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BORDER PATROL CHECKPOINTS
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‘La jaula de oro’
‘The need continues to grow’ Zapata County residents get a helping hand ZAPATA TIMES
Photo by Kirsten Luce | New York Times
Angel Lopez, 5, with his mother, Elizabeth, are seen at their home in Brownsville. Lopez wants Angel to undergo surgery beyond Border Patrol checkpoints, but she cannot pass through because she is an undocumented immigrant. The Border Patrol has traffic checkpoints up to 100 miles north of Mexico, confining undocumented immigrants to a small world.
Immigrants confined to a narrow sliver By MANNY FERNANDEZ NEW YORK TIMES
BROWNSVILLE, Texas — Elizabeth Lopez swam across the Rio Grande 19 years ago to come to America, where she began cleaning houses and raising three daughters in this city of swaying palm trees at the southern tip of Texas. It did not matter to her that her life was confined to a narrow sliver of the country — a zone north of the Mexican border but south of traffic checkpoints that the Border Patrol operates within Texas. Everything changed in 2010 when her fourth child, Angel, was born with Down syndrome and colon and heart problems. Living in what some call “la jaula de oro” — the golden cage — suddenly took on a whole new meaning. For decades, these interior checkpoints up to 100 miles north of the border have left thousands of undocumented immigrants and their families
Photo by Kirsten Luce | The New York Times
Angel Lopez, 5, who was born with Down syndrome and colon and heart problems, is shown at his home in Brownsville. Lopez’s mother wants him to undergo surgery beyond Border Patrol checkpoints, but she cannot pass through because she is an undocumented immigrant. The Border Patrol has traffic checkpoints up to 100 miles north of Mexico, confining undocumented immigrants to a small world. in the Rio Grande Valley in something of a twilight zone. Their isolation has only intensified as border security has tightened. And though neither side of the debate about immigration has focused on the issue so far, that may be changing. Those stuck here have little choice but to stay put. They cannot go north for fear of ei-
ther being caught while trying to cross the checkpoints by car or dying in the vast expanses of brush while trying to walk around them. And they will not go south for the same reasons they left Mexico in the first place. The economic opportunities here are better for the immigrants and their children, many of them American citi-
zens, and some fled threats of violence. The inability to travel north complicates their lives in myriad ways. For Lopez and Angel, it hinders medical care. Immigrants here have also missed relatives’ funerals, refused to evacuate as hurricanes approached, narrowed
See CHECKPOINTS PAGE 11A
The South Texas Food Bank distributed almost 300,000 pounds of product during the fiscal year that ended Sept. 30 to the needy of Zapata County. The total was 285,934 pounds, less than last year’s 360,471 pounds. The figures were released by the Laredobased South Texas Food Bank, which is celebrating its 26th anniversary of serving the community. The wholesale value is $491,340.42. Elia Solis, a native of San Ygnacio and Zapata High School graduate, is the agency relations coordinator for the food bank. The Zapata County food is distributed via three agencies. The largest is Helping Hands, located on 8th and Del Mar. The coordinator is Brian Martinez. More than 325,000 pounds were distributed by Helping Hands. The other sites are Shepherd’s Pantry, 305 Hawk St., where Mary Pulido is the contact person, and Zapata Boys and Girls Club, 302 West 6th Ave.. Ramiro Hernandez is the coordinator. Patrons must call to get the hours of distribution. The South Texas Food Bank is located at 1907 Freight in Laredo. The phone number is 956-726-3120, the website southtexasfoodbank.org. Alma Boubel is the executive director. The food bank’s mission statement is “to alleviate hunger in all the eight counties the Food Bank serves by collecting and distributing food through partner agencies and programs while creating awareness and educating the community on the realities of hunger.” The other seven counties served are Webb (Laredo), Starr (Rio Grande City-Roma), Jim Hogg (Hebbronville), Dimmit (Carrizo Springs), Maverick (Eagle Pass), Val Verde (Del Rio) and Kinney (Brackettville). The South Texas Food Bank distributed 9.91 million pounds in 2014. “The figures are higher than from one year ago, 9.464 million pounds, because our economy is still not at what it should be. The need continues to grow,” Boubel said. “The poverty rate in our area is at 30-plus percent, meaning food insecurity for our friends, family and neighbors. “The South Texas Food Bank is that safety net for families trying to make ends meet.” The food bank serves an average of 27,000 families, 7,000-plus children, 7,000-plus elderly and 500-plus veterans and their widows per month. Tax deductible donations can be mailed to South Texas Food Bank, PO Box 2007, Laredo, Texas, 78044.
LAREDO PORT OF ENTRY
Syrians classified as asylum seekers By DYLAN BADDOUR HOUSTON CHRONICLE
The Department of Homeland Security confirmed Sunday that another Syrian family had presented themselves at a Laredo port of entry. It follows widely misinformed reports in recent days that two other Syrian families, reported to have arrived in Laredo on Nov. 18, had sought illegal entry into the country. Currently, state and national lawmakers are em-
Currently, state and national lawmakers are embroiled in debate over whether to close the country’s door to refugees from Syria. broiled in debate over whether to close the country’s door to refugees from Syria, where four years of an internationally backed civil war have left up to 13 million people homeless and more than 200,000 dead. Gov. Greg Abbott was among more than 30 state governors who asserted that Syrian refugees will be
barred from Texas. His office did not immediately respond to queries Sunday morning over any possible efforts to block the most recent arrivals from entering the state. The highly publicized Syrian arrivals of the recent week are classified as asylum seekers, not refugees. It is typical for asylum
seekers to present themselves at ports of entry and ask to have their case heard. In a statement, DHS said “the officers took the group into custody and as standard procedure, checked their identities against numerous law enforcement and national security related databases. Records
checks revealed no derogatory information.” The group, including two men and a family — a man, woman and child — were turned over to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement for further processing, DHS said. Per procedure, the men will go to one detention center and the woman and
child will go to another. There they will face months of interviews from federal officials to evaluate their case to stay in the United States. People are granted asylum when they can demonstrate a legitimate fear of imminent harm in their home country. On Nov. 18, two Syrian families — two men, two women and four children — presented themselves at the Juarez-Lincoln Interna-
See SYRIANS PAGE 11A
PAGE 2A
Zin brief CALENDAR
WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 25, 2015
AROUND TEXAS
TODAY IN HISTORY
Saturday, November 28
ASSOCIATED PRESS
Spiritual Wisdom on Conquering Fear. Free Bilingual Discussion with booklet included. 1:00-2:30 PM, room A at the Laredo Public Library, 1120 E. Calton. Se habla español. For more info please call : (210) 831-7113. Or go to www.Eckankar-Texas.org. Presented by the Texas Satsang Society, Inc. RGISC Mural Unveiling Block Party from 2-5 p.m. at North Central Park. Five nature-themed murals and yarn-bombings will be unveiled as a part of the 21st annual Dia del Rio celebration.
Monday, November 30 Chess Club meets at the LBV–Inner City Branch Library from 4–6 p.m. Free for all ages and skill levels. Basic instruction is offered. Call John at 7952400x2521. Parkinson’s Disease Support Group will meet at 6:30 p.m. at Laredo Medical Center, first floor, Tower B in the Community Center. Meetings are open to individuals who have been diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease as well as family, friends and caregivers of Parkinson’s patients. For more information, call Richard Renner at 645-8649 or 237-0666.
Tuesday, December 1 Take the challenge and climb the Rock Wall. Free. All participants must bring ID and sign release form. 4 p.m. to 5:30 p.m. at LBV–Inner City Branch Library, 202 W. Plum St. Call 795-2400, x2520. Alzheimer’s Disease Support Group will meet at 7 p.m. at Laredo Medical Center, first floor, Tower B in the Community Center. Meetings are open to individuals who have been diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease as well as family, friends and caregivers of Alzheimer’s patients. For more information, call Melissa Guerra at 724-7141 or Laredo Medical Center at 796-3223.
Saturday, December 5 One year anniversary of Operation Feed the Homeless at Jarvis Plaza from 4:30 p.m. to 6 p.m. Food, music and a coat drive. Please donate or volunteer. For additional information contact us on Facebook on the Laredo Free Thinkers page or call 7445674. Trail Clean-Up and Open House. LCC’s Lamar Bruni Vergara Environmental Science Center will host their trail day clean up from 8 a.m.–12 p.m. at the Paso del Indio Nature Trail. The center will be open from 10 a.m.–2 p.m. Admission is $4 for adults and $2 for students and senior citizens. Entrance is free for children 3 and under, and LCC and TAMIU students, faculty and staff with a valid ID.
Sunday, December 6 6th Annual Christmas Animal Posada at St. Peter’s Plaza at 4 p.m. All pets should be taken in a leash, harness, or cage. Everyone is invited to participate wearing a costume of an animal or a mask of an animal. Christmas Animal Posada and Gateway Gatos of Laredo T-shirts will be available with a donation. All donations received will go toward projects to protect our community cats including a trap, neuter, and return program for Laredo. For more details, call Birdie at 286-7866.
Tuesday, December 8 South Texas Food Bank fundraiser for adopt-a-family program at Hal’s Landing, 6510 Arena Blvd., from 6 p.m. to 11 p.m. $10 cover charge donation to hear music by Ross and Friends, La Autentica Sonora, Armamento Musical, Kombo Del Sol, Inalcanzable, La Mision Vallenata. Purchase tickets at the door or call Salo Otero at 956-324-2432.
Thursday, December 17 Spanish Book Club. From 6-8. Laredo Public Library- Calton. For more info please contact Sylvia Reash 763-1810.
Photo by Kevin Storey /Texas Parks & Wildlife Department | AP
In this photo taken Friday, Nov. 20, 2015 and provided by Texas Parks & Wildlife Department, an example of giant salvinia, is displayed at Lake Fork Reservoir in East Texas. Giant salvinia, an invasive plant that can clog boat motors, block sunlight from lakes and affect aquatic life has turned up in another East Texas waterway, the TP&WD announced Tuesday.
Giant salvinia found By DIANA HEIDGERD ASSOCIATED PRESS
DALLAS — An invasive plant that can clog boat motors, block sunlight from lakes and affect aquatic life has turned up in another East Texas waterway, the Texas Parks & Wildlife Department announced Tuesday. Confirmation of giant salvinia at Lake Fork Reservoir, 60 miles east of Dallas, has prompted an aggressive effort to remove and kill the fast-growing plants, TPWD spokesman Larry Hodge said. Chemicals are being used on giant salvinia, a floating fern that’s native to Brazil and reproduces by budding. The leaves are about the size of a quarter, sometimes larger, the agency said. Several boat ramps are closed, and a floating boom warns boaters to stay clear of the Chaney Branch of the reservoir and a nearby cove, totaling about 3 acres.
“We’ve found in infestation like this on other reservoirs in East Texas and have gone in and physically removed the plants, all that we can find,” Hodge said. “If you catch it early sometimes you can get rid of it, at least temporarily.” Giant salvinia, which can be transported by boats and trailers, was found earlier on Caddo Lake, Toledo Bend Reservoir and Sam Rayburn Reservoir, Hodge said. Some Louisiana lakes also have infestations of giant salvinia, which can form dense mats on water and also hamper fishing. “We do everything we can within the limits of manpower and budget that we have to work with,” Hodge said. “The problem is that everybody who has a boat is a potential vector.” Texas Parks & Wildlife officials do not know the source of the infestation.
Gov. Abbott to visit Cuba Four dead after helicopter Mother, boyfriend with business leaders crash in Fort Hood charged for burning baby AUSTIN — Texas Gov. Greg Abbott is heading to Cuba in the wake of a relaxed U.S. trade embargo with the country. The Republican said Tuesday that Texas can economically “capitalize” on a new relationship between the two nations. He is scheduled to arrive in Havana on Monday and stay for three days. Abbott is not the first U.S. governor to make the trip since the former Cold War foes reopened embassies in their respective countries in July. Republican Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson went in September, joined by officials from Tyson Foods and other private companies. Democratic New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo also visited Cuba earlier this year. Abbott will be joined by Texas business and economic leaders. It will be his second international trip after visiting Mexico in September.
FORT HOOD — Four people were killed when a helicopter crashed during a training exercise at Fort Hood in Texas, U.S. Army officials said. The Black Hawk went down about 6 p.m. Monday in the northeast portion of the sprawling military post about 60 miles north of Austin. Emergency crews conducted an extensive search of the area before finding the wreckage and the crew members dead at the scene, according to a Fort Hood statement. Post officials did not release the names of the victims, saying Tuesday that their identities would be made public 24 hours after the families have been notified. Officials said the crew was assigned to Division West, First Army, and was on a routine training mission when the helicopter crashed. No further details were available.
HOUSTON — A Houston mother and her boyfriend have been charged in the death of her 19-month-old daughter who was severely burned in an oven when left home alone with her three siblings. Racqual Thompson and Cornell Malone were arrested Tuesday. Each has been charged with four counts of endangering a child. Court records don’t list attorneys to speak on behalf of Malone or Thompson. KTRK-TV reported last week that according to court records, J’zyra Thompson’s two 3-year-old siblings told Child Protective Services that one of them put J’zyra inside the oven. Thompson and Malone told authorities they left the four children alone in their apartment for about two hours on Nov. 16 to get pizza and visit Malone’s brother. — Compiled from AP reports
AROUND THE NATION Gas prices low, but fear of terrorism plague drivers LOS ANGELES — That other Thanksgiving tradition — congested highways and jammed airports — is getting underway with gas prices low and terrorism fears high. An estimated 46.9 million Americans are expected to take a car, plane, bus or train at least 50 miles from home over the long holiday weekend, according to the motoring organization AAA. That would be an increase of more than 300,000 people over last year, and the most travelers since 2007. Among the reasons given for the increase: an improving economy and the cheapest gasoline for this time of year since 2008. On Tuesday, some travelers were gearing up for an early exit. “There’s a little bit of a tie-up here, but I’m sure once we get going, things will be great,” Mark Sullivan said as he waited
Today is Wednesday, Nov. 25, the 329th day of 2015. There are 36 days left in the year. Today’s Highlight in History: On Nov. 25, 1915, a new version of the Ku Klux Klan, targeting blacks, Jews, Catholics and immigrants, was founded by William Joseph Simmons, who proclaimed himself the Imperial Wizard of the group as he staged a cross-burning on Stone Mountain outside Atlanta. On this date: In 1783, the British evacuated New York, their last military position in the United States during the Revolutionary War. In 1864, during the Civil War, Confederate agents set a series of arson fires in New York; the blazes were quickly extinguished. In 1940, the cartoon character Woody Woodpecker made his debut in the animated short “Knock Knock” produced by Walter Lantz. In 1957, President Dwight D. Eisenhower suffered a slight stroke. In 1963, the body of President John F. Kennedy was laid to rest at Arlington National Cemetery; his widow, Jacqueline, lighted an “eternal flame” at the gravesite. In 1999, 5-year-old Elian Gonzalez was rescued by a pair of sport fishermen off the coast of Florida, setting off an international custody battle. Ten years ago: Palestinians took control of a border for the first time with the festive opening of the Rafah crossing between Gaza and Egypt, a milestone on their rocky path to independence. Susanne Osthoff, a German aid worker and archaeologist, was kidnapped in Iraq; she was released more than three weeks later. Five years ago: South Korea’s defense minister, Kim Tae-young, resigned amid intense criticism two days after a North Korean artillery attack killed four people on a small island near the Koreas’ disputed frontier. One year ago: Attorneys for Michael Brown’s family vowed to push for federal charges against the Ferguson, Missouri, police officer who killed the unarmed 18-yearold, a day after a grand jury declined to indict Darren Wilson, who insisted in an interview with ABC News that he could not have done anything differently in the confrontation with Brown. (The Justice Department later declined to prosecute Wilson.) Today’s Birthdays: Actress Noel Neill is 95. Playwright Murray Schisgal is 89. Pro Football Hall of Fame coach Joe Gibbs is 75. Author, actor and economist Ben Stein is 71. Actor John Larroquette is 68. Actor Tracey Walter is 68. Movie director Jonathan Kaplan is 68. Author Charlaine Harris is 64. Retired MLB All-Star Bucky Dent is 64. Singer Amy Grant is 55. Former NFL quarterback Bernie Kosar is 52. Rock singermusician Tim Armstrong is 50. Actor Steve Harris is 50. Singer Stacy Lattisaw is 49. Actress Christina Applegate is 44.Former NFL quarterback Donovan McNabb is 39. Actress Jill Flint is 38. Actress Valerie Azlynn is 35. Actress Katie Cassidy is 29. Thought for Today: “There’s no one so intolerable or less tolerated in society than someone who’s intolerant.” — Giacomo Leopardi, Italian author and poet (17981837).
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A man and woman embrace on the departure level of Los Angeles International Airport amid Thanksgiving holiday traffic, Tuesday.
at New York’s Port Authority bus terminal. He was traveling to see family in Springfield, Massachusetts. Anyone trekking to a major airport should factor in 50 extra minutes on the road, according to the traffic date company IN-
RIX — and that’s just getting to the airport, never mind getting through security. Though there have been no changes to the nation’s terror alert status, the State Department to warn American travelers about the risks overseas.
SUBSCRIPTIONS/DELIVERY (956) 728-2555 The Zapata Times is distributed on Saturdays to 4,000 households in Zapata County. For subscribers of the Laredo Morning Times and for those who buy the Laredo Morning Times at newsstands, the Zapata Times is inserted. The Zapata Times is free. The Zapata Times is published by the Laredo Morning Times, a division of The Hearst Corporation, P.O. Box 2129, Laredo, Texas 78044. Phone (956) 728-2500. The Zapata office is at 1309 N. U.S. Hwy. 83 at 14th Avenue, Suite 2, Zapata, TX 78076. Call (956) 765-5113 or e-mail thezapatatimes.net
Local
WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 25, 2015
THE ZAPATA TIMES 3A
Laredo Community College improves online portal SPECIAL TO THE TIMES
Beginning January 2016, students and employees logging into PASPort, Laredo Community College’s online portal, will see a new and improved interface. Over the college’s winter break, LCC Information Technology staff will be working on upgrading the system, and according to LCC’s Web Technologies Manager Marlene Guevara, users can look forward to a highly improved PASPort experience. PASPort is an acronym for Personnel and Student Portal. "This includes improvements in design, navigation, content organization, seamless integrations, and device and browser compatibility. By doing this upgrade, we’re also paving the path to enhancing other areas like providing more functionality to our mobile app and other online resources we develop through time,” Guevara said. Google-powered email is among the improvements students and college employees can look forward to when the new system launches in time for the Spring 2016 Semester. PASPort email will now look, feel and operate exactly like Gmail. After the upgrade, users will be able to sync their calendars and email to their mobile devices, allowing them instant access to all their information. PASPort will truly be a onestop shop for all student needs. By logging into PASPort, students will automatically be logged in to Canvas, where they can access their classes, grades and communication with their instructors. Students will no longer have to sign in separately to Canvas. Newly organized tabs, channels and content will make it easier for users to navigate PASPort in order to quickly and efficiently access the info they need. In addition to these upgrades, LCC will be providing updates to the college’s Mobile App. The upgrade will allow
Poetry reading event SPECIAL TO THE TIMES
Photo by Laredo Morning Times
In this file photo, LCC students look at class registration materials at the Fort McIntosh Campus. In honor of Thanksgiving, Laredo Community College will be closed beginning Wednesday, Nov. 25, but students will still be able to register for the Spring 2016 semester online via PASPort, LCC’s online student portal. Both the Fort McIntosh and South campuses will be closed through Sunday. Students who have already been advised can still register for the new semester via PASPort, available online at https://pasport.laredo.edu. The spring 2016 class schedule also is available on PASPort. LCC Mobile to run on the latest version of mobile operating systems, including that of the Apple Watch. The upgrade also will allow IT to add in a mobile registration feature that will debut later in the spring. LCC’s Information Technology Officer Luciano Ramon credits the hard work of his staff in making the upgrade possible. “Our IT staff has been working very hard on this project over the last year, and they will be giving up part of their holiday season to upgrade and enhance PASPort in
order to provide students and staff with a better portal experience,” said Ramon. The upgrade is scheduled to occur over the winter break, from Dec. 17 through Jan. 4, in order to minimize disruption to students. During this period, students will not be able to access their PASPort accounts to view their grades, and/or register/pay their spring 2016 classes. To avoid potentially losing their spots in class, students are encouraged to register and pay their tuition and fees by Tuesday, Dec. 15. Those who miss the payment deadline
will risk losing their spot in class and will need to reregister when the college resumes registration on Tuesday, Jan. 5. Grades will be available to view on PASPort through Wednesday, Dec. 16 until 6 p.m. Students and employees also are encouraged to forward their PASPort emails to another email account or to print them before the break, as emails will be deleted during the upgrade. For help with PASPort emails or questions about the upgrade, contact the Information Technology Department at 721-5312.
Del Alma Publications hosted a recent book signing and poetry reading in Zapata for the release of “Cantos del Alma y del Corazón – Poesía Original,” an original Spanish poetry book written by former University of Texas – Pan American Starr County campus director Maria Alma Gonzalez Perez. The event was held Sunday. Over 50 guests gathered and enjoyed hearing Perez recite her favorite poetry verses from famed poets, such as Sor Juana Inez de la Cruz, as well as some of the poems from her own book. Perez said she was happy to see the attendees not only supporting her, but rather supPEREZ porting the development of literature in the community, specifically Spanish poetry. She followed by saying that whomever can write poetry, all that is needed is to free your mind and unite your thoughts with your feelings because whenever a memory comes to mind that causes much emotion that makes one sigh, laugh, or cry, it’s very probable that a poem can develop. Perez provided some background regarding her poetry writing process as well as the significance and importance of “culturally relevant literature,” which is when one can find something to relate to when reading literature. She added that literature helps to form and develop young children and adolescents by giving them concepts and perspectives. The presentation concluded by Perez presenting framed photos of some of the books’ poems for persons who contributed to the book and/or were related to the poem’s story. “Cantos del Alma y del Corazón - Poesía Original” is a collection of 50 poems that provides the reader with a sensitive perspective of love, family and culture among other topics and expresses feelings and emotions derived from the experience of everyday life. Each poem is complemented by a photograph depicting scenic areas of Zapata County, which serves as backdrop to enhance its meaning. A teaching guide of classroom activities serves as supplementary material for the instruction and discussion of poetry in the classroom. “Cantos del Alma y del Corazón - Poesía Original” includes seven sections, 51 pictures and a total of 104 pages. Books are available for purchase through the website, delalmapublications.com, or by calling 956-451-6964.
Senator Judith Zaffirini and Carlos Sr. and their son and daughter-in-law, Carlos Jr. and Audrey, wish all families the Lord’s blessing and a Very Happy Thanksgiving!
N
ot what we say about our blessings, but how we use them, is the true measure of our thanksgiving. W.T. Purkiser’s poignant words about the power of gratitude as a force for good are appropriate as we reflect on our blessings this Thanksgiving. Leading by example and helping others in need are among the best ways to express our gratitude. It’s not what we say that counts, it’s what we do. My most precious blessings are my husband, Carlos Sr., and our son and daughter-in-law, Carlos Jr. and Audrey. As your state senator, I also am blessed with opportunities to champion educational opportunities for all and health and human services, especially for the very young, the very old, the very poor and persons with disabilities. What I wish for my own family is what I champion for all families. Thanksgiving is a wonderful time to focus on faith, family and friendship. My prayer is that the Lord will bless us all not only in many ways for which we are thankful, but also with meaningful ways to use those blessings in demonstrating our gratitude.
PAGE 4A
Zopinion
WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 25, 2015
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COLUMN
OTHER VIEWS
Lets be thankful for what we got By GISSELA SANTACRUZ COX NEWSPAPERS
AUSTIN — I’m a huge bargain hunter. Years as a single mom on a journalist’s salary made me an expert at chasing good deals. And yet, Black Friday has never been my thing. Growing up in a rough neighborhood in Dallas, I’ve spent most of my life avoiding drama and tense situations. The oversensationalized media reports of Black Friday melees were enough to keep the shopping frenzy atop my “avoid-at-all-costs” list. Yes, the stories of angry mobs aren’t frequent, but the tension and heightened sense of consumer competition that builds up during Black Friday sales are indeed common. For me, no deal — regardless of how good it may be — is worth putting myself through that frenzy. Yet, I did it. Once. And now I can say: Been there, done that. No need to repeat. My reasons for staying away from Black Friday sales have little to do with making a political statement — though I don’t necessarily disapprove of those out there — and everything to do with expecting more of humanity and appreciating my family. The unknowing instigator of my sole Black Friday experience was my now-ex sister-in-law, Felicia. For as long as I’ve known her, she’s been an avid Black Friday shopper. Before retail stores pushed up Black Friday to Thanksgiving Thursday, Felicia would head out at the crack of dawn with my brother, friends or other family members in search of the best prices for shoes and cute outfits for my nieces. She swore that everyone in her small shopping group had experienced such a good time in their pursuit for the best deals of the season and enjoyed one another’s company amid the rushing crowds. Mostly, as any self-respecting bargain enthusiast would, I loved hearing of her great finds. One year, she came home with beautiful, small aluminum Christmas tree that had served as a store’s display. I was jealous. Four years ago, two things convinced me to finally join the Black Friday shoppers club: my goal to find an excellent gift for my husband and a great price on a flat-screen television. My membership would be short-lived. On that evening, I trekked out early enough to my local Target to be among the first 40 shoppers or so in line. Folks around me were friendly and chatty. An aura of camaraderie existed. People even held one another’s
places in line for the sake of food and bathroom breaks. I’d experienced something very similar to this during my stakeout time at the annual Settlement Home Garage Sale, a charity event. There, women claim a spot for themselves and a few friends who will join them later. Some even enjoy a picnic to help kill time. That’s where the similarities end. Like Black Friday shoppers, folks in the Settlement Home line are always eager to get inside to spot the best buys. However, perhaps knowing that all proceeds of the sale go to a good cause is what keeps Settlement Home shoppers’ spirits at a mostly gracious level. The same can’t be said of many shoppers in line on Black Friday. On the night that I had ventured out, tension began to fill the air as the line grew longer and time got closer to the doors opening. Forty-five minutes before midnight, my once-friendly fellow linesman soon became suspicious of anyone new who approached the line. Fifteen minutes before doors opened, people in front and behind me were shouting at anyone who even came to close to our spots. They warned them that cutting line was forbidden. By then, I could no longer make eye contact with those around me. This was no longer a camp of newfound mates but a field of soldiers awaiting battle. When the doors opened at midnight, the crusade was in full force. People pushed and grabbed at sale items as though reaching for bread for their hungered bodies. But it wasn’t. It was a gaming system. A slow cooker. A Lalaloopsy doll. Originally, my list of items included a few kitchen gadgets and a couple of toys. After being pushed inside — and because the television I wanted for my husband was immediately to my left — it was the only item I dared to get. No violence was reported at that store that night, but the scene was tense. People became frenzied as soon as the doors opened. We all were focused on getting the products we had waited in line that we lost sight of being good neighbors. I would rather be an example for my children than have the steal of the century. So, this and every Friday after Thanksgiving, I choose to be nestled on the couch with my family, counting every single one of my blessings and leaving Black Friday shopping to the pros. (Gissela SantaCruz writes for the Austin American-Statesman. Email: gsantacruz(at)statesman.com.)
LETTERS TO THE EDITOR POLICY The Zapata Times does not publish anonymous letters. To be published, letters must include the writer’s first and last names as well as a phone number to verify identity. The phone number IS NOT published; it is used solely to verify identity and to clarify content, if necessary. Identity of the letter writer must be verified before publication. We want to assure
our readers that a letter is written by the person who signs the letter. The Zapata Times does not allow the use of pseudonyms. Letters are edited for style, grammar, length and civility. No namecalling or gratuitous abuse is allowed. Via e-mail, send letters to editorial@lmtonline.com or mail them to Letters to the Editor, 111 Esperanza Drive, Laredo, TX 78041.
COLUMN
Expectant dads often funny As an old great-grandfather-wannabe, I was recently reflecting on some firstchild experiences. Men are ill prepared for the birth of their children, especially the first one. As a result, these new fathers can offer some pretty hilarious sidebars to the birth, which is a tremendous physical marathon for mothers and not a dang bit funny. And, new mamas are naturally the focus of the entire birthing process. New dads are a pitiful lot and make for hilarity in their misunderstanding of the rigors for a woman in bringing a baby into the world. It’s no wonder that scores of comedians have created extraordinary humor with this whole process of childbirth, particularly with reference to the utter ignorance often displayed by new dads. My first-born-child experience occurred a little more than 50 years ago and just the waiting room goings-on are a stitch now…at least the parts I can remember. Of course, times, methods, science and maternity health care have changed immensely in that half- century. So has the knowledge finally, to a degree, shared
with expectant fathers. We’ve even reached a point where dads are allowed to share somewhat in the birth process, such as being in the labor and delivery rooms. Not so in that long-ago eon. A certain sophistication has come about for new dads in their being allowed to experience, as much as possible, the experience of their child’s birthing. With the birth of my first child, I was in the dark a great deal of the time. Okay, no comments from the audience here. This is serial. This took place in Houston’s Methodist Hospital, a fine institution. We had that first child by appointment, i.e., labor was induced, so we presented ourselves at the set time. While the mother-to-be was ushered into the meticulous preparation and care section, we about-to-be-daddies were shown to a special new-father waiting area just outside the maternity ward. Yeah, I know, Stone Age. Almost to a man, this miserable collection of clueless new dads bore books,
magazines and smelling salts — no champagne bottles and cork screws allowed — as they prepared to sit and wait for a nurse to stick her head out and announced, “girl” or “boy” to the pathetic gathering. Oh, in those days, there was still quite a bit of mystery as to what the sex of the expected child would be. After all, it was more than half a century ago. Science has marched on. I was no different than most of those expectant fathers, although I saw no need for smelling salts. I had a couple of newspapers (what else) and they contained my lifelong-addiction…crossword puzzles…as if my mind could wrap itself around those puzzles and produce an expected plethora of answers and solutions (I still only manage one or two completed crosswords a week…grrrr!). As Popeye would say, “That’s embarrasking!” That long ago time did produce one humorous experience. Fifty-plus years ago, the mini-skirt was making its daring debut, much to the delight of husbands and to the disdain of wives-mothers whose bodies had been ravaged by the rigors of
pregnancy and childbirth. In those slow, dragging, waiting minutes, we dads — “deprived” of the marital bed for weeks and weeks — were sitting there numbminded when suddenly the new phenomenon made its debut for this pathetic collection of expectant fathers. This gorgeous, quite shapely redheaded woman slowly swayed by all us soon-to-be new daddies. She glided to the doorway to the labor rooms, turned and tauntingly swiveled by us on her way back out. Every man’s chin was on his chest. But no one rose to check out her availability. Nerves won out. Twelve hours after checking in, I was informed that both mom and new baby were doing well. I didn’t recognize then the challenges and the enormity of the task of raising a child. As the oldest of four children, all boys, I already knew how to perform all the physical tasks involved in taking care of a new baby. Shucks, I thought, nothing to it. Live and learn. (Willis Webb is a retired community newspaper editor-publisher with more than 50 years experience. He can be reached by email at wwebb1937@att.net.)
COLUMN
Bad holiday worker conditions By JENNY WITTNER TRIBUNE NEWS SERVICE
We need to improve the condition of workers this Thanksgiving weekend. Black Friday and Cyber Monday may mean great deals for shoppers but they can be a terrible deal for the millions of retail and warehouse workers who are forced to work long, unpredictable hours. Recently, many stores have even stayed open on Thanksgiv-
ing, preventing workers from spending the holiday with their families and friends. But the worst part is that so many of these workers are used to all this. That’s because employers aren’t just giving workers unstable, unpredictable shifts during the hectic holiday season - they’re doing it all year round. According to a recent study by Retail Action Project, nearly 40 percent of retail workers are
given irregular schedules that wreak havoc on their lives. That hourly employee who just helped you find the perfect sweater for your grandmother might be scheduled for 10 hours one week and 30 the next. She might be scheduled for mornings one week and evenings the next, with no set pattern, and only two or three days’ advance notice. She might pay her babysitter and commute for an
DOONESBURY | GARRY TRUDEAU
hour, only to be sent home without pay because business is slow. You can do your part, too. Make a difference for lowpaid workers by heading to stores that have promised to stay closed on Thanksgiving, such as Patagonia, Costco and Half Price Books. We need to help businesses understand that when they do right by their employees, they’re also helping our families, communities and economy.
Nation
WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 25, 2015
THE ZAPATA TIMES 5A
Chicago cop charged with murdering teen By DON BABWIN AND JASON KEYSER ASSOCIATED PRESS
CHICAGO — A white Chicago police officer who shot a black teenager 16 times was charged with first-degree murder Tuesday, a day before the deadline a judge set for the city to release a squad-car video of the killing that officials fear will spark unrest. A judge denied Officer Jason Van Dyke bond at a noon hearing. About an hour later, Cook County State’s Attorney Anita Alvarez held a news conference where she defended the amount of time it took to charge the officer in the Oct. 20, 2014, killing of 17year-old Laquan McDonald.
City officials and community leaders have been bracing for the release of the video, fearing an outbreak of unrest and demonstrations similar to those that occurred in cities including Baltimore and Ferguson, Missouri, after young black men were slain by police or died in police custody. The judge who ordered the dashcam recording to be released said it must be put out by Wednesday after city officials had argued for months it couldn’t be made public until the conclusion of several investigations. Alvarez said Tuesday that cases involving police officers present “highly complex” legal issues and she would rather take the
Photo by Paul Beaty | AP
Rev. Jesse Jackson, right, comforts Laquan McDonald’s aunt Tanisha Hunter during a vigil for the 17-year-old on Tuesday in Chicago. time to get it right than
Police arrest 2 shooters By DOUG GLASS AND STEVE KARNOWSKI ASSOCIATED PRESS
MINNEAPOLIS — Police on Tuesday arrested two men suspected of shooting five Black Lives Matter demonstrators, while the family of a black man whose death inspired the protests called for an end to demonstrations that have gone on for days outside a Minneapolis police station. No one suffered lifethreatening wounds in Monday night’s shooting, which took place about a block from the police department’s 4th Precinct, where protesters have been demonstrating since the Nov. 15 death of 24-year-old Jamar Clark, who was shot by a police officer. It was not immediately clear who was behind the attack. By Tuesday afternoon, police had announced two arrests: a 23-year-old white man taken into custody in suburban Bloomington and a 32-year-old Hispanic man arrested in south Minneapolis. Authorities said they were still seeking
Photo by Jeff Wheeler/Star Tribune | AP
A protester speaks about his encounter with attackers who were shooting at five protesters near the Minneapolis Police 4th Precinct. additional suspects. “We are sparing no efforts to bring any and all of those responsible to justice,” Mayor Betsy Hodges said in a written statement. Henry Habu, who said he has been providing security for protesters, said he and others approached four white people who were standing under a “Justice4Jamar” sign to ask what they were doing there. The group was composed of three men and one woman, with three of them wearing masks that left their eyes exposed. “We’re here for Jamar,” one said, according to Habu.
Habu said they tried to escort the four from the scene and they took off running. Habu said he did not see the shooting that followed, but heard it. Oluchi Omeoga witnessed the shooting and said a handful of protesters followed three men in masks to a street corner, where the men pulled out weapons and began firing. Two people were shot in the leg, another in the arm and a fourth in the stomach, said Mica Grimm, an organizer with Black Lives Matter who said she arrived on the scene soon after the shooting.
“rush to judgment.” She
said the impending release of the video prompted her to move up the announcement of the charge out of concern the footage would spark violence. “It is graphic. It is violent. It is chilling,” she said of the video. “To watch a 17year-old young man die in such a violent manner is deeply disturbing. I have absolutely no doubt that this video will tear at the hearts of all Chicagoans.” But she insisted that she made a decision “weeks ago” to charge the officer and the video’s ordered release did not influence that. Some community leaders said there was no doubt that Alvarez only brought charges because of the or-
der to release the video. “This is a panicky reaction to an institutional crisis within the criminal justice system,” said the Rev. Jesse Jackson, who said he hoped to see “massive” but peaceful demonstrations. The city’s hurried attempts to defuse tensions also included a community meeting, official statements of outrage at the officer’s conduct and an abrupt announcement Monday night that another officer who’s been the subject of protests for months might now be fired. Activists have long pressed for the video’s release only to be kept private as the shooting was under investigation.
6A THE ZAPATA TIMES
WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 25, 2015
Despite oil bust, Texas prepares more students for oil jobs By WILL WEISSERT ASSOCIATED PRESS
HOUSTON — The oil industry is mired in its latest bust, with thousands of jobs evaporating like flares flaming out over natural gas wells. But in Texas, education officials are preparing more young people for the oil patch, showing the state’s unshakeable commitment to the energy sector despite the employment uncertainties. The Houston school district is planning to expand its Energy Institute High School to around 1,000 students by 2017 and inaugurate a new 110,000 squarefoot, $37 million facility. The three-year-old institute is the nation’s only high school fully specializing in oil and energy careers. In the oil-rich Permian Basin, two Midland high schools have begun “petroleum academies.” And state officials have approved vocational classes in oil production, authorizing all schools districts across Texas to teach them. “We are in this downturn, but as a society we have a responsibility to not let that affect our workforce and to keep ahead of the game,” said Energy Insti-
Photo by Pat Sullivan | AP
Biology teacher Amanda Alexander directs her students during class at Houston Energy Institute High School, Oct. 27. tute principal Lori Lambropoulos. Other oil and gas states, including North Dakota, Louisiana and Wyoming, offer technical training for high school students interested in the oil industry, but Texas’ program is more extensive, despite questions about whether there will be jobs in the near future for its graduates. Layoffs began last year when crude prices plummeted from over $100 a barrel to about $45 now. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, oil and gas extraction jobs fell from 201,500 nationwide in October 2014 to around 187,000
this past October. In Texas alone, the economic sector including energy jobs contracted by an estimated 28,000 through a year-long period ending in September. “Fourteen months ago it was fracking forever,” said Robert Gilmer, head of the University of Houston’s Institute for Regional Forecasting. “And now we’re here.” But the booms, like the last six-year-long one, provide rich paydays when they happen. And many in Texas insist things will rebound, although no one knows when. It took nearly two decades for oil prices to
fully recover from the bust in the 1980s. Energy Institute High School students choose between focusing on geosciences, offshore technology or alternative energy, but can also tackle blue-collar areas like welding, vital to the oilfield, or piloting remotely operated underwater vehicles used in offshore exploration. Trista Litong, a 16-yearold sophomore, said she’s not sweating falling oil prices because she believes her training will be useful regardless. “The skills you learn here, how to talk to people, how to present in front of an audience and working in groups, it really helps you in the future,” said Litong, who wakes up at 4:55 a.m. and braves a 90-minute bus ride to reach Energy Institute’s temporary campus in a scruffy section of downtown Houston. A record 1,200 students applied for about 250 Energy Institute slots last fall. Oil industry donations have helped supplement public funding for the school’s costs, which are high because of the technology and teacher training required. They also take traditional high school courses.
Family file suit for clock arrest By AVI SELK DALLAS MORNING NEWS
IRVING, Texas - Threatening a lawsuit, Ahmed Mohamed’s lawyer says that not only did Irving officials illegally interrogate the boy for bringing a homemade clock to high school, but later coordinated to "kneecap a kid in the media" in an effort to cover up their mistakes. The alleged smear effort made Ahmed the target of anti-Muslim threats, the focus of conspiracy theories and caused his family to flee the country, the lawyer wrote in letters sent Monday to City Hall and the Irving Independent School District. Ahmed’s family demanded that officials apologize and pay them $15 million to stave off a civil rights suit. "Mayor Beth Van Duyne lied about Ahmed and his family, and she did it to an audience that is on the absolute fringe of American life," attorney Kelly Hollingsworth wrote. City and school officials did not comment on the charges, though some in City Hall have been expecting to be sued since September, when the 14-yearold Sudanese immigrant was arrested - accused of
building a hoax bomb instead of a clock - and transformed overnight into a global symbol of Islamophobia. Monday’s letters were sent as anti-Muslim rhetoric is sweeping the U.S. presidential race and seeping into local politics. Armed protesters stood outside Irving’s largest mosque Saturday - convinced that it had hosted a Shariah court, and that the Quran instructed Muslims to kill nonbelievers. The two letters add new details and accusations to a story that played out to millions after Ahmed brought a clock assembled from scrap electronics inside a small pencil case to MacArthur High on Sept. 14. "Ahmed was looking for a way to demonstrate his technical abilities to some of his new teachers," the attorney wrote to officials, adding that the boy had told his teachers days earlier he planned to bring an electronic creation to school. But after his English teacher confiscated the clock, the letter says, the principal and police illegally questioned Ahmed without his parents present even after the boy asked to see them.
The letter says that MacArthur Principal Daniel Cummings threatened to expel Ahmed unless he signed a confession saying his clock was a hoax bomb. By all accounts from that day, Ahmed never claimed the device was anything but a clock, and officials never treated it as a real bomb. "City and school personnel commented later to the press that Ahmed was not forthcoming during the inquisition," the boy’s lawyer wrote. "It seems not to have dawned on any of them that he was scared to death." After police dropped the charges and news of the arrest went viral, city and school officials devised a plan to "trash Ahmed" in the media, the lawyer wrote to the city attorney. "The Irving ISD and City of Irving launched a public relations campaign against Ahmed. They stoked the flames," reads one of the letters. "They tried to push responsibility off on the victim - Ahmed." The lawyer said officials falsely claimed that Ahmed violated school district policy and "zero tolerance" laws, none of which actually apply to his homemade clock. Van Duyne suggested
that Ahmed’s family wasn’t telling reporters the whole story about his arrest, and school officials publicly asked his parents to let them release his private records. (An investigation by The Dallas Morning News of the boy’s past turned up reports of suspensions for fighting or horseplay in middle school, but nothing criminal.) "This, again, is tantamount to calling Ahmed and his family liars," the attorney wrote. Ahmed’s lawyer and relatives argue he’s not as happy as he appeared in countless interviews after becoming a celebrity. After withdrawing from the school district and receiving scholarship offers from across the country, Ahmed and his immediate family abruptly moved to Qatar last month. At the time, the family said the move was best for Ahmed’s education. A Qatari foundation had offered to pay for his schooling through college. But now the family says the decision had as much to do with a backlash in the United States. Ahmed’s home address was made public, and commenters on fringe websites threatened him with violence.
Planned Parenthood sues over blocked Medicaid dollars By BRITTNEY MARTIN THE DALLAS MORNING NEWS
AUSTIN, Texas — Texas Planned Parenthood affiliates sued the state in federal court Monday, aiming to stop health officials from cutting off their Medicaid funding. Planned Parenthood and 10 anonymous patients say the state’s move violates federal Medicaid law and their 14th Amendment right to equal protection by blocking them from choosing their own medical provider “without adequate justification.” In October, the inspector general of the state’s health agency informed the three Planned Parenthood affiliates in Texas that his office was moving to revoke their ability to provide health care through Medicaid, alleging safety concerns and fraud. The move targets about $3 million in Medicaid reimbursements, most of it federal money, paid to clinics that provide birth control, breast and cervical cancer screenings, and HIV/sexually transmitted disease treatment and prevention to poor Texas women. “This effort is meant to be an attack on Planned Parenthood, but the victims are going to be low-income Texan women,” said Dr. Hal Lawrence, chief executive of the American Congress of Obstetricians and Gynecologists. “Women who need help, not to have doors closed in their faces.” Officials at the state Health and Human Services Commission declined to comment on the suit. Aides to Gov. Greg Abbott, who has praised the efforts against Planned Parenthood, also declined to comment. The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services told Texas officials last month that their move to exclude Planned Parenthood from the Medicaid program, which the federal and state governments jointly fund to provide health coverage for the poor, “may be in conflict with federal law.” “Longstanding Medicaid laws prohibit states from restricting individuals who have coverage through Medicaid from receiving care from a qualified provider,” Marissa Padilla, a spokeswoman for the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, said in a written statement last month. “By restricting which provider a woman could choose to receive care from, women could lose access to critical preventive care, such as
cancer screenings.” The state health commission’s inspector general, Stuart Bowen, cited safety concerns raised by an undercover video released by an anti-abortion group and a whistleblower’s accusation of Medicaid fraud. Three days after he warned that the group could be dropped from the program, the state requested a massive amount of documents, including patient records, doctors’ notes and test results. Bowen said at the time that his office would review the documents to determine the validity of the whistleblower’s accusations. The next step, he warned, could be to open a criminal investigation. Planned Parenthood has repeatedly denied all allegations of fraud and called the document requests a “fishing expedition.” Bowen gave Planned Parenthood affiliates until midNovember to request a reconsideration, but the organization decided instead to sue, said Sarah Wheat, a spokeswoman for Planned Parenthood of Greater Texas. The organization asked a federal court in Austin to issue an injunction halting the state’s efforts by early December, when Wheat said it would probably take effect. Courts in several other states have blocked similar efforts to cut off funding until suits could be heard. Over the last three years, Texas has steadily cut off Planned Parenthood from most state funding sources, including a program that provides cancer screening and diagnostic tests and helps enroll women in the Medicaid program for breast and cervical cancer treatment. Texas’ Republican leaders have said that as an organization affiliated with abortion clinics, Planned Parenthood has no place in taxpayer-funded women’s health services. In Texas, there are 35 Planned Parenthood facilities, five of which perform abortions. The abortion facilities are funded and operated separately from the health clinics, and no federal or state money goes to fund abortions. Cecile Richards, president of the Planned Parenthood Federation of America, said the state’s move was part of a pattern of politically motivated attacks by politicians across the country. “Women in Texas have fewer rights than they did when I was growing up, and less access to health care,” Richards said. “It really is bad health policy.”
WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 25, 2015
ON THE WEB: THEZAPATATIMES.COM
Sports&Outdoors NATIONAL FOOTBALL LEAGUE: CLEVELAND BROWNS
Browns demote Manziel Partying costs quarterback starting spot By TOM WITHERS ASSOCIATED PRESS
BEREA, Ohio — Dropped from starter to third-stringer — without playing a game. Johnny Manziel partied his way out of the lineup during Cleveland’s bye week. Browns coach Mike Pettine benched the polarizing quarterback on Monday for his off-field behavior, a move that could signal Manziel’s days with the team are numbered. Pettine said Josh McCown will start Monday night’s game against Baltimore in place of Manziel, who was recently handed the starting job but couldn’t keep it while the team had a week off. Manziel’s benching comes in the wake of a video surfacing of him holding a bottle of champagne and rapping profane lyrics last weekend in an Austin, Texas,
nightclub. He had promised not to bring any embarrassment to the team during its week off, and did just that and Pettine, who has been supportive of Manziel in the past, has had enough. “Everyone in this organization wants what is best for Johnny just like we do for every player in our locker room. I’m especially disappointed in his actions and behavior because he has been working very hard,” Pettine said. “The improvements from last year to this year have been tremendous but he still has to consistently demonstrate that he has gained a good understanding of what it takes to be successful at the quarterback position on this level,” he said. “It goes well beyond the field.” Manziel will not only move back behind McCown, but he’ll also be below Austin Davis on the depth chart.
Pettine met with Manziel following practice Tuesday and informed him of his choice to bench him for the foreseeable future. Pettine, whose job could be in jeopardy if the Browns (2-8) don’t demonstrate some progress the rest of this season, said owner Jimmy Haslam and general manager Ray Farmer support his decision. The 22-year-old Manziel has developed on the field during his second NFL season. However, despite saying he had learned from his past mistakes, Manziel, who spent 70 days during the offseason in a rehab facility specializing in alcohol and drug treatment, has not shown the maturity the Browns are looking for from their quarterback. Before Tuesday’s practice, Pettine expressed both disappointment and frustration with Manziel, who passed for a careerhigh 372 yards in a re-
cent loss to Pittsburgh. As he got ready to turn his players loose last week, Pettine spoke to Manziel about being responsible and was given assurances by the 2012 Heisman Trophy winner that he would behave. Manziel didn’t make his plans known, but pledged that he would not become a distraction. “I don’t think they’re going to have to worry about me this week,” he told reporters. But it was hardly shocking when the video and photos appeared of Manziel, who entered the league with a reputation for enjoying his free time. This time, though, the Browns weren’t so willing to excuse Manziel’s conduct. Pettine said much of his displeasure in Manziel stemmed in him not seeming to understand Photo by Gene J. Puskar | AP that his behavior was a reflection on the team. The Browns dropped Johnny Manziel from the starting spot to thirdstring quarterback Tuesday because of his partying during the bye week.
PÁGINA 8A
Zfrontera Lugartenientes
MIÉRCOLES 25 DE NOVIEMBRE DE 2015
JOAQUÍN ‘EL CHAPO’ GUZMÁN
Agenda en Breve RECORRIDO DE CASAS
Se invita a recorrer las decoraciones en casas ubicadas en La Hacienda De Las Flores, Torres Homes, Lozano Home y Treviño Ranch el domingo 13 de diciembre, de 1 p.m. a 5 p.m. La entrada tiene costo de 7 dólares. Adquiera su boleto en el Museo de Historia del Condado de Webb, 805 N. US Hwy 83. También se le hará entrega de un mapa. Informes en el (956) 765-8983.
ÁRBOL NAVIDEÑO El Museo de Historia del Condado de Zapata invita a las diversas organizaciones locales al concurso de decoración del árbol navideño. La fecha límite de entrada es el viernes 4 de diciembre a las 4 p.m. Los árboles serán colocados del 8 al 11 de diciembre. La comunidad elegirá, por medio de voto, el árbol ganador. Costo de entrada para votar es de 3 dólares, para adultos, y 1 dólar para niños. El museo se ubica en 805 N. US Hwy 83. Informes en el (956) 765-8983.
cho público el martes se les acusa de narcotráfico y lavado de dinero y MÉXICO — El Departamento del se les designa como lugartenientes Tesoro de los Estados Unidos ha de- con un papel clave en la estructura signado a dos mexicanos en aplica- que maneja el hijo de Guzmán, Jeción de la Ley Kingpin por sus acti- sús Alfredo Guzmán Salazar. Fervidades criminales para el Cártel nández maneja droga y dinero para de Sinaloa que dirige Joaquín “El el cártel, y Valenzuela gestiona la Chapo” Guzmán, fugitivo de la jus- distribución en los estados de Jalisco y Sinaloa en México. ticia. El Departamento dice que la designación de Guadalupe Fernández Valencia y Jorge Mario Valenzuela Verdugo impide que nadie en los Por otra parte se dio a conocer Estados Unidos pueda hacer negocios con ellos y congela cualquier que el hijo de un capo de la droga posesión que puedan tener en los en México será extraditado a los Estados Unidos para enfrentarse a un Estados Unidos. En un comunicado de prensa he- cargo federal por tráfico de drogas ASSOCIATED PRESS
Extradición
y conspiración. Ismael Zambada Imperial, también conocido como “El Gordo Mayito”, es el hijo de Ismael Zambada García, uno de los tres lideres del Cártel del Sinaloa y es apodado “El Mayo”. El periódico Excelsior reportó el sábado que la Secretaría de Relaciones Exteriores de México permitió la extradición de Imperial a los EU. Imperial fue capturado cerca de Culiacán, capital de Sinaloa, en noviembre de 2014, de acuerdo a Reuters. Una corte federal en California había acusado a Imperial de conspiración y trafico de marihuana, metanfetamina y cocaína, reportó Ex-
celsior. El padre de Imperial se cree tomó el mando del Cártel de Sinaloa después de la captura en 2014 de su líder Joaquín “El Chapo” Guzmán. Imperial no es el primero de sus hermanos que enfrenta cargos en los Estados Unidos. Vicente Zambada Niebla fue arrestado en 2009 por cargos de trafico de droga y fue extraditado a los EU. “El Chapo” Guzmán escapó de la prisión de máxima seguridad del Altiplano en las afueras de la Ciudad de México el 11 julio a través de un túnel de más un kilómetro que salía de su celda. (Con información del San Antonio Express-News)
ACCIÓN DE GRACIAS
DAR Y RECIBIR
CIUDAD DE ROMA A mediados de mes se llevó a cabo la ceremonia de corte de listón del proyecto de drenaje sanitario y pavimentación de la avenida Ebony en Ciudad de Roma. El Congresista Henry Cuellar (D-Laredo) logró que se asignaran 6.2 millones de dólares para realizar el proyecto. La obra permitirá evitar las inundaciones en caso de lluvia, lo cual afecta a los residentes de Ciudad de Roma. El Centro de Aves en Ciudad de Roma, en 610 North Portscheller Street, invita a visitarlos de jueves a domingo en horario de 8 a.m. a 4 p.m. El centro conocido como ‘Roma Bluffs World Birding Center’ se ubica en el Distrito Histórico de Roma, y es propiedad de la Ciudad de Roma.
DESFILE POR NAVIDAD La Cámara de Comercio del Condado del Condado de Zapata invita al Desfile de Navidad y Encendido del Árbol en la Plaza del Condado, el jueves 3 de diciembre. Se invita a que se registren para participar en el evento llamando para detalles al (956) 765-5434. El día del desfile la alineación iniciará a las 5 p.m. en Glenn St. y 17th Ave. (detrás de Our Lady of Lourdes Catholic Church). El desfile dará inicio a las 6 p.m. y proseguirá por 17th Ave. hacia el Sur sobre US Hwy 83 tomando a la izquierda sobre 6th Ave. para concluirlo. Posteriormente será el encendido anual del árbol de Navidad en la Plaza del Condado, seguido de entrega de regalos por Santa.
TAMAULIPAS El sábado, agentes federales lograron detener a quien dijo ser el comandante de plaza de un grupo delincuencial que opera en Soto la Marina, México. Roberto Alonso Gómez Morales, de 35 años, fue arrestado por el delito de extorsión, de acuerdo con un comunicado del Grupo de Coordinación Tamaulipas. El sospechoso fue ubicado en las cercanías del mercado Pedro Argüelles de Ciudad Victoria, México. Gómez Morales tenía en su poder 128.500 pesos en efectivo, dinero que le fue asegurado. En sus declaraciones ministeriales, Gómez Morales manifestó ser el comandante de plaza en Congregación Enramadas. De acuerdo a las autoridades se cree que el grupo mantiene bajo extorsión a los agricultores por instrucciones del grupo delincuencial que opera en esa región.
Foto de cortesía | Zapata Chamber of Commerce
La semana pasada se llevó a cabo la Primera Cena Anual Comunitaria por el Día de Acción de Gracias, organizada por el Pediatric Practice Association de Dr. Stanley. El evento se llevó a cabo en el Centro Comunitario del Condado de Zapata, y fue abierto a todos los residentes.
COLUMNA
ZAPATA
Travesías originan leyendas
Dan más apoyo
En una serie de artículos, el autor analiza conocidas leyendas de Tamaulipas.
POR RAÚL SINENCIO CHÁVEZ ESPECIAL PARA TIEMPO DE ZAPATA
El pasado tamaulipeco aloja también leyendas. Estas historias tienden a obtener la categoría de verdad incontrovertible. El 1829 el brigadier Isidro Barradas llega al norte de Veracruz, bajo las órdenes de Fernando VII. Sigue a Tamaulipas y ocupa Tampico. Le afecta la falta de caballos, escasez de provisiones, nulo respaldo popular y el pésimo clima de la costa. Tampoco conserva naves para la retirada en caso necesario. Pésimo estratega, termina sitiado, fragmentándose además las maltrechas tropas que comanda. El 11 de septiembre capitula ante los defensores mexicanos. Suscribe convenio y se dirige, por buques que permitan la salida de los invasores, a Nueva Orleáns. En su ausencia, llega la Armada hispana, se impone de la capitulación y recoge lo que resta del cuerpo expedicionario. Jamás regresa el brigadier, sin conocerse entonces su
paradero a punto fijo. Esto último alienta intrincadas leyendas. “El capitulado […] para eludir el juicio y escapar a la condenación desertó […] y envolvió […] en el misterio […] su residencia” postrera, refiere Fernando Iglesias Calderón en 1906. “Corre […] la versión –consigna-- de que […] bajo nombre supuesto, vivió y murió en un pueblo” del “hoy estado de Hidalgo […] Debe creerse que [lo anterior] no pasa de una conseja”. Tomás Domínguez Illanes asevera: “Por el año de [18]34 llegó a Jacala […] un español que […] se hacía llamar don Manuel Raigadas. […] Poco sociable”, matrimoniado con acaudalada mujer de Zacualtipán, muere el 1 de abril de 1870. Coterráneo suyo, el hacendado Mateo de la Tijera suelta compungido: “He allí el cadáver del […] brigadier Isidro Barradas”, cierra Domínguez Illanes. Al susodicho, José Francisco Pedraza lo presenta como Darío Bizarras, alias casi anagramático. “Murió después del imperio de Maximiliano […] y fue sepultado en la capilla de una hacienda” cercana, asevera Pedraza. “Una espada, magnífica
hoja de Toledo” –enfatiza--, figura entre sus herencias. Iglesias Calderón escribió “Si Barradas hubiera tenido conciencia de que se había batido con valor y capitulado con honor […] habría regresado a su país para dar cuenta […] de su conducta”, con lo que conjetura la huida del brigadier. Un testimonio anónimo impreso en 1838 indica “Barradas […] de Nuevo Orleáns […] se dirigió a París”, resalta. Le imputa empero “ser la causa del desastre”, en menoscabo de nuestros valientes soldados, acusándolo de huir “bien provisto su bolsillo de los restos de la Real Tesorería”. Barradas pretende salir de EU y dirigirse a Madrid para darle explicaciones a Fernando VII, pero termina refugiándose en Francia, en medio de la miseria. Jesús Ruiz de Gordejuela en 2013 esclarece: “A Barradas le esperaba un futuro aciago […] esperando” ir “a la presencia de su rey” y “defender su honor […] No pudo ser, y el 14 de agosto de 1835 falleció en […] Marsella cuando contaba 52 años”. (Con permiso del autor, según fuera publicado en La Razón, Tampico, Tamps.)
COLORES PATRIOS
Foto de cortesía | Nueva Ciudad Guerrero
Personal e integrantes del Club del Adulto Mayor en Nueva Ciudad Guerrero, México, participaron en la fiesta para conmemorar el 105 aniversario de la Revolución Mexicana, el viernes. El desfile anual recorrió calles de la ciudad y culminó en el parque de béisbol.
POR SALO OTERO ESPECIAL PARA TIEMPO DE ZAPATA
Durante el año fiscal que concluyó el 30 de septiembre, el Banco de Alimentos del Sur de Texas (STFB, por sus siglas en inglés) distribuyó casi 300.000 libras de comida a familias necesitadas en el Condado de Webb. La cantidad exacta fue de 285.934 libras, se reveló en un comunicado de prensa. En 2014 la cifra fue de 360.471 libras. Elia Solís, nacida en San Ygnacio y egresada de Zapata High School, es la coordinadora de relaBOUBEL ciones de agencia para STFB. La comida en el Condado de Zapata es distribuida a través de tres agencias. La primera es Helping Hands, en 8th and Del Mar; después Shepherd’s Pantry, 305 Hawk St.; y, el Zapata Boys and Girls Club, 302 West 6th Avenue. Los coordinadores son Brian Martínez, Mary Pulido y Ramiro Hernández, respectivamente. Los clientes deben llamar para conocer el horario de distribución. “Para ayudar en la lucha contra el hambre en los ocho condados que el banco de alimentos atiende, se recauda y distribuye comida a través de agencias y programas, aunado a sensibilizar y educar a la comunidad acerca de la realidad de la falta de alimentos”, dijo Alma Boubel, directora ejecutiva del STFB. El organismo ayuda también a los condados de Webb (Laredo), Starr (Rio Grande City-Roma), Jim Hogg (Hebbronville), Dimmit (Carrizo Springs), Maverick (Eagle Pass), Val Verde (Del Rio) y Kinney (Brackettville). Durante el 2014 el banco de alimentos distribuyó 9.91 millones de libras, una cifra más alta de lo repartido en el 2013, cuando fueron 9.464 millones de libras. “Nuestra economía sigue sin estar en donde debería y, por tanto, la necesidad sigue creciendo”, expuso Boubel. La tasa de pobreza en el área es mayor al 30 por ciento. Para informes llame al (956) 726-3120 o visite southtexasfoodbank.org.
Zentertainment
WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 25, 2015
PAGE 9A
Frank Miller’s ‘Dark Knight III’ lives up to hype By DAVID BETANCOURT THE WASHINGTON POST
Frank Miller’s return to the Dark Knight universe is not only an all-star collaboration, but also the rare comic-book "event" that lives up to its own hype. There’s a slightly different Dark Knight vibe in the first book of "DKIII: The Master Race" (available Wednesday), given the absence of Miller’s art, and with Brian Azzarello coplotting on writing duties (with Miller approvingly pulling the strings on all plot details). Miller said that Azzarello was his top pick when it came to a story collaborator. "Brian is exactly who I would have chosen," Miller told The Washington Post. "I can’t imagine anyone better suited than him (for ’DKIII’). He was my own
personal choice." And creatively, Miller has relished having such welcome company for his latest Batman turn. "We’ve worked out the story to great length," Miller said. "(Brian) is working well within the parameters that I set up in both Dark Knights. Beyond that it’s been a pleasure." Andy Kubert is no stranger to drawing major events for the big two publishers, having drawn the origin tale for Wolverine in the early Aughts for Marvel (Origin). Now, Kubert takes on the large task of not being Miller on art duties for a Dark Knight tale. But Kubert’s art is a welcome substitute, as he proves up to the task on drawing one of the year’s most anticipated comics. He channels Miller’s influence, from laying out news broadcasts on the page to how he draws other members of DC Com-
Photo by Benjamin Norman | New York Times
Artist and writer Frank Miller, creator of the "Dark Knight" series of Batman comics, in his New York studio, Friday. ics’ top trinity. The traces of Klaus Janson’s inks provide an oldschool familiarity with a
tale that feels like presentday. Janson himself said that Kubert’s efforts were admi-
rable. "When I first saw the pages coming in from Andy, it was very identifiably Dark Knight. There’s no mistaking it," Janson said. "It feels, and has the flavor of, DK1 and DK2. The rhythm and the pacing is very similar. It’s basically: Hold on to the seat of your pants, because it’s a roller coaster ride. That kind of momentum and flavor continues in ’DKIII,’ but it certainly is different. "The styles (between Miller and Kubert) are different, but they both are extremely competent, efficient and brilliant storytellers." Leaning on elements of the first two Dark Knight tales mixed with a modern urban feel that is standard Azzarello terrain, "DKIII" reads like a Dark Knight story for a new generation of fans. "One of the wonderful
things of having worked with Frank on Dark Knight is the realization that that book keeps on reaching a new audience," Janson said. "DK1 and DK2, and hopefully ’DKIII,’ will over the years continue to reach a new audience. DK1 sells just as well as any other graphic novel does, even to this very day." With the arrival next March of the big screen’s "Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice," which is heavily influenced by Miller’s works, there will be a new set of young fans gazing upon an older, grittier Batman - which will further drive new fans to Miller’s classic Bat-tales. And what does Miller think of this scenario? Does he welcome the next generation to his legendary DC Comics Batman books? "Sure," Miller said wryly. "Maybe they’ll pay me this time."
John Stamos pleads no contest to DUI ASSOCIATED PRESS
John Stamos has pleaded no contest to a charge of driving under the influence of a drug that was filed after his arrest earlier this year in Beverly Hills, California, and he has been sentenced to three years of probation. Los Angeles Superior Court Commissioner Jane Godfrey or-
dered Stamos to attend 52 Alcoholics Anonymous meetings and a counseling session. Blair Berk, an attorney for the “Full House” star, entered the plea Tuesday on STAMOS Stamos’ behalf. The 52-year-old actor was
briefly hospitalized in June after Beverly Hills police arrested him on suspicion of driving under the influence. Police have not identified the substance they suspect Stamos had taken, and it was not addressed in court. The actor currently appears on the Fox television series “Grandfathered” and is working on a reboot of “Full House” for Netflix.
Photo by Joan Marcus/Polk & Co. | AP
This image released by Polk & Co. shows, Sarah Steele, clockwise from top, Cassie Beck, Arian Moayed, Jayne Houdyshell and Reed Birney, during a performance of “The Humans” in New York. Stephen Karam said Tuesday his dark comedy "The Humans" will jump from off-Broadway to Broadway’s Helen Hayes Theatre, with performances beginning Jan. 26.
‘The Humans’ adapted to Broadway By MARK KENNEDY ASSOCIATED PRESS
NEW YORK — A highly regarded play about a fractious family’s Thanksgiving get-together has something to really be thankful for this holiday season — it’s going to Broadway. Stephen Karam said Tuesday his dark comedy “The Humans” will jump from offBroadway to Broadway’s Helen Hayes Theatre, with performances beginning Jan. 23. It will mark his Broadway debut. “I’d say it feels like a dream come true but it’s actually a dream I didn’t know I had. I was happy just trying to get the best version of the play out offBroadway,” Karam said by phone. “To be totally honest, I thought I would have a Broadway debut in the distant, distant future, maybe in my 60s or 70s when somebody revived one of my off-Broadway plays with a star.” The cast, all of whom are in the current off-Broadway production at the Roundabout’s Laura Pels Theatre, will make the leap: Cassie Beck, Reed Birney, Jayne Houdyshell, Lauren Klein, Arian Moayed and Sarah Steele. Scott Rudin and Barry Diller are producing. Tickets go on sale Dec. 11 and opening night is Feb. 18. Up-and-coming writers earning such a Broadway transfer were much more common in decades past, but that trajectory is rare these days. “Young American playwrights tend to not get a shot at the real estate of Broadway. So I’m thrilled for him,” said Joe Mantello, the Tony Award-winning director who helms “The Humans.” Karam was pleased simply to have the show up and running on a stage. “To see it come together — as cheesy as it sounds — that’s really the reward. That
feels like the prize, when you’re able to make the thing that you’ve been dreaming of for the past four or five years.” Both Karam and Mantello credited Rudin, who saw the play during previews and made a commitment to take it to Broadway within 24 hours, not waiting to hear what official critics said. Mantello said the playwright is one to watch. “It’s undeniable, in my opinion, that this is a unique, compelling, essential voice for the American theater,” said Mantello. “Stephen will go on to write many other great plays and I think it’s time for people to jump onboard.” The play will be part of a one-two stage punch from the playwright in 2016: His adaptation of “The Cherry Orchard” by Anton Chekhov will start previews in September at the American Airlines Theatre. Karam, a 2012 Pulitzer Prize finalist for his drama “Sons of the Prophet,” also wrote the plays “Speech and Debate” and “Dark Sisters.” A graduate of Brown University, his screenplays of Chekhov’s “The Seagull” and “Speech and Debate” are being made into films. “I like creating the illusion that suddenly I’ve just done five things at once,” he said, laughing. “What’s funny is I’ve never had a film made before this year and two got green-lit and filmed at the same time. I’m not joking: The shoots overlapped for two weeks in the summer.” Ever humble, Karam, a product of the blue-collar Pennsylvania city of Scranton, said he won’t be soaking in champagne to toast his success. “It’s so very hard for me to enjoy expensive champagne because I’m thinking how much it costs,” he said. “I think it will be awhile before I’m taking a champagne bath.”
Photo by Andy Adams/The Lufkin News | AP
From left, Keshi Edens, Shannon Coyle and Katie Alexander work together to paint the car door at Lufkin High School in Lufkin, Texas. Lufkin High School art students create unique pieces of artwork on old car doors. Harlan Neal, LHS Fine Arts Department head, said this is a project he had wanted to do for several years.
Lufkin art students get creative painting car doors By STEPHANIE STEVENS THE LUFKIN DAILY NEWS
LUFKIN, Texas — Splashing bright paint on car doors with gusto, Lufkin High School art students created unique pieces of artwork on old car doors. Harlan Neal, LHS Fine Arts Department head, said this is a project he had wanted to do for several years. “I casually mentioned this project to my painting class, and Suzanna (Del Toro) told me that her father would donate doors from junk cars,” he said. “I asked for three, and she gave me six.” The Lufkin Daily News reports the Del Toro family donated the front and back doors of a Lincoln Town Car and the back doors of an Expedition. Students were shown examples of car art from famous sources such as BMW Art Cars, from which Neal developed his original idea. Famous artists have been paid by BMW to paint cars as advertisements since 1975. Sharpie also sponsors wellknown artists to paint cars. “This is a real-world activity,” Neal said.
The students had to act like car designers and paint cars. They chose themes for the doors including nature, organic, linear, mechanical, aboriginal, zentangles and more. Then they made a full paper template of the door for sketching, drawing and painting their ideas. “All of their plans were worked out on this piece of paper beforehand,” Neal said. “So they not only had to develop their problem-solving skills, they had to work together in a group to make their ideas tangible.” Del Toro and her group planned a superhero theme with Spiderman, Batman, Flash, Green Lantern, Wolverine, Captain America and Black Widow emblems. They laid down white tape over a layer of white gesso so that it looked like a movie filmstrip or comic strip, where the superheroes came from. “We wanted to do superheroes because everyone loves them,” senior Geaniva White said. “It’s been a lot of fun. I like how creative you can be with it and how much you learn. . We started to use Sharpies, but it ruined the
Sharpie, so we stuck to acrylic paint.” Another group painted a door that focused on linear art. Using deep hues of blue, purple, black, white and silver, they created a yin-yang symbol on the door and a galaxy on the window. “The galaxy on the window is because it’s like you are looking through the window of your car out into the night sky,” Keshi Edens said. “It’s amazing to think I created this.” Working with her were Shannon Coyle and Katie Alexander. “We just flew with the ideas, and it became this,” Coyle said. “I like art because it’s freedom. I stop thinking about everything.” Alexander said she also enjoys art. “It’s so therapeutic,” Alexander said. “I’ve had a lot of trouble in my life, and when I do art, I don’t think about any of that. In fact, I plan on becoming an art therapist.” Neal said after the doors are finished, the students will spray them with a clear varnish to give a glossy finish. The doors will be on display in the LHS library starting the week after Thanksgiving.
International
10A THE ZAPATA TIMES
Turkey shoots down Russian plane By JIM HEINTZ AND SUZAN FRASER ASSOCIATED PRESS
MOSCOW — Turkey shot down a Russian warplane on Tuesday that it said ignored repeated warnings and crossed into its airspace from Syria, killing at least one of the two pilots in a long-feared escalation in tensions between Russia and NATO. Russian President Vladimir Putin denounced what he called a “stab in the back” and warned of “significant consequences.” The shoot down — the first time in half a century that a NATO member has downed a Russian plane — prompted an emergency meeting of the alliance. The incident highlighted the chaotic complexity of Syria’s civil war, where multiple groups with clashing alliances are fighting on the ground and the sky is crowded with aircraft bombing various targets. “As we have repeatedly made clear we stand in solidarity with Turkey and support the territorial integrity of our NATO ally, Turkey,” NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg told a news conference after the meeting of the alliance’s decision-making North Atlantic Council, called at Turkey’s request. The pilots of the downed Su-24 ejected, but one was killed by Syrian rebel fire from the ground as he parachuted to Earth, said the Russian general staff, insisting the Russian jet had been in Syrian airspace at the time. One of two helicopters sent to the crash site to search for survivors was also hit by rebel fire, killing one serviceman and forcing the chopper to make an emergency landing, the military said. Stoltenberg urged “calm and de-escalation” and renewed contacts between Moscow and Ankara. Russia has long been at odds with NATO, which it accuses of encroaching on Russia’s borders, as well as with Turkey’s determination to oust Syrian President Bashar Assad, a longtime Moscow ally. In Washington, President Barack Obama said Turkey “has a right to defend its territory and its airspace.” At a news conference with French President Francois Hollande, he said the incident underscored the “ongoing problem” with Russia’s military operations in Syria, where the Russians have been targeting groups near the Turkish border.
WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 25, 2015
Tunisia declares state of emergency By BOUAZZA BEN BOUAZZA AND ANGELA CHARLTON ASSOCIATED PRESS
Tunisia’s president declared a 30-day state of emergency across the country and imposed an overnight curfew for the capital after an explosion Tuesday struck a bus carrying members of the presidential guard, killing at least 12 people and wounding 20 others. The government described it as a terrorist attack. The blast on a tree-lined avenue in the heart of Tunis is a new blow to a country that is seen as a model for the region but has struggled against Islamic extremist violence. Radical gunmen staged two attacks earlier this year that killed 60 people, devastated the tourism industry and rattled this young democracy. No one immediately claimed responsibility for the attack against the presidential guard, an elite security force that protects only the president. President Beji Caid Essebsi, who wasn’t in the bus at the time, declared the state of emergency and curfew on the Tunis region. He convened an emergency meeting of his security council for Wednesday morning. Speaking on national television, he said Tunisia is at "war against terrorism" and urged international cooperation against extremists who have killed hundreds around
Photo by Hassene Dridi | AP
A hooded police officer prevents media from approaching the scene of a bus explosion in the center of the capital, Tunis, Tunisia on Tuesday. Europe and the Mideast in recent weeks, from Paris to Beirut to a Russian plane shot down over Egypt. "I want to reassure the Tunisian people that we will vanquish terrorism," he said. Police fanned out throughout central Tunis after Tuesday’s explosion, and ambulances rushed to the scene, evacuating wounded and dead. Top government ministers visited the scene of the attack after it was cordoned off by police. Interior Ministry spokesman Walid Louguini told The Associated Press that at least 12 were killed and 20 wounded in the attack.
Witness Bassem Trifi, a human rights lawyer, said the explosion hit the driver’s side of the bus, describing a "catastrophic" scene. "I saw at least five corpses on the ground," he told the AP. "This was not an ordinary explosion." The attack came days after authorities visibly increased the security level in the capital and deployed security forces in unusually high numbers. Earlier this month, Tunisian authorities announced the dismantling of a cell that it said had planned attacks at police stations and hotels in the seaside city of Sousse, about 150 kilometers (95
miles) southeast of Tunis. Sousse was one of the targets of attacks earlier this year. State Department spokesman Mark Toner, speaking in Washington, said the U.S. government was still seeking details on what happened in Tunis, but added, "We strongly condemn the attack." U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry, visiting Tunis earlier this month, pledged expanded economic and security support for Tunisia, whose popular uprising unleashed democracy movements across the region in 2011 known as the Arab Spring. Kerry said the U.S. and Tunisia would soon begin negotiations on a major loan guarantee and were discussing expanded military cooperation, including intelligence sharing and the possible use of drones to collect information about potential threats. A U.S. military team was expected in Tunisia around late November to begin those talks. Tunisia is the only Arab Spring country to have solidified a new democracy, but it is facing serious economic and security challenges. Tunisia’s tourism industry has been hit especially hard this year. Shootings at a luxury beach hotel in Sousse last June killed 38 people, mostly tourists, while in March, an attack by Islamist extremists at Tunisia’s famed Bardo museum near the capital killed 22 people.
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WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 25, 2015
THE ZAPATA TIMES 11A
Gun control law remains unresolved By LAUREN MCGAUGHY THE HOUSTON CHRONICLE
AUSTIN — Questions about where Texas cities and counties can ban guns in government buildings remain unresolved more than two months after a new state law restricting municipal officials’ ability to prohibit the concealed carrying of weapons went into effect. The law, which took effect Sept. 1, restricts the authority of mayors, commissioners, sheriffs and other local officials to ban the concealed carry of handguns in government buildings under their control, unless the building already is included on a list of approved gun-free zones in state law. Those zones include courts, polling places, public school campuses, airports, racetracks and places where public meetings take place, such as city council chambers. Those restrictions and exceptions also will apply to Texas’ new “open carry” law, which goes into effect Jan. 1. The open carry statute allows those with concealed handgun licenses to visibly wear holstered guns anywhere concealed weapons are allowed. Local government officials are interpreting the September law differently,
especially those that operate “multipurpose” buildings and complexes that include many rooms and offices - some explicitly subject to the gun ban and some not. Hays and Tom Green counties have asked Attorney General Ken Paxton for guidance on whether they can ban concealed carry in the entirety of a multipurpose building if it includes a gun-free zone, or if they can only do so in specific areas. Paxton has not issued an opinion, but his predecessor already has weighed in. In a memo dated Oct. 9 but that only came to light this week, Gov. Greg Abbott said the law allows local officials to ban guns only in very limited cases. The new law “makes it unlawful - upon pain of civil penalties - for a state agency or political subdivision to completely bar entry to a governmental building” unless the entire building is a gun-free zone as designated by state law, Abbott wrote. “When the ‘court’ is located inside a multi-purpose government building, however, Texas law allows a state agency or political subdivision to ban handgun licensees from only the portion of the building that qualifies as ‘premises’ of the ‘court.’”
Violations could result in a fine of not less than $1,000 for a first offense, and $10,000 upon a second infraction. Austin Mayor Steve Adler disagreed with Abbott’s interpretation. Because its City Hall hosts court proceedings and houses the city council chambers, Austin will continue to prohibit the carrying of any guns - open or concealed - into the entire building, according to Adler’s Communications Director Jason Stanford. “You don’t allow concealed guns in courthouses, and City Hall hosts a downtown community court once a month,” Stanford said. “You can’t have guns here unless you’re a cop.” The city of San Antonio has taken a different stance, however. Before the new law, the city banned guns in many of its buildings, said Director of Government and Public Affairs Jeff Coyle. Now, the city has removed “no gun” signs at City Hall and elsewhere to avoid penalties. “We think the law is clear enough. We’re able to prohibit concealed weapons when there is a public meeting, but in that room only, not the entire building,” Coyle said. “The city
of San Antonio replaced signage consistent with the changes to state law (and we) will continue to follow state law in regulating the carrying of handguns by license holders in city buildings.” Bexar County officials stressed Abbott’s memo represented his opinion, and was not a statement of law. “The District Attorney’s Office is currently reviewing Governor Greg Abbot’s memo,” Bexar County District Attorney Nico LaHood said in a statement. “The governor’s interpretation of the law is not binding on any prosecutor or court.” Until Paxton issues an opinion, all guns will remain banned from the massive downtown government complex of buildings connected by underground tunnels - the old courthouse, Cadena-Reeves Justice Center and Paul Elizondo Tower, Bexar County spokeswoman Laura Jesse said. Other county-owned buildings will be considered on a case-by-case basis, she said. Concealed carry is not banned at libraries and tax assessor’s offices, but will be banned in and around rooms utilized by justices of the peace for court proceedings. First Assistant County Attorney Robert Soard said
Harris County also is looking at each of its 150-plus buildings individually, and will prohibit concealed carry only in rooms where court proceedings or public meetings are taking place. “Certainly, there are other counties and other cities that may have a different opinion. It’s up to each entity to decide what works best for them,” Soard said. “It comes down to a reasonable interpretation. If it’s an area around the courtroom, we say that’s off-limits.” The city of Houston already is compliant with the new law, the mayor’s chief policy adviser Janice Evans said. “Individuals carrying a handgun are prohibited from entering the premises of the city’s municipal courts, the secured areas of the city’s airports, the premises of any city facility used as a polling place on the day of an election or while early voting is taking place, and the nonpublic, secure portion of city law enforcement facilities,” said Evans. “Handgun licensees will also be prohibited from openly or concealed carrying in the room or rooms where a meeting of a governmental entity subject to the Open Meetings Act is being held.” In addition to Abbott,
several other interested parties have submitted letters to Paxton on how they believe the new law should be interpreted. The Texas Municipal League and County Judges and Commissioners Association have said they read the law to allow guns to be banned in the entirety of buildings that house courtrooms because state law allows local governments to ban guns in “offices utilized by the court.” “No civilian may carry a handgun into a building that houses a court or court office without authorization from the court. Period,” TML General Counsel Scott Houston wrote to Paxton on behalf of his organization and the Texas City Attorneys Association. James P. Allison from the County Judges and Commissioners Association said, “The counties may prohibit the possession of firearms in the entire building that contains a courtroom or offices utilized by the court, as well as the building or portion of a building that contains offices utilized by the court.” Paxton’s office has acknowledged it has received all of those memos, including Abbott’s, adding it was not unusual for the governor to weigh in on opinions requests.
the 70,000 refugees from around the world that the U.S. accepts annually. According to U.S. Congressman Henry Cuellar,
last fiscal year, the U.S. admitted 1,800 refugees, and 189 of them settled in Texas. (Laredo Morning Times contributed to this report)
SYRIANS Continued from Page 1A tional Bridge. The men were taken to a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement detention center in Pearsall, and
the women and children to one in Dilley. Hundreds of thousands of people have fled Syria to escape the civil war, most of
them to Europe. For Syrians with means, a lengthy trek to the U.S. border could provide another path to asylum.
Between 2004 and 2013, 1,449 Syrians were granted asylum in the United States, most in 2012 and 2013, and were not part of
CHECKPOINTS Continued from Page 1A searches for jobs — all because they feared venturing beyond the checkpoints. Lopez, who asked to be identified by her middle name and last name, wants Angel, now 5, to undergo surgery beyond the checkpoints, with specialists in Corpus Christi. Angel could easily pass through — he was born in Brownsville and is a U.S. citizen — but Lopez cannot because she is an undocumented immigrant and has already been deported once. A single mother, she has no relatives who could take Angel for her. “If it weren’t there,” Lopez, 41, said recently of the line of checkpoints, “he would be better already.” Angel had stayed home from school that day because of one of the bouts of diarrhea he endures every few weeks. Border Patrol officials say the checkpoints prevent immigrants and smugglers who have crossed the border illegally from entering the interior of the United States. In some ways, the immigrants here are facing constraints they should have expected. They came to the country illegally and must now try to live undetected in a region with a heavy Border Patrol presence. But their isolation is extraordinary compared with that of other immigrants who violated the same laws. Erasto Renteria’s parents will miss his graduation in 2017 from the University of Texas at Austin, although they live in San Benito, near the border and only a five-hour drive away. His parents are undocumented, and they would have to cross the checkpoints if they traveled north. “As it gets closer and closer, it makes me think whether I actually want to graduate on time,
because it’s really hard for me to say that I would graduate without my parents,” Renteria, 20, said. Adela Menchaca’s world spans a mere two counties. Since entering the United States illegally in 1999, Menchaca, 44, who lives in Edinburg, has never traveled more than about 25 miles north, 20 miles west or 80 miles east. Her daughter Roxana moved to Austin after graduating from college in May, but Menchaca has not visited. Her mother died in Mexico in 2001, but she did not attend the funeral. At first glance, there is nothing suffocating about Menchaca’s life in Edinburg. Roosters crow beneath the papaya trees outside the trailer her husband converted into a house. They raised four children — Menchaca cleaning houses and selling tamales and Avon products, and her husband working in construction. But she once tried to convince her husband, who trekked on foot around an interior checkpoint in the 1990s, that they should try to make that journey together. Her husband, who ran out of water in the South Texas brush and drank from a watering hole used by cattle, said it was not worth the risk. “It’s such a helplessness that you can’t leave,” said her husband, who was part of a socialmedia campaign by United We Dream, a national network of young immigrants. A picture of Menchaca and her description of being “trapped in the Rio Grande Valley” was shared on Facebook and Twitter. According to the Migration Policy Institute in Washington, about 130,000 undocumented immigrants live in two of the Rio
Photo by Kirsten Luce | The New York Times
A portrait of Adela Menchaca’s daughter Roxana is seen in the family’s home in Edinburg. Roxana moved to Austin, beyond the Border Patrol checkpoints, in May. The Border Patrol has traffic checkpoints up to 100 miles north of Mexico, confining undocumented immigrants to a small world.
Photo by Kirsten Luce | The New York Times
Adela Menchaca, who has not visited her daughter in Austin because of concerns about the checkpoints on the way, is shown in her home in Edinburg. The Border Patrol has traffic checkpoints up to 100 miles north of Mexico, confining undocumented immigrants to a small world. Grande Valley’s four counties. And experts said they and thousands in the two other counties limited their movements because of the checkpoints. Some successfully cross them, but others fail, and still others never risk it. The situation is not unique to the Rio Grande Valley. The Border Patrol operates more than 30 permanent checkpoints in Texas, New Mexico, Arizona and California. Immigrant-rights advocates said undocumented immigrants who live below the checkpoints in other states were often similarly isolated. “It’s pretty common along the whole border area,” said Vicki B. Gaubeca, the director of the American Civil Liberties Union of New Mexico Regional Center for Border Rights in Las Cruces. One of the checkpoints in the Rio Grande Valley sector is 70 miles north of the border, near the town of Falfurrias, and it apprehends the largest number of people who have entered the country illegally — 14,243 from October 2014 to August. Officials with the agency make no apologies for the hardships experienced by undocumented immigrants living between the border and the checkpoints, but they say families with serious medical needs can use shortterm visas or so-called humanitarian parole to travel beyond them. Officials said the agency made sure people had access to emergency medical care. “Without the checkpoints, then you have narcotics and people just coming straight up the highways,” said Raul L. Ortiz, the
acting chief of the Border Patrol’s Rio Grande Valley sector. “I think we bend over backwards as an organization to help people in need.” In this part of South Texas, there are only two major highways leading north from the border, and each has a checkpoint, in Falfurrias and in Sarita. Those checkpoints are surrounded by ranches, detection sensors and rough terrain. Officials in Brooks County, where the Falfurrias checkpoint is, said the bodies of 459 people had been found since 2009. Advocates think all were immigrants who died of heat and exhaustion while trying to walk around the checkpoint. George Rodriguez, a conservative activist in San Antonio, disputed the notion that undocumented immigrants were trapped. “The law says if you enter the country illegally, there’s consequences,” he said. “The way to resolve this issue is simple. You come in legally, and then you don’t face the complications.” Few in the Rio Grande Valley are as limited by the checkpoints as Angel and other seriously ill or disabled children who were born in Texas to undocumented parents and have U.S. citizenship. The specialized pediatric care they need is often available only north of the checkpoints, according to doctors and immigration lawyers. Dr. Marsha Griffin, a Brownsville pediatrician, said a child who had died en route to Corpus Christi did not have his parents
by his side because they were undocumented and feared crossing a checkpoint. Dr. David A. Yngve, the chief of pediatric orthopedics at the University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston, regularly travels to the Rio Grande Valley. He said there were children with cerebral palsy and other disabilities who “are not walking as well as they could because they can’t make it past the checkpoint.” The pediatrician who treats Angel, Dr. Carmen Rocco, said it was unclear how much surgery would help him. But she said that if Lopez had easy access to a city with a children’s medical center, Angel would be in better health. Lopez said she had left the valley only once since 1996 because of the checkpoints — a harrowing trip five years ago. Angel was 4 months old and needed emergency heart surgery. Lopez said that she had flown over the checkpoints on a medical helicopter with Angel to a San Antonio hospital, and that she had been terrified not only that Angel might die but also that she might be deported again. The helicopter landed in San Antonio, and she saw a group of people walk toward her, she said. They were wearing green uniforms — the same color worn by Border Patrol agents — and she thought she was caught. But it was a kind of mirage, brought on by years of fearing the checkpoints. The people were not with the Border Patrol. They were uniformed paramedics.
12A THE ZAPATA TIMES
WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 25, 2015