three years, I have as have a lot of others, about our basketball, our baseball and our football program. "I was concerned with Mack up there," McCombs added. "Mack and (wife) Sally and I are very close friends. I said, ’Mack, you’ve got to do something to put a little pizzazz in your program. If there’s any way I can help you let me know.’" So far, the department has a new athletic director and football coach. There has been speculation men’s basketball coach Rick Barnes and baseball coach Augie Garrido could be on the hot seat if their teams struggle, especially now that former athletic director DeLoss Dodds has stepped down.
SEAHAWKS Continued from Page 1B tempt was the third-lowest of his entire career. But New Orleans has evolved over the past month. They’re attempting to become more run dependent and less pass reliant. The Saints had 30 rushing attempts in their final two regular-season games, then ran the ball 36 times for 185 yards last week vs. Philadelphia. Mark Ingram rushed for 97 yards against Philadelphia, the second highest total in Saints postseason history. “I was just hoping we have another opportunity,” Brees said, “and here we are with that opportunity.” REDISCOVER RUSSELL Russell Wilson had arguably the best regular-season game of his career when New Orleans visited in December. He threw for 310 yards and three touchdowns, ran for another 47 yards and completed 73.3 percent of his pass attempts. For Wilson, it capped a four-week stretch where his name was thrown into the MVP conversation. The subsequent four games led to concern the Seahawks have
slumped. Wilson’s numbers dipped significantly. He topped 200 yards passing only once during the stretch, had only four touchdown passes versus three interceptions and his completion rate was below 58 percent. He was also sacked 14 times. WHERE’S JIMMY? Jimmy Graham has been such a vital part of the Saints offense that his disappearance in the first matchup against Seattle was stunning. Seattle used a combination of linebacker K.J. Wright and strong safety Kam Chancellor to shadow Graham. He finished with just three receptions for 42 yards on nine targets. The Saints should be better able to counter Seattle’s defense against Graham this time. Wright is out with a foot injury, taking away Seattle’s biggest — and one of its most athletic — linebackers. That will put more pressure on Chancellor and backup linebacker Malcolm Smith. “For us, it’s not just going not be one player that will take that job on, it’ll be a variety of guys in the way that we play our coverage
and our style,” Seattle defensive coordinator Dan Quinn said. HELLO, HARVIN Percy Harvin might own the award for player most written about with least number of snaps this season. He’s been a constant question from the start of training camp until now, first about his ailing hip, then about his recovery, his Seattle debut in Week 11 and then about the complications that surfaced after. But the problems with his surgically repaired hip have subsided to the point that Harvin will play Saturday with no limitations. “Everything worked out for the best,” Harvin said, “and I’m looking forward to being out there and helping this team win.” INJURY WOES The Saints were already without safety Kenny Vaccaro, cornerback Jabari Greer and linebacker Jonathan Vilma to injuries in the second-half of the regular season. Then linebacker Parys Haralson went down with the torn pectoral against Philadelphia and cornerback Keenan Lewis suffered a concussion. Lewis was adamant this week he intends to play against Seattle.
Photo by David Goldman | AP
Seahawks running back Marshawn Lynch, who’s rushed for more than 1,200 yards and 12 touchdowns, will try to get Seattle’s ground game rolling.
SATURDAY, JANUARY 11, 2014
THE ZAPATA TIMES 3B
HINTS | BY HELOISE
“
HELOISE
Dear Heloise: I read the article in your newspaper column about the little dog that stepped on the AUTOMATIC WINDOW CONTROL that opened the window. A relative and I were riding in the back seat, and her little dog stepped on the window control, and the window went up. He had his head hanging out the window, but he was little enough that the window slid under his chin, which just pushed him back in. If it had been a bigger dog with his head hanging out the window, it would have been a terrible thing. So the master lock in the "off" position is a great idea. — A Constant Reader, Columbus, Mont. Oh my! So glad the little dog is OK! — Heloise SHOWER CLEANING Dear Heloise: I had been hunting for an easy solu-
tion with some serious cleaning power to get my son’s shower back to sparkling clean. I used some white vinegar, and put it in a spray bottle with a few squirts of grease-cutting dishwashing soap. My son sprayed the walls and tub of his shower thoroughly, let it sit for an hour, then scrubbed it down with a plastic scrubber, followed by a rinse of hot water. His shower was cleaner than mine! — Faye D. in North Dakota Vinegar to the rescue yet again! There is almost nothing vinegar can’t do around the house, plus it’s cheap and safe! So many of you have asked about my pamphlet Heloise’s Fantabulous Vinegar Hints and More. It is filled with money-saving information to help you. To receive one, just send $5 and a long, self-addressed, stamped (66 cents) envelope to: Heloise/Vinegar, P.O. Box 795001, San Antonio 78279-5001. After you clean the shower, wipe down the bathroom fixtures with vinegar to remove water stains. — Heloise
DENNIS THE MENACE
FAMILY CIRCUS
PEANUTS
GARFIELD
DAILY CRYPTOQUOTES — Here’s how to work it:
DILBERT
Sports
4B THE ZAPATA TIMES
SATURDAY, JANUARY 11, 2014
Playoff QBs doing damage with feet By HOWARD FENDRICH ASSOCIATED PRESS
Not surprisingly, Carolina Panthers quarterback Cam Newton avoided saying anything too specific about whether he’ll wind up with some extra carries in the playoffs. Adept at speaking a lot while divulging little, Newton looked ahead to his postseason debut Sunday against the San Francisco 49ers and offered this when asked about running the ball: “Hopefully I will take what the defense gives me.” One man convinced Newton’s rushing total will be higher than during the regular season is 49ers defensive coordinator Vic Fangio, the man charged with figuring out how to contain Carolina’s QB. “When you have a quarterback of Cam Newton’s ability in this type of game, I think he’ll be apt to run a little bit more than he maybe would normally,” Fangio said. “They may even call more of the quarterback runs for him, the quarterback powers or lead draws.” With so much passing by NFL teams, it’s easy to forget that there’s still a place for a running game. Except it’s not necessarily going to be running backs gaining key yards on the ground in these playoffs. It’s the quarterbacks. With Newton, San Francisco’s Colin Kaepernick and Seattle’s Russell Wilson — and Indianapolis’ Andrew Luck is a capable ballcarrier, too — defensive players were going to be wary of scrambles, sneaks and designed runs by the QBs this weekend. Even Drew Brees got in on the act a week ago while helping New Orleans beat Philadelphia 26-24, with 13 yards on five runs, his second-highest totals for any game over the past two seasons. And if Kaepernick’s 98-yard, seven-carry day in a 23-20 victory over Green Bay — the most yards rushing for any player in the wild-card round — is any indica-
Associated Press
Panthers quarterback Cam Newton is one of the quickest signal callers in the league, leaving 49ers defensive coordinator Vic Fangio concerned that he’ll make too many big plays with his legs. tion, it might just be that speedy QBs held under wraps during the regular season were going to get to strut their stuff more in the postseason. “Colin is prepared to tuck the ball and run,” 49ers offensive coordinator Greg Roman said. “We’ve all seen that.” Never more so than in the playoffs. Kaepernick’s two topyardage rushing games as a pro came in the postseason (both were against the Packers; he ran for 181 against them a year ago, a record for a QB). Seeing Kaepernick do his thing brought to mind someone in particular for Randall Cunningham, a star in the 1980s and 1990s and the prototypical dualthreat QB. “Kaepernick reminds me a lot
of myself. When the game is on the line, he’s going to use his legs. Those are the plays that break a defense’s back,” said Cunningham, who held the record for career yards rushing by a quarterback until Michael Vick broke the mark. “It’s a fun part of the game and a needed part of the game now.” That’s in part, he said, because running QBs make their passing more effective, too. “It’s one thing to know a quarterback isn’t going to run out of the pocket; you can rush three (defenders),” Cunningham said. “But with a Kaepernick, you try to rush three, he’s got the ability to move around back there and he can get the defense out of position and then run or throw. ... He can throw the ball on the run,
throw off-balance.” According to STATS, which does a video review of every play of every NFL game, Kaepernick gained 13 yards on three designed runs against the Packers last weekend, plus 85 yards on four scrambles. That includes an 11yard, blitz-eluding run on thirdand-8 on the final drive, helping set up the game-winning field goal. “His legs are his weapon,” Panthers linebacker Luke Kuechly said, “and he knows that.” The same could be said of Kuechly’s teammate, Newton, who ran a season-high 12 times for 72 yards in a playoff-type Week 17 victory over Atlanta, sealing the NFC South title. Newton led the league’s quarterbacks with 585 yards rushing
this season. Wilson was No. 3, Kaepernick No. 4 — both also above 500. Luck was No. 7 with 377 yards, with about a third fewer carries. Luck showed what he can do by fooling Kansas City on a bootleg keeper for 21 yards on fourthand-1 in the second quarter of the Colts’ wild 45-44 comeback victory last weekend. Luck pulled off a similar play on a 6-yard TD run at San Francisco in Week 3. Against the Chiefs, he wound up with a season-high 45 yards rushing on seven carries. And that doesn’t include his most significant play on the ground: the headfirst leap into the end zone for a touchdown after recovering a teammate’s fumble. Colts coach Chuck Pagano acknowledges it can be worrisome to watch his QB get exposed to extra hits by running. “Certainly if you had things designed for him, we all know he’s more than capable of executing it and getting it done. But ... that’s your franchise,” Pagano said, “so (there’s) a lot of risk-reward.” That’s part of the calculation for coaches who might enjoy strategies such as the zone-read option, but fret about their QB ending up hurt like last season’s NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year, Robert Griffin III. Wilson, whose Seahawks earned the NFC’s top seed, had fewer designed runs this season than in the second half of last season. That said, Seattle did make the zone-read a key part of its game plan during a victory in December against New Orleans, Saturday’s foe in a playoff rematch. “We’re concerned about keeping him in the pocket,” Saints linebacker Curtis Lofton said. “I feel like quarterbacks have the mindset that, ’If something’s open and I think I can get the run, I’m going to go for the run, and I’m not going to slide. I’m going to get that first down, because that’s what the team needs.”’
Photo by Mike Roemer | AP
Photo by Mark J. Terrill | AP
Packers offensive tackle David Bakhtiari (69) returned to play for an extra-point try despite being examined for a concussion and not cleared in Sunday’s wild-card loss to San Francisco.
After watching Florida State win the BCS National Championship Monday, former Texas A&M quarterback Johnny Manziel announced he’s headed for the NFL draft.
Two break NFL protocol
Manziel to join LeBron’s company
Packers’ Bakhtiari, Saints’ Lewis don’t follow concussion rules By BARRY WILNER ASSOCIATED PRESS
BOSTON — Two players violated league concussion protocol during last weekend’s wild-card games, according to a letter sent by the NFL’s head, neck and spine committee chairmen to all team doctors and trainers. In a document obtained by The Associated Press, Drs. Hunt Batjer and Richard Ellenbogen said one player reentered the game and another refused to leave the sideline. The doctors did not identify the players, but one was Green Bay tackle David Bakhtiari, who went into the game for an extra-point try despite being examined for a concussion and not cleared. The other player was Saints cornerback Keenan Lewis, who remained on the sideline but did not get back on the field. “On two occasions last weekend, and contrary to the advice of the team medical staffs, players who had been diagnosed with a concussion
and therefore declared ineligible for play nonetheless refused to leave the sidelines as required by league concussion protocols,” the letter said. “In one case, the player went back onto the field for one play before being removed from the game.” The doctors found “no fault” in how the team medical staffs conducted themselves. “If a player refuses to follow your advice and leave the sidelines after being diagnosed with a concussion, we recommend that the head athletic trainer seek assistance from the player’s position coach (or another member of the coaching staff) or from another team official to remove the player from the sidelines as soon as possible,” the letter said. The NFL’s Madden Rule requires a player diagnosed with a concussion to be taken to the locker room or another quiet location. “We will continue working with the league to ensure that
team doctors, coaches, trainers and other members of a team’s medical staff enforce return-to-participation protocols,” the NFL Players Association said in an email. “Players naturally want to play and ultimately, the game-day medical and coaching staffs have the responsibility and obligation for player protection and care.” The Saints and Packers declined comment. No fines will be imposed for the violations. Bakhtiari’s season is over because Green Bay lost to San Francisco. But Lewis’ Saints are playing Saturday at Seattle and he has been practicing. Batjer and Ellenbogen noted in the letter how players may resist being kept out of the game, particularly during the postseason. “But (the rule) is an important element of the league’s protocol and intended to safeguard the player’s well-being and enhance his ability to recover from his injury,” they wrote.
ASSOCIATED PRESS
NEW YORK — LeBron James speaks often of his love of football and willingness to help younger players. It makes having a relationship with Johnny Manziel a perfect fit. James said Thursday he texted the 2012 Heisman Trophy winner often this past season after Manziel’s camp reached out for advice on how to handle intense scrutiny, something the four-time NBA MVP has been dealing with since high school. James was in contact with Manziel before and after the quarterback’s Texas A&M games this fall. James and Manziel will apparently have plenty more chances to interact in the future. Manziel is opting to be an early entrant to the NFL draft and is expected to be affiliated with LRMR, the management company operated by James’ close friend, Maverick Carter. “I think at the end of the day, he’s an unbelievable competitor and we love what he brings to the table as far as being a football player and as far as being a young man that’s trying to strive for greatness, so we’re
just happy we’re able to be a friend of his and be able to help him,” James said before Miami’s game against the Knicks. Manziel endured a tumultuous offseason after winning college football’s biggest award as a freshman. James offered to be a sounding board, believing a lot of the criticisms of Manziel were “overblown.” That turned out to be the beginning of what could become a lucrative partnership in the future between the NBA’s best player and one of football’s most electrifying ones. “I think he’s not the only college kid that’s ever went to a frat party, or the only college kid that ever had fun, but obviously he’s Johnny Manziel so it’s blown out of proportion,” James said. “But when the opportunity was brought to me, I basically just told him, if he’s willing to listen, if he’s willing to take my advice, then I’m willing to give it and he was all for it. “Throughout this whole season I would text him weekly before the games, after the games, and I didn’t know it would lead to obviously us being together now as far as business, but I was happy to help him.”