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ZAPATA COUNTY ISD
TEXAS CIVIL RIGHTS PROJECT
Construction spat
State hit on voter turnout
District claims problems with 4 schools in lawsuit By ALDO AMATO THE ZAPATA TIMES
Zapata County Independent School District is taking a construction firm to trial next month claiming the company did shoddy work on four of the district’s elementary schools. In spring 2012, ZCISD filed a lawsuit against Satterfield & Pontikes, saying the company did subpar work on constructing two elementary schools with pavilions — Zapata South
and Fidel & Andrea Villarreal — and the gyms at Zapata North and Arturo L. Benavides. ZCISD is seeking $16 million in damages. Additional defendants include Bill Reiffert and Associates Inc., Robert E. Martinez and Jorge D. Perez, of Perez Consulting Engineers. Juan Cruz, of Laredo-based J. Cruz and Associates, which represents ZCISD, said the case is set to go to trial Jan. 13
in Zapata County. “We are looking forward to our day in court,” he said. Satterfield & Pontikes could not be reached for comment Friday. Claims of negligence listed in the lawsuit include: Failure to construct the projects in accordance with the plans and specifications Failure to implement and install specified components and materials Failure to properly seal
openings of the projects, resulting in vermin roosting in the classroom heating, ventilation and air conditioning returns Failure to meet bare minimum construction standards Substituting without authority materials with cheaper and lower quality materials and failing to properly credit ZCISD for the lower-cost items (Aldo Amato may be reached at 728-2538 or aamato@lmtonline.com)
LAGUNA ATASCOSA NATIONAL WILDLIFE REFUGE
CLEANING UP A WETLAND
Photo by Brad Doherty/The Brownsville Herald | AP
A tractor removes trees and brush to restore the prairie around the Bahia Grande, a part of the Laguna Atascosa National Wildlife Refuge, on Thursday. Overgrown vegetation around the bay has significantly altered the habitat of the aplomado falcon, a bird of prey that is endangered in the United States.
Project brushes aside brush for endangered falcon By TY JOHNSON THE BROWNSVILLE HERALD
BROWNSVILLE — Jonathan Moczygemba looks out over the grass prairies of the Bahia Grande wetland area and smiles the way most homeowners look out over their freshly cut lawns. The land, a part of the Laguna Atascosa National Wildlife Refuge, isn’t his, but as a wild-
life biologist with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, he has developed a deep respect for the once barren basin. “I feel like this is what it should look like,” he says as he scans a portion where controlled burns two years ago have restored the plains to their grassy equilibrium. The Brownsville Ship Channel dredging in the 1930s and later construction of Highway
48 slowly transformed the bay from a wetland rich with life into acres of mudflats before the USFWS and others began a project in the mid-2000s to flood the bay, restoring its capacity for vegetation and marine life. But resetting the impact of decades of development at the 11,000-acre reserve has proven to be more complicated than simply flooding the bay, as overgrown vegetation around the
bay has significantly altered the habitat of the aplomado falcon, a bird of prey that is endangered in the United States. Although globally the falcons are classified as a species of least concern, South Texas — where all of the American birds are located — is estimated to have only 28 breeding pairs left.
See HABITAT
PAGE 11A
By PAUL J. WEBER ASSOCIATED PRESS
AUSTIN — Civil rights activists accused Texas officials last week of not enforcing laws designed to drive voter turnout, while records show that if the first elections under the state’s new voter ID law angered or confused many people, they’ve not complained to the state in force. A report from the Texas Civil Rights Project shifted the dispute over voting rights from whether people would be turned away on Election Day to whether residents are given enough opportunities to simply register to vote. The Austin-based group said a survey of public schools showed districts failed to give eligible students voter registration forms at least twice a year as required by law. It also accuses the state of doing little to promote voter registration opportunities. “It makes the point that the system in Texas is lackadaisical at best,” said Jim Harrington, the group’s executive director. The report comes more a month after Texas held its first election under a voter ID law passed by the Republican-controlled Legislature in 2011. A decision by the U.S. Supreme Court this summer gave the state the go-ahead to finally implement the law. A challenge in federal court has been set for trial in September 2014. Republicans have rebuffed criticism of the law’s potential to disenfranchise by pointing to higher-than-typical turnout last month for an off-year election. Data from state elections officials indicate the state hasn’t been inundated by complaints, either. For the November election, 14 voters submitted complaints to the Texas secretary of state’s office that required a written response from a state attorney, according to figures obtained by The Associated Press. That’s just one more complaint more than the last off-year election in 2011, though twice as many as in 2009. State figures also show elections attorneys logging 10 “informal” complaints this year, less than half of the 24 logged in 2011. Alicia Pierce, spokeswoman for the secretary of state’s office, said the agency had not yet reviewed the report released Monday. But she said the agency was “always willing to work with interested groups to improve the voter registration process.” Pierce also said her office is not an enforcement agency and can’t compel other agencies to take action. Among those criticized in the report is the Texas Education Agency over promoting voter registration in schools. Secretary of State John Steen announced last week he would step down in January after a year on the job. His office touted a more than 60 percent spike in turnout from the last constitutional amendment election in 2011 to this year, when a high-profile referendum on spending $2 billion from the state’s Rainy Day Fund for water was on the ballot. Harrington said the full impact of the voter ID law won’t be seen until the general election in 2014. “We don’t know what the jam-up is going to be,” he said.
MEXICO
Pickup kills five students waiting at bus stop SPECIAL TO THE TIMES
Five high school students died after being hit by a pickup truck occupied by armed civilians who were involved in a chase, according to Tamaulipas authorities Wednesday. The Tamaulipas attorney general’s office said the incident took place near Reynosa at 12:30 p.m. at kilometer 209 of the ReynosaSan Fernando highway, in front of high school 56, also known as Rodolfo Treviño Castillo school,
The incident took place near Reynosa at 12:30 p.m. at kilometer 209 of the Reynosa-San Fernando highway, in front of high school 56, also known as Rodolfo Treviño Castillo school. as the students were waiting for a bus to take them to their homes. Authorities added that an adult woman and a child were injured, and are in stable condition. The students were identified as
Margarita Arraiga Cruz, 15, Rosario de los Ángeles Álvarez Hernández, 15, Josecil Castro Castro, 14, Juan Carlos Castillo Arizmendi, 13, and Gerardo Martínez Cruz, 13. A public ministry investigator
discussed the results of his investigation. Two armed civilians in a fourdoor, 2005 red Chevrolet Silverado driving at a high rate of speed during a chase lost control of the vehicle, skidding towards the bus
stop near the shoulder of the road where the five students were waiting for a bus. In addition to striking the students, the pickup struck two vehicles parked outside of the school, injuring Sandra Reyes Garza, 31, and Areli Fernandez, 5. Both were inside one of the vehicles struck by the pickup. The investigator said evidence did not indicate who was chasing the gunmen. (Translated by Mark Webber of the Times staff.)