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DRUG WAR
Yarrington charged in US Indictment: Ex-Mexican governor of Tamaulipas was drug trafficker By JASON BUCH & GUILLERMO CONTRERAS SAN ANTONIO EXPRESS-NEWS
After years of using police and politicians to help Mexico’s drug cartels in his border state, former Tamaulipas governor Tomás Yarrington Ruvalcaba in 2007 became a full-fledged narcotics trafficker, federal prosecutors contend in an indictment unsealed Monday in Brownsville. Prosecutors leveled charges of racketeering, conspiring to smuggle drugs and committing financial crimes against Yarrington, a longtime border politico who rubbed elbows with Texas governors and allegedly laundered bribe money through properties in San Antonio and the Rio
Grande Valley. In 1998, as Yarrington ran for governor of Tamaulipas, which borders Texas from Brownsville to LaYARRINGTON redo, the former Matamoros x mayor and Mexican congressman started taking bribes from the Gulf Cartel and its one-time enforcers, the Zetas, according to the indictment. Front men invested that money in 46 acres on San Antonio’s North Side, a South Padre Island condominium, vehicles, an airplane, an exclusive dove hunting ranch in Mexico and residential properties across the state, ac-
cording to court records. Yarrington, 56, has been a fugitive from charges in Mexico since prosecutors there issued CANO warrants for his arrest in August 2012. Joel Androphy, his Houston attorney, said one of those warrants has been dismissed and Yarrington is fighting another one. Prosecutors are trying to seize properties they say are tied to Yarrington and are asking for a $50 million judgment against him. He faces up to 20 years in prison if convicted of the racketeering and money laundering charges, 30 years in prison on
bank fraud charges, and up to 10 years in prison on a drug charge. Androphy said he hadn’t spoken to Yarrington on Monday afternoon but he knew of the allegations, many of which were made last year in a pair of civil lawsuits filed by U.S. prosecutors trying to forfeit property they said was tied to the former governor. The indictment “is based upon statements they got from individuals that have been indicted in Mexico or (the U.S.) and are in jail. Their source of information is not to be trusted,” Androphy said. “Yarrington denies all the charges.” Immigration authorities asked Yarrington to leave the U.S. last
year, Androphy said. Indicted with Yarrington is Fernando Alejandro Cano Martinez, 57, a Tamaulipas businessman who has been a fugitive since U.S. prosecutors charged him with conspiring to launder money last spring. He now faces racketeering, money laundering conspiracy and bank fraud charges. In the indictment, which had been handed up by a grand jury in May and wasn’t made public until Monday, prosecutors say Yarrington and Cano made false statements to banks to secure loans for property purchases, then used bribe money to pay for
See YARRINGTON PAGE 10A
CHRISTMAS
COURTS
HO-HO-HOLIDAYS
Smuggling charges
Zapata, Laredo offer festive fun
Woman pleads not guilty to concealing immigrants By CÉSAR G. RODRIGUEZ
By PHILIP BALLI
THE ZAPATA TIMES
THE ZAPATA TIMES
Zapata and Laredo are getting in the holiday spirit this week with two familyfriendly events. The Zapata County Chamber of Commerce will present their fifth annual Christmas parade and tree-lighting ceremony on Thursday. The parade line-up begins at 5 p.m. It will start at the intersection of 17th Avenue and Glenn Street and head south to finish on 6th Avenue at the county plaza, where the tree will be set up. Santa Claus will also be at the plaza to hand out gifts to children. “Our main goal when we do this event is to be able to provide a gift to as many kids in our community as possible,” said Paco Mendoza, Zapata County chamber president. “We also see it as a great opportunity for members of our community to come together and welcome the New Year united.” Live performances will feature the Zapata High School mariachi and local dance groups. Food booths will offer pastries and hot chocolate. The festivities finish at 9 p.m.
Laredo event
Photo by Danny Zaragoza | The Zapata Times
The annual holiday event, Navidadfest, will bring families and friends together Thursday with live music and refreshments, activities for children and the lighting of a new 38-foot artificial tree. Navidadfest starts at 6 p.m. at the Laredo Energy Arena’s entrance and ends
Laredo Energy Arena workers set up nutcrackers next to the City of Laredo’s official Christmas tree Tuesday afternoon as workers prepare for Thursday’s Navidadfest.
See HOLIDAY PAGE 10A
A woman recently indicted on human smuggling charges pleaded not guilty Tuesday in federal court in Laredo. Rosa Imelda Orozco had arraignment set for Thursday, but her defense attorney submitted a waiver of presence and entered a written plea of not guilty Tuesday, according to court documents. An indictment filed Nov. 26 charges Orozco with one count of conspiracy to conceal, harbor or shield illegal immigrants and two counts of conceal, harbor and shield illegal immigrants for financial gain. The indictment states that she could face up to 10 years in prison for each count if convicted. Orozco remains out on bond. She was detained by U.S. Border Patrol agents Oct. 29 in San Ygnacio. That evening, agents observed a boat occupied by two people making landfall in the riverbanks around San Ygnacio. The pair then headed toward a San Ygnacio home, a criminal complaint filed Nov. 1 states. Footprints led agents to a home located about a half-mile from the Rio Grande, where Orozco was outside. Agents asked her if she had seen people running across her property, but she allegedly said no. After obtaining her consent, agents searched the property and were eventually led to the back door of Orozco’s residence, according to the complaint. Inside, agents allegedly found two people hiding underneath a bed. Orozco had told them to hide when she saw agents in the area, the complaint states. She would have driven the immigrants to Laredo, court documents state. (César G. Rodriguez may be reached at 728-2568 or cesar@lmtonline.com)
COURTS
Judge sets bond for man accused of smuggling By CÉSAR G. RODRIGUEZ THE ZAPATA TIMES
Bond has been set for a man accused of taking part in an attempted human smuggling, according to court documents. On Nov. 22, U.S. Magistrate Judge J. Scott Hacker set a $75,000 bond for Guadalupe Gonzalez Jr., 34, with a $1,500 cash deposit and two co-sureties. The
detention hearing was held Nov. 15. Gonzalez remained in federal custody as of Tuesday afternoon. Gonzalez, a U.S. citizen born in Laredo who has lived in the Zapata area for 15 years, was detained by U.S. Border Patrol agents Nov. 7. A criminal complaint filed Nov. 12 charges him with unlawfully transporting by guiding immigrants through the
brush and transporting immigrants by means of a motor vehicle. Reasons to set bond for him included his “little, if any, ties to Mexico,” according to court documents. His arrest record is extensive, but he does not have convictions since his 2003 human smuggling case. There are no allegations that Gonzalez has failed to appear to any of his court pro-
ceedings, court records show. Agents manning the San Ygnacio area Nov. 7 spotted individuals on the Mexican side boarding a boat at about 4:15 p.m. A complaint alleges that the group made landfall about 25 yards from the agents’ location. Once on U.S. soil, four suspected immigrants followed a man later allegedly identified as Gonzalez. Court documents state that
during the apprehension, Gonzalez evaded authorities but was detained about 100 yards away. Two of the immigrants told agents that Gonzalez instructed them to follow him, but Gonzalez denied those allegations in a post-arrest interview, the complaint reads. (César G. Rodriguez may be reached at 728-2568 or cesar@lmtonline.com)
PAGE 2A
Zin brief CALENDAR
WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 4, 2013
AROUND TEXAS
TODAY IN HISTORY
Thursday, Dec. 5
ASSOCIATED PRESS
Christmas Parade and Lighting of the County Plaza. Parade lineup starts 5 p.m.. 17th Avenue and Glenn Street. Music, refreshments and toys with Santa. Email cbalderas@zapatachamber.com. Los Amigos Duplicate Bridge Club. Noon to 5 p.m. Laredo Country Club. Call Beverly Cantu at 727-0589. Opening reception for the “Historic Laredo” Photo Competition, hosted by the Webb County Heritage Foundation. 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. Villa Antigua Border Heritage Museum, 810 Zaragoza St. The public is invited to view all the competition entries which will be on exhibit through January. Contact the Webb County Heritage Foundation at 727-0977, or visit webbheritage.org or Facebook.
Today is Wednesday, Dec. 4, the 338th day of 2013. There are 27 days left in the year. Today’s Highlight in History: On Dec. 4, 1619, a group of settlers from Bristol, England, arrived at Berkeley Hundred in present-day Charles City County, Virginia, where they held a service thanking God for their safe arrival. (Some suggest this was the true first Thanksgiving in America, ahead of the Pilgrims’ arrival in Massachusetts.) On this date: In 1783, Gen. George Washington bade farewell to his Continental Army officers at Fraunces Tavern in New York. In 1816, James Monroe of Virginia was elected the fifth president of the United States. In 1912, Medal of Honor recipient Gregory “Pappy” Boyington, the Marine Corps pilot who led the “Black Sheep Squadron” during World War II, was born in Coeur d’Alene, Idaho. In 1918, President Woodrow Wilson left Washington on a trip to France to attend the Versailles (vehr-SY’) Peace Conference. In 1942, U.S. bombers struck the Italian mainland for the first time in World War II. President Franklin D. Roosevelt ordered the dismantling of the Works Progress Administration, which had been created to provide jobs during the Depression. In 1945, the Senate approved U.S. participation in the United Nations by a vote of 65-7. In 1965, the United States launched Gemini 7 with Air Force Lt. Col. Frank Borman and Navy Cmdr. James A. Lovell aboard. In 1978, San Francisco got its first female mayor as City Supervisor Dianne Feinstein (FYN’-styn) was named to replace the assassinated George Moscone (mahs-KOH’-nee). In 1984, a five-day hijack drama began as four armed men seized a Kuwaiti airliner en route to Pakistan and forced it to land in Tehran, where the hijackers killed American passenger Charles Hegna. Ten years ago: President George W. Bush scrapped import tariffs he’d imposed earlier to help the battered U.S. steel industry. Five years ago: U.S. automakers drew fresh skepticism from lawmakers during a Senate Banking Committee hearing over their pleas for an expanded $34 billion rescue package they said was needed for them to survive. One year ago: A homeless man, Naeem Davis, was taken into custody in New York City in the death of a man who’d been pushed in front of a subway train; Davis would be charged with second-degree murder. Today’s Birthdays: Game show host Wink Martindale is 80. Pop singer Freddy Cannon is 77. Actor-producer Max Baer Jr. is 76. Actress Gemma Jones is 71. Rock musician Bob Mosley (Moby Grape) is 71. Singer-musician Chris Hillman is 69. Musician Terry Woods (The Pogues) is 66. Rock singer Southside Johnny Lyon is 65. Actor Jeff Bridges is 64. Rock musician Gary Rossington (Lynyrd Skynyrd; the Rossington Collins Band) is 62. Actress Patricia Wettig is 62. Thought for Today: “There’s much to be said for challenging fate instead of ducking behind it.” — Diana Trilling, American author and literary critic (1905-1996).
Friday, Dec. 6 TAMIU Planetarium shows: “Zula Patrol: Down to Earth” at 6 p.m. and “Black Holes” at 7 p.m. General admission $4 children and $5 adults. Premium shows $1 more. Call 326-3663. 24-hour dance marathon toy drive. 6 p.m. to 6 p.m. Dec. 7. Walmart Supercenter, 2320 Bob Bullock Loop. Benefits Angel of Hope program. Call Rosemary Casas at 285-4441.
Photo by Deborah Cannon/Austin American-Statesman | AP
From left, Mike Booth and Elizabeth Kitay plant loblolly pine seedlings on Wednesday, Nov. 20, in Bastrop County. Volunteers by the dozens are helping to restore fire-ravaged pine forests in Bastrop County after initial efforts stalled in the face of drought and hungry insects.
Volunteers restoring forests ASSOCIATED PRESS
Saturday, Dec. 7 First United Methodist Church will hold a used book sale, from 8:30 a.m. to 1 p.m., at 1220 McClelland Ave. Hardback books are $1, paperback books 50 cents, and magazines and children’s books 25 cents. TAMIU Planetarium shows: “The Little Star that Could” at 2 p.m.; “Season of Light” at 3 p.m.; “Mystery of the Christmas Star” at 4 p.m.; and “Holiday Music Magic” at 5 p.m. General admission $4 children and $5 adults. Premium shows $1 more. Call 326-3663. Women’s City Club’s “Moonlight and Mistletoe.” 7 p.m. Laredo Country Club. Tickets $50 per person; table of eight $500. RSVP with Nancy De Anda at 763-9960.
Sunday, Dec. 8 4th Annual Christmas Animal Posada. 4 p.m. to 5 p.m. St. Peter’s Plaza (Matamoros Street and Main Avenue). Pets should be taken with leash, harness or cage. Owners can participate by wearing animal mask or costume. Contact Berta Torres at 2867866 or birdtorres@hotmail.com.
Monday, Dec. 9 Zapata County Commissioners Court meeting. 9 a.m. Zapata County Courthouse. Call Roxy Elizondo at 7659920.
Tuesday, Dec. 10 LULAC Council No. 777’s meeting. 7 p.m. to 9 p.m. American Legion Post 59’s Commander Room, 809 Zaragoza St. Meetings held every second and fourth Tuesday of each month.
Thursday, Dec. 12 Los Amigos Duplicate Bridge Club. 1:15 p.m. to 5 p.m. Laredo Country Club. Call Beverly Cantu at 7270589.
Friday, Dec. 13 TAMIU Planetarium shows: “Destination Saturn” at 6 p.m. and “Mystery of the Christmas Star” at 7 p.m. General admissions $4 children and $5 adults. Premium shows $1 more. Call 326-3663.
Sunday, Dec. 15 Fifth annual Handbell Christmas Concert, “Tapestry in Bronze,” presented by Memorial Bells of First United Methodist Church. 4 p.m. to 5 p.m. First United Methodist Church, 1220 McClelland Ave. Sacred and secular selections and conclude with a Ring-SingAlong of favorite Christmas carols featuring Alejandra Rodriguez on organ. Free and open to public. Donations accepted. Contact church office at 7221674 or fumc_office@sbcglobal.net.
Monday, Dec. 23 Zapata County Commissioners Court meeting. 9 a.m. Zapata County Courthouse. Call Roxy Elizondo at 7659920.
Submit calendar items at lmtonline.com/calendar/submit or by emailing editorial@lmtonline.com with the event’s name, date and time, location and purpose and contact information for a representative. Items will run as space is available.
BASTROP — Volunteers by the dozens are helping to restore fire-ravaged pine forests in Central Texas after initial efforts stalled in the face of drought and hungry insects. The volunteers have come from across the United States and Canada to help restore the Bastrop County forests that were destroyed by wildfires in 2011, the Austin AmericanStatesman reported. It has been a challenge. About 250,000 seedlings were planted last winter in Bastrop State Park, about 30 miles southeast of Austin. That area was in moderate-to-severe drought all winter, though, and what rain there was after the wildfires washed away the topsoil, said Mike Fisher, Bastrop County emergency management director. Another enemy was Texas leaf-cutting
ants, which snipped the needles of the newly planted seedlings, he said. Only about 13 percent of the seedlings planted in the state park survived the winter, said Jamie Hackett, superintendent for Bastrop State Park. “Which sounds all doom and gloom,” she told the American-Statesman, “but we don’t see it like that. We learned a lot.” The heavy rains that fell in the area this past Halloween have fueled optimism for this year’s planting. “This year there’s at least moisture in the soil, and that’s a big advantage,” said Dan Pacatte, reforestation coordinator with TreeFolks, an Austin-based nonprofit group. TreeFolks, which Bastrop County hired to replant private land, saw 41 percent of the 68,000 trees it planted last winter survive, said program manager Carly Blankenship.
AG Abbott shifts gubernatorial run
Insurer Geico plans to add up to 1,000 jobs
North Texas has 2.7 magnitude earthquake
PLANO — Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott is putting new emphasis on education in his campaign to replace Gov. Rick Perry. The Republican is scheduled to begin a series of classroom roundtables Tuesday, starting near Dallas. He’s expected to make several stops around the state while preparing to unveil his vision for Texas public schools.
HOUSTON — The insurance company Geico plans to open a claims center in suburban Houston that will employ up to 1,000 people. The company announced Monday that the positions will range from entry-level to what Geico describes as “fast-track management” jobs. Geico already employs 2,200 people in Texas.
RENO — A part of North Texas where at least 19 earthquakes happened in November has recorded another minor quake. The U.S. Geological Survey says a 2.7 magnitude earthquake happened at 9:44 a.m. CST Tuesday in Parker County. The Parker County Sheriff ’s Office had no immediate reports of damage or injuries.
Young woman gives birth at El Paso border point EL PASO — Customs officials say a 17-year-old U.S. citizen gave birth to a baby boy on Thanksgiving Day with the help of Customs and Border Protection agents at a West Texas port of entry. After the birth, the teen and her baby were transported to a hospital for observation.
Slain nurse remembered at hospital vigil LONGVIEW — Hundreds of people have lit candles and said prayers in memory of a veteran nurse nearly a week after she was stabbed to death at an East Texas hospital. Family and friends gathered Monday night outside Good Shepherd Medical Center in Longview to remember Gail Sandidge. She was fatally stabbed Nov. 26.
Romanian man gets 8 years in prison for fraud VICTORIA — A man from Romania has been sentenced to eight years in prison for an online scam claiming someone in the U.S. military needed to sell items before deploying. A federal judge in Texas on Monday also ordered 29-year-old Doru Gabriel Trifu to repay $562,000. Trifu faces possible deportation after his prison term. — Compiled from AP reports
AROUND THE NATION Prison limits on bombing suspect are eased BOSTON — Federal prosecutors have eased limits on defense team visits to Boston Marathon bombing suspect Dzhokhar Tsarnaev (joh-HAHR’ tsahr-NEYE’ehv). In court documents filed Tuesday, prosecutors say the restrictions have been modified to allow several additional people to visit Tsarnaev to help prepare his defense and report back to lawyers on the team. Tsarnaev’s defense team had complained that measures imposed on Tsarnaev impaired their ability to defend him.
Nativity scene on display at Florida Capitol TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — Christmastime manger scenes in public spaces have often been the subject of legal fights in the U.S. But the American Civil Liber-
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A snowy owl perches on a piece of driftwood at Presque Isle State Park’s Gull Point near Erie, Pa., on Tuesday. It’s one of at least five snowy owls spotted in the Erie area in the last week. ties Union says the creche scene installed by the Florida Nativity Scene Committee at the Capitol in Tallahassee is legal — because it is privately funded. Still, the ACLU says that by allowing the exhibit the state will now have to allow anyone to use
the premises of the Capitol to express messages. Later this week, the Freedom From Religion Foundation will put up a banner at the Capitol stating opposition to religion in government. — Compiled from AP reports
SUBSCRIPTIONS/DELIVERY (956) 728-2555 The Zapata Times is distributed on Saturdays to 4,000 households in Zapata County. For subscribers of the Laredo Morning Times and for those who buy the Laredo Morning Times at newsstands, the Zapata Times is inserted. The Zapata Times is free. The Zapata Times is published by the Laredo Morning Times, a division of The Hearst Corporation, P.O. Box 2129, Laredo, Texas 78044. Phone (956) 728-2500. The Zapata office is at 1309 N. U.S. Hwy. 83 at 14th Avenue, Suite 2, Zapata, TX 78076. Call (956) 765-5113 or e-mail thezapatatimes.net
Local
WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 4, 2013
THE ZAPATA TIMES 3A
A GOOD DEED FOR THE NEEDY
Growing jobs Pilot program aims to train workers SPECIAL TO THE TIMES
Courtesy photo
South Texas Food Bank employees are joined by H-E-B’s Gaby Deleon, Zulema Castro and driver Carroll Wasch, fifth from left, as H-E-B donated a truckload of mashed potatoes and cereal to the food bank.
Osteens to bring tour to arena By PHILIP BALLI THE ZAPATA TIMES
Well-known televangelists Joel and Victoria Osteen will begin their “A Night of Hope” tour on Friday offering a special testimony to Laredoans at the Laredo Energy Arena. Doors at the LEA are scheduled to open at 6 p.m. The event will begin at 7:30 p.m. “A Night of Hope” events last about two to two and a half hours and are filled with praise and worship music, encouragement, prayer time and an inspiring message from the Osteens, according to a news release. “We believe those who come out on Friday will be encouraged and uplifted,” Joel Osteen said. “It will be an experience to remember, and they won’t leave the same.” Osteen is a preacher and an author. He is the senior pastor at Lakewood Church in Houston. It’s the largest church in the United States.
A pilot program designed to train workers in the energy and medical fields is now being offered in the area. Project GROW will provide educational and vocational training to lowerskilled adults 18 years and older for positions in these areas. To qualify for the program, participants must be residents of Webb, Jim Hogg and Zapata counties who have not yet earned a GED. Training is available for positions of medical office clerk, professional truck driving, welding general maintenance and
DA’s office warns against hot checks SPECIAL TO THE TIMES
Photo by Lori Van Buren | Albany Times Union
Joel Osteen and his wife Victoria greet a large crowd at the Times Union Center on March 16, 2012, in Albany, N.Y. Osteen’s tour will include 13 cities across the country throughout the year, ending Dec. 5, 2014, in New Orleans, La. To buy tickets for Friday’s event, visit learena.com or go to
the venue to purchase them. Tickets online are about $24 per person. (Philip Balli may be reached at 728-2528 or pballi@lmtonline.com)
emergency care attendant. A sixth-grade competency in English is required. Qualified high school graduates who have never taken college courses may also participate. The training programs run between 11 and 22 weeks. Project GROW is funded through the U.S. Department of Labor. For more information, call Cristi Mitchell, Project Grow career counselor, at 956-794-6544 or visit her at Workforce Solutions Center in Laredo, 2389 E. Saunders St. The program is a collaborative effort between Workforce Solutions for South Texas and Laredo Community College.
The Webb County District Attorney’s Office Hot Check Division is reminding merchants to be especially careful of check fraud during this holiday season. Hot check writers hurt both the community and the merchants of Webb and Zapata counties, according to the office. “In an effort to combat this crime, we continue to educate merchants so that they may protect themselves and to offer assistance to those who may be victimized by hot check writers,” reads a news release issued Tuesday. Proper procedures should be taken to be able to catch the offender and obtain restitution. The following information will assist merchants. When accepting a check, always: Ask for picture identifica-
tion, preferably a driver’s license, and compare the photo, signature and address. Ask for a date of birth and verify it with the driver’s license. Ask for a home, work and/ or cell phone number. Make sure written and numerical amounts are the same. Make sure check is dated the same day you receive it. Ask for a residential address if only a P.O. box is listed on the check. Check that the name of the bank and the American Banking Association number appear on the check. Merchants should not accept out-of-town checks, temporary checks, two-party checks and/or a check that is already signed, according to the DA’s office. For more information, call the Hot Check Division at 523-4919 or 523-4931.
PAGE 4A
Zopinion
WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 4, 2013
LETTERS TO THE EDITOR SEND YOUR SIGNED LETTER TO EDITORIAL@LMTONLINE.COM
COLUMN
OTHER VIEWS
Low empathy for plight By JOHN M. CRISP MCCLATCHY-TRIBUNE
It was an idea so bad that even some Republicans on the far-right margins of the party — the climate change deniers and evolution doubters — denounced it. The University of Texas at Austin chapter of the Young Conservatives of Texas had been planning recently to sponsor a “catch an illegal immigrant” game, during which young conservatives would stroll the campus wearing signs designating them as “Illegal Immigrants.” Anyone who was able to capture an “illegal immigrant” could turn him or her in for a bounty, a $25 gift card. In the face of opposition from the university and condemnations from Republicans and Democrats alike, the group canceled the event. In the Associated Press account, the chapter chairman of the Young Conservatives of Texas seems stunned by the backlash. He resorts to a dependable, if not particularly convincing, face-saver, saying that the event was “meant only to spark a debate on a crucial national issue.” Clearly, the enthusiasms of these young conservatives outran their callow judgment. Their Republican elders, mindful of the burgeoning national potential of Hispanic voters, helped rein them in. Maybe the less said about unseemly episodes like this one, the better. Still, it’s worth reminding ourselves occasionally that the worst manifestations of racism in our nation’s history — slavery,
lynching, Jim Crow — were in some respects the most readily jettisoned. Certainly, it took a civil war and decades of national upheaval to establish everyone as more or less equal — on paper, at least — but eventually we accepted the moral clarity with which we know that slavery and lynching are wrong. But it’s the subtle, casual racism, usually accompanied by a dose of smug self-righteousness, that’s much harder to finally eradicate. It’s the kind of tacit racism that looks the other way as our nation’s capital’s football team continues to use a racial slur to designate its mascot. It’s the kind of racism that makes it easy to forget that events like illegal immigrant hunts and affirmative action bake sales have a racial component that reaches back toward mock slave auctions and segregated water fountains. But here’s the biggest problem with the illegal immigrant hunt and similar events: a failure of empathy, an inability to imagine oneself or a loved one in wildly different circumstances. Conservatives often take heat for this. But they don’t have a monopoly on the failure to empathize. After the illegal immigrant hunt was shut down, the chairman of the Young Conservatives weathered a predictable onslaught of online abuse and death threats, which are much bigger violations of civilized behavior. Certainly, illegal immigrants are violating the law. But largely they’re honest, very hardworking individuals who put more into our economy than they take out.
COLUMN
Don’t wait on wage change By PETULA DVORAK THE WASHINGTON POST
WASHINGTON — Our Town is showing the rest of the country how to do it right. While federal Washington — the place I like to call This Town — refuses to do anything about the $7.25 minimum wage, local legislators in Maryland and the District of Columbia are changing things on their own. Last week, the Montgomery County and Prince George’s County councils both voted to raise the minimum wage to $11.50 by 2017. And on Tuesday, the D.C. Council will consider a widely supported bill to raise the minimum wage to $11.50 by 2016. (Northern Virginia’s cities and counties don’t have the power to raise the minimum wage on their own, or they might consider it, too.) Hello? Rest of America? Are you looking at us now? This is the Washington area showing federal Washington common sense in the face of a $7.25 minimum wage that hasn’t kept pace with the cost of living. The McDonald’s cashier who sold me the (still-scorchinghot) coffee Sunday night? She’s making less, adjusted for inflation, than she would have in 1963, when
the minimum wage was $1.15 an hour. And the bonus, if the D.C. Council passes this minimum wage increase? It will be doing the right thing by raising the hourly wage for all workers, instead of its previous misguided effort to target Wal-Mart and other bigbox stores. Two of those Wal-Marts open this week, providing hundreds of new jobs to people desperate for them. Now we just need to make sure that they, and all of D.C.’s workers, are paid a livable wage. The federal minimum wage amounts to no more than $15,000 a year. Who, exactly, is supposed to live on that? No one can. And here’s the crazy part. The federal Washington guys, when they slam the idea of raising the minimum wage, say that it would hurt businesses and increase unemployment. Not quite. Here’s what it does: It makes the government subsidize businesses. Local governments are stepping up instead of waiting for Congress to act. The $11.50-an-hour wage passed by Montgomery and Prince George’s counties would be the highest in the country. California will have $10 by 2016, and New Jersey just voted for $8.25.
COLUMN
The deal with rich people By CARLOS LOZADA THE WASHINGTON POST
Americans aren’t so sure about rich people. For every revered Steve Jobs, there’s a reviled Bernie Madoff; for every folksy Warren Buffett, there’s a tone-deaf Mitt Romney. The pursuit of happiness is patriotic, but the pursuit of riches can come off as greedy. This ambivalence toward the wealthy is embedded in American democracy, and no one knows how to yank it out.
The answer Even Alexis de Tocqueville agreed — a good thing, too, because discussing democracy in America without quoting “Democracy in America” is forbidden. “Men are there seen on a greater equality in point of fortune . . . than in any other country in the world, or in any age of which history has preserved the remembrance,” Tocqueville wrote of his travels in the United States. But then, the dagger: “I do not mean that there is any lack of wealthy individuals in the United States. I know of no country, indeed, where the love of money has taken stronger hold.” So Americans dislike inequality but crave wealth — and this paradox propels our mixed feelings about the rich. Oppressors or job creators? Ambitious go-getters or rapacious 1 percenters?
Robert F. Dalzell, a historian at Williams College, believes he has an answer. America has a long-standing deal with the rich, he explains, one that allows the country to “forge an accommodation between wealth and democracy.” It’s simple: Yes, rich people, you can exploit workers and natural resources and lord your wealth over everyone if you like, and we’ll resent you for it. But if, along the way, you give a chunk of your fortune to charity, all will be forgiven, old sport. History won’t judge you as a capitalist; it will hail you as a philanthropist. This uneasy bargain is the premise of Dalzell’s “The Good Rich and What They Cost Us,” which chronicles the deal from before the revolution through the recent financial crisis. Of course, just because the deal has lasted this long doesn’t mean that it will endure. Or that it is a particularly good one. Or that the rich aren’t constantly trying to rewrite the terms. John D. Rockefeller saw no reason to wait. His Standard Oil empire — whose ruthless business tactics Ida Tarbell exposed and whose interlocking parts the Supreme Court split up — became the basis for the greatest philanthropic enterprise the world had ever seen. From major financial commitments to Spellman College and the University of Chicago, to the financing of the Cloisters museum in Upper Manhattan and the
restoration of Colonial Williamsburg, to list just a few initiatives, Rockefeller and his descendants set the model for modern, largescale philanthropy. And they did so in a way that preserved the family’s influence and wealth over multiple generations. “There was something Medici-like about the whole effort,” Dalzell writes, “for within the soul of that great Renaissance family there lay an urge to combine what many might have thought uncombinable — vast wealth and dedicated public service.”
Keeping up reps But he also sees a more prosaic motivation: Billionaires want to polish their reputations for posterity. Wealth does not dull their sensitivity to what we think of them; it heightens it. Dalzell thinks it is no coincidence, for example, that the Giving Pledge — a public commitment by the world’s richest individuals, led by Buffett and Bill Gates, to donate most of their fortunes — coincided with the Great Recession’s backlash against the wealthy. So, the rich just want to be loved. Is that so wrong? If more than 100 of the planet’s wealthiest families and individuals are promising to give away unfathomable amounts of money, why quibble? Well, there’s at least one reason: The deal gets worse
as the price paid for the rich’s charity — the inequality between the affluent and the rest — keeps rising. From 1979 to 2007, the real, after-tax income of the top 1 percent of the U.S. population grew by 275 percent, compared with 18 percent for the bottom fifth, according to the Congressional Budget Office. Social mobility has become more stunted. Shortly before the Republican National Convention gathered last year to nominate a man who could have become one of the richest presidents in U.S. history, the Pew Research Center conducted a survey on American attitudes toward the wealthy. Fortythree percent of respondents said rich people are more likely than the average American to be intelligent, and 42 percent believed that the rich worked harder than everyone else. The good rich! But 55 percent said wealthy people were more likely to be greedy, and 34 percent thought they were less likely to be honest. The bad rich. Can “giving pledges” and foundation grants sustain America’s deal with the wealthy in a time of increasing inequality and falling social mobility? In his conclusion, Dalzell worries that the belief in the generosity of the good rich leads us to “tolerate, even celebrate, the violation of some of our most cherished ideals” of fairness and egalitarianism.
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WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 4, 2013
THE ZAPATA TIMES 5A
Drug capo sends letter Quintero pleads for Mexico not to extradite him to US ASSOCIATED PRESS
MEXICO CITY — Mexico’s attorney general says he has received a letter from fugitive drug lord Rafael Caro Quintero asking the government not to give in to the United States’ demand for his capture and extradition to try him for the 1985 killing of a U.S. federal agent. Top prosecutor Jesus Murillo Karam says the letter was also addressed to Mexican President Enrique
Pena Nieto and the interior ministry. He has not elaborated further on its content. An appeals court in August overturned Caro Quintero’s conviction and ordered him released from a maximum-security prison in August, enraging the U.S. government. Mexico’s Supreme Court later annulled the order and an arrest warrant was issued for Caro Quintero, who has been in hiding since his release.
QUINTERO
Texas: health site OK By CHRIS TOMLINSON ASSOCIATED PRESS
AUSTIN — The federal health care website worked just fine Tuesday for Texans seeking insurance coverage, but trained helpers are finding some individual cases are not so simple and those delays have nothing to do with technology. On the same day President Barack Obama vigorously defended his program to make sure the vast majority of Americans have health insurance, counselors across Texas dealt with an influx of applicants hoping to get insured after months of delays due of shoddy technology. The Obama administration gave itself until Nov. 30 to fix the website, and applicants began pressing the system this week. Micheal Biggerstaff went to a store-front office in a shopping mall operated by Foundation Communities, a nonprofit agency that helps Texans with affordable housing, free tax return assistance and now free help filling out applications on healthcare.gov, the federally operated insurance exchange. Gov. Rick Perry has
rejected Obama’s Affordable Care Act and ordered Texas agencies to cooperate as little as possible, so Texas does not have its own website. Curt Von Beek, a volunteer who has helped people with tax returns and now helps with insurance, talked Biggerstaff through the application process, and the 27-year-old was thrilled to see he could get insurance for less than $5 a month. In the end, though, he decided on a $29 per month plan that has lower deductibles and co-pays. “It kind of blows my mind that it was $168 before (the subsidy); I don’t know what to think about that,” he said. Though he’s never purchased health insurance before, he had been expecting to pay $70 a month. Elizabeth Colvin, director of Foundation’s Insure Central Texas program, said all of the offices had seen an uptick in the number of people seeking help since Sunday. She said counselors still occasionally experience delays but that the system had improved steadily since Nov. 1 when they successfully enrolled their first client. The biggest challenge,
she said, is teaching people how insurance works. “Unless you’ve really needed to use it, like in a medical crisis, you may not understand what your deductible means, what co-insurance means,” Colvin said. “In Texas, there are 80 plans to choose from, so that in itself is a whole other process.” Application counselors also are finding that some people have complicated cases, which either slow the process or require more than a website to sort out. When 64-year-old Jeanette Garcia applied online, the system had difficulty identifying her and ultimately said she was ineligible for a subsidy, despite her low income. Dustin Kreitner helped her file an appeal by mail on Tuesday. “We had to do it two or three times, because it was kicking me out of the system. They were saying it’s not me, that I’m not Jeanette Garcia,” she said. Since Texas did not expand Medicaid to provide free coverage for the very poor, Garcia may fall into a coverage gap that leaves childless adults without insurance or a subsidy.
PÁGINA 6A
Zfrontera
Agenda en Breve LAREDO 12/04— AVISO: A partir de las 9 p.m. y hasta las 6 p.m. SER Construction Partners, estará conduciendo la clausura del carril al oeste sobre Loop 20 cerca de Grand Central Blvd., inmediatamente antes de la intersección de Loop 20 y IH-35. Para más información puede llamar al 712-7416 o escribir a Raul.Leal@txdot.gov. 12/04— Se realizará el anuncio de la creación de Civitas Laredo Regional Center a partir de las 10 a.m. en el ayuntamiento de la ciudad, en 1110 calle Houston. 12/04— Se realizará el evento ‘Light the Way for Christmas’ en el North Central Park, en 10202 International Blvd., a partir de las 5 p.m. y hasta las 8 p.m. Podrá llevar 5 dólares o un juguete nuevo en beneficio a Santa Azul, que ayuda a niños con necesidad. 12/04— Se estará celebrando la ‘Tradicional Posada Mexicana’ por parte de LCC en la Biblioteca Harold R. Yeary a partir de las 7 p.m. 12/05— AVISO: A partir de las 9 p.m. y hasta las 6 p.m. SER Construction Partners, estará conduciendo la clausura del carril al oeste sobre Loop 20 cerca de Grand Central Blvd., inmediatamente antes de la intersección de Loop 20 y IH-35. Para más información puede llamar al 712-7416 o escribir a Raul.Leal@txdot.gov. 12/05— Último día para entregar las solicitudes para participar en los desfiles IBC Youth Parade Under the Stars y Anheuser-Busch Washington’s Birthday.Podrá aplicaciones están disponibles en www.wbcalaredo.org. 12/05— La Fundación Webb County Heritage Foundation estará celebrando una recepción de apertura para la competencia de fotografía “Historic Laredo” a partir de las 6 p.m. y hasta las 8 p.m. en el museo Villa Antigua Border Heritage, en 810 de calle Zaragoza. Más información llamando al 7270977. 12/05— Se estarán exhibiendo trabajos de Jesús Toro Martínez, ‘Visitando un viejo amor’ en La Posada Hotel, a partir de las 6 p.m. para recaudar fondos destinados al Centro de las Artes de Laredo. 12/05— Se estará realizando un concierto especial por parte de la Orquesta Cívica de LCC a partir de las 7:30 p.m. en el teatro del Centro de Bellas Artes y Artes Escénicas Guadalupe and LiliaMartinez. 12/06— Se realizará la celebración “Una navidad dorada: manteniendo una tradición en Laredo” a partir de las 5 p.m. en el Laredo Civic Center, así mismo se realizará un desfile a partir de las 6 p.m., este año el mariscal del desfile será la Juez de la Corte Municipal Rosie Cuellar.
MIERCOLES 4 DE DICIEMBRE DE 2013
CORTE
Caso Yarrington ASSOCIATED PRESS
BROWNSVILLE — Fiscales federales de Texas anunciaron el lunes que formularon cargos contra el ex gobernador de Tamaulipas, Tomás Yarrington Ruvalcaba, por presuntamente aceptar sobornos de un cártel de las drogas y participar en el narcotráfico. El expediente de imputación penal contra Yarrington, que fue abierto el lunes, lo acusa de lavado de dinero y crimen organizado, entre otros delitos financieros. Yarrington, de 56 años, fue gobernador de Tamaulipas de 1999 a 2004 y fungió como legislador federal por el Partido Revolucionario Institucional (PRI). El abogado de Yarrington, Joel
Androphy, dijo que él y su cliente están sorprendidos de que el gobierno de Estados Unidos “caiga tan bajo y le impute al ex gobernador YARRINGTON falsas acusaciones de quienquiera que haya testificado para sustentar los cargos”. Los fiscales afirman que Yarrington recibió millones de dólares en sobornos desde 1998 de parte del cártel del Golfo y que a cambio permitió a los contrabandistas traer grandes cantidades de cocaína en Estados Unidos. Los pagos comenzaron cuando era candidato a gobernador de Tamaulipas y continuaron hasta
el final de su mandato en diciembre de 2004, de acuerdo con el expediente. El acta de formulación de cargos también alega que de 2007 a 2009, Yarrington se involucró en actividades de narcotráfico. Los fiscales también afirman que el ex gobernador cobró sobornos de operaciones comerciales y que se involucró en la adquisición de activos de alto valor en Estados Unidos, como cuentas bancarias y residencias. El acta acusatoria dice que hacia el final de su mandato como gobernador, Yarrington se apropió de fondos públicos robados que se usaron posteriormente para comprar un avión privado. Otro hombre que fue encausa-
do junto con Yarrington, Fernando Cano Martínez, está acusado de pagar sobornos a Yarrington a cambio de contratos de obra pública. Una forma de pagar los sobornos era adquiriendo bienes raíces para Yarrington usando testaferros. Ni Cano ni Yarrington están bajo custodia, pero son buscados por las autoridades. No se indica que Cano tenga abogado. Al preguntarle si Yarrington vendría a Estados Unidos a enfrentar los cargos, Androphy dijo que la única razón por la que Yarrington salió del país fue por la condición de su visa. “No se está escondiendo y nunca se ha escondido”, afirmó Androphy.
MÉXICO
NACIONAL
MEJORAS A ‘PUEBLOS MÁGICOS’
Obama habla de seguros POR JULIE PACE ASSOCIATED PRESS
Foto de cortesía | Gobierno de Tamaulipas
Obras de mejoras a Mier y Tula, México, permitirán atraer más visitantes, asegura el Gobierno del Estado. Tula es la ciudad más antigua de Tamaulipas; y, Mier es el primer Pueblo Mágico en la frontera.
Se han invertido 60 millones de pesos TIEMPO DE ZAPATA
Los Pueblos Mágicos de Mier y Tula, México, están siendo mejorados a través de una inversión de 60 millones de pesos por parte del Gobierno de Tamaulipas en obras de infraestructura y mejoramiento de la imagen urbana. Según datos de la Secretaría de Desarrollo Económico y Turismo de Tamaulipas, Mier y Tula atraen al 10 por ciento de turistas que genera anualmente la entidad. Salvador Treviño Salinas, Subsecretario de Turismo de la SeDeT, indicó que la promoción para este tipo de turismo se está focalizando para atraer visitantes de temporada, debido a los atractivos históricos de las ciudades. Tula es la ciudad más antigua de Tamaulipas y Mier es el pri-
mer Pueblo Mágico en la frontera norte. En Tula, con una inversión de 50 millones de pesos, se construye el corredor turístico del “Arroyo Loco”, el cableado subterráneo de la Cabecera municipal y la construcción de calles y banquetas en el centro histórico. En Mier se equipó el Museo de la Casa Histórica de la Batalla de 1842 y se restauró el edificio histórico de la Casa del Texano, con una inversión cercana a los 13 millones de pesos. Mier, precisó, cuenta con la Parroquia de la Purísima Concepción, construida en 1784 principalmente con piedra arenisca. Al sur se encuentra la Plaza Hidalgo conocida también como Plaza de San Juan. En la Casa de los Frijoles Pintos, se llevó a cabo el 25 de diciembre de 1842 una acción de armas ante el ejército norteamericano, tam-
bién se encuentra la Capilla de San Juan y la Casa de la Cultura edificios de estilo colonial construidos a base de piedra del lugar. Treviño informó que parte del orgullo de Tula se centra en con confección de la cuera tulteca, que es el símbolo artesanal más representativo de Tamaulipas. Además, al ser una región rica en ixtle, otate y tule, se elaboran cestas, canastas, sillas, sillones y estropajos. Comentó que entre los sitios más representativos están la Plaza de Armas, la Parroquia de San Antonio de Padua, la Casa Carrera Torres, la Capilla del Rosario y la Capilla del Señor de las Angustias así como la Casa Minerva o Casa de las Artes. A tan solo 9 km de Tula se encuentra la Pirámide El Cuitzillo, perteneciente a la cultura huasteca que data del año 640.
WASHINGTON— En un esfuerzo por recuperarse de la desastrosa puesta en marcha de su nueva ley de seguros de salud, el presidente Barack Obama insistió el martes en que la drástica reforma está dando resultado y advirtió a los detractores republicanos que luchará contra cualquier esfuerzo que trate de suprimir las protecciones. “No vamos a abolirla mientras yo sea presidente”, destacó Obama durante un evento sobre la cobertura de salud efectuado en la Casa Blanca. “Si tengo que luchar otros tres años para asegurarme que esta ley dé resultado, entonces eso es lo que haré”, dijo. Por la mañana, el gobierno dio a conocer un informe sobre los 50 estados según el cual casi un millón y medio de personas cumplieron los requisitos para recibir el seguro Medicaid durante octubre. Pese a que los problemas con el cibersitio constriñeron la inscripción de interesados en el seguro privado subsidiado, ese programa de seguridad social para personas de bajos ingresos registró un aumento de casi el 16% en estados que accedieron expandirlo, según el Departamento de Salud y Servicios Sociales. La Casa Blanca se esfuerza para que la ley del seguro de salud sea vista de manera positiva después que los dos primeros meses de inscripción en los mercados de seguros de salud fueron estropeados por problemas técnicos. Ahora que la mayoría de problemas resueltos en el portal de inscripción, según dijeron funcionarios del gobierno, Obama y su equipo tienen previsto pasar gran parte de diciembre tratando de recordarle a los estadounidenses por qué el gobierno luchó por promulgar esta ley desde el primer momento. “Creemos que en Estados Unidos, a nadie debe preocuparle quedarse sin un centavo porque alguien en su familia o ellos mismos se enfermaron”, destacó Obama, acompañado por ciudadanos que según el gobierno se han beneficiado con el nuevo programa Aunque Obama hizo una optimista presentación sobre los beneficios de la ley, los funcionarios se esfuerzan exhaustivamente detrás de bambalinas para rectificar los problemas que comenzarían el 1 de enero.
NUEVO LAREDO, MÉXICO 12/04— Cine Club ‘Carmen González’ presenta “Tengo 17 años”, dirigida por José María Forqué, en el auditorio de Estación Palabra a partir de las 6 p.m. 12/05— Se estará impartiendo un taller de lectura para mujeres, a las 11 a.m. en Estación Palabra. 12/06— Inicia el programa “Vámonos de Pinta”, en el Centro Cultural, a partir de las 9 a.m. Evento gratuito. 12/06— Comenzará el taller “Escritura de No Ficción: memoria, ensayo y crónica” en Estación Palabra a partir de las 3:30 p.m. 12/06— Se inaugurará una muestra de piñatas artesanales en Maquila Creativa a las 5 p.m. Evento gratuito.
SEGURIDAD
Tamaulipas tiene cobertura total de PEA TIEMPO DE ZAPATA
Elementos de la Policía Estatal Acreditable ya se encuentran en los 43 municipios de Tamaulipas, indicó el Gobierno del Estado en un comunicado de prensa. El objetivo es que la presencia de estos agentes fortalezcan la vigilancia en las zonas rurales y urbanas. La Policía Estatal Acreditable forma parte de la
Secretaría de Seguridad Pública, y trabaja en coordinación con las Fuerzas Federales. Fue en octubre cuando se puso en marcha el Mando Único de la Policía en Tamaulipas, y en los 43 municipios de la entidad se formalizaron los convenios de colaboración y coordinación en materia de seguridad pública. El comunicado de prensa indica que los operativos de
vigilancia y disuasión se realizan con estricto apego a los derechos humanos. Aclara que en caso de que alguien de la ciudadanía se sienta ofendida por parte de algún elemento de la Policía Estatal Acreditable puede hacer la denuncia correspondiente al área de Asuntos Internos de la Secretaria de Seguridad Pública del Estado visitando la página http://ssp.tamaulipas.gob.mx.
Foto de cortesía | Gobierno de Tamaulipas
Un agente de la Policía Estatal Acreditable es visto a bordo de una unidad recorriendo una ciudad del estado de Tamaulipas.
Entertainment
WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 4, 2013
THE ZAPATA TIMES 7A
Studio halts franchise TV show co-host dies By JUSTIN PRITCHARD
HGTV’s Beckwith, of ‘Curb Appeal,’ killed in San Francisco after vehicle strikes motorcycle he was riding
ASSOCIATED PRESS
LOS ANGELES — The movie studio that makes the “Fast & Furious” action franchise said Tuesday it was suspending production of the latest installment, while authorities pressed ahead with their investigation into how Paul Walker died. The Los Angeles County coroner’s office said autopsies were underway on the two bodies recovered from the fiery crash of a Porsche that Walker, a star of the mega-hit movies, and his friend were last seen riding in. Walker’s publicist has said the actor was the passenger when Roger Rodas’ Porsche Carrera GT crashed into a light pole and tree, then exploded in flames Saturday. The families of both men have provided dental records, which will permit not only formal identification of the bodies, but also official word on whether Walker or Rodas was behind the wheel. Walker starred in all but one of the six “Fast & Furious” blockbusters. He had been on break from shooting the latest installment; Universal Pictures said Tuesday that production of “Fast & Furious 7” is on hold. A spokesman declined to say when shooting would resume. A large portion of the film has been shot, but it is not yet complete. It’s scheduled for release in July. Universal Pictures has not announced how it will adjust the movie or
ASSOCIATED PRESS
SAN FRANCISCO — A co-host of the HGTV show “Curb Appeal” has been killed in a motorcycle accident in San Francisco. The San Francisco medical examiner identified 38year-old Bill Beckwith as the victim of a crash near the city’s Haight-Ashbury Photo by Nick Ut | AP
Photos and messages are seen at a roadside memorial at the site of the auto crash that took the life of actor Paul Walker and another man, in the small community of Valencia, Calif., on Monday. handle Walker’s unfinished performance. While the neighborhood where the crash happened is known to attract street racers, law enforcement officials do not believe the Porsche had been racing another car. Accident investigators “have received eyewitness statements that the car involved was traveling alone at a high rate of speed,” the Los Angeles County Sheriff ’s Department said in a statement. “No eyewitness has contacted the (department) to say there was a second vehicle.” Hindering the accident investigation has been the crowds of fans that flocked to the crash site to leave flowers, candles and memorabilia from the action films. On Saturday afternoon, Walker and Rodas took what they said would be a brief drive away from a charity fundraiser and toy drive at Rodas’ custom car
shop. The crash happened on a street that forms an approximately 1-mile loop amid industrial office parks. It is rimmed by hills and relatively isolated from traffic, especially on weekends when the businesses are closed. While Rodas was Walker’s financial adviser, the two had bonded over their shared love of fast cars. They co-owned an auto racing team named after Rodas’ shop, Always Evolving, and Rodas drove professionally on the team in the Pirelli World Challenge circuit in 2013. On Monday night, a private memorial for survivors and the cast and crew of the “Fast & Furious” movies was held inside a white tent erected around the site. When it was over, Walker’s co-star Vin Diesel thanked fans for “coming and showing that angel up in heaven how much you appreciated him.”
‘Science’ is word of year By LEANNE ITALIE ASSOCIATED PRESS
NEW YORK — Look alive, selfie. There’s another word of the year that’s not all about you. While Oxford University Press, the British publisher of the Oxford dictionaries, declared those little smartphone self-portraits its winner last month, the folks at Merriam-Webster announced “science” on Tuesday. Oxford tracked a huge jump in overall usage of
Britney comes to Las Vegas By HANNAH DREIER ASSOCIATED PRESS
LAS VEGAS — The Planet Hollywood Resort & Casino is planning a lavish welcome for Britney Spears on Tuesday afternoon before the pop icon starts her two-year Las Vegas residency. Spears’ show debuts Dec. 27, just in time for Sin City’s massive New Year’s crowds. The 32-year-old will perform 50 shows each in 2014 and 2015, performing her top hits and more recent material. The show will take place in a relatively small theater with nightclub touches, including table and bottle service. Spears has released seven platinum-plus albums since she debuted on the music scene in 1999. She has more than a dozen Top 10 hits, including “Toxic,” ’’Gimme More” and “Oops! ... I Did It Again.” Her eighth album, “Britney Jean,” was released this week to tepid reviews. David Hoenemeyer, president of Planet Hollywood, said the pop star has a bigger following than any other musician playing on the Strip. “She really cuts across all demographics. She has a remarkable following, and the ticket sales reflect that,” he said. “It’s a really big deal to have a star of her caliber performing for us.”
selfie, but Merriam-Webster stuck primarily to look-ups on its website, recording a 176 percent increase for science when compared with last year. “The more we thought about it, the righter it seemed in that it does lurk behind a lot of big stories that we as a society are grappling with, whether it’s climate change or environmental regulation or what’s in our textbooks,” said John Morse, president and publisher of Merriam-Webster Inc. Science, he said, is con-
nected to broad cultural oppositions along with the power of observation and intuition, reason and ideology, evidence and tradition. Of particular note is fallout from the October release of Malcolm Gladwell’s book, “David and Goliath: Underdogs, Misfits, and the Art of Battling Giants.” Gladwell, a popularizer of scientific thought and research in best-sellers and New Yorker magazine, takes on the challenges of obstacles and the nature of disabilities and setbacks.
neighborhood Monday night. He was riding a motorcycle that was struck by a car. Beckwith was one of the three hosts of “Curb Appeal,” which features home renovations. He was a carpenter and general contractor who grew up on a farm in Maine and owned his own Bay Area construction
business. HGTV says in a statement that his creativity, adventurous spirit and general love of life will be missed. Police say Beckwith suffered head trauma and was pronounced dead at a hospital. The 30-year-old driver of the car that struck him is cooperating with the investigation.
WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 4, 2013
ON THE WEB: THEZAPATATIMES.COM
Sports&Outdoors NATIONAL FOOTBALL LEAGUE: HOUSTON TEXANS
Texan apologizes
Photo by David J. Phillip | AP
Houston defensive end Antonio Smith apologized for using the word “spying” when commenting on the Patriots offense’s adjustments to the teams new gameplan this weekend.
DE Antonio Smith sorry for Patriots ‘spying’ remark By KRISTIE RIEKEN ASSOCIATED PRESS
HOUSTON — Houston defensive end Antonio Smith apologized Monday for using the word “spying” about New England, but didn’t exactly back down from the accusations he made after the Texans’ loss to the Patriots. On Sunday after Houston’s 34-31 loss, Smith told reporters that the Texans had some new wrinkles in their defense and it was “miraculous” how the Patriots changed their offense to key on the defense. He said then: “Either teams are spying on us or scouting us. I don’t know what it is.” On Monday, he said that he thought reporters in Houston knew him well enough to know that he could be joking and still be curious about something like this at the same time. “I’m sorry I said the word spying be-
cause of a prior engagement of them being caught spying before,” he said. The NFL fined New England coach Bill Belichick $500,000 and the team $250,000 and took away a first-round pick in the 2008 draft for videotaping New York Jets signals during a game on Sept. 9, 2007. Belichick said he thought that was allowed and apologized for what he said was a mistake in his interpretation of the rule prohibiting it. Belichick was asked on a conference call Monday morning if he saw Smith’s comments. “Yeah, I saw them,” he said. “I don’t have any comment on them. I think that’s a league matter.” Houston coach Gary Kubiak also was questioned about what Smith said and refused to address them directly. “I have the utmost respect for their organization, their players, their coaches, their head coach and the standard that
they’ve been setting for a long, long time in this league,” he said. “So ... they did a great job yesterday and have been doing it a long time.” The loss extended Houston’s franchiserecord skid to 10 games. The Texans were up 17-7 at halftime before New England rallied for the win. Smith said Monday that he was surprised his comments caused such a stir and wondered why no one had a sense of humor about what he said. “Though it may be something I was curious about that kind of didn’t seem right,” he said. “Like how all of a sudden the change here? It wasn’t a serious matter to where I was thinking: ’Aw man, they’re spying on us. They’re cheating. Things like that to the point where it gets to a big story about me accusing them of cheating. It’s me being me, being funny.” Houston will try to end its skid Thursday night at Jacksonville.
MAJOR LEAGUE BASEBALL: HOUSTON ASTROS, TEXAS RANGERS
Astros sign Fowler, Rangers trade Gentry ASSOCIATED PRESS
HOUSTON — The Houston Astros have acquired outfielder Dexter Fowler from the Colorado Rockies for outfielder Brandon Barnes and right-hander Jordan Lyles. Houston will also receive a player to be named in the deal announced Tuesday. The 27-year-old Fowler hit .263 with 18 doubles, 42 RBIs and 19 stolen bases in 119 games last season. Fowler, a switch-hitter who primarily plays center field, hit .300 in 2012. Houston general manager Jeff Luhnow says a goal was: “to bring in an outfielder who can spark our offense.” Barnes, also 27, hit .240 with eight home runs and 41 RBIs as a rookie last season. The 23-yearold Lyles was 7-9 with one save and a 5.59 ERA in 27 games — 25 starts — in 2013. Lyles was a supplemental first-round pick by the Astros in 2008. Rangers trade Gentry inside division to A’s OAKLAND — Craig Gentry is committed to doing what he can to help the Athletics win another division crown in 2014. The A’s added outfield depth Tuesday by acquiring Gentry along with right-hander Josh Lindblom from the division rival Texas Rangers for outfielder Michael Choice and minor league infielder Chris Bostick.
Photo by David Zalubowski | AP
Dexter Fowler will join the Astros as the team’s centerfielder after being acquired from Colorado for Brandon Barnes and Jordan Lyles. The teams announced the deal Tuesday, a day after Oakland traded for AL saves leader Jim Johnson in a swap with Baltimore and also reached agreement on a $22 million, two-year contract with left-handed starter Scott Kazmir. “I definitely didn’t anticipate it, it caught me off guard a little bit,” Gentry said. “Being on the other side of the white lines from these guys so many years, it’s a great ballclub.” While the two-time defending AL West champion A’s have their starting outfield returning in center fielder Coco Crisp, left fielder Yoenis Cespedes and right fielder Josh Reddick, Gentry provides an option off the bench and creates depth. The re-
turnees have dealt with injuries in recent seasons. Gentry said he is comfortable playing all three outfield spots. “I really don’t know what my role is going to be,” said Gentry, who had yet to speak to the A’s brass. “Hopefully whatever I can to help the team keep winning and keep up their streak. They handle themselves, they play hard. That team is exactly the type of player I am. I think I’m going to fit in well over there.” Gentry batted .280 with two homers and 22 RBIs in 106 games for the Rangers this year, while Lindblom went 1-3 with a 5.46 ERA in five starts and three relief appearances over three stints with the Rangers this year. Gentry received a call from
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CLARA SANDOVAL VAL
Rangers general manager Jon Daniels while on the golf course Tuesday with news of the trade. “It’s a big rivalry between Oakland and Texas,” Gentry said of his success against the A’s. For the Rangers, acquiring Choice brings the outfielder back home to Texas — and he will have a chance to contribute right away rather than be competing to make the big league team out of spring training with Oakland. “It’s something I’ve always dreamed about, playing at home,” said Choice, a Fort Worth native who grew up attending Rangers games while going to high school and college in Arlington. The 24-year-old Choice, taken by Oakland with the 10th overall pick in the 2010 amateur draft, made his major league debut in September and played nine games late in the season for the A’s, batting .278 with a double and two runs scored. Daniels considers Choice an option for now and the future. Choice could become the everyday left fielder if the Rangers don’t re-sign Nelson Cruz. Bostick played for Class A Beloit in 2013 and hit .282 with 14 home runs and 89 RBIs in 129 games. He drew 51 walks for a .354 on-base percentage and stole 25 bases. He provides depth for the organization in the middle infield.
Lady Hawks win two straight The Zapata girls’ basketball team is coming off two consecutive victories as head coach Hector Garcia’s team is starting to gel after welcoming back some players who were off in the volleyball playoffs. Zapata got a 49-28 victory over PSJA Memorial a week a ago with Isela Gonzalez leading the way with 12 points. Roxy Galvan chipped in with 8 points and Clarissa Villarreal added 7. Zapata finished off the week with a 54-23 victory over Falfurrias. Galvan led the way with 14 points and 12 rebounds while Tere Villarreal had 10 points and 10 rebounds.
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"Our girls are coming around as a team. We started pressuring the ball with our half court press.” -ZAPATA HEAD COACH HECTOR GARCIA
The Lady Hawks are now 5-6 on the season. "Our girls are coming around as a team," Garcia said. "We started pressuring the ball with our half court press." Zapata’s half court press created plenty of turnovers that the team translated into points. The Lady Hawks created over 20 turnovers in the game that led to many baskets at the other end of the court. “We created 20 turnovers that led to easy points for us and that was a big part of the game," Garcia said. Zapata opened the game scoring eight straight as Falfurrias had a hard time penetrating the Lady Hawks press as they struggled to cross half court. Zapata’s stingy defense gave Falfurrias problems setting up their offense and kept them out of the paint. The Lady Hawks only allowed six points in the first half as Zapata took a 22-6 halftime lead. With the game well in hand in the first half, Garcia gave his bench quality minutes and they did not skip a beat with what Zapata was doing on the floor as a team. The reserves continued with the team’s aggressive defense from the half court setting and in the paint. Zapata’s offense flowed thanks to great defense that made things easier at the other end of the court for the Lady Hawks. At the end of the third quarter it was Zapata holding a healthy lead at 39-14 with Galvan picking up most of her points in that quarter. The Lady Hawks have no time to rest after hosting San Diego on Tuesday and the hit the road to the La Feria tournament this weekend where they a 16 battle for the top spot. Zapata plays on Thursday and opens up with Pharr San Juan Alamo at 4 p.m. (Clara Sandoval can be reached at Sandoval.Clara@Gmail.com)
WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 4, 2013
THE ZAPATA TIMES 9A
MARGIE GARZA-MCALISTER Margie Garza-McAlister passed away Friday, Nov. 29, 2013. Mrs. McAlister is preceded in death by her parents, Juan J. Garza and Mary K. Garza; and brothers, Johnny Garza and Henry Garza. Mrs. McAlister is survived by her husband, Bobby Joe McAlister; son, Christopher (Cristy) McAlister; daughter, Geneen M. (Clay) Williamson; grandchildren: Carly, Cody and Conor McAlister, and Joshua and Jacob Williamson; sister-in-law, Natalia Garza; nephews, Henry (Claudia) Garza and David (Jessica) Garza; niece, Natalia (Luis) Garcia; and by numerous nephews, nieces and friends. Visitation hours were held Tuesday, Dec. 3, 2013, from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m., at Rose Garden Funeral Home. A chapel service will be held 10 a.m. Wednesday, Dec. 4, 2013, at Rose Garden Funeral Home. Committal services will follow at Bustamante Cemetery.
By BRUCE SCHREINER ASSOCIATED PRESS
Condolences may be sent to the family at rosegardenfuneralhome.com. Funeral arrangements are under the direction of Rose Garden Funeral Home, Daniel A. Gonzalez, funeral director, 2102 N. U.S. Highway 83, Zapata, TX.
KEITH HOMER HOUSTON MANSFIELD — Keith Homer Houston, 78, passed away Thursday, Nov. 14, 2013. He was born on March 24, 1935, to Charlie and Mamie Houston in Brush, Colo. Keith served four years in the U.S. Navy on the U.S.S. Shangri-La. Mr. Houston started working for Baroid in 1959 until he retired in Zapata. He is survived by his wife of 54 years, Jean Alice Gifford Houston, of Mansfield; two daughters, Kathleen Kay Bennett and husband Roger Bennett of Fort Stockton, and Larice Dawn Gallander and ex-husband David Gallander of Mansfield; a brother, Kenneth Houston, of Arlington; a sister, Charlene Holzworth, of Brush, Colo.; six grandchildren; and three great-
RV industry shows recovery
grandchildren. He was preceded in death by his father, mother and two brothers. A memorial service was held at the First Baptist Church in Kennedale, Texas, on Saturday, Nov. 16, 2013.
LOUISVILLE, Ky. — RV manufacturers expect to pass another milestone in their steady recovery from the recession that landed the industry in a deep ditch. Led by sales growth for towable RVs and pricier stand-alone motor homes, recreational vehicle makers expect to ship more than 300,000 units to dealers’ lots this year for the first time since the economic downturn battered the industry in 2008 and 2009. Those grim days are now in the rear view mirror. Employment across the industry has rebounded, and consumers who once picked small, no-frills travel trailers — dubbed “recession trailers” — are now trading up or buying larger, pricier RVs. “We’re back to a more normal market where people are stepping up and buying nicer equipped travel trailers,” said RV dealer Debbie Brunoforte, who has logged her best post-recession sales year at her lots in Phoenix and Mesa, Ariz. Shipments from RV manufacturers to dealers — a key measure of consumer demand — are expected to reach 316,300 units in 2013, up nearly 11 percent from last year’s total of 285,749, the Recreation Vehicle Industry Association said Tuesday on the first day of the industry’s trade show in Louisville. More gains are projected for next year. “These are good times, you guys, really good times,” RVIA President Richard Coon said at the trade show’s kickoff event Tuesday. “Business is good.” Through October, 2013 shipments were up nearly 13 percent from the same period last year, the group
Shipments from RV manufacturers to dealers — a key measure of consumer demand — are expected to reach 316,300 units in 2013, up nearly 11 percent from last year’s total of 285,749, the Recreation Vehicle Industry Association said Tuesday on the first day of the industry’s trade show in Louisville. More gains are projected for next year. said. Indiana is the manufacturing pacesetter, accounting for 83 percent of RV production in 2012. Oregon, California, Iowa and Michigan were next, each with a sliver of output. Next year’s overall shipments are expected to rise another 6 percent, to 335,500 units, putting production in the neighborhood of 2007’s total of 353,400. It’s a big turnaround from 2009, when shipments sank to 165,700 units amid weak demand and dried up credit that left dealers’ lots filled with the hulking vehicles. Some manufacturers closed their doors, and those that survived cut their workforces. Now, easier credit is helping fuel the comeback as dealers obtain financing to fill lots and consumers get loans to drive away with RVs bound for campgrounds or tailgates. “It’s back at a point where it’s not too easy, it’s not too tight, it’s about just right,” said Doug Gaeddert, a general manager with Indiana-based RV maker Forest River Inc. Business conditions are so good the biggest worry seems to be a repeat of the partial government shutdown in October if Congress can’t reach a budget accord early next year.
“That impacted this business,” Coon said. “Traffic at dealerships slowed way down. Let’s hope they’re smart enough not to do that again.” Pent up demand and favorable demographics also are aiding sales, as the industry’s core Baby Boomer base heads toward retirement. The industry says its focus on the 30to-49 age group has paid dividends, with younger families entering the market for towable RVs attached to pickups or hitched to other vehicles. Stand-alone motor homes, which took the biggest hit from the recession, are also showing signs of a comeback. Through October, motor home shipments for the year were up 36 percent from the same 10-month period last year, the RVIA said. Shipments for towables were up 10 percent compared to a year ago. Motor homes are expected to reach 12 percent of all shipments in 2013 and 2014, up from 10 percent in 2012. Towables cost between $8,000 and $95,000, with an average price of about $29,000, according to RVIA. Stand-alone motor homes range from $45,000 to $1.5 million for top-ofthe-line, bus-like vehicles. The average price is about $131,000 for the amenity-
filled moving homes. At this week’s trade show, RV makers showed off new models to dealers looking to place orders for next year. The trend is toward smaller, lighterweight RVs that can be towed by more vehicles. Those models also result in slightly better gas mileage, with some smaller motor homes approaching 20 miles per gallon. The industry is much leaner now with 70 manufacturers — nearly a third less than before the recession. “Those of us that survived certainly are reaping the rewards now,” said Derald Bontrager, president and CEO of RV maker Jayco Inc., based in Middlebury, Ind. Jayco has seen broad sales gains in its product lineup, including for its motor homes, he said. With the upswing in shipments, Jayco has hired more workers. Its workforce is about 2,000, compared to 1,100 during the depths of the downturn but short of the 2,500 before the recession. Industrywide employment — including manufacturers, suppliers, dealers and service departments — is estimated at 496,000, according to RVIA. Employment peaked at about 550,000 in 2007, then plunged to about 280,000 in 2009.
TxDOT announces resolution SPECIAL TO THE TIMES
AUSTIN — The Texas Department of Transportation on Monday announced a resolution to managing the maintenance of roads heavily used in the energy sector of LaSalle County. TxDOT and the county have agreed to share responsibility of repairing roads in need and maintaining them over time. The department is also working on agreements with other affected counties in the region. “Reaching this agreement first and foremost enables us to continue to provide safe passage for those driving in Eagle Ford Shale communities,” said
TxDOT executive director Phil Wilson. “We look forward to working with these counties and strengthening these roads to keep them safe going forward.” Under the agreement, the counties will purchase the materials necessary to address road issues while TxDOT performs the repairs and provides the labor for the projects. Once fixed, the county will take over maintenance of the roads and be responsible for them for five years or until traffic in those energy areas drops off. The total number of miles included in this resolution is about 20, which is part of the 83 miles of identified roadways that had
previously been identified to be converted to high-end, unpaved roads. To date, 5 miles have already been converted, including the frontage roads on I-37 in Live Oak County and parts of FM 1916. “I was confident we would ultimately reach a satisfactory compromise with TxDOT on how to maintain these heavily traveled roads,” said LaSalle County Judge Joel Rodriquez. “It is our collective responsibility to advocate for safe roads and economic development, and use our resources wisely.” Work on the county roads is expected to begin in the coming weeks.
Photo by Ross D. Franklin | AP
Amazon.com employees organize packages at an Amazon.com Fulfillment Center on "Cyber Monday" on Monday, in Phoenix. According to comScore Inc., spending rose 18 percent from last year’s Cyber Monday to $1.74 billion.
10A THE ZAPATA TIMES
WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 4, 2013
YARRINGTON Continued from Page 1A
Texas executes convict
Companies that prosecutors allege were once Yarrington fronts in 2005 and 2006 purchased several blocks on South Padre to develop into cottages and 300 acres on Culebra Road, but lenders eventually foreclosed on those properties. Yarrington is the second Mexican border governor charged … in less than a week.
Man dies for murder of corrections officer after prison escape
the loans and the upkeep of property. Cano and others acted as fronts to disguise the fact Yarrington bought the properties, according to the indictment. Yarrington oversaw the plundering of state coffers as well, prosecutors allege. During his term in office from 1999 to 2004, Tamaulipas officials stole state funds and Cano’s construction firm received state contracts in exchange for bribes, according to the charges. In 2005, Yarrington unsuccessfully sought the presidential nomination of the Institutional Revolutionary Party, known by its Spanish acronym PRI. The party ruled Mexico for 70 years until it lost elections in 2000 and 2006. It returned to power last year, after ejecting Yarrington from the party as the U.S. in its civil lawsuits alleged he took bribes from the Gulf Cartel and the Zetas. Two years after his failed presidential bid, the feds say, Yarrington took a more active role in drug trafficking. In 2007, he sat down with representatives from the Gulf Cartel and the Beltrán Leyva drug cartel, two large gangs that had recently ended a long and bloody war on the Texas border. In exchange for a percentage of their profits, the indictment says, Yarrington negotiated for both cartels to have “unimpeded access for large cocaine loads to the port of Veracruz,” an important Gulf Coast city. During the money laundering trial earlier this year of José Treviño Morales, brother of Zetas leader Miguel Treviño Morales, federal prosecutors in Austin said the gang paid bribes to Fidel Herrera, the governor of Veracruz state from 2004 to 2010. Herrera said the allegations are false. A judge earlier this year let pros-
ecutors sell the South Padre condo and houses in Kyle and McAllen. As part of the criminal case against Yarrington, prosecutors are trying to seize the 46 acres near The Shops at La Cantera and a house on the water in Port Isabel. Companies that prosecutors allege were once Yarrington fronts in 2005 and 2006 purchased several blocks on South Padre to develop into cottages and 300 acres on Culebra Road, but lenders eventually foreclosed on those properties. Yarrington is the second Mexican border governor charged by federal prosecutors in Texas in less than a week. On Wednesday, federal prosecutors in Corpus Christi unsealed a week-old indictment charging Jorge Juan Torres Lopez, 59, the former interim governor of the state of Coahuila, with money laundering conspiracy and other financial crimes. Officials with the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Texas wouldn’t comment Monday about the timing of the indictments. When U.S. officials first filed their civil lawsuits last spring claiming that former PRI officials had laundered money in Texas, but did not charge them with a crime, party leaders in Mexico said they were making a political maneuver ahead of that country’s presidential elections. Androphy said Monday that the investigation into Yarrington was politically motivated, but wouldn’t elaborate. “It’s strange that the United States is trying to charge Mexican public officials with criminal activity when the source of the alleged crime is in a foreign country,” he said. “You would think that the Mexican authorities would, if the information was credible, pursue this.”
By MICHAEL GRACYZK ASSOCIATED PRESS
HUNTSVILLE — A Texas inmate was executed Tuesday evening for the death of a corrections officer during a short-lived escape from prison six years ago. Jerry Martin, 43, requested that no additional appeals be filed on his behalf, clearing the way for his lethal injection. Martin told relatives of the slain corrections officer that he was sorry. “I wish I could take it back, but I can’t,” he said. “I hope this gives you closure. I did not murder your loved one. It was an accident. I didn’t mean for it to happen, but it happened. I take full responsibility.” Martin was serving a 50-year sentence for attempted capital murder when he and another inmate, John Falk Jr., broke away from a work detail outside a Huntsville-area prison on Sept. 24, 2007. In the ensuing chaos and gunfire, a 59-year-old prison officer on horseback, Susan Canfield, suffered fatal head injuries. Martin and Falk sped away in a stolen pickup truck but were quickly captured. Canfield’s husband and daughter were among the people watching Tuesday through a window in the death chamber. Martin told his own friends and a brother, watching through another window, that he loved them. “You know I’m at peace.
God is the ultimate judge. He knows what happened.” He took a deep breath, then snored as the MARTIN drug took effect. He was pronounced dead 11 minutes later at 6:27 p.m. CST. Martin’s execution was the 16th and last scheduled for this year in Texas, which carries out capital punishment more than any other state. “There really isn’t much I can say,” one of Martin’s attorneys, David Schulman, said. “He doesn’t want us to do anything and he’s made that clear. “He is not crazy. This is not some delusional thing.” The day of the break, Martin and Falk were among about 75 inmates working in a vegetable patch outside the Wynne Unit prison at the northern edge of Huntsville, just a few miles from the death chamber at the Texas Department of Criminal Justice Huntsville Unit. Authorities said the getaway began when Martin used the ruse of a broken watch to get close to an officer and snatch a weapon. He tossed it to Falk and ran to steal the truck, hit Canfield and sped off as shots were being fired. Her head struck the truck, killing her. The prisoners abandoned the pickup about a mile away and carjacked a woman at a bank drive-thru. Huntsville police
Martin’s execution was the 16th and last scheduled for this year in Texas, which carries out capital punishment more than any other state. pursuing them shot out a tire in that car and the inmates fled on foot. Falk, a convicted murderer with a life term, was apprehended within an hour. Martin was caught a few hours later, hiding in a tree. Martin was convicted in 2009 for Canfield’s death. Falk is awaiting a retrial after a judge declared a mistrial in Falk’s capital murder case. The 16 executions this year in Texas are about average in recent years for the state that accounts for nearly half of the 36 executions in the U.S. so far in 2013. Florida is second with seven. Texas has at least six scheduled for the early months of 2014.
HOLIDAY Continued from Page 1A at 9 p.m. It is free and open to the public and will feature local school choirs and acts — and Santa Claus, who will make his entrance atop a fire engine. The arena’s esplanade will contain decorations inspired by the North Pole, with 6-foot-high tin soldiers and nutcrackers, an ice slide and winter wonderland play area complete with
snow for as long as it lasts. “I think it will be a great event for the kids and an opportunity for families to embrace the holiday spirit,” said Councilman Roque Vela Jr., who will act as a co-host for the event. “The weather is going to be great, and it is going to be a great event for the families to come out to.” Christmas carol performanc-
es will begin at 6 p.m. Santa Claus is scheduled to arrive at 7 p.m., followed by the tree lighting at 7:15 p.m. Free sugar cookies, hot chocolate, water and punch will be available. Children can also take photos with Santa just inside the arena’s main entrance. (Philip Balli may be reached at 728-2528 or pballi@lmtonline.com)