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Border Patrol agents support youth programs
Growth foreseen in shale
Agents take pride in volunteering
Industry learns to recover from oil, gas decline By Julia Wallace
S P ECIAL T O T HE T I ME S
THE ZAPATA TIME S
On February 10, 2017, Border Patrol agents assigned to the Zapata Border Patrol Station spent some time helping the youth in Zapata, Texas. Border Patrol agents assisted Zapata High School students with a program called The Coffee Time Coffee Shop. This program is geared towards having special needs students interact and learn from other students at the local school coffee shop. The proceeds from their sales are
During the recent slump in the oil and gas industry, companies drilling in the Eagle Ford Shale learned how to do more with fewer rigs. This efficiency will carry into the industry’s current recovery period, according to several oil and gas business leaders. LCC on Tuesday hosted the Eagle Ford Consortium’s regional quarterly update. The consortium represents the 20 counties that make up the Eagle Ford Shale, and fosters the relationships between oil and gas companies and the communities where they work. In a panel discussion regarding projected trends for the area, industry leaders all said they foresee growth in the Eagle Ford Shale, but nothing like the boom that occurred 10 years ago. Michael Garcia, the director of HR for Lewis Energy, said his company has 60 new job openings, which is already an uptick. But this will be a controlled, stable growth, he said. “We will not see the numbers we saw five years ago,” Garcia said.
Agents continues on A11
Courtesy photos
Pictured above and bottom left, Border Patrol agents spend time with Girl Scouts. Pictured bottom right, agents assisted Zapata High School students with a program called The Coffee Time Coffee Shop.
LCC continues on A11
NAFTA
Mexico threatens to ‘walk away’ if tariffs are added By Nacha Cattan and Eric Martin B L OOMBE RG NEWS
Mexico’s top trade negotiator doubled down on threats to break off talks to rework Nafta, saying his country will walk away if the U.S. insists on slapping duties or quotas on any products from south of the border. “The moment that they say, ‘We’re going to put a 20 percent tariff on cars,’ I get up from the table,” Mexican Economy Minister Ildefonso Guajardo said in an interview. “Bye-bye.” This doesn’t mean, Guajardo emphasized, that Mexico would be looking to scrap Nafta. But by saying it refuses to even discuss the kind of tariffs President Donald Trump has long trumpeted, the country is ratcheting up the pressure on U.S. negotiators and effectively daring them to pull out of the 23-year-old pact. Trump has lambasted the accord — which also includes Canada — as unfair and responsible for a “massive” imbalance favoring Mexico. It last year shipped $294 billion worth of goods north while the
U.S. sent $231 billion south. Mexican officials have said they expect official talks to start in June. And if they fail? “It wouldn’t be an absolute crisis,” said Guajardo, who headed the Nafta office of the Mexican embassy in the U.S. in the early 90s, when the pact was being written and implemented. Without Nafta, trade between Mexico and the U.S. would be ruled by World Trade Organization strictures limiting tariffs either country can impose on the other, with the average for Mexico at around 3 percent, according to the Mexico City-based political-risk advisory firm Empra. That “would take away some of our margin of competitiveness,” the minister said, but would be manageable. One thing that could help mitigate the impact of Nafta’s end is the tumble in the peso. It’s plunged 8 percent against the dollar over the past year, extending its slump since early 2013 to 35 percent. Tariff talk As things stand now, most products go back and forth duty free; automobiles, televi-
sions sets and some other goods have to contain a certain amount of content sourced in North America to get full Nafta benefits. But there’s been a lot of talk in Washington about taxing imports. White House spokesman Sean Spicer in January floated the idea of a 20 percent levy on goods from Mexico to pay for a border wall. That trial balloon went up after Mexican President Enrique Pena Nieto canceled a trip to the American capital in response to Trump’s repeating a campaign pledge about charging Mexico for the cost of building the wall. Some Republicans in Congress have called for what they refer to as a border-adjustment tax, affecting all countries, to help finance cuts in the corporate income tax. During the campaign, Trump was a fan of a 35 percent tax on auto imports from Mexico. Guajardo said part of the reason his country is unwilling to consider any new Nafta duties is because of a possible domino effect. “Opening the door to tariffs is very dangerous, because it’s like opening Pandora’s box -- the lines of Mexico continues on A11
Courtesy photos
Zapata County Fair Queen Clarissa Yvette Garcia, pictured above, was crowned Zapata County Fair Queen on Sunday. The first-runner up, pictured below, was Triana Isabel Gonzalez.
Zin brief A2 | Wednesday, March 1, 2017 | THE ZAPATA TIMES
CALENDAR
AROUND THE WORLD
TODAY IN HISTORY
WEDNESDAY, MARCH 1
ASSOCIATED PRE SS
Book Room open. 10 a.m. to 12 p.m. Widener Book Room, First United Methodist Church. Public invited, no admission fee.
Today is Wednesday, March 1, the 60th day of 2017. There are 305 days left in the year. Today is Ash Wednesday.
SATURDAY, MARCH 4
Today’s Highlight in History: On March 1, 1867, Nebraska became the 37th state as President Andrew Johnson signed a proclamation.
Improve Health, Delay Aging event. 8 a.m.-12 p.m. Laredo Regional Campus of UT Health San Antonio, 1937 Bustamante St. Free community event. This is part of the Stay Healthier Longer Conference Series. The keynote speaker will be Fernando Sanchez, MD, a neurologist at the Laredo Medical Center. To register, call 523-7400 or email laredocampus@uthscsa.edu Book sale. 8:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. Widener Book Room, First United Methodist Church. Public invited, no admission fee. Laredo Northside Farmers Market. 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. North Central Park. There will be a raffle for a garden pail with gardening tools. There will also be games for the children.
MONDAY, MARCH 6 Chess Club. Every Monday, 4-6 p.m. LBV-Inner City Branch Library, 202 W. Plum St. Compete with other players in this cherished game played internationally. Free instruction for all ages and skill levels. Chess books and training materials are available. Ray of Light anxiety and depression support group meeting. 6:30—7:30 p.m. Area Health Education Center, 1505 Calle del Norte, Suite 430. Every first Monday of the month. People suffering from anxiety and depression are invited to attend this free, confidential and anonymous support group meeting. While a support group does not replace an individual’s medical care, it can be a valuable resource to gain insight, strength and hope.
MONDAY, MARCH 13 Chess Club. Every Monday, 4-6 p.m. LBV-Inner City Branch Library, 202 W. Plum St. Compete with other players in this cherished game played internationally. Free instruction for all ages and skill levels. Chess books and training materials are available.
Darko Vojinovic / AP
A migrant rests in the field near an abandoned brick factory in the northern Serbian town of Subotica, near the border between Serbia and Hungary, Tuesday.
HUNGARY’S NEW FENCE TO MAKE LIFE HARDER FOR MIGRANTS SUBOTICA, Serbia — Shahid Khan says the one time he tried to enter the European Union by crossing Hungary’s heavily guarded, fenced border with Serbia, he was beaten and chased away by Hungarian police with dogs. “When they beat us, they were laughing with each other,” Khan said. “The policemen, when they beat us, they are taking selfies with us.” Now, Khan says a new fence Hungary has started to build along with southern boundary will make life even harder for him and other migrants fleeing poverty
and violence in their home countries. “They treat us very bad,” the 22-yearold from Pakistan said Tuesday in the Serbian border town of Subotica, where hundreds of migrants have been camping in fields and an abandoned brick factory. About 7,000 migrants have been stranded in Serbia looking for ways to reach western Europe. Hungary built a barrier along the length of its borders with Serbia and Croatia in 2015. The government says the second fence is needed because it expects a surge of migrants this year.
MONDAY, MARCH 20 Chess Club. Every Monday, 4-6 p.m. LBV-Inner City Branch Library, 202 W. Plum St. Compete with other players in this cherished game played internationally. Free instruction for all ages and skill levels. Chess books and training materials are available.
SATURDAY, MARCH 25 67th Annual Flower and Art Show. 1-6 p.m. Fellowship Hall, First United Methodist Church. Sponsored by the United Methodist Women. Guest artists: Laredo Community College Art Instructors. $3 admission fee per person. Public invited. Rally at the Border Laredo. 4-7 p.m. Convent Avenue.
SUNDAY, MARCH 26 67th Annual Flower and Art Show. 1-6 p.m. Fellowship Hall, First United Methodist Church. Sponsored by the United Methodist Women. Guest artists: Laredo Community College Art Instructors. $3 admission fee per person. Public invited.
MONDAY, MARCH 27 Chess Club. Every Monday, 4-6 p.m. LBV-Inner City Branch Library, 202 W. Plum St. Compete with other players in this cherished game played internationally. Free instruction for all ages and skill levels. Chess books and training materials are available.
WEDNESDAY, MARCH 29 Spanish Book Club. 6-8 p.m. Joe A. Guerra Public Library on Calton. or more info call Sylvia Reash 763-1810.
THURSDAY, MARCH 30 Speaker and book signing. 6-7:30 p.m. Multipurpose Room at Joe A. Guerra Public Library on Calton. Hosted by Villa San Agustin de Laredo Genealogical Society and the library. The speaker is Mauricio J. Gonzalez, LCC instructor and author of “My Grandfather’s Grandfather: Tomas Rodriguez Benavides.” Open to the public. For more info call Sylvia Reash 763-1810.
SATURDAY, APRIL 1 Book Sale. 8:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. Widener Book Room, First United Methodist Church. Public invited, no admission fee.
Russia, China veto new UN sanctions on Syria UNITED NATIONS — Russia and China vetoed new U.N. sanctions on Syria Tuesday and the U.S. ambassador accused both countries of refusing to hold President Bashar Assad's regime accountable for the use of chemical weapons. "They put their friends in the Assad regime ahead of our global security," new American envoy Nikki Haley told the U.N.
Ray of Light anxiety and depression support group meeting. 6:30—7:30 p.m. Area Health Education Center, 1505 Calle del Norte, Suite 430. Every first Monday of the month. People suffering from anxiety and depression are invited to attend this free, confidential and anonymous support group meeting. While a support group does not replace an individual’s medical care, it can be a valuable resource to gain insight, strength and hope.
paigning but Haley has now criticized Russia over its annexation of Ukraine's Crimea peninsula as well as Syria. The defeated resolution was drafted following a joint investigation by the United Nations and the international chemical weapons watchdog that determined the Syrian government was behind at least three attacks involving chlorine gas and the Islamic State extremist group was responsible for at least one involving mustard gas. — Compiled from AP reports
Texan, at 14 sentenced to 35 years for murder, leaves prison DALLAS — Anisha Walker wore white for two decades. Until now. Walker walked out of prison Feb. 22 and left behind the bleached and ill-fitting cotton shirts and pants of the Texas prison uniform. She was known as "Little Baby" when she arrived at prison at 14. A guard didn't want to let her in at first because she was certain Walker didn't belong. Walker killed a man during a robbery in Arlington and was tried as an adult. Now, she's 34 and no longer prisoner No. 00808676. She's free — sort of. Walker will live in a halfway house near Austin. She must report to a probation officer and must abide by the facility's
Rose Baca / AP
This photo taken May 18 2015, shows Anisha Walker, 32, at the Christina Crain Unit in Gatesville, Texas.
rules. But she can come and go, as long as she comes back. Walker was featured in a Dallas Morning News series called "Kids or Criminals?" about what it was like to come of age behind bars and the consequences for society and the inmates when they're one day released. "I'm so ready to go," Walker
wrote in a recent letter before her release. "I'm kind of rushing." The halfway house staff picked Walker up from the Dempsie Henley State Jail in Dayton. The warden wouldn't allow visitors to see Walker leave prison. — Compiled from AP reports
AROUND THE NATION State department faces Trump’s funding cut as senators resist Bloomberg — President Donald Trump’s administration has proposed cutting funding to the State Department and the U.S. Agency for International Development by more than a third in a move that drew immediate push-back from senators on both sides of the aisle.
Ten years ago: Tornadoes killed 20 people in the Midwest and Southeast, including eight students at Enterprise High School in Alabama. Maj. Gen. George W. Weightman, who had been in charge of Walter Reed Army Medical Center, was relieved of command after disclosures about dilapidated buildings and inadequate treatment of wounded soldiers. An independent commission concluded the National Guard and Reserves weren’t getting enough money or equipment. Five years ago: Senate Democrats narrowly blocked, 51-48, an effort by Republicans to overturn President Barack Obama’s order that most employers or their insurers cover the cost of contraceptives. Maryland Gov. Martin O’Malley signed a measure legalizing same-sex marriage in his state, effective Jan. 2013. Online publisher and conservative blogger Andrew Breitbart died in Los Angeles at age 43. One year ago: In the Super Tuesday primaries and caucuses, Republican Donald Trump won Alabama, Arkansas, Georgia, Massachusetts, Tennessee, Vermont and Virginia; Ted Cruz won Alaska, Oklahoma and his home state of Texas; Marco Rubio won Minnesota. On the Democratic side, Hillary Clinton won Alabama, Arkansas, Georgia, Massachusetts, Tennessee, Texas and Virginia while Bernie Sanders prevailed in Colorado, Minnesota, Oklahoma and his home state of Vermont.
AROUND TEXAS
MONDAY, APRIL 3 Chess Club. Every Monday, 4-6 p.m. LBV-Inner City Branch Library, 202 W. Plum St. Compete with other players in this cherished game played internationally. Free instruction for all ages and skill levels. Chess books and training materials are available.
Security Council after the vote. "They turned away from defenseless men, women and children who died gasping for breath when Assad's forces dropped their poisonous gas." The Trump administration recently joined France and Britain in sponsoring the resolution, and Haley minced no words in denouncing the "outrageous and indefensible choice" that Russia and China made on Tuesday. President Donald Trump had warm words for Russian President Vladimir Putin while cam-
On this date: In 1565, the city of Rio de Janeiro was founded by Portuguese knight Estacio de Sa. In 1792, Holy Roman Emperor Leopold II died; he was succeeded by his son, Francis II. In 1815, Napoleon, having escaped exile in Elba, arrived in Cannes, France, and headed for Paris to begin his “Hundred Days” rule. In 1932, Charles A. Lindbergh Jr., the 20-month-old son of Charles and Anne Lindbergh, was kidnapped from the family home near Hopewell, New Jersey. In 1940, “Native Son” by Richard Wright was first published by Harper & Brothers. In 1954, four Puerto Rican nationalists opened fire from the spectators’ gallery of the U.S. House of Representatives, wounding five members of Congress. The United States detonated a dry-fuel hydrogen bomb, codenamed Castle Bravo, at Bikini Atoll in the Marshall Islands. In 1957, “The Cat in the Hat” by Dr. Seuss was released to bookstores by Random House. In 1961, President John F. Kennedy signed an executive order establishing the Peace Corps. In 1967, U.S. Rep. Adam Clayton Powell, D-N.Y., accused of misconduct, was denied his seat in the 90th Congress. In 1971, a bomb went off inside a men’s room at the U.S. Capitol; the radical group Weather Underground claimed responsibility for the predawn blast. In 1981, Irish Republican Army member Bobby Sands began a hunger strike at the Maze Prison in Northern Ireland; he died 65 days later. In 1997, severe storms hit Ohio, Kentucky, Tennessee and Mississippi, and spawned tornadoes in Arkansas blamed for two dozen deaths.
The White House Office of Management and Budget has proposed cuts of 37 percent at two agencies that provide U.S. foreign aid, according to two people familiar with the matter who asked not to be identified. The cuts are part of Trump’s plan to cut spending from the government’s discretionary budget to fund increases in defense spending, according to officials. Some conservatives have objected to the way the State Department’s programs grew under President Barack
Today’s Birthdays: Actor Robert Clary is 91. Singer Harry Belafonte is 90. Actor Robert Conrad is 82. Rock singer Mike D’Abo (Manfred Mann) is 73. Rock singer Roger Daltrey is 73. Actor Dirk Benedict is 72. Actor-director Ron Howard is 63. Actress Catherine Bach is 63. Actor Tim Daly is 61. Singer-musician Jon Carroll is 60. Rock musician Bill Leen is 55. Actor Bryan Batt is 54. Actor Maurice Bernard is 54. Actor Russell Wong is 54. Actor Chris Eigeman is 52. Actor John David Cullum is 51. Actor George Eads is 50. Actor Javier Bardem is 48. Actor Jack Davenport is 44. Rock musician Ryan Peake (Nickelback) is 44. Actor Mark-Paul Gosselaar is 43. Singer Tate Stevens is 42. Actor Jensen Ackles is 39. TV host Donovan Patton is 39. Rock musician Sean Woolstenhulme is 36. Actress Lupita Nyong’o is 34. Pop singer Kesha is 30. Rhythm-andblues singer Sammie is 30. Pop singer Justin Bieber is 23. Thought for Today: “Words are, of course, the most powerful drug used by mankind.” — Rudyard Kipling, English author (1865-1936).
CONTACT US Obama, with numerous special envoys and offices overseeing projects such as climate change and biodiversity. “If it’s anywhere in the ballpark of what I’ve seen about the State Department, that’s definitely dead on arrival,” Senator Lindsey Graham, a Republican from South Carolina, said of Trump’s State Department cuts. “That guts soft power and puts our diplomats at risk.” — Compiled from a Bloomberg report
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THE ZAPATA TIMES | Wednesday, March 1, 2017 |
LOCAL
Man arrested for allegedly transporting illegal immigrants By César G. Rodriguez TH E ZAPATA T IME S
A man was arrested and accused of transporting immigrants from Zapata to Laredo for $300, according to court documents. A criminal complaint filed Feb. 21 charged Jose Luis Gonzalez with transporting illegal immigrants. On Friday, Gonzalez was ordered detained pending trial. The case unfolded Feb. 19 at about 1:30 p.m. U.S. Border Patrol agents patrolling south of Rio Bravo along U.S. 83 said they observed a beige Chevrolet Malibu traveling north. Agents allegedly noticed several passengers
Agents allegedly noticed several passengers in the rear and tried to pull over the vehicle
in the rear and tried to pull over the vehicle to conduct an immigration inspection on the occupants. Brenda Lopez, a lawful permanent resident, was identified as the driver while Gonzalez, a U.S. citizen, was identified as the front passenger. Four other people in the back were determined to be Mexican citizens who were in the country illegally, according to court documents. Homeland Security
Investigations special agents took over the investigation. Lopez and Gonzalez allegedly agreed to speak to authorities. Lopez said she did not know the people were in the country illegally. She added she just wanted to give Gonzalez and his “family” a ride, states the complaint. Gonzalez, however, stated that a man identified as Robert offered him $300 to pick up immigrants in Zapata and transport them to the H-E-B on Guadalupe Street in Laredo. Robert provided the vehicle but it broke down on the side of the road. Lopez was released. Gonzalez was charged with human smuggling.
A3
LPD: Zapatan detained on shoplifting charge By César G. Rodriguez THE ZAPATA TIME S
A woman from Zapata was recently detained for allegedly stealing merchandise from a Walmart in Laredo, authorities said. Cynthia Elizabeth Nanez, 38, was cited for theft and then released. The case unfolded Feb.
22 at Walmart, 4401 South U.S. 83. Loss prevention noticed a woman selecting several items and placing them under her purse in the shopping cart, according to Laredo police. The woman, who was later identified as Nanez, would then conceal the items on her person, an
LPD report states. Loss prevention officers detained her when she allegedly was on her way to the exit. Nanez allegedly tried walking out of the store with approximately $42 worth of merchandise, such as creams, a T-shirt and a stuffed lion, according to police.
Condemned killer in San Antonio robbery set to die May 24 ASSOCIATED PRE SS
HOUSTON — A 35year-old San Antonio man on death row for a fatal shooting during a robbery more than 13 years ago has been set to die. Texas Department of Criminal Justice spokesman Jason Clark said Tuesday the prison agen-
cy has received court documents setting Juan Castillo for lethal injection May 24. Castillo was convicted of the December 2003 slaying of 19-year-old Tommy Garcia Jr. Evidence showed Garcia was lured to a San Antonio lovers' lane by Castillo's girlfriend and then ambushed. She pleaded
guilty before Castillo's 2005 trial and testified against him. Late in his trial, Castillo fired his lawyers and represented himself. The U.S. Supreme Court in October refused to review his case. He's among at least seven Texas inmates with execution dates this year, including two in March.
Opinion
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Wednesday, March 1, 2017 | PAGE A4 | LAREDO MORNING TIMES
COLUMN
OTHER VIEWS
Trump attacks on news media bring clarity to his mission By Foon Rhee TH E SACRAME NT O BE E (T NS)
As I’ve listened to President Donald Trump go on tirades against the "very dishonest" media, I’ve tried not to take his criticism personally. Lord knows, I’ve made my share of mistakes in my career. But they’ve never been on purpose, or out of malice. In fact, after more than 30 years, I can still remember the phone call from a grieving relative when I misspelled a name in an obituary (I wrote Ronald instead of Roland). This was before articles were published online, so print newspapers were the permanent record. The man’s family had to live with my error. However Trump bashes journalists, he’ll never make me feel as bad as I did back then. So here’s the truth: The press is not the opposition party. The media are not the enemy of the American people. Negative stories are not fake news. And when Trump keeps making these claims, he isn’t just attacking the press; he is chipping away at one of the pillars of our democracy. It means something that a president who is all over the map on policy is so single-minded about going after reporters every chance he gets. In a Friday tweet, Trump raised the stakes, calling the fake news media "a great danger to our country." At the Conservative Political Action Conference on Friday, Trump again bashed "fake news," though he’s the one with only a passing relationship with the truth. He complained about leaks and anonymous sources, though his administration is perfectly happy to take advantage of both. He even claimed that the media says its coverage can’t be criticized because of freedom of the press. "I love the First Amendment; nobody loves it better than me," he said. "Nobody." He has chutzpah, I’ll give him that. But what’s more alarming is that he also said the media don’t "represent the people, it never will represent the people and we’re going to do something about it." It’s not clear what the president plans. He talked during the campaign about changing the law so that it’s easier for politicians to sue for libel and slander - a terrible idea that would discourage robust reporting. And what if an unhinged supporter takes Trump’s rhetoric seriously and literally and physically assaults a journalist? What will the president say then? Trump is choosing a phrase-"enemy of the people" - that has been used by communist dictators and Nazi propagandists. Unfortunately, only a few Republican leaders stood up to that attack on a free press. "Without it," said Sen. John McCain of Arizona, "I am afraid that we would lose so much of our individual liberties over time. That’s how dictators get started."
Trying to control coverage, White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer has called only on friendlier media outlets at some news conferences. Friday, he took it a step further at a question-and-answer session, blocking reporters from several major news organizations that have had critical coverage of Trump, including looking into the administration’s Russia connections. Another part of the White House strategy, it seems, is to trap reporters. When there are leaks, officials sometimes wait until after the news story is published to respond. This apparently happened earlier this month when The Associated Press reported that a draft memo showed the administration was considering calling up National Guard troops for immigration raids. It’s a cynical ploy. The administration can see how popular its ideas are and pull them back if they’re too controversial. When the most extreme versions don’t happen, it further damages the media’s credibility. And if the public is unsure about what’s real, it opens up more room for Trump to do what he wants. So reporters need to be aggressive, but also careful. Journalists can’t get too defensive, or distracted from doing our jobs, or lose sight of what Trump is actually doing giving Wall Street free rein, looking out for the wealthy and tearing down government. This is going to be a long struggle, day after day. Steve Bannon, Trump’s chief strategist, made that clear, declaring at CPAC that the war with the media is "not going to get better. It’s going to get worse." Yet, times of crisis like this bring clarity. Dean Baquet, executive editor of The New York Times, said Sunday on CNN that the mission of news organizations is clearer than it has been in years - to hold Trump and others in power accountable. He’s absolutely right, but it’s more important for the public to support a free press. And this would be a good time, with Sunshine Week, the annual recognition of the importance of a public’s right to know, set for March 12-18. It’s encouraging that a new poll found that Americans trust their favorite news source over Trump, 67 percent to 29 percent. It’s also great to hear from people like Charles Marchant of Placerville, Calif. "I just want to say thank you for being here, for doing your job and for doing your part in our democratic system," he wrote in a letter to the editor. "I write not to grind any particular ax, but to let you know I do NOT consider the press my enemy. I value the hard work you do, which is a vital role in our society." Thanks a lot, Mr. Marchant. We’ll keep doing our best, whatever President Trump throws our way. Foon Rhee is a columnist for the Sacramento Bee. Readers may email him at frheesacbee.com
COLUMN
Don’t use my name but here’s a scoop: Trump loves leaks (some of them) Margaret Sullivan WASHINGTON P O ST
President Donald Trump and his aides despise and condemn anonymous leaks to reporters. Except, of course, when they are the ones doing the leaking. On the “Fox & Friends” program Tuesday on Fox News, the president blamed President Barack Obama (& friends) for recent leaks, which Trump called “really serious because they are very bad in terms of national security.” He has sicced the Justice Department on inside-government leakers. And his press secretary confiscated his staff ’s phones in an emergency internal-leak crackdown. Sounds serious, doesn’t it? But just offstage, quite the contrary. - Highlights of Tuesday night’s address to Congress were anonymously provided to the conspiracy-mongering Infowars site. (The “story” - excellent stenography! - includes this bizarre disclaimer: “It should be noted this was not a leak, but was given directly to Infowars.”) - Last weekend, the White House enlisted two unnamed sources “a senior intelligence officer in the Trump
administration” and “a senior member of the intelligence community” - to talk to reporters, as part of an effort to knock down a New York Times story about Trump associates’ contact with Russia. - And White House “background” briefings continue as always, meaning that White House officials are - by design - quoted in news stories as anonymous sources. The result, especially for the average news consumer, is mind-spinning. “It’s almost impossible to know whether an unnamed source is someone courageously taking a risk to get information out or a powerful official who is eluding responsibility,” New York University journalism professor Jay Rosen said in an interview. And, he added, “you could have both of these kinds of unnamed sources in the same news story - maybe in the same paragraph.” Yes, the Trump media strategy is looking more and more like a hall of mirrors, where real leaks provide what the president blasts as “fake news” - but that same news, vociferously denied, can get a top official fired, as with the former national security
adviser Michael Flynn. In this fun house, a president who, during the campaign, proclaimed “I love WikiLeaks!” because that organization’s leaks were causing political damage to his opponent, now bemoans the dangers of leaks that cause political damage to him. Journalists “shouldn’t be allowed to use sources unless they use somebody’s name,” Trump said at the Conservative Political Action Conference. Strange-but-true sentences in news stories point out the contradictions. “Two of those officials spoke on the condition of anonymity - a practice President Trump has condemned,” wrote Greg Miller and Adam Entous of The Washington Post in the Russia story mentioned earlier. And in the Associated Press (about an executive order on environmental regulations): “The official briefed reporters on the condition of anonymity, despite the president’s recent complaints about unnamed sources.” Beyond the inconsistency lies a strategy chaos, distraction and contradiction serve the president well. The keepthem-guessing school of political communication. “Not caring about the
CLASSIC DOONESBURY | GARRY TRUDEAU
confusion certainly is part of Trump’s political style,” Rosen said. Of course, not all leaks are created equal. There are true leaks, like the partial Trump tax return sent anonymously in the U.S. mail to a New York Times reporter during the campaign. As Glenn Greenwald of the Intercept wrote recently, some of these can be both serious crimes and wholly justified. In the Flynn case, “the leaks revealed that a high government official blatantly lied to the public about a material matter - his conversations with Russian diplomats and the public has the absolute right to know this.” Then there are leaks that are really plants from government sources (sound familiar, Infowars?) and, third, an in-between category that Columbia University law professor David Pozen calls “pleaks.” These may emerge in dogged reporting from confidential sources. It’s hardly new that American presidents both decry leaks and use them. But in the extremes of behavior on one side and rhetoric on the other, Trump may be setting a new standard for trying to have it both ways.
THE ZAPATA TIMES | Wednesday, March 1, 2017 |
STATE 2 Houston officers shot, 1 in critical condition By Michael Graczyk A S S OCIAT E D PRE SS
HOUSTON — Two Houston police officers were shot and taken to hospitals, one of them in critical condition, as they were investigating a home burglary Tuesday, authorities said. One suspect was killed in a shootout with the officers and one other man was being sought, police said. "If he's hiding somewhere, we're not leaving," Police Chief Art Acevedo said as hundreds of officers combed the southwest Houston neighborhood. "We ain't going away." Acevdeo lifted a lockdown on the southwest Houston neighborhood of about 1,800 homes, including three schools, more than four hours later and urged residents to notify police of anything suspicious. "We'd rather you report it and be on the safe side," he said. "We don't want to leave any stone unturned." "My primary concern now is for the condition of the two officers," Mayor Sylvester Turner said outside one of the hospitals where the officers were being treated. One officer, Jose Munoz, was shot in the foot and his condition was not considered life-threatening. The other officer, Ronny Cortez, had a bullet lodged near his spine, the mayor said. Cortez is a 24-year veteran of the department and was at Memorial Hermann Hospital. Munoz has been an officer for 10 years and was at Ben Taub Hospital.
A5
Texas Senate calls for amending Constitution to limit feds By Will Weissert ASSOCIATED PRE SS
AUSTIN, Texas — The Texas Senate on Tuesday approved a call for a convention to amend the U.S. Constitution to limit federal power via checks such as a balanced budget rule and term limits — a call which the state's top Republicans continue to support despite their party now controlling the White House and Congress. Under Article V of the Constitution, adding an amendment requires a two-thirds congressional vote and then ratification by three-fourths of states, or 38. That brought the country all 27 constitutional amendments. Because it's hard to imagine Congress making itself less powerful, a
Eric Gay / AP
Texas Sen. Brian Birdwell, R-Granbury, left, visits with Sen. Craig Estes, R-Wichita Falls, in the senate chamber Tuesday in Austin, Texas.
second option is twothirds of the states, or 34, requesting a national convention to draft amendments. Any amendments would subsequently have to be ratified by at least 38 states. America hasn't con-
vened a constitutional convention since 1787 — one reason why, supporters say, every state except Vermont mandates a balanced budget but Congress doesn't. "My party controls the Congress but the Con-
gress does not have my trust," said Republican Sen. Brian Birdwell of Granbury, who added that the effort shouldn't be derailed just because Donald Trump won the last presidential election. "I believe, over the last several decades, that the federal government has treated the states as nothing more than a subcontractor to federal will." The package of bills will soon head to the Texas House. Last session, lawmakers there approved convening a constitutional convention, but the proposal died in the Senate. Opponents worry that such a gathering could see delegates ignore stated goals and impose wholesale constitutional rewrites. "I just think it's very unpredictable," said Sen.
Juan "Chuy" Hinojosa, a McAllen Democrat. The Texas Democratic Party released a statement dismissing Tuesday's hours-long debate as a waste of time. But Texas Gov. Greg Abbott has become one of the nation's most-vocal advocates for a convention, championing nine specific reforms, including a federal balanced budget amendment and congressional term limits. He made it a centerpiece of his book last year and fast-tracked it through the Legislature this session. "We're looking at it as a long-term solution, not just for one administration or another," Tamara Colbert, Texas co-director of the Convention of States Project, said of conservatives nationwide potentially defying Trump.
Zfrontera A6 | Wednesday, March 1, 2017 | THE ZAPATA TIMES
RIBEREÑA EN BREVE Pago de impuestos
PATRULLA FRONTERIZA
Apoyan programas juveniles
1 Desde diciembre, los pagos por impuestos a la propiedad de la Ciudad de Roma deberán realizarse en la oficina de impuestos del Distrito Escolar de Roma, localizado en el 608 N. García St. PAGO EN LÍNEA 1 La Ciudad de Roma informa a sus residentes que a partir de ahora el servicio del agua puede pagarse en línea a cualquier hora las 24 horas del día. TRÁMITES CONSULARES 1 El Consulado de México estará en la Ciudad de Roma, el sábado 4 de marzo, donde los residentes podrán realizar los trámites de expedición de matrícula consular y pasaporte, en el Centro Mundial de las Aves, Plaza Histórica frente a la Iglesia Católica Nuestra Señora del Refugio. Mayores informes en el Consulado de México en McAllen al teléfono 956-686-0243.
Carrera 5 K
Foto de cortesía
Foto de cortesía
Las niñas exploradoras obtuvieron una insignia al completar un curso con apoyo de los agentes.
Agentes de la Patrulla Fronteriza apoyaron a los estudiantes de la Preparatoria Zapata con el programa llamado Cafetería The Coffee Time.
Dan lección de primeros auxilios y visitan cafetería E SPECIAL PARA TIEMP O DE ZAPATA
El 10 de febrero de 2017, agentes de la Patrulla Fronteriza asignados a la estación Zapata pasaron tiempo cooperando con programas juveniles en Zapata, Texas. Los agentes de la Patrulla Fronteriza ayuda-
1 Roma High School Gladiator Band—Superhero 5 K— el 4 de marzo en la Arena Gladiator. Registro a las 7:30 a.m. Carrera inicia a las 8 a.m.. Cuota de participación 15 dólares.
ron a los estudiantes de la Preparatoria Zapata con el programa llamado Cafetería The Coffee Time. Este programa pretende que estudiantes de educación especial aprendan e interactúen con otros estudiantes en la cafetería escolar. Todo el dinero recaudado será
destinado para el viaje escolar de fin de cursos. Los agentes de la Patrulla Fronteriza donaron una cafetera y también pasaron tiempo con el estudiantes del programa. El 11 de febrero de 2017, los agentes también asistieron a la tropa local de niñas exploradoras con
su primer curso de primeros auxilios. Los agentes que cuentan con un certificado de técnico de emergencias médicas brindaron instrucciones y una lección de técnicas de primeros auxilios a la tropa. Las niñas exploradores obtuvieron una insignia de primeros
auxilios al completar el curso. “Nuestros agentes de la Patrulla Fronteriza se enorgullecen en ser voluntarios y ayudar a la comunidad que protegen y sirven”, dijo Charles E. Arsuaga, agente encargado de la estación Zapata de la Patrulla Fronteriza.
ZCISD
OBTIENEN PRIMER LUGAR
LABORATORIO COMPUTACIONAL 1 La Ciudad de Roma pone a disposición de la comunidad el Laboratorio Computacional que abre de lunes a viernes en horario de 1 p.m. a 5 p.m. en Historical Plaza, a un lado del City Hall. Informes en el 956-849-1411.
Caminata amistosa 1 El Servicio de Extensión Texas A&M Agrilife invita a la segunda caminata Walk Across Texas que iniciará desde el 1 de febrero y continúa hasta el 24 de marzo. Una competencia amistosa para ver quién acumula más millas haciendo cualquier actividad física como correr, caminar andar en bicicleta, , baile, etc. Mayores informes en Texas A&M Agrilife Service, extensión al 956-487-2306. MUSEO EN ZAPATA 1 A los interesados en realizar una investigación sobre genealogía de la región, se sugiere visitar 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. Personal está capacitado y puede orientar acerca de la historia del Sur de Texas y sus fundadores. Pida informes en el 956-765-8983.
Grupos de apoyo 1 Grupo de apoyo para enfermos de Alzheimer, 7 p.m., Laredo Medical Center, primer martes de cada mes.
Feria del Condado 1 En su aniversario número 45, se llevará a cabo a partir del próximo 9 de marzo y contará con las presentaciones de Intocable, La Leyenda, Los Traileros del Norte, Siggno, Elida Reyna y Avante, La Tropa F, entre otros.
Foto de cortesía | ZCISD
El equipo masculino de levantamiento de pesas de la Preparatoria Zapata se llevó a casa el trofeo de primer lugar después de competir en Cotulla, Texas. Danny Ruiz, Franco Arce, Mike Moreno y Erick Chapa obtuvieron primer lugar en sus respectivas categorías.
EAGLE FORD SHALE
Esperan crecimiento controlado Por Julia Wallace TIEMP O DE LAREDO
Durante la reciente caída en la industria del gas y petróleo, las compañías perforando en Eagle Ford Shale aprendieron como hacer más con menos plataformas. Esta eficiencia se pasará al actual periodo de recuperación de la industria, de acuerdo con varios líderes en el negocio del gas natural y el petróleo. LCC fue el recinto para la reunion trimestral del Consorcio Eagle Ford Shale el martes por la mañana. El consorcio representa a los 20 condados que conforman el Eagle Ford Shale, y promueve relaciones entre las compañías de petróleo y gas natural y las comunidades en donde trabajan. En una mesa redonda sobre las tendencias proyectadas para el área, líderes de la industria dijeron que ellos anticipan crecimiento en Eagle Ford Shale, pero nada como el boom que ocurrió hace 10 años. Michael Garcia, director de Recursos Humanos de Lewis
Energy, dijo que su compañía tiene 60 vacantes de trabajo, lo cual ya es un repunte. Pero esto será un crecimiento controlado, estable, dijo él. “Nosotros no veremos los números que vimos hace cinco años”, dijo Garcia. Durante el colapso, los empleados también aprendieron a utilizar la tecnología. Ahora pueden hacer mucho más con una fuerza de trabajo mucho más pequeña, de acuerdo con Rogelio Treviño, director ejecutivo de Workforce Solutions for South Texas. La tecnología también ha mantenido los gastos operativos bajos. El costo de operar una plataforma de petróleo ha disminuido a la mitad en los últimos cinco años, de acuerdo con Vicente Solís, vicepresidente de instrucción y servicios estudiantiles en LCC. Esto ha dado pie para una transición en trabajos también. Los trabajos altamente calificados ahora tienen mucha más demanda, dijeron panelistas.
Los empleados que tienen experiencia en el campo pero no pueden encontrar un trabajo deben seguir buscando en la línea de producción de oleoductos, soldadura y tracto-camiones, dijo Garcia. Y muchos que no pueden encontrar trabajo en la industria del gas y petróleo se están pasando a la construcción, dijo Solís. “Nuestros estudiantes deben entender la naturaleza cíclica de la industria del gas y petróleo”, él dijo. El oeste de Texas es el nuevo sur de Texas De las 754 plataformas activas en los Estados Unidos, un impresionante 20 por ciento se encuentran en Eagle Ford Shale, pero alrededor del 40 por ciento están en la Cuenca Permian. Garcia dijo que Lewis Energy comienza a sentir presión de las muchas compañías que están enfocando su producción en la Cuenca Permian. “Ahí es de donde viene mucha actividad. La actividad del sur de Texas no se ve para nada como la
actividad del oeste de Texas”, dijo Garcia. Esa tarde, la oradora principal Diana Dabah, asesora financiera en Goldman Sachs, confirmó el panorama. La producción estimada de crudos en la Cuenca Permian es de 21 por ciento para 2020, ella dijo. La producción estimada de Eagle Ford Shale es de 4,5 por ciento para 2020. Esto no quiere decir que los pozos en Eagle Ford están explotados. De hecho, Solís dijo que la tecnología ha permitido que estos pozos duren más y produzcan más. Un área en donde Eagle Ford es líder es en gas natural. El Condado de Webb de hecho es el productor más grande de gas natural en los Estados Unidos, de acuerdo con Josh Payne de NuBlu Energy. Payne dijo que su compañía ve una oportunidad en enviar gas natural del otro lado de la frontera a México, donde están en la transición a la energía a base de carbón.
Sports&Outdoors THE ZAPATA TIMES | Wednesday, March 1, 2017 |
NATIONAL FOOTBALL LEAGUE: DALLAS COWBOYS
Romo expected to be released in next 2 weeks Cowboys haven’t found trade
NATIONAL BASKETBALL ASSOCIATION: SAN ANTONIO SPURS
With Dedmon, Spurs' starting five blitzing opponents By Nick Moyle SAN ANTONIO EXPRE SS-NEWS
By Tim Griffin SA N A NT ONI O E XPRE SS-NEWS
The Dallas Cowboys have tried hard to make a trade involving Tony Romo. But the team's efforts appear to have hit a snag, leading them to consider releasing the 13-year quarterback. The Dallas Morning News reports that the team is expected to release Romo within the next two weeks. It would mean that Romo would leave the only team he has ever played for in his NFL career. That move would free up about $5 million in cap space and allow the team to start addressing other needs in free agency. It means that any potential trade suitors for Romo apparently are willing to take their chances after the team releases him rather than trading any commodities for the four-time Pro Bowler. And if Romo is released, one of the team's biggest potential needs would be to acquire another backup quarterback. If the Cowboys keep Romo on their roster through June 1, the News reports that they could designate him as a postJune 1 cut and save $14 million in cap space for
A7
Rich Schultz / Getty Images file
The Cowboys are expected to release quarterback Tony Romo in the next two weeks after trade negotiations have failed to lead to a deal.
2017 by spreading the Romo's cap hits over the next two season. But it's hard to imagine that Jerry Jones would keep Romo hanging for the next four months. Behind Dak Prescott, the Cowboys would need help if Romo is released. Mark Sanchez is not expected to return. The team has shown repeated in-
terest in veteran quarterback Josh McCown, who is now a free agent after he was released by Cleveland. The Cowboys were extremely interested in McCown last season after Kellen Moore broke his ankle in training camp, but the Browns wanted to much in return. Romo, who will turn 37 in April, has repeatedly
said he wants to play for a contender. The wish list appears to be strong with locations like Denver and Houston apparently in play. Where he will end up will reveal itself over the next several weeks. Nothing is certain except the likelihood he will leave the Cowboys — soon.
When Pau Gasol fractured his left hand prior on Jan. 19 prior to a game against Denver, the Spurs were left with a decision: Would Dewayne Dedmon or David Lee replace the six-time All-Star in the starting lineup? Lee started four of the next five contests and played well, averaging 12.6 points and 9.8 rebounds. Then coach Gregg Popovich decided to make the switch to Dedmon, and it may be the most important call he has made all season. Since inserting Dedmon on Jan. 31, the Spurs have had one of the most brutally effective starting units in the league. With the hyper-athletic 7-footer devouring rebounds, hammering home dunks and swallowing opponents on defense, the Spurs have stumbled upon a new identity that may be enough to give even the Warriors trouble. Among five-man units that have played at least 60 minutes together since Jan. 31, Popovich’s new starting lineup ranks second in defensive rating (88) and third in net rating (20.6). Kawhi Leonard, Danny Green, Tony Parker and LaMarcus Aldridge have shown no problem acclimating to life alongside Dedmon. This quintet is shooting 50 percent from
Wally Skalij / TNS
Spurs center Dewayne Dedmon has sparked the team since the injury to Pau Gasol on Jan. 19.
the field while holding opponents to 41.4 percent, in part due to Dedmon’s influence. Coming off the bench has not seemed to slow Gasol, who put up 17 points and 11 rebounds in his first game back, a 105-97 win over the Clippers. He followed that up with 15 points and seven rebounds in 20 minutes against the Lakers. Oh, and he is a sublime 5 of 5 on 3-pointers. Popovich has not declared Dedmon the starter for the remainder of the season, but if it comes to be, Gasol has said he will accept that decision as long as it is in the team’s best interests. “I think I’m at a point I can handle it well if that’s for the best of the team,” Gasol said. “What’s important is that you’re out there when the critical minutes are played and you’re making an impact.”
NATIONAL FOOTBALL LEAGUE
MANZIEL TRIES TO REASSURE JUDGE AFTER MISSING COURT DEADLINE By Schuyler Dixon A S S OCIAT E D PRE SS
DALLAS — After missing a courtordered deadline, Johnny Manziel appeared before a judge Tuesday and promised to meet the stipulations required to get the troubled quarterback’s domestic violence case dismissed while saying his distrust of the NFL played a part in the delay. The 2012 Heisman Trophy winner said he doesn’t want to disappoint Judge Roberto Canas, who warned that he or a jury could decide Manziel’s fate if the deal reached in November is revoked. The 24-year-old Manziel faced a misdemeanor charge that carried a penalty of up to a year in jail and a $4,000 fine after he was accused of hitting and threatening former girlfriend Colleen Crowley during a night out in January 2016. The judge said he called the hearing because Manziel missed a deadline for an update on the progress of meeting his conditions, including one that requires the former Cleveland Browns player to work through the NFL or another agency on a substance-abuse program. Asked by the judge to explain how things would be going forward, Manziel said he responded quickly when attorney Jim Darnell told him the judge wasn’t happy. “Since that day everything’s been going extremely smoothly and my life is trending upward,” Manziel said in a 70-second statement. “I don’t even want to let this get anywhere near the rabbit hole that you were describing. I’m taking this responsibility. This is helping me get my life back together.” Manziel said he was slow to get the process started in part because he was
Andy Jacobsohn / Associated Press
Former Texas A&M Heisman winner and Browns quarterback Johnny Manziel tried to reassure a judge concerned Tuesday that he isn't being serious about the conditions of getting his domestic violence case dismissed, saying his "life is trending upward" and that he is "taking care of this."
hesitant to work with the NFL. He said the involvement of the NFL Players Association, which administers the league’s drug program, also slowed the process. The former Texas A&M star was suspended four games last season for a substance-abuse violation even though he wasn’t under contract. The Browns released him last March, two years after drafting him in the first round. NFL spokesman Brian McCarthy said the domestic case remains under review by the league. “I don’t necessarily always believe in what the NFL does (or) have a lot of trust in them based on past situations, based
on other players, how they got treated,” Manziel told the judge. “So I was very cautious in that regard. Having this being involved with them was kind of a slippery thing with me.” After the hearing, Manziel responded to questions with brief answers as he was leaving the courthouse, saying he was “keeping all his options open” about a possible return to the NFL or another pro league. He said he was working out and hoped to be in an NFL training camp in July. In his first meeting with Manziel since the agreement was reached, Canas had stern words for the quarterback whose
party-boy reputation hastened a quick demise in the NFL. “I have gotten pretty good at being able to tell when a guy is serious about his dismissal contract and guys who are, ‘Eh, as soon as I walk out of court, forget that. I’ll do that when I want to or I’ll get around to it or when it’s convenient for me,”’ Canas said. “If there are any roots of that latter kind of message being planted in your brain, I want to dissuade you of that right now.” Canas told Manziel he would probably get probation if the case went to trial, but that there would be “another dozen or so” conditions beyond the current stipulations. Besides the substance-abuse program requirement, Manziel has to stay out of trouble for a year along with completing an anger management program and attending a domestic violence impact panel. He is also required to stay away from his former girlfriend. “Not everybody who comes through here gets this kind of opportunity because right now you are in charge of what happens to your case,” Canas said. “I would hate for you to miss out on the opportunity that you’ve got right before you.” The allegations stem from a night out when Crowley said Manziel accosted her at a Dallas hotel, a confrontation that continued downstairs to the valet station. She said he forced her into a car and a valet disregarded her pleas for help. The two eventually drove to where her car was parked in front of a Dallas bar, she said in an affidavit. She said Manziel got into the driver’s seat and began to drive. Crowley said Manziel stopped when she tried to jump out of the car, but then he dragged her back inside and hit her.
A8 | Wednesday, March 1, 2017 | THE ZAPATA TIMES
BUSINESS
No immediate ruling made on Dakota Access pipeline work By Sam Hananel and Blake Nicholson A S S OCIAT E D PRE SS
WASHINGTON — A federal judge said Tuesday that he'll decide within a week whether to temporarily halt construction of the final section of the Dakota Access pipeline over claims that it violates the religious rights of two Indian tribes. U.S. District Judge James Boasberg told lawyers at a hearing that he wants to issue a ruling before oil begins flowing in the pipeline, which could be weeks away. Boasberg is considering a request by the Standing Rock and Cheyenne River Sioux tribes to order the Army Corps of Engineers to withdraw permission to lay pipe under Lake Oahe in North Dakota. The
Tom Stromme / AP
In this Feb. 22, 2017, file photo, a fire set by protesters burns in the background as opponents of the Dakota Access pipeline leave their main protest camp Wednesday near Cannon Ball, North Dakota.
pipeline has prompted months of protests and hundreds of arrests. The stretch under the Missouri River reservoir is the last piece of construction for the $3.8 billion pipeline, which would move oil through the Dakotas and Iowa to a ship-
ping point in Illinois. Tribal attorney Nicole Ducheneaux argued during the 1 ½ hour hearing that the mere existence of an oil pipeline under the reservoir that provides water to neighboring reservations violates their right to practice their
religion, which relies on clean water. Boasberg asked Ducheneaux how there could be a contamination issue if "the pipeline itself doesn't even touch the water." "Can you claim a property interest in the land as well as the water?" he
asked. Ducheneaux said the judge appeared to be questioning the sincerity of the tribes' beliefs and stressed there was no other source of clean water available near the tribe's reservation. American Indian activist Chase Iron Eyes, an outspoken opponent of the pipeline, attended the hearing and said afterward that "from the way that the judge was asking questions, it's clear that American or Western (courts) ... lack a place intellectually or spiritually to comprehend the sacred relationship between the original peoples of this hemisphere and the waters, the sacred sites and the lands in our hemisphere." When they filed the lawsuit last summer, the
tribes argued that the pipeline threatens Native American cultural sites and their water supply. Their religion argument is new, however, and both the Corps and the company building the pipeline, Energy Transfer Partners, argue that the delay in raising it is a reason for Boasberg to reject the argument. Corps attorney Reuben Schifman said the tribes waited too long to raise the religion claims and argued that they haven't shown that the pipeline creates a "substantial burden" on their religious practices. Lawyer David Debold noted that the lake has only existed since the 1950s and questioned how the purity of its water could be part of tribal religious beliefs.
THE ZAPATA TIMES | Wednesday, March 1, 2017 |
A9
BUSINESS
Businesses brace for Donald Trump’s immigration policies By Jeremy Redmon COX N EWSPAPE RS
ATLANTA — Jesus Guerrero helps recruit migrant Hispanic farmworkers to harvest crops in South Georgia. Gary Paulk relies on those laborers to pick the grapes on his sprawling farm in Irwin County. And Meherwan Irani operates several Atlanta area Indian restaurants that serve dishes made with Georgia-grown produce. All three entrepreneurs are deeply worried about how new Trump administration immigration policies could impact their businesses — and Georgia’s larger economy. They warn it could mean an increase in the amount Georgians pay for things like goods and services. Last week, the federal government announced stringent new guidelines that dramatically expand the pool of immigrants who could face deportation. The impact of unauthorized immigrants is significant. An estimated 8 million were working or looking for work in the U.S. in 2014, according to the Pew Research Center, a Washingtonbased nonpartisan research group. They made up 5.2 percent of the labor force in Georgia, which was home to 375,000 that same year. Many of them work long hours in physically demanding jobs in the nation’s agricultural, construction, hospitality and manufacturing industries. Supporters of Trump’s policies say deporting them would open up more jobs for legal residents. But Georgia employers say immigrants — those here legally or illegally — do much of the work U.S.born residents won’t. Guerrero, Paulk and Irani stressed they check their employees’ papers to ensure they are authorized to work in the U.S. And even though those
workers have legal status, they said, some are still on edge. Here’s why: Many have friends and relatives who aren’t here legally or they worry they themselves could be hassled by authorities. “They are scared to go out,” Guerrero said. “There is fear in the community.” The government sent mixed messages about its approach last week. During a stop in Mexico Thursday, U.S. Homeland Security Secretary John Kelly sought to alleviate concerns, saying the government would comply with human rights requirements and U.S. laws. “There will be no use of military forces in immigration,” Kelly said, referring to a now-dismissed proposal for National Guardsmen to round up unauthorized immigrants. “There will be no — repeat, no — mass deportations.” But just hours before Kelly spoke, Trump indicated just the opposite in a White House meeting with CEOs when he talked about “getting really bad dudes out of this country at a rate nobody has ever seen before.” “It’s a military operation,” Trump said. “Because what has been allowed to come into our country, when you see gang violence that you’ve read about like never before and all of the things, much of that is people who are here illegally.” ‘A change in the environment’ Guerrero and his father earn a commission for the farmworkers they recruit. They are now trying to line up about 250 for this year’s blueberry, blackberry, grape and tobacco harvests in Georgia. Some of those they perennially rely on have put down roots in other states and travel here every year for seasonal farm work. But they are reluctant
to get on the roads now, Guerrero said, because of Trump’s immigration policies. Last week the government issued new guidelines, beginning the process of hiring 15,000 immigration enforcement and Border Patrol officials, building a new wall on the southwest border and finding more detention space. The directives also significantly increase the government’s targets for deportation, saying officials “no longer will exempt classes or categories of removable aliens from potential enforcement.” Guerrero — a native of Mexico who became a naturalized U.S. citizen after he was illegally brought to the U.S. as a child — said he has noticed a palpable difference in how he is being perceived since Trump moved into the White House. “I have felt a change in the environment,” said Guerrero, an Irwin County High School graduate who has a pronounced Southern accent. “I do feel kind of uncomfortable sometimes in some restaurants.” A sense of deja vu Some of the laborers Guerrero and his father recruit work on Paulk’s 1,000-acre grape and blackberry farm in Wray. Paulk, a gregarious church deacon, is feeling a sense of deja vu. He remembers when Georgia enacted a sweeping immigration enforcement law in 2011, scaring away one-fifth of his Hispanic workers. Paulk said his family suffered about $200,000 in crop losses that year. The state’s $74.3 billion agricultural industry — Georgia’s largest industry — said it sustained crop losses of $74.9 million because of labor shortages that year. Paulk, who partly depends on a federal guest worker program to
harvest his crops, now worries the same financial losses could happen again, if labor shortages return. “Get ready for your (food) prices to go up and folks like me to go out of business,” he said. Paulk’s workers were already feeling anxious before the government announced its guidelines for getting tough on illegal immigration. About 60 of his family’s migrant Hispanic workers participated in “A Day Without Immigrants” demonstration, deciding not to show up for work one day recently. There wasn’t much of an impact because Paulk isn’t harvesting right now. But if that were to happen on a peak harvest day, Paulk said, “it could be a huge loss.” Josefina Tinajero, who works as crew leader on Paulk’s farm, immigrated to the U.S. from Mexico with her family. She now wonders what would happen to her if she encounters authorities without her green card, so she keeps it close by. She also is concerned about her siblings who are living in the U.S. without legal status. “I’m worried,” she said. “What happens if something happens to me and they don’t give me the opportunity to get my resident card?” ‘A rude surprise’ Up north in Atlanta, Irani sees direct connections between the agricultural and restaurant industries. An immigrant from India, Irani is the owner and executive chef for the Chai Pani Restaurant Group, which has locations in the Atlanta and Asheville, North Carolina, areas. Labor shortages, he said, could drive up the cost of produce, affecting his bottom line. “All those people who are cheering rounding up undocumented immigrants and sending them home -- I don’t think they are really
thinking of the economic and social implications of that,” he said. “I think people will be in for a rude surprise a year from now when they see restaurants closing down because they just can’t find or afford the labor to work there or prices in grocery stores are skyrocketing because there is not enough people to work in the fields.” More than 23 percent of restaurant workers are foreign-born, versus 19 percent for the overall economy, according to the National Restaurant Association. Many of Irani’s employees are Hispanic. And some of them are anxious about their relatives, he said. “You may have somebody who was born in the U.S. and is a U.S. citizen but maybe their parents aren’t or their siblings aren’t and they are worried about their family unit being torn apart,” he said. “What would they do if they suddenly found their mother or their brother was suddenly being arrested and sent back to Mexico?” Some see the potential downsides of Trump’s moves on immigration but say they believe the tradeoff is worth it. Shawn Hanley, the vice chairman of Georgia’s Immigration Enforcement Review Board, said businesses might suffer some initial pain. But he said the president’s directives could expel people with violent criminal records and deter illegal immigration. “There could be some truth to some of those restaurants and agricultural businesses stating that things could get a little more expensive for them,” he said. “But there are bigger issues when it comes to illegal immigration in this country. We have to start fixing it from the bottom up.” The possibility of boycotts For Kevin Caldwell,
the fear surrounding Trump’s immigration policies highlights the need to streamline the nation’s legal immigration system, a cumbersome process beset with massive backlogs and expensive requirements. The owner of Caldwell Tree Care in Roswell, he employs a Mexican native who has been waiting for six months for his green card renewal. Another employee from Mexico has been spending thousands of dollars on attorneys to help bring his wife legally to the U.S. At least a year has passed and she is still not here. “We make it difficult for willing people who want to do the right thing. We put up all these barriers,” Caldwell said. “We unfairly discriminate against the workforce.” Meanwhile, Georgia’s hotel industry — which employs a diverse workforce and serves tourists from around the world — is keeping a close eye on the government’s immigration policies. Last month, federal courts halted Trump’s sweeping travel ban, which sought to temporarily bar visitors from seven predominantly Muslim countries. Trump is expected to issue a revised travel ban in the coming days. Ron Tarson, general manager of The Westin Peachtree Plaza in Atlanta, wonders how the government’s immigration policies could affect his industry’s future pool of qualified workers. He also is concerned about the possibility of boycotts. “Will travel itself be curtailed from countries whose residents don’t support the travel ban?” he said. “Will we start seeing boycotts of countries or reduced travel from certain associations or groups that decide, ‘I’m going to do my meeting in Europe rather than the U.S.’?”
Natural gas squares off against competitors for Texas emissions money By Asher Price COX N EWSPAPE RS
AUSTIN, Texas — Far from the more prominent disputes over bathrooms and gender or the disposal of fetal tissue, a more arcane battle, but one worth tens of millions of dollars, is brewing this legislative session. The natural gas industry is squaring off against an oddbedfellow coalition of environmentalists and big business over the size of their shares of a pot of air quality improvement money. As with so much this session, the man in the middle appears to be Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick, who has strong ties to the gas industry and is pushing lawmakers to extend a suite of programs that promote the use of natural gas in cars and trucks that are set to expire. The environmentalist-business coalition says the programs -- in the form of grants or mandates involving state fleets or the construction of natural gas refueling stations -don’t actually do that much to improve air quality and that the money would be better spent in other ways. A big pot of money is involved -- about $235 million is being spent this biennium out of the Texas Emissions Reduction Plan fund. The money comes from a variety of vehicle fees and surcharges, especially those in the smoggier areas of the state, including Austin.
The state Legislature established the Texas Emissions Reduction Plan in 2001 to provide voluntary incentives to eligible individuals, businesses or local governments to reduce emissions and improve air quality in Texas. The plan offers incentives to convert or replace dirty engines with cleaner ones. Five of the incentive grant programs are designed to encourage the use of vehicles that take alternative fuels, which generally have fewer tailpipe emissions than gasoline and diesel. Those alternative fuel programs will expire in 2017 and 2018 if they are not renewed this session. The remainder of the Texas Emissions Reduction Plan, whose more than $1 billion fund balance has been used to certify the budget, will expire in 2019 if not extended. Legislative proposals would extend the current programs and expand them. One measure, for example, would require that any state agency that operates a fleet of more than 15 vehicles replace them with vehicles that use compressed natural gas, liquefied natural gas, hydrogen fuel cells or electricity. The natural gas industry argues that the programs are more important than ever, a way to support a homegrown Texas fuel that’s critical to the state’s economy and facing an uncertain period. The emissions reduction programs are meant to bring
the state’s polluted areas into compliance with federal pollution standards. But environmentalists who care chiefly about air quality and the businesses that operate in those areas say the natural gas programs are a relatively inefficient way to improve air quality. About a third of the emissions reduction program appropriation goes to alternative fuel programs, which often emphasize natural gas. Through these programs, taken together, it costs about $68,000 to cut 1 ton of one smog pollutant -- nitrogen oxide. By comparison, it costs $10,000 to remove 1 ton of nitrogen oxide through the diesel emissions reduction program, according to data from the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality. A 2016 report by the state Senate Natural Resources and Economic Development Committee, headed by Sen. Craig Estes, R-Wichita Falls, recommended that “the Legislature should appropriate the overwhelming majority of the increased funding to the diesel emission reduction incentive program.” Still, the natural gas measures appear likely to get extended: Similar measures passed the Senate in 2015 and made it out of committee in the House. Estes himself is carrying Senate Bill 26, despite his committee’s lukewarm report before the session kicked off.
That might be because the measure is a priority for Patrick. Patrick got about 16 percent of the campaign cash he raised between 2013 and 2016 from the oil and gas industry; Estes got about 10 percent; and Landgraf, who hails from the oil-rich Permian Basin, got 19 percent. “Texas has significantly improved air quality over the last 30 years,” Estes said upon filing the bill in January, “and this bill will continue that progress without damaging our economy. “Legislators, have a duty to ensure that our children, grandchildren and future generations have both clean air and a strong economy,” he said. “This bill keeps Texas on track to have both.” Neither Estes nor Patrick responded to a request for comment. Landgraf told the Austin American-Statesman the gas programs are part of the overall solution for improving air quality while using a key, abundant Texas natural resource. Natural gas development “helps schools, improves tax base and adds money to the rainy day fund,” said Kirk Edwards, a past president of the Permian Basin Petroleum Association, president of Latigo Petroleum and a member of Patrick’s energy advisory committee. Burning gas, he said, “is way cleaner than burning diesel or gasoline.” Steve Minick, who worked
from 1984 to 2008 at the Commission on Environmental Quality, the state agency that administers the emissions reduction program, and now does government affairs work for the Texas Association of Business, said the emissions reduction fund has been eyed for all sorts of purposes in recent years. “There are always people at the fringes looking at a large revenue stream that isn’t being spent and wondering what we can do with it,” he said. Last session, for example, the gas industry collaborated with environmental groups to fend off efforts to raid the fund for state highway projects. “We recognize the value of using a domestic energy product to improve our fleets,” Minick said, “but we should not be spending money on natural gas vehicles until we’ve exhausted cost-effective control methods in order of their effectiveness.” The conventional wisdom, said Cyrus Reed, conservation director of the state chapter of the Sierra Club, is that the program extensions “would primarily benefit natural gas trucks and conversion.” Texas Natural Gas Foundation Executive Director Heather Ball said the programs were not a subsidy as much as an investment by the state. “There are upturns and downturns in the oil and gas industry in Texas,” Ball said. “Part of the role of these programs is to even that out.”
A10 | Wednesday, March 1, 2017 | THE ZAPATA TIMES
ENTERTAINMENT
Film academy apologizes for Oscars best picture gaffe By Sandy Cohen and Anthony Mccartney A S S OCIAT E D PRE SS
LOS ANGELES — The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences is apologizing to the cast and crews of the films "La La Land" and "Moonlight" for the mistaken announcement of the best picture winner during Sunday's Oscars award ceremony. The academy's apology comes after the accounting firm responsible for the integrity of the Academy Awards, PwC, said mistakes were made and its staffers did not move quickly enough to correct the biggest error in Oscars history. "We deeply regret the mistakes that were made during the presentation of the Best Picture category
during last night's Oscar ceremony," the academy said in a Monday statement. "We apologize to the entire cast and crew of 'La La Land' and 'Moonlight' whose experience was profoundly altered by this error." The academy also apologized to presenters Warren Beatty and Faye Dunaway and to viewers. The academy's statement noted that PwC, formerly Price Waterhouse Coopers, has been entrusted with handling Oscar votes for 83 years but said the academy "will determine what actions are appropriate going forward." PwC wrote in its own statement that several mistakes were made and two of its partners assigned to the show did not act quickly enough when "La La Land" was mistakenly announced
as the best picture winner. Three of the film's producers spoke before the actual winner, the coming-of-age drama "Moonlight," was announced. "PwC takes full responsibility for the series of mistakes and breaches of established protocols during last night's Oscars," PwC wrote. It said its partner, Brian Cullinan, mistakenly handed Beatty and Dunaway an envelope containing the winner of the best actress award. "Once the error occurred, protocols for correcting it were not followed through quickly enough by Mr. Cullinan or his partner," the statement read. It did not address in detail which protocols were violated. The firm apologized to Beatty, Dunaway, the cast and crew of "La La Land" and "Moonlight," the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, and host Jimmy Kimmel.
Chris Pizzello / AP
"La La Land" producer Jordan Horowitz, left, presenter Warren Beatty, center, and host Jimmy Kimmel right, look at an envelope announcing "Moonlight" as best picture at the Oscars on Sunday, at the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles. It was originally announced mistakenly that "La La Land" was the winner.
THE ZAPATA TIMES | Wednesday, March 1, 2017 |
A11
FROM THE COVER
Trump sons open newest hotel in Vancouver By Manuel Valdes and Rob Gillies A S S OCIAT E D PRE SS
VANCOUVER, British Columbia — Ignoring protests, claims their newest real estate venture clashes with Canadian values and a no-show mayor who tried to change the tower's name, U.S. President Donald Trump's sons said Tuesday that it was "so fitting" to see the Trump brand in Vancouver, a city known for its diversity and progressive politics. Protesters, some carrying posters proclaiming, "Love Trumps Hate," surrounded the entrance to the Trump hotel and condominium tower while police and security officers in black suits gathered on sidewalks at the soaring edifice, which has drawn praise for its sleek design but has also raised ethical concerns about the business interests of the new U.S. president. Vancouver Mayor Gregor Robertson, who had lobbied for the Trump name to be removed from the tower, refused to attend the ceremony in protest of Trump's policies on immigration and other matters. "The name Trump has now become synonymous not with luxury and lifestyle, but
MEXICO From page A1 people asking for protectionism in Washington would reach to Maryland, and in Mexico City they’d reach to Puebla.” ‘Very high potential’ The border-adjustment tax, he said, is something that’s squarely a domestic fiscal matter for the U.S. He also said it would be complicated to implement, and would no doubt result in mirror changes from other nations that would aim to level the playing field. Washington’s going that route “would require a crazy amount of control on the origin of merchandise and inputs.” The U.S. is by far Mexico’s biggest single trading partner. But Mexico has pacts with more than 40 other countries, and has been accelerating free-trade talks with Brazil and Argentina after changes in those nations’ governments have them looking more favorably on open markets. In Brazil in particular, Mexico sees what Guajardo called “very, very high potential” in areas including automobiles. “I’m not going to negotiate with Brazil for its pretty face. I’m going to negotiate with Brazil because they’re going to open their car-manufacturing market,” said the minister, who has overseen negotiations for the Trans-Pacific Partnership and is working to update the country’s free-trade agreement with the European Union. Mexico is also seeking to have TPP members join the Pacific Alliance,
AGENTS From page A1
with racism, sexism and intolerance," said city Councilman Kerry Jang, who was among other city officials boycotting the event. Despite the protests and controversy, however, the Trump brothers said Vancouver was the perfect location for a new Trump enterprise. "Vancouver is truly one of the great cities of the world. It's truly one of the most beautiful places in the world and it's so fitting for the Trump brand," Eric Trump said in a speech before the ribbon-cutting ceremony. Calling the building an "an architectural masterpiece," he added: "That's what our brand is all about. That's what our father's vision was all about, creating one of the most iconic buildings in the world." In true Trump fashion, Donald Jr. opened his remarks with a lighthearted swipe at the media. "I'd like to thank the press," he said before quickly adding: "Just kidding. Good to see you here. I'm shocked. I'm absolutely shocked." Donald Jr. also thanked the tower's Malaysian developer, Joo Kim Tiah, whose father is one of Malaysia's wealthiest businessmen and who, like the U.S. president, made a for-
which includes Chile, Peru and Colombia. TPP nations have been invited to participate in the Latin American group’s meeting in March, Guajardo said. In one of his first acts as president, Trump pulled the U.S. out of the Pacific trade deal, designed to knit together almost 40 percent of the global economy. For all his tough talk, Guajardo was optimistic the U.S., Mexico and Canada could come to terms on revamping Nafta. “I think there is a way to find a very good agreement that will be a win-win for the three countries,” he said. He said appropriate ways to improve and update Nafta would be to add digital commerce, telecommunications and aspects of the energy industry that weren’t included when the deal was first negotiated. He also suggested that the requirements for the amount of North American content that goes into products that trade duty free could also be strengthened. While Trump has called Nafta the worst trade deal ever, Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said last week that he’s not worried about trade relations with Mexico and also sees a “winwin” result that can come out of Nafta talks. Guajardo said he wants talks to wrap up early in 2018. Otherwise, “we’d be irresponsibly injecting uncertainty after uncertainty because of the U.S. mid-term election and the presidential election in Mexico.” Mexicans go to the polls to choose a president in July 2018, and the U.S. mid-terms are that November.
used for their end of the year school trip. Border Patrol agents from the station donated a coffee maker and spent some time with the students
Darryl Vick / AP
This Jan. 20, 2017 photo shows the still-under-construction Trump International Hotel and Tower in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. The 69-story tower has drawn praise for its sleek, twisting design. Prices for the condominiums have set records. But the politics of President Donald Trump have caused such outrage that the mayor won’t attend the Feb. 28 grand opening and has lobbied for a name change.
tune in real estate. "It's great to be able to do this within a family business. I understand how that dynamic works," Donald Jr. said. "It either works great or it is a total disaster." The Trump Organization is licensing the name to the building and managing the hotel, but does not own it. Joo Kim, the developer, said he found it "extremely stressful" when Trump entered politics well after he signed the partnership agreement with the Trump organization. "I was terrified," Joo Kim of the Canada-based Holborn Development company told The Associated Press. "The people who ran the city were not happy with me. I was scared, but I think they understand. They understand that I'm trapped into — not trapped, locked into — an agreement." As the opening cere-
mony took place Tuesday inside the gleaming 69story tower, people carrying anti-Trump signs took part in a raucous demonstration to the sound of reggae music outside. Protesters crowded the building's entrance, including Henry Ho, who brought signs with messages that included "Dump Trump," and "Is it 2020 yet?" "I believe a president should be at his core a good person," the Vancouver resident said. "I don't feel like that comes from Donald Trump." While the Trumpbranded tower is a source of anger for many, the new hotel and its namesake do have some support in the region. "President and hotel owner are two different things. If he can separate the two, all the power to him," said Joe Taylor, a resident of British Columbia. "At least he's got the nerve to say what's on his mind. If people
don't like it, well, they're not used to that." The Trump brothers did not take questions after the ceremony, though Donald Jr. later said in a tweet that the Trump Organization had received a record number of applications to work at the tower: 10,000 applications for 300 full time jobs. A Trump Organization tweet late Monday asserted the tower was "the first property to open in the city" in over six years. But the city's former planning director, Brent Toderian, said that wasn't true. "I'm the former chief planner for #Vancouver. That's so far from being true, it's laughable," Brent Toderian tweeted. The Trump Organization tweet was later deleted. Located along an upscale six-lane downtown thoroughfare, the tower is the second-tallest in Vancouver and offers majestic mountain and
ocean views. A one-bedroom apartment, at 699 square feet, starts around $1 million and the average 1,153-square-foot twobedroom condo went for $1.7 million but has since gone up. Hotel rooms in the slow season start at around $228 ($300 Canadian). The chief White House ethics lawyers under Presidents George W. Bush and Barack Obama have criticized Trump's turning over control of his business to his sons, saying it does not eliminate potential conflicts of interest. Legal experts also say Trump's overseas businesses could violate the "emoluments clause" of the U.S. constitution, which bars public officials from accepting payments or gifts from foreign governments or companies they control without the consent of Congress. A liberal-funded watchdog group has filed a lawsuit against Trump citing the clause.
Trump orders regulators to rescind Obama water pollution rule By Jennifer A. Dlouhy and Shannon Pettypiece BL OOMBERG NEWS
Bloomberg — President Donald Trump ordered his administration to rescind and rewrite an Obama-era environmental rule that critics say gave the U.S. government too much power to regulate waterways nationwide. Trump signed a directive on Tuesday compelling the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and the Environmental Protection Agency to reconsider the 2015 “Waters of the U.S.” rule. Trump called the rule “one of the worst examples of federal regulations,” saying it burdened farmers, ranchers and home-builders by extending the EPA’s authority to
LCC From page A1 During the bust, employers also learned to increasingly utilize technology. They’re now able to do a lot more with a much smaller workforce, according to Rogelio Treviño, executive director of Workforce Solutions for South Texas. Technology has also kept operation costs down. The cost to operate an oil rig has shrunk in half in the last five years, according to Vincent Solis, LCC’s vice president of instruction and student services. This has led to a transition for jobs as well.
from the program. On February 11, 2017, Zapata Border Patrol agents also assisted the local Girl Scout Troop with their first aid
ma administration’s EPA aimed to resolve decades of uncertainty over what waterways were subject to federal regulation and oversight. In 2006, the U.S. Supreme Court fractured over the question of whether strictly navigable waters are subject to the Clean Water Act, or if the jurisdiction goes further. Developers said later guidance from the EPA only injected more confusion into permitting processes. Obama’s Waters of the U.S. rule was opposed by dozens of states and an assortment of business and agriculture groups, which complained it did nothing to clear up the murkiness and took an overly expansive view of the law. Rewriting the measure will take significant time.
“include any puddle.” The Trump administration also will ask a federal court to halt consideration of a lawsuit from dozens of states and an assortment of businesses and agricultural groups challenging the rule while the measure is being reviewed, according to a White House official, who spoke on condition of anonymity to describe the document before its release. Trump’s decision sets in motion a slow-moving regulatory process aimed at rewriting the rule over the next several years. It also helps deliver on his campaign pledge to rescind the measure critics said unfairly expanded the EPA’s Clean Water Act jurisdiction to include dry creek beds, prairie wetlands and other terri-
tory far beyond the “navigable waters” subject to oversight under federal law. The move is the first of several environmental directives expected from the Trump administration in coming days. Another document aims to dismantle the Clean Power Plan, former President Barack Obama’s signature plan for combating climate change by slashing greenhouse gas emissions tied to the generation of electricity. Newly installed EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt also said he wants to go after a rule imposed last year that limits methane emissions from new and modified oil and gas wells.
High-skill jobs are now much more in demand, panelists said. Employees who have experience out in the field but are unable to find a job there should look into pipeline production, welding and trucking, Garcia said. And many who can’t find work in the oil and gas industry are moving into construction, according to Solis. “Our students need to understand the cyclical nature of the oil and gas industry,” he said. West Texas is the new South Texas Of the 754 active rigs in the U.S., an impressive 20 percent are in the
Eagle Ford Shale, but about 40 percent are in the Permian Basin. Garcia said Lewis Energy is feeling pressure from the many companies that are focusing on production in the Permian Basin. “That’s where a lot of the activity is coming from. South Texas activity looks nothing like West Texas activity,” Garcia said. That afternoon, keynote speaker Diana Dabah, financial adviser at Goldman Sachs, confirmed this outlook. The estimated crude oil production growth in the Permian Basin is 21 percent by 2020, she said. Eagle Ford’s esti-
mated production growth is only 4.5 percent by 2020. This is not to say that the Eagle Ford wells are tapped. In fact, Solis said technology has enabled these wells to last longer and produce more. One area where the Eagle Ford Shale leads is in natural gas. Webb County is actually the largest producer of natural gas in the U.S., according to Josh Payne of NuBlu Energy. Payne said his company sees an opportunity in sending natural gas across the border to Mexico, where they are transitioning from coal energy.
course. Border Patrol agents who are certified as Emergency Medical Technicians (EMT) assisted the Girl Scout Troop with instruction and
lesson on first aid techniques. The Girl Scouts earned their First Aid Badge from this course. “Our Border Patrol agents take pride in vol-
unteering and assisting the community in which they protect and serve,” said Charles E. Arsuaga, Patrol Agent in Charge, Zapata Station.
Decades of Uncertainty In imposing the Waters of the U.S. rule, the Oba-
A12 | Wednesday, March 1, 2017 | THE ZAPATA TIMES
NATIONAL
Childhood cancer survivors benefit from less radiation treatment Laurie McGinley WA S H INGT ON P O ST
The rate of second malignancies in survivors of childhood cancer is declining - an improvement linked to reduced radiation treatment of the first disease, according to a new study. The research, published Tuesday in the Journal of the American Medical Association, focused on new cancers not recurrences - that occurred within 15 years of the original ones. The rate for such cancers fell from 2.1 percent for survivors diagnosed in the 1970s to 1.3 percent for those diagnosed in the 1990s. For the same period, the percentage of pediatric cancer patients treated with radiation therapy fell from 77 percent to 33 percent, and the doses were ratcheted back. The study was the latest to suggest that efforts to modify potentially toxic cancer treatments including radiation and chemotherapy - is paying off in reduced “late effects.” These are serious and sometimes lifethreatening complications, such as second cancers, heart problems and infertility, that can affect cancer survivors years later. The research was based on data from the
Oncologists and researchers had long assumed that reducing radiation would benefit pediatric cancer survivors, said Gregory Armstrong, an oncologist at St. Jude’s Children’s Research Hospital in Memphis and the principal investigator of the CCSS. But the new paper demonstrates the link, said Armstrong, one of the authors of the study.
National Cancer Institutesponsored Childhood Cancer Survivor Study, which tracks more than 30,000 survivors. The new analysis included more than 23,000 people treated over three decades. Oncologists and researchers had long assumed that reducing radiation would benefit pediatric cancer survivors, said Gregory Armstrong, an oncologist at St. Jude’s Children’s Research Hospital in Memphis and the principal investigator of the CCSS. But the new paper dem-
onstrates the link, said Armstrong, one of the authors of the study. “We reduced radiation therapy and that reduced the risk,” he said. Even so, childhood cancer survivors remain at risk for later malignancies. Survivors from the 1990s are four times as likely to be diagnosed with another cancer than their peers who were never sick with cancer. Those treated in the 1970s are six times as likely to develop another cancer. The most common second malignancies are breast and thyroid cancers.