The Zapata Times 4/4/2018

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COUNTY HEALTH RANKINGS AND ROADMAPS STUDY

Duval County ranked last in health More young people die there than anywhere else in state of Texas

By Julia Wallace ZA PATA T I ME S

Of the 242 largest counties in Texas, Duval was recently ranked last in general health and last in length of life, meaning more young people die

there per capita than anywhere else in Texas.

This finding comes from the County Health Rankings & Roadmaps study, which is conducted annually by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and the University of

Wisconsin Population Health Institute.

The study measures length of life with premature mortality rates — the years of life lost by people younger 75, per 100,000 residents.

“For example, a person

dying at age 25 contributes 50 years of life lost, whereas a person who dies at age 65 contributes 10 years of life lost to a county’s (years of potential lives lost),” the study explains.

Duval is estimated to have lost 14,800 years of life per 100,000 residents from 2014-2016.

As a whole, Texas’ years of potential lives lost is 6,700 per 100,000

residents. Zapata County’s is 7,300.

The study touched on many other factors that could contribute to Duval County’s poor overall health ranking, most of which boil down to the rural nature of the area.

The three largest towns in the county are Benavides, Freer and San Diego, the county seat. The entire county’s population is estimated to be around

MEXICO

11,000.

This, U.S. Rep. Vicente Gonzalez says, is something to keep in mind when analyzing the data in this report.

“This number requires consideration in regard to sampling size as a lower population can potentially misrepresent more populous counties ...,” he said in a statement to LMT. Study continues on A11

LCC

CARAVAN UPS CONCERNS

Majority support renaming college Board president surprised by recent survey

By Andrea Castañeda ZAPATA TIME S

“We’re going to be doing things militarily. Until we can have a wall and proper security, we’re going to be guarding our border with the military,” he said, calling the measure a “big step.”

“We really haven’t done that before, or certainly not very much before,” he said.

Trump has been deeply frustrated about the lack of progress building what was the

Although a majority of staff and students support renaming Laredo Community College, the LCC board president was surprised that 40 percent disapproved of the idea in a recent survey.

Early this year, LCC trustees began entertaining the idea of removing “community” from the college’s name to become Laredo College. Trustee Gilberto Martinez suggested the name modification at a January board meeting.

The suggestion was met with a favorable response from trustees, who expressed that renaming LCC would symbolize where the college is heading toward and enable it to expand its degree plans. A survey was created to see if faculty, staff and students held the same opinion.

In the 20 days the survey was available, 837 people voted on whether they supported changing the colleges name from LCC to Laredo College.

The results revealed that 40 percent of people who polled weren’t keen on the name “Laredo College.” Mercurio Martinez, LCC board of trustees president, said he was surprised at the amount of people who voted against. Martinez said he personally supports the name Laredo College and was hoping to have a higher percentage of people saying yes. Sixty percent of people were in favor of a name change.

However, there were 74 suggestions for a name other than Laredo College. The top five suggestions were: Laredo International College, Laredo State College, Laredo City College, Laredo Border College and College of Laredo.

The LCC board of trustees is expected to take a vote on the name change at a later date.

LCC was born as Laredo Junior College. It has since expanded its reach as a learning institution, recruiting students from outside the local community.

Military continues on A11

LCC continues on A11

Jordi Ruiz Cirera / Bloomberg

A group of Central American refugees and asylum seekers, led by the non-profit humanitarian organization Pueblos Sin Fronteras (People Without Borders), ride 'The Beast' freight train in Matias Romero, Oaxaca state Mexico on Sunday.

More than 1,150 people headed for US border

By Christopher Sherman A S S OCIAT E D PRE SS

MATIAS ROMERO, Mexico — The caravan of Central American migrants that angered U.S. President Donald Trump was sidelined at a sports field in southern Mexico with no means of reaching the border even as Trump tweeted another threat to Mexico Tuesday.

“The big Caravan of People from Honduras, now coming across Mexico and heading to our “Weak Laws” Border, had better be stopped before it gets there,” Trump wrote. “Cash

cow NAFTA is in play, as is foreign aid to Honduras and the countries that allow this to happen.”

The caravan that once numbered 1,150 or more people actually halted days ago in the town of Matias Romero in the southern state of Oaxaca, where participants slept out in the open. After days of walking along roadsides and train tracks, the organizers now plan to try to get buses to take participants to the final event, an immigrants’ rights conference in the central state of Puebla later this week.

Caravan continues on A11

Felix Marquez / AP

A Mexican immigration official speaks to a Honduran family at a temporary shelter in Matias Romero, Oaxaca State of Mexico.

U.S. IMMIGRATION

Trump wants military to secure border

By Jill Colvin ASSOCIATED PRE SS

Russell Contreras / Associated Press

This 2016 photo shows a U.S. Border Patrol agent drive near the U.S.-Mexico border fence in Santa Teresa, N.M. President Trump wants to use the military to secure the U.S.-Mexico border until his promised border wall is built.

WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump said Tuesday he wants to use the military to secure the U.S.-Mexico border until his promised border wall is built.

Speaking at a lunch with Baltic leaders, Trump said he’s been discussing the idea with his Defense Secretary, Jim Mattis.

In Brief A2 | Wednesday, April 4, 2018 | THE ZAPATA TIMES

CALENDAR

AROUND THE NATION

TODAY IN HISTORY

WEDNESDAY, APRIL 4

ASSOCIATED PRE SS

First United Methodist Church Used Book Sale. 1220 McClelland Ave. 10 a.m. to noon. Hard cover $1, paperbacks $0.50, magazines and children’s books $0.25. Public is invited. Proceeds are used to support the church’s missions.

SATURDAY, APRIL 7 First United Methodist Church Used Book Sale. 8:30 a.m. - 1 p.m.

1220 McClelland Ave. Hard cover $1, paperback $0.50, magazines and children’s books, $0.25. Public is invited. Proceeds are used to support the church’s missions.

SUNDAY, APRIL 8 Holy Redeemer Church Annual Jamaica. 1602 Garcia St. 9 a.m. to 10 p.m. General admission is free. Food and games for kids and adults, 3 p.m. loteria, and a raffle where first prize is gift cards totaling $5,000. For more information call Amparo Ugalde, 956-286-0862.

WEDNESDAY, APRIL 11 First United Methodist Church Used Book Sale. 1220 McClelland Ave. 10 a.m. to noon. Hard cover $1, paperbacks $0.50, magazines and children’s books $0.25. Public is invited. Proceeds are used to support the church’s missions.

IBC keynote speaker series. 7:30 p.m. TAMIU Student Center Ballroom.

What is Government Doing about Inequality since the 1970s? Presentation featuring Peter H. Lindert, distinguished professor of economics at the University of California, Davis. The event is free and open to the public.

Translations services (English to Spanish) will be available.

SATURDAY, APRIL 14 Habitat for Humanity Laredo major fundraiser Golfing For Roofs golf tournament. Max A. Mandel Municipal Golf Course. Hole sponsorships are title $10,000, platinum $5,000, diamond $2,500, gold $1,500, silver $1,000, bronze. For information, call 724-3227.

MONDAY, APRIL 16 Ray of Light Anxiety and Depression Support Group Meeting in Spanish. 6:30 p.m. to 8 p.m. Holding Institute, 1102 Santa Maria Ave., classrooom #1. The support group welcomes adults suffering from anxiety and/ or depression to participate in free and confidential support group meetings. For more information, contact Anna Maria Pulido Saldivar at gruporayitodeluz@gmail.com or 956-307-2014.

WEDNESDAY, APRIL 18 First United Methodist Church Used Book Sale. 1220 McClelland Ave. 10 a.m. to noon. Hard cover $1, paperbacks $0.50, magazines and children’s books $0.25. Public is invited. Proceeds are used to support the church’s missions.

WEDNESDAY, APRIL 25 Border Region Behavioral Health Center Volunteer Services Council’s 26th Annual Administrative Professionals' Day Luncheon & Musical Fashion Show. 11:30 a.m.

Laredo Country Club. If you would like to purchase tickets or reserve a table, RSVP with Laura Kim 956-794-3130 or blaurak@borderregion.org. Tickets are $75 a person.

First United Methodist Church Used Book Sale. 1220 McClelland Ave. 10 a.m. to noon. Hard cover $1, paperbacks $0.50, magazines and children’s books $0.25. Public is invited. Proceeds are used to support the church’s missions.

THURSDAY, APRIL 26 Villa San Agustin De Laredo Genealogical Society Meeting. 3 p.m. to 5 p.m. Joe A. Guerra Public Library, second floor. Speakers will be Cynthia Haynes Ramirez and Pat Rogers Yzaguirrre. For more information, call Syliva Reash at 956-763-1810.

THURSDAY, APRIL 26 Spanish Book Club meeting. 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. Joe A. Guerra Public Library conference room. For more information, call Syliva Reash at 956-7631810.

TUESDAY, MAY 1 15th Annual Mental Health and Substance Abuse Symposium. 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. UT Health Regional Campus Laredo. 1937 Bustamante St. For more information, call the Area Health Education Center at 956-7120037.

Sue Ogrocki / AP

Oklahoma's State Superintendent of Public Instruction Joy Hofmeister, center, applauds during a teacher rally at the state Capitol in Oklahoma City on Monday.

TEACHERS RALLY AS REBELLION GROWS OKLAHOMA CITY — The state Capitol in Kentucky filled with teachers protesting pension changes and demanding generous school funding Monday, and thousands of Oklahoma educators walked out of classrooms in the latest evidence of teacher rebellion in some Republican-led states. Many Oklahoma schools were closed Monday, and districts announced plans to stay shut into Tuesday with teacher demonstrations expected to last a second day.

Oklahoma Gov. Mary Fallin signed legislation last week granting teachers pay

Mexican immigrant father released from detention center SAN FRANCISCO — A Mexican father arrested by immigration officials after dropping off his daughter at day care in California was released from a detention center on Monday and will be allowed to remain in the U.S. after a judge ruled he could face persecution with a return to Mexico.

Fernando Carrillo walked out of a U.S. immigration office

raises of about $6,100, or 15 to 18 percent.

But some educators — who haven’t seen a pay increase in 10 years — say that isn’t good enough and walked out.

The state’s largest teachers union has demanded a $10,000 pay raise for educators over three years, $5,000 for support personnel and a $75 million increase in funding this year. Oklahoma ranks 47th among states and the District of Columbia in public school revenue per student while its average teacher salary of $45,276 ranked 49th before the latest raises. — Compiled from AP reports

in San Francisco and hugged his wife and daughter as dozens of supporters cheered around him.

Last week, a U.S. immigration judge withdrew the order to remove Carrillo from the country after Carrillo proved that he would be persecuted if he returned to Mexico, said his attorney, Hedi Framm-Anton.

“Welcome home!” the crowd cheered as Carrillo held his daughter in his arms.

Framm-Anton didn’t provide specific information about what claims Carrillo made in court

but told the Mercury News that the argument was “based on his blood relationship with a family member in Mexico who is involved in fighting a certain type of crime.”

Carrillo is from Mexico City and arrived in the U.S. in 2004, Framm-Anton said.

He was arrested by Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers in October after he was convicted of a drunken-driving offense. Officials have said he was previously deported from the U.S. — Compiled from AP reports

AROUND THE WORLD Syrian rebels begin evacuating last stronghold BEIRUT — Syrian state media said Monday that the largest rebel group in the suburbs of Damascus has begun evacuating its last stronghold after seven years of war, but the rebels refused to say whether they had surrendered, and it was unclear who was on board a dozen buses seen leaving the town. Residents trapped inside Douma expressed fear that further foot-dragging could provoke another major government offensive, like the one that killed an estimated 1,600 people across the eastern Ghouta suburbs in February and March.

“We don’t know what our choices are, we don’t know what’s in store for us,” said local media activist Haitham Bakkar.

Douma was one of the earliest hubs of the Arab Spring uprising against President

Abdulmonam Eassa / AFP/Getty Images

A Syrian girl looks on as civilians and fighters arrive in Qalaat al-Madiq on Monday following their evacuation from Ghouta.

Bashar Assad that swept through the country in 2011.

Just 11 kilometers (7 miles) from the Old City of Damascus, it was part of the capital’s Ghouta hinterland, once famed for its orchards and produce. The government responded to the protests by putting Douma and other suburbs around Damascus under siege, bombing hos-

pitals and residential areas, and blocking the entry of food and medical relief. On Monday, more than 600 people evacuated the town on buses sent by the government and the Syrian Red Crescent to take them to Jarablus, a northern Syrian town controlled by Turkish troops and allied Syrian forces.

— Compiled from AP reports

Today is Wednesday, April 4, the 94th day of 2018. There are 271 days left in the year.

Today's Highlight in History: On April 4, 1968, civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr., 39, was shot and killed while standing on a balcony of the Lorraine Motel in Memphis, Tennessee.

On this date: In 1818, Congress decided the flag of the United States would consist of 13 red and white stripes and 20 stars, with a new star to be added for every new state of the Union.

In 1841, President William Henry Harrison succumbed to pneumonia one month after his inaugural, becoming the first U.S. chief executive to die in office.

In 1859, "Dixie" was performed publicly for the first time by Bryant's Minstrels at Mechanics' Hall in New York.

In 1864, President Abraham Lincoln, in a letter to Kentucky newspaper editor Albert G. Hodges, wrote: "I claim not to have controlled events, but confess plainly that events have controlled me."

In 1917, the U.S. Senate voted 82-6 in favor of declaring war against Germany (the House followed suit two days later by a vote of 373-50).

In 1933, the Navy airship USS Akron crashed in severe weather off the New Jersey coast with the loss of 73 lives.

In 1949, 12 nations, including the United States, signed the North Atlantic Treaty in Washington, D.C. In 1958, Johnny Stompanato, an enforcer for crime boss Mickey Cohen and the boyfriend of actress Lana Turner, was stabbed to death by Turner's teenage daughter, Cheryl Crane, who said Stompanato had attacked her mother.

In 1975, more than 130 people, most of them children, were killed when a U.S. Air Force transport plane evacuating Vietnamese orphans crashlanded shortly after takeoff from Saigon.

In 1983, the space shuttle Challenger roared into orbit on its maiden voyage. (It was destroyed in the disaster of January 1986.)

In 1988, the Arizona Senate convicted Gov. Evan Mecham of two charges of official misconduct, and removed him from office; Mecham was the first U.S. governor to be impeached and removed from office in nearly six decades.

In 1991, Sen. John Heinz, R-Pa., and six other people, including two children, were killed when a helicopter collided with Heinz's plane over a schoolyard in Merion, Pennsylvania.

Ten years ago: Texas authorities started removing the first of more than 400 girls from a compound built by a polygamist sect. Lisa Montgomery was sentenced to death in Kansas City, Missouri, for killing Bobbie Jo Stinnett, a mother-to-be, and cutting the surviving baby from her womb. (Montgomery remains on death row.)

Five years ago: Connecticut Gov. Dannel P. Malloy signed into law sweeping new restrictions on weapons and large capacity ammunition magazines similar to the ones used by the young man who gunned down 20 children and six educators in the Sandy Hook Elementary School massacre.

One year ago: A federal appeals court ruled for the first time that the 1964 Civil Rights Act protected LGBT employees from workplace discrimination; the 8-3 decision by the full 7th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Chicago concerned the case of an Indiana teacher who charged that she wasn't hired full-time because she was a lesbian.

Today's Birthdays: Former Sen. Richard Lugar, R-Ind., is 86. Recording executive Clive Davis is 86. Author Kitty Kelley is 76. Actor Craig T. Nelson is 74. Actor Walter Charles is 73. Actress Christine Lahti is 68. Country singer Steve Gatlin is 67. Actress Mary-Margaret Humes is 64. Writerproducer David E. Kelley is 62. Actress Constance Shulman is 60. Actor Phil Morris is 59. Actress Lorraine Toussaint is 58. Actor Hugo Weaving is 58.

Rock musician Craig Adams is 56. Talk show host/comic Graham Norton is 55. Actor David Cross is 54. Actor Robert Downey Jr. is 53. Actress Nancy McKeon is 52. Actor Barry Pepper is 48. Country singer Clay Davidson is 47.

Rock singer Josh Todd is 47. Singer Jill Scott is 46. Magician David Blaine is 45.

Thought for Today : "The ultimate measure of a man is not where he stands in moments of comfort and convenience, but where he stands at times of challenge and controversy.

The true neighbor will risk his position, his prestige and even his life for the welfare of others." — Martin Luther King Jr. (1929-1968).

WEDNESDAY, MAY 2 First United Methodist Church Used Book Sale. 1220 McClelland Ave. 10 a.m. to noon. Hard cover $1, paperbacks $0.50, magazines and children’s books $0.25. Public is invited. Proceeds are used to support the church’s missions.

SATURDAY, MAY 5 First United Methodist Church Used Book Sale. 8:30 a.m. - 1 p.m.

1220 McClelland Ave. Public is invited.

Proceeds are used to support the church’s missions.

WEDNESDAY, MAY 9 First United Methodist Church Used Book Sale. 1220 McClelland Ave. 10 a.m. to noon. Proceeds are used to support the church’s missions.

AROUND THE STATE Police investigate video of black man’s arrest FORT WORTH — The Fort Worth Police Department is investigating a weekend arrest in which a white officer was caught on video kneeling on a black man’s back and punching him while a black officer kneed him.

In the 50-second video of Saturday’s arrest posted on Facebook by the Next Genera-

tion Action Network, which organizes demonstrations against police abuse, two Fort Worth police officers can be seen restraining Forrest Curry as he lies face-down in the street. A white officer kneels on Curry’s back and repeatedly punches him as he cries, “Why the f—- are you punching me?

Why?” A black officer next to Curry knees him repeatedly in his side.

Police Chief Joel Fitzgerald said in a statement Sunday that the officers were responding to

CONTACT US a call for backup from fire department personnel, who told the officers that Curry “appeared to be intoxicated and had attempted to assault them.”

It took three officers and one supervisor about five minutes to subdue Curry, Fitzgerald said. Curry, 35, was booked into Tarrant County Corrections Center on charges of resisting officers and evading arrest. Jail records showed that Curry was being held Monday on a $2,250 bond. — Compiled from AP reports

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THE ZAPATA TIMES | Wednesday, April 4, 2018 |

A3

STATE Texas renews request to expedite execution process A S S O CIAT E D PRE SS

HOUSTON — Texas is again attempting to expedite the execution process by seeking U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions’ approval to opt in to a federal law shortening legal deadlines and limiting appeals options for death-sentenced inmates.

State’s Attorney General spokeswoman Kayleigh Lovvorn tells the Houston Chronicle that the renewed request to the Justice Department will avoid “stressful delays” and cut “excessive costs” of lengthy

1 dead and 15 injured in Houston bus crash A S S OCIAT E D PRE SS

MEXICO CITY — Federal police in the northern Mexico border state of Nuevo Leon say a bus that started out in Houston, Texas, has crashed on a rural highway, killing one person and injuring 15 others.

A photo of the bus posted Tuesday on the federal police Twitter account showed the vehicle laying on its side in a ditch, halfway off the road.

The bus operated by the Pegaso line was headed to the city of Monterrey when it crashed.

There was no immediate information on the identity of the victim or the condition of the injured.

federal court proceedings.

Defense attorneys say the opt-in would lead to executing innocent people and could end ongoing appeals for many death row prisoners if applied retroactively. The request has sparked a federal lawsuit and hundreds of comments from the American Civil Liberties Union, the American Bar Association, Mexico’s government and defense lawyers.

Texas would be the first state to receive opt-in approval in more than two decades if Sessions greenlights the application.

Agents arrest designer of water slide that killed boy

By David Warren ASSOCIATED PRE SS

DALLAS — One of the designers of a massive Kansas water park slide that decapitated a 10-year-old boy has been arrested in Texas, federal authorities said Tuesday.

Trent Touchstone, chief deputy with the U.S. Marshals Service in Dallas, said 72-year-old John Timothy Schooley was met by agents at Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport as he arrived on a flight late Monday. Schooley was being held without bond at the Dallas County jail pending his arraignment and extradition to Kansas on charges that include second-degree murder.

If convicted on that charge, he

could face as much as 41 years in prison. Online jail records don’t indicate whether Schooley has an attorney to speak on his behalf.

A Kansas grand jury last week indicted Schooley and Jeffrey Henry , a co-owner of Texas-based Schlitterbahn Waterparks and Resorts. The indictment accuses Henry of making a “spur of the moment” decision to build the Verruckt ride — touted as the world’s tallest water slide — and that he and Schooley lacked technical or engineering expertise in amusement park rides. A former operations director for Schlitterbahn also has been charged.

Caleb Schwab was killed on the 17-story Verruckt in 2016 when the

raft he was riding went airborne and hit an overhead loop.

Schooley and Henry also were charged with 17 other felonies, including aggravated battery and aggravated endangerment of a child counts tied to injuries that other riders sustained on the giant slide.

Schlitterbahn spokeswoman Winter Prosapio said in a statement last week that the indictment “is filled with information that we fully dispute.” She didn’t immediately respond to a message seeking fresh comment early Tuesday.

The indictment alleges the ride violated “nearly all aspects” of longstanding standards established by the American Society for Testing and Materials.

Letters to the editor Send your signed letter to editorial@lmtonline.com

A4 | Wednesday, April 4, 2018 | THE ZAPATA TIMES

COLUMN

OTHER VIEWS

Repeal may do more harm than good

By John M. Crisp TR IB UN E NEWS SE RV ICE

Last week retired Supreme Court Justice John Paul Stevens made the dramatic suggestion that the nation repeal the Second Amendment, the enigmatic constitutional text at the heart of our national debate over gun policy.

I’m no big fan of firearms. I’ve previously written with considerable skepticism about open carry laws, about permitting concealed weapons on college campuses and about the doubtful notion that arming teachers is a solution for school shootings.

Nevertheless, I would not support repealing the Second Amendment, and even the suggestion may do more harm than good.

The National Rifle Association has elevated the "keep-and-bearArms" amendment to the status of a near-sacred text that establishes the right of Americans to own powerful weapons in large numbers. An attempt to repeal it — and it would probably fail, anyway — would merely stoke the NRA’s already overwrought fear that liberals are determined to take away their weapons.

Besides, I feel a bit queasy when people start talking about revising the Constitution.

Certainly, the Constitution isn’t perfect. Some provisions deserve reconsideration. The Electoral College, for example. Or the undemocratic gerrymandering that the founders failed to prevent. Or the fact that Montana is allotted a senator for every 378,000 citizens, but California gets one for every 20 million.

So the Constitution has certain undesirable anachronisms, but if we start tinkering with it too freely, before long we’re enacting amendments such as the 18th, which abolished a free citizen’s right to take a drink.

The Second Amendment is one of those anachronisms. The right to keep and bear arms is best understood in the military context of the amendment’s preamble, the "well regulated Militia." Historian Garry Wills makes this case in the New York Review of Books in an argument too extended and complex to summarize here. But it’s readily available online, and an open-minded reader may find it convincing.

But Wills was writing in 1995, long before District of Columbia vs.

Heller, the 2008 Supreme Court ruling that held that the Second Amend-

ment supports the private right to gun ownership apart from a military context.

The decision was controversial, a 5-4 vote.

Justice Scalia wrote 64 reasonably well-argued pages conveying the majority’s opinion. Justice Stevens wrote 46 pages in dissent and Justice Breyer, 44. As you can see, it’s complicated.

I think that just over half of the court got it wrong in Heller, but the NRA has won that battle and established its claim on the Second Amendment. It’s unlikely to ever be reclaimed by an honest, historically contextual interpretation.

And even though the right to personal gun ownership is a stretch for the Second Amendment, many liberals, including me, would object to its repeal simply because they support the right of individuals to own guns to protect themselves or for sport.

So let’s produce an amendment to the Constitution — the 28th — that clearly establishes that right. But let’s acknowledge, as well, the interest that our society has in regulating the kinds of weapons that citizens may own, and under what conditions.

After all, the Constitution is concerned with the rights of all citizens as a whole, as well as those of individuals.

Even though most of the 38,000 annual firearms casualties in our country are not victims of military-style, high-capacity automatic and semiautomatic weapons, they are the ones that terrify us and the nation’s schoolchildren. They’re not suitable for self-defense and they’re not necessary for sport shooting. They are, however, the weapon of choice for mass shootings.

These weapons are the logical concern of the Second Amendment, which, if freed from the burden of defending the right of a mentally unstable youth to own a weapon of war, is better suited to implement the "well regulated" part of its preamble.

The inherent right to defend yourself with a weapon probably transcends the Constitution.

But if we’re going to start tinkering with our founding document let’s clarify that right in a new amendment, as well as establish measures to free ourselves from the terror of weapons more deadly than the founders could have imagined.

John M. Crisp is a Tribune News Service columnist.

COLUMN

Choose the right summer camp for your child

By Miguel Segura BETTER BUSINE SS BUREAU

There have been dozens of movies that capture the nostalgia and camaraderie of summer camp. It is an exciting time in a child’s life where memories and friendships can be made that last a lifetime.

Whether it is a day camp or a sports camp at a local university, Better Business Bureau recommends parents look beyond the nice brochures and websites. A child’s safety, health and satisfaction should be the camp’s top priority.

According to the American Camp Association (ACA), more than 14 million children and adults attend camp each year, and there are more than 14,000 day and resident camps across the U.S. It’s

great to have options, but with so many to choose from it can be an intimidating task.

Before beginning the search, it is important to know your child's personality to identify which program will benefit him or her most. It’s also important to include your child in the decisionmaking process.

BBB offers the following advice for parents searching for the right camp: • Start with research.

Find trustworthy camps by checking the company’s BBB Business Profile on bbb.org. You will find important background information, such as how long it has been in business, advertising issues, ownership information and complaint history.

• Look for certification.

Find out if it is certified by the ACA. The organization requires camps to meet up to 300 nationallyrecognized standards.

• Visit the camp in person. This will be your opportunity to check out living, dining, recreational facilities and meet staff members. Be sure to ask about safety procedures and how rules are enforced.

• Assess the quality of staff. Find out the camp director’s background, the criteria used for hiring staff and whether certification in CPR and First Aid is required. Parents sending children to specialty camps should inquire about the staff’s level of expertise in the specialized area.

• Know the fees and

letter. Laredo Morning Times does not allow the use of pseudonyms.

This space allows for public debate of the issues of the day.

Letters are edited for style, grammar, length and civility. No name-calling or gratuitous abuse is allowed. Also, letters longer than 500 words will not be accepted.

Via email, send letters to editorial@lmtonline.com or mail them to Letters to the Editor, 111 Esperanza Drive, Laredo, TX 78041.

Miguel Segura is the regional director for the Better Business Bureau.

COLUMN

‘Roseanne’ tackles both ends of political spectrum Andy Reid SUN SENTINEL

It’s funny to see so many people on Twitter, Facebook and other social media soapboxes taking a stand against a TV sitcom.

Rebooting the popular 1990s sitcom "Roseanne" — about a struggling working class family with an outspoken, gumsmacking matriarch — managed to offend some left-leaning television connoisseurs.

Because Roseanne Barr in real life backs President Donald Trump, and because she also parrots wacky, right-wing conspiracy theories, some say they just can’t bring themselves to watch her show.

For them, the updated version of a TV program that was hugely popular when President Bill Clinton was in the White

House should be viewed as another Red State vs.

Blue State dividing line.

It’s too bad. Those tuning out "Roseanne" are missing out on a show that’s smart, funny and not scared to tackle topics that affect both ends of the political spectrum.

Yes, during the revamped show’s debut last week Barr’s character stuck up for Trump. Yet, she was also mocked by her onscreen sister for falling for Trump’s campaign sales pitch.

And despite Barr’s support for a president who divides the country with his views on race, homosexuality and the treatment of women, that’s not the message viewers get from her new show.

Her fictional family includes a black granddaughter and a grandson

who feels more comfortable wearing girls’ clothes.

It’s a family getting left behind by an improving economy and a family struggling to afford health care. Trump was quick to congratulate Barr on the estimated 18 million viewers who watched the relaunch, but the president didn’t seem to pay attention to what the show portrayed.

With a reality star president, we should have known TV shows other than "Meet the Press" would be wading more and more into our national political debate.

Critics of the president could use that to their advantage. Instead of lashing out at "Roseanne," perhaps they could send a political message by launching their own TV reboots.

Still upset about Trump

LETTERS POLICY Laredo Morning Times does not publish anonymous letters.

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payment policies. What is the total cost of tuition? Is your money refundable should the camp be canceled? Are there extra charges for any activities?

Are meals and transportation included? Make sure all these details are included in your contract.

• Ask about medical care. Find out if an infirmary and/or nurse or doctor is on-site. Inquire about the procedures for transporting injured or sick children to nearby medical facilities and under what circumstances you will be notified of any problems.

To find additional consumer tips, head to bbb.org.

DOONESBURY | GARRY TRUDEAU

worsening the racial divide? Start filming a revamped "Dukes of Hazard."

Instead of two redneck cousins racing around with a Confederate flag atop their car, today’s version could feature a happily married gay couple righting wrongs in a rainbow-flag-adorned Prius. Or redo Trump’s favorite old show, "The Apprentice." Instead of a billionaire firing celebrities vying for his approval, the main character hires undocumented immigrants — for jobs that don’t include waiting tables or making beds at a Trump resort. Even better, keep the "Fox & Friends" hosts, but allow NPR to write everything that goes into the teleprompters.

Andy Reid is a Sun Sentinel columnist.

THE ZAPATA TIMES | Wednesday, April 4, 2018 |

A5

STATE

Company recalls nearly 4 tons of raw beef items ASSOCIATED PRE SS

Bob Booth / Fort Worth Star-Telegram/TNS TNS

Ethan Couch is released from the Tarrant County Corrections Department on Monday.

FORT WORTH — A North Texas company has recalled nearly 4 tons (3.63 metric tons) of raw beef wrongly produced and packaged without federal inspection.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture says the recall involves PFP Enterprises, operating as Texas Meat Packers of

Fort Worth.

The recall involves 7,146 pounds (3,241 kilograms) of variousweight beef for tacos and fajitas produced March 23 and March 24. The lack of inspection was discovered Friday.

The USDA had no confirmed reports of anyone getting sick. The products should be thrown away or returned to the point of purchase.

The recalled items have “EST. 34715” inside the USDA mark and were shipped to Alabama, Arkansas, Indiana, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, Oklahoma, Texas and Wisconsin. The case codes are 1470, 36989, 567248261 or 567248253.

Consumers can contact Patterson Foods at 817-546-3561.

Man who invoked ‘affluenza’ Woman sentenced to 5 years defense released from jail for voting while on probation A S S OCIAT E D PRE SS

FORT WORTH — Ethan Couch, who as a 16-year-old driver drunkenly struck and killed four pedestrians but dodged prison after suggesting at trial that his irresponsibility was a result of his entitled upbringing, walked free Monday after serving almost two years in a Texas jail on a probation violation.

Couch, 20, was released from the Tarrant County jail near Dallas on Monday morning, according to Tarrant County sheriff’s spokesman David McClelland, who provided no other details. It was not immediately clear where Couch went after leaving jail.

The group Mothers Against Drunk Driving issued a statement calling Couch’s short stint in jail “a grave injustice to the victims and their families who have been dealt life sentences because of one person’s devastating decision to drink and drive.”

Couch was found to have a blood-alcohol level three times the legal limit

for adult drivers after the crash in June 2013. He subsequently was charged with manslaughter.

A psychologist at trial blamed the teen’s irresponsibility on his family’s wealth, dubbing it “affluenza.” A juvenile court sentenced him to 10 years of probation. That probation was revoked in 2016 after he attended a party where alcohol was served then fled to Mexico with his mother to avoid punishment.

Couch’s attorneys, Scott Brown and Reagan Wynn, issued a statement Monday saying Couch has always been sorry for what he did.

“From the beginning, Ethan has admitted his conduct, accepted responsibility for his actions, and felt true remorse for the terrible consequences of those actions,” they said, adding that he will serve the remaining six years of his community supervision under the terms imposed by the court.

Those terms include wearing a tracking device, sticking to a 9 p.m. curfew and taking regular

drug tests, a court filing shows. Couch, who turns 21 next week, is prohibited from drinking alcohol while he is on probation.

Couch lost control of his family’s pickup truck in 2013 after he and his friends had played beer pong and drank beer stolen from a Wal-Mart.

He veered into a crowd of people helping the driver of a disabled vehicle on the side of the road. Authorities later estimated that he was going 70 mph in a 40 mph zone.

The crash fatally injured the stranded motorist, a youth minister who stopped to help her and a mother and daughter who came out of their nearby home.

Couch’s mother, Tonya Couch, is in jail awaiting trial on charges of hindering apprehension of a felon and money laundering arising from when she fled to Mexico with her son in 2015. Fred Couch, Ethan’s father, was sentenced in December 2016 to a year’s probation for falsely identifying himself as a peace officer. He has not commented publicly on his son’s release.

ASSOCIATED PRE SS

FORT WORTH — A Texas woman was sentenced to five years in prison for voting in the 2016 presidential election when she was ineligible because she was on probation.

Crystal Mason, 43, will appeal the punishment handed down this past week in Fort Worth, according to her attorney. Mason is a former tax preparer who was previously convicted in 2012 on charges related to inflating refunds for clients.

She testified that she didn’t know people convicted of felonies can’t vote until they complete their sentence, The Fort Worth Star-Telegram reported . She told the newspaper last year following her indictment that she had gone to vote at her mother’s encouragement and wasn’t told when released from fed-

eral prison that she could not cast a ballot.

Mason’s illegal voting case was prosecuted in Tarrant County, the same place where a Mexican national last year was sentenced to eight years in prison over illegal voting. Voting illegally in Texas is a second-degree felony punishable by up to 20 years in prison.

Mason used a provisional ballot to vote, and it was not counted. She has said that she believes she was being targeted for prosecution because she voted for Democrat Hillary Clinton over Republican Donald Trump for president.

Tarrant County leans Republican.

Mason’s attorney, J. Warren St. John, did not immediately return a phone message Saturday.

Voter fraud convictions are rare, but Texas Republicans leaders have zealously pursued a crackdown on illegal

voting in recent years. A federal judge has twice blocked Texas’ voter ID law, including a revised version last year that was backed by the Trump administration.

At the time of the 2016 election, Mason was on probation after pleading guilty to defrauding the federal government in 2011. She served nearly three years in prison on a five-year sentence.

After her prison release, she was put on a threeyear term of supervised release. She also had to pay $4.2 million in restitution, according to court documents.

Mason testified that when she voted in November 2016, she signed a provisional ballot affidavit stating that she had not been convicted of a felony. Prosecutors said she signed the form with the intent to vote illegally, but Mason’s attorney called it a mistake.

Frontera A6 | Wednesday, April 4, 2018 | THE ZAPATA TIMES

RIBEREÑA EN BREVE Carrera contra autismo 1 Carrera/Caminata 5K para la Prevención del Autismo, el 14 de abril, a las 8 a.m., iniciando en la Corte del Condado de Zapata. Mayores informes en la Cámara de Comercio del Condado de Zapata.

Vaquero Day Festival 1 La Ciudad de Escobares invita al Vaquero Day Festival en su 13ava. edición, el sábado 27 de abril.

Música en vivo, cabalgata, parrilladas, y más actividades para toda la familia.

Entrada gratuita.

Mayores informes al 847-4106.

PASCUA

Acaba en tragedia Menor fallece al caerse árbol de hamaca Por César G. Rodriguez TIEMP O DE ZAPATA

Un estudiante de UISD falleció durante el fin de semana cuando un árbol se partió y cayó encima de él durante una reunión familiar en el centro de Laredo, dijo la policía.

Carlos Peña, de 6 años de edad, era un estudiante de Newman Elementary, de acuerdo con el Distrito Escolar Independiente de United.

“Conforme la comunidad de la escuela lamenta la perdida de uno de nuestros compañeros

do a un menor con un trauma severo en la cabeza en la sala de emergencias.

Los hallazgos de la investigación revelaron que el menor, Peña, se encontraba en una reunión familiar en una casa ubicada en la cuadra 2100 de East Kearney Street. Él estaba en una hamaca sostenida entre dos árboles, dijo la policía.

“Uno de los árboles se dobló y cayó encima del menor”, dijo el Investiga-

dor Joe E. Baeza, portavoz de LPD. Familiares lo llevaron con “heridas extremas en la cabeza” a LMC, donde después fue pronunciado muerto, dijo la policía.

Personal de la Examinadora Médica del Condado de Webb y detectives de LPD continuaron con el caso, como es estipulado en el procedimiento, dijo Baeza.

“No hay ninguna indicación que haya algo más aparte de un accidente trágico”, él dijo.

NUEVA CIUDAD GUERRERO

Torneo de caza 1 1er Torneo de caza de cerdo y depredadores del sur de Texas, el 28 de abril de las 10 a.m. hasta el 28 de abril a las 10 a.m. Mayores informes en Brush County Insurance Agency, 702 Hidalgo Blvd., Suite 4, en Zapata, o al teléfono 750-3600.

y estudiantes, el distrito se encuentra proporcionando consejería adicional para apoyo de los estudiantes y el personal de la escuela. Nuestro distrito extiende sus más sinceras condolencias y oraciones a su familia y amigos que fueron afectados por esta tragedia”, dijo UISD en una declaración.

Personal de Laredo Medical Center llamó a la policía alrededor de las 6:42 p.m. el sábado diciendo que habían recibi-

FAMILIAS CELEBRAN ANIVERSARIO DE CIUDAD

Evento contra lupus 1 3er. evento anual contra Lupus, el 10 de mayo en el parque Bravo. Mayores informes con Gilda Jasso al 237-9456 y 208-8390.

Aviario 1 La Ciudad de Roma invita a visitar el aviario Roma Bluffs World Birding Center en el distrito histórico de Roma. El aviario estará abierto desde el jueves a domingo de 8 a.m. a 4 p.m. hasta enero.

Mayores informes al 849-1411

Botes de basura 1 La Ciudad de Roma informa a la comunidad que sólo estará recolectando basura contenida en botes propiedad de la ciudad. Informes al 849-1411

Foto de cortesía

Familias de Nueva Ciudad Guerrero se divierten durante el segundo día de actividades en el Parque Nuevo Amanecer de la Presa Falcón, el viernes 30 de marzo por la tarde. El municipio celebra su 64 aniversario.

Pago de impuestos 1 Desde diciembre, los pagos por impuestos a la propiedad de la Ciudad de Roma deberán realizarse en la oficina de impuestos del Distrito Escolar de Roma, localizado en el 608 N. García St.

PERIODO VACACIONAL

Tamaulipas incrementa seguridad en carreteras

Pago en línea 1 La Ciudad de Roma informa a sus residentes que a partir de ahora el servicio del agua puede pagarse en línea a cualquier hora las 24 horas del día.

Llenado de aplicaciones 1 La Ciudad de Roma ofrece el servicio de llenado de aplicaciones para CHIP, Medicaid, SNAP, TANF, Chip, Prenatal y otros. Contacte a Gaby Rodríguez para una cita en el centro comunitario o en su domicilio al 246-7177.

Museo en Zapata 1 A los interesados en realizar una investigación sobre genealogía de la región, se sugiere visitar el Museo del Condado de Zapata ubicado en 805 N US-Hwy 83. De 10 a.m. a 4 p.m. Existen visitas guiadas. Personal está capacitado y puede orientar acerca de la historia del Sur de Texas y sus fundadores. Informes al 765-8983.

E SPECIAL PARA TIEMP O DE ZAPATA

Turistas de Nuevo León y Coahuila agradecen las acciones de seguridad y mejoramiento carretero que se realizan en Tamaulipas por instrucciones del Gobernador Francisco García Cabeza de Vaca, a fin de consolidar a Tamaulipas como un polo de atracción turística y brindar apoyo a al turismo nacional y extranjero que visita nuestro estado con motivo del periodo vacacional de Semana Santa, dice un comunicado del estado.

Al inicio del periodo vacacional, el volumen vehicular en las carreteras que conectan a los principales centros recreativos del estado comienza a incrementarse en gran medida y por ello la administración estatal intensifica actualmente operativos de información, orientación y auxilio, en donde participan de manera coordinada diversas corporaciones de los tres órdenes de gobierno.

Dentro de estas acciones, los turistas también cuentan con el servicio de auxilio mecánico Ángeles Azules TAM, quienes brindan apoyo y atención a todos aquellos visitantes que sufren descomposturas de sus unidades durante su traslado por Tamaulipas.

“Pues está muy bien, porque simplemente ahorita ya me

remolcó hasta aquí y ya es más seguridad para mi familia más que nada, pero están muy bien”, manifestó Juan Manuel Vázquez Martínez, quien recibió apoyo de los Ángeles Azules TAM al averiarse la unidad en que viajaba con su familia de regreso a Monterrey, después de visitar la ciudad de Tampico.

Por su parte, Mario Alberto Rodríguez, operador de la Patrulla T-11 de los Ángeles Azules TAM dijo que se estará brindando apoyo a todos los turistas que lo necesiten, siendo lo primordial salvaguardar vidas humanas, así como brindar apoyo mecánico y traslados a quien lo necesite.

Las unidades de los Ángeles Azules TAM están equipadas con herramientas como gatos hidráulicos, crucetas, dados, llaves, bandas para estirar vehículos, aditamento para empujar coches, además de personal altamente capacitado para procurar la reparación del coche en carretera o garantizar su llegada a una zona segura.

En su paso por las carreteras del estado, turistas procedentes de los estados de Nuevo León y de Coahuila destacaron el gran apoyo que brinda el gobierno del estado para brindar seguridad, orientación y auxilio, así como mejores

carreteras para llegar a los principales centros turísticos que existen en esta entidad.

“Está muy bien al entrar, luego luego se nota el cambio a doble carril”, dijo Tirso Covarrubias quien viajaba desde el municipio de Escobedo hasta Jalapa, Veracruz en compañía de su esposa Ruth, su hijo y sus nietos, subrayando que en materia de seguridad ha visto un cambio positivo con respecto a la vigilancia, así como en el buen estado de las carreteras.

De igual forma, Julio Turrubiates, quien viajó desde la ciudad de Monterrey rumbo a Tampico, destacó la seguridad que existe en las carreteras de Tamaulipas, al igual que la señora Gladys Vargas, quien procede del municipio de Cadereyta Nuevo León para visitar la zona conurbada del sur de Tamaulipas.

Asimismo, Pedro Domínguez, turista procedente de la Ciudad de Saltillo, Coahuila y que viajó con su esposa Ángeles Villa para la ciudad de Tampico, resaltó también las excelentes condiciones de seguridad que existen en las carreteras de Tamaulipas, así como la atención que se brinda a todos los visitantes.

“Hay muy buena seguridad, muy tranquilo todo el camino”, manifestó.

EDUCATION CENTER

Consulado mexicano por visitar Zapata E SPECIAL PARA TIEMP O DE ZAPATA

El Consulado General de México en Laredo extiende una cordial invitación a la comunidad residente en Zapata y zonas cercanas, para que acudan al Consulado Móvil que se llevará a cabo el sábado 7 de abril de 2018, en las instalaciones del Zapata County Technical and Advance Education Center.

El Consulado Móvil estará operando de 8 a.m. a 2 p.m.

El Consulado Móvil tiene como principal objetivo proporcionar servicios como la expedición de matrícula consular, y pasaportes; así como expedición de copias certificadas de actas de nacimiento para personas que hayan sido registradas en México.

Para hacer cita y para solicitar requisitos, pueden comunicarse a MEXITEL al 1-877-639-4835 o visitar el sitio oficial mexitel.sre.gob.mx. Se sugiere visitar las redes sociales de este Consulado General, en donde constantemente compartimos información relevante.

Por último, les recordamos la disponibilidad de la línea telefónica del Centro de Información y Asistencia a Mexicanos (CIAM): al 1 855-463 6395, que cuenta con servicio las 24 horas del día, para brindar información y orientación a toda la comunidad.

Sports&Outdoors

THE ZAPATA TIMES | Wednesday, April 4, 2018 |

NCAA BASKETBALL

A7

NBA: SAN ANTONIO SPURS

Barkley: Leonard should stay in SA Edward A. Ornelas / San Antonio Express-News

Villanova celebrates after winning the national championship Monday night, their second title in three years. The Wildcats controlled the game the whole way knocking off Michigan 79-62.

STORYLINES APLENTY FOR 2018-19 SEASON Probe, ‘Nova’s reign headline next year

By Aaron Beard A S S OCIAT E D PRE SS

SAN ANTONIO — A year ago at this time, Villanova faced the question of whether it could keep rolling after two seasons of key player losses from its 2016 national championship team.

The Wildcats offered an emphatic answer with Monday night’s win against Michigan, the finale for a dominating run through the NCAA Tournament that earned coach Jay Wright his second title and capped the 2017-18 college basketball season.

Now let’s take a look at a couple of threads to watch in the offseason and leading into the 201819 season: REFORMS This issue has the potential to overshadow everything: the federal investigation into corruption in college basketball.

And because of it, the sport could look very different come fall.

The probe seized headlines in September with the arrests of 10 agents, coaches and businessmen with basketball ties in a case tied to hundreds of thousands of dollars in alleged bribes and kickbacks designed to influence recruits on choosing a school or an agent.

Speaking at the Final Four , NCAA President Mark Emmert said that the commission on college basketball — led by former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice — examining reforms to the sport will present its report to the Division I Board of Directors and Board of Governors on April 25.

THE CHAMPS The Wildcats were brilliant in winning their third championship, becoming the first team since North Carolina in 2009 to win all six games by double figures in the NCAA Tournament. Now the Wildcats will try to become only the third repeat champion since UCLA’s run of seven

straight ended in 1973, the other two being Duke in 1991-92 and Florida in 2006-07.

“We really feel humbled and blessed to be in this position,” coach Jay Wright said after the Michigan win.

It’s unclear how the Wildcats will look next year. Associated Press national player of the year Jalen Brunson and NBA prospect Mikal Bridges could decide to leave a year early to pursue a professional career after winning two national championships.

ANOTHER SHOT? Michigan lost in the national championship game for the second time under John Beilein . Can the Wolverines get back there?

Much will depend on whether juniors Moe Wagner (14.6 points, 7.1 rebounds) and Charles Matthews (13.0 points) decide to return for their final season.

The Wolverines can at least look to some recent history for inspiration; North Carolina lost to Villanova in the 2016 final then made it all the way back to win the title last year.

DUKE’S TOP TRIO Duke checked in at No. 1 in the AP’s way-tooearly ranking for next season based on the latest wave of touted incoming recruits. That includes Duke’s sweep of the nation’s top three recruits — No. 1 R.J. Barrett, No. 2 Cameron Reddish and No. 3 Zion Williamson — though they play the same position as wing forwards.

The Blue Devils also have a top-10 recruit in point guard Tre Jones.

SHAKE IT OFF Virginia made an unexpected climb to end the regular season as a unanimous No. 1 in the AP Top 25 — only to become the first No. 1 seed to lose to a 16-seed against UMBC in the NCAA Tournament.

The Atlantic Coast Conference champion Cavaliers could have plenty of guard talent

Edward A. Ornelas / San Antonio Express-News file

Spurs guard Kawhi Leonard has played in only nine games this year due to injury, and although he has been cleared to return by team doctors, he still hasn’t as rumors of a fractured relationship persist.

Leonard still rehabbing his lingering injury Ben McKeown / AP file

Duke may be losing Marvin Bagley III to the draft, but it has the nation’s top-three prospects already committed for next year.

back with Kyle Guy, Ty Jerome and De’Andre Hunter. But coach Tony Bennett — named the AP coach of the year last week — said his players can build from that only if they apply lessons learned from the season.

“Everybody will say, you know, you’re going to be better because of this,” Bennett said in an interview with the AP. “There’s nothing further from the truth. If you don’t do anything with it, just because you suffered a loss, that’s not going to make you better.”

WHAT’S NEXT? Arizona had a tumultuous year, which started when an assistant coach was one of the 10 people charged in the federal case. There were also questions about the future of coach Sean Miller.

The Wildcats could face a difficult situation next year. Star freshman Deandre Ayton is going pro along with highscoring junior Allonzo Trier and guard Rawle Alkins. And their recruiting class fell apart amid the uncertainty of the federal probe.

No matter what Miller manages to pull together in recruiting, the Wildcats will look very different.

RAMBLERS’ RUN Loyola-Chicago was the story of the NCAA Tournament by reaching the Final Four for the first time since winning the

1963 title.

The Ramblers lose key seniors but return Missouri Valley Conference player of the year Clayton Custer. Loyola could also see a recruiting boost, especially if coach Porter Moser stays in place instead of moving on to another job.

LOUISVILLE’S FRESH START Louisville has a new coach in Chris Mack as well as a new athletic director in the wake of an embarrassing sex scandal and connections to the federal case. Mack left Xavier to take over the Cardinals, who spent last year under interim coach David Padgett after the ouster of Hall of Famer Rick Pitino.

COACHING SHUFFLE Several prominent programs have new coaches, including Duke assistant Jeff Capel taking over at Pittsburgh and former Indiana coach Tom Crean stepping in at Georgia.

Some other new coaches to watch include promoted Xavier assistant Travis Steele, Mississippi’s Kermit Davis (from Middle Tennessee), Connecticut’s Dan Hurley (from Rhode Island) and Memphis’s Penny Hardaway.

There’s also Tubby Smith , whose taking his power-conference experience to his alma mater at High Point.

By Cody McCrary SAN ANTONIO EXPRE SS-NEWS

News that All-Star Kawhi Leonard is once again away from the Spurs and in New York rehabbing a lingering right quad injury was a topic of concern for fans last week.

It has also been a revolving topic in the NBA world.

On ESPN Monday morning, former NBA player and current analyst Charles Barkley gave his opinion.

"I just feel sadness with that situation," Barkley said. "He is a great, great player. The Spurs are the best organization in the NBA and I don't know what happened. I don't know what's true and what's not true. But I'll tell you this, Kawhi Leonard should stay with the Spurs because the grass is not always greener on the other side. He might make more money or get more reputation, but let me tell you something, there is a big difference in a good organization and a bad organization and the Spurs are awesome."

Leonard has played in just nine games for the Spurs this season and the Express-News reported on Sunday that "there has been no word from Leonard regarding his status since he returned to New York last week under the supervision of his medical team."

"I don't know when he and his group are going to feel like they are ready

to go," Popovich said before Sunday's game against Houston. "If I knew, he'd be here.

When he and his group feel he's ready, then he'll be ready."

The Spurs doctors have given Leonard the green light to return to the court, but the twotime All-Star has opted for a second opinion and is awaiting clearance from the medical personnel he has picked to oversee his rehab.

Leonard's recovery is being overseen by his own medical personnel, although Spurs staff have traveled to New York to stay in touch with the team's ailing star.

Tom Orsborn contributed to this report.

Manu Ginobili named a finalist for Magic Johnson Award With the description being "the player who best combines excellence on the basketball court with cooperation and dignity in dealing with the media and the public," it's no surprise that Spurs veteran and fan favorite Manu Ginobili is a finalist for this year's Magic Johnson Award.

Other finalists for the award, which is voted on

by Professional Basketball Writers Association members, include Toronto Raptors guard DeMar DeRozan, Oklahoma City Thunder forward Paul George and Al Horford of the Boston Celtics.

Damian Lillard of the Portland Trail Blazers took home the award last year and the Spurs Pau Gasol won in 2014-15.

A8 | Wednesday, April 4, 2018 | THE ZAPATA TIMES

NATIONAL

EPA to ease back emissions standards A S S OCIAT E D PRE SS

Environmental regulators announced on Monday they will ease emissions standards for cars and trucks, saying that a timeline put in place by President Barack Obama was not appropriate and set standards “too high.”

The Environmental Protection Agency said it completed a review that will affect vehicles for model years 2022-2025 but it did not specify details on new standards, which it said would be forthcoming. Current regulations from the EPA require the fleet of new vehicles to get 36 miles per gallon in real-world driving by 2025. That’s about 10 mpg over the existing standard.

The agency said in its decision that the regulation set under the Obama administration “presents challenges for auto manufacturers due to feasibility and practicability, raises potential concerns related to automobile safety, and results in significant additional costs on consumers, especially low-income consumers.”

The EPA, in partnership with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, will work to come up with new standards.

Automakers applauded Monday’s decision, arguing that the current requirements would have cost the industry billions of dollars and raised vehicle prices due to the cost of developing the necessary technology.

“This was the right decision, and we support

the Administration for pursuing a data-driven effort and a single national program as it works to finalize future standards,” said Gloria Bergquist, vice president, communications and public affairs for the Alliance of Automobile Manufacturers, in a statement. “We appreciate that the Administration is working to find a way to both increase fuel economy standards and keep new vehicles affordable to more Americans.”

Environmentalists, meanwhile, warned the proposed rollbacks will make U.S. cars more expensive to fill up.

“No one in America is eager to buy a car that gets worse gas mileage and spews more pollution from its tailpipe,” said Fred Krupp, president of the Environmental Defense Fund. “Designing and building cleaner, more cost-efficient cars is what helped automakers bounce back from the depths of the recession and will be key to America’s global competitiveness in the years ahead.”

Any change is likely to set up a lengthy legal showdown with California, which has the power to set its own pollution and gas mileage standards and doesn’t want them to change. About a dozen other states follow California’s rules, and together they account for more than one-third of the vehicles sold in the U.S. Currently the federal and California standards are the same.

Some conservative groups are pressing EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt to get rid of the waiver that allows Califor-

George Etheredge / The New York Times

The Trump administration on Monday launched an effort to weaken Obama-era greenhouse gas and fuel economy standards for automobiles, moving to reverse one of the single biggest steps any government has taken to rein in emissions of earth-warming gases.

nia to set its own rules.

Pruitt said in a statement Monday that the agency will work with all states, including California, to finalize new standards.

“Cooperative federalism doesn’t mean that one state can dictate standards for the rest of the country,” he said. “EPA will set a national standard for greenhouse gas emissions that allows auto manufacturers to make cars that people both want and can afford — while still expanding environmental and safety benefits of newer cars.”

California Attorney General Xavier Becerra said his team is reviewing the EPA’s determination.

Holder says age of bullies and bigots not fully over

By Adrian Sainz A S S OCIAT E D PRE SS

MEMPHIS, Tenn. — Despite advances the country has made since the Rev. Martin Luther King. Jr. was slain while fighting poverty and racism, “the age of bullies and bigots is not fully behind us,” former U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder said Monday.

The remark was one of two thinly veiled references to President Donald Trump that Holder made during his appearance at a symposium on the first of three days of events commemorating the 50th anniversary of King’s assassination.

King was supporting striking sanitation workers when he came to Memphis in 1968. He was talking with friends on the balcony of the Lorraine Motel on April 4 when he was struck by a rifle bullet and killed.

Museums, colleges and activists have organized three days of marches, speeches and conferences to remember King and his legacy. His daughter, Bernice King, and Holder toured a new King-centered photo exhibit at the National Civil Rights Museum later Monday. She and her brother, Martin Luther King III, are scheduled to speak Tuesday at the Mason Temple.

“This is a very emotional time for me and my family,” she said.

Holder, the first black U.S. attorney general, spoke at a symposium sponsored by the University of Memphis and the museum. He was introduced by U.S. Sen. Doug Jones, an Alabama Democrat who won a special election in December.

Holder said he is proud that the nation has made progress in the past 50 years achieving racial, social and economic jus-

Mark Humphrey / AP

Former U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder, center, greets people as he tours an exhibit at the National Civil Rights Museum on Monday in Memphis, Tenn.

tice. He said women, minorities, students against gun violence and members of the LGBTQ community have been inspired

by King’s nonviolent protests and have launched movements calling for “fairness, opportunity and justice.” But in remarks that appeared to reference Trump without mentioning his name, Holder also noted that King’s dream of equality for all has not been reached.

“We’re still marching, we are still striving, and we’re still calling on our nation’s leaders to act with a sense of justice, compassion and common humanity,” Holder said. “The unfortunate fact is that in 2018, America’s long struggle to overcome injustice, to eliminate disparities and eradicate violence has not yet ended, and the age of bullies and bigots is not fully behind us.”

Holder said he has spoken with young people who feel lost in their own country and are “fearful that America’s too-longstanding divisions are threatening to tear our nation apart.”

Holder said he is concerned with gun violence, the disproportional incarceration of young black men, and uneven educational opportunities for minorities. King’s legacy includes the lesson that “it is necessary to be indig-

nant, and to be impatient, so that it impels us to take action,” Holder said.

Holder said the “chief civil rights issue of our time” is ensuring minorities have equal voting rights.

“In many communities, our political system is far from fair,” said Holder, who chairs the National Democratic Redistricting Committee, a group that is pushing back against gerrymandered political districts nationwide. “It’s been undermined by spurious and outright false claims of widespread voter fraud and by acts of voter suppression.”

Holder asked the crowd of hundreds to do more to help realize King’s dream of racial and social equality and come together to “heal this divided nation.”

“As easy as it is, we must not look back to a past that was comforting to too few, and unjust to too many,” Holder said.

“We’re ready to file suit if needed to protect these critical standards and to fight the Administration’s war on our environment,” Becerra said in a statement. “California didn’t become the sixth-largest economy in the world by spectating.”

A joint statement by the governors of California, Oregon, and Washington, as well as the mayors of Los Angeles, Oakland, San Francisco, Portland and Seattle, also decried the EPA’s decision.

“This move sets us back from years of advancements by the automotive industry put in motion by states that took the lead in setting emis-

sion standards,” the statement said. “These standards have cleared the haze and smog from our cities and reversed decades of chronic air pollution problems, while putting more money in consumers’ pockets.”

Sen. Edward J. Markey said the existing standards are “technically feasible and economically achievable,” and added that he would use every legislative tool to block the moves.

“Slashing these standards would amount to turning the keys to our energy policy over to Big Oil and the auto industry,” said the Massachusetts Democrat, who is a

member of the Environment and Public Works Committee and chair of the Senate Climate Task Force.

According to Markey, the standards are projected to save nearly 2.5 million barrels of oil a day by 2030, around as much oil as is imported from OPEC countries every day.

It could take a couple years for the EPA to propose new rules, gather public comment and finalize any changes. In the meantime, automakers have to proceed with plans for new cars and trucks under the current gas mileage requirements because it takes years to develop vehicles.

THE ZAPATA TIMES | Wednesday, April 4, 2018 |

A9

BUSINESS

Pace of US factory growth slips in March

Construction spending grew just 0.1 percent

By Josh Boak

By Josh Boak

A S S OCIAT E D PRE SS

ASSOCIATED PRE SS

WASHINGTON — U.S. manufacturers say they expanded at a slower pace in March, with many factories saying they’re having a tough time getting supplies in order to meet demand from customers.

The Institute for Supply Management, a trade group of purchasing managers, reported Monday that its manufacturing index slipped to 59.3 last month from February’s reading of 60.8, which had been the highest since 2004. Any score above 50 signals growth.

“The details of the March data point to the steady growth in the factory sector seen over the past several quarters being sustained,” said Richard Moody, the chief economist at Regions Financial.

The categories of new orders, production and employment each fell in March for manufacturers, even though the underlying numbers remained

WASHINGTON — Spending on U.S. construction projects ticked up a mere 0.1 percent in February from the prior month, a sign that a growing economy is doing little to spur a more rapid pace for building homes, hospitals and highways.

The Commerce Department said Monday that construction spending came in at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of $1.27 trillion. The lower unemployment rate and solid business and consumer confidence has supported an increase in hotel and office construction, but spending on roadways has slipped.

Construction spending over the past 12 months is up just 3 percent before adjusting for inflation.

Some of the sluggishness in February was due to a 2.1 percent drop in government-funded construction.

But even the private sector has yet to fully

Sean Rayford / AP

Workers are shown on the factory floor at the Samsung washing machine facility. On Monday, the Institute for Supply Management issued its index of manufacturing activity for March.

positive. But companies surveyed for the index highlighted another issue: a shortage of raw materials that is causing them to lose out on possible sales.

Multiple companies also said that the introduction of steel and aluminum tariffs by President Donald Trump was causing concerns about rising prices. Some companies bought up the metals ahead of their implementation, driving up costs. Trump is trying to support U.S. steel and aluminum mills, though his tariffs include exemp-

tions for allies such as Canada and Mexico.

Any supply shortage and price increases could further worsen as Trump is imposing up to $50 billion worth of tariffs on Chinese imports in response to concerns about Beijing stealing foreign companies’ technology or forcing these firms to share their innovations in order to have access to Chinese customers. China responded Monday to the tariffs by announcing $3 billion of additional tariffs on U.S. pork, apples and other products.

Jeff Chiu / Associated Press

A construction crew works on a roof in San Francisco. Spending on U.S. construction projects ticked up a mere 0.1 percent in February from the prior month, a sign that a growing economy is doing little to spur more building.

perk up despite the 4.1 percent unemployment rate. Residential construction, the largest single spending category, rose just 0.1 percent in February. Homebuilders face strong demand from would-be buyers, yet there is a shortage of attractive land to develop and a dearth of construction workers.

Private spending on health care facilities fell 2.2 percent in February.

Spending on the power grid improved 0.9 percent on a monthly basis, but it has dropped 8.5 percent during the past year.

Spending on factory construction did jump 1.2 percent between February and January. But the gains came after months of steady annual declines. Over the past 12 months, spending on manufacturing plants has dropped 5.6 percent.

Worsening tensions with China sink US stocks

By Marley Jay A S S OCIAT E D PRE SS

NEW YORK — Stocks tumbled Monday after China raised import duties on a number of U.S. exports, bringing the two economic giants closer to a full-on trade conflict.

Big technology companies, long investor favorites, suffered heavy losses.

The deepening worries over newly protectionist U.S. trade policies combined with blowback toward technology companies, including Facebook’s ever-widening privacy scandal, have prompted investors to pull money out of the market. That has meant steep drops in former big winners including Netflix, Microsoft and Alphabet, Google’s parent company.

Among other recent winners, Intel dove 6.1 percent following a report in Bloomberg News that Apple plans to start using its own chips in Mac computers, and Amazon sank following more broadsides from President Donald Trump on Twitter.

The Dow Jones industrial average fell as much

as 758 points, although major indexes regained some of their losses later in the afternoon. The Dow lost 458.92 points, or 1.9 percent, to 23,644.19. The S&P 500 index gave up 58.99 points, or 2.2 percent, to 2,581.88.

The Nasdaq composite slumped 193.33 points, or 2.7 percent, to 6,870.12.

The Russell 2000 index of smaller-company stocks fell 36.90 points, or 2.4 percent, to 1,492.53.

Kate Warne, an investment strategist for Edward Jones, said the step by China is small but significant.

“The fact that a country has actually raised tariffs in retaliation is an important step in the wrong direction,” she said. “The tariffs imposed by China today lead to greater worries that we will see escalating tariffs and the possibility of a much bigger impact than investors were anticipating last week. And that could be true for Mexico as well as for China.”

Food maker Tyson dropped 6.2 percent after China raised import duties on a $3 billion list of U.S. goods in response to the tariffs on imported

steel and aluminum that President Trump ordered last month.

Amazon fell another 5.2 percent. The online retailer has slumped with the market recently, although it’s still up about 17 percent in 2018. Trump has repeatedly criticized Amazon over issues including taxes and Amazon’s shipping deals with the U.S. Postal Service.

Jack Ablin, chief investment officer of Cresset Wealth Advisors, said Amazon is just the latest company to falter after it drew scrutiny from the government, as Facebook and Alphabet have slumped recently on data privacy concerns.

“It seems like the long arm of the government is interfering with investors’ expectations,” he said.

“Investors are pricing in an escalating trade war and regulation of tech companies.”

Microsoft dropped 3 percent and Alphabet, Google’s parent company, shed 2.4 percent.

After a month of public negotiations between the U.S. and several other countries, Monday marked the first time another country has

Richard Drew / AP

A trader works on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange on Monday. Stocks closed sharply lower as technology companies took heavy losses and investors worried about escalating trade tensions with China.

placed tariffs on U.S. goods in response to the Trump administration’s recent trade sanctions.

The price of gold climbed 1.2 percent to $1,343.60 an ounce and silver jumped 2 percent to $16.60 an ounce as some investors took money out of stocks and looked for safer investments.

Health insurer Humana was one of the market’s few winners following more reports Walmart could buy the company or

create a new partnership with it. Humana is a major provider of Medicare Advantage coverage for people 65 and older. Humana gained 4.4 percent while Walmart slid 3.8 percent.

Bond prices finished little changed. The yield on the 10-year Treasury stayed at 2.74 percent after a sharp decline last week.

Energy companies skidded as benchmark U.S. crude lost $1.93, or 3 percent, to $63.01 a barrel

in New York. Brent crude, used to price international oils, slid $1.70, or 2.5 percent, to $67.64 a barrel in London.

Wholesale gasoline dropped 5 cents to $1.97 a gallon. Heating oil fell 4 cents to $1.98 a gallon.

Natural gas slid 5 cents to $2.68 per 1,000 cubic feet.

Copper rose 2 cent to $3.05 a pound.

The dollar declined to 105.85 yen from 106.50 yen. The euro edged up to $1.23 from $1.2306.

A10 | Wednesday, April 4, 2018 | THE ZAPATA TIMES

NATIONAL

Justice Department imposes quotas on immigration judges

By Elliot Spagat A S S OCIAT E D PRE SS

SAN DIEGO — The Trump administration has introduced production quotas for immigration judges in an effort to reduce enormous court backlogs, raising concern among judges and attorneys that decisions may be unfairly rushed.

The Justice Department’s Executive Office for Immigration Review said judges must complete 700 cases a year to earn a satisfactory grade.

The standards, which take effect Oct. 1, include six other measures indicating how much time judges should spend on different types of cases and court motions.

The move, while significant, didn’t come as a surprise. Attorney General Jeff Sessions, who oversees immigration courts, has sought major changes to the longclogged courts as a sharp increase in deportation arrests under President Donald Trump has pushed the backlog above 650,000 cases. In December, Sessions wrote judges that performance measures would aid in “the efficient and timely completion of cases and motions” while maintaining fairness.

James McHenry, director of the Executive Office for Immigration Review, used similar language in an email Friday that details the new measures for the department’s approximately 350 immigration judges.

“Using metrics to evaluate performance is neither novel nor unique to (the Executive Office for Immigration Review),” McHenry wrote. “The

purpose of implementing these metrics is to encourage efficient and effective case management while preserving immigration judge discretion and due process.”

The Associated Press obtained a copy of McHenry’s memo and performance plan, whose contents were first reported by The Wall Street Journal.

The measures are highly specific. A judge who completes more than 560 cases a year but fewer than 700 “needs improvement.” Deciding fewer than 560 cases a year is deemed unsatisfactory.

The Justice Department said Monday that judges complete an average of 678 cases a year.

Under one benchmark, judges must rule the same day on every plea by asylum seekers to pass an initial threshold of establishing “credible” or “reasonable” fear to earn a satisfactory mark, unless the Homeland Security Department is responsible for them failing to show. Anything less than 80 percent is considered unsatisfactory.

The National Immigration Judges Association, whose recent collective bargaining agreement allows for performance metrics, strongly opposes the numerical targets and will explore options under federal labor law, said Dana Leigh Marks, a union spokeswoman.

“We believe the imposition of numerical performance metrics is completely, utterly contrary to judicial independence,” said Marks, who is also an immigration judge in San Francisco. “We believe assessing quality is fine, not quantity.”

States and cities sue over census citizenship question

By Larry Neumeister ASSOCIATED PRE SS

NEW YORK — Seventeen states, the District of Columbia and six cities sued the U.S. government Tuesday, saying the addition of a citizenship question to the census form is unconstitutional.

The Trump administration’s decision to ask people about their citizenship has set off worries among Democrats that immigrants will dodge the survey altogether, diluting political representation for states that tend to vote Democratic and robbing many communities of federal dollars.

Supporters of the plan for the 2020 census argue that enforcing voting rights requires more data on the voting-age population of citizens than current surveys are providing. It would be the first time in 70 years that the government uses the census form sent to every household to ask people to specify whether they are U.S. citizens.

New York Attorney General Attorney General Eric Schneiderman, a Democrat who announced the new lawsuit in Manhattan federal court, said the plans would have a “devastating effect on New York, where we have millions of immigrants.”

“It’s unlawful. It’s unfair,” Schneiderman said at a news conference. He added that it would end a longstanding bipartisan effort to have the Bureau of the Census conduct a full and fair count of the

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population, including citizens and non-citizens.

The Census Bureau hasn’t included a citizenship question in its survey of all U.S. households since 1950, well before passage of a 1965 law meant to ensure minority groups are fully represented in the once-adecade count.

The lawsuit, which also included the bipartisan U.S. Conference of Mayors as a plaintiff, said adding the citizenship question was arbitrary

and will “fatally undermine the accuracy of the population count.” It asked for a ruling that the citizenship demand is unauthorized and unconstitutional.

According to the lawsuit, nearly a quarter of households in New York state did not return their 2010 census questionnaire, requiring an inperson follow-up. It noted that one-in-five New York residents were born in another country. The

NAACP has also said the new plan will also lead to a massive undercounting of blacks.

A government spokesman did not immediately comment. The Justice Department has said it “looks forward to defending the reinstatement of the citizenship question.”

The Commerce Department has said the benefits of obtaining citizenship information “outweighed the limited potential adverse impacts.”

THE ZAPATA TIMES | Wednesday, April 4, 2018 |

A11

FROM THE COVER LCC From page A1 Gilbert Martinez mentioned in January his own participation in the renaming of Laredo Junior College to Laredo Community College 25 years ago. He also noted a wave

STUDY From page A1 He also noted that even though Duval ranks 242nd in overall health, the county comes in 139th for clinical care.

A Christus Spohn Family Health Center in Freer and a Community Action Health Center in Benavides are the only health care providers in the county.

San Diego, the largest city in Duval and the county seat, has been without a health care provider since 2016, according to Priscilla Martinez, health care director for Duval County.

And that clinic was only open for about a year anyway. Since they shut down, Martinez sends most of her clients 17 minutes away to Benavides, or Alice, which is a 15-minute drive away in neighboring Jim Wells County. Alice has a hospital.

The indigent health program at Duval County drastically lowers the cost of doctors visits — from around $190 to $10 — but the county does not provide a transportation service to the patients who have to drive to see a doctor.

“Here in San Diego it’s kind of bad because some (residents) don’t have vehicles, and we can’t help out with gas and we don’t have transportation to take them over there either. So that’s why when they closed up the clinic here it was kind of upsetting,” Martinez said.

If she had the funds and a coworker, this would be a service Martinez would like to offer, she said.

The most common health problems she sees in her clients are hypertension and diabetes. She keeps a bowl full of Dubble Bubble and Airheads on the spare desk in her office in case someone comes in with low blood sugar.

And last year Martinez had four clients who died of psoriasis of the liver, all due to alcoholism, she said.

“The last one was in late November. She had just turned 50 and she was in high spirits and everything, and she also passed away,” Martinez said.

Whitney Stacy, nurse practitioner at the Benavides Community Action Health Center, said the most common health problems they see at the clinic are high blood pressure, diabetes, coronary heart disease and high cholesterol. Left undiagnosed or untreated, these illnesses would definitely contribute to the premature death rate, Stacy said.

Stacy, Martinez and Ann Awalt, executive director of the Community Action Corporation of South Texas, all believe that an effort to educate Duval residents about healthy living would make a huge difference in their overall health.

“I am a major proponent of more federal dollars. But when it comes

MILITARY From page A1 signature promise of his campaign: a “big, beautiful wall” along the Mexican border. He’s previously suggested using the Pentagon’s budget to pay for building the wall, arguing it is a national security priority, despite strict rules that prohibit spending that’s not authorized by Congress.

The Department of Homeland Security, Pentagon and White House did not immediately respond to requests for comment on how such a plan might work.

Sending military to the border, in the form of National Guard troops, has been done before. In 2006, under Operation Jump Start, 6,000 troops were sent to the border in an effort to increase security and surveillance. The operation used the National Guard to assist border patrol with nonlaw enforcement duties while additional border agents were hired and trained.

The number declined during the second year to about 3,000.

Over the two years, about 29,000 National Guard forces participated

of fellow colleges throughout the state that have modified their names to omit the word “community.”

LCC and Tyler Junior College are the lone institutions among a group of nine similar-sized schools still bearing the words “community” or “junior” in their names.

to health, prevention and education really are key. The earlier you can start the education and the earlier that preventive health can be delivered, the outcomes in the long term are going to be better,” Awalt said.

And this is reflected in the study.

What really brings down Duval’s overall health rating, other than the premature death rate, is social and economic factors. Unemployment in Duval is a staggering 11.1 percent, according to the study, and 38 percent of its children live in poverty.

Federal funds are often allocated based on population, so many rural counties are challenged to find resources, Awalt said. And to boot, it’s incredibly difficult to attract health care providers to work and live in these sparsely populated areas, she said.

Plus, in larger metro areas there are charitable foundations and corporate charities to supplement government resources, Awalt noted.

These charitable resources are largely absent in Duval, and long term issues relating to education, income, food availability, poverty, child poverty, employment and teen birth combine to pose critical challenges to folks in any rural area, Awalt said.

Rep. Gonzalez said it has become a priority for him and his colleagues to provide at-risk populations such as these with necessary support.

“It is deplorable that our most financially-challenged communities face countless obstacles trying to connect with resources that improve quality of life,” he said.

Duval’s injury deaths and violent crime rates are almost twice the state average. There are 721 reported violent crime offenses per 100,000 residents in Duval, while the average across Texas is 408. Injury deaths in Duval are 90 per capita — the state average is 55.

Motor vehicle accidents, violence and substance abuse directly relate to the high death rate, Awalt said.

Duval County came in last for overall health in the 2017 County Health Rankings & Roadmaps study too, sliding down from fourth to last in 2016 and 19th to last in 2015.

Zapata County Zapata’s overall health ranking is 212 out of 242.

Thirty-five percent of Zapata County residents are in poor or fair health, according to the study, compared to Duval’s 32 percent. The state average is 18 percent.

Zapata’s uninsured rate, 29 percent, is also worse than Duval’s 20 percent. The unemployment rate is also just a step below Duval’s at 11 percent.

A greater percentage of Zapata County children — 42 percent — are living in poverty than those in Duval.

in the missions, as forces rotated in and out.

The Guard members were used for surveillance, communications, administrative support, intelligence, analysis and, in some cases, the installation of border security infrastructure. Over the two years, more than 30 miles of fencing and 13 miles of road were built, and more than 86 miles of vehicle barriers were installed.

Active duty U.S. troops were not used for the operation because there are prohibitions on using so-called Title 10 troops for law enforcement and similar duties within the United States.

In addition, President Barack Obama sent about 1,200 National Guard troops to the U.S.-Mexico border in 2010 to beef up efforts to battle drug smuggling and illegal immigration. Again, the troops did intelligence, surveillance, analysis and other support as more border patrol and customs agents were hired.

At that time, officials also emphasized that the Guard forces would not be working on the front lines or interacting with people crossing the border.

Trump’s announce-

CARAVAN From page A1 Bogged down by logistical problems, large numbers of children and fears about people getting sick, the caravan was always meant to draw attention to the plight of migrants and was never equipped to march all the way to the U.S. border.

“The idea was never for this group of people to reach the border. It was more to achieve a sensible and clear solution” to migrants’ need to leave their countries, said Irineo Mujica, director of Pueblo Sin Fronteras, the activist group behind the annual symbolic event.

With conditions bad in Honduras following that country’s hotly disputed November presidential elections, unexpectedly large numbers of people showed for this year’s march.

“We have never seen a march of this size. It is unmanageable,” Mujica said.

On Tuesday, the group — mostly Hondurans — spread out on blankets in walkways between buildings, on playing fields and on grassy spots between swing sets. Young children kicked soccer balls through the dust and climbed on resting parents, killing time.

Adults gathered around the few power outlets to charge cellphones. A single municipal police officer kept watch.

Women and children picked through piles of donated clothing, as volunteers ladled water boiled over a fire into cups with instant coffee and instant noodles.

Aida Raquel Perez Rivera, 31, from San Pedro Sula — one of Honduras’ most violent cities — was sitting on a rolled blanket in the shade. She said she hopes for asylum in the United States because the father of her daughters is trying to kill her.

“I have been threatened with death and I had to leave my daughters back there,” said Perez Rivera. “I left without money, without anything, just the clothes on my back.”

Perez Rivera said she joined the caravan because there was safety in numbers. She said she is also considering seeking asylum in Mexico, but worries she couldn’t support her daughters from Mexico.

On Monday, Mexican immigration officials began taking the names of people interested in filing for asylum, or temporary transit or humanitarian visas in Mexico.

But Mujica said he didn’t know “if that was just to calm down Donald Trump’s

ment came a day administration officials said they’re crafting a new legislative package aimed at closing immigration “loopholes.”

Trump also called on Republican lawmakers to immediately pass a border bill using the “Nuclear Option if necessary” to muscle it through, as part of a flurry of tweets on the subject over the last several days.

The president has also been declaring protections for so-called Dreamer immigrants “dead,” accusing Democrats of allowing “open borders, drugs and crime” and warning Mexico to halt the passage of “caravans” of immigrants or risk U.S. abandonment of the North American Free Trade Agreement.

Trump has been seething since realizing the major spending bill he signed last month barely funds the wall he has promised supporters. The $1.3 trillion funding package included $1.6 billion in border wall spending — far less than the $25 billion Trump made a last-minute push to secure. And much of that money can be used only to repair existing segments, not to build new sections.

Felix Marquez / AP

A man adds water to an instant soup donated by a local organization as migrants travel in a caravan.

tweets, or calm down Donald Trump.” He said the group was waiting for the migration officers to return.

About 150 men already did break off from the march Sunday, hopping a freight train north, probably with hopes of trying to enter the U.S. But the rest of the migrants at the camp seemed unlikely to move again until Wednesday or Thursday.

Mujica said about 300 to 400 say they have relatives living in Mexico and so may consider staying here at least temporarily.

The “Stations of the Cross” caravans have been held annually in southern Mexico for about 10 years.

They began as short processions of migrants, some dressed in biblical garb and carrying crosses, as an Easter-season protest against the kidnappings, extortion, beatings and killings suffered by many Central American migrants as they cross Mexico.

The organized portions of the caravans usually have not gone much farther north than the Gulf coast state of Veracruz.

This year’s event seems to have gotten more notice in the U.S., and Trump has sent some angry tweets that raised hackles in Mexico, which in recent years has detained and deported hundreds of thousands of Central American migrants before they could reach the U.S. border.

“Mexico is doing very little, if not NOTHING, at stopping people from flowing into Mexico through their Southern Border, and then into the U.S. They laugh at our dumb immigration laws. They must stop the big drug and people flows, or I will stop their cash cow, NAFTA. NEED WALL!” Trump wrote in one. “With all of the money they make from the U.S., hopefully they will stop people from coming through their country and into ours.”

In a statement late Monday, Mexico’s government said about 400 participants

Among the new measures the administration is pursuing: ending special safeguards that prevent the immediate deportation of children arrested at the border and traveling alone. Under current law, unaccompanied children from countries that don’t border the U.S. are turned over to the Department of Health and Human Services and undergo often lengthy deportation proceedings before an immigration judge instead of being immediately deported.

The administration is also pushing Congress to terminate a 1997 court settlement that requires the government to release children from custody to parents, adult relatives or other caretakers as their court cases proceed. Officials complain that many children never show up at their hearings.

The proposals appear the same as those included on an immigration wish list the White House released in October but failed to gain traction during negotiations over the border wall. Such proposals are likely to face opposition from moderate Republicans and Democrats going into the midterm elections.

But Trump appears intent on ensuring the issues remain at the forefront of public conversation, even though the spending bill was widely seen as the last major legislation likely passed this year.

Trump’s past calls to for the “nuclear option” — changing Senate rules so that a simple majority of 51 votes is needed to advance legislation, instead of the current 60 votes — have been dismissed by Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell. McConnell says Republicans will welcome the 60-vote margin if they return to the minority. The current 51-49 Senate split favors Republicans.

Trump announced last year that he was ending DACA, the program that protects young “Dreamer” immigrants and allows them to work legally in the country, but the Department of Homeland Security is continuing to issue renewals because of a court order.

Notably, Trump’s favored solution for extending the protections mustered only 39 votes in the Senate, meaning it couldn’t have passed even if the rules had been changed.

in the caravan had already been sent back to their home countries. “Under no circumstances does the Mexican government promote irregular migration,” the Interior Ministry statement said.

The department also said that unlike in previous yearly caravans, “this time Mexican immigration authorities have offered refugee status” to participants who qualify. But it suggested it is not up to Mexico to keep people from going to the U.S. to apply for asylum.

“It is not this government’s responsibility to make immigration decisions for the United States or any other country, so it will be up to the appropriate authorities of the United States to decide whether to authorize the entry of the caravan participants to U.S. territory,” the statement said.

Navarrete Prida had said earlier that he talked with U.S. Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen on Monday about handling migration, “in accordance with each country’s laws.”

Nielsen later tweeted that their talk focused specifically on the annual migrant caravan. “Working with Mexican officials to address the yearly illegal alien caravan. Exploring all options,” she wrote.

Mexico routinely stops and deports Central Americans, sometimes in numbers that rival those of the United States. Deportations of foreigners dropped from 176,726 in 2015 to 76,433 in 2017, in part because fewer were believed to have come to Mexico, and more were requesting asylum in Mexico.

Mexico granted 3,223 asylum requests made in 2016, and 9,626 requests filed last year are either under review or have been accepted.

Deportations continued at about the same pace in the first two months of 2018, with 15,835 people returned to central American countries.

Trump also warned Mexico to halt the passage of about 1,100 migrants, many from Honduras, who had been marching in a caravan along roadsides and train tracks in the southern Mexican state of Oaxaca.

“If it reaches our border, our laws are so weak and so pathetic,” Trump claimed. “It’s like we have no border.”

These “Stations of the Cross” migrant caravans have been held in southern Mexico for at least the last five years. They began as short processions of migrants, some dressed in biblical garb and carrying crosses, as an Easter-season protest against attacks against Central Americans as they cross Mexico.

The caravan that once numbered 1,150 or more people actually halted days ago in the town of Matias Romero in the southern state of Oaxaca, where participants slept out in the open. After days of walking along roadsides and train tracks, the organizers now plan to try to get buses to take participants to the final event, an immigrants’ rights conference in the central state of Puebla later this week.

A12 | Wednesday, April 4, 2018 | THE ZAPATA TIMES