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TEXAS
BORDER PATROL
Lawsuits could spell budget doomsday
$5.6M pot seizure
By KIAH COLLIER THE TEXAS TRIBUNE
Last week, lawyers for the state of Texas got the latest in a string of bad legal news. A lawsuit challenging the state’s foster care system as inhumane appeared to gain steam when an appeals court rejected the state’s request to stop the appointment of two “special masters” to recommend reforms. The overhauls that have been discussed so far would be pricey to implement — as much as $100 million per year, according to rough estimates from the state comptroller’s office. But they actually are on the lower end of all the extraordinary legal expenses the state is facing at a time when stubbornly low oil prices are simultaneously threatening to blunt its coffers. Three other lawsuits against the state — two of them pending before the Texas Supreme Court, with rulings expected soon — could cost the state billions if it ends up on the losing side. Experts say the state may have the cash to cover one of them in a single budget cycle, but probably not any more than that — especially if low oil prices persist, dampening the state’s stream of tax revenue. That could mean budget cuts when lawmakers meet for the 2017 session, at least if the Republican-dominated Legislature remains steadfast in its refusal to tap the state’s nearly $10 billion Rainy Day Fund. Two of those three lawsuits, both tax cases, could cost the state a combined $10.4 billion in tax refunds and up to $2 billion in collections per year beyond that, according to the comptroller’s office, which is closely monitoring them. Potential cost estimates do not exist for the last case — a high-profile challenge to the state’s public education funding system — but past school finance rulings have cost the state billions. Such sums would handily eclipse the state’s $4.2 billion projected surplus, which could itself dwindle if oil prices remain low and further blunt tax collections. (Comptroller Glenn Hegar has already lowered projections once.) “Any of those by themselves are a huge hit,” said Dale Craymer, president of the business-backed Texas Taxpayers and Research Association. “But if you start losing two or three of those issues then, yeah, it’s much more questionable that the state’s general revenue reserves are sufficient to cover that.” Craymer, a former state revenue estimator, said the outlook would be much worse if lawmakers hadn’t intentionally left several billion dollars on the table last year following a spectacular plunge in oil prices — a choice Republicans trumpeted as principled and Democrats bemoaned in the face of several unmet needs.
See LAWSUITS PAGE 8A
Mexican military officials helped in the effort THE ZAPATA TIMES
More than 3 tons of marijuana were recently seized on the Mexican side of the Rio Grande near Zapata, Border Patrol announced Thursday. At about 8 p.m. Saturday, Border Patrol agents in Zapata said they saw several people loading bundles of contraband in two separate boats on the Mexican side of the river. Agents had been monitoring the group and contacted Mexican government officials to update them about
Courtesy photo | Border Patrol
More than 3 tons of marijuana were recently seized on the Mexican side of the Rio Grande near Zapata. A total of 465 bundles were seized by the Mexican military and had a total weight of 7,297.4 pounds.
See SEIZURE PAGE 8A
PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION
BP ENDORSES TRUMP
Photo by Eric Gay | Texas Tribune
Border Patrol agents are shown at a processing facility in Brownsville on June 18, 2014. A National Border Patrol Council spokesperson said in a statement that Trump’s honesty on immigration is what the nation needs to stop the “open borders” mentality of current office holders.
The endorsement is a first for the Border Patrol union By JULIÁN AGUILAR THE TEXAS TRIBUNE
The national union that represents more than 16,000 agents of the United States Border Patrol issued its firstever endorsement of a presidential candidate on Wednesday by throwing its support behind Republican Donald Trump.
Lauding Trump as an outsider who bucks political correctness, a National Border Patrol Council spokesperson said in a statement that Trump’s honesty on immigration, though ill-received by some, is what the nation needs to stop the “open borders” mentality of current office holders. “The fact that people are more upset about Mr. Trump’s
tone than about the destruction wrought by open borders tells us everything we need to know about the corruption in Washington,” the statement said. “Our current political establishment has bled this country dry, sees their power evaporating, and isn’t listening to voters who do all the heavy lifting.” Shawn Moran, a council
spokesman, said the national office consulted with individual sector unions on the endorsement before the 11-member NBPC board made its decision. Moran declined to say whether the vote was unanimous. As of 2015, there were about 20,275 Border Patrol agents
See ENDORSE PAGE 8A
IMMIGRATION RIGHTS
Kids not being advised By CHRISTOPHER SHERMAN ASSOCIATED PRESS
MEXICO CITY — Mexico does not comply with its own laws on handling unaccompanied child migrants who arrive in the country fleeing violence in Central America, a Human Rights Watch report said Thursday. Since the United States pressured Mexico to step up detentions of migrants to reduce a surge reaching the U.S. border, the number of children detained in Mexico Photo by Eduardo Verdugo | AP file has risen dramatically. Last In this file photo, a young migrant girl waits for a freight train to de- year, Mexican authorities part on her way to the U.S. border, in Ixtepec, Mexico. apprehended nearly 36,000
children, more than half of whom were unaccompanied. It detained 9,600 children in 2013. In interviews with 61 child migrants, Human Rights Watch researchers were told by only one that officials had informed him of his right to seek refugee recognition, as is required by Mexican law. Children were not properly screened for possible refugee claims, the report said. On the contrary, it said, the children described immigration officials who warned them of long stays in detention if they applied for asy-
lum. And even if they did want to apply, there was no legal assistance to help them navigate the process. Only 0.3 percent of the unaccompanied child migrants detained in Mexico were granted international protection in 2015, the report said. “If the interest is enforcement, which it is, meaning arrest, detention and deportation, it is clearly in the interest of individual officials, agents, to make that as easy as possible,” said Michael Bochenek, senior counsel to the children’s rights division of Human Rights
Watch and the report’s author. “They are not complying with the law, and as to why they are doing that, that’s an open question. There is no question that the incentive is to cut corners.” Without mentioning the report, Mexico’s national immigration institute released a statement Thursday saying that “without exception” all unaccompanied children are informed of their rights and cared for until they can be reunified with their families.
See ADVISED PAGE 8A
PAGE 2A
Zin brief CALENDAR
SATURDAY, APRIL 2, 2016
AROUND THE NATION
TODAY IN HISTORY
Saturday, April 2
ASSOCIATED PRESS
Book sale. 8:30 a.m.–1 p.m. Widener Book Room, First United Methodist Church. Admission is free. Everyone is invited. The Laredo Northside Farmers Market. 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. The playground behind the trailhead facility at North Central Park on International Boulevard. There will a special games area for children. Small prizes will be awarded. 67th annual Flower and Art Show. 1–6 p.m. Fellowship Hall, First United Methodist Church. Admission fee of $3 per person. Everyone invited.
Today is Saturday, April 2, the 93rd day of 2016. There are 273 days left in the year. Today’s Highlight in History: On April 2, 1917, President Woodrow Wilson asked Congress to declare war against Germany, saying, “The world must be made safe for democracy.” (Congress declared war four days later.) On this date: In 1792, Congress passed the Coinage Act, which authorized establishment of the U.S. Mint. In 1800, Ludwig van Beethoven premiered his Symphony No. 1 in C Major, Op. 21, in Vienna. In 1932, aviator Charles A. Lindbergh and John F. Condon went to a cemetery in The Bronx, New York, where Condon turned over $50,000 to a man in exchange for Lindbergh’s kidnapped son. (The child, who was not returned, was found dead the following month.) In 1942, Glenn Miller and his orchestra recorded “American Patrol” at the RCA Victor studios in Hollywood. In 1956, the soap operas “As the World Turns” and “The Edge of Night” premiered on CBS-TV. In 1968, the science-fiction film “2001: A Space Odyssey,” produced and directed by Stanley Kubrick, had its world premiere in Washington, D.C. In 1974, French President Georges Pompidou, 62, died in Paris. In 1982, several thousand troops from Argentina seized the disputed Falkland Islands, located in the south Atlantic, from Britain. (Britain seized the islands back the following June.) In 2005, Pope John Paul II died in his Vatican apartment at age 84. Ten years ago: Tornadoes killed 23 people in Tennessee and four others in the South and Midwest. Five years ago: Highly radioactive water leaked into the sea from a crack at Japan’s stricken nuclear power plant; meanwhile, earthquake-tsunami survivors complained that the government was not paying enough heed to victims. One year ago: Capping a week of difficult negotiations, the United States, Iran and five other world powers said they had agreed on an outline of limits on Iran’s nuclear program that would prevent it from developing nuclear weapons in exchange for sanctions relief. Today’s Birthdays: Singer Emmylou Harris is 69. Rock musician Dave Robinson (The Cars) is 63. Singer Keren Woodward (Bananarama) is 55. Country singer Billy Dean is 54. Actor Clark Gregg is 54. Actress Jana Marie Hupp is 52. Rock musician Greg Camp is 49. Rock musician Tony Fredianelli (Third Eye Blind) is 47. Actress Roselyn Sanchez is 43. Country singer Jill King is 41. Actor Pedro Pascal is 41. Actor Adam Rodriguez is 41. Actor Jeremy Garrett is 40. Actor Michael Fassbender is 39. Actress Jaime Ray Newman is 38. Rock musician Jesse Carmichael (Maroon 5) is 37. Actress Bethany Joy Lenz is 35. Singer Lee Dewyze is 30. Actor Jesse Plemons is 28. Singer Aaron Kelly is 23. Thought for Today: “Living is a form of not being sure, not knowing what next or how. The moment you know how, you begin to die a little.” — Agnes de Mille, American dancer-choreographer (19051993).
Sunday, April 3 67th annual Flower and Art Show. 1–6 p.m. Fellowship Hall, First United Methodist Church. Admission fee of $3 per person. Everyone invited.
Monday, April 4 Photo by Gerald Herbert | AP
Chess Club. Every Monday from 4–6 p.m. LBV – Inner City Branch Library. Free for all ages and skill levels. Basic instruction is offered. For more information call John at 956-795-2400 x2520.
Tuesday, April 5 Community conversation on teen and young adult mental health. 6–8 p.m. Border Region Behavioral Health Center, 1500 Papas St. The purpose of this event is to encourage the community to voice concerns, ask questions and share information on available resources to help those afflicted with a mental illness and substance abuse problem. Presented by Area Health Education Center (AHEC), Border Region Behavioral Health Center and Texas Department of State Services Office of Border Health. For additional information, call 956-712-0037 or email hmedellin@mrgbahec.org. Les Amis Birthday Club monthly meeting. 11:30 a.m. Ramada Plaza. Hostesses are Olga Laurel, Ma. Olivia Salinas and Dora Rocha. Honoree is Leonor “Noni” Daves. Knitting Circle. 1–3 p.m. McKendrick Ochoa Salinas Branch Library, 1920 Palo Blanco St. Please bring yarn and knitting needles. For more information, contact Analiza Perez-Gomez at analiza@laredolibrary.org or 7952400 x2403. Crochet for Kids. 4–5 p.m. McKendrick Ochoa Salinas Branch Library, 1920 Palo Blanco St. Please bring yarn and a crochet needle. For more information, contact Analiza Perez-Gomez at analiza@laredolibrary.org or 795-2400 x2403. Rock wall climbing. 4–5 p.m. LBV-Inner City Branch Library, 202 W. Plum St. Free. Take the challenge and climb the rock wall! Fun exercise for all ages. Must sign release form. For more information, contact John Hong at 795-2400 x2521. The Alzheimer’s Support Group. 7 p.m. Laredo Medical Center, building B, room 2. The support group is for family members and caregivers taking care of someone who has Alzheimer’s. For information, please call 956-693-9991.
Wednesday, April 6 Meet your mayor. 6–7:30 p.m. McKendrick Ochoa Salinas Branch Library, 1920 Palo Blanco St. Mayor Saenz is inviting all South Laredo residents to meet him, the fellow south side council members and various department directors. Residents are urged to come and discuss any issues or ideas they might have regarding the district. Laredo Animal Care Facility Rabies “VACUNA” Clinic. 6:30–7:30 p.m. City of Laredo Animal Care Facility, 5202 Maher Ave. Space is limited to the first 100 animals. Rabies shot for pets is $12; microchip is $10; registration is $5.
Thursday, April 7 Preschool Read & Play. 11 a.m.–12 p.m. McKendrick Ochoa Salinas Branch Library, 1920 Palo Blanco St. Story time and crafts for preschoolers. For more information, contact Priscilla Garcia at priscilla@laredolibrary.org or 795-2400 x2403. Family Story Time & Crafts. 4–5 p.m. McKendrick Ochoa Salinas Branch Library, 1920 Palo Blanco St. For more information, contact Priscilla Garcia at priscilla@laredolibrary.org or 795-2400 x2403.
Monday, April 11 Chess Club. Every Monday from 4–6 p.m. LBV – Inner City Branch Library. Free for all ages and skill levels. Basic instruction is offered. For more information call John at 956-795-2400.
Andrea Jones walks past a stranded car to get to her vehicle in receding street flooding, after severe rainstorms moved through New Orleans, Friday. More tornadoes and isolated winds remained possible, according to the National Weather Service. Nearly 3,000 people in the Carolinas were already without power by early morning Friday.
Severe weather goes east By JONATHAN LANDRUM JR. ASSOCIATED PRESS
ATLANTA — Strong storms plowed through Georgia on their way to the Carolinas Friday, spawning at least one confirmed tornado, after setting off tornadoes that swirled through Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama. More tornadoes and isolated winds remained possible, according to the National Weather Service. Nearly 3,000 people in the Carolinas were already without power by early morning. The weather service confirmed a tornado touched down in central Georgia and did some damage Friday morning. Meteorologist Steve Nelson says a tornado pushed through Twiggs County with 90 mph winds near Allentown, Georgia, around 8:40 a.m. Nelson says it traveled 1.9 miles, damag-
ing eight homes and destroying two. He says it’s possible that another tornado later in the morning hit neighboring Wilkinson County, causing some damage to homes and trees. Wilkinson County Emergency Management director Gary Brown says three homes were damaged. In nearby Warner Robins, some streets were flooded and roofs damaged at Robins Air Force Base, and the airfield at Robins was temporarily closed. On Thursday, one tornado touched down in Eldridge in central Alabama around 8 p.m. Another hit about hour earlier in Ardmore in the northern part of the state, according to emergency management officials Rita White and Harry Markham. There were no immediate reports of damage or any injuries, and the weather service said all tornado warnings had expired in Alabama.
Jailer pleads not guilty to Hampton worries jail may Man allegedly slit wife’s Iowa child sex charges be too adult for downtown throat while she’s driving COUNCIL BLUFFS, Iowa — Three Iowa child sex cases against a Nebraska jail officer have been consolidated. The Daily Nonpareil reports that Shawn Beu has pleaded not guilty to the charges, which include sexual abuse, sexual exploitation of a minor and possession of child pornography. His trial is scheduled to begin June 1 in Pottawattamie County District Court.
HAMPTON, Iowa — An Arizona man’s plans to transform a 136-year-old Iowa jail into a historical role-playing business could be derailed by zoning ordinances. Mark Gudmundsen has purchased and started renovating the Franklin County jail and former sheriff ’s residence in downtown Hampton where visitors would be able to experience an accurate role-playing lockup.
Kansas districts report Organizations urge Obama problems with state tests to end Japanese whaling KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Standardizing testing is on hold in more than a dozen states because of Internet problems at the University of Kansas where the test developer is based. The university’s Center for Educational Testing and Evaluation provides general end-of-year assessments for students in Kansas and Alaska.
ORLANDO, Fla. — SeaWorld and the Humane Society of the United States are asking President Barack Obama to pressure Japan to end its commercial whaling activities. SeaWorld CEO Joel Manby and Humane Society CEO Wayne Pacelle sent Obama a letter Thursday urging him to treat the end of commercial whaling.
DELRAN, N.J. — A man slit his wife’s throat while she was driving, causing a crash, and then fled to a diner where he was found partially dressed and covered in blood, authorities said Friday. Delran police responded Thursday night when a car collided with other vehicles. Officers found a knife in the vehicle and Cynthia Fortune on the ground with cuts on her neck.
Health officials urged to get ready for Zika in US ATLANTA — The government is urging health officials around the country to prepare now for any possible outbreaks of the mosquito-borne Zika virus in the U.S. this summer. Officials think it’s likely some small clusters of Zika will occur in the U.S. when mosquito numbers boom. — Compiled from AP reports
AROUND TEXAS Jury selection begins in Bernie Tiede case HENDERSON, Texas — Jury selection is expected to begin Friday in the sentencing trial of an East Texas mortician whose murder case inspired the dark comedy “Bernie.” Bernie Tiede was convicted in 1999 of killing Marjorie Nugent, a widow more than 40 years his senior he befriended in the town of Carthage. Tiede was given life in prison, but allowed to go free temporarily after his original prosecutor said he believed Tiede deserved a lesser prison sentence.
Mother jailed for fleeing to Mexico with daughter AUSTIN, Texas — A woman has been sentenced to six years in prison for kidnapping her 4year-old daughter and fleeing to Mexico for 12 years after the girl’s father was awarded custo-
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In this file photo, Bernie Tiede smiles after a court hearing granting his release at the Panola County court house in Carthage, Texas. Tiede had been sentenced to life for killing 81-year-old widow Marjorie Nugent for her fortune. dy. Dara Llorens was sentenced Wednesday in state district court in Austin, having pleaded guilty to felony charges arising from the abduction of Sabrina Allen, whose case was twice profiled on the television show “America’s
Most Wanted.” Llorens must serve two years before becoming eligible for parole. Acting on a tip, the FBI and Mexican authorities found Llorens and Allen, then 17, near Mexico City. — 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 & State
SATURDAY, APRIL 2, 2016
THE ZAPATA TIMES 3A
Court upholds $500M state tax on tobacco ASSOCIATED PRESS
AUSTIN, Texas — The Texas Supreme Court on Friday upheld a state tax on products made by small tobacco companies that weren’t part of a landmark 1998 settlement with Big Tobacco. The Supreme Court in its ruling determined the tax adopted by lawmakers in 2013 is not a violation of the Texas Constitution’s
equal and uniform clause. The 55-cent tax annually generates approximately $500 million to recover health-care costs associated with tobacco-related health problems. It’s also meant to discourage underage smoking, among other purposes. A state appeals court last year sided with the smaller tobacco manufacturers in ruling that the state could not impose a
tax on one group of products while not imposing the same tax on another identical group. But Justice Don Willett wrote in Friday’s ruling that the clause prohibits the unequal application of taxes to people, not products. “The court of appeals’ insistence on focusing on the products and not on the entity being taxed is thus at odds with the con-
cerns of the equal and uniform clause,” Willett wrote. “Products do not pay taxes; taxpayers do.” He said the case came “against the backdrop of national tobacco litigation, a momentous era culminating in some of the largest and most extensive civil litigation settlements in American history.” Settlements with a handful of leading tobacco companies resulted in pay-
ments to more than 40 states of $368.5 billion over the first 25 years. The smaller manufacturers had argued that the Texas Legislature should have taxed all tobacco companies if it truly wanted to recover health-care costs, according to Willett’s ruling, but the justice said the larger ones already are paying such costs through the 1998 settlement. “It would be nigh
irrational to demand these costs two times over,” he wrote. Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton in a statement Friday applauded the Supreme Court’s finding. “Tobacco producers who have not taken responsibility for the ill health effects of their products must not enjoy a competitive advantage over producers who do,” he said.
1-year-old girl Book signing held today dies during dental procedure SPECIAL TO THE TIMES
ASSOCIATED PRESS
AUSTIN, Texas — The parents of a 1-year-old girl say their daughter has died after undergoing general anesthesia to fill cavities at a dentist office. The Texas State Board of Dental Examiners is investigating the death of Daisy Lynn Torres while the family awaits autopsy results to find out what went wrong. Daisy Lynn was supposed to have two cavities filled at Austin Children’s Dentistry early Tuesday morning. Her mother, Betty Squier, says that after Daisy underwent anesthesia, the dentist came out and told her they needed to do additional dental work. Squier says she trusted the dentist was making the right decisions. A short time later, Squier was told that Daisy Lynn had gone into cardiac arrest. Squier says that by the time paramedics arrived at the hospital, her baby was brain dead. For now, the couple is trying to make funeral arrangements in Houston, where their families live. “I just want everyone to know
that we’re very thankful for everyone that’s supporting us through this difficult time, and everyone’s prayers and comments and uplifting words has really made an impact, and it’s something that we really need right now,” she said. A Dallas case in which a 4year-old boy suffered a fatal drug overdose while having cavities treated prompted an investigation published by The Dallas Morning News in December. The dentist’s dosage was double what state dental schools approved for sedating preschoolers. State regulators gave the dentist a $3,000 fine, online remedial classes and unsupervised probation. The 18-month investigation found that state agencies charged with protecting the public often fail to take strong action against dangerous dentists. Even those who are disciplined can find it easy to keep working with little or no oversight. The boy was one of at least 85 dental patients who have died in Texas since 2010. The newspaper reported that the number of similar deaths nationwide is likely much higher.
The Zapata County Museum of History is hosting a book signing by author Alfredo E. Cardenas. Sponsored by the Nuevo Santander Genealogy Society, the book-signing will begin today, Saturday April 2 at 2 p.m. at 805 N. U.S. Highway 83. Author of “Balo’s War: A Novel About the Plan of San Diego,” Alfredo E. Cardenas has written book reviews for the Southwestern Historical Quarterly, the Journal of South Texas, and Catholic Southwest, A Journal of
History and Culture. He has written history articles for the Journal of South Texas and The Handbook of Texas. He has also written columns for various Texas newspapers on history and current affairs. Born, raised, and educated in San Diego, Texas, Cardenas received a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science from St. Mary’s University in San Antonio, which he put into practice in a number of positions in government and with social service agencies, as well as with political campaigns. He has 30 hours of graduate work towards a mas-
ter’s degree in history from Texas State University. The author served as director of community and economic development for Duval County before founding and publishing the Duval County Picture, a weekly newspaper in San Diego. Cardenas also served as mayor of San Diego for from 19921999. At present, he is the editor of the South Texas Catholic, a magazine for the Diocese of Corpus Christi. For more information contact Amparo Montes Gutierrez at 956765-8983.
Baylor hit with lawsuit ASSOCIATED PRESS
DALLAS — A woman has filed a federal lawsuit against Baylor University contending that the largest Baptist school in the country was “deliberately indifferent” to rape allegations levied at a former football player who was later convicted of sexually assaulting her. The lawsuit alleges that the Texas school failed to take action against Tevin Elliott despite receiving six complaints from women claiming he assaulted them. The allegations come
about a week after the school announced new measures to improve the school’s response to sexual assaults, including hiring more counselors and additional training for faculty and staff. The lawsuit was filed by Jasmin Hernandez of Orange County, California. Elliott was convicted in 2014 of sexually assaulting Hernandez and is serving a 20-year prison sentence. Hernandez’s attorney, Alex Zalkin, said Thursday that Hernandez wants to speak publicly to draw attention to the case. The Associated Press generally
doesn’t identify sexual assault victims. “Baylor literally turned her away from health services, academic accommodations and failed to investigate her claims,” Zalkin said. Hernandez, a former Baylor student, said she was raped at an off-campus party in 2012. She said the school’s failure to act against Elliott caused her emotional distress and led to failing grades. She lost an academic scholarship she had earned to study nursing.
PAGE 4A
Zopinion
SATURDAY, APRIL 2, 2016
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COLUMN
OTHER VIEWS
The Clintons surfing the populist wave By JONAH GOLDBERG TRIBUNE NEWS SERVICE
With apologies to Buffalo Springfield, there’s something happening here. What it is ain’t exactly clear. Here’s Bill Clinton in Spokane, Washington, making the pitch for his wife last week: "But if you believe we can all rise together, if you believe we’ve finally come to the point where we can put the awful legacy of the last eight years behind us and the seven years before that . " The awful legacy of the last eight years? That’d be a strange thing for any Democrat to say, but it’s particularly odd given that Hillary Clinton has made it abundantly clear that she’s running for a third Barack Obama term. Last year, she loved telling voters that she wasn’t running as a continuation of Obama. But that was before Bernie Sanders ignited a left-wing populist backlash against the status quo. Unable to get to Sanders’ left - understandable, given that it would require embracing Bolshevism - Clinton was forced to defend the administration she worked for. Also, as has been widely reported and dissected, Clinton’s strategists concluded months ago that she had no choice but to embrace Obama and his policies, because Obama is popular with precisely the voters Clinton needs in order to assemble a winning coalition. These voters may think the country is on the wrong
track, but they don’t blame Obama for it. That’s one reason why Team Clinton has charged, sometimes hysterically, that Sanders is somehow attacking the president when he says, for instance, that Obamacare doesn’t go far enough. The Clintonistas touted the fact that Sanders blurbed a book by left-wing writer Bill Press critical of Obama as if it were a confession of treason. But now comes the former president attacking the Obama record headon. The Spokane speech wasn’t a fluke. Bill has also taken to explaining that the real reason this election is so crazy is that 80 percent of the American people haven’t gotten a pay raise since the crash." No doubt he wouldn’t put all the blame on Obama, but that’s some odd messaging for a campaign looking to run on "four more years." One obvious explanation is that the Clinton team has come to grips with the fact that the Sanders and Trump insurgencies are two faces of the same larger phenomenon. Huge swaths of the American electorate are fed up, ticked off and wildly disappointed with the direction of their country. In a society so polarized along ideological lines, it’s no surprise that partisans will have partisan explanations for why this is so. But the underlying conditions driving the discontent are in fact bipartisan.
OP-ED
How millennials stay informed By CHRISTINA SEO CHICAGO TRIBUNE
I am a 24-year-old, Korean-American post-grad, and I have been reading about every turn of this year’s presidential campaign entirely on my phone, mostly right before bed. Yes, it is a bad habit, and yes, the blue light is suppressing my pineal gland from releasing delicious melatonin into my brain, but I wouldn’t want to get my news any other way. If in my late-night reading I am not being smothered in "Make America Great Again" Donald Trump Sauce, I am usually consuming article after article about Bernie Sanders. So it’s been odd seeing recent headlines declaring variations on the theme of "Bernie Sanders gets snubbed by the media." As I lay in bed, scrolling through my news feed, it occurred to me: There is a big distinction in the type of media those articles mentioned and the type of media I consume. I am a millennial who is getting all of the breakdowns, projections and birds-landingon-podium videos in the form of media that I have personalized for myself,
mainly through Facebook, Twitter and YouTube. My idea of "news" comes through media I have filtered for my interests, and it is delivered in varied and unbiased ways — unlike some traditional media where outlets such as Fox News paint a pretty right-wing picture. I look to these modern media because I also want to know what my peers think. Online I am often confronted with viewpoints that are not aligned with mine, and if both parties are incisive, discussions can be informative when I participate. My phone can be turned into a Socratic seminar about current affairs if I play my social media handles well, and that is exciting. I like my form of media because the engagement sustains my passion for current politics. Online I not only keep up with my interests, but I am motivated to keep up with candidates and opinions that I do not care so much about. The Internet allows you to find answers to your questions, but it also confronts you with other things you would not be inclined to seek. I think this makes folks like me who tune in online more informed.
COLUMN
Women can save the GOP By MARY SANCHEZ THE KANSAS CITY STAR
Donald Trump is the kind of man women are taught to avoid. He’s arrogant. He blusters about physical violence. Listening is not really his thing, because his mouth is usually running full steam. And, worst of all, he has a special loathing for women who are intelligent, accomplished and not deferential to him. When challenged on this, he veers to smarmy protestations that he loves women. These are the attributes of a toxic male acquaintance, boss or leader (not to mention husband or boyfriend). This is not to knock his current wife, Melania Trump. She is everything that Trump wants women to be: unquestioningly devoted, strikingly gorgeous and willing to have sex with him. Unfortunately for Trump, women who do not share this profile comprise virtually the entire female electorate. And that, in turn, is a problem for the Republican Party. Women are 53 percent of all voters, and Trump has a 73 percent negativity rating among those who are registered. Two questions present themselves: How much damage is the GOP willing to let Trump do to the party’s image with women? And what can it do to stand up to him on this issue? This week, there was a sign that Trump has reached the limit of toler-
And, worst of all, he has a special loathing for women who are intelligent, accomplished and not deferential to him. ance within his party. A recent convert to the prolife point of view, Trump made a gaffe that embarrassed the entire movement when he busted out the idea that women who have an abortion should be punished if the procedure is ever outlawed. No, no, no, Donald. One doesn’t say such things in public. Uncharacteristically, he retracted his remarks. Even he sensed it was a blunder on the order of the musings on rape and pregnancy that sank Republican frontrunners in two 2012 Senate races. Add that screed to The Donald’s on-going attacks on Megyn Kelly, the putdowns of Carly Fiorina and so many other women who have dared to displease him, and it is easy to imagine a cumulative effect that spells crushing defeat in the general election if he is the nominee. So far, the men of the GOP have been subdued in their response. Note the vile scuffle between Trump and Sen. Ted Cruz over their wives. It wasn’t until Heidi Cruz was personally attacked that her husband reacted strongly and defended her, as he should. One would imagine that at some point a cohort of leading Republican women would take a princi-
pled stand, calling out Trump for betraying the party’s supposed commitment to gender equality. But, alas, they’ve been eerily silent, apparently too fearful of crossing their party’s likely nominee. Some, like Sen. Kelly Ayotte of New Hampshire and Rep. Barbara Comstock of Virginia, are in re-election campaigns and may fear losing support from Trump voters. (Comstock at least had the good sense to re-gift a $3,000 Trump donation to her campaign, buying a little bit of distance from him.) What a lost opportunity to stand up to sexism! The Democrats will not waste the opportunity. Recall the politically charged Senate judiciary hearings in 1991 to consider the nomination of Clarence Thomas to the U.S. Supreme Court. The nomination was controversial from the start, owing to Thomas’ positions on a range of issues. But when testimony was reopened — and televised — after disclosure of Thomas’ alleged history of sexual harassment, things exploded. The hearings turned to belittling questions and overt displays of sexism by the panel of male senators, as they grilled Anita Hill, Thomas’ accuser,
about her allegations. Women were outraged by what they witnessed. As a direct result, they became politically motivated to increase their numbers in the Senate. The following year, four women — all Democrats — were elected to the Senate, tripling female representation in the chamber. Women in Congress remain overwhelmingly Democrats. According to the Center for American Women and Politics at Rutgers, the U.S. Congress is about 19 percent female. Of the 104 women, 76 are Democrats and only 28 are Republicans. Moreover, the women in Congress who have been given plum committee posts tend to be Democrats. In the U.S. Senate, there are there are only six Republican women, compared to 14 Democrats. And although Republican women tend to fare well in state politics, their more moderate voices haven’t been able to make it through the increasingly conservative primary process to reach national office. There couldn’t be a better time for women to demand a greater role - and be the voice of reason — in the GOP. They have a compelling pretext to halt a candidate who almost certainly will damage their party. And even if they cannot derail him on his path to the nomination, they may be able to pick up the pieces in the aftermath of the election. But first they must take a stand.
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SATURDAY, APRIL 2, 2016
THE ZAPATA TIMES 5A
PÁGINA 6A
Zfrontera
Agenda en Breve ATENCIÓN AL AUTISMO Segunda Carrera/Caminata 5K y carrera para menores para sensibilizar sobre el autismo se celebra hoy sábado 2 de abril. La carrera inicia en Zapata County Court House en 7th Avenue y Boulevard Hidalgo a las 8 a.m. Interesados pueden registrarse en el lugar del evento por 20 dólares. Los menores de 10 años y/o menos que participen en la carrera infantil pagarán 5 dólares.
SÁBADO 2 DE ABRIL DE 2016
PATRULLA FRONTERIZA
SEDENA
Incautación millonaria
Operativos arrojan resultados TIEMPO DE ZAPATA
MERCADO AGRÍCOLA El Zapata Farmer’s and Artisan Market se realizará hoy sábado 2 de abril, de 9 a.m. a 1 p.m. en Zapata County Plaza, en el marco de su primer aniversario.
REUNIÓN SOCIEDAD GENEALÓGICA La sociedad de genealogía Nuevo Santander Genealogy Society celebra su reunión hoy sábado 2 de abril, a las 2 p.m. en el salón del museo Zapata County Museum of History, 805 N Main St. Durante la junta habrá la firma de autógrafos por parte de Alfredo E. Cárdenas, autor de “Balo’s War”, una novela acerca del Plan de San Diego. Informes con Amparo Montes Gutierrez en el (956) 765-8983.
Foto de cortesía
La imagen de cortesía muestra parte de los 465 paquetes que fueran confiscados por autoridades mexicanas a un costado del Río Grande, esta semana, después que Patrulla Fronteriza lo notificara. ESPECIAL PARA TIEMPO DE ZAPATA
Más de 3 toneladas de marihuana fueron confiscadas recientemente del lado mexicano del Río Grande, cerca de Zapata, anunció la Patrulla Fronteriza. Alrededor de las 8 p.m. del 26 de marzo, agentes de la Patrulla Fronteriza en Zapata observaron a varios sujetos cargando paquetes de contrabando en dos botes diferentes en el lado mexi-
cano del río. Los agentes habían estado monitoreando al grupo y contactaron al gobierno mexicano para ponerlos al tanto de la ubicación. Entonces oficiales pudieron ubicar y confiscar los narcóticos. Un total de 465 paquetes fueron confiscados por los elementos del ejército mexicano. Los paquetes resultaron positivos por marihuana y tenían un peso total de 7.297,4 libras, con un
valor en la calle de 5,6 millones de dólares. “Esta incautación claramente demuestra el nivel excepcional de colaboración binacional que la Patrulla Fronteriza tiene con el gobierno de México. Estamos totalmente dispuestos a continuar este nivel de cooperación entre ambos gobiernos para localizar y prevenir el contrabando ilícito”, dijo Mario Martínez, Agente Patrullero en Jefe del Sector Laredo.
Casi cuatro mil kilogramos de marihuana y casi 12 de cocaína fueron el resultado de cinco operativos realizados en la frontera norte de Tamaulipas, México, por parte de elementos del ejército mexicano. El 19 de marzo, soldados aseguraron 114,3 kilogramos de marihuana que estaba en 11 paquetes en el municipio de Miguel Alemán, México. El 22 de marzo, en inmediaciones del poblado Guardados de Abajo en el municipio de Camargo, México, militares aseguraron 266,6 kilogramos de marihuana. El 24 de marzo, fueron detectados seis paquetes que contenían 45,4 kilogramos de marihuana sobre un lecho del Río Bravo, a la altura del municipio de Camargo. Igualmente el 24 de marzo, en Nuevo Laredo, México, fueron asegurados 11,6 kilogramos de cocaína en polvo, cerca del Puente Internacional del Comercio Mundial. Militares ubicaron la droga en un tractocamión. El conductor de la unidad fue detenido. El 26 de marzo, fueron ubicados 465 paquetes conteniendo 3,317.2 kilogramos de marihuana cerca de la Presa Falcón en el municipio de Nueva Ciudad Guerrero, México. Todas las actividades fueron reportadas cuando militares realizaban recorridos de vigilancia por la zona fronteriza.
PRESA MARTE R. GÓMEZ A partir de hoy sábado 2 de abril será abierta la toma norte de la presa Marte R. Gómez para dar inicio al primer riego de auxilio de la primera unidad en Miguel Alemán, México. Se beneficiarán más de 4.800 hectáreas, al liberar medio metro cúbico por segundo de agua. Se espera que este ciclo agrícola se superen las 30.000 toneladas recaudadas entre maíz blanco y amarillo, y una mínima cantidad de sorgo.
EDUCACIÓN FINANCIERA El Consulado General de México en Laredo invita a la Semana de Educación Financiera (SEF) 2016 con el lema “¡Planea, ahorra, invierte y emprende!” del 4 al 8 de abril, de 10 a.m. a 1 p.m., en la sala de espera del consulado, 1612 Farragut St. en Laredo. Durante el evento, funcionarios de diversas instituciones bancarias y financieras ofrecerán pláticas sobre cómo abrir una cuenta, cómo enviar dinero a México, cómo utilizar el crédito, cómo preparar los impuestos, cómo acceder a un crédito para comprar una casa, etc.
BECAS ZCISD Se informa a potenciales donadores de becas que el paquete conteniendo la carta del director, forma para donadores de becas y solicitudes generales de becas, se están entregando en Zapata High School. El 9 de abril es la fecha límite para que donadores sometan la forma.
TORNEO DE PESCA El sábado 23 de abril se realizará el torneo de pesca Bass Champs Fishing Tournament, en Zapata County Public Boat Ramp desde las 8 a.m. hasta las 5 p.m.
RECOLECCIÓN DE MEDICAMENTOS La Coalición Comunitaria del Condado de Zapata y la DEA realizarán el evento nacional Pill Take Back (recolección de medicamentos) el 30 de abril, de 10 a.m. a 2 p.m. en el Palacio de Justicia del Condado de Zapata. Se buscan medicamentos caducos o que ya no se estén utilizando a fin de retirarlos de forma apropiada. Informes en la oficina de SCAN en el 7653555.
COLUMNA
EDUCACIÓN
Victoria sufre poder de alteza
OPORTUNIDADES LABORALES
De las glorias que Tamaulipas le procura en 1829, gran provecho saca Antonio López de Santa Anna. Desentendido de gratitud, ordena villanía contra la propia entidad.
POR RAÚL SINENCIO CHÁVEZ ESPECIAL PARA TIEMPO DE ZAPATA
En 1853, Antonio López de Santa Anna reasume el poder pero ahora como “Alteza Serenísima”. Persigue a la prensa, ordena destierros para opositores, decreta abusivos impuestos, vende territorio patrio y derrocha fondos públicos. Designa al francés Adrián Woll como gobernador y comandante de Tamaulipas. Woll, al ser compadre de Santa Anna, se desempeña a imagen y semejanza del tirano. Gusta de oropeles, encarcela al que le viene en gana y cosecha aplausos de reaccionarios locales. Proclamado el 1 de marzo de 1854, el Plan de Ayutla inicia la revolución liberal contra el despotismo. Haciéndose eco del pronunciamiento, Juan José de la Garza toma el control de Ciudad Victoria el 7 de julio. Triunfa con mínimos trastornos y amplia simpatía, uniéndosele las comunidades aledañas. Entonces, Santa Anna ordena sitiar Ciudad Victoria con “más de dos mil hombres” “al mando del general Francisco Tamariz”, “con diez y seis” cañones, mientras los insurrectos apenas oponen “trescientos sesenta hombres y algunas piezas de artillería tan antiguas que casi todas quedaron inútiles a los primeros disparos”, refieren Enrique de Olavarría y Juan de Dios Arias. Así, Los santanistas llegaron “incendiando la población”. “El ataque comenzó el 17 de agosto (de 1854) y terminó el 19”, pues “se agotó completamente el parque a los defensores del Plan de Ayutla: los últimos asaltos fueron rechazados con la bayoneta o con los maderos de los haces de leña que estaban inmediatos a la línea de defensa”. Olavarría y Arias indican que “En la noche del 19 de agosto las fuerzas del señor Garza evacuaron la ciudad. El general Tamariz no encontró en la plaza abandonada más que los heridos que no pudieron marchar. No hizo un solo prisionero”. Complementa Anselmo de la Portilla: “Sufrió mucho Ciudad Victoria en aquel sitio”, puesto que “las tropas del gobierno llevaban órdenes terribles… empleando los más atroces recursos de la guerra, el incendio y la destrucción de edificios. Hubo calles enteras que quedaron reducidas a escombros; se perdieron muchas vidas y desaparecieron muchas fortunas”. Victorioso el Plan de Ayutla, un año después Santa Anna escapa al extranjero. (Con permiso del autor según fuera publicado en La Razón, Tampico, México, el 18 marzo 2016)
Foto por Victor Strife | The Zapata Times
El Congresista Henry Cuellar, a la izquierda, y el Embajador Arnold Chacón, Director General para Servicios en el Extranjero por parte del Departamento de Estgado de EU, hablan durante una conferencia el jueves, en TAMIU.
Oficina federal busca reclutar jóvenes POR JUDITH RAYO TIEMPO DE ZAPATA
Muchos estudiantes tuvieron la oportunidad de conocer acerca de varias oportunidades laborales en el mercado, el jueves por la tarde. Texas A&M International University (TAMIU) lllevó a cabo una feria sobre carreras profesionales, donde participaron empresas que giraban desde tiendas departamentales, grupos de justicia criminal y restaurantes. Pero para los estudiantes que gustarían viajar al extranjero, aprender un nuevo idioma o explorar oportunidades de liderazgo, el Congresista Henry Cuellar, junto con el Embajador Arnold Chacón y oficiales del Departamento de Estado, ofrecieron una breve presentación sobre el reclutamiento de estudiantes para el Departamento de Estado. Estuvieron presentes el Diplo-
mático para Residencias, John Roberts, y el reclutador para el Departamento de Estado Faisal Khan. La misión del departamento es dar forma y mantener un mundo en paz, próspero, justo y democrático, y albergar condiciones para la estabilidad y el progreso para beneficio de los estadounidenses y las persoans en general. Cuellar motivó a estudiantes a unirse a la fuerza laboral. Destacó que hispanos representan alrededor del 17 por ciento de la población de EU pero solo 8.4 por ciento de la fuerza laboral civil es de origen hispano. A fin de asegurarse que el gobierno federal posea perspectivas diferentes y originales, Cuellar enfatizó la importancia que existe en el reclutar y contratar personas con una formación diferente. “Estamos buscando a los talentos para que representen a
los Estados Unidos alrededor del mundo”, dijo. Chacón hizo eco a los comentarios de Cuellar, declarando la necesidad de un cuerpo diplomático que represente a los Estados Unidos. Al final de su mensaje, ambos oficiales se reunieron con estudiantes a fin de discutir los beneficios de unirse al Departamento de Estado. Previo a la reunión con los oficiales, Yvonne Ramos, una estudiante del primer grado en TAMIU, dijo que no había considerado el unirse al Departamento de Estado. “No había pasado por mi mente, pero quizá ellos logren cambiar mi modo de pensar”, dijo. “Honestamente vine aquí pensando en un medio tiempo pero quizá deba de intentarlo. Uno nunca sabe”. Para mayor información visite el sitio del Departamento de Estado en careers.state.gov.
National
SATURDAY, APRIL 2, 2016
THE ZAPATA TIMES 7A
Lopez says San Antonio Wage movement sets flap is food for TV series sights on more states By DAVID BAUDER
ASSOCIATED PRESS
NEW YORK — Comic George Lopez says he plans to use the recent flap over his remark about San Antonio as fodder for his new comedy on TV Land, which is loosely based on his life. Lopez has apologized for slurring the Texas city onstage during a March 19 performance of the Comedy Get Down tour in a Seattle arena. The remark was recorded and posted online without context, angering many Texans. “There’s a lot of hate lying underneath,” Lopez said in an interview. “If this one thing that I apologized for can create that much negativity for me in San Antonio, maybe I don’t have the fans that I thought I did in San Antonio.” Lopez said he was trying to deflect ridicule for a fellow comic, who had just mistakenly referred to being in San Antonio when he was onstage in Seattle. The comedy tour’s previous stop was in San Antonio. Lopez tried to heap praise on Seattle by saying, “You guys have outdone
San Antonio. F—- San Antonio.” Once that clip was distributed, Lopez became the target of LOPEZ online critics. “George, you should have known better than to mess with Texas,” was one of the clean comments. “It wasn’t even long,” Lopez said. “It wasn’t like I did a dissertation on what I don’t like about San Antonio. But what I’ve seen and read is vile. To create things that are so insensitive and personal. I’m hurt.” There’s a larger issue about comedy, he said. “Everybody is so sensitive right now,” he said. “The political correctness is destroying comedy. We used to be the reporters of the absurd.” Still, he recognizes the experience as prime material for a future episode of his show, to examine the idea of viral clips of a performance taking on a life of their own. He’ll disguise it by using a city other than San Antonio, he said. His show, “Lopez,” which debuted last week on TV
Land, is reminiscent of HBO’s “Curb Your Enthusiasm” in that he plays himself and responds to odd things that happen in his life. The show’s Lopez is a successful Mexican-American caught between old compadres who see him as moving beyond them and wealthy new associates not quite comfortable with a minority. He subverts stereotypes: In the first episode, Lopez absentmindedly hands a ticket to someone he thinks is a valet only to learn that it’s former Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, who flames him online for the mistake. In the show, rapper Snoop Dogg tries to get Lopez to perform a comedy routine for his Latina maid. That’s taken from real life — the number of people who ask him to be funny in social situations who wouldn’t necessarily think of asking a doctor they met at a cocktail party to take a look at a mysterious rash. “It’s ridiculous,” he said. “You wouldn’t think that anyone would have the nerve to do that, but it happens more often than not.”
Mom pushes for change By LISA MARIE PANE ASSOCIATED PRESS
WASHINGTON — The photo is jarring: a teenage girl lying on a slab, her chest sliced open exposing bone and blood. There’s a gaping wound in the left side of her head. It’s hard to look at, but Nardyne Jefferies has made it her mission since her daughter was killed in a drive-by shooting to make sure Americans — especially politicians — are forced to see exactly what gun violence does. Brishell Jones was 16 when she and several other teenagers were standing on a street corner in Washington, D.C., after attending a funeral for a friend who was killed over a missing bracelet. It was March 30, 2010, and in the years since, Jefferies has taken the picture to countless rallies, to meetings with members of Congress, to city council hearings. The reaction she gets “is not a good one. The politicians cringe,” she said. Some instinctively look away. “I say, no, don’t look away. You need to see what was done to my daughter ... I want you to see what happens right here in the nation’s capital.” Jefferies, 46, bristles at being called a gun-control advocate. She said she believes in the Constitutional right to bear arms and doesn’t consider this a guncontrol debate. She’s in a motorcycle club that includes friends who are NRA-certified firearms instructors. She believes the cause is about better regu-
Photo by Molly Riley | AP
Nardyne Jefferies holds a photo of her late daughter Brishell Jones. Jones was killed in a drive-by shooting in Washington D.C. lating guns and ensuring that the people who own them are responsible. What she wants is universal background checks, including at gun shows and in private sales between individuals. She wants tighter limits on high-powered automatic weapons, such as the AK-47 that was used to shoot her daughter and three other teens that night. Jefferies’ effort evokes the 1950s actions of the mother of Emmett Till, a 14-year-old boy lynched in Mississippi for flirting with a white woman. She insisted that her son’s casket be kept open, proclaiming “I just wanted the world to see what they did to my baby.” Showing the autopsy photo also takes a page from opponents of abortion rights who have shown images of aborted fetuses. Washington’s police chief, Cathy Lanier, who has grown close to Jefferies, said showing the photo is something she can identify with as someone who
sees firsthand the toll of gun violence. “The horror that we see and the horror that Nardyne saw that day ... her point is one that resonates with me,” Lanier said. “That is the shocking reality that I think the average person doesn’t realize until she shocks them with that photo.” Among Jefferies’ biggest supporters is another mother who lost a daughter to gun violence — Sandy Phillips, whose daughter Jessica Ghawi was among the 12 killed in the Aurora, Colorado, theater shooting. Phillips can’t bear to view the autopsy photos that were taken of her daughter. She was among Aurora victims’ relatives who pushed the court to seal them so they wouldn’t show up on the Internet. “We knew we had to have our daughter cremated because the wounds were so bad,” Phillips said, “and that’s all I need to know.”
By JENNIFER PELTZ AND DAVID KLEPPER ASSOCIATED PRESS
NEW YORK — California and New York —where almost 1 in 5 Americans live — are on their way to raising their minimum wage to $15 an hour, and the activists who spearheaded those efforts are now setting their sights on other similarly liberal, Democratic-led states. Illinois, Massachusetts, Michigan, New Jersey, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont and Washington are among the states with active “Fight for $15” efforts, and even economic experts who oppose the increased rate see it gaining momentum. “There is lots of pressure to do this,” said Douglas Holtz-Eakin, a former Congressional Budget Office director who is now president of the conservative American Action Forum, which says big minimum-wage increases cost jobs. The idea faces headwinds in more conservative and rural states in the South and the Midwest. But activists believe it is picking up steam, even if their two big victories so far were achieved in two very receptive places: trend-setting, liberal, labor-friendly states with a high cost of living and a yawning gap between rich and poor. “In the beginning, it looked impossible,” said Alvin Major, a former fast food worker who is now a leader of the Fight for $15 campaign. But now, “what happened in New York, in California, it’s going to spread around the country.” Since the $15-an-hour movement planted roots with a 2012 New York City fast food workers strike, it has gained ground amid the broader debate over wage stagnation and income inequality. Cities such as Seattle, Los An-
Photo by Jim Wilson | The New York Times
Children of Latino workers hold signs during a demonstration by janitors, security guards and food service workers. geles and San Francisco have recently agreed to go to $15 in the coming years, and Oregon’s minimum wage is headed to $14.75 in Portland. Democratic presidential candidate Bernie Sanders has been pushing for a $15-an-hour standard nationally, while President Barack Obama has called more generally for raising the minimum wage. The federal minimum is currently $7.25; 29 states and Washington, D.C., have set theirs higher. New York and California are now on track to have the highest. California Gov. Jerry Brown, a Democrat, is set Monday to sign a measure boosting the current $10 rate to $15 by 2022. In New York, Democratic Gov. Andrew Cuomo and legislative leaders have agreed on a more complex plan. The $9 minimum would rise to $15 at many New York City businesses in 2019, at those with under 10 employees in 2020, and in some prosperous suburbs in 2022. But it would go only to $12.50 in 2022 in the rest of the state, with further increases to $15 tied to inflation and other economic indicators. While supporters hail the agreements as signs of the movement’s strength, they also were products of compromise with those who worried that the increases would harm busi-
nesses and ultimately workers. In California, where more than 2 million workers currently make minimum wage, Brown initially opposed raising the minimum, saying it would put poor people out of work and cost the state billions more in pay for its own employees. But he ultimately made a deal to head off competing laborbacked November ballot initiatives that would have imposed swifter increases without some of the safeguards included in the legislation. New York’s graduated approach stemmed from negotiations with state Senate Republicans who worried such a sharp increase would devastate businesses, particularly in the more fragile economy upstate. Similar dynamics may play out as proponents push for $15 in other parts of the country. While $15 may seem reasonable in high-paying areas, “it’s a much harder lift in lowwage areas,” said Jared Bernstein, senior fellow at the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities and former adviser to Vice President Joe Biden. Also, California and New York have politically influential unions, strong community organizing activity and Democratic politicians eager to translate the movement into legislation.
8A THE ZAPATA TIMES
SATURDAY, APRIL 2, 2016
Brazil VP targeted by petition ASSOCIATED PRESS
RIO DE JANEIRO — An ally of embattled President Dilma Rousseff on Friday filed an impeachment petition against Vice President Michel Temer, citing testimony that implicates him in the sprawling corruption scandal shaking Brazil’s political class. The move by Cid Gomes, who briefly served as education minister in Rousseff ’s Cabinet, comes as it appears increasingly likely that Rousseff herself will be impeached on allegations she broke fiscal laws. If she is impeached, Vice President Temer would be first in line to replace her, although his name has been cited by several operators in the snowballing probe into corruption at the state-run oil company Petrobras. In a sign of how much Brazil’s political class has been tainted by scandal, the heads of the lower house and Senate, second and third in the line of succes-
sion, are also embroiled in the scandal. They all deny wrongdoing. Gomes told reporters his petition hinged on testimony in the Petrobras probe citing Temer, including a text message suggesting he may have received an illicit payout of $5 million Brazilian reais ($1.4 million). “My petition is Quixotic, but I am going to fight these terrible windmills for Brazil,” Folha de S. Paulo newspaper quoted Gomes as saying. This is the fourth impeachment petition against Temer. Two have already been shelved and a third is “being processed” by the speaker of the lower house, Eduardo Cunha, a fellow member of the vice president’s Brazilian Democratic Movement Party, or PMDB, according to the house’s press office. Gomes has requested his petition be examined not by Cunha — who is facing money laundering charges and could be stripped of his
position by the house ethics committee — but rather by his second-in-command. Rousseff ’s chances of surviving the impeachment proceedings against her took a turn for the worse earlier this week when the PMDB pulled out of Rousseff ’s ruling coalition. With a vote in the lower house expected as early as the middle of the month, Rousseff is scrambling to secure the 172 out of 513 votes she needs to halt the impeachment proceedings. The latest filing against Temer comes a day after remarks by a Supreme Court justice disparaging the country’s political class. In recordings apparently made without his knowledge during a meeting Thursday with university students, Justice Luis Roberto Barroso called the situation a “disaster” and said the political system “doesn’t have a minimum of democratic legitimacy,” according to a report in O Globo newspaper. The court’s
press office declined comment Friday. “I’d say the problem with politics at this moment is the lack of an alternative,” he said, in an apparent reference to the PMDB party. “There is nowhere to run.” The justice’s apparently off-the-cuff remarks seemed to echo the sentiment of many Brazilians who are fed up with Rousseff and her left-leaning Workers’ Party, which has governed the country since 2003, but don’t see the scandal-tainted opposition as an appealing alternative. Meanwhile, police on Friday carried out more detentions and searches in the “Operation Car Wash” probe that began over two years ago and centers around a massive corruption scheme at Petrobras. The former secretary general of Rousseff ’s left-leaning party, Silvio Jose Pereira, was one of two people provisionally detained in Friday’s operation.
SEIZURE Continued from Page 1A the location. The officials located and confiscated the narcotics. A total of 465 bundles were seized by the Mexican military. The bundles tested positive for marijuana and had a total weight of 7,297.4 pounds, with a street value of $5.6 million. “This seizure clearly demonstrates the excep-
tional level of binational cooperation that the Border Patrol has with the government of Mexico. We fully intend to continue this level of cooperation between both governments to locate and prevent the smuggling of illicit contraband,” said Mario Martinez, Laredo Sector chief patrol agent.
ADVISED Continued from Page 1A The statement also said that immigration officials offer child migrants refuge, but they reject it because “their only purpose is to arrive in the United States or reunite with their closest relatives.” The issue is most acute in southern Mexico, where most of migrant children are stopped. A fraction of the children are transferred to shelters run by a government agency providing support to families, but the majority are held in detention centers to await de-
portation. While some children are migrating for economic reasons many are fleeing for their lives, escaping violent homes or relentless street gangs that control many of their neighborhoods in El Salvador, Honduras and Guatemala. Most are believed to be trying to reach the U.S. where they have relatives or expect greater economic opportunities. But Bochenek said that for children simply trying to escape imminent danger Mexico can offer a refuge.
LAWSUITS Continued from Page 1A That decision is “one reason we’re not in fiscal calamity,” Craymer said. “Today, a prolonged drop in oil prices may only threaten the size of our surplus.” While low oil prices may not harm state coffers as much as feared, Hegar and other state officials are warning lawmakers that adverse rulings in any of the ongoing lawsuits could quickly change the state’s financial outlook. The ruling they have expressed the most concern about would come from a 2009 case pending before the state Supreme Court in which Midland-based Southwest Royalties — a subsidiary of Clayton Williams Energy — is arguing that metal pipes and other equipment used in oil and gas extraction should be exempt from sales tax.
A ruling in favor of the company could spur up to $4.4 billion in refund filings for 2017 alone, and $500 million per year after that, according to the comptroller’s office — projections Hegar stands by as “good numbers.” “This one’s as big as they come,” he said shortly before the state Supreme Court heard oral arguments in the case this month. A ruling against the state in the case “could very much change the landscape” for the state budget, Legislative Budget Board Director Ursula Park warned the House Committee on Business and Industry last week, calling the cost projections “quite a significant amount of money.” Committee Chairman René Oliveira, a Democrat from Brownsville, said he
asked Parks to testify because he thought it was important for members to know about the looming uncertainties so they could tell local officials back home “that it may be pretty tight on getting projects accomplished.” “The state isn’t going to have much to give” next year, he said. That’s when lawmakers will convene for their next regular session. The other pending tax lawsuit — between the state and the parent company of AMC movie theaters — is farther behind in the courts, meaning it may not be decided in time to impact the two-year budget lawmakers will write next year. However, the comptroller’s office estimates it would have an even bigger cost to the state if it eventually loses — $6 billion in initial refunds and
$1.5 billion per year after that in lost collections. In that case, AMC has argued that more of its expenses should fall under the franchise tax’s definition of "tangible personal property," a move that would lower the theater chain’s tax burden. Last April, Texas’ 3rd Court of Appeals sided with AMC. If the state ultimately loses the AMC cases, Craymer said it would be “certainly reasonable” to tap the Rainy Day Fund to cover the cost of refunds since they are a one-time expense, although he acknowledged that as “politically difficult.” In 2011, the Republican-dominated Legislature opted to balance a post-recession budget shortfall without tapping the emergency savings account even though it meant a $5.4 billion cut to public schools.
ENDORSE Continued from Page 1A employed with the agency, according to Customs and Border Protection’s year-end statistics. About 17,520 work on the country’s southern border, including 3,056 and 1,670 in Texas’ Rio Grande Valley and Laredo sectors, respectively. About 2,360 are stationed in the El Paso sector. The Texas Tribune is taking a yearlong look at the issues of border security and immigration, reporting on the reality and rhetoric around these topics. Check out all the stories in this series. Trump made immigration an early focal point of his campaign when he made controversial com-
ments about Mexicans being “criminals and rapists”. He’s also promised repeatedly to build a wall on the southern border and force the Mexican government to pay for it. In its statement, the union agreed that Trump is responsible for igniting a national debate on immigration and keeping the issue fresh. “Mr. Trump is correct when he says immigration wouldn’t be at the forefront of this presidential campaign if months ago he hadn’t made some bold and necessary statements,” the statement reads. “And when the withering media storm ensued he did not back down one iota.”
SATURDAY, APRIL 2, 2016
THE ZAPATA TIMES 9A
THE MARKET IN REVIEW STOCK EXCHANGE HIGHLIGHTS
u
u
NYSE 10,219.96
+12.59
GAINERS ($2 OR MORE)
DAILY DOW JONES
NASDAQ 4,914.54
+44.69
GAINERS ($2 OR MORE)
Name
Last Chg%Chg Name
Last Chg%Chg
TalenEn n NL Inds PatriotN n Yirendai n HarteHnk NevroCorp TrGasSur Tronox DiploPhm ValeantPh
10.04 2.52 8.51 12.81 2.74 60.92 6.32 6.85 29.26 28.10
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+11.6 +11.5 +10.5 +10.1 +8.3 +8.3 +8.2 +7.2 +6.8 +6.8
SkySolar HansnMd rs Rentech rs CardiovSys Cellectar rs AkariTh rs OdysMar rs MidConEn ConatusPh Staff360 rs
+2.00 +1.04 +.82 +2.89 +.93 +3.25 +1.45 +.36 +.39 +.65
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-14.5 -12.1 -11.8 -11.6 -10.8 -9.3 -9.0 -8.9 -8.7 -8.7
GenoceaB WstptInn g Rovi Corp Zais Grp KuraOnc n Cyclacel pf LegcyR pf VanNR pfB IgniteRest GtBasSci rs
MOST ACTIVE ($1 OR MORE) MOST ACTIVE ($1 OR MORE) Name
Vol (00)
BkofAm FordM Pfizer FrptMcM ValeantPh GenElec Vale SA MarathnO Sprint ChesEng
Last Chg Name
711841 572275 475165 409674 393253 387650 311301 288320 287506 284481
Vol (00)
13.56 +.04 13.10 -.40 30.04 +.40 9.89 -.45 28.10 +1.80 31.93 +.14 4.32 +.11 10.56 -.58 3.63 +.15 3.83 -.29
SiriusXM MicronT Apple Inc Facebook Microsoft BlackBerry Zynga Cisco MarIntA Intel
1,477 1,601 90 3,168 186 12 3,632,359,143
Advanced Declined Unchanged Total issues New Highs New Lows
Volume
Last Chg
551419 3.96 +.01 282410 11.03 +.56 251741 109.99 +1.00 243530 116.06 +1.96 236894 55.57 +.34 232201 7.48 -.61 227300 2.20 -.08 223176 28.69 +.22 178003 67.13 -4.05 174530 32.45 +.10
DIARY Advanced Declined Unchanged Total issues New Highs New Lows
Dow Jones industrials
17,840
Close: 17,792.75 Change: 107.66 (0.6%)
17,600
18,351.36 8,953.18 669.46 11,254.87 5,231.94 947.85 2,134.72 1,551.28 22,537.15 1,296.00
17,360
18,000
DIARY
Volume
1,578 1,188 187 2,953 63 23 1,749,308,153
17,500 17,000 16,500
15,370.33 6,403.31 539.96 8,937.99 4,209.76 809.57 1,810.10 1,215.14 18,462.43 943.09
N
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Prime Rate Discount Rate Federal Funds Rate Treasuries 3-month 6-month 5-year 10-year 30-year
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YTD Chg %Chg
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Div
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PE
AT&T Inc AEP BkofAm B iPVixST Caterpillar CCFemsa CmtyHlt ConocoPhil Dillards DirDGldBr EmpIca ExxonMbl FordM GenElec HP Inc HomeDp iShJapan iShEMkts Intel IntlBcsh IBM
1.92 2.24 .20 ... 3.08 1.98 ... 1.00 .28 ... ... 2.92 .60 .92 .50 2.76 .13 .84 1.04 .58 5.20
4.9 3.3 1.5 ... 4.0 2.3 ... 2.5 .3 ... ... 3.5 4.6 2.9 4.0 2.0 1.2 2.5 3.2 2.3 3.4
17 39.05 -.12 21 67.01 +.61 10 13.56 +.04 ... 17.12 -.50 15 76.79 +.25 ... 84.38 +1.33 10 18.67 +.16 ... 39.78 -.49 12 84.06 -.85 ... 3.16 -.07 ... .99 +.03 22 82.96 -.63 7 13.10 -.40 ... 31.93 +.14 11 12.26 -.06 25 134.85 +1.42 ... 11.13 -.28 ... 34.15 -.10 14 32.45 +.10 12 25.04 +.38 10 152.52 +1.07
+13.5 +15.0 -19.4 -14.8 +13.0 +19.2 -29.6 -14.8 +27.9 -80.9 +28.6 +6.4 -7.0 +2.5 +3.5 +2.0 -8.2 +6.1 -5.8 -2.6 +10.8
Name
Div
Yld
Lowes Lubys MktVGold MetLife MexicoFd Microsoft Modine Penney Pfizer S&P500ETF SanchezEn Schlmbrg SearsHldgs SiriusXM SonyCp SunEdison UnionPac USSteel UnivHlthS WalMart WellsFargo
1.12 ... .12 1.50 1.81 1.44 ... ... 1.20 4.13 ... 2.00 ... ... ... ... 2.20 .20 .40 2.00 1.50
1.5 ... .6 3.4 ... 2.6 ... ... 4.0 2.0 ... 2.8 ... ... ... ... 2.8 1.2 .3 2.9 3.1
PE
Last
YTD Chg %Chg
23 76.50 +.75 +.6 ... 4.77 -.08 +6.7 ... 20.12 +.15 +46.6 11 44.56 +.62 -7.6 ... 17.96 +.01 +8.1 36 55.57 +.34 +.2 ... 10.99 -.02 +21.4 ... 10.63 -.43 +59.6 18 30.04 +.40 -6.9 ... 206.92 +1.40 +1.5 ... 5.07 -.42 +17.6 21 72.12 -1.63 +3.4 ... 14.90 -.41 -27.5 40 3.96 +.01 -2.7 ... 24.92 -.80 +1.3 ... .43 -.11 -91.6 14 78.92 -.63 +.9 ... 16.55 +.50 +107.4 19 125.39 +.67 +4.9 15 69.06 +.57 +12.7 12 48.45 +.09 -10.9
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. Source: The Associated Press. Sales figures are unofficial.
By KARL RITTER ASSOCIATED PRESS
Photo by Evan Agostini/Invision | AP file
Tidal, the streaming service co-owned by Jay Z, notified the former owners of the music service of compensation claims. which it reserves the right to claim compensation, though it doesn’t mention any figures. Schibsted spokesman Anders Rikter confirmed the letter was authentic. Tidal says it now has more than 3 million subscribers globally.
3.50 3.50 1.00 1.00 .25-.50 .25-.50 0.22 0.38 1.22 1.77 2.60
+.61 -.71 +.37 +.12 +.92 +.70 +.63 +.44 ... +.33
+2.11 +.17 +5.05 -8.34 +16.13 +13.76 +.75 -6.69 -1.85 +.56 +.87 +2.02 +1.41 +.28 +3.79 -4.75 +.27 -3.29 -1.60 -10.99
CURRENCIES
Last PvsWeek
O
YTD 12-mo Chgg %Chg %Chg %Chg
17,792.75 +107.66 7,887.77 -56.34 671.04 +2.47 10,219.96 +12.59 4,914.54 +44.69 919.33 +6.40 2,072.78 +13.04 1,451.59 +6.40 21,224.32 ... 1,117.68 +3.65
MONEY RATES
15,500
company Aspiro has been very thorough and open and communicated clearly,” it said. Norwegian financial newspaper Dagens Naeringsliv posted the letter from Project Panther Bidco Ltd. on its website. It says “Panther has suffered significant damage” for
Last
Dow Industrials Dow Transportation Dow Utilities NYSE Composite Nasdaq Composite S&P 100 S&P 500 S&P MidCap Wilshire 5000 Russell 2000
16,000
Tidal prepares suit against former owners STOCKHOLM — A business controlled by rapper Jay-Z has notified the former owners of the Tidal music service of potential compensation claims, saying they overstated the number of subscribers before the sale. Project Panther Bidco Ltd. bought Tidal’s Scandinavian parent company, Aspiro, for $56 million a year ago. But it now says it was misled about how many people subscribed to the service, suggesting the price tag was too high. “The total number of subscribers was well below the 540,000 reported to us by the prior owners. As a result, we have now served legal notice to parties involved in the sale,” Tidal said in a statement. The Norway-based Schibsted Media Group, the biggest of the previous owners, confirmed Friday it had received the letter, adding it disagrees with the accusations and any potential claims. “Schibsted is of the opinion that the information given by the
Name
10 DAYS
LOSERS ($2 OR MORE)
LOSERS ($2 OR MORE) Name
-1.16 -5.92 -.73 -2.48 -.49 -3.05 -1.58 -.61 -.24 -4.63
STOCK MARKET INDEXES 52-Week High Low
0.28 0.44 1.39 1.91 2.67
Australia Britain Canada Euro Japan Mexico Switzerlnd
Last
Pvs Day
1.3024 1.4215 1.3023 .8778 111.73 17.3505 .9589
1.3032 1.4372 1.2974 .8782 112.53 17.2849 .9603
British pound expressed in U.S. dollars. All others show dollar in foreign currency.
MUTUAL FUNDS Name AB GlbThmtGrA m Columbia ComInfoA m Eaton Vance WldwHealA m Fidelity Select Biotech d Fidelity Select BrokInv d Fidelity Select CommEq d Fidelity Select Computer d Fidelity Select ConsFin d Fidelity Select Electron d Fidelity Select FinSvc d Fidelity Select SwreITSvcs d Fidelity Select Tech d T Rowe Price SciTech Vanguard HlthCare Waddell & Reed Adv SciTechA m
Total Assets Obj ($Mlns) NAV WS 450 84.90 ST 2,594 56.30 SH 878 10.88 SH 9,957 173.78 SF 335 59.94 ST 180 28.15 ST 420 69.24 SF 90 11.74 ST 1,474 76.64 SF 1,098 80.72 ST 3,214 120.80 ST 2,998 117.75 ST 2,854 33.38 SH 10,653 197.72 ST 2,814 12.51
Total Return/Rank 4-wk 12-mo 5-year +6.0 -4.9/C +1.4/E +4.8 +7.9/A +11.2/B +1.1 -9.5/B +15.7/D +2.9 -27.6/E +22.8/A +6.3 -14.6/E +5.1/D +3.3 -7.9/E +2.0/E +7.5 -8.3/E +6.4/E +5.4 -9.4/C +10.3/A +6.4 +0.9/C +12.8/A +4.7 -7.7/C +6.6/C +5.4 +9.2/A +15.3/A +6.1 +2.1/B +9.2/C +5.2 +2.7/B +10.2/B +0.8 -4.8/A +17.9/B +5.1 -14.1/E +9.3/C
Pct Min Init Load Invt 4.25 2,500 5.75 2,000 5.75 1,000 NL 2,500 NL 2,500 NL 2,500 NL 2,500 NL 2,500 NL 2,500 NL 2,500 NL 2,500 NL 2,500 NL 2,500 NL 3,000 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, ST - Technology, 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.
Stocks, job growth rise By MARLEY JAY ASSOCIATED PRESS
NEW YORK — U.S. stocks climbed Friday after the government said job growth continued at a strong clip in March. Makers of consumer goods and household products rose, and health care companies rebounded. The solid employment report helped U.S. stocks stay out of a steep global decline. Early in the day stocks tumbled along with the prices of oil and precious metals, but they recovered in the afternoon and finished at their highest levels of the day. The Labor Department’s monthly jobs report showed that employers added 215,000 jobs last month, a sign the economy isn’t slowing down. Energy companies took big losses. Hotel companies and airlines both tumbled. The jobs report was a bit stronger than investors expected but was consistent with hiring over the last few years. That shows employers are confident enough to add staff even though overall economic growth has slowed down. More people also looked for work and wages edged higher. Kate Warne, investment strategist for Edward Jones, said the report shows the U.S. economy is staying on track and growth remains steady in spite of all the stock market turmoil this year. “That means more spend-
ing on everything from housing to McDonald’s,” she said. “It’s one more confirmation that the worries from earlier in the year really weren’t warranted.” The Dow Jones industrial average rose 107.66 points, or 0.6 percent, to 17,792.75. The Standard & Poor’s 500 index added 13.04 points, or 0.6 percent, to 2,072.78. The Nasdaq composite index gained 44.69 points, or 0.9 percent, to 4,914.54. Stocks haven’t made many sharp moves in recent weeks, but have drifted gradually higher. Consumer companies rose. Procter & Gamble, which makes Pampers diapers, Tide detergent and Olay beauty products, gained $1.22, or 1.5 percent, to $83.53. Drugstore chain Walgreens rose $2.46, or 2.9 percent, to $86.70. Mondelez, the maker of Oreo cookies and Trident gum, added $1.12, or 2.8 percent, to $41.24. Energy prices dropped as investors became more pessimistic about the fate of a proposed deal for major oil-producing nations to reduce production. That would help address a gigantic glut in global supplies, which has hurt prices. U.S. crude fell $1.55, or 4 percent, to $36.79 a barrel in New York. Brent crude, the benchmark for pricing international oils, gave up $1.66, or 4.1 percent, to $38.67 a barrel in London. Marathon Oil retreated 70 cents, or 6.3 percent, to $10.44 and Diamond Offshore Drill-
ing lost 76 cents, or 3.5 percent, to $20.97. In an abrupt reversal, a consortium led by Anbang Insurance Group ended its effort to buy Starwood Hotels & Resorts. The group had offered to buy Starwood for $15 billion, which surpassed a $14 billion offer from the competing Marriott chain. The consortium said it withdrew its offer because of market conditions. Starwood had accepted a $14 billion offer from Marriott but said Monday that Anbang’s bid was probably better. Starwood fell $4.05, or 4.9 percent, to $79.38 and Marriott lost $4.04, or 5.7 percent, to $67.14. Starwood and Marriott would become the biggest hotel chain in the world, and competing hotel companies also fell. Hilton shed 51 cents, or 2.3 percent, to $22.01. Regeneron Pharmaceuticals made its biggest gain in four years after an eczema drug it is developing with Sanofi met its goals in a late-stage clinical trial. The stock surged $44.81, or 12.4 percent, to $405.25, leading a recovery in drugmaking stocks. Biotechnology companies including Amgen and Gilead Sciences also traded higher. Tesla Motors gained $7.82, or 3.4 percent, to $237.59 after the electric car company said it received a flood of orders for Model 3, the new, lower-priced vehicle it announced on Thursday. On Twitter, CEO Elon Musk said the company has booked 198,000 orders.
Orders for lower-priced Tesla hit 198,000 By DEE-ANN DURBIN AND JUSTIN PRITCHARD ASSOCIATED PRESS
HAWTHORNE, Calif. — Demand for Tesla Motors’ new lower-priced electric car surprised even the company’s CEO Friday as 198,000 people plunked down $1,000 deposits. “Definitely going to need to rethink production planning,” CEO Elon Musk said on his Twitter feed. Musk unveiled the car Thursday night at a design studio near Los Angeles. It starts at $35,000 and has a range of 215 miles per charge, which is far more than most people drive each day. The orders came from across the globe even though the car isn’t scheduled for sale until late in 2017. But they could jeopardize a $7,500 U.S. electric car tax credit that many buyers are counting on to reduce the price. The tax credits gradually phase out after a company hits 200,000 in U.S. sales. A Tesla spokeswoman wouldn’t say how many of the 198,000 orders came from the U.S. Thursday night, Musk
said Tesla had 115,000 orders since the company started taking them earlier in the day in Australia. There were long lines at Tesla stores from Hong Kong to Austin, Texas, reminiscent of crowds at Apple stores for early models of the iPhone. But the number kept rising into Friday. “Thought it would slow way down today, but Model 3 order count is now at 198k,” Musk tweeted during the afternoon, saying the wait time for the car is “growing rapidly.” The Model 3 is less than half the cost of Tesla’s previous models. Its range is about double what drivers get from current competitors in its price range, such as the Nissan Leaf and BMW i3. Prototypes looked like a shorter version of Tesla’s Model S sedan. The Model 3 has a panoramic glass roof and an elongated hood. Inside, it seats five and has the same large touchscreen dashboard as other Teslas. It also has Tesla’s suite of semi-autonomous driving features, including automatic lane changing and lane keeping. Musk said it will accelerate from zero to 60 in
Photo by Tesla Motors | AP
Tesla Motors shows the new Model 3 car. The promise of an affordable electric car had hundreds of people lining up to reserve one. less than 6 seconds. Tesla has a history of missing deadlines for its vehicles to hit the market, but Musk said Thursday that he feels “fairly confident” that the Model 3 will come out next year. The lower-priced car is the most serious test yet of 13-year-old Tesla’s ability to go from niche player to a full-fledged automaker. It could be the car that finally makes electrics mainstream — or consumers could continue to be skeptical that electrics will work for everyday use. In the U.S., they still make up less than 1
percent of annual sales. Either way, the Model 3 is already changing the industry, spurring competitors to speed development of electric cars. General Motors Co. is set to start selling the Chevrolet Bolt electric car at the end of this year with a similar price tag and a 200-mile range. Hyundai’s Ioniq, which has a 110-mile electric range and could match Tesla on price, goes on sale this fall. Audi will follow with an electric SUV in 2018. Musk said last month he’s not worried. He thinks
the Model 3 will compete most directly with small luxury cars such as the Audi A4 and the BMW 3 Series. Musk said Tesla will expand its stores and its fastcharging Supercharger stations globally in order to support the Model 3. He said the company plans to double its stores worldwide to 441 by the end of 2017, and it will double its Superchargers to 7,200. Tesla will also add thousands of its socalled destination charging stations at hotels and other locations. Right now, Tesla sells two vehicles: The Model S sedan, which starts at $71,000, and the Model X SUV, which starts around $80,000. But a lower-priced car was Musk’s longtime goal. Musk said the Model S and Model X, along with Tesla’s first car, the discontinued Roadster sports car, helped Tesla make the money to invest in the Model 3. Tesla lowered the cost of the car, in part, by making cheaper batteries. The company previously assembled its battery packs with cells made in Japan by Panasonic Corp. But Tesla and Panasonic are building a mas-
sive, $5 billion factory in Nevada which will supply batteries for the Model 3. Tesla says the scale of the factory will lower the cost of its battery packs by 30 percent. The Model 3 puts Tesla within reach of millions more customers. Last year, only 2.1 percent of new cars purchased in the U.S. cost $75,000 or more, but 35 percent — or 5.5 million — cost $35,000 or more, according to TrueCar. The Model 3 is a critical part of the moneylosing automaker’s plan to increase sales from around 85,000 this year to 500,000 by 2020. Robin Santucci got the sixth spot in line when he arrived at the Santa Monica, California, Tesla store at 3:45 a.m. Thursday. By 9 a.m., he estimated there were 200 people in line. Santucci has admired Tesla for years. When he got his current car, an electric Fiat 500, he made sure the lease would run out at the end of 2017 so his next car could be the Model 3. “The design of every other car they’ve put out is beautiful,” said Santucci, who works in digital advertising.
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Sports&Outdoors MAJOR LEAGUE BASEBALL: HOUSTON ASTROS
NCAA BASKETBALL
Raising the bar Astros try to tune out expectations, improve in 2016 By KRISTIE RIEKEN ASSOCIATED PRESS
HOUSTON — The Houston Astros aren’t letting their status as a trendy pick to win the World Series affect their preparation for the season. “We’re not afraid of the expectations, but we’re not going to prepare as if it’s a foregone conclusion,” manager A.J. Hinch said. “We haven’t done anything yet. We just have the foundation built to have high standards and to have high expectations and now we have to go prove it.” The Astros are looking to take the next step after a season where they returned to the playoffs for the first time since 2005. They beat the Yankees in a wildcard game before falling to eventual champion Kansas City in the American League Division Series. They return most every-
Photo by Karen Warren | Houston Chronicle
Astros rookie of the year Carlos Correa and AL Cy Young winner Dallas Keuchel lead Houston into the 2016 season with raised expectations. body from that 86-76 team. “It’s a good feeling,” catcher Jason Castro said. “Obviously we have most of
the guys back that were on the team last year and I think that really kind of adds to the enthusiasm and
optimism for the 2016 season. So you can definitely feel it. Guys expect to win now and it’s a nice atmosphere change around here.” It’s a major turnaround from the recent history of this team that had three straight 100-loss season from 2011-13 as they shipped all their established players out to rebuild from within. Houston turned things around last year with exceptional seasons by lefthander Dallas Keuchel, who won the AL Cy Young Award, and shortstop Carlos Correa, the AL Rookie of the Year. Hinch is proud of his team’s accomplishments, but is careful to make sure that his players know that what happened a year ago doesn’t count for anything now.
See ASTROS PAGE 2B
File photo by Luis Sinco | TNS
A former Gonzaga player, Ryan Spangler is heading to the Final Four with Oklahoma this season.
Transfer issues still plague NCAA By RALPH D. RUSSO
NCAA BASKETBALL: FINAL FOUR
ASSOCIATED PRESS
SHOOTERS TO BE TESTED OU, VU head to NRG Stadium By JIM O’CONNELL ASSOCIATED PRESS
Photo by Carl Peer | AP
In a rematch from earlier this season, a pair of No. 2 seeds meet Saturday in Houston as Oklahoma faces off with Villanova.
HOUSTON — Oklahoma is one of the nation’s best 3point shooting teams. Villanova is no slouch, either. Their numbers don’t lie but neither do NRG Stadium’s. That’s where the Sooners and Wildcats will play their national semifinal game on Saturday and also where a lot of 3-point shots have just not gone in the basket. There have been six NCAA Tournament games played in the home of the NFL’s Houston Texans, but sizable crowds of 70,000plus have seen misses at unusual rates for big-time college basketball. In the six games — the 2011 Final Four and the 2015 South Regional — the 12 teams combined to shoot
See OU-VU PAGE 2B
HOUSTON — Oklahoma forward Ryan Spangler had a no-drama transfer. Spangler spent his freshman year at Gonazaga, but wanted to play closer to his hometown of Ardmore, Oklahoma. After talking to Bulldogs coach Mark Few, he ended up at OU. Simple as that. Now Spangler is a senior playing in the Final Four on Saturday against Villanova. In the other semifinal, guard Michael Gbinije, who had transferred from Duke to Syracuse after his freshman year with no hassle, leads the Orange against North Carolina. If only all transfers were so simple. This is the time of year when the NCAA transfer rules — or the lack thereof — end up drawing lots of attention as college basketball and football players decide to move. Plenty of it ends up reflecting poorly on coaches and schools that have either limited where a player can transfer or blocked an athlete from leaving altogether. College sports leaders have been talking about reforming transfer policies to bring some uniformity to the process and maybe cut down on
the bad publicity that almost inevitably follows when a player’s movement is restricted. So far it’s been all talk and no action, though NCAA President Mark Emmert said there is a “deep sense of urgency.” “The issue of transfer rules, whether it’s for undergraduates or graduates, is one of the most hotly debated and discussed, I think, in sport right now, whether it’s football or basketball,” Emmert said during his Final Four news conference this week. “The challenge is it’s really hard to figure out a right way to resolve this issue.” NCAA rules require college football and basketball players to sit out a season, losing a year of eligibility, when they transfer to a school within the same division of competition. Student-athletes who graduated are allowed to transfer without sitting out, a rule that has created de facto free agency that most administrators would like to change. But priorities are different at different levels of Division I. “Everybody’s got opinions,” Emmert said. “But the membership is addressing them.” According to the NCAA, a third of all col-
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NCAA BASKETBALL: FINAL FOUR
ACC foes meet in Final Four By STEPHEN HAWKINS ASSOCIATED PRESS
HOUSTON — North Carolina likes to run, and Syracuse prefers to walk. These two teams that do things very differently are also very familiar with each other, having already played twice this season. Except this isn’t another ACC game. The conference rivals, with their veteran coaches who have both been here multiple times before, are playing each other in the Final Four. While the stage and the stadium are much bigger, with a spot in the national
championship game on the line, don’t expect Roy Williams’ Tar Heels (32-6) or Jim Boeheim’s Orange (2313) to start altering what they do in the national semifinal game Saturday night. “We just try to do what we do better. That’s all,” said Boeheim, whose team and its 2-3 zone made it to Houston as a No. 10 seed. “It’s a little too late in the year to be experimenting.” North Carolina, the only No. 1 seed in this Final Four and the ACC’s highest-scoring team at 83 points a game, won both earlier matchups against
the Orange this season. Williams isn’t sure he agrees with the old premise brought up constantly this week about the challenge of beating the same team three times in the same season. “If you’re better than me, you can probably beat me 20 times,” Williams said, before adding a caveat about playing the Orange again. “The Syracuse games, the games went right down to the wire.” Then Williams reminded everyone of 1985 when Villanova, a No. 8 seed, beat defending national champion Georgetown in the ti-
tle game after the Wildcats lost twice against their Big East rivals in the regular season — 57-50 and 52-50. In the Jan. 9 game under Syracuse’s dome, the Orange were tied at halftime and led by as many as six points after that. But Isaiah Hicks scored 19 of his 21 points after the break, and the Tar Heels hit 12 of 13 from the field in the closing minutes for an 84-73 victory. In the Feb. 29 rematch at Chapel Hill, the Orange had cut a second-half defi-
See SU-UNC PAGE 2B
File photo by Robert Willett | TNS
Top-seeded North Carolina faces ACC opponent Syracuse after the Orange became the first No. 10 seed to advance to the Final Four.
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Zscores
SATURDAY, APRIL 2, 2016
Lakers move on from Russell-Young incident By GREG BEACHAM ASSOCIATED PRESS
EL SEGUNDO, Calif. — D’Angelo Russell did extra work after practice again with the Los Angeles Lakers on Friday, competing with Jordan Clarkson in a two-on-two scrimmage. Russell is also still putting in work in the locker room to heal the broken trust and hurt feelings from his misadventure in video. So far, the results aren’t spectacular. Russell indicated he hasn’t spoken extensively to teammate Nick Young since the rookie guard upended Young’s personal life with a leaked recording of Young talking about being with women other than his fiancée, Australian rapper Iggy Azalea. “I’m getting over it, but (until) the person that it hurt the most gets over it, then I feel like it’s done,” the 20-year-old Russell said. “But until he really lets it simmer down, then I think it will still be an issue. ... It’s at this point where you need your space. You can’t force peace if it’s not there. You can’t force it. You’ve got to let time heal it.” Russell knows his private joke went incredibly wrong, and he has apologized repeatedly in public and to his team. He realizes that several former NBA players, including everyone from Shaquille O’Neal to Stephen Jackson, believe
Photo by Paul Rodriguez | AP
The Lakers’ Nick Young, second from left, watches D’Angelo Russell on the court Wednesday against Miami after a video released this week has rocked the team’s trust of the first-year guard. Russell would have been subject to more physical retribution from teammates for such a breach of trust in the age before social media. “I’d get physical back,” Russell said.
Nobody is picking fistfights, but the vibe is still strange around the Lakers, who somehow rallied on that bizarre Wednesday for a 102-100 overtime victory over the playoff-bound Miami Heat.
TRANSFER Continued from Page 1B lege students transfer. Exact figures on what percentage of college basketball players will transfer during their careers are not available, but the NCAA does know that 40 percent leave their schools in the first two years, and most of those are transferring. Across all sports, the transfer rates are lower than one in three. Still, it seems that player movement, especially in college basketball, is on the rise. ESPN.com has tracked transferring college basketball players for almost 10 years and in that time that number of players it has listed has risen from about 200 to more than 700 last year. “We have such a massive number of kids that transfer nowadays because of everybody wanting instant gratification,” North Carolina coach Roy Williams said Friday. “Coaches in some way have been blamed for that. We have absolutely nothing to do with it. It’s the want and need of instant gratification. The culture we have, if things don’t work out, just leave and go somewhere else.” Conferences often have rules prohibiting players from transferring within the league. “Maybe that’s a good restriction,” Spangler said. “Your coaches don’t want to face you all the time.” Coaches often add to that, prohibiting players from transferring to schools that they are scheduled to play in upcoming seasons. That’s when things can get awkward, even contentious. Michigan coach John Beilein was the latest to face public backlash for putting additional limitations on where two transferring players — Spike Albrecht and Ricky Doyle — could go. At first they were not allowed to transfer within the Big Ten or to a school on Michigan’s schedule over the next two seasons. On Friday, Michigan announced that the only restrictions the players would face would be from Big Ten rules. Albrecht, as a graduate transfer, will need a conference approval to transfer within the Big Ten. Doyle would have to sit out a season and lose an additional year of eligibility if he transfers within the conference. Williams said he has only had eight players transfer in his 28 years as a head coach and put restrictions on none. Villanova coach Jay Wright and Oklahoma’s Lon Kruger said they don’t have any set policies regarding transfers, taking them on a case-by-case basis. Wright said he was not ready to say whether standardized NCAA rules regarding transfer limitations would be the right fit, but added “players do have the right to choose where they want to play, just like we all as coaches have the right to go where we want to coach.”
“It was a little awkward, but we just don’t try to focus on it,” said Julius Randle, who hit the game-winning shot. “There has to be trust, but it’s a situation between those two. I’m not going to treat anybody differ-
ent. I’m not going to hold grudges against anybody.” The Lakers had the day off Thursday before beginning preparation for Sunday’s visit from the Boston Celtics and the final seven games in Kobe Bryant’s
farewell season. At 16-59, the Lakers still have a chance to avoid the worst season in franchise history, but the NBA’s 29th-place team would have to get on a roll to match or surpass last year’s record-low 21-61 mark. Bryant and Young didn’t speak to the media on Friday. Bryant expressed empathy for Russell after Wednesday’s game, saying he doesn’t “think there’s much (Russell) can do about it, outside of the countless apologies.” “It’s the elephant in the room, especially when those two guys come in the locker room,” added Clarkson, a good friend of both players. “I don’t know what they’re doing to handle it out between them, but D’Angelo handled it the right way. He apologized. ... It was crazy, but it’s LA. It’s Nick and D’Angelo.” Russell and Young were close friends until the controversy. While Russell is a pillar of the Lakers’ rebuilding effort as a talented point guard and the No. 2 pick in last summer’s draft, Young hasn’t played in the last 11 games of a poor season. “People make mistakes,” Lakers coach Byron Scott said. “We’ve got to understand that and we’ve just got to move on. Now will they ever be buddy-buddies again? I don’t know. But they do have to coexist as long as they’re both here, if they can.”
SU-UNC Continued from Page 1B cit of 15 points to one with 2:23 left but never went back ahead in a 75-70 loss. “I think it gives you some confidence going into this game” said Orange guard Trevor Cooney, who had a season-high 27 points in the first game against Carolina. “I mean, we can play with these guys. ... If we play the way we’ve been playing defensively, I think we’ll be fine.” A few other things when North Carolina and Syracuse play for the fourth time in the NCAA Tournament, first since 1987:
3s TIMES 2 Senior guard Marcus Paige has made at least two 3s in all 11 NCAA Tournament games he has played in for North Carolina, and his 32 overall are second-most school history behind only 1993 Final Four MVP Donald Williams’ 38. In six NCAA games played in NRG Stadium, the 12 teams have combined to shoot 27.6 percent from long range. But that doesn’t seem to faze Paige. “It is still a rim out there 10 feet up,” he said. “After a couple minutes of shooting, it is no different than any other
rim.” FINAL FOUR EXPERIENCE This is Williams’ fourth Final Four appearance with North Carolina, after four with Kansas. His two national titles are with the Tar Heels, including their last Final Four appearance in 2009. Boeheim is in his fifth Final Four, and his only title came in 2003 when the Orange beat Kansas — in what was Williams’ last game with the Jayhawks before going back to Carolina. DOUBLE-DIGITS IN FINAL FOUR Syracuse is the fourth double-
digit seed to reach the Final Four. The Orange will try to become the first to make it to the championship game. ACC vs. ACC This is the sixth time two ACC teams have reached the Final Four, and the third time for the conference to have a national semifinal matchup. North Carolina beat Virginia in 1981 before losing to Indiana in the national title game. Twenty years later, Duke was the national champion after first defeating Maryland in the semifinal game.
ASTROS Continued from Page 1B “We have every opportunity to have a fun season,” Hinch said. “But it doesn’t really get you anywhere until you get the wins, until you play the six month schedule.” Some things to know about the 2016 Astros. DURABLE KEUCHEL Keuchel will make his second straight opening-day start when he takes the mound on Monday against the Yankees. The Astros brought him along a bit slower than their other pitchers this spring after he threw an MLB-leading 232 innings and 14 more in the playoffs in 2015. He isn’t worried about the innings piling up and hopes to pitch even more this season because “that means we get deeper into the playoffs.”
Keuchel became Houston’s first Cy Young winner since Rogers Clemens won it in the National League in 2004 with a season where he had a careerhigh 20 wins with a 2.48 ERA in 33 starts. WHO’S ON FIRST? The Astros will most likely have a rookie playing his first major league game at first base on opening day in Tyler White. A 33rd-round draft pick in 2013, White earned the job left vacant when the Astros didn’t offer a contract to Chris Carter with a solid spring — he entered Wednesday hitting .348 with two homers and 10 RBIs. Jon Singleton was the favorite to get the job entering camp, but he struggled, hitting just .151 and was optioned to minor
league camp earlier this week. Singleton signed a five-year, $10 million contract in 2014 and the Astros hope he can figure things out in Triple-A and make his way back to Houston at some point this season. STATUS OF GATTIS Designated hitter Evan Gattis is unlikely to be ready for opening day because he hasn’t recovered from surgery to repair a sports hernia on Feb. 9. He’s taken minor league at-bats and has been running at about 70 percent, but has yet to appear in a spring training game. The 29-year-old hit .246 with 27 homers and 88 RBIs — both career highs — last year in his first season in Houston. CORREA’S ENCORE Correa set a franchise record
for home runs by a rookie with 22 despite spending the first third of the season in the minors. He hit .279 with 68 RBIs, 45 extra-base hits — 22 doubles — to give the Astros their first rookie of the year since Jeff Bagwell won the NL award in 1991. Houston’s success last season made him more determined to improve this year and help the Astros pick up their first championship. “I’m focused on the team and helping my team,” Correa said. “My top goal is winning a championship. To me that’s the most important thing ... when we show up to spring training like we did this year we were like: ’Man, we were so close, but still we can improve and get better.”’
OU-VU Continued from Page 1B 27.6 percent (59 of 214) from 3point range. Plenty of teams have bad games, but only three teams in all of college hoops shot 27.6 percent or worse on 3s this season: Robert Morris, Grambling State and Prairie View A&M. Only one team playing at NRG — Duke last year — shot better than 33 percent, and that was 42.1 percent (8-19). Oklahoma (29-7) is coming into the Final Four shooting 42.8 percent on 3s — second in the nation — and Villanova (33-5) hits at a 35.4 percent clip. Both teams had chances to shoot in the stadium on Thursday and Friday and the ballpark’s history didn’t seem to bother the Sooners. “It’s just 94 feet with two goals,” said Jordan Woodard, who shot 45.9 percent from behind the arc this season. “Coach, he’s going to expect us to make shots no matter where
we at. We have to make shots in order to win.” Buddy Hield, who has earned a lot of hardware this week as a national player of the year, was fourth in the nation at 46.5 percent. “We’ve been making shots all week,” he said. “We shouldn’t have the effect of shooting in an arena. I know it’s big, but we (are) going to light it up tomorrow for sure.” Villanova coach Jay Wright had a team in the 2009 Final Four at Detroit’s Ford Field and the Wildcats played in the Carrier Dome every year when the Orange were in the Big East. “I thought yesterday’s practice was really vital,” Wright said Friday. “At the beginning, you could see we were a little off. But by the end of practice, I thought everybody was comfortable,” he said. “I really think by tomorrow night, everybody’s going to
be fine, I really do. Once you get in there for a while, it’s going to make you comfortable.” Sooners coach Lon Kruger said things weren’t smooth for his team when they started practice. “We did shoot it well,” he said Friday. “The first couple (shots) were pretty bad. I was thinking, ’Don’t let this get in their head.’ After that, we shot it pretty normally.” FIRST MEETING These teams met in Hawaii on Dec. 7 and it was all Sooners. Oklahoma won 78-55 and the Sooners broke the 50 percent barrier from 3-point range (14 for 26) while the Wildcats were an abysmal 4 for 32. “I think we learned a lot from Oklahoma,” Wright said. “They were the team we wanted to be. They were connected defensively. They were unselfish offensively. They had intelligent shot selection. It was a great barometer
for us all through the season.” VETERAN TOUCH Half the starters in this game will be seniors. Oklahoma has Hield, Isaiah Cousins and Ryan Spangler while Villanova will have Ryan Arcidiacono and Daniel Ochefu. “The greatest thing about (our) seniors, is they experienced failure as freshmen, then fought through it to finish the year in the NCAA Tournament, then a lot of success after that,” Wright said. “It’s really like having coaches on the floor and coaches in the locker room and coaches back in the dorm. It’s really valuable.” LONG WAIT Kruger last had a team in the Final Four in 1994 with Florida. His 22 years between appearances is second-longest in NCAA history behind DePaul’s Ray Meyer who led the Blue Demons to the Final Four in 1943 and again in 1979.
SATURDAY, APRIL 2, 2016
New Renter Gets Old Smoke Smell Dear Heloise: My sister moved into a small, unfurnished apartment that had been painted and cleaned. It still has the STALE ODOR OF CIGARETTES from previous renters and from the apartments beside and above her apartment. Is there something you would suggest to use as a deodorizer to help eliminate the odor? She’s using candles and scented sprays, but I notice the odor when I visit. -- Sensitive Noses in Elizabethtown, Ky. Dear Sensitive Nose: Most apartments are cleaned and usually painted before new renters move in. The carpets should be cleaned, it should be freshly painted, and the air-conditioning/heating filters should be changed. However, depending on the system, the smoke smell may be coming from a shared air-conditioner vent. Meaning, if you or your sister can smell it from the vent, then that’s the cause! She might turn on the exhaust
THE ZAPATA TIMES 3B
or vent fan in the kitchen and bathroom to pull the smoky air out of the apartment. The last resort is to mask the smell with sprays, as she is doing. However, if the neighbors are smokers, the problem will continue. Sorry to say, there is no magic Heloise answer here. Oh, tell her to open windows and get fresh air into the apartment. Doing that and using the exhaust fan might at least help keep the smoky air from settling in the apartment. Good luck! – Heloise PET PAL Dear Readers: Marilyn in Manchester, N.H., sent a picture of her adorable 5year-old wheaten terrier, Chloe, in her pretty pink harness and leash. She looks similar to Chammy, our adopted wheaten! To see Chloe and more Pet Pals, visit my website, www.Heloise.com. If you have a darling, funny or cute picture you’d like to share of your four-legged friend, email or mail it to me, along with a biography and an amusing anecdote.
4B THE ZAPATA TIMES
SATURDAY, APRIL 2, 2016