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CRIME
‘Biggest little fair’ Photo by Cuate Santos | The Zapata Times
Laredo police officer Jorge Benavides displays a building in the area he patrols as one of the properties targeted to be demolished in Operation Crackdown.
Operation aimed at properties Photos by Victor Strife | The Zapata Times
By ALDO AMATO
Zapata North Elementary students showcase their parade float Saturday morning, as they participate in the 2014 Zapata Fair Parade.
THE ZAPATA TIMES
Parade marks beginning of 42nd annual event
portunity for family gatherings is what she enjoys most about the fair. “It is a real small town, but everyone comes from all over the place and this is where we
Fast food wrappers, used tires and condoms litter the floor of a South Central Laredo property slated to be demolished later this year. Although no one lives at 1115 Cedar Ave., the property has been known for housing illicit activity. The property, owned by Jose Silva and Jose Luis Romero, is one of 12 properties approved for demolition as part of Operation Crackdown. The Laredo City Council entered into an agreement Monday night with the Texas Army National Guard to participate in an operation conducted by the Texas National Guard Joint Counterdrug Task Force, which is scheduled for the last two weeks of May. The operation is aimed at demolishing abandoned buildings and notorious drug houses. “To see this area get better would be wonderful,” said Clemencia Barragan, manager of My Little Life Daycare & Learning Center, which sits a block from the Cedar Avenue property. “That area has been known to harbor criminal elements.” Barragan said although the children’s safety has never been compromised, she’s always been concerned about the
See FAIR PAGE 10A
See CRACKDOWN PAGE 10A
By PHILIP BALLI THE ZAPATA TIMES
The festivities of the 42nd annual Zapata County Fair culminated Saturday with a full day of events beginning with the parade and ending with various live performances from talented artists. Regarded as “The Biggest Little Town Fair in Texas,” the Zapata County Fair has engraved itself into the culture and traditions of the Zapata community through the years. This year’s fair ran from Mar. 13-15. The three-day fair included the traditional trail ride and ribbon cutting that officially opens the fair to the public, followed by a range of activities including animal exhibits, the parade, art projects, photography, musical performances and a carnival, among the many attractions. For many of the attendees,
the fair has been a part of their lives for as long as they can remember. Leticia Muñoz of San Ygnacio owns a Nacho Daddy’s BBQ restaurant in Zapata. She and her aunt, Josefina Villarreal, share many memories of
past fairs. “I have attended many of these fairs throughout the years,” Muñoz said during the parade. “I used to participate in the parades when I was younger.” For Alma Alvarez, the op-
SXSW CRASH
MEXICO
Senior Mexican officials quit positions THE ZAPATA TIMES
Photo by Jay Janner/Austin American-Statesman | AP
A cross and flowers are outside The Mohawk in Austin, on Saturday, as a memorial to the people who died in the hit-and-run tragedy at South by Southwest.
Six still hospitalized ASSOCIATED PRESS
AUSTIN — Six people remain hospitalized nearly a week after a suspected drunken driver plowed into a South By Southwest festival crowd in a crash that has claimed three lives. A spokesman for University Medical Center Brackenridge in Austin says five
victims were still hospitalized Tuesday. Steve Taylor says one person remains critical, two are fair and two patients are in good condition. An official for St. David’s Medical Center says one victim remains hospitalized in fair condition. Police say the driver, Rashad Owens of Killeen,
was legally intoxicated and fleeing from officers when he veered into the crowd. Two people were killed Thursday. Austin police say a third critically injured person, Sandy Thuy Le, died Monday. Owens remains jailed on capital murder and aggravated assault with a motor vehicle charges.
Two senior officials related to security agencies quit over the weekend in Mexico. One was with a national agency, while the other was with Tamaulipas state. Manuel Mondragon resigned as head of the National Security Commission in Mexico, while Rafael Lomeli Martinez stepped down as Secretary of Public Safety in Tamaulipas. Secretary of the Interior Miguel Angel Osorio Chong publicized Mondragon’s departure through a posting on Twitter social network, according to the Associated Press. No reason was given for the resignation. The AP story adds that “Mondragon was in charge of a new police force, (and while) it would not replace the Federal Police, it would be assigned to combat highimpact crimes such as drug trafficking and kidnapping.” The police force’s oper-
Manuel Mondragon resigned as head of the National Security Commission in Mexico, while Rafael Lomeli Martinez stepped down as Secretary of Public Safety in Tamaulipas. ations would have started in mid-2014, Mondragon had previously told the Associated Press. It was not immediately known why Mondragon left the commission.
Tamaulipas state Lomeli Martinez resigned for personal reasons, according to a press release issued by the Tamaulipas state government. He was in charge of a project that created a new Tamaulipas police force
that “duly certifies elements of a creditable state police, which has strengthened security,” according to a press release. Brigadier General DEM Arturo Gutierrez Garcia was named new Secretary of Public Security. He was the chief of staff of the Fourth Military Region in Monterrey, Nuevo Leon state, in 2012 and 2013. He’s a military college graduate, has been part of the Presidential Guards and the president’s security detail, among other assignments.
PAGE 2A
Zin brief CALENDAR
WEDNESDAY, MARCH 19, 2014
AROUND THE NATION
TODAY IN HISTORY
Thursday, March 20
ASSOCIATED PRESS
Los Amigos Duplicate Bridge Club. 1:15 p.m. to 5 p.m. Laredo Country Club. Call Beverly Cantu at 7270589.
Today is Wednesday, March 19, the 78th day of 2014. There are 287 days left in the year. Today’s Highlight in History: On March 19, 1979, the U.S. House of Representatives began televising its floor proceedings; the live feed was carried by C-SPAN (Cable-Satellite Public Affairs Network), which was making its debut. On this date: In 1687, French explorer Rene-Robert Cavelier, Sieur de La Salle — the first European to navigate the length of the Mississippi River — was murdered by mutineers in presentday Texas. In 1918, Congress approved daylight saving time. In 1920, the Senate rejected, for a second time, the Treaty of Versailles (vehr-SY’) by a vote of 49 in favor, 35 against, falling short of the two-thirds majority needed for approval. In 1931, Nevada Gov. Fred B. Balzar signed a measure legalizing casino gambling. In 1945, 724 people were killed when a Japanese dive bomber attacked the carrier USS Franklin off Japan; the ship, however, was saved. In 1953, the Academy Awards ceremony was televised for the first time. In 1965, the wreck of the Confederate cruiser Georgianna was discovered by E. Lee Spence, 102 years to the day after it had been scuttled. In 1976, Buckingham Palace announced the separation of Princess Margaret and her husband, the Earl of Snowdon, after 16 years of marriage. In 1987, televangelist Jim Bakker resigned as chairman of his PTL ministry organization amid a sex and money scandal involving Jessica Hahn, a former church secretary. In 1993, Supreme Court Justice Byron R. White announced plans to retire. (White’s departure paved the way for Ruth Bader Ginsburg to become the court’s second female justice.) In 2003, President George W. Bush ordered the start of war against Iraq. (Because of the time difference, it was early March 20 in Iraq.) Ten years ago: President George W. Bush, on the first anniversary of the Iraq war, urged unity in the war against terrorism. Five years ago: An Austrian jury sentenced Josef Fritzl, 73, to life in a psychiatric ward for locking his daughter in a dungeon for 24 years, fathering her seven children and letting an eighth die in captivity as a newborn. One year ago: Pope Francis officially began his ministry as the 266th pope, receiving the ring symbolizing the papacy and a wool stole exemplifying his role as shepherd of his 1.2-billion strong flock during a Mass at the Vatican. Today’s Birthdays: Former White House national security adviser Brent Scowcroft is 89. Theologian Hans Kung is 86. Jazz musician Ornette Coleman is 84. Author Philip Roth is 81. Actress Renee Taylor is 81. Actress-singer Phyllis Newman is 81. Actress Ursula Andress is 78. Singer Clarence “Frogman” Henry is 77. Singer Ruth Pointer (The Pointer Sisters) is 68. Actress Glenn Close is 67. Film producer Harvey Weinstein is 62. Actor Bruce Willis is 59. Thought for Today: “No one is such a liar as the indignant man.” — Friedrich Nietzsche (NEE’-chuh), German philosopher (1844-1900).
Friday, March 21 Christian Life Seminar: What It Means To Be A Christian. 6 p.m. to 8:30 p.m., every Friday until April 11. San Martin De Porres Catholic Church’s St. Elizabeth Room. Free. Light snacks served. Contact Leah Cayanan at 2860654 or leigh.cayanan@gmail.com.
Saturday, March 22 TAMIU Planetarium shows: “Earth, Moon and Sun” 3 p.m.; “Wonders of the Universe” 4 p.m.; “Two Small Pieces of Glass” 5 p.m.; “Pink Floyd’s The Wall” 6 p.m. General admission $4 children and $5 adults. Premium shows $1 more. Call 3263663.
Monday, March 24 Zapata County Commissioners Court meeting. 9 a.m. Zapata County Courthouse. Call Roxy Elizondo at 7659920.
Thursday, March 27
Photo by Elaine Thompson | AP
Investigators look through the charred wreckage of a news helicopter and two vehicles after the chopper crashed into a city street near the Space Needle, on Tuesday, in Seattle. Two people were killed and another was critically injured, according to the Seattle Fire Department.
Deadly chopper crash By MANUEL VALDES AND PHUONG LE
Orthopedic clinic. 8 a.m. Ruthe B. Cowl Rehabilitation Center, 1220 N. Malinche Ave. Clinic benefits children with cerebral palsy, club foot, scoliosis, spina bifida and more. $5 processing fee. Patients must register before day of clinic. Call 722-2431. Los Amigos Duplicate Bridge Club. 1:15 p.m. to 5 p.m. Laredo Country Club. Call Beverly Cantu at 7270589. Villa San Agustin Genealogical Society meeting. 4:30 p.m. Martin High School, room 218 (Park Street door entrance). Luis R. González as guest speaker; “Tejano and Laredo History” in curriculum. New members are invited to join. Call Sanjuanita M. Hunter at 722-3497.
Friday, March 28 Christian Life Seminar: What It Means To Be A Christian. 6 p.m. to 8:30 p.m., every Friday until April 11. San Martin De Porres Catholic Church’s St. Elizabeth Room. Free. Light snacks served. Contact Leah Cayanan at 2860654 or leigh.cayanan@gmail.com.
Saturday, March 29 65th Annual UMW Flower & Art Show. 1 p.m. to 5 p.m. First United Methodist Church, 1220 McClelland Ave. Tickets available at door. Contact 722-1674 or fumc_office@sbcglobal.net. TAMIU Planetarium shows: “Zula Patrol: Under the Weather” 3 p.m.; “Black Holes” 4 p.m.; “The Great Space Race” 5 p.m.; “Pink Floyd’s Dark Side of the Moon” 6 p.m.. General admission $4 children and $5 adults. Premium shows $1 more. Call 3263663.
Sunday, March 30 65th Annual UMW Flower & Art Show. 1 p.m. to 5 p.m. First United Methodist Church, 1220 McClelland Ave. Tickets available at door. Contact 722-1674 or fumc_office@sbcglobal.net.
Monday, March 31 Monthly meeting of Laredo Parkinson’s Disease Support Group. 6:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. Laredo Medical Center, Tower B, First Floor Community Center. Patients, caregivers and family members invited. Free info pamphlets available in Spanish and English. Call Richard Renner (English) at 645-8649 or Juan Gonzalez (Spanish) at 2370666.
Friday, April 4 Christian Life Seminar: What It Means To Be A Christian. 6 p.m. to 8:30 p.m., every Friday until April 11. San Martin De Porres Catholic Church’s St. Elizabeth Room. Free. Light snacks served. Contact Leah Cayanan at 2860654 or leigh.cayanan@gmail.com.
Monday, April 14 Zapata County Commissioners Court meeting. 9 a.m. Zapata County Courthouse. Call Roxy Elizondo at 7659920.
Submit calendar items at lmtonline.com/calendar/submit or by emailing editorial@lmtonline.com with the event’s name, date and time, location and purpose and contact information for a representative. Items will run as space is available.
ASSOCIATED PRESS
SEATTLE — A news helicopter crashed into the street and exploded into flames Tuesday near Seattle’s Space Needle, killing two people on board, badly injuring a man in a car and sending plumes of black smoke over the city during the morning commute. The chopper was taking off from a helipad at the KOMO-TV station when it went down on Broad Street downtown and hit three vehicles, starting them on fire and spewing burning fuel down the street. KOMO identified the pilot as Gary Pfitzner. The other man killed was Bill Strothman, a former longtime KOMO photographer who was working for the helicopter leasing company. Strothman was someone “who really knew
Texas man dies after a fall at Grand Canyon GRAND CANYON NATIONAL PARK, Ariz. — Authorities at Grand Canyon National Park are investigating the first death of the year attributed to a fall from the canyon’s edge. John N. Anderson, 53, of Grapevine, Texas, died Saturday after falling about 350 feet from the South Rim near El Tovar Lodge, park officials said. Witnesses reported seeing Anderson near a small rock wall that serves as a barrier between visitors and the massive gorge, but no one saw him fall, Grand Canyon Chief Ranger Bill Wright said Tuesday. Wright said authorities believe Anderson was trying to retrieve something, possibly a hat, when he fell over the edge. The Grand Canyon Regional Communications Center received a report of a man falling around 8 a.m. Saturday. Rangers found the man’s body in a rock outcropping and began CPR, but efforts to resuscitate
how his pictures could tell a million words,” news anchor Dan Lewis said on the air. “We’re going to miss you guys. And thanks so much for all that you gave to us,” Lewis said, choking up. Firefighters who arrived at the scene before 8 a.m. found a “huge black cloud of smoke” and two cars and a pickup truck engulfed in flames, Seattle Fire Department spokesman Kyle Moore said. Fuel running down the street also was on fire, and crews worked to stop the fuel before it entered the sewer, Moore said. An injured 38-year-old man managed to free himself from a car and was taken to Harborview Medical Center, Moore said. The man suffered burns covering up to 20 percent of his body, hospital spokeswoman Susan Gregg said. The cause of the wreck is not yet known.
him were unsuccessful. A helicopter was used to remove Anderson’s body, park spokeswoman Kirby-Lynn Shedlowski said. The National Park Service and the Coconino County Medical Examiner are investigating.
NTSB finds leak in gas main at NYC blast site NEW YORK — A gas main leak has been found at the site of the explosion that killed eight people and leveled two Manhattan buildings, federal investigators said Tuesday but cautioned that they’re still a long way from determining what caused the blast. The leaking gas main was adjacent to 1646 Park Avenue, one of the buildings destroyed in the March 12 blast, the National Transportation Safety Board said. According to the NTSB, the leak was detected during a pressure test on the 8-inch main beneath Park Avenue. A tracer gas escaped under normal operating pressure, investigators said.
Authorities have said the blast erupted about 15 minutes after someone from a neighboring building reported smelling gas. And the NTSB said Friday that that underground tests conducted in the hours after the explosion registered high concentrations of natural gas. However, board spokesman Eric Weiss said investigators were far from deciding what caused the explosion. “We don’t determine the probable cause until the very, very end,” he said. The NTSB said it will excavate the area near the leak to expose the gas main, parts of which are made of cast iron and date back to 1887. A camera probe will be run inside both the gas main and a damaged water main on Park Avenue and the resulting video will be examined, the board said. The NTSB has said it was unclear if the broken water main somehow contributed to the explosion or was caused by it. The water main dates back to 1897. — Compiled from AP reports
AROUND THE WORLD Investigators receive help from Thailand KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia — Investigators trying to solve the mystery of a missing Malaysian jetliner received some belated help Tuesday from Thailand, whose military said it took 10 days to report radar blips that might have been the plane “because we did not pay attention to it.” On Tuesday, Thai military officials said their radar showed an unidentified plane, possibly Malaysia Airlines Flight 370, flying toward the Strait of Malacca minutes after the Malaysian jet’s transponder signal was lost. An air force spokesman said the Thai military doesn’t know whether the plane was Flight 370.
Pistorius trial: Bullet trajectory examined PRETORIA, South Africa — A
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A man smears the face of a woman with colors during celebrations marking Holi, the Hindu festival of colors, in Mumbai, India, on Monday. The holiday marks the beginning of spring and the triumph of good over evil. South African police ballistics expert showed Tuesday how he estimated the trajectory of the four bullets Oscar Pistorius fired through a toilet door while standing on his stumps to kill his girlfriend. Capt. Christiaan Mangena
said Pistorius shot at a slightly downward angle into the cubicle where Reeva Steenkamp was. The testimony came late in Tuesday’s court proceedings. Mangena is expected to reveal his conclusions today. — Compiled from AP reports
SUBSCRIPTIONS/DELIVERY (956) 728-2555 The Zapata Times is distributed on Saturdays to 4,000 households in Zapata County. For subscribers of the Laredo Morning Times and for those who buy the Laredo Morning Times at newsstands, the Zapata Times is inserted. The Zapata Times is free. The Zapata Times is published by the Laredo Morning Times, a division of The Hearst Corporation, P.O. Box 2129, Laredo, Texas 78044. Phone (956) 728-2500. The Zapata office is at 1309 N. U.S. Hwy. 83 at 14th Avenue, Suite 2, Zapata, TX 78076. Call (956) 765-5113 or e-mail thezapatatimes.net
Local
WEDNESDAY, MARCH 19, 2014
THE ZAPATA TIMES 3A
Courtesy photo | Google Maps Photo by César G. Rodriguez | The Zapata Times
The Dr Ike’s in Zapata in shown in this photo from Google Maps. The store will be celebrating 30 years of doing business in the town on Wednesday, April 2.
Diana Hernandez, a Webb County Sheriff’s Office deputy, pins the badge on her son, Ricardo Hernandez Jr., during a pinning ceremony Friday at Laredo Police Department headquarters.
Home store to Laredo PD needs officers celebrate 30 years THE ZAPATA TIMES
For those interested in a career in law enforcement, the Laredo Police Department will start offering applications for new officers Wednesday. Applications for the exam will be available at the City of Laredo Human Resources Department, 1110 Houston St., between 8 a.m. and 5 p.m. The application can also be downloaded from the city’s website — ci.laredo.tx.us — starting Wednesday. Applications must
be physically turned in or mailed to: City of Laredo Human Resources Department - HR 2 1110 Houston St. Laredo, TX 78042 No applications will be accepted after 5 p.m. Thursday, March 27, according to an email sent out by the city. Prospective officers must take a written exam that will be given 9:15 a.m. Wednesday, April 23. Registration starts at 8:15 a.m.
The exam will be held at the Laredo Civic Center Ballroom, 2400 San Bernardo Ave. A valid driver’s license must be presented at the test site. Those with a renewal card must present another state-issued picture ID. The email also notes that applicants who claim veteran’s preference must submit a copy of an honorable discharge — form DD-214 — with the application by the closing date. For more information, call the Human Resources Department at 791-7411 or 795-2171.
Zapata’s Dr. Ike’s opened its doors in 1984 SPECIAL TO THE TIMES
A local home improvement store is celebrating 30 years of doing business in Zapata. Dr. Ike’s first opened its doors in Zapata in 1984. “We want to thank you, our loyal customers, for your ongoing support,” a news release states. “To show our apprecia-
tion, we are throwing a big birthday bash.” The celebration takes place during regular store hours Wednesday, April 2, at 430 Farm Road 496. There will be a Cajunstyle fish fry complete with wings, fries and other tasty treats. For more information, call 765-8340.
Weather observers needed in two counties SPECIAL TO THE TIMES
The Community Collaborative Rain, Hail and Snow Network (CoCoRaHS) and the National Weather Service in Brownsville are calling all weather enthusiasts in Zapata and Jim Hogg counties. The organizations need residents’ help in reporting rainfall that occurs in the area. “This program is designed to help meteorologists, forecasters, researchers, among others, to
study the variability of precipitation across the region, help improve drought monitoring and verify Doppler radar precipitation estimates,” states a news release. People of any age are welcome to join CoCoRaHS.
Requirements Have an official National Weather Service/CoCoRaHS rain gauge (gauges can be purchased
through the CoCoRaHS website) Have a good site on your property with open space where you can place gauge, as tree and obstruction free as possible. Be willing to submit report precipitation data, including “zero” reports, and any other weather observations daily. Internet access is preferred, though not required, as data can be called into a local coordinator. To become an official rainfall observer, visit cocorahs.org and click on “Join CoCoRaHS” to fill
out an application. Any questions can be directed to Juan Alanis Jr., Webb County CoCoRaHS coordinator, at 2513996; or to Geoffrey Bogorad, CoCoRaHS Rio Grande Valley regional coordinator at the National Weather Service office in Brownsville, at 504-1432. CoCoRaHS, based at Colorado State University and started in 1998, is a nonprofit, communitybased network of volunteer weather observers of all ages and backgrounds working to-
gether to measure and report precipitation amounts. By using low-cost and self-provided measurement tools, placing emphasis on training and utilizing and interactive website, the aim of CoCoRaHS is to provide the maximum amount of data for natural resource education as well as research applications. CoCoRaHS expanded into Texas in 2007 and is now operating in all 50 states, the District of Columbia and in Canada.
PAGE 4A
Zopinion
WEDNESDAY, MARCH 19, 2014
LETTERS TO THE EDITOR SEND YOUR SIGNED LETTER TO EDITORIAL@LMTONLINE.COM
COLUMN
OTHER VIEWS
Russia, US face frigid relations By BOB RAY SANDERS FORT WORTH STAR-TELEGRAM
It’s not exactly the Cold War, but as some of the old folks in my family used to say, it’s getting mighty chilly. No, there are not any Soviet nuclear warheads in Cuba pointed toward the U.S. — even though a Russian spy ship did make a surprise visit to the island nation last month — and no Russian leader has recently proclaimed to the Western world, “We will bury you.” But Russian President Vladimir Putin has placed his heel on the neck of the Ukrainian people while poking his finger in the eyes of Western leaders, daring them to do something about it. The United States, Europe and the rest of the international community must do something besides talk in reaction to Russia’s military “invasion” of the pro-Moscow Crimean region and Putin’s support of a hastily called referendum set for Sunday on whether that section of Ukraine should secede. But the question is, do what? President Obama, in declaring his support of Ukraine after its people forced former President Viktor Yanukovych to leave the country, has told Putin that Russia’s actions in Crimea are a violation of international law and that a referendum, which could lead to Russia annexing the peninsula, is against the Ukrainian constitution. Obama warned Putin that the United States would not accept the referendum and urged the Russian president to seek another path to end the crisis or Russia would suffer the cost imposed by the international community. For his part, Putin has called the ousting of Yanukovych a coup and insists that his military only intervened in Crimea to protect ethnic Russians in that part of the country. Now to the dilemma of what should be done. Putin has stepped out on a limb, looking like a leaner, meaner version of Nikita
Khrushchev from a half-century ago. And this is within days of his country having basked in the international spotlight during its successful hosting of the Winter Olympics in Sochi. He will have to be given the opportunity to somehow save face, but at the same time the U.S. and Europe must be prepared to institute some harsh sanctions against Russia that, in turn, could isolate the country at a time when it has been seeking international acceptance and economic investments. There was a little hope Friday when Secretary of State John Kerry met in London with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, but after a six-hour meeting the two emerged to say the two countries were still at an impasse. Lavrov, saying there was no “common vision,” indicated that Russia still accepts Crimea’s right to vote on its independence. Obama must keep his word in holding Russia accountable. A Senate bill that won key committee approval last week would authorize $1 billion in loan guarantees for Ukraine and give Obama the power to impose economic penalties on Russian officials responsible for the intervention in Crimea or culpable of gross corruption, The Associated Press reported. This is a time when the Congress must stand with the president. Rather than having partisan detractors trying to find ways to blame him for the situation in Ukraine or engage in their usual name calling, members of both parties should unite in supporting Obama on actions he seeks to put in place. Although the Ukrainian people see Russia’s intervention as a declaration of war and some leaders there are bracing for just that, there is no way this country can become involved militarily. But we must be prepared to do anything short of that if Russia continues to reject diplomacy. Economic sanctions would be a good first step.
COLUMN
Can GM restore public trust? CHICAGO TRIBUNE
On Feb. 7, GM told federal regulators it would recall some of the vehicles with ignition problems. On Feb. 25, the company expanded the recall to 1.6 million cars that it built from 2003 to 2007. Dealers are being told to replace the ignition switch — a part said to cost no more than five bucks. Now GM faces hearings in the U.S. House and Senate, an investigation by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration and the reported scrutiny of federal prosecutors in New York. The company has hired former U.S. Attorney Anton Valukas to conduct an internal investigation. How did GM’s leaders go for years without acknowledging problems with the company’s ignition systems and rushing to fix them? Maybe Ross Perot, once a GM board member, had it right when he said in Fortune Magazine in 1988: “At GM, if you see a snake, the first thing you do is go hire a consultant on snakes. Then you get a committee on snakes, and then you discuss it for a couple of years. The most likely course of action is ... nothing.” GM had time and reason to act. Its engineers first identified the ignition problem in 2001. Another internal report two years later documented how a service technician observed a stall while driving, and fixed the problem by re-
placing the ignition switch — but only in that car. In 2005, GM warned its dealers about “inadvertent turning of key cylinders” in some models now under recall. The company devised a fix but later canceled it. The media flagged the problem too: Among other news accounts, a reporter at the New York Times wrote that his wife had to coast to a stop by the side of a freeway after her knee knocked against the steering column in her Chevy Cobalt. General Motors has been making cars in America for more than a century. Over the decades it has survived a great deal — the rise and fall (and occasional crash) of the American economy, the advance of international competition, a bankruptcy and federal government bailout. It will survive this. Toyota came back and regained its world sales title in 2012. We anticipate that how GM survives this blow to its reputation will depend not on its top management — its credibility has taken a terrible hit. Survival will depend on the efforts of GM’s local dealers around the country. They’re the people who work directly with customers, the people who build loyalty, trust and confidence. Those dealers didn’t create this problem; they stand to be victims, too, if GM sales take a hit. They will be key to saving the company.
COLUMN
Educating today’s students By LEWIS W. DIUGUID THE KANSAS CITY STAR
At first, the title of a lecture spelled out on a big screen at the University of Arizona seemed as if it had an embarrassing grammatical error: “Stakes is High: Educating New Century Students.” But it was borrowed from hiphop group De La Soul’s album “Stakes Is High” to show how schools are failing to prepare kids for the future. It’s a failure on many fronts, said Gloria Ladson-Billings, a University of Wisconsin-Madison urban education professor who spoke at a graduate student colloquy on compassion in education. We’re repeatedly told of an achievement gap with students of color trailing their white classmates. But that casts the blame on minority students, parents and teachers. Ladson-Billings referred to the gap as “an education debt.” She defines it in historical, economic, social, political and moral inequities affecting communities of color. The debt includes it being illegal to teach slaves followed by 100 years of unequal education for black children. Even after the Brown v. Topeka Board of Education Supreme Court ruling ending legal segregation, 90 percent of black and brown kids attend hyper-segregated and unequal schools. The debt is economic because of “persistent underfunding of schools” for minority youths. Children of color live in areas where property values don’t generate enough revenue to provide the well-funded, quality education available in white communities. The social and political debt involves centuries of minorities being denied the vote, though they fought in every U.S. war and provided free labor as slaves. The suffrage problem continues
… Ninety percent of black and brown kids attend hyper-segregated and unequal schools. The debt is economic because of ‘persistent underfunding of schools’ for minority youths. Children of color live in areas where property values don’t generate enough revenue to provide the well-funded, quality education available in white communities. with voter ID laws and the exclusion of voting rights to felons disproportionately affecting minorities. The number of black teachers has dropped from 10 percent about 30 years ago to 5 percent today in public schools, LadsonBillings said. This means the majority of kids will never have teachers of color. That’s a social and moral debt when student diversity is up, but minority kids have less access to college, Ladson-Billings said. It’s a tragedy because “educating our children is the most important task we face.” With each point, Ladson-Billings repeated “the stakes is high.” Smartphones and youths’ use of them has helped close the digital divide, but schools fail to incorporate kids’ use of social media in schools. Kids are techsavvy and information rich but have little respect for plagiarism, intellectual property and copyright rules. They haven’t been properly taught. “The new digital divide is that which exists between generations,” Ladson-Billings said. “Teachers are unable to keep up.” She played a video of a student rapping about physics and said
young people as new century students don’t fit traditional boundaries of race, class, gender or national origin. Hip-hop is their common culture for teaching and learning. Worldwide, hip-hop is used to describe everything from the injustice involving Trayvon Martin to the Arab Spring. “This is a new way of thinking about culture and thinking about students,” she said. “Young people are not slackers.” They are engrossed in learning, innovation, creation and implementation. She said about half of the kids into hip-hop want to be teachers, “but they can’t stand teacher education programs.” Change has to happen for young people and the country to have a future. “We have to take some risks,” Ladson-Billings said. “We have to be willing to say this isn’t right.” Ladson-Billings said she has hope in today’s youths. “Kids can turn their lives around because they are finding a way to express themselves through art,” she said. Adults just have to anchor them with history and boundaries to respect so they can soar into a great future.
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DOONESBURY | GARRY TRUDEAU
calling or gratuitous abuse is allowed. Via e-mail, send letters to editorial@lmtonline.com or mail them to Letters to the Editor, 111 Esperanza Drive, Laredo, TX 78041.
WEDNESDAY, MARCH 19, 2014
THE ZAPATA TIMES 5A
PÁGINA 6A
Zfrontera
Agenda en Breve LAREDO 03/20— El guitarrista clásico, Francisco Bibriesca presenta su gira “Después de Todo” a las 6 p.m. en la Capilla de los Veteranos, Laredo Community College, Campus Ft. McIntosh. Entrada gratis. Cupo limitado. RSVP al (956) 723-0990, ext. 215. 03/21— Clínica de Epilepsia del Sur de Texas, de 9 a.m. a 2 p.m. en Mercy Ministries de Laredo, 2500 Zacatecas St. Se requiere cita previa llamando al (210) 450-9700. La clínica es para personas con Medicaid o sin seguro; o bien residentes con seguro. Habrá personas que hablen español. 03/21— Seminario de Vida Cristiana: ¿Qué Significa Ser un Cristiano?, de 6 p.m. a 8:30 p.m., cada viernes, hasta el 11 de abril, en la Iglesia Católica San Martin De Porres, Aula St. Elizabeth. Evento gratuito. Se dará un refrigerio ligero. Más información en el 286-0654. 03/21— Aaron Watson se presenta en concierto en Casa Blanca Ballroom. Puertas abren a las 8 p.m. Actuarán también Josh Ward y Cody Johnson Band. Costo: 20 dólares. 03/22— Planetario Lamar Bruni Vergara de TAMIU presenta: “Earth, Moon and Sun” a las 3 p.m.; “Wonders of the Universe” a las 4 p.m.; “Two Small Pieces of Glass” a las 5 p.m.; “Pink Floyd’s The Wall” a las 6 p.m. Costo: 4 dólares, niños; 5 dólares, adultos. 03/22— BÉISBOL DE LIGA MEXICANA— Tigres de Cancún contra Águilas del Veracruz a las 7 p.m. en el Estadio Uni-Trade. Costo: 8 dólares, 12 dólares y 14 dólares. Informes en el (956) 7LEMURS. 03/24— BÉISBOL DE LIGA MEXICANA— Tigres de Cancún contra Equipo de las Estrellas (Tecos) de Nuevo Laredo (México) a las 7 p.m. en el Estadio Uni-Trade. Costo: 8 dólares, 12 dólares y 14 dólares. Informes en el (956) 7LEMURS. 03/27— Clínica Ortopédica en el Centro de Rehabilitación Ruthe B. Cowl, 1220 N. Malinche Ave., a partir de las 8 a.m. La clínica beneficia a niños con parálisis cerebral, pie equinovaro, escoliosis, espina bífida, entre otros. Hay un costo de 5 dólares por proceso. Pacientes deben registrarse previamente en la clínica. Pida informes en el (956) 722-2431.
NUEVO LAREDO, MX 03/19— Cine Club presenta “La Diosa Arrodillada” a las 4 p.m. en el Auditorio de Estación Palabra. Entrada gratis. 03/20— Jueves de Museo proyectará la película “Gravedad” (Gravity) a las 6 p.m. en la Sala de Servicios Educativos del Centro Cultural. Entrada gratis. 03/21— Exposición de pinturas “Mujer” a partir de las 6 p.m. en el Centro Cívico. Entrada gratis. 03/22— Festival Infantil “Primavera y Duendes” a las 2 p.m. en Estación Palabra. Entrada gratis. 03/24— Se presentará el monólogo “La Madre Pasota” a las 6 p.m. en la Casa de la Cultura. Entrada libre. 03/25— Bingo en apoyo a la Familia Chapa Flores, en su lucha contra el cáncer, a las 4 p.m. en el Casino Expomex. Costo del boleto: 10 dólares. 03/25— Cine Club presenta “Tercera Llamada”, a las 6 p.m. en la Casa de la Cultura. Entrada libre. 03/26— Se realizará una lectura es atril “El Tercer Fausto” y “Boda Mortaja”, a las 6 p.m. en la Casa de la Cultura.
MIÉRCOLES 19 DE MARZO DE 2014
SEGURIDAD PÚBLICA
Entregan renuncia TIEMPO DE ZAPATA
Durante el fin de semana, en México, dos funcionarios de alto rango, uno a nivel nacional, y uno en el estado de Tamaulipas, renunciaron. Ambos formaban parte de dependencias relacionadas a la seguridad. Manuel Mondragón renunció al cargo de jefe de la Comisión Nacional de Seguridad en México; en tanto que, Rafael Lomelí Martínez, dejó el puesto de Secretario de Seguridad Pública en Tamaulipas. Correspondió al Secretario de Gobernación, Miguel Ángel Osorio Chong, dar a conocer la salida de Mondragón, a través del foro social Twitter, según la Associated Press. No se dieron a conocer los
motivos. El reporte de AP agrega que “Mondragón estaba cargo de una nueva gendarmería (que aunque) no reemplazaría a la Policía Federal, estaría asignada a combatir los delitos de alto impacto como el narcotráfico y los secuestros”. Se tenía pensado que la gendarmería empezara a operar a mediados del 2014, según había anunciado Mondragón a la AP. Hasta el momento no se ha dado a conocer quien sustiuirá a Mondragón.
Tamaulipas Por otra parte, Lomelí presentó su renuncia al cargo por motivos
personales, según anunció el Gobierno del Estado en un comunicado de prensa. Lomelí estuvo a cargo del proyecto para crear la Nueva Policía de Tamaulipas la que “con elementos debidamente certificados integró la Policía Estatal Acreditable, con la cual se ha reforzado la seguridad”, según comunicado de prensa.
Nuevo El general de brigada DEM Arturo Gutiérrez García fue designado como nuevo Secretario de Seguridad Pública, el lunes. Gutiérrez García fue jefe del Estado Mayor de la Cuarta Región
Militar en Monterrey, Nuevo León, durante los años 2012 y 2013. Es egresado del Heroico Colegio Militar, ha formado parte de las Guardias Presidenciales y de Seguridad de la Presidencia de la República, entre otras asignaciones. En el marco de la octava sesión itinerante del Grupo de Coordinación Tamaulipas participaron los presidentes municipales de la denominada Zona Ribereña: Nathyelli Contreras Villarreal (Guerrero), Roberto González González (Mier), Blas López García (Camargo), Jorge Refugio Longoria Olivares (Díaz Ordaz) y Ramiro Cortez Barrera (Miguel Alemán), quienes expusieron su visión del tema de la seguridad en sus municipios, y ofrecieron diagnósticos y alternativas.
COMUNIDAD
SUR DE TEXAS
ECOS DE DESFILE
Buscan analistas del clima
McGruff, la mascota que combate la actividad criminal, saluda a los asistentes al Desfile alusivo a la Feria del Condado de Zapata 2014, celebrado el sábado por la mañana.
TIEMPO DE ZAPATA
Foto por Victor Strife | The Zapata Times
CULTURA
Bibriesca presenta concierto POR MALENA CHARUR TIEMPO DE ZAPATA
El público de ambos Laredos podrá disfrutar de un concierto de guitarra clásica el jueves por la tarde. Francisco Bibriesca, guitarrista clásico, ofrecerá sus interpretaciones dentro de la gira mundial 2014 “Después de Todo”. Bibriesca, quien se inició como concertista profesional hace 13 años, ha logrado recorrer el mundo presentando más de 1.000 conciertos, actuando en festivales y como solista acompañado de orquestas mexicanas e internacionales. El artista, egresado de la Escuela Nacional de Música de la Universidad Autónoma de México, dijo que nunca se imaginó que tocaría guitarra y que realizaría conciertos por todo el mundo.
“Nunca imaginé que tocaría guitarra y menos clásica”, expresó Bibriesca en un correo electrónico. “Cuando me enconBIBRIESCA tré con el instrumento decidí que aprendería a tocarlo y aquí estoy, 20 años después de que tomé mi primera lección de guitarra, realizando conciertos en muchos lugares del mundo”. El concertista, cuya maestría le ha llevado a ser considerado como uno de los intérpretes mexicanos de música clásica con mayor actividad artística dentro y fuera de su país, considera que la música clásica contemporánea es la que mejor lo define. “Este tipo de música está asociada con la música de mi tiempo, con lo actual y en mi búsqueda musical me encontré conque es la
música que mejor expresa lo que soy, la mejor forma de comunicar cómo vivo y siento la música clásica”, explicó. Para Bibriesca su gira “Después de Todo” tiene la intención de mantenerlo con el mismo nivel de actividad que han caracterizado las anteriores y reconocer que, a pesar de todo, las cosas salen bien. El evento del jueves en Laredo ha sido organizado por el Consulado General de México, el Instituto Cultural Mexicano de Laredo y el Laredo Community College. El concierto iniciará a las 6 p.m. en la Capilla de los Veteranos de LCC, West End Wasington St. El concierto es gratuito y puede hacer reservaciones al (956) 723-0990, extensión 215. El cupo es limitado. (Localice a Malena Charur en el 728-2583 o en mcharur@lmtonline.com)
A fin de brindar ayuda a investigadores, meteorólogos, y pronosticadores, entre otros, el Community Collaborative Rain, Hail and Snow Network (CoCoRaHS) y el Servicio Meteorológico Nacional en Brownsville están pidiendo la asistencia de todos los aficionados del tiempo en los Condados de Zapata y Jim Hogg. El objetivo es que ayuden a reportar pluviosidad (lluvia) que ocurre en su área, indicó Juan Alanis, Jr., Coordinador del CoCoRaHS en el Condado de Webb. La idea es estudiar la variabilidad de precipitaciones a lo largo de la región, lo cual, a decir de Alanis, Jr., ayudará a mejorar el monitoreo de sequía y verificara los estimados de precipitaciones del radar Doppler. Aunque personas de cualquier edad pueden unirse a CoCoRaHS, se requiere que tengan lo siguiente: Poseer un calibrador oficial de lluvia del Servicio Meteorológico Nacional/CoCoRaHS. Tales calibradores pueden ser adquiridos a través del sitio de internet de CoCoRaHS. Tener un buen lugar en su propiedad con un espacio abierto donde puedan colocar el calibrador, y que esté tan libre de árboles y obstrucciones como sea posible. Poseer disposición de entregar reportes con información de precipitaciones, incluyendo reportes con “cero”, y cualquier otra observación climatológica a diario. De preferencia tener acceso a internet, aunque esto no es indispensable, ya que los datos pueden ser dados vía telefónica su coordinador local. Para convertirse en un observador oficial de lluvia, debe visitar el sitio www.cocorahs.org y seleccionar “Join CoCoRaHS” para llenar una solicitud. Para mayor información puede llamar (956) 251-3996.
TAMAULIPAS
Se recupera actividad para caza de venado TIEMPO DE ZAPATA
Al cierre de la temporada de cacería de venado cola blanca, por el ciclo 2013-2014, se experimentó una recuperación en el Gobierno de Tamaulipas. Hasta la última semana de febrero se reportó la venta final de 1.800 cintillos, informó Humberto René Salinas Treviño, Secretario de Desarrollo Urbano y Medio Ambiente. La cacería deportiva es
una actividad que permite el control de la sobrepoblación de la especie, aclara un comunicado de prensa. Durante el primer año de la actual administración estatal se reportó la venta de 500 cintillos; para el segundo año fueron 600. Ahora la cifra colocada fue de 1.800, reiteró Salinas. La zona fronteriza es la más visitada por los cazadores, desde Nuevo Lare-
do, hasta Mier, Camargo y Miguel Alemán, así como la región de la Laguna Madre y las Unidades Cinegéticas establecidas en el área de Soto la Marina, Villa de Casas y Aldama. La intención para el ciclo 2014-2015 es continuar con la promoción de los atractivos que puedan ofrecer los dueños de las Unidades Cinegéticas, redoblando la inversión y las acciones en materia de promoción, concluyó.
Foto de cortesía | Gobierno de Tamaulipas
El Gobierno de Tamaulipas reportó que la temporada de caza del venado cola blanca fue un éxito ya que se vendieron, hasta finales de febrero, 1.800 cintillos.
WEDNESDAY, MARCH 19, 2014
ON THE WEB: THEZAPATATIMES.COM
Sports&Outdoors Big win HIGH SCHOOL SOFTBALL: ZAPATA LADY HAWKS
Softball opens district with 13-0 rout
“
CLARA SANDOVAL OVAL
The Lady Hawks softball team started their district campaign on the right note by routing Rio Grande City La Grulla in the opener 13-0 on Thursday. Zapata (8-9, 1-0) is vying to finish in one of the top four spots in District 31-3A and earn a place in the postseason. In the past, 3A schools only had the top three teams make the playoffs, but this year four teams will make the cut. Zapata has benefited from a steady offensive flow at the plate, extending from the leadoff hitter all the way to the nine-hole. Lily Garza, Tere Villarreal, Isela Gonzalez and Clari Villarreal hold the big sticks for Zapata and lead the team in batting average. Norma Ramirez and Gon-
zalez lead the group in runs scored and can put numbers elsewhere while Daniella Martinez and Tere Villarreal lead the team in RBI. "Everyone has come through at different times of the year," Zapata head coach Jaime Garcia said. "We are a solid team at the plate." Selissa Lopez has taken the mound for Zapata for much of the early season and holds a 6-6 record. Zapata will continue to navigate through the toughest portion of its district schedule this week when they play Kingsville, one of the district favorites, on Friday after sitting out Tuesday. Kingsville will be a big test for the Lady Hawks, as the Lady Brahmas return an experienced team that made a deep playoff run last year. Kingsville reached the regional semifinals and remains looks poised to make another run at the district title. The Lady Brahmas
have an arsenal of offensive weapons and are a force at the plate. "We need to play good offensively and defensively," Garcia said. "Kingsville brought everyone back. They made it to the regional semis last year, so they are the team to beat in the district." While Kingsville is looking strong early, Lyford and Raymondville from the Rio Grande Valley also appear to be top competitors for a district title. All the teams are tough, as Lyford went to the regional quarterfinals and only graduated one girl while Raymondville returned everyone. “My team is hungry and they play with a lot of heart,” Garcia said. “We have confidence in each other and we play as a team and that’s what makes us a dangerous opponent.” E-mail: sandoval.clara@gmail.com
File photo by Clara Sandoval | Laredo Morning Times
Zapata softball head coach Jaime Garcia is hoping the top-to-bottom offensive consistency of his lineup will be enough for the Lady Hawks to secure a playoff spot.
8A THE ZAPATA TIMES
WEDNESDAY, MARCH 19, 2014
24 veterans honored By JIM KUHNHENN ASSOCIATED PRESS
Photo by Sergei Ilnitsky/Pool | AP
Russian President Vladimir Putin, second from right, looks on as Crimean leaders sign a treaty for Crimea to join Russia in the Kremlin in Moscow on Tuesday.
Crimea part of Russia Vladimir Putin signs treaty, ‘correcting past injustice’ By VLADIMIR ISACHENKOV ASSOCIATED PRESS
MOSCOW — With a sweep of his pen, President Vladimir Putin added Crimea to the map of Russia on Tuesday, describing the move as correcting a past injustice and responding to what he called Western encroachment upon Russia’s vital interests. While his actions were met with cheers in Crimea and Russia, Ukraine’s new government called Putin a threat to the whole world and U.S. Vice President Joe Biden warned that the U.S. and Europe will impose further sanctions against Moscow. “The world has seen through Russia’s actions and has rejected the flawed logic,” Biden said as he met with anxious European leaders in Poland. In an emotional 40-minute speech televised live from the Kremlin’s whiteand-gold St. George hall, the Russian leader said he was merely restoring order to history by incorporating Crimea. “In people’s hearts and minds, Crimea has always been an integral part of Russia,” he declared. He dismissed Western criticism of Sunday’s Crimean referendum — in which residents of the strategic Black Sea peninsula overwhelmingly backed leaving Ukraine and joining Russia — as a manifestation of the West’s double standards. Often interrupted by applause, Putin said the rights of ethnic Russians in Ukraine had been abused by the new Ukrainian government and insisted that Crimea’s vote to join Russia was in line with international law and reflected its right for selfdetermination. Putin said his actions followed what he described as Western arrogance, hypocrisy and pressure, and warned that the West must drop its stubborn refusal to take Russian concerns into account. “If you push a spring too hard at some point it will spring back,” he said, addressing the West. “You always need to remember this.” While Putin boasted that the Russian takeover of Crimea was conducted without a single shot, a Ukrainian military spokesman said one Ukrainian serviceman was killed and
another injured when a military facility in Crimea was stormed Tuesday by armed men just hours after Putin’s speech. A brand-new news agency for Crimea’s pro-Russian authorities, Crimea Inform, disputed that account, quoting an unnamed regional official who called the incident a provocation on the day of the Crimean signing. The source said unknown snipers fired at local self-defense forces, killing one man and wounding another, and also shot at the Ukrainian military, wounding one serviceman. The conflicting claims couldn’t be immediately verified. Crimea had been part of Russia since the 18th century until Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev transferred it to Ukraine in 1954, a mere formality until the 1991 Soviet breakup. Both Russians and Crimea’s majority ethnic Russian population see annexation as correcting a historic insult. Putin argued that today’s Ukraine included “regions of Russia’s historic south” and was created on a whim by the Bolsheviks.
No invasion But despite the massing of thousands of Russian troops on Ukraine’s eastern border, Putin insisted his nation had no intention of invading other regions in Ukraine. “We don’t want a division of Ukraine, we don’t need that,” he said. Russia says its troops were on the border just for military training but the U.S. and Europe have called them an intimidation tactic. Ukraine’s political turmoil has become Europe’s most severe security crisis since the Balkan wars of the early 1990s and the issue of what NATO does about Ukraine is crucial. Ukrainian officials met with NATO in Brussels on Monday, asking for some technical equipment. “If Ukraine goes to NATO or the EU, Putin will do everything so that it goes there without the east and south,” said Vadim Karasyov, a Kiev-based political analyst. “Putin basically told the West that Russia has the right to veto the way Ukraine will develop. And if not, then Crimea is
only a precedent of how pieces of Ukraine can be chopped off one by one.” Putin argued that the months of protests in the Ukrainian capital of Kiev which prompted President Viktor Yanukovych to flee to Russia had been instigated by the West to weaken Russia. He cast the new Ukrainian government as illegitimate, driven by radical “nationalists, neo-Nazis, Russophobes and antiSemites.”
Ukraine response In response, Ukraine’s new government called Putin dangerous. “Today’s statement by Putin showed in high relief what a real threat Russia is for the civilized world and international security,” Ukrainian Foreign Ministry spokesman Evhen Perebinis said on Twitter. “(The annexation) has nothing to do with law or with democracy or sensible thinking.” Displaying strong emotion, Putin accused the West of cheating Russia and ignoring its interests in the years that followed the 1991 Soviet collapse. “They have constantly tried to drive us into a corner for our independent stance,” Putin said. “But there are limits. And in the case of Ukraine, our Western partners have crossed a line. They have behaved rudely, irresponsibly and unprofessionally.” Following the speech before lawmakers and top officials, Putin and Crimean officials signed a treaty for the region to join Russia. The treaty will have to be endorsed by Russia’s Constitutional Court and ratified by both houses of parliament, but Valentina Matviyenko, the speaker of upper house of Russian parliament, said the procedure could be completed by the end of the week. The hastily called Crimean vote was held just two weeks after Russian troops had overtaken the Black Sea peninsula, blockading Ukrainian soldiers at their bases. The West and Ukraine described the referendum as illegitimate and being held at gunpoint, but residents on the peninsula voted overwhelmingly to join Russia. To back his statement that Crimea’s vote was valid, Putin pointed to Kosovo’s independence bid.
WASHINGTON — They were heroes who didn’t get their due. On Tuesday, 24 ethnic or minority U.S. soldiers who performed bravely under fire in three of the nation’s wars finally received the Medal of Honor that the government concluded should have been awarded a long time ago. The servicemen — Hispanics, Jews and AfricanAmericans — were identified following a congressionally mandated review to ensure that eligible recipients of the country’s highest recognition for valor were not bypassed due to prejudice. Only three of the 24 were alive for President Barack Obama to drape the medals and ribbons around their necks. “Today we have the chance to set the record straight,” Obama said. “No nation is perfect, but here in America we confront our imperfections and face a sometimes painful past, including the truth that some of these soldiers fought and died for a country that did not always see them as equal.” The three surviving recipients — Vietnam veterans Jose Rodela, Melvin Morris and Santiago Erevia — received a prolonged standing ovation at Obama’s side, their faces set in somber acknowledgement of the honor. Rodela, now of San Antonio, was a 31-year-old company commander of a Special Forces strike group on Sept. 1, 1969, in Phuoc Long Province, Vietnam, when he and his
Photo by Manuel Balce Ceneta | AP
President Barack Obama awards Army Sgt. 1st Class Jose Rodela, of San Antonio, the Medal of Honor, at a ceremony in the East Room of the White House in Washington on Tuesday. company of Cambodian soldiers whom he had helped recruit came under fire from North Vietnamese Army troops. According to his Medal of Honor citation and supporting documents, the battle lasted 18 hours and 11 men in his company were killed and 33 others wounded. The citation states that late in the battle, Rodela “was the only member of his company who was moving and he began to run from one position to the next, checking for casualties and moving survivors into different positions in an attempt to form a stable defense line. Throughout the battle, in spite of his wounds, Rodela repeatedly exposed himself to enemy fire to attend to the fallen and eliminate
an enemy rocket position.” In an interview with the Army News Service last December, he said simply, “We trained for this and I would have done it again.” Morris of Cocoa, Fla., was a staff sergeant during combat operations on Sept. 17, 1969, near Chi Lang, South Vietnam. According to the Pentagon, Morris led soldiers across enemy lines to retrieve his team sergeant, who had been killed. He singlehandedly destroyed an enemy force hidden in bunkers that had pinned down his battalion. Morris was shot three times as he ran with American casualties. Morris received the Distinguished Service Cross in April 1970.
Execution not halted San Antonio rapper to die for murder during robbery By MICHAEL GRACZYK ASSOCIATED PRESS
HUNTSVILLE, Texas — San Antonio rap musician Ray Jasper has never disputed his involvement in an attack and robbery more than 15 years ago that left a 33-year-old recording studio owner dead. But Jasper testified at his capital murder trial that although he cut the throat of David Alejandro, a partner was responsible for the victim’s fatal stab wounds. A Bexar County jury wasn’t convinced and deliberated only 15 minutes at Jasper’s January 2000 trial before convicting him. The panel then took less than two hours to decide he should be put to death. Jasper’s lethal injection with a dose of pentobarbital was set for Wednesday evening. Jasper, 33, would be the third Texas inmate put to death this year and among at least five scheduled to die over the next five weeks in the nation’s busiest capital punishment state. Lawyers for Jasper, who is black, argued that the punishment should be
stopped to examine whether prosecutors had improperly removed a JASPER black man from possibly serving on his trial jury. San Antonio-based U.S. District Court Judge Fred Biery rejected that appeal on Tuesday. Jasper was 18 at the time of the November 1998 attack. Records showed he had a criminal past beginning about age 15. Evidence at his trial showed he’d been expelled from school for marijuana possession, then was expelled from an alternative school. Authorities said he also had attacked an offduty police officer who tried to stop him during an attempted burglary and led police on a high-speed chase. Jasper had previous sessions with Alejandro, who was the lead singer of a San Antonio Christianbased music group in addition to running his recording studio. At his trial, Jasper described Alejandro as “one of the nicest people I ever met in my life.” “I’m not a killer and I
didn’t do it,” he testified during the punishment phase of his trial. He refused interview requests from The Associated Press as his execution date neared, but reiterated his claim of innocence in a letter published on the Gawker website. Jeff Mulliner, one of the prosecutors at Jasper’s trial, said it was undisputed that Jasper organized and participated in the most premeditated murder he’d seen. Testimony showed that a week before the attack, Jasper purchased large bags he intended to use to hold stolen studio gear. He recruited two friends, Steven Russell and Doug Williams, brought two vans to the studio and reserved time under the pretense of a rap recording session. “This was not a spur-ofthe-moment thing,” Mulliner said. As their session was ending, Jasper approached Alejandro from behind and slashed his throat from ear to ear with a kitchen knife he’d hidden in his jacket. Next week, a Dallas-area man, Anthony Doyle, 29, is set for execution for the robbery and beating death of a woman.
WEDNESDAY, MARCH 19, 2014
THE ZAPATA TIMES 9A
THE MARKET IN REVIEW DAILY DOW JONES
STOCK EXCHANGE HIGHLIGHTS
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NYSE 10,441.47
+64.45
GAINERS ($2 OR MORE) Name
NASDAQ 4,333.31
DB AgriSh FutureFuel USEC rs PennVa DxRssaBull SwEBioFu23 YuMe n FactsetR NewOriEd JinkoSolar
30.00 +4.75 20.65 +3.09 4.42 +.65 15.73 +2.12 15.52 +1.88 10.85 +1.25 7.81 +.73 114.65 +10.11 29.35 +2.32 33.95 +2.65
+18.8 +17.6 +17.2 +15.6 +13.8 +13.0 +10.3 +9.7 +8.6 +8.5
GeronCp xG Tech n PernixTh h MercSys Oculus rs FlamelT AdeptTech ForceFldE OpexaTher eOnCom h
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2.48 +.70 +39.3 3.46 +.77 +28.6 4.51 +.75 +19.9 13.17 +2.13 +19.3 5.84 +.92 +18.7 13.19 +2.05 +18.4 20.03 +2.72 +15.7 6.05 +.79 +15.0 2.17 +.28 +14.8 5.77 +.68 +13.4
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GlbGeo pfA DrxRsaBear BarcShtB Castlight n DoralFn rs PwSBMetL YingliGrn GenieEn n PUVixST rs BioAmb wt
4.06-12.55 -75.6 GalenaBio 17.95 -2.99 -14.3 SmrtPros 12.25 -2.00 -14.0 ChinaBAK 33.65 -3.60 -9.7 IntrCloud n 11.17 -1.13 -9.2 InterCld wt 16.79 -1.70 -9.2 NewLead rs 5.41 -.49 -8.3 CarverBcp 10.13 -.85 -7.7 BTU Int 63.75 -5.35 -7.7 HarvAppR 2.55 -.20 -7.3 Intersectns
2.82 -.40 -12.4 2.01 -.28 -12.2 3.92 -.54 -12.1 10.59 -1.28 -10.8 7.00 -.82 -10.5 2.60 -.29 -10.0 11.70 -1.27 -9.8 3.21 -.32 -9.1 10.01 -.99 -9.0 5.80 -.55 -8.7
MOST ACTIVE ($1 OR MORE) MOST ACTIVE ($1 OR MORE) Vol (00)
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S&P500ETF 895227 187.66 +1.33 iShEMkts 645180 39.41 +.54 BkofAm 607489 17.19 +.08 iShR2K 357301 119.78 +1.72 SPDR Fncl 348919 22.14 +.11 MktVGold 348441 26.43 -.37 Petrobras 303766 10.56 +.29 B iPVix rs 295803 43.40 -1.78 iShJapan 291026 11.15 -.01 FordM 278648 15.49 +.21
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Microsoft 615030 PlugPowr h 558174 SiriusXM 540515 Cisco 436010 Facebook 399586 GeronCp 386828 FuelCellE 295685 PwShs QQQ 286477 Zynga 281098 MicronT 271523
39.55 +1.50 5.95 -.56 3.39 -.03 21.63 +.12 69.19 +.45 2.48 +.70 2.75 -.07 90.53 +1.08 5.35 +.01 24.49 +.56
DIARY Advanced Declined Unchanged Total issues New Highs New Lows
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2,380 734 77 3,191 144 11 2,865,256,085
DIARY Advanced Declined Unchanged Total issues New Highs New Lows
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16,588.25 7,627.44 537.86 11,334.65 4,371.71 829.33 1,883.57 1,391.72 20,226.72 1,212.82
1,983 615 140 2,738 122 18 1,912,771,557
16,040
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14,382.09 5,878.12 462.66 8,814.76 3,154.96 692.52 1,536.03 1,101.03 16,177.06 898.40
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STOCKS OF LOCAL INTEREST Name
Ex
AT&T Inc AEP BkofAm Caterpillar Cisco CCFemsa CmtyHlt ConocoPhil Dillards EmpIca ExxonMbl Facebook FordM GenElec GeronCp HewlettP HomeDp iShEMkts iShR2K Intel IntlBcsh
NY NY NY NY Nasd NY NY NY NY NY NY Nasd NY NY Nasd NY NY NY NY Nasd Nasd
Div
1.84 2.00 .04 2.40 .76 1.19 ... 2.76 .24 ... 2.52 ... .50 .88 ... .58 1.88 .86 1.41 .90 .46
YTD Yld PE Last Chg %Chg
Name
Ex
Div
YTD Yld PE Last Chg %Chg
5.6 4.0 .2 2.5 3.5 1.2 ... 4.1 .3 ... 2.7 ... 3.2 3.4 ... 1.9 2.4 2.2 1.2 3.6 1.8
IBM Lowes Lubys MetLife MexicoFd Microsoft Modine Penney PlugPowr h RadioShk S&P500ETF Schlmbrg SearsHldgs SiriusXM SonyCp SPDR Fncl UnionPac USSteel UnivHlthS WalMart WellsFargo
NY NY NY NY NY Nasd NY NY Nasd NY NY NY Nasd Nasd NY NY NY NY NY NY NY
3.80 .72 ... 1.10 3.18 1.12 ... ... ... ... 3.35 1.60 ... ... .25 .32 3.64 .20 .20 1.92 1.20
2.0 1.4 ... 2.1 ... 2.8 ... ... ... ... 1.8 1.8 ... ... 1.5 1.4 1.9 .8 .3 2.6 2.5
10 16 17 17 14 ... 24 11 13 ... 10 ... 9 19 ... 11 21 ... ... 13 16
32.98 +.09 50.16 -.13 17.19 +.08 96.41 +.74 21.63 +.12 98.54 +2.90 36.77 +1.08 68.10 +.81 91.23 +.23 6.39 +.32 94.71 +.39 69.19 +.45 15.49 +.21 25.65 +.22 2.48 +.70 30.56 +1.08 79.82 +.24 39.41 +.54 119.78 +1.72 24.82 +.12 25.23 +.21
-6.2 +7.3 +10.4 +6.2 -2.8 -19.1 -6.4 -3.6 -6.2 -24.4 -6.4 +26.6 +.4 -8.5 -47.7 +9.2 -3.1 -5.7 +3.8 -4.4 -4.3
12 23 47 15 ... 15 79 ... ... ... ... 18 ... 57 ... ... 20 ... 16 15 12
186.81 +1.00 -.4 49.83 +.35 +.6 6.59 +.21 -14.6 52.35 +.52 -2.9 25.35 +.48 -13.5 39.55 +1.50 +5.7 15.02 +.14 +17.2 8.39 -.30 -8.3 5.95 -.56+283.9 2.26 -.02 -13.1 187.66 +1.33 +1.6 90.50 +.72 +.4 45.88 +1.04 -6.4 3.39 -.03 -2.9 17.15 -.07 -.8 22.14 +.11 +1.3 189.40 +2.03 +12.7 25.50 +1.31 -13.6 76.95 +2.60 -5.3 74.77 +.09 -5.0 48.40 +.27 +6.6
Stock Footnotes: g=Dividends and earnings in Canadian dollars .h= Doe not meet continued- listings tandards lf = Late filing with SEC. n = New in past 52 weeks. pf = Preferred. rs = Stock has undergone a reverse stock split of at least 50 percent within the past year. rt = Right to buy security at a specified price. s = Stock has split by at least 20 percent within the last year. un = Units. vj = In bankruptcy or receivership. wd = When distributed. wi = When issued. wt = Warrants. Mutual Fund Footnotes: b = Fee covering market costs is paid from fund assets. d = Deferred sales charge, or redemption fee. f = front load (sales charges). m = Multiple fees are charged. NA = not available. p = previous day’s net asset value. s = fund split shares during the week. x = fund paid a distribution during the week. Gainers and Losers must be worth at least $2 to be listed in tables at left. Most Actives must be worth at least $1. Volume in hundreds of shares. Source: The Associated Press. Sales figures are unofficial.
3.25 3.25 0.75 0.75 .00-.25 .00-.25 0.05 0.08 1.55 2.67 3.62
-1.45 +2.46 +6.93 +.40 +3.75 +.10 +1.29 +3.32 +2.01 +3.56
+13.01 +21.52 +6.13 +15.79 +34.20 +18.33 +20.92 +22.24 +22.83 +27.81
CURRENCIES
Last PvsWeek Prime Rate Discount Rate Federal Funds Rate Treasuries 3-month 6-month 5-year 10-year 30-year
YTD 12-mo Chgg %Chg %Chg %Chg
16,336.19 +88.97 +.55 7,582.43 +40.03 +.53 524.55 -1.23 -.23 10,441.47 +64.45 +.62 4,333.31 +53.36 +1.25 824.66 +6.33 +.77 1,872.25 +13.42 +.72 1,387.15 +13.15 +.96 20,101.38 +159.50 +.80 1,205.04 +16.81 +1.41
MONEY RATES
15,000
LOSERS ($2 OR MORE)
Name
Name
16,520
Close: 16,336.19 Change: 88.97 (0.5%)
16,000
14,500
LOSERS ($2 OR MORE)
Dow Jones industrials +53.36
GAINERS ($2 OR MORE)
Last Chg%Chg Name
STOCK MARKET INDEXES 52-Week High Low
0.05 0.09 1.61 2.77 3.71
Australia Britain Canada Euro Japan Mexico Switzerlnd
Last
Pvs Day
1.0958 1.6587 1.1143 .7179 101.54 13.1531 .8737
1.1005 1.6636 1.1053 .7184 101.73 13.1660 .8732
British pound expressed in U.S. dollars. All others show dollar in foreign currency.
MUTUAL FUNDS Name Alliance Bernstein GlTmtcGA m Columbia ComInfoA m Eaton Vance WldwHealA m Fidelity Select Biotech d Fidelity Select BrokInv d Fidelity Select CommEq d Fidelity Select Computer d Fidelity Select ConsFin d Fidelity Select Electron d Fidelity Select FinSvc d Fidelity Select SoftwCom d Fidelity Select Tech d T Rowe Price SciTech Vanguard HlthCare Waddell & Reed Adv SciTechA m
Total Assets Total Return/Rank Pct Min Init Obj ($Mlns)NAV 4-wk 12-mo 5-year Load Invt WS 618 83.73 +0.8 +24.5/A +15.4/E 4.25 2,500 ST 2,499 53.44 +2.8 +25.0/E +18.3/E 5.75 2,000 SH 955 12.56 +1.7 +45.1/C +20.4/E 5.75 1,000 SH 11,009 220.09 +0.2 +73.5/A +32.8/A NL 2,500 SF 835 72.01 +0.1 +25.5/B +22.1/A NL 2,500 ST 347 31.31 +0.8 +27.7/D +21.3/D NL 2,500 ST 681 76.39 +1.5 +22.5/E +26.4/A NL 2,500 SF 249 16.52 +2.7 +22.3/C +19.1/C NL 2,500 ST 1,253 69.94 +3.7 +38.9/B +24.0/C NL 2,500 SF 778 82.18 +2.0 +22.9/B +17.9/D NL 2,500 ST 3,838 124.91 +1.7 +45.5/A +30.2/A NL 2,500 ST 2,406 131.19 +1.7 +34.7/C +28.3/A NL 2,500 ST 3,059 40.75 +1.2 +39.3/B +23.9/C NL 2,500 SH 10,763 206.99 +2.3 +42.5/C +23.5/C NL 3,000 ST 3,738 16.82 +1.2 +47.9/A +25.8/B 5.75 750
CA -Conservative Allocation, CI -Intermediate-Term Bond, ES -Europe Stock, FB -Foreign Large Blend, FG -Foreign LargeGrowth, FV -Foreign Large Value, IH -World Allocation, LB -Large Blend, LG -Large Growth, LV -Large Value, MA Moderate Allocation, MB -Mid-Cap Blend, MV - Mid-Cap Value, SH -Specialty-heath, WS -World Stock, Total Return: Chng in NAV with dividends reinvested. Rank: How fund performed vs. others with same objective: A is in top 20%, E in bottom 20%. Min Init Invt: Minimum $ needed to invest in fund. Source: Morningstar.
Wal-Mart takes aim at used video game market By MAE ANDERSON AND KEN SWEET ASSOCIATED PRESS
NEW YORK — Wal-Mart plans to start buying used video games from shoppers at stores in a move that goes after the breadand-butter business of GameStop. Wal-Mart Stores Inc. plans to expand its current online tradein program by allowing customers to trade in their used video games at 3,100 Wal-Mart stores. Starting next week, customers can trade in video games for credit that can be used in both Wal-Mart and Sam’s Club stores. The value for each trade-in will vary by the title, console and age of the game, ranging from just a few dollars for older games to $35 and more for newer ones. The world’s largest retailer is taking aim at a very lucrative area of the $2 billion used videogame market. It’s a business that’s dominated by GameStop Corp., the world’s biggest dedicated seller of video games with the largest and most-established video game trade-in program. Retailers from Amazon to Best Buy also offer used video tradein programs. But Wal-Mart’s new program is the biggest threat to GameStop, which for the last three years has drawn roughly half of its profits from buying and selling used video games. Wal-Mart made a point on Tuesday of saying that the credit it will offer shoppers for in return for video games can be used on anything from groceries to a new bike, rather than just other video games. The latter was an
apparent reference to GameStop’s program. “When we disrupt markets and compete, our customer wins,” said Duncan Mac Naughton, chief merchandising and marketing officer of its US stores. “They’ll save money on video games and have the flexibility to spend it however they want.” GameStop did not respond to a query for comment. Investors appeared to think the move spells trouble for GameStop, sending its shares down 3.7 percent to $38.30, while Wal-
Mart shares rose 14 cents to $74.82. But analysts suggest the new program isn’t necessarily a death knell for GameStop. After all, other retailers have tried to take business in the used game market with “modest” success, said Baird Equity Research analyst Colin Sebastian, but GameStop has loyalty among video game customers and a broad inventory of new and used video games. “History suggests the competition is unlikely to capture meaningful share,” he wrote in a cli-
ent note. And Sterne Agee analyst Arvind Bhatia pointed out that GameStop has advantages that Wal-Mart does not: a large refurbishment facility in Dallas, pricing algorithms and experience developed over a decade. “It makes sense and feels natural that various retailers that offer new video games would try to offer trade-ins as well,” Bhatia said. “However, as many retailers have discovered in the past, buying product from merchants in bulk is quite different than buy-
File photo by Jacquelyn Martin | AP
Tracey Anderson, 26, re-stocks X-Box sets on opening day of a new Wal-Mart on Georgia Avenue Northwest in Washington, on Wednesday, Dec. 4, 2013. Wal-Mart plans to start buying used video games from shoppers at stores.
ing one disc at a time from customers.” The trade-in business is appealing for a retailer: When a consumer buys a new video game for $60, only a small portion of its sale price goes to the company. But when a consumer turns around and sells that game back to the company, the company can keep all the profits for itself. But it’s also a complex business that requires systems to track and manage used product inventory and pricing and the ability to refurbish products and restock stores appropriately to balance supply and demand. In fact, Wal-Mart tried a video trade-in program from 2009 to 2010 using kiosks in stores, but that was not a success. The company said it has found a better system that will make the process more efficient. Another potential challenge in the video game trade-in market is software makers’ grudging acceptance of it. Publishers such as Activision, Electronic Arts and Take-Two Interactive have been adding downloadable content and add-ons to their $60 games to help recover any profits the publishers would have made if the consumer had bought a new game versus a retailer’s $55 used version. “You cannot have game and marketing budgets this high while also having used and rental games existing,” Cliff Bleszinski, the creator of the popular “Gears of War” franchise, said last year.
General Motors’ top executive apologizes By TOM KRISHER ASSOCIATED PRESS
DETROIT — The top executive of General Motors apologized for deaths linked to the delayed recall of 1.6 million small cars, saying the company took too long to bring the cars in for repairs. CEO Mary Barra, who is in her third month leading the company, also named a new global safety director to help prevent further recall problems. In her first meeting with reporters since last month’s recall, Barra stopped short of saying the company would compensate families of those killed in crashes caused by faulty ignition switches. But she said GM would do what’s right for customers after it completes an internal investigation. “I am very sorry for the loss of life that occurred, and we will take every step to make sure this never happens again,” she said. Tuesday’s 50-minute meeting with reporters was part of Barra’s damage control effort as she tries to distance the GM from the pre-bankruptcy company that buried the problem in bureaucracy. GM has admitted knowing about the problem switches for at least 11 years, yet it failed to recall the cars until last month. The company also has promised an “unvarnished”
investigation and a new dedication to safety. GM has to protect its safety reputation to keep sales from falling and cutting into earnings. The company has been profitable for 16 straight quarters since emerging from bankruptcy protection in 2009. Barra said no one at GM has been fired or disciplined because of the recall delays, but Mark Reuss, the company’s product development chief who also spoke with reporters, said appointing a safety chief is only the beginning. “This is the first change of things that need to change,” Reuss said. During the meeting, Barra and Reuss appeared composed. But they often refused to answer questions, saying they wanted to wait for the results of the investigation by an outside attorney before giving details. Barra said GM is looking through its database for more crash deaths that could be tied to the ignition switch problem. That number is likely to rise above the 12 currently cited by the company as GM and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration review accident reports and consumer complaints. Barra said it’s also likely she will testify before two congressional committees investigating
the company’s handling of the problem, probably in early April. The Justice Department also is investigating whether any laws were broken in the way GM handled the recall. Before the meeting with reporters, GM named a veteran company engineer, Jeff Boyer, as its new safety chief, placing a single person in charge of recalls and other safety issues. Reuss called Boyer a “safety zealot” and Barra said she has known him since the 1980s. “He will have no qualms if he has an issue or concern, of raising that forward,” she said. On Feb. 13, GM announced the recall of more than 780,000 Chevrolet Cobalts and Pontiac G5s (model years 2005-2007). Two weeks later it added 842,000 Ion compacts (2003-2007), and Chevrolet HHR SUVs and Pontiac Solstice and Saturn Sky sports cars (2006-2007). All of the recalled cars have the same ignition switches. The company said the ignition switches can wear from heavy, dangling keys. If the key chains are bumped or people drive on rough surfaces, the switches can suddenly change from the “run” position to “accessory” or “off.” That cuts off power-assisted steering and brakes and could cause drivers to lose control. Also, the air bags may not inflate in a crash and
File photo by Carlos Osorio | AP
General Motors CEO Mary Barra addresses the media during a roundtable meeting with journalists in Detroit, on Thursday, Jan. 23. Barra apologized for deaths linked to the delayed recall of 1.6 million small cars, saying the company took too long to bring the cars in for repairs. protect the driver and passengers. GM is urging people not to put anything on their key rings until the switches are replaced. Barra said she expects all the cars to be repaired by sometime
in October. Shares of General Motors Co. rose 46 cents, or 1.3 percent, to $35.09 in afternoon trading Tuesday. Its shares had fallen almost 2 percent since the February recall announcement.
10A THE ZAPATA TIMES
WEDNESDAY, MARCH 19, 2014
In Iowa, Ted Cruz embraces religious side By WILL WEISSERT ASSOCIATED PRESS
DES MOINES, Iowa — Known nationally as a fiery fiscal conservative, U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz channeled his pastor father and displayed his religious side Tuesday, telling an influential group of Iowa home school advocates that America was founded on Christian values Washington can’t deny. The tea party darling’s declaration of his beliefs came during his fourth trip to Iowa in barely eight months — and though he has refused to comment on a possible 2016 White House run, Cruz logging so much face time in the state that kicks off presidential voting hasn’t gone unnoticed. “There is no liberty more important than religious liberty,” said Cruz in his keynote speech at the Network of Iowa Christian Home Educators’ annual state Capitol lobbying day. He later added: “This nation was founded by men and women fleeing religious oppression and coming here seeking the freedom to seek out our lord God almighty with all of our hearts, minds and souls, free of the govern-
ment getting in the way.” Cruz’s father was born in Cuba but is now a pastor in the suburbs of Dallas. His son has made no secret of his religious faith since joining the Senate last January, but rarely makes it a centerpiece as he did Tuesday. “We have never seen an administration with such hostility toward religious faith,” Cruz told a crowd of more than 500 parents and many of the children they teach at home. Some of the children scribbled on coloring sheets featuring religiously themed lessons on America’s Founding Fathers. Cruz pointed to what he said was the Internal Revenue Service under the Obama White House forcing religious groups to divulge more information for tax purposes. His sentiments were often met by calls of “Amen!” and “Praise God!” The first-term Texas senator has now come to Iowa more than any of the other Republicans mentioned as possible presidential contenders, except for fellow tea party-backed U.S. Sen. Rand Paul of Kentucky. But Cruz’s brand of social conservatism may excite much of the party’s base more
easily than Paul’s Libertarian ideals. Cruz also is speaking at a GOP fundraiser in Mason City during this visit. He addressed the Iowa Republican Party’s annual Ronald Reagan dinner in October and met with Christian conservatives during two Iowa swings last summer. He rocketed to national fame with conservative grass-roots groups for staging a 21-plus hour quasi-filibuster in opposition to the new federal health care law that eventually helped spark last year’s government shutdown. “He understands that we don’t fight a battle because it’s winnable but because it’s worthy,” said Vicki Crawford, an organizer of Photo by Charlie Neibergall | AP Tuesday’s event. The support of home U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, speaks at the Network of Iowa Christian Home Educators’ state Capitol day school advocates helped the event Tuesday in Des Moines, Iowa. Cruz has made four trips to Iowa in eight months. last two Republicans win Still, Jamie Johnson, a Iowa’s presidential caucus: veterans’ group sponsored Party’s “new face”— even a former Arkansas Gov. Mike a full-page ad in Tuesday’s year after GOP Chairman member of the Iowa GOP’s Huckabee in 2008 and for- Des Moines Register de- Reince Priebus presented State Central Committee mer U.S. Sen. Rick Santo- manding that Cruz explain recommendations on how and former top Iowa advisrum of Pennsylvania in his past opposition to the the party can broaden its er to Santorum in 2012, said federal Renewable Fuel appeal to non-traditional he spoke with Cruz about 2012. tweaking his economicsCruz, however, will likely Standard, which promotes Republicans. “The tea party clearly heavy message to best win need to woo other conserva- biofuel produced in Iowa. And U.S. Rep. Debbie has had a stranglehold over over Iowa conservatives. tive blocs if he is going to “You’ve got to enunciate succeed in Iowa, where Wasserman Schultz of Flor- the Republican agenda and some traditional Republi- ida, who leads the Demo- Ted Cruz has been driving the moral themes here,” cans haven’t been thrilled cratic National Committee, that agenda,” Wasserman Johnson said, “and if you don’t, you lose.” with his firebrand ways. A called Cruz the Republican Schultz said.
CRACKDOWN Continued from Page 1A area after a recent attempted break-in. “We’ve had several unauthorized people attempt to enter the building,” she said. “Although we don’t know who they were, we have a feeling they came from that building. So to see (the building) get demolished is something that could definitely benefit the community.” In order for a building to be
part of the operation, property owners sign up for the free service. The city must provide all necessary permits and make sure the property is demolished and materials are disposed of properly. Properties of historical significance must be cleared with the state before a demolition is signed off on. Silva and Romero also signed off on the demolition
of their 1102 Cedar Ave. property which was built in 1963. But the vacant buildings have not posed a problem or threat for all south central residents. Santos Hernandez, who lives next door to the 1115 Cedar Ave. property, said she’s never had a problem with crime in the area. “I’ve never seen anything bad go on next door, even when people stopped living there,” Her-
nandez said. “I’ve always felt safe in the time I’ve lived here.” Other cities along the border and across the state have already seen the benefits of the operation. In December, the Texas National Guard teamed up with the Harlingen code enforcement office and Harlingen Police Department for the city’s third straight year of the demolition operation. About 25 structures were demol-
ished. The cities of Dallas and Calvert have also taken part in the operation. “This is a win for all the parties involved,” said Laredo Police Chief Ray Garner. “Together we will be able to eliminate these havens for illicit activity and build a better Laredo.” (Aldo Amato may be reached at 728-2538 or aamato@lmtonline.com)
FAIR Continued from Page 1A all meet up, like a big family,” she said while enjoying the parade with her family. “Everybody gathers together every year; we’re always looking forward to the fair.” Alvarez lives in Laredo now, but she is originally from Zapata and has made it a point to attend fair activities every year. This year’s president, Jessica Villarreal, also involved herself in the fair while growing up. “Everybody looks forward to the county fair,”
Villarreal said. “It has been a passion of mine for a long time, and it is something that I really care for.” Villarreal said this year’s fair had a great turn out. “Last year we had a very successful fair, but this year our turn out had record-breaking numbers,” she said. “We’ve got a great group of leaders who try to make this a great fair each year, and I think it gets better and better every year.” The livestock auction
took place Saturday afternoon, before a string of live performances from the first place winner of the fair’s Battle of the Bands, Lazaro Perez y Su Conjunto, Grupo Vision, Duelo and Los Huracanes Del Norte. With about 100 children participating in the livestock show, Villarreal said the event helps them gain experience. “They work all year long in preparation to debut their animals to the judges and hope for a chance at
the auction,” she added. “It is a great learning experience for them.” Many of the other traditional events scheduled
throughout the day at the Zapata Fairgrounds included a local dance team performance, a jalapeño eating contest and the infa-
mous grito contest. (Philip Balli may be reached at 728-2528 or pballi@lmtonline.com)