DARVISH REUNION?
WEDNESDAYDECEMBER 13, 2017
FREE
WILSON: SIGNING DARVISH MAKES SENSE, A7
DELIVERED EVERY SATURDAY
TO 4,000 HOMES
A HEARST PUBLICATION
ON THE WEB: THEZAPATATIMES.COM
NAFTA
US IMMIGRATION
Mexico’s obesity rate triples Diet-related illnesses rise after food system transformation By Andrew Jacobs and Matt Richtel N EW YORK T I ME S
SAN CRISTÓBAL DE LAS CASAS, Mexico — William Ruiz Sánchez spends his days grilling burgers and slathering fried hot dogs with pepperoni and cheese at his family’s restaurant. Refrigerators and fireengine red tables provided by Coca-Cola feature the company’s logo in exchange for exclusive sale of its drinks. Though members of the Ruiz family sometimes eat here, they more often grab dinner at Domino’s or McDonald’s. For midday snacks, they buy Doritos or Cheetos at Oxxo, a convenience store chain so ubiquitous here that nutritionists and health care advocates mockingly refer
to the city as San Cristóbal de las Oxxos. The family’s experience in food service began in the 1960s, when Ruiz’s grandmother sold tamales and home-cooked food made with produce from a nearby farm; those same ingredients sustained her boys with vegetable stews, beans, tortillas and eggs. Meat was a luxury. Since then, the Ruizes have become both consumers and participants in an extraordinary transformation of the country’s food system, one that has saddled them and millions of other Mexicans with dietrelated illnesses. It is a seismic shift that some nutritionists say has an underappreciated cause: free trade. Mexico began lifting tariffs Obesity continues on A9
Noel St. John/The National Press Club / AP
Advocates for a Mexican journalist Emilio Gutierrez Soto asked the U.S. government to grant him asylum instead of deporting him to a country where he believes he'll be killed. Adriana Zehbrauskas / The New York Times
People have pizza and soft drinks for lunch at a Sam's Club Cafe in San Cristobal de las Casas, Mexico. Few predicted when Mexico joined the North American Free Trade Agreement that it would transform the country in a way that would saddle millions with diet-related illnesses.
ZAPATA COUNTY FAIR
CHRISTMAS PARADE
Rosa Saenz / Courtesy photo
The Zapata County Fair Royalty float is pictured Monday during the Christmas Parade. After the parade, a Christmas tree lighting ceremony was held as well as gifts with Santa.
Journalist fears death if deported Articles alleged corruption in Mexican military HOUSTON — Advocates for a Mexican journalist detained in a remote West Texas facility asked the U.S. government to grant him asylum instead of deporting him to a country where he believes he’ll be killed. Emilio Gutierrez Soto fled to the United States a decade ago after articles he wrote alleging corruption in the Mexican military caused his name to end up on a hit list. Mexico is one of the world’s most dangerous places for journalism, likened to countries such as Syria and Iraq. At least 11 journalists have been killed in Mexico this year. After coming within hours of possible deportation, Gutierrez, 54, is now appealing that denial. The National Press Club and other press freedom advocates held an event Monday highlighting Gutierrez’s case and those of other reporters whose lives were in danger. Speaking by phone from a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement detention center in Sierra Blanca, Texas, Gutierrez accused Mexican leaders of being complicit in the violence of drug cartels and the murders of journalists, though he did not make specific allegations. “The biggest criminal organization is the government,” Gutierrez said. “I’m afraid to take one step into Mexico.” The U.S. government historFears continues on A9
Zin brief A2 | Wednesday, December 13, 2017 | THE ZAPATA TIMES
CALENDAR
AROUND THE NATION
TODAY IN HISTORY
WEDNESDAY, DEC. 13
ASSOCIATED PRE SS
First United Methodist Church Used Book Sale. 10 a.m. - noon. 1220 McClelland Ave. Hard cover $1, paperback $0.50, magazines and children’s books, $0.25. Public is invited. Proceeds are used to support the church’s missions. City Council District II Neighborhood meeting. 6-7:30 p.m. Haynes Recreation Center, 2102 Clarks Crossing Drive
THURSDAY, DEC. 14 Laredo Area Retired School Employees Association’s December meeting. 11 a.m. Blessed Sacrament Parish Hall. A Christmas Bingo will be held. Members are asked to bring a prize. All Retired School Employees are invited to join our organization. For more information call 956-286-6955. City Council District I Christmas Celebration. 6-9 p.m. Independence Hills Park, 1102 N. Merida Dr., with Council Member Rudy Gonzalez.
FRIDAY, DEC. 15 City Council District IV Christmas Party with Council Member Alberto Torres Jr. 6-9 p.m. Lamar Bruni Vergara Inner City Branch Library and Aquatic Center, 202 W. Plum
SATURDAY, DEC. 16 8th annual Birdies on the Rio golf tourney. 7 a.m. registration at the Max Mandel Municipal Golf Course. Join the Rio Grande International Study Center for the biggest, baddest golf tournament in town. $150 per golfer (all-inclusive). Register at www.rgisc.org.
SUNDAY, DEC. 17 Ring Noel 9th Annual Handbell Concert. 4-5 p.m. First United Methodist Church Sanctuary, 1220 McClelland. Free and open to the public. Musical selections will include both sacred and secular arrangements of favorite Christmas/Advent carols as well as a Ring-Sing-A-Long with the bells and organ.
MONDAY DEC. 18 Special Screening of Documentary Film "Crazywise.” 5:45 p.m. to 8 p.m. Texas Department of Public Safety (DPS) - Main Entrance (next to Laredo Driver License Office), 1901 Bob Bullock Loop. “Crazywise” adds a voice to the growing conversation that believes a psychological crisis can be an opportunity for growth and potentially transformational, not a disease with no cure. The screening is 82 minutes long, followed by a 20-minute discussion. Event is free. Please RSVP at 956-307-2014. Contact information: Anna Maria Pulido Saldivar, gruporayitodeluz@gmail.com, 956-307-2014 City Council District III Holiday Extravaganza. 6-9 p.m. Slaughter Park, 202 Hendricks, with Mayor Pro Tempore Alex Perez Jr.
TUESDAY, DEC. 19 Bilingual Breast Cancer Support Group Meeting. 12 p.m. to 3 p.m. 1102 Santa Maria Ave., classroom No. 7, the entrance to the parking lot is on Davis Street. The support group welcomes adults suffering from anxiety and/or depression to participate in free and confidential support group meetings. Contact information: Anna Maria Pulido Saldivar, gruporayitodeluz@gmail.com, 956-307-2014
WEDNESDAY, DEC. 20 First United Methodist Church Used Book Sale. 10 a.m. - noon. 1220 McClelland Ave. Hard cover $1, paperback $0.50, magazines and children’s books, $0.25. Public is invited. Proceeds are used to support the church’s missions.
WEDNESDAY, DEC. 27 First United Methodist Church Used Book Sale. 10 a.m. - noon. 1220 McClelland Ave. Hard cover $1, paperback $0.50, magazines and children’s books, $0.25. Public is invited. Proceeds are used to support the church’s missions.
SUNDAY, DEC. 31 New Year’s Eve celebration. 6 p.m.-1 a.m. Downtown Laredo at the Outlet Shoppes at Laredo parking lot.
SATURDAY, JAN. 6 First United Methodist Church Used Book Sale. 8:30 a.m. - 1 p.m. 1220 McClelland Ave. Hard cover $1, paperback $0.50, magazines and children’s books, $0.25. Public is invited. Proceeds are used to support the church’s missions.
Rick Bowmer / AP
This photo shows Zion National Park near Springdale, Utah. National parks in the U.S. will sharply drop the number of days it allows visitors to get in for free.
US PARKS TO SLASH SOME FREE DAYS CHEYENNE, Wyo. — National parks in the U.S. will sharply drop the number of days they allow visitors to get in for free, a move that was criticized by opponents of the parks’ plan to raise entrance costs at other times of the year. After waiving fees 16 days in 2016 and 10 days in 2017, the National Park Service announced Tuesday that it will have four no-cost days next year. They will be Martin Luther King Jr. Day (Jan. 15), the first day of National Park Week (April 21), National Public Lands Day (Sept. 22) and Veterans Day (Nov. 11.
Crews struggle to keep flames from neighborhoods LOS ANGELES — A cooking fire at a homeless encampment sparked a wildfire last week that destroyed six homes in the Bel Air neighborhood of Los Angeles, authorities said Tuesday, while the fifth-largest wildfire in California history burning northwest of the city kept expanding and kept thousands out of their homes. They are among a half-dozen
This year’s free days included all of Veterans Day weekend and the weekends surrounding National Park Week. All of National Park Week and four days over the 100th anniversary of the Park Service were free in 2016. The Park Service charges weekly entrance fees of $25 or $30 per vehicle at 118 of the 417 national parks. The Park Service has proposed raising the cost to $70 at 17 busy parks mainly in the West, including Yellowstone, Grand Canyon, Yosemite and Zion. — Compiled from AP reports
fires that flared in Southern California last week and were driven by fiercely gusting Santa Ana winds. Arson investigators determined that the Bel Air fire near the world-famous Getty museum was started by an illegal fire at a camp near a freeway underpass, city fire Capt. Erik Scott said. The camp was empty when firefighters found it but people apparently had been sleeping and cooking there for at least several days, he said. Northwest of Los Angeles, firefighters protected foothill
homes while the fire grew mostly into forest land, Santa Barbara County Fire Department spokesman Mike Eliason said. Red Flag warnings for fire danger due to Santa Ana winds and a critical lack of moisture were extended into the week, with a possible increase in gusts Thursday into Friday. Tens of thousands of people remain evacuated, including many from the seaside enclaves of Montecito, Summerland and Carpinteria and the inland agricultural town of Fillmore. — Compiled from AP reports
AROUND TEXAS Audit finds lack of oversight worsens homeless problem DALLAS — An internal audit says Dallas officials have done a poor job of keeping an eye on people and agencies they’ve tasked with helping the homeless. The Dallas City Council received the report Friday. The audit is the latest account of Dallas’ struggle to address a growing homeless population, the Dallas Morning News reported. The report said a lack of city oversight of the nonprofit Metro Dallas Homeless Alliance has led to millions of dollars probably being left on the table that could have gone toward sheltering the homeless. The audit also said the Homeless Management Information System, the nonprofit’s recently implemented centralized database, is incomplete and fails to consider the varying needs of the homeless ser-
Irwin Thompson / AP
A homeless outreach program holds their first Holiday Helping Hand for the homeless at Park Ave. and Marilla Street in Dallas.
vice providers. The Bridge is a homeless service provider downtown that serves about 7,000 people per year. The audit said the provider was “pushed to the brink” and nearly closed its doors twice this year after the city withheld $4 million in funding due to incomplete documentation.
The Bridge Chief Operating Officer Sam Merten said he’s pleased the audit showed how “HMIS-related issues beyond our control” risked harming the city’s homeless services. City officials said the audit only confirmed what they already knew, and said they’re already implementing changes. — Compiled from AP reports
Today is Wednesday, Dec. 13, the 347th day of 2017. There are 18 days left in the year. Today's Highlight in History: On Dec. 13, 1937, the Chinese city of Nanjing fell to Japanese forces during the Sino-Japanese War; what followed was a massacre of war prisoners, soldiers and citizens. On this date: In 1769, Dartmouth College in New Hampshire received its charter. In 1862, Union forces led by Maj. Gen. Ambrose Burnside launched futile attacks against entrenched Confederate soldiers during the Civil War Battle of Fredericksburg. In 1918, President Woodrow Wilson arrived in France, becoming the first chief executive to visit Europe while in office. In 1928, George Gershwin's "An American in Paris" had its premiere at Carnegie Hall in New York. In 1944, during World War II, the USS Nashville was badly damaged in a Japanese kamikaze attack off Negros Island in the Philippines that claimed 133 lives. In 1962, the United States launched Relay 1, a communications satellite which retransmitted television, telephone and digital signals. In 1977, an Air Indiana Flight 216, carrying the University of Evansville basketball team on a flight to Nashville, crashed shortly after takeoff, killing all 29 people on board. In 1994, an American Eagle commuter plane crashed short of RaleighDurham International Airport in North Carolina, killing 15 of the 20 people on board. In 2003, Saddam Hussein was captured by U.S. forces while hiding in a hole under a farmhouse in Adwar, Iraq, near his hometown of Tikrit. Ten years ago: Democratic presidential hopefuls meeting in Johnston, Iowa, called for higher taxes on the highest-paid Americans and on big corporations in an unusually cordial debate. Rupert Murdoch completed his $5 billion-plus deal to acquire Dow Jones & Co., adding The Wall Street Journal to his global media conglomerate. Major League Baseball's Mitchell Report was released, identifying 85 names to differing degrees in connection with the alleged use of performance-enhancing drugs. Five years ago: U.N. Ambassador Susan Rice withdrew from consideration to replace outgoing Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton after running into opposition from Republicans over her explanation of the September attack on the U.S. consulate in Benghazi, Libya, that killed Ambassador Chris Stevens and three other Americans. (Rice had said the attack stemmed from a spontaneous protest over an anti-Islamic video, an assertion which later proved incorrect.) One year ago: President-elect Donald Trump announced his choice of ExxonMobil CEO Rex Tillerson to be U.S. secretary of state. Louisville quarterback Lamar Jackson was named The Associated Press' college football Player of the Year. Actor Alan Thicke, best remembered as the beloved dad on the ABC series "Growing Pains," died in Los Angeles at age 69. Today's Birthdays: Former Secretary of State George P. Shultz is 97. Actor-comedian Dick Van Dyke is 92. Actor Christopher Plummer is 88. Country singer Buck White is 87. Music/film producer Lou Adler is 84. Singer John Davidson is 76. Actress Kathy Garver is 72. Singer Ted Nugent is 69. Rock musician Jeff "Skunk" Baxter is 69. Country musician Ron Getman is 69. Actor Robert Lindsay is 68. Country singer-musician Randy Owen is 68. Actress Wendie Malick is 67. Former Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack is 67. Former Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke is 64. Country singer John Anderson is 63. Singersongwriter Steve Forbert is 63. Singeractor Morris Day is 61. Actor Steve Buscemi is 60. Actor Johnny Whitaker (TV: "Family Affair") is 58. Rock musician John Munson (Semisonic; Twilight Hours) is 55. Actress-reality TV star NeNe Leakes is 51. Actorcomedian Jamie Foxx is 50. Actor Bart Johnson is 47. Actor Jeffrey Pierce is 46. TV personality Debbie Matenopoulos is 43. Rock singer-musician Thomas Delonge is 42. Actor James Kyson Lee is 42. Actress Chelsea Hertford is 36. Rock singer Amy Lee (Evanescence) is 36. Actor Michael Socha is 30. Neo-soul musician Wesley Watkins (Nathaniel Rateliff & the Night Sweats) is 30. Actor Marcel Spears (TV: "The Mayor") is 29. Singer Taylor Swift is 28. Thought for Today : "A society in which men recognize no check upon their freedom soon becomes a society where freedom is the possession of only a savage few." — Judge Learned Hand, American jurist (1872-1961).
SATURDAY, FEB. 3 First United Methodist Church Used Book Sale. 8:30 a.m. - 1 p.m. 1220 McClelland Ave. Hard cover $1, paperback $0.50, magazines and children’s books, $0.25. Public is invited. Proceeds are used to support the church’s missions.
SATURDAY, MARCH 3 First United Methodist Church Used Book Sale. 8:30 a.m. - 1 p.m. 1220 McClelland Ave. Hard cover $1, paperback $0.50, magazines and children’s books, $0.25. Public is invited. Proceeds are used to support the church’s missions.
SATURDAY, APRIL 7 First United Methodist Church Used Book Sale. 8:30 a.m. - 1 p.m. 1220 McClelland Ave.
AROUND THE WORLD Mexico leftist doubles down on amnesty proposal MEXICO CITY — Presidential hopeful Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador doubled down Tuesday on his controversial proposal to consider amnesty for criminals as he registered to seek the leftist Morena party’s nomination for Mexico’s July 1 election for president. As the front-runner in election polls, he is assured to win
his party’s nomination, though the two-time contender has already attracted skepticism by mentioning the possibility of amnesty as a way to rein in Mexico’s violence, which has reached record highs. Lopez Obrador showed no inclination to back away. “We will debate and consult, mainly with victims, the possibility of amnesties for criminals who opt for re-adapting themselves,” he said. Critics have said such amnesties don’t work and encour-
CONTACT US age gangs to be violent. Lopez Obrador, who lost by thin margins in the 2006 and 2012 presidential elections, also proposed creating a joint military-police force and calling it the National Guard. The National Guard will be created to reorganize and integrate all the military and police bodies,” he said. Human rights groups have questioned the current practice of using soldiers and marines in police roles. — Compiled from AP reports
Publisher, William B. Green .....................................728-2501 General Manager, Adriana Devally ..........................728-2510 Adv. Billing Inquiries ................................................728-2531 Circulation Director ..................................................728-2559 MIS Director, Michael Castillo..................................728-2505 Managing Editor, Nick Georgiou ..............................728-2582 Sports Editor, Zach Davis ........................................728-2578 Spanish Editor, Melva Lavin-Castillo.......................728-2569
SUBSCRIPTIONS/DELIVERY (956) 728-2555 The Zapata Times is distributed on Wednesdays and Saturdays to 4,000 households in Zapata and Jim Hogg counties. For subscribers of the Laredo Morning Times and for those who buy the Laredo Morning Times in those areas at newstands, 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. Call (956) 728-2500.
The Zapata Times
THE ZAPATA TIMES | Wednesday, December 13, 2017 |
A3
CRIME
Masked men invade hotel, steal ATM A S S OCIAT E D PRE SS
HOUSTON — Police are looking for seven to 10 men who invaded a luxury hotel in the city’s Galleria area and walked out with the hotel’s ATM machine. Authorities say the men, all wearing masks, stormed into a Marriott
hotel about 2:30 a.m. Tuesday, threatened an unarmed security guard and a cleaning person and headed for the money machine in the hotel lobby. Police say the robbery was particularly easy because the ATM wasn’t bolted down, so the men tipped it and carried it
out the front door. They dumped the machine in the back of one of their three cars and drove away. No one was hurt and no customers were in the lobby at the time of the heist. Police are reviewing surveillance video to help in their investigation.
LM Otero / AP
A guard holds open a door during a media tour of the T. Don Hutto Residential Center in Taylor, Texas. The FBI will investigate allegations from Laura Monterrosa held in the immigrant detention center who says a guard sexually assaulted her.
FBI to examine alleged sexual abuse of detained immigrant ASSOCIATED PRE SS
School district cancels classes due to flu A S S OCIAT E D PRE SS
SUNNYVALE, Texas — A Dallas-area school district has canceled classes to try to prevent further cases of the flu as more and more students were absent because of illness. Sunnyvale Independent School District officials announced Monday that Tuesday and Wednesday classes were canceled. The district has about 1,820 students and includes an elementary,
Superintendent Doug Williams says the district will be disinfecting while the students are out.
middle school and high school, all located on the same site. Superintendent Doug Williams says the district will be disinfecting while the students are out. Districtwide attendance was just over 92 percent Monday. On a typical day, 97.3 percent
of the district’s students attend school. Williams says the elementary school had more absences than the middle and high school, but “as closely as everyone works and goes to school together” they felt like they had to shut down all three.
Houston teen arrested on charges of trying to aid IS A S S OCIAT E D PRE SS
HOUSTON — A Houston 18-year-old has been arrested and charged with illegally distributing explosive-making information and attempting to support the Islamic State organization. The U.S. Justice Department said Monday that Kaan Sercan Dam-
larkaya, a U.S. citizen, was arrested on Dec. 8 following an undercover FBI operation. A statement says Damlarkaya said he intended to travel overseas and fight for IS and said he tried to get to Syria twice. He told agents that he would commit a U.S. attack if efforts to travel overseas failed.
It also says Damlarkaya provided to alleged IS supporters a formula for explosive Triacetone Triperoxide and instructions how to use it in a pressure cooker device containing shrapnel. If convicted, he faces a possible 20-year maximum prison term. The U.S. has designated IS as a terrorist organization.
SAN ANTONIO — The FBI says it will investigate allegations from a woman held in a Central Texas immigrant detention center who says a guard sexually assaulted her. The bureau said Tuesday that it opened a civil rights investigation regarding the case of Laura Monterrosa, a detainee at the T. Don Hutto Resi-
dential Center. According to advocacy group Grassroots Leadership, Monterrosa said a guard repeatedly touched her breasts and legs without consent. The group says U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement and facility operator CoreCivic didn’t respond to her complaints. The Associated Press doesn’t usually identify alleged victims of sexual
assault, but Monterrosa has come forward publicly to encourage others to follow suit. Watchdog groups say the U.S. government isn’t doing enough to protect detained immigrants from sexual abuse. One group in April said it documented 27 separate complaints. ICE didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.
Texas man posing as film director made child porn ASSOCIATED PRE SS
DALLAS — Federal authorities say a Texas man posed as a film director in order to molest numerous boys. The Dallas Morning News reports that 45year-old Kevin Scott Morris, a former Dallas County jailer, pleaded guilty Tuesday to enticement of a minor. The Forney man’s plea agreement mentions 10 victims. He was indicted in January on enticement and child pornography charges. Morris faces up to life in prison at sentencing.
Records show Morris was arrested in October 2016, after which police found numerous videos of him sexually abusing boys. Records show Morris traveled around the country with the
boys for film and modeling sessions. Dallas County records indicate he began working in the jails in 2013. It wasn’t immediately clear when and why Morris left the job.
Opinion
Letters to the editor Send your signed letter to editorial@lmtonline.com
Wednesday, December 13, 2017 | PAGE A4 | LAREDO MORNING TIMES
COLUMN
OTHER VIEWS
Primary matchups worth watching By Ken Herman COX N EWSPAPE RS
AUSTIN — Now that we know the fields, let’s look for the fun. Monday was the filing deadline for the March primaries. Seems like we’ve got some potentially interesting/entertaining races. Hooray for us. Let’s see what’s going to be worth keeping an eye on. Atop the list is the possibility that the Democrats could lose their own gubernatorial primary. Let me explain. Ten candidates have filed in the Democratic gubernatorial primary. You’ve never heard of most of them. The betterknown among them are Lupe Valdez, Andrew White and Grady Yarbrough. Until last week, Valdez was Dallas County sheriff. Until 1987, White was a kid living in the Governor’s Mansion with his late dad, thenGov. Mark White. The younger White’s now a Houston businessman. And you’ve seen Yarbrough’s name on lots of ballots. The retired teacher’s political career peaked with the Democratic nomination for a Railroad Commission seat in 2016. In 2012, he lost to Paul Sadler in a runoff for the Dem nomination to the U.S. Senate. Valdez is the anointed candidate of Democratic Party anointers. White’s the potential spoiler. A primary victory for him would be a loss for party officialdom. So that’s how the Dems could lose their own primary. The second-to-last thing Dem officialdom wants is a bruising, money-burning White-Valdez runoff. The last thing Dem officialdom wants is White (or anyone other than Valdez) as its gubernatorial nominee. White wants Dems to see him as a relatively centrist candidate who could beat GOP Gov. Greg Abbott in November. “My fellow Democrats, I know you’re tired of losing,” White said in his announcement speech last week. “I am too. If winning in November is important to you, then I’m your candidate.” So I think we can expect some intrigue/entertainment in the Democratic gubernatorial primary. Please don’t disappoint us. Abbott’s lone challenger on the GOP side is SECEDE Kilgore of Irving. I harbor a personal bias against anyone who officially changes his or her name for ballot purposes. My fellow GOP primary voters seem to harbor the same bias. In 2014, Kilgore ran fourth with 1.42 percent of the vote in the fourcandidate GOP gubernatorial primary won by Abbott, who, though he’s jokingly referred to himself as “hell on wheels,” has not listed himself that way on the ballot. For entertainment on the GOP side, we’re going to have to look to Land Commissioner George P. Bush’s bid for nomination for a second term. Bush’s life got a bit more complicated Monday when Jerry Patterson, Bush’s predecessor, announced he’s running to be Bush’s successor. There’s bad blood here that could be good fun. The entertainingly (unless you’re running against him) combative
Patterson served three terms as land commissioner before coming in fourth in 2014 in the four-man race, won by Dan Patrick, for the GOP nomination for lite guv. Bush is the favorite in this race. But, win or lose, Patterson will drive him crazy. And for Bush, this could be an interesting test of his name. “The problem is — I don’t think it’s necessarily deserved — but the Bush name is not an asset. It’s a liability,” Patterson said Monday in announcing his candidacy. “And that’s unfortunate.” Patterson managed to sound sincerely troubled about that. Davey Edwards of Decatur and Rick Range of Sherman also are on the GOP ballot. Miguel Suazo of Austin and Tex Morgan of San Antonio are the Democrats running for land commissioner. Also potentially entertaining is Ag Commissioner Sid Miller’s bid for nomination for a second term. Anything involving Miller is potentially entertaining. And the chances have been multiplied by Trey Blocker’s entry into the race. Blocker’s a former lobbyist who’s now bills himself as an “ethics attorney, podcast host, small businessman and president of a nonprofit legal foundation.” The Miller-Blocker tussle got off to an amusing/disturbing start with Miller noting that Blocker’s campaign website includes a photo of him in front of a restaurant menu board showing Nutella banana crepes were available. Miller doesn’t seem to like Nutella banana crepes and everything they stand for. There also could be some GOP civil wars in legislative races. Everpugnacious state Rep. Jonathan Stickland, RBedford, plans to stick his nose into some GOP legislative primaries. “I have no opponent,” he tweeted. “Time to travel the state and help kick my RINO colleagues out of office. (hashtag)onward (hashtag)comingbackwithfriends (hashtag)txlege.” RINO (Republican In Name Only) is an insult Repubs use on each other. As far as I know, there are no DINOs. On the Democratic side, voters in a Harris County U.S. House district are going to have to pay close attention when they vote. Three of the seven candidates are Garcias. Gracias, Garcias, for your willingness to serve. Incumbent Dem Rep. Gene Green is not seeking re-election. Let’s end with my favorite race. It’s on the GOP ballot in Montgomery County (near Houston) where the man known as King Wally has his first challenger in more than a decade. Wally Wilkerson, 87, has been Montgomery County GOP chair for 53 years. Terrence Boggs filed Monday to run against Wilkerson. I’m not a term limits guy. But I could be drawn into a discussion about possibly limiting county party chairs to a half century or until somebody starts calling him King. Ken Herman is a columnist for the Austin American-Statesman.
COLUMN
Democrats ditch accused harassers while Republicans do nothing By Fabiola Santiago MIAMI HERALD
The election of Donald Trump, the celebrity businessman with a sordid record of sexual misbehavior and the Republicans’ inability to respond with meaningful action to credible sexabuse claims have made it increasingly clear that the GOP is no longer operating on any sort of moral high ground. Those boisterous 2016 chants about law and order - Illegals! Criminals! Rapists! Lock her up! - have proved to be nothing but projection in light of the political scandals and allegations of sexual harassment and abuse by powerful men during the last two months. You can only spin deceitful talking points for so long before truth slams right back at you. And this is the bottom line on sexual assault by men in public office in Washington and across the nation: While Sen. Al Franken and Rep. John Conyers, both Democrats, resigned in the wake of mounting harassment and assault allegations, Republican child predator Roy Moore stays in the Alabama race, Groper-inChief Trump remains in the White House, and Jack Latvala is sticking around the Florida Senate and the 2018 governor’s race. All of these Republican men have multiple accusers with damning stories of forced kissing, groping, and in Trump’s case, even rape. Democrats called for both Conyers’ and Franken’s resignations. Yet, there’s no momentum among the Republican leadership anywhere to address what’s so very
On sex scandals, only Democrats are doing the right thing: putting their constituents — and the cause of women’s right to dignity — first by resigning, despite the great cost to a defeated party that made important gains in the last elections. wrong and seedy in their own house. Not in Washington or Alabama or Florida. On sex scandals, only Democrats are doing the right thing: putting their constituents - and the cause of women’s right to dignity - first by resigning, despite the great cost to a defeated party that made important gains in the last elections. The striking difference in the political reaction was most poignant as Franken, a champion of women’s rights, announced Thursday on the Senate floor that he would step down in the coming weeks. No longer able to deal with an ethics committee investigation into allegations that he forcefully kissed and groped women before and after he was in office, Franken acknowledged that he couldn’t "effectively serve" the people of Minnesota. But Franken didn’t go quietly, noting that he was leaving "while a man who has bragged on tape about his history of sexual assaults sits in the Oval Office, and a man who has repeatedly preyed on young girls campaigns for the Senate with the full support of his party." Isn’t that the ugly truth, Republicans? In Florida, bastion of Trump-supporting GOP self-righteousness, the same stubbornness and disrespect for women standing up for them-
selves is playing out as Latvala hangs on to his seat and political ambitions. Rachel Perrin Rogers, chief legislative aide for Senate Majority Leader Wilton Simpson, has accused Latvala of sexually harassing her over four years, groping her in a Senate elevator and rubbing her leg in a bar at a private meet-up. Rogers filed a formal complaint with the Senate Rules Committee last month and two separate investigations were launched. Latvala denies wrongdoing, saying it’s all politically motivated. "Women should not be sexually harassed in the workplace," Latvala said. "But guys in important positions also shouldn’t be sitting ducks for anonymous accusations or people coming forward with an ax to grind." Rogers has way more to lose by coming out about what she endured while doing her job as liaison between Republicans than does Latvala, a second-tier gubernatorial candidate, and in my book, not a very distinguished legislator. (He and the likes of him upstate would have less power if Miami Republicans weren’t so eagerly in tune with his ultraconservative agenda). Hoping to cast more doubt on Rogers than already comes with any accusation, Latvala released more than 200
CLASSIC DOONESBURY | GARRY TRUDEAU
text messages between them. It’s a portrayal of political shenanigans, all right, but all they show is friendliness, political conspiracy and abuse of emojis. Their cordial relationship doesn’t give him any right to molest her. And her friendly behavior, which might seem over-the-top at times, can be typical of abuse victims trying to maintain a façade, especially when a job is involved. Latvala should resign and Florida Republicans (other than Latvala foes) should, for a change, stand with the women whose reproductive rights they have so eagerly curtailed in the Legislature. But, then again, the official Republican Party platform, reviewed in the reality of this presidency, this Congress, and their surrogates across the land, is a big, fake document. Republicans ought to take a look at what they promised their members in writing and take stock. The women speaking out aren’t going away. How elected officials respond is being watched very closely, and 2018 is just around the corner. The lack of a strong, appropriate reaction to sexual harassment by Republicans stands in great contrast to today’s Democrats. It cements the party’s newfound reputation as enablers of sexual assault, which isn’t about sex but about a sick need to exert power over another human being. And the national poster boy for abuse holds the highest office in the land. Fabiola Santiago is a columnist for the Miami Herald.
THE ZAPATA TIMES | Wednesday, December 13, 2017 |
A5
Zfrontera A6 | Wednesday, December 13, 2017 | THE ZAPATA TIMES
RIBEREÑA EN BREVE ENCENDIDO DE PINO DE NAVIDAD 1 El gobierno de Nueva Ciudad Guerrero invita al público a a la ceremonia de encendido del pino de Navidad que se llevará a cabo el jueves 14 de Diciembre a partir de las 5:30 pm en la explanada de la Presidencia Municipal.
SERIE DE CONCIERTOS 1 El Centro de Bellas Artes del distrito escolar Roma Independent School District invita a su Serie de Conciertos Navideños 2017: miércoles 13, Concierto de Coro de Roma ISD; jueves 14, Concierto de la banda de la secundaria Ramiro Barrera Middle School; viernes 15, concierto del Mariachi de Roma ISD; lunes 18, concierto del programa Folklórico de Roma ISD. Todos los conciertos inician a las 6:30 p.m., en Roma ISD PAC, 2031 North US Highway 83. Evento gratuito pero se aceptan donativos. Mayores informes al 956-847-1690.
DACA
Invocan a virgen de Guadalupe al pedir ley para dreamers Inmigrantes y activistas finalizan protesta enfrente del Congreso Por Luis Alonso Lugo ASSOCIATED PRE SS
WASHINGTON (AP) — Inmigrantes y activistas marcharon el martes al Congreso para pedir en nombre de la virgen de Guadalupe la aprobación este año de una ley que proteja permanentemente de la deportación a 800.000 inmigrantes traídos a Estados Unidos sin autorización cuando eran niños. Los manifestantes iniciaron la protesta en una parroquia aledaña donde el obispo auxiliar de la Arquidiócesis de Washington, el colombiano Mario Dorsonville, ofició una misa. “Somos todos una familia y somos responsables en la oración y también en la abogacía que todos tenemos que hacer por aquellos que no tienen voz”, dijo Dorsonville tras el servicio religioso durante el que cedió la palabra a Alejandra Coreas, una
salvadoreña de 22 años de edad. Coreas dijo que la devoción católica de su madre la llevó a hablar en público por primera vez el martes sobre su estatus migratorio. “Mi madre siempre dice ‘Dios tarda pero nunca olvida”, dijo Coreas a The Associated Press mientras marchaba. La marcha culminó justo enfrente del Congreso, donde los manifestantes oraron en círculo mientras sostenían imágenes de la virgen de Guadalupe. La misa oficiada por Dorsonville fue uno de los 55 servicios de oración, misas, procesiones y otros eventos celebrados por diócesis de todo el país para honrar los logros y los miedos de los inmigrantes a propósito del día de la virgen de Guadalupe, tal como lo convocó la semana pasada la Conferencia Estadounidense de Obispos Católicos (USCCB, por sus siglas
en inglés). “Recordamos el papel e importancia singular de Nuestra Señora de Guadalupe, unificadora y constructora de la paz entre las comunidades”, dijo en un comunicado el monseñor Joe S. Vásquez, obispo de Austin, Texas, y presidente del Comité sobre Migración de la USCCB. “Honramos su papel de protectora de las familias, incluidas las familias separadas y lejos de su hogar". Millones de católicos festejan cada año la aparición de la virgen de Guadalupe a un campesino indígena el 12 de diciembre de 1531 en México. Bautizada por el papa Francisco como "la madre de las Américas", es considerada una figura protectora. El presidente de la Cámara de Representantes, el republicano Paul Ryan, ha dicho que no ve la necesidad de abordar ninguna legislación antes de marzo para
proteger a estos 800.000 inmigrantes conocidos como “dreamers”. Marzo fue el plazo fijado por el presidente Donald Trump al Congreso para hallar una solución permanente cuando él suspendió las protecciones temporales de deportación otorgadas por el gobierno de Barack Obama en 2012 bajo un programa conocido como DACA. La minoría demócrata y una treintena de republicanos han presionado reiteradamente por una solución legislativa, argumentando que esos jóvenes inmigrantes enfrentan un futuro incierto. Pero la bancada demócrata está dividida en cuanto a exigir una solución para los dreamers a cambio de apoyar un proyecto presupuestario que evite una parálisis en las operaciones del gobierno federal el 22 de diciembre.
12 DE DICIEMBRE
VENERAN A LA GUADALUPANA
BINGO 1 La escuela primaria Fidel & Andrea R. Villarreal Elementary School invitan al primer bingo Turkey and Roster Holiday Bingo en Zapata County Pavillion, el 18 de diciembre desde las 7 p.m.
CONDADO DE ZAPATA
CLÍNICA SOBRE AVES DE CORRAL 1 El Departamento de Ciencias de las Aves de la universidad Texas A&M University invita a su taller sobre Aves de Corral el 19 de diciembre, de 6 p.m. a 8 p.m. en Oswaldo & Juanita Ramírez Exhibit Hall, ubicado en 23rd. y Glenn Street, en Zapata. El taller proporciona una excelente oportunidad para aprender sobre el manejo y exhibición de las aves de corral. Evento gratuito pero se requiere inscripción. Mayores informes con Joevanna Sanches al 956-437-4822; Fernando Rodríguez al 956-763-1344.
MUSEO EN ZAPATA 1 Realice una investigación sobre genealogía en el Museo del Condado de Zapata ubicado en 805 N US-Hwy 83. Opera de 10 a.m. a 4 p.m. Existen visitas guiadas. Pida informes en el 956765-8983.
LABORATORIO DE COMPUTACIÓN 1 La Ciudad de Roma pone a disposición de la comunidad el Laboratorio Computacional que abre de lunes a viernes de 1 p.m. a 5 p.m. en Historical Plaza, a un lado del City Hall. Informes al 956849-1411.
LLENADO DE APLICACIONES 1 La Ciudad de Roma ofrece el servicio de llenado de aplicaciones para CHIP, Medicaid, SNAP, TANF, Chip, Prenatal y otros. Contacte a Gaby Rodríguez para una cita al 956-2467177.
Foto de cortesía / Gobierno de Nueva Ciudad Guerrero
La Alcaldesa de Nueva Ciudad Guerrero Betty Posada asistió a la reunión de la Corte de Comisionados del Condado de Zapata Texas.
Cuate Santos / Laredo Morning Times
Carmen Mendoza sostiene una imagen de Nuestra Señora de Guadalupe, mientras participa en una peregrinación a la Iglesia Our Lady of Guadalupe, el lunes 11 de diciembre de 2017. Feligreses y matachines participaron en el evento que marca la aparición de La Virgen a Juan Diego en el Cerro del Tepeyac.
Donan equipo de cómputo TIEMP O DE ZAPATA
GUERRERO AYER Y HOY
Reciben apoyo económico para continuar preservación Por Lilia Treviño Martínez TIEMP O DE ZAPATA
Nota del editor: Éste forma parte de una serie de artículos sobre la historia de Ciudad Guerrero, México, fueron escritos por la guerrerense Lilia Treviño Martínez (1927-2016), quien fuera profesora de la escuela Leoncio Leal. El año 2001 marcó un compás de espera para Antigua Ciudad Guerrero, en el cual se dio seguimiento a las gestiones para recibir el apoyo financiero que ya se había anunciado. Los trámites eran lentos; Guerrero Viejo continuaba sin vigilancia, y el camino de acceso recla-
maba constante atención. Recordábamos a menudo las palabras de Miró Flaquer, para quien el rescate de Antigua Ciudad Guerrero significaba un “reto enorme, no solo por la cantidad de recursos requeridos para salvar las estructuras, sino por el problema legal que representa su ubicación dentro del vaso de la Presa, que la hace una cuestión de índole binacional, que necesita varios trámites”. Sin embargo, el lema “Unidos para Preservar”, en su brevedad, reúne dos elementos vitales en la acción de todo grupo social: la Unión, que es garantía en el avance y el logro de metas propuestas, y la Preservación,
que en un amplio sentido comprende, no solo el rescate y protección de nuestro legado históricocultural, herencia de nuestros antepasados, sino además, preservar los valores morales, también valiosa herencia, que nos compromete a practicar los valores de respeto y responsabilidad, piedras angulares en la estructura ética del individuo y de la sociedad, pues de ellos se derivan acciones de solidaridad con el grupo al cual pertenecemos. Y está continúa dando frutos. El 18 de octubre de 2002, el tesorero de esta Asociación, Jaime Gutierrez Gonzalez, recibió un cheque procedente de “Monumentos
del Mundo”, por la cantidad de 35.000 dólares. El 8 de noviembre se informó oficialmente que el apoyo recibido había sido duplicado por el Gobierno de Estado, y que se están dando los pasos legales para la formación de un fideicomiso, con el fin de iniciar la siguiente etapa de restauración, consistente en la primitiva Capilla junto al Templo, el Parián, y una casa para habitación de un custodio. El 22 de mayo de 2003 se estudió el proyecto del fideicomiso, y el 29 de agosto, el de la capital del estado, se firmó el fideicomiso “Guerrero Viejo”, por la cantidad de 1.077.500 pesos.
El Condado de Zapata acordó el lunes donar nueve computadoras al municipio de Nueva Ciudad Guerrero, anunció el gobierno de la ciudad fronteriza mexicana. El acto es una “muestra de hermandad entre las dos ciudades”, se lee en una publicación de la página de Facebook del gobierno de Nueva Ciudad Guerrero. La donación del equipo de computo fue pactada por unanimidad la mañana del lunes 11 de diciembre por la Corte de Comisionados del Condado de Zapata Texas para atender a la solicitud que la Alcaldesa Betty Posada había realizado meses atrás. El gobierno municipal de Nueva Ciudad Guerrero agradeció al Juez del Condado de Zapata Joseph Rathmell y a cada uno de los Comisionados del Condado de Zapata por hacer posible la donación del equipo de computación.
Sports&Outdoors THE ZAPATA TIMES | Wednesday, December 13, 2017 |
A7
MAJOR LEAGUE BASEBALL: TEXAS RANGERS
Yu Darvish, Rangers reunion? Wilson: Pitcher Yu Darvish coming back to Texas makes sense By Jeff Wilson FO RT WORT H STAR-T E LE GRAM
LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. — The big splash isn’t coming, or so general manager Jon Daniels has warned. Almost certainly not at these winter meetings, which officially opened Monday. And likely not this offseason. It’s possible later, like as spring training approaches, if a big-money free agent gets antsy and becomes a not-as-bigmoney free agent. It’s also possible that the Rangers attempt to resurrect Walter Johnson or Cy Young. Maybe Yu Darvish becomes one of those free agents whose price tag keeps getting marked down. Or maybe, just maybe, the Rangers decide that the best way for them to contend in 2018 and beyond is to reunite with the pitcher they traded away July 31. Darvish is the top
Brett Coomer / Houston Chronicle file
Dodgers starting pitcher Yu Darvish has hit free agency as the Rangers could be suitors to bring him back to Texas after dealing him to Los Angeles at the trade deadline.
pitcher on the market, as agent Joel Wolfe billed him. He’s feeling good and confident that 2018 will be the best season of his career, and motivated to be at his best so that he can return to the World Series and crush it rather than get crushed. A deal for Darvish makes a lot of sense, even if the Rangers going cheap doesn’t and never
does except for that one time when they were, well, bankrupt. They are not now, despite a decline in total attendance from 2016 to 2017, the purchase of two Class A teams and that big hole across the street from Globe Life Park that by 2020 will be Globe Life Field. To hear Wolfe talk, all the Rangers need to do is
make a reasonably competitive offer and Darvish will kiss his wife and kids and drive over from their Dallas home to sign the contract. "They love Dallas," said Wolfe, who just found a home for another client, Giancarlo Stanton. "That’s the first place that they made home. They moved back to Dallas because they have a home and friends. They feel very comfortable." The Rangers had less money to offer Darvish at dinnertime Monday after agreeing around lunchtime to sign reliever Chris Martin to a two-year deal worth $4 million following two successful seasons in Japan for the Hokkaido Nippon Ham Fighters. That’s the same team that posted Shohei Ohtani, so the Rangers got a hard-throwing Fighters righty after all. Once all the i’s are dotted and t’s are crossed, Martin will join Tony
Barnette, who started in Japan before the Rangers signed him in December 2015, in the bullpen along with fellow righty Keone Kela and left-handers Jake Diekman and Alex Claudio. Matt Bush would figure to stay in the bullpen with the addition of Darvish or the acquisition of another proven starter. Darvish, despite all the complaints that he isn’t an ace and the suspicions that he tips his pitches, has elite talent. He proved that he was healthy in 2017, his first full season back from Tommy John surgery, and saw the average velocity on his fastball peak at a careerhigh. He wants to go to a winner, Wolfe said, and wants to go to a place with quality people in place. There isn’t anything with the Rangers that is preventing Darvish from wanting to return, though Wolfe said that Darvish might not like the
idea of a six-man or fiveplus-one starting rotation. Is anything keeping the Rangers from pursuing Darvish, setting aside the apparent lack of money? "Relationship-wise, it’s very good," Daniels said. "A number of us are still in touch with him, have maintained contact. For years it’s been a really good relationship. . "There are no other factors other than the traditional free agent decision points." Money, Daniels said, is a big part of it, and the Rangers have been stingy so far. They have spent $16.5 million this off-season on two starters (Doug Fister, Mike Minor) and two relievers (Barnette, Martin). They might try to bag a center fielder who plays better defense than Delino DeShields and a catcher with more experience than Brett Nicholas, Juan Centeno and Jose Trevino. That won’t break the budget.
NATIONAL FOOTBALL LEAGUE: HOUSTON TEXANS
JENKINS: SAVAGE NEEDED BETTER PROTECTION — BEFORE AND AFTER HE GOT KNOCKED OUT By Sally Jenkins WA S H INGT ON P O ST
The film of Houston Texans quarterback Tom Savage after he was hit, shuddering on the ground with those stiff outstretched arms and slowtwitching fingers, should be accompanied by dense fog, scuttling leaves and screeching music in diminished chords. You tell yourself it’s just football, and not hatchet cinema, but that makes it only scarier. It’s hard to drag your attention away from that fright-flick moment, and Savage’s trembling. But his injury needs to be studied from both the before and after standpoint. There are two angles from which to consider that replay, and two groups that are responsible for analyzing it. The NFL league office and the NFL Player’s Association are conducting a joint investigation into how Savage’s injury was handled on the sideline. All of the focus at the moment is on the hot-button issue of whether the league is making a farce of concussion protocols. But an equally important issue is how Savage got hit in the first place, and the union has some considering to do on that one, because protection issues don’t start in the medical tent. They start with labor’s unreasonable restrictions of off-season workouts, which actually may be doing more harm than good, because they have led to poorer protection for pocket quarterbacks such as Savage. Pretty soon, the NFL is going to become one of those tales in which people keep disappearing, one by one, like Agatha Christie’s plot in “And Then There Were None.” The toll of violence has deprived the league of headliner after headliner: Ten quarterbacks are out for the season, including a
Kevin M. Cox / Associated Press
Texans quarterback Tom Savage suffered a concussion in the team’s 26-16 loss to San Francisco Sunday. He returned to the game after a hit that left his hands and body shaking on the field.
Concern over concussion protocols continue half-dozen faces of their franchises, and then there are the ones trying to hobble through, such as the Oakland Raiders’ Derek Carr with a fractured back, and the Seattle Seahawks’ Russell Wilson nursing a re-set jaw. Ratings are down seven percent, which should give both management and the union incentive to ask, what can we do to keep our bestselling QB jerseys on the field? Every injury is different, of course, and there is no way to legislate safety in the face of the simple physics of ever bigger men running at each other ever faster. No rule or protocol could have preserved the Philadelphia Eagles’ lumberjackian MVP candidate Carson Wentz, who decided to ram his 6foot-5, 237 pounds through two L.A. Rams defenders at the goal line like a log through a sawmill, and came away with
a blown knee. But some things are addressable, particularly when it comes to quarterbacks, the most important players on the field, and often the most defenseless. This is not to let the league off the hook for the obvious fact that certain clubs are skipping lily pad-like over concussion evaluations. Players are returning to the field after answering a couple of brisk questions, despite clear evidence of severe blows to the head. Wilson missed just one play after taking a hit that left him on a liquid diet. Savage spent an estimated three minutes being appraised before someone let him back on the field. That’s way too quick for symptoms to manifest, and everyone knows it. The league office is ever-eager to issue fines and suspensions to a player for an illegal hit. But it has yet to issue a single meaningful public rebuke to anyone
wearing a suit - a doctor, trainer, or club official for jeopardizing player health. All of that discussion, however, is after-the-fact. Watch the film of Savage’s concussion again - and this time watch the “before.” Watch from the snap to the heavy hit by San Francisco 49ers edge rusher Elvis Dumervil. Savage’s protection failed in a far more immediate and fundamental way before he ever got to the medical tent. His young and injury-plagued offensive line caved. He had time for three backpedaling steps before he was crushed. The union was wellintentioned when it bargained for a longer offseason in 2011: The idea was to preserve bodies and forbid clubs from working players into the ground. But expert observers say there has been a marked deterioration in the quality of line play.
“The 64-million-dollar question is, should the off-season rules be changed so we can develop offensive linemen and the answer is unequivocally yes, and I don’t think you’ll find any football man in America who would disagree with that proposition,” says former Colts vice chairman turned ESPN analyst Bill Polian, who spent 20 years on the NFL’s competition committee. Just to be sure Polian is not an outlier, I checked in with a Super Bowl quarterback, and a Super Bowl coach. They agree. From Jan. 2 to midApril, coaches can’t even talk to players about football. From April to July, activities are ludicrously circumscribed: two weeks of weights only, three weeks of individual drills, four weeks of highly limited no-contact practices. In other words, no blocking. Pretty much ever.
As Arizona Cardinals Coach Bruce Arians has said, “We never practice football; we practice soccer.” How are young linemen supposed to learn the crucial combination of physical technique, and pass protections, and blitz recognition? “They are ill-equipped to come in play functionally in the NFL, and it’s that simple,” Polian says. Consider that the Texans were the third-youngest offense in the league last year, and then lost their Pro Bowl veteran Duane Brown in a trade. Center Nick Martin was a 2016 draftee who missed his rookie season because of a knee injury. Tackle Julie’n Davenport and reserve guard Kyle Fuller are rookies. Guard Greg Mancz and tackle Kendall Lamm, both 25, were undrafted free agent signees in 2015 who have shuffled in and out. Guard Jeff Allen, 27, last week was moved to left tackle, a position he hadn’t played since college, to shore things up. Veteran tackle Breno Giacomini, 32, was signed in May, and the Texans are his fourth team in 10 seasons. In the opening game of the season, they gave up 10 sacks, and 12 quarterback hits. So much about the NFL’s injury problem is incurable. But this is something that can be done. Every offseason the league and union look anew at issues ranging from field conditions to helmets. They should consider a compromise on workout restrictions for first- and second-year players, so they can “develop their hands and feet and technique, and to get the reps in to be functional when they get in the game,” Polian says. This seems like mere common sense: Protection starts in the preseason, not in the concussion protocol.
A8 | Wednesday, December 13, 2017 | THE ZAPATA TIMES
THE ZAPATA TIMES | Wednesday, December 13, 2017 |
A9
BUSINESS
Budget deficit up $138.5 billion in November By Martin Crutsinger A S S OCIAT E D PRE SS
WASHINGTON — The federal government collected a record amount of tax income for the month of November and also had a record level of spending for the month, producing a budget deficit of $138.5 billion, up slightly from a year ago. The November deficit was 1.4 percent higher than a year ago, reflecting in part higher spending to deal with disaster relief and also higher spending by
OBESITY From page A1 and allowing more foreign investment in the 1980s, a transition to free trade given an exclamation point in 1994, when Mexico, the United States and Canada enacted the North American Free Trade Agreement. Opponents in Mexico warned the country would lose its cultural and economic independence. But few critics predicted it would transform the Mexican diet and food ecosystem to increasingly mirror those of the United States. In 1980, 7 percent of Mexicans were obese, a figure that tripled to 20.3 percent by 2016, according to the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation at the University of Washington. Diabetes is now Mexico’s top killer, claiming 80,000 lives a year, the World Health Organization has reported. For many Mexicans, NAFTA promised to make real “the fever dreams of joining the modern economy,” said Timothy A. Wise, a trade expert at the Small Planet Institute and Tufts University. “All former rural workers would be in new jobs in the burgeoning manufacturing industries of the postNAFTA world. That just hasn’t happened.” “The only way that Mexico became a ‘first world’ country was in terms of diet.” The phenomenon is not limited to Mexico. Research shows free trade is among the key factors that have accelerated the spread of lownutrient, highly processed foods from the West, “driving the obesity epidemic in China, India, and other developing countries worldwide,” according to the T.H. Chan School of Public Health at Harvard. But Jaime Zabludovsky Kuper, Mexico’s deputy
the Treasury Department on interest payments on the national debt, the Treasury Department reported Tuesday. For the first two months of this budget year, the budget deficit totals $201.8 billion, up 10.6 percent from the same period a year ago. The spending increases pushed total outlays in November to $346.9 billion, a record for the month, while receipts totaled $208.3 billion, also a record for November. The rise in revenues compared to a year ago was led by
chief negotiator on the pact, said NAFTA didn’t cause obesity. Instead, he said, it lowered food prices and reduced malnutrition. In 2012, 1.6 percent of Mexican children suffered from severe malnutrition, a sharp drop from 6.2 percent in 1988, according to government data. Zabludovsky said that Mexicans had long been enticed by American food, and that high tariffs used to make it expensive, not unavailable. The economy is now more stable, he said, and Mexicans are living longer — which is partly why more people are dying from noncommunicable diseases like diabetes and heart disease. “It’s a symptom of relative prosperity,” he said. The broader pros and cons of NAFTA have come under increasing scrutiny given President Donald Trump’s threats to dismantle it. Among its chief champions are U.S. farm and food-retailing interests whose fortunes have benefited tremendously from the open market. Mexican exports to the United States have surged, and a more stable economic structure has evolved in Mexico. The country’s unemployment rate has stayed mostly constant, but average wages have fallen to $15,311 in 2016 from $16,008 in 1994, according to the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development. In addition to dramatically lowering crossborder tariffs, NAFTA let billions of dollars in direct foreign investment into Mexico, fueled the growth of U.S. fast food restaurants and convenience stores, and opened the floodgates to cheap corn, meat, highfructose corn syrup and processed foods. The surge in agricultural investment from the north modernized Mexican farming practices
an $11 billion increase in individual income tax withholding and payroll taxes for Social Security, reflecting more people working as the unemployment rate has fallen to a 17-year low of 4.1 percent. The increase in outlays compared to November 2016 reflected an increase of $5 billion in spending by the Department of Homeland Security, primarily for hurricane disaster relief, and a $9 billion rise in interest payments on the debt, an increase that reflected higher inflation which boosted outlays
but it also displaced nearly 5 million people who worked on family farms. Many migrated to cities, adding to the ranks of those who rely on Western, processed food. Duncan Wood, director of the center’s Mexico Institute, said falling food prices, coupled with a stagnant economy, have left many Mexicans in a curious economic position. “People are able to indulge in more processed food, consuming more calories,” Wood said, “but not rich enough to have an affluent lifestyle where they are able to be healthier.” So went the Ruiz family. As a boy, William Ruiz adored home-cooked meals like traditional thick stews with squash, carrots, potatoes and green beans. The family rarely ate out. But when he was 11, the family moved to Villahermosa, the bustling, heatscorched capital of Tabasco where U.S. fastfood joints had become plentiful. The Ruizes became avid patrons of Domino’s and Burger King. McDonald’s was their favorite. William savors the memory of his first Happy Meal — the crispy fries, chicken nuggets and toys nestled in the box. “It was like having something first-world on your uncivilized ranch,” he said, “It was beautiful.” In 2012, after the bar they owned in Tabasco went out of business, the family moved to San Cristóbal and opened Dogo Express. The sons began to put on considerable weight in their late teens, but their father, Gabriel Ruiz Barbosa, was not worried. In fact, it was a point of pride. “We were in a good financial position so we could offer them foods heavy in protein and also fast food,” he said. “We’d say to one another, ‘If they’re a little fat, it
by Treasury on its inflationprotected securities. The Congressional Budget Office in June projected that the budget deficit for this budget year, which began on Oct. 1, would total $563 billion but that forecast did not include lost revenue from the GOP tax cut package, which Republicans hope to get passed before Christmas. Private forecasters say this year’s deficit is likely to rise to $675 billion and will be approaching $1 trillion by 2019, reflecting increased govern-
means they’re well fed.’” They are in good company. A study published in 2015 found that Mexicans bought, on average, 1,928 calories of packaged food and beverages a day, 380 more calories than in the United States and more than people in any other country tracked by Euromonitor International, a market research firm. While the causes of obesity are complex — involving genetics, lifestyle changes and other factors — multiple studies have linked weight gain to consumption of processed foods high in salt, sugar and fat that are staples of retail giants. In 2012, Corinna Hawkes, director for the Centre for Food Policy at City University London and an expert on trade policy and nutrition, co-authored a paper on the impact of free trade on Mexico’s diet. The study, “Exporting Obesity,” found that the increased investment by U.S. companies had made soft drinks and processed food more accessible to the average Mexican. She concluded that, at a minimum, NAFTA had sped up Mexico’s dietary transition and the rise of obesity. “I know this stuff is bad for me, but I can’t stop,” Gabriel Ruiz Barbosa said, glancing at a tray of McDonald’s sundaes his son was carrying into the restaurant. “My cardiologist says I should look after myself, but I’m very stubborn.” The family has mixed feelings about open trade. Their tenuous prosperity is built on selling food from the United States, and their diet is both sustenance and curse. “Look at us,” the elder Ruiz said, as he sheepishly polished off the remains of a chocolate sundae. “We’re all educated people but we’re hooked.”
ment spending and the tax cuts. The Trump administration disputes those figures, contending that the tax cut legislation will not widen the deficit as much as has been forecast because the cuts will spur faster economic growth. The deficit for the 2017 budget year, which ended on Sept. 30, totaled $665.7 billion. For the first two months of this year, revenues total $443.7 billion, up 5.3 percent from a year ago, while spending totals $645.5 billion, an increase of 6.9 percent from a year ago.
FEARS From page A1 ically rejects most asylum claims. Over a fiveyear period ending in September 2016, the U.S. received about 267,000 asylum claims and granted 46,000. It has granted asylum in recent years to a number of Mexican journalists. But Eduardo Beckett, Gutierrez’s lawyer, accused the U.S. of turning a blind eye to corruption and violence in Mexico, and blamed the Trump administration for changing how it deals with asylum seekers. “There is no more humanity,” Beckett said. “The new tactic is, we’ll pressure you, we’ll keep you detained, in hopes you’ll give up.” Another Mexican journalist did just that earlier this year. After spending nearly four months in an immigration facility, reporter Martin Mendez Pineda returned to Mexico and went into hiding. Mexico has created a federal protection program for journalists, with about 600 enrollees nationwide. But one reporter in the program was killed earlier this year, and others question whether the federal government has the power or the will to protect them. Meanwhile, high-profile killings have continued, including the death of Javier Valdez, a legendary reporter who covered drug trafficking in Sinaloa state. Gutierrez worked for El Diario del Noroeste, a newspaper in the state of Chihuahua. He said his problems began after he wrote articles that alleged military forces were robbing and extorting local people in Chihuahua, which borders New Mexico and part of West Texas. After receiving what his advocates called
veiled threats, Gutierrez discovered his name had been placed on a hit list. So he fled north with his teenage son and entered the U.S. in 2008, seeking asylum. He spent seven months in detention before his release in January 2009, while his application for asylum remained pending. Beckett said that Gutierrez was no longer working in journalism while living in the West Texas border city of El Paso. Instead, he supported himself by operating a food truck, Beckett said. His son, now 24, works in a restaurant. But while in the United States, Gutierrez heard from people back in Mexico that if he returned, he would end up like other journalists who were killed. After nine years, a judge denied his asylum request in July, and the U.S. Board of Immigration Appeals dismissed his appeal in November. His advocates say he came close to being sent back to Mexico before the appeals board on Thursday issued a stay of his deportation. The U.S. Department of Justice and the Mexican foreign affairs ministry did not return messages seeking comment Monday. ICE said in a statement that Gutierrez remains in the agency’s custody “pending disposition of his immigration case.” ——— Follow Nomaan Merchant on Twitter at (at)nomaanmerchant. Associated Press reporter Christopher Sherman in Mexico City contributed to this report. ——— Sign up for the AP’s weekly newsletter showcasing our best reporting from the Midwest and Texas: —http:// apne.ws/2u1RMfv AP-WF-12-12-17 0611GMT
A10 | Wednesday, December 13, 2017 | THE ZAPATA TIMES