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AUSTIN, TEXAS
Teen faces murder charge Suspect connected in killing of UT student By WILL WEISSERT ASSOCIATED PRESS
AUSTIN, Texas — A homeless 17-year-old has been arrested, and police said Friday he’ll be charged with murder in the killing of a University of Texas dance major whose body was recovered in the heart of the bustling campus — unnerving one of the country’s best-known schools. Investigators said Meechaiel Criner wasn’t a university student and wasn’t believed to have been in Austin long. Austin Police Chief Art Ace-
vedo said Criner could face additional charges in the slaying of 18-year-old Oregon-native Haruka Weiser. “We are very certain that the subject we have in custody ... is responsible for the death of this beautiful young woman,” Acevedo said at a campus news conference. Weiser was last seen leaving the campus drama building Sunday night. Her body was found Tuesday in a creek near the alumni center and UT’s iconic football stadium,
Photo by Rodolfo Gonzalez/Austin American-Statesman | AP
In this Thursday photo, mourners observe a moment of silence during a vigil for University of Texas at Austin student Haruka J. Weiser on the campus in Austin, Texas. Weiser, an 18-year-old dance major, was identified as the homicide victim found in Waller Creek earlier in the week.
See TEEN PAGE 10A
DALLAS
SAN ANTONIO SHOOTING
SPRINGTIME IN TEXAS Photo by John Davenport/The San Antonio Express-News | AP
First responders and FBI agents gather near the scene of a shooting at Joint Base San Antonio-Lackland in San Antonio. The gunman allegedly targeted his commander.
Airman shot commander at Texas base Photo by Rachel Denny Clow/Corpus Christi Caller-Times | AP
In this photo taken Tuesday, March 24, 2015, Allison Lemos arranges her children Araleigh Lemos, four months, and Chevy Lemos, 2, for a photo in the bluebonnets in an area off Interstate 37 in Corpus Christi, Texas.
Officials investigating the apparent murder-suicide and firearm used By DAVID WARREN
Bluebonnet myths and facts explained By CHARLES SCUDDER THE DALLAS MORNING NEWS
DALLAS — It’s springtime in Texas, which means a time-honored tradition for wildflower lovers everywhere. You know the drill:
Carefully wade into a patch of bluebonnets and squat down for a photo, but don’t crush or pick them. It’s against the law, right? It’s one of those urban legends that sound just Texan enough to be real.
Everyone “knows” the Legislature has protected the state flower by making it a crime to damage it. But don’t go planning a flower-picking party just yet. It may not be illegal to destroy the state flower,
ASSOCIATED PRESS
but it’s almost certainly bad Texas karma. “There’s a number of myths about our native plants, and that’s just one,” said Joe Marcus, a program manager at the
See SPRINGTIME PAGE 10A
DALLAS — Military officials investigating an apparent murder-suicide that happened Friday on a U.S. air base in Texas are trying to determine whether the gunman was authorized to have a weapon on the base, where the possession of firearms is heavily
restricted. The gunman was an airman who targeted his commander at Joint Base San Antonio-Lackland, according to a senior U.S. official who spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because he wasn’t authorized to publicly discuss the shoot-
See SHOOTING PAGE 10A
STATE OF TEXAS ASSESSMENTS OF ACADEMIC READINESS
Computer glitch affected more than 14,000 exams By KIAH COLLIER TEXAS TRIBUNE
Photo by Eric Von Seggern | AP
Technical issues last week caused students to lose their answers on state standardized exams, affecting more than 14,000 computerized tests.
Technical issues last week that caused public school students to lose their answers on state standardized exams affected more than 14,000 computerized tests, Texas Education Commissioner Mike Morath told the State Board of Education on Wednesday. Most of the exams in question were being taken by special-education students, he said during
a regularly scheduled update to the 15-member elected board. Problems surfaced last week on the first day of the statewide administration of the State of Texas Assessments of Academic Readiness, or STAAR, exam, helping fuel an ongoing backlash against a standardized testing regime that many parents and educators believe is already too stressful. The Texas Education Agency later confirmed that school districts across the state had re-
ported that students’ previously input responses on online tests had disappeared after they had logged out — either voluntarily or due to 30 minutes of inactivity or a lost internet connection. Until Morath’s comments Wednesday, the agency had not revealed how many exams were affected. The number of exams impacted likely correlates to the number of students impacted, al-
See STAAR PAGE 10A
PAGE 2A
Zin brief CALENDAR
SATURDAY, APRIL 9, 2016
AROUND THE NATION
TODAY IN HISTORY
SATURDAY, APRIL 9
ASSOCIATED PRESS
Take a Deep Breath. 8 a.m.–12 p.m. UT Health Science Center’s Regional Campus, 1937 E. Bustamante St. Free. Focuses on lung disease. Health information and hands-on demonstrations of physical, occupational and Wii therapy; tai chi; gardening; maintaining healthy teeth; healthy eating; and keeping an environmentally healthy home. At 10:30 a.m., a presentation on interstitial lung disease by Anoop Nambiar, M.D. Lamar Bruni Vergara Planetarium shows. 1–5 p.m. TAMIU. “The Little Star that Could,” “Origins of Life,” “New Horizons” and “Black Holes.” This event is open to the TAMIU community and public. General admission is $4 for children, TAMIU students, faculty and staff, and $5 for adults. Matinee shows are $1 less. For more information, contact Claudia Herrera at 956-326-2463 or email claudia.herrera@tamiu.edu.
Today is Saturday, April 9, the 100th day of 2016. There are 266 days left in the year. Today’s Highlight in History: On April 9, 1865, Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee surrendered his army to Union Lt. Gen. Ulysses S. Grant at Appomattox Court House in Virginia. On this date: In 1413, the coronation of England’s King Henry V took place in Westminster Abbey. In 1682, French explorer Robert de La Salle claimed the Mississippi River Basin for France. In 1913, the first game was played at Ebbets Field, the newly built home of the Brooklyn Dodgers, who lost to the Philadelphia Phillies, 1-0. In 1940, during World War II, Germany invaded Denmark and Norway. In 1942, American and Philippine defenders on Bataan capitulated to Japanese forces; the surrender was followed by the notorious Bataan Death March. In 1959, NASA presented its first seven astronauts: Scott Carpenter, Gordon Cooper, John Glenn, Gus Grissom, Wally Schirra, Alan Shepard and Donald Slayton. Architect Frank Lloyd Wright, 91, died in Phoenix, Arizona. In 1965, the newly built Astrodome in Houston featured its first baseball game, an exhibition between the Astros and the New York Yankees, with President Lyndon B. Johnson in attendance. In 1983, the space shuttle Challenger ended its first mission with a safe landing at Edwards Air Force Base in California. In 1991, the Georgian Parliament declared the republic’s independence. Ten years ago: More than half a million people in ten states rallied for immigrant rights. Five years ago: A man armed with several weapons opened fire in a crowded shopping mall in the Netherlands, killing six people before committing suicide. One year ago: President Barack Obama briefly visited Jamaica, where he met with Caribbean leaders and spoke at a town hall of young leaders; the president then flew to Panama City for a summit of Western Hemisphere nations and a historic encounter with Cuban President Raul Castro. Today’s Birthdays: Playboy magazine founder Hugh Hefner is 90. Actress Michael Learned is 77. Country singer Margo Smith is 74. Country singer Hal Ketchum is 63. Actor Dennis Quaid is 62. Comedian Jimmy Tingle is 61. Country musician Dave Innis (Restless Heart) is 57. Talk show host Joe Scarborough (TV: “Morning Joe”) is 53. Actress-sports reporter Lisa Guerrero is 52. Actor Mark Pellegrino is 51. Actress-model Paulina Porizkova is 51. Actress Cynthia Nixon is 50. Rock singer Gerard Way (My Chemical Romance) is 39. Rock musician Albert Hammond Jr. (The Strokes) is 36. Actor Charlie Hunnam is 36. Actor Jay Baruchel is 34. Actress Leighton Meester is 30. Actor-singer Jesse McCartney is 29. Actress Kristen Stewart is 26. Actress Elle Fanning is 18. Thought for Today: “Thinking is like loving or dying. Each of us must do it for ourselves.” — Josiah Royce, American philosopher (18551916).
SUNDAY, APRIL 10 A performance of the classical ballet “Giselle.” 3 p.m. LCC’s Guadalupe and Lilia Martinez Fine Arts Center theater. The performance will feature the talents of the Compania de Danza Nuevo Laredo. Free.
Photo by Ted S. Warren | AP file
This Oct. 8, 2015, file photo, shows the Western State Hospital in Lakewood, Wash. A violent ex-felon who escaped from the Washington state psychiatric hospital that’s under federal scrutiny over safety violations remained elusive Friday morning, a Spokane County Sheriff’s deputy said.
Hospital failed to improve By MARTHA BELLISLE
MONDAY, APRIL 11 Laredo Stroke Support Group. 7 p.m. San Martin de Porres Church, Family Life Center. Meetings are held the second Monday of each month and are open to all stroke survivors, family and caregivers. Everyone is welcomed to share their story, encourage and support others, and hear informative speakers. For more information on the support groups, call 956-286-0641 or 956-763-6132. Faculty recital with Dr. Martha Saywell and John Reimund. 7:30 p.m. Center for the Fine and Performing Arts Recital Hall at TAMIU. Free and open to the public. For more information, contact Dr. Martha Saywell at 956-326-2654 or email martha.saywell@tamiu.edu Chess Club. Every Monday from 4–6 p.m. LBV – Inner City Branch Library. Free for all ages and skill levels. Basic instruction is offered. For more information call John at 956-795-2400 x2520.
TUESDAY, APRIL 12 South Texas Food Bank annual member agency conference. 9 a.m.–4 p.m. International Bank of Commerce Annex on Jacaman Road and Loop 20. Attending are agency coordinators and assistants. Lamar Bruni Vergara Planetarium shows. 5–7 p.m. TAMIU. “Stars of the Pharaohs” and “Wonders of the Universe.” This event is open to the TAMIU community and public. General admission is $4 for children, TAMIU students, faculty and staff, and $5 for adults. For more information, contact Claudia Herrera at 956-326-2463 or email claudia.herrera@tamiu.edu. Knitting Circle. 1–3 p.m. McKendrick Ochoa Salinas Branch Library, 1920 Palo Blanco St. Please bring yarn and knitting needles. For more information, contact Analiza Perez-Gomez at analiza@laredolibrary.org or 7952400 x2403. Crochet for Kids. 4–5 p.m. McKendrick Ochoa Salinas Branch Library, 1920 Palo Blanco St. Please bring yarn and a crochet needle. For more information, contact Analiza Perez-Gomez at analiza@laredolibrary.org or 795-2400 x2403. Rock wall climbing. 4–5 p.m. LBV-Inner City Branch Library, 202 W. Plum St. Free. Take the challenge and climb the rock wall! Fun exercise for all ages. Must sign release form. For more information, contact John Hong at 795-2400 x2521.
WEDNESDAY, APRIL 13 IBC Keynote Speaker Series. 7 p.m. TAMIU Student Center Ballroom, 5201 University Blvd. Open to the public and free of charge. “Still Midnight in Mexico? Mexico’s Challenges, Journalism and the Borderlands, and the New American Narrative” presented by Alfredo Corchado, Mexico bureau chief for the Dallas Morning News.
THURSDAY, APRIL 14 TAMIU presents the Mariachi International Recital. 7:30 p.m. TAMIU’s Center for the Fine and Performing Arts Recital Hall. Admission requires a minimum $5 scholarship donation per person. There is no charge for TAMIU students with ID and children under 12. For more information, please contact Oswaldo Zapata at 956-326-3044.
ASSOCIATED PRESS
SEATTLE — Federal scrutiny intensified on Washington state’s largest psychiatric hospital, whose history of attacks on patients and staff and a failure to improve safety was brought into sharp relief when a patient accused of killing a woman escaped from a lower-security ward and was still on the loose two days later. U.S. regulators are investigating a recent violent attack on a hospital worker and a patient-on-patient sexual assault at Western State Hospital. A workplace inspection released Thursday also found a series of missteps that posed safety risks, including unlocked rooms, unattended items that could be used as weapons and workers who abandoned their posts instead of watching patients.
The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services has repeatedly cited the facility over safety concerns and threatened to cut millions in federal funding. An agency spokesman says the hospital is under additional scrutiny over the escape and recent assaults. Anthony Garver, 28, was at large Friday but last seen in the Spokane area where his parents live. He and patient Mark Alexander Adams, 58, crawled out a window of their ground-floor room Wednesday night. Adams, who had been charged with domestic assault in 2014, was captured the next morning. Both he and Garver were found too mentally ill to stand trial and a judge ordered them held at the hospital as a danger to themselves or others. Garver had been charged with tying a woman to her bed with electrical cords and slashing her throat.
Man gets 40 years for killing mother
SpaceX launches pop-up room, lands rocket
Mom, grandma charged in teen’s drug death
ELIZABETH, N.J. — A man convicted of beating his mother to death with a dumbbell inside their New Jersey home has been sentenced to 40 years in prison. Union County prosecutors say John Quackenbush was sentenced Friday. The 47-year-old Plainfield resident was convicted in February of killing 69-year-old Gail Vandewalle. Police found her body under a blanket in 2013.
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. — SpaceX has resumed space station deliveries for NASA, launching the first inflatable room ever built for astronauts. And in a double triumph, the company also successfully landed its firststage booster on an ocean platform for the first time. SpaceX employees cheered wildly and chanted “U.S.A.” after the booster touched down on the barge.
GREEN, Ohio — The mother and grandmother of a teen who died from a suspected heroin overdose were charged in his death after authorities said they think the mom and her son had used the drug together. Syringes, illegal drugs and drug paraphernalia were found in the hotel room where Andrew Frye, 16, was found dead in a chair Wednesday night, authorities said Friday.
Ex-coal CEO pays $250k fine while making appeal
Mobster pleads guilty to racketeering in NYC killing
LGBT group withdraws invite to Gov. Baker
CHARLESTON, W.Va. — While he appeals a decision that served him a one-year prison sentence, former coal company executive Don Blankenship has paid his $250,000 fine. According to a U.S. District Court filing, the wealthy ex-Massey Energy CEO paid the fine in Charleston on Friday, plus a $25 court fee.
NEW YORK — Federal prosecutors in New York say a Gambino crime family associate has pleaded guilty to racketeering in connection with a 2002 mob killing. U.S. Attorney Robert Capers says the 43-year-old Gennaro Bruno pleaded guilty Friday in Brooklyn and admitted to murdering Martin Bosshart.
BOSTON — A gay business group has withdrawn an invitation to Republican Massachusetts Gov. Charlie Baker, citing his decision to speak at a weekend event featuring conservative leaders and a Texas minister who has said God sent Adolf Hitler for the Jews. — Compiled from AP reports
AROUND THE WORLD Smog-alert car ban jams metro, buses in Mexico MEXICO CITY — Mexico City residents packed buses and subway trains and many walked or biked to work Wednesday as authorities barred millions of vehicles from the streets due to a pollution alert. Under new regulations imposed after the capital recently experienced its worst air-quality crisis in over a decade, 40 percent of cars were ordered off the road after smog levels hit 11/2 times acceptable limits Tuesday. Pollution levels went down somewhat Wednesday, and the Environmental Commission of the Megalopolis said only about half that amount of vehicles would be kept off the streets Thursday. On any given day a fifth of all cars are supposed to stay home, but that doubles during a Phase 1 alert. Until recently, newer and cleaner cars were exempt from
CONTACT US Publisher, William B. Green........................728-2501 Account Executive, Dora Martinez ...... (956) 765-5113 General Manager, Adriana Devally ...............728-2510 Adv. Billing Inquiries ................................. 728-2531 Circulation Director ................................. 728-2559 MIS Director, Michael Castillo.................... 728-2505 Copy Editor, Nick Georgiou ....................... 728-2565 Sports Editor, Zach Davis ..........................728-2578 Spanish Editor, Melva Lavin-Castillo............ 728-2569 Photo by Dario Lopez-Mills | AP
A man walks over what would usually be a very busy thoroughfare in Mexico City, Wednesday. City authorities have barred millions of vehicles from the streets due to a pollution alert. the driving ban. With 2 million of the capital’s cars ordered out of circulation Wednesday, fares were temporarily waved for some public transportation. Buses crawling along the central Reforma boulevard were crowded during the morn-
ing rush hour. “Public transport is not sufficient,” said Martin Colin, a 53year-old taxi driver, pointing to a bus jammed front-to-back with standing commuters. “They look like little sardines. — Compiled from AP reports
SUBSCRIPTIONS/DELIVERY (956) 728-2555 The Zapata Times is distributed on Saturdays to 4,000 households in Zapata County. For subscribers of the Laredo Morning Times and for those who buy the Laredo Morning Times at newsstands, the Zapata Times is inserted. The Zapata Times is free. The Zapata Times is published by the Laredo Morning Times, a division of The Hearst Corporation, P.O. Box 2129, Laredo, Texas 78044. Phone (956) 728-2500. The Zapata office is at 1309 N. U.S. Hwy. 83 at 14th Avenue, Suite 2, Zapata, TX 78076. Call (956) 765-5113 or e-mail thezapatatimes.net
SATURDAY, APRIL 9, 2016
THE ZAPATA TIMES 3A
Two Zapata students receive LCC award THE ZAPATA TIMES
For the last 15 years, the L.C.C. Education Foundation has advocated on behalf of Laredo Community College and its students. To honor their service, LCC has named them the 2016 recipients of the President’s Beacon Award. Foundation trustees were honored during a special ceremony on Tuesday at the Private David B. Barkeley Cantu Veterans Memorial Chapel at the LCC Fort McIntosh Campus. Over the last eight years, the LCC President’s Beacon Award has been bestowed on individuals or organizations that have tirelessly dedicated themselves to assisting LCC and wider communities. LCC President Juan L. Maldonado expressed his pleasure at being able to honor the L.C.C. Education Foundation. “This organization truly exemplifies the symbolism of the Beacon Award. They have been a source of guidance and assistance to students and the college for many years now. They have provided student scholarships, purchased furniture and equipment for the college, and have contributed to the construction and improvement of college facilities,” said Maldonado. Founded in 2001, the L.C.C. Education Founda-
Photo by Danny Zaragoza | The Zapata Times
The recipients of the 2015-2016 LCC President’s Ray of Hope Award pose for a photo on Tuesday afternoon at the Private David B. Barkeley Cantu Veteran’s Memorial Chapel in LCC Ft. Macintosh Campus. tion is a non-profit group comprised of 12 trustees who donate their time and energy towards supporting the mission of the college. Members of the L.C.C. Education Foundation include President Edward C. Sherwood, Vice President Carlos D. Garcia, Secretary John R. Campbell, Treasurer David B. Hastings, and trustees Vicente V. Garza, Eduardo Gonzalez, Danielle Marasco, Richard E. Sames, Millicent B. Slaughter, Susana Valencia and Antoinette
Vela. Since its inception, the foundation has helped establish endowments for student scholarships, sponsored the college’s annual Veterans Day Observance, and dedicated granite commemorative benches at both campuses. The group establishes relationships with private donors in order to secure student scholarships, construction and maintenance of campus buildings, infrastructure improvements and
various other projects. “The foundation raises about $500,000 annually. Since they began in 2001, they’ve raised $7.5 million dollars with the sole purpose of serving LCC and its students. It is a great honor for me to be able to recognize them for their generosity and commitment to Laredo Community College,” said Maldonado.
Ray of Hope award
Also honored during the ceremony were the recipients of the President’s Ray of Hope award. The college presented high school and college students from Laredo, Hebbronville and Zapata with the Ray of Hope Award for their strength of character and service to community. Nominated by their counselors, two students from each high school and from LCC were presented with a $500 scholarship to help them pursue their
education at LCC. These students were selected for the award for demonstrating strong character, leadership and a commitment to helping others through community service. Recipients of the 20152016 LCC President’s Ray of Hope Award are: From J.B. Alexander High School, Haley Nicole Hernandez and Kristine M. Meza From Cigarroa High School, Josue Mendez and Miriam I. Salinas From Hebbronville High School, Claudia M. Avila and Anna Celeste Vela From Lyndon B. Johnson High School, Enrique Rico III and Alicia Toledo From Raymond and Tirza Martin High School, Crystal Liz Martinez and Jakob David Venegas From J.W. Nixon High School, Victor O. Avina and Lillian Marie Perales From St. Augustine High School, Regina Flores and Rocio Garza From United High School, Neryth Jimenez and Xavier Morin From United South High School, Joanna Garcia and Maritza Ortiz From Zapata High School, Corina Taliz Piña and Dea Zurita From Laredo Community College, Arturo Arriaga Jr. and Juan Carlos Salazar Torres
Missing boy presumed dead, relatives arrested ASSOCIATED PRESS
SEMINOLE, Okla. — Investigators on Friday arrested the aunt and uncle of a 9-year-old Oklahoma boy who went missing in 2006, and were searching the couple’s rural property for his remains, the local prosecutor said. Rex and Rebecca Clark
were taken into custody in the disappearance of their nephew and foster son, Colton Levi Clark, according to Assistant District Attorney Paul Smith. Smith says the arrest warrants allege first-degree murder and child abuse, but said formal charges were pending. Smith said Colton was
presumed dead, and that investigators were searching the couple’s rural Seminole County property for his remains. Smith said it was unclear if the Rexes had attorneys but were scheduled to appear in court on Tuesday. Colton was reported missing on April 20, 2006, prompting investigators to
launch a wide-scale search across 2,500 acres using helicopters and search dogs. At the time, authorities said his aunt reported that Colton didn’t want to attend a counseling session, and investigators thought he may have run away in part because his backpack was gone.
The case was formally reopened in September, about five years after the Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation announced a $5,000 reward for information about the missing boy. OSBI officials said at the time that Colton and his older brother lived with their aunt and uncle after their parents termi-
nated their rights to the boys. It wasn’t immediately clear Friday what led investigators to the couple. Shortly after Colton disappeared, authorities said they searched 2,500 acres around his home and questioned all of his relatives but failed to find any sign of him.
PAGE 4A
Zopinion
SATURDAY, APRIL 9, 2016
LETTERS TO THE EDITOR SEND YOUR SIGNED LETTER TO EDITORIAL@LMTONLINE.COM
EDITORIAL
OTHER VIEWS
Power invites corruption THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER
Sometimes the curtain is pulled aside, allowing us to see what’s going on in the often-opaque worlds of government and finance. Such an occasion has been happening with what’s being called the Panama Papers, released Sunday by the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists. It’s going to take not months, but years, to wade through the estimated 11 million documents leaked from a Panamanian law firm that specializes in crafting tax shelters. But initial disclosures are both troubling and offer insight. "The documents reference 12 current or former world leaders, as well as 128 other politicians and public officials," CNN reported. Implicated, in particular, are associates of Russian President Vladimir Putin; FIFA, the global soccer governing body, 40 of whose officials were indicted in 2015 by the U.S. Justice Department on corruption charges; and Iceland’s Prime Minister Sigmundur David Gunnlaugsson, who resigned Tuesday. Panama is notorious for money laundering, especially of drug cartel proceeds. Doing so is wrong. But it also should be put in context. People launder money gained through illegal activities, or to avoid
high taxes. A fundamental reform against corruption, therefore, would be to reduce taxes and consider legalizing some activities that don’t involve harm to people. Here’s a great example. "Marijuana legalization may have accomplished what the ’war on drugs’ has failed to do — put the squeeze on Mexican drug cartel activity," the San Francisco Chronicle recently reported. "The U.S. Border Patrol has released 2015 data showing that the number of marijuana seizures throughout the Southwest U.S./Mexico border has fallen to the lowest level in a decade. "Mexican manufacturers of illegal marijuana bricks have driven down prices as residents in California, Colorado and Washington state now have safe access to reasonably affordable medical marijuana and/or recreational cannabis." Prices have dropped by as much as two-thirds, to about $30 a kilo. More details will be coming out on the Panama Papers. And some activities - robbery, murder and terrorism - always will be illegal, and related money laundering ought to be punished. But government best can focus on real crimes by reducing or eliminating punishment of nonviolent, victimless offenses.
COLUMN
Questioning the Sanders campaign By PAUL KRUGMAN NEW YORK TIMES
From the beginning, many and probably most liberal policy wonks were skeptical about Bernie Sanders. On many major issues — including the signature issues of his campaign, especially financial reform — he seemed to go for easy slogans over hard thinking. And his political theory of change, his waving away of limits, seemed utterly unrealistic. Some Sanders supporters responded angrily when these concerns were raised, immediately accusing anyone expressing doubts about their hero of being corrupt if not actually criminal. But intolerance and cultishness from some of a candidate’s supporters are one thing; what about the candidate himself ? Unfortunately, in the past few days the answer has become all too clear: Sanders is starting to sound like his worst followers. Bernie is becoming a Bernie Bro. Let me illustrate the point about issues by talking about bank reform. The easy slogan here is “Break up the big banks.” It’s obvious why this slogan is appealing from a political point of view: Wall Street supplies an excellent cast of villains. But were big banks really at the heart of the financial crisis, and would breaking them up protect us from future crises? Many analysts concluded years ago that the answers to both questions were no. Predatory lend-
ing was largely carried out by smaller, non-Wall Street institutions like Countrywide Financial; the crisis itself was centered not on big banks but on “shadow banks” like Lehman Brothers that weren’t necessarily that big. And the financial reform that President Barack Obama signed in 2010 made a real effort to address these problems. It could and should be made stronger, but pounding the table about big banks misses the point. Yet going on about big banks is pretty much all Sanders has done. On the rare occasions on which he was asked for more detail, he didn’t seem to have anything more to offer. And this absence of substance beyond the slogans seems to be true of his positions across the board. You could argue that policy details are unimportant as long as a politician has the right values and character. As it happens, I don’t agree. For one thing, a politician’s policy specifics are often a very important clue to his or her true character — I warned about George W. Bush’s mendacity back when most journalists were still portraying him as a bluff, honest fellow, because I actually looked at his tax proposals. For another, I consider a commitment to facing hard choices as opposed to taking the easy way out an important value in itself. But in any case, the way Sanders is campaigning raises serious character and values issues.
COLUMN
GOP’s politics running out By DICK MEYER SCRIPPS WASHINGTON BUREAU
Donald Trump and Ted Cruz are successfully fracking the Republican Party. The loudest explosions and most noxious fumes are coming from the crackup of the tectonic plate that once supported the party’s two great factions. The white, working-class voters who are coming out for Trump are on fire because they’re convinced that their alleged allies the faction made up of the Republican establishment, aka the country club set have been duping them, pretending to care about their economic, social and cultural complaints. There’s another group that should be exploding in anger this year - independent and Democratic voters who have put Democrats in the White House for 16 of the past 24 years. Their issues and their complaints also have been blocked and thwarted by Republican establishment puppeteers and their unholy alliances. The Republican establishment didn’t dupe the Democrats, but it has beaten them repeatedly (and Bernie Sanders-backing Democrats are mad at their party establishment for that). So while Democrats might enjoy watching the GOP implosion, there is also pain and frustration in realizing that their opponents were just as cynical and precarious as they always thought. The standard Democratic understanding of the
modern Republican Party goes something like this: Since the turbulent 1960s, Republicans have been very skilled at peeling white middle- and working-class voters away from their traditional and natural protectors, the Democrats. This began with Richard Nixon’s Southern strategy, which used race and antipathy to the civil rights, anti-war and feminist movements to pry away white voters from the Democratic Party. Watergate blew that plan up. But Ronald Reagan refined the strategy by focusing on cultural wedge issues that turned Democratic constituencies on each other: affirmative action, welfare abuse, gun control, family values, and abortion, for example. In this narrative, the real Republican powers big donors, congressional leadership and the corporate flank - conned white working-class voters into abandoning their economic self-interest by selling them on trickle-down economics and the mystical powers of small government, and by appeasing them with race-baiting and conservative positions on social and cultural issues. The Republican elite basically has gotten what it wanted out of the deal: tax rates and regulation have been contained, campaign finance has been deregulated, corporate welfare has expanded, free trade and globalization have flourished, and the 1 percent has done incredibly well.
But, in this history, the enormous growth of economic inequality and the stagnation of lower- and middle-class incomes since the 1980s have proved that trickle-down economics was voodoo economics after all. Working-class voters were duped by voodoo politics. And now these voters finally have realized they’ve been had. They are on the warpath, stoked by Trump’s authoritarian promise to take care of the business they really care about it keeping foreign workers out of the country, shutting down free trade that takes away U.S. jobs, kicking ass on crime and terrorism, and punishing the corrupt two-party establishment. Social issue and religious true believers are equally rebellious but they prefer Cruz. Either way, the Republican establishment may now rest in peace, at least until all the king’s horses and all the king’s men put Humpty Dumpty together again. The Democratic narrative is finally vindicated. But if Republican voodoo politics duped their voters in the tourist section and never gave them any upgrades, they have succeeded in keeping Democratic and independent voters at the gate. For all the years Democrats have held the White House since Reagan, they don’t have a lot to show for it. Obamacare has been their most notable achievement. Gay rights have expanded dramatically. But
Democratic ambitions to improve the safety net, raise the minimum wage, address income inequality, enact stronger climate change remedies, toughen gun control, protect abortion rights and increase infrastructure spending have been frustrated quite effectively. Republicans have exploited their success at the state level by controlling the gerrymandering of congressional districts, thus multiplying their clout in the House. They also have vanquished moderates, centrists and the odd New England liberal from the party - the kinds of legislators eager and able to craft bipartisan programs. For their part, the Democrats haven’t been able to reconvert Reagan Democrats. Bernie Sanders’ argument is that the party has been too beholden to its establishment - its big donors and corporate backers. Hillary Clinton hopes that when the primaries are over, frustrated Democrats will turn their wrath on the Republicans. They have every reason to do just that. The Democrats other hope is that neither of the renegades who sabotaged the GOP’s voodoo politics have the mojo to attract voters outside of their angry, conservative white base and are more likely to scare them. If that happens, we will soon find out whether a fracked Republican Party still has the magic to paralyze its enemies in the Democratic tribe.
LETTERS TO THE EDITOR POLICY The Zapata Times does not publish anonymous letters. To be published, letters must include the writer’s first and last names as well as a phone number to verify identity. The
phone number IS NOT published; it is used solely to verify identity and to clarify content, if necessary. Identity of the letter writer must be verified before publication. We want to assure our
readers that a letter is written by the person who signs the letter. The Zapata Times does not allow the use of pseudonyms. Letters are edited for style, grammar, length and civility. No name-call-
ing or gratuitous abuse is allowed. Via e-mail, send letters to editorial@lmtonline.com or mail them to Letters to the Editor, 111 Esperanza Drive, Laredo, TX 78041.
CLASSIC DOONESBURY | GARRY TRUDEAU
SATURDAY, APRIL 9, 2016
THE ZAPATA TIMES 5A
PÁGINA 6A
Zfrontera
Ribereña en Breve BECAS ZCISD Se informa a potenciales donadores de becas que el paquete conteniendo la carta del director, forma para donadores de becas y solicitudes generales de becas, se están entregando en Zapata High School. Hoy sábado 9 de abril es la fecha límite para que donadores sometan la forma como donador de beca; en tanto que el 27 de abril se llevará a cabo la Noche de Becas a las 6 p.m. lo cual pemitirá que donadores y receptores se conozcan. Igualmente se tiene considerado entregar certificados de agradecimiento a los donadores. Informes llamando a Jennifer Sánchez o Patricia Flores al (956) 765-0280.
TORNEO DE PESCA El sábado 23 de abril se realizará el torneo de pesca Bass Champs Fishing Tournament, en Zapata County Public Boat Ramp desde las 8 a.m. hasta las 5 p.m.
SÁBADO 9 DE ABRIL DE 2016
UT AUSTIN
Luto en campus POR WILL WEISSERT ASSOCIATED PRESS
AUSTIN — Un indigente de 17 años ha sido arrestado y será acusado de homicidio por la muerte de una estudiante de danza de la Universidad de Texas cuyo cadáver apareció cerca del centro del campus. Los investigadores dijeron que Meechaiel Criner no era estudiante de la universidad y aparentemente había llegado hace poco a Austin. El jefe de policía Art Acevedo dijo que Criner podría enfrentar cargos adicionales por la muerte de Haruka Weiser, de 18 años. “Estamos muy seguros de que el sujeto que tenemos preso... es el responsable de la muerte de esta bella joven”, dijo Acevedo en conferencia de prensa en el campus. Weiser, de quien un ex profesor dijo que tenía “alma de bailarina”,
fue vista por última vez en el edificio de Teatro de la UT en el campus de Austin alrededor de las 9:30 p.m. del domingo, cuando salía del ediWEISER ficio de artes dramáticas. “Nunca llegó a su dormitorio esa noche”, dijo el subdirector de la policía de Austin Troy Gay, quien habló durante una conferencia de prensa. Sus compañeras de habitación reportaron su desaparición poco antes del mediodía del día siguiente, y el cuerpo sin vida de Weiser fue descubierto el martes en un arroyo cerca del centro de alumnos y el estadio de fútbol americano, un área llena de actividad día y noche. La ruta a su dormitorio la llevaba con frecuencia a lo largo del
arroyo donde fue encontrado su cadáver, y Gay señaló que las autoridades “conocían la dirección que ella tomó” con base en lo que ella escriCRINER bió a una de sus amigas. La policía difundió un video de vigilancia en que aparecía un hombre caminando y empujando una bicicleta de mujer. Los bomberos reconocieron a Criner, con quien habían hablado en relación con un incendio de basura el lunes. Una vecina de Austin que denunció el incendio también llamó a la policía al ver el video, dijo Acevedo. Criner no fue arrestado por el incendio sino llevado a un refugio. La policía lo arrestó allí el jueves sin que opusiera resistencia. Acevedo dijo que su ropa era la del hombre en el video. Tenía una bici-
EDUCACIÓN
cleta de mujer, además del bolso y otras pertenencias de Weiser. Acevedo se negó a especular sobre los motivos y dijo que las autoridades tratan de determinar si Criner tenía prontuario criminal. Greg Fenves, presidente de la UT, dijo que Weiser era originaria de Portland, Oregon, y que “la inconcebible brutalidad en contra de Haruka es un ataque a nuestra familia entera”. No se han revelado detalles sobre la causa de muerte de Weiser. Una autopsia mostró que fue atacada, pero Gay rechazó proporcionar detalles. El homicidio de Weiser fue el primero en el campus desde que el ex infante de marina Charles Whitman subió a la torre de la campana en la Universidad de Texas el 1 de agosto de 1966 y mató a balazos a 16 personas, hiriendo a decenas más.
COMUNIDAD
TORNEO DE SÓFTBOL
Elogian servicio de Ramírez
Un torneo de sóftbol tendrá lugar el 23 de abril en Zapata. Lo recaudado será a favor de Alejandro Cañedo, para la adquisición de una prótesis ya que perdió una pierna en un accidente. Habrá equipos femeninos y masculinos. Cuota 150 dólares. Informes en 956-251-3075.
ESPECIAL PARA TIEMPO DE ZAPATA
RECOLECCIÓN DE MEDICAMENTOS La Coalición Comunitaria del Condado de Zapata y la DEA realizarán el evento nacional Pill Take Back (recolección de medicamentos) el 30 de abril, de 10 a.m. a 2 p.m. en el Palacio de Justicia del Condado de Zapata. Se buscan medicamentos caducos o que ya no se estén utilizando a fin de retirarlos de forma apropiada. Informes en la oficina de SCAN en el 7653555.
CONCURSO DE DIBUJO El Sistema DIF de Miguel Alemán, México, invita al Quinto concurso de dibujo sobre trabajo infantil. Habrá dos categorías (Categoría A para niños y niñas de 6 a 12 años de edad; y, Categoría B, para niños y niñas de 13 a 17 años de edad). El dibujo se debe realizar en media cartulina blanca (35cm x 50cm), utilizar colores de madera, plumones, óleo, acuarela o colores de cera, y anexar en un sobre una descripción con una propuesta para eliminar las peores formas de trabajo infantil. La propuesta debe ser de dos a cuatro párrafos en letra de molde legible. Incluir al reverso del dibujo su título, nombre completo del participante (como indica el acta de nacimiento), edad, grado escolar, nombre de la escuela, teléfono, domicilio particular, y municipio. La fecha límite para entregar el trabajo es el 13 de mayo en las oficinas del DIF-Miguel Alemán, calle Puerto de Chetumal # 130 en la Colonia Jardines de San Germán. Más información llamando al 9720155.
PRÉSTAMOS FSA Los Condados de Cameron, Hidalgo, Starr y Willacy Counties fueron declarados elegibles para los préstamos de emergencia ante desastres del Farm Service Agency (FSA). Aplica a agricultores que hayan perdido al menos 30 por ciento de su producción o que hayan sufrido cualquier perdida en producción o física causadas por tormentas severas, vientos constantes, tornados, e inundaciones, en el periodo del 22 al 31 de octubre del 2015. Las oficinas del FSA se ubican en 2514 S. Veterans Blvd., Suite 1 en Edinburg. Informes en el 956-381-0916 Ext. 2.
Foto de cortesía | ZCISD
Personal y alumnos de Zapata County ISD participaron durante las Olimpiadas Especiales del Área 21 en la categoría de Atletismo. Estudiantes se sintieron motivados y alegres de poder demostrar sus habilidades.
TRIUNFO OLÍMPICO SOBRE PISTA
Foto de cortesía | ZCISD
Alumnos del Zapata Independent School District mostraron su entusiasmo al participar en una competencia en el marco de las Olimpiadas Especiales del Área 21, en el renglón de atletismo.
COLUMNA
Por sus quince años de servicio a la comunidad, el Presidente y CEO de IBC Bank-Zapata, Renato Ramírez, fue reconocido por la Junta de Directores del Texas Civil Rights Project (Proyecto de los Derechos Humanos de Texas — TCRP, por sus siglas en inglés). “Por su compromiso para ayudar a aquellos que no pueden hacerlo, RAMÍREZ a través de la representación legal, ayuda económica y educación”, indica un comunicado de prensa. Ramírez ha sido parte activa de la comunidad de Zapata desde 1983, siendo parte del desarrollo de varios esfuerzos sin fines de lucro entre los cuales destacan donaciones al Instituto Nacional Hispano y el Zapata Boys and Girls Club. “Su legado es celebrado a través del Monumento Tejano en Austin, proyecto encabezado por él y que logró hacer realidad”, dijo James Harrington, Director Ejecutivo del TCRP. Agregó que admira a Ramírez por lo que ha hecho en favor de otros y por los derechos humanos. Ramírez fue reconocido por la junta de directores debido a su “generosidad y compasión, y ferviente defensor de los derechos civiles, hablando inclusive contra los abusos y la discriminación”, concluye el comunicado. La misión del TCRP es promover la justicia racial, social y económica a través del litigio, educación y servicios sociales para personas que no se puedan defender a sí mismos.
CONCIENTIZACIÓN
Protesta motiva que repatríen restos Nota del editor: Esta es la segunda de dos partes sobre cuerpo disecado de un jefe tribal.
POR RAÚL SINENCIO ESPECIAL PARA TIEMPO DE ZAPATA
El cuerpo de una persona disecada se exhibía en el Museo Darder en Banyoles, en Cataluña. Hacia finales del siglo XX, un médico español demanda que se suprima el denigrante espectáculo. Los franceses Eduardo y Julio Verreaux concurren a la ceremonia de inhumación. Ellos gustaban de incorporarse a las expediciones de la marina francesa, con el fin de recolectar especímenes típicos en distantes latitudes. Al retirarse los deu-
dos, los referidos hermanos profanan y saquean la tumba. Apoderándose del cadáver recién sepultado, los Verreaux terminan disecándolo, llevándoselo a París. En 1831 lo integran a una exposición de “materiales” del África negra en la Maison Verreaux. Cuando ésta última cierra de manera definitiva, a finales de ese mismo siglo, Darder compra al jefe tribal, presentándolo en Banyoles a partir de 1888. Darder cede a la ciudad su museo en 1916. Alfonso Arcelín un médico español de origen haitiano, demanda a principio de la década de 1990 que el hombre sea retirado. “Soy negro y me siento
insultado”, declaró Arcelín. Sumándose a la exigencia, el Centro Interafricano de Iniciativas Culturales programa protestas que tienen un impacto mundial en los medios. Instada por la Organización de las Naciones Unidas, España repatria los restos en el 2000. Botsuana los recibe, dedicándoles funerales en su parque nacional de Tsholofelo. Como invitado asiste el doctor Arcelín, quien fallece en Cuba nueve años después. Similares casos aún subsisten en museos de antiguas potencias colonialistas, que alardean de avanzada cultura. (Con permiso del autor, publicado en La Razón, el 1 abril)
Foto de cortesía | ZCCC
El Zapata County Community Coalition celebró su junta mensual el jueves 7 de abril. El Juez del Condado de Zapata, Joe Rathmell, tuvo a su cargo la proclamación de abril como el Mes de la Concientización sobre el Alcohol. En la imagen se encuentra Rathmell y oficiales del ZCCC y SCAN.
SATURDAY, APRIL 9, 2016
Zentertainment
Robinson special set to air By DAVID BAUDER ASSOCIATED PRESS
NEW YORK — PBS’ documentary on the life of Jackie Robinson gets most interesting when the gloves and bats are put away for good. The two-part film directed by Ken Burns, Sarah Burns and David McMahon airs Monday and Tuesday at 9 p.m. EDT on most PBS stations. The first part details Robinson’s early life and his baseball career, when he became the first black player in Major League Baseball in 1947. The second part is more complex, showing Robinson navigating a civil rights era that he helped put in motion. Burns’ team was nudged into making “Jackie Robinson” by Jackie’s 93-year-old widow Rachel. They had gotten to know each other when Burns made his documentary series on baseball, which aired in 1994. She wanted Burns to make a film solely on Robinson but he didn’t have time, and two attempts with other directors didn’t work out. Finally, Burns, his daughter and son-in-law found time, although he gently reminded her that “you can’t fire me.” “You can tell in the moments that she’s on (screen) that she wants you to understand how complicated this was, that it wasn’t just this simple mythology that we have,” he said. The film illustrates how pressure had been building to integrate baseball, particularly after blacks served with distinction in World War II. Robinson was urged to turn the other cheek when he endured taunts and insults, and this took effort — it wasn’t in Robinson’s nature. They cast doubt on a moment that has been immor-
Photo by the Associated Press | AP file
In this March 5, 1964 file photo, former baseball star Jackie Robinson, center, appears with demonstrators in a civil rights march on the capitol in Frankfort, Ky. talized with a statue in Brooklyn. Early in Robinson’s rookie year, teammate Pee Wee Reese supposedly put his arm around Robinson to signal acceptance by a white player who grew up in Kentucky. But there are real questions about whether this happened at all. It would have required Reese, a shortstop, to cross the field to Robinson, who played first base. There was no mention of it in newspaper accounts of the game in Cincinnati when it supposedly took place. Rachel Robinson had urged a different statue depicting the two players shaking hands. Robinson himself indicated in an autobiography that something like it had happened — but a year later, when he played second base. Burns also detailed the supposed embrace in his 1994 documentary series. “It’s white people wanting to have skin in this game,” Burns said. “We
want to feel that we were good enough and forwardthinking enough. It’s a good story, but it’s mythology.” After being traded to the New York Giants in 1957, Robinson retired rather than play for the Dodgers’ hated rivals. He became an executive at Chock Full ‘O Nuts, and active in civil rights. His post-baseball public life was complicated. As the film states at the opening of the second night, “Americans would see the real Jackie Robinson, and they would not always like him.” Robinson was a Republican, a member of the party of Lincoln, and supported Richard Nixon in the 1960 election against John F. Kennedy. During the campaign, he urged Nixon to reach out to the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. when the minister was jailed. Nixon didn’t, but Kennedy did, and narrowly won the election with newfound black support. After Democrat Lyndon
B. Johnson signed civil rights legislation, Robinson supported him in 1964 and urged other blacks to do the same. He was essentially there at the birth of the Republicans’ strategy of appealing to Southern whites, and Nixon snubbed him after he was elected president in 1968. Although he pushed for civil rights progress and held fundraisers at his Connecticut home, Robinson worked for a Republican in New York Gov. Nelson Rockefeller. He clashed with Malcolm X and more militant black activists. Twenty years after he broke baseball’s color barrier, some blacks called him an “Uncle Tom.” All along, the Robinsons dealt with the difficulties of being parents in the 1960s. Jackie Robinson Jr. returned from Vietnam with a drug addiction that he struggled for years to beat, and just as it seemed he had, he died in a car accident. Robinson threw out the first pitch at the 1972 World Series, and spoke out on the need for baseball to hire a black manager. He died of a heart attack shortly thereafter at age 53. The end of the film — and the end of Robinson’s life — is filled with pessimism. He realizes that he never had it made, that despite the progress he embodied, he was still a black man in a white man’s world, Burns said. The filmmaker said he gets criticism, even hate mail, for talking about race frequently in his projects, but said it’s an important, ongoing part of the American story. He’s eager to make a documentary on President Barack Obama, who is interviewed for “Jackie Robinson,” but figures that needs 15 or 20 years of perspective.
PAGE 7A
NWA inducted to rock hall By DAVID BAUDER ASSOCIATED PRESS
NEW YORK — Los Angeles rappers N.W.A., whose legacy gained new life with the hit movie “Straight Outta Compton,” join the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame on Friday with a quartet of 1970s era rock acts. Cheap Trick, Chicago, Deep Purple and Steve Miller are also being honored at a ceremony in Brooklyn’s Barclays Center. N.W.A.’s rough-hewn tales of life on the streets tilted the balance toward West Coast rap in the late 1980s on songs like “F—- the Police,” “BoyzN-The Hood” and “Straight Outta Compton.” Following the act’s breakup, Dr. Dre became one of music’s most indemand producers and a billionaire with a hightech headphone company. Ice Cube moves between music and a successful acting career. Named for one of
N.W.A.’s best-known songs, the movie “Straight Outta Compton” told the band’s story and was one of the biggest box office winners of 2015. Deep Purple’s induction was hailed by heavy metal fans. Yet they enter the hall amid some hard feelings: the band’s current members refused to perform with Ritchie Blackmore, the guitarist who came up with the signature riff for “Smoke on the Water.” Miller came out of a blues background in San Francisco and later became a dependable author of FM rock hits like “fly Like an Eagle,” “Jet Airliner” and “Jungle Love.” Chicago was known for a brassy, jazz-rock fusion in its early days and settled into a comfortable career penning pop hits. Among their favorites were “Saturday in the Park,” ‘’25 or 6 to 4,” ‘’If You Leave Me Now” and “Does Anyone Really Know What Time it Is?”
International
8A THE ZAPATA TIMES
No charges made in scandal ASSOCIATED PRESS
MOSCOW — No one will face criminal charges over the worst doping scandal in Russia’s history, the country’s sports minister said Friday. A report in November by a World Anti-Doping Agency commission alleged systematic, state-sponsored drug use in Russian track and field and a widespread cover-up of doping. The former head of the Russian track federation was also accused of a role in extorting 450,000 euros ($500,000) from a marathon runner and was later banned for life. “The General Prosecutor’s office carefully examined the report in question and did not find a single legally supported fact to open any kind of case,” Russian Sports Minister Vitaly Mutko told sports portal Sportfakt. The WADA report led to Russia being suspended from international track and field, including the Olympics. Mutko also admitted Russia had been forced to withdraw players from its
national teams at major competitions because of the risk they could test positive for meldonium, a drug for patients with heart disease which was widely used as a supplement in Russian sports but was banned for 2016. The ban prompted a spate of positive tests among top Russian athletes, including Maria Sharapova. Mutko’s comments came a day after almost the entire Russian national under-18 hockey team was cut from next week’s world championships and replaced with an apparently weaker under-17 squad. The change was announced the day before the under-18 team had been expected to fly to the United States. Mutko said some players had taken meldonium while it was still legal but that Russian officials feared it could have remained in their bodies. “If an athlete or a group of athletes took it in October or November, we don’t know if it’ll be found or not (in testing),” Mutko said in comments reported by the state news agency Tass. “We’re minimizing risks.”
Russian Hockey Federation president Vladislav Tretiak had said the roster change was “tactical,” but the federation admitted Friday the switch was actually due to meldonium. The federation claimed that players stopped using the substance in the fall of 2015 when WADA ruled it would be banned for 2016. Removing the under-18 team from the world championship was an attempt to “defend the rights of young athletes,” it said. It was the latest in a string of surprise team changes in Russian sports in recent weeks. The entire national men’s curling team was changed a day before its world championships, with the Russian Curling Federation denying a link to meldonium. The replacement team went on to lose nine of 11 games. In volleyball, Russian club Gazprom Yugra dropped its top players ahead of the final of the European CEV Cup, which it lost. No explanation was given. UK Anti-Doping, declined to comment.
Italy recalls envoy to Egypt over slaying By FRANCES D’EMILIO ASSOCIATED PRESS
ROME — Keeping up its press for the “truth” in the torture and slaying of an Italian graduate student in Cairo, the Italian government on Friday announced it was recalling its ambassador from Egypt for urgent consultations after Italian prosecutors expressed disappointment over Egyptian cooperation. Foreign Minister Paolo Gentiloni was recalling Ambassador Maurizio Massari from the Egyptian capital for “urgent evaluation of more opportune initiatives to relaunch the commitment aimed at determining the truth about the barbarous murder of Giulio Regeni,” a ministry statement said. The 28-year-old student, who was researching Egyptian labor movements, disappeared on Jan. 25, the fifth anniversary on the Egyptian uprising, when police and other Egyptian security personnel were out in force in Cairo to discourage protests. His body was found near a Cairo highway on Feb. 3. Italian officials said an Italian autopsy found signs of “protracted” torture over several days, and that Regeni appears to have died on Feb. 1 or 2. Premier Matteo Renzi told reporters that decision was made “immediately” after Italian prosecutors gave their assessment of two days of meetings that wrapped up Friday with visiting Egyptian investigators they had hoped would deliver useful evidence. “Italy, as you know, made a commitment to the family of Giulio Regeni
naturally, to the memory of Giulio Regeni, but also to the dignity of all us, saying we’d only RENZI stop in front of the truth,” Renzi said. Recalling the ambassador to Rome “means Italy is confirming this commitment to itself, to the family,” the premier said. A statement from the Rome prosecutors’ office said it was still pressing the Egyptians for turn over a list of Regeni’s cellphone traffic “in very brief time.” The Italian news agency ANSA said the Egyptian investigators didn’t bring to Rome the surveillance camera video from near the metro station where Regeni was last seen. Italian prosecutors, and Italian police who had gone to Cairo, had repeatedly requested the images. For its part Italy turned over the results of the Italian autopsy and what was found on Regeni’s computer, the Rome prosecutors’ office said. Egypt’s Foreign Ministry spokesman Ahmed Abu-Zeid said the ministry “hasn’t been officially notified of the recalling of the Italian ambassador to Egypt to Rome for consultation or the reasons behind it.” “The Foreign Ministry is waiting for the return of the Egyptian team to listen to its evaluation” of what came out of the two days of meetings between both sides’ investigators, he said in a statement. Italy has expressed mounting impatience with various Egyptian’s attempts to explain Regeni’s
death, including a latest one blaming the slaying on a robbery gang. The Rome prosecutors in their statement referred to that version, reiterating the “conviction that there are no elements indicating direct involvement by a band of criminals in the torture and death” of Regeni. Egyptian authorities recently produced Regeni’s passport and student IDs they said had been in the possession of a criminal gang they contend were abducting foreigners for robbery purposes. The gang members were killed in a shootout with Egyptian police, Egyptian authorities said. Shortly after Regeni’s body was found, Egyptian authorities attributed the death to a road accident. The Italian ministry didn’t suggest what other initiatives the government might take against Egypt, which is a big trading partner as well as an ally in anti-terrorism efforts. Italian energy company ENI has decades-long extensive dealings with Egypt. Last week, Regeni’s anguished parents urged the Italian government to declare Egypt “unsafe” for Italians to visit, saying their son was only one of many torture victims in the north African country. Egypt’s Red Sea resorts for decades had been a popular destination for Italian tourists. The head of the Italian Senate foreign affairs commission, Pier Ferdinando Casini, said recalling the ambassador not only had “high symbolic value,” but also shows “Italy strongly defends its national decorum and dignity.”
SATURDAY, APRIL 9, 2016
Link made in Paris, Brussels attacks By RAF CASERT AND JOHN-THOR DAHLBURG ASSOCIATED PRESS
BRUSSELS — The arrest Friday of five men suspected of links to the Brussels bombings, including the last known fugitive in last year’s Paris attacks, raised new questions about the extent of the Islamic State cell believed to have carried out the intertwined attacks that left 162 people dead in two countries. After weeks of speculation about a mysterious “man in the hat” who escaped the Brussels attacks while three suicide bombers blew themselves up, authorities were checking whether that man was indeed Mohamed Abrini, the last identified suspect at large from the Paris attacks until Friday. Another man arrested in a series of raids, identified as Osama K. by Belgian authorities, was linked to the Nov. 13 Paris attacks by French authorities on March 22, hours after the Belgium attacks. Abrini and Osama K. are now suspected of playing a role in the two biggest attacks carried out by the Islamic State group in Europe over the past year, killing 130 people in Paris and 32 in Brussels. French authorities renewed their call to arrest an armed and dangerous Abrini within hours of the Brussels attacks. “We are investigating if Abrini can be positively identified as the third person present during the attacks in Brussels National Airport, the so called ‘man in the hat,”’ said prosecutor Eric Van der Sypt. The man walked away from the airport attack, where two suicide bombers blew themselves up, killing 16. Authorities detained four other men on
Photo by Geert Vanden Wijngaert | AP
Police investigate an area where terror suspect Mohamed Abrini was arrested in Brussels on Friday. Friday, including Osama K., suspected of having contact with the suicide bomber who blew himself up in the Brussels subway the same morning, killing another 16. Osama K. was filmed by security cameras in the City 2 shopping mall when the bags were bought that were used by the suicide bombers who attacked the airport. Belgian prosecutors said Abrini’s fingerprints and DNA were not only in a Renault Clio used in the Nov. 13 attacks in Paris, but also in an apartment in the Schaerbeek area of Brussels used by the Brussels bombers. Friday’s detentions were a rare success for Belgian authorities, who have been accused for months of mishandling the investigation. Both the interior and justice ministers had offered to resign before the detentions. Despite multiple arrests, Brussels remains under the second-highest terror alert, meaning an attack is considered likely. Abrini’s precise role in the Paris attacks has never been clear, nor his full link to the Brussels attacks. Abrini is a 31-yearold Belgian-Moroccan, known as a petty criminal before he was be-
lieved to have traveled last summer to Syria, where his younger brother died in 2014 in the Islamic State’s notorious francophone brigade. Abrini went multiple times to Birmingham, England, last year, meeting with several men suspected of terrorist activity, a European security official has told The Associated Press. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to provide details on the investigation. He said the meetings, including one later last summer, took place in several locations, including cafes and apartments. Abrini had not resurfaced since the emergence of surveillance video placing him in the convoy with the attackers headed to Paris. He had ties to Abdelhamid Abbaoud, the ringleader of the Paris attacks who died in a police standoff on Nov. 18, and is a childhood friend of brothers Salah and Brahim Abdeslam, both suspects in the Paris attacks. Friday was three weeks to the day that authorities arrested in another Brussels neighborhood Salah Abdeslam, who had been on the run for four months. Abdeslam is awaiting extradition to France.
SATURDAY, APRIL 9, 2016
THE ZAPATA TIMES 9A
Self-driving cars not yet ready By JOAN LOWY ASSOCIATED PRESS
WASHINGTON — Selfdriving cars are more likely to hurt than help public safety because of unsolved technical issues, engineers and safety advocates told the government Friday, countering a push by innovators to speed government approval. Even a trade association for automakers cautioned the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration that a slower, more deliberative approach may be needed than the agency’s aggressive plan to provide its guidance for deploying the vehicles in just six months. The decision to produce the guidance was announced in January and officials have promised to complete it by July. There are risks to deviating from the govern-
ment’s traditional process of issuing regulations and standards, Paul Scullion, safety manager at the Association of Global Automakers, said at a public meeting on self-driving cars hosted by NHTSA. Issuing new regulations takes an average of eight years, NHTSA has said. Regulations are also enforceable, while guidance is usually more general and open to interpretation. “While this process is often time-consuming, these procedural safeguards are in place for valid reasons,” Scullion said. Working outside that process might allow the government to respond more quickly to rapidly changing technology, but that approach would likely come at the expense of thoroughness, he said. Mark Rosekind, NHTSA’s administrator, said the agency can’t wait
because early self-driving technologies are already in cars on the road, including automatic emergency braking that can stop or reduce speed to avoid or mitigate a collision. Another safety option on some vehicles automatically steers vehicles back into their lanes if they start to drift without the driver first using a turn signal. “Everybody asks, ‘When are they going to be ready?’ I keep saying they’re not coming; they are here now,” Rosekind said. Without federal instructions, “people are just going to keep putting stuff out on the road with no guidance on how do we do this the right way.” Rosekind emphasized that he sees self-driving cars as game-changing technology that can someday save the lives of many
of the more than 30,000 people killed each year on the nation’s roads. A General Motors official recently told a Senate committee that the automaker expects to deploy self-driving cars within a few years through a partnership with the ride-sharing service Lyft. Google, a pioneer in the development of self-driving cars, is pushing Congress to give NHTSA new powers to grant it special, expedited permission to sell cars without steering wheels or pedals. Until the technology has advanced beyond the point where ordinary conditions are problematic, “it is dangerous, impractical and a major threat to the public health, safety and welfare to deploy them,” said Mark Golden, executive director of the National Society of Professional Engineers.
Courtesy photo | The Zapata County Chamber of Commerce
Shop for new looks, dresses, trendy tops, purses, shoes and accessories at DLMV Fashion in Zapata.
New fashion store now open THE ZAPATA TIMES
The Zapata County Chamber of Commerce would like to welcome its newest member, DLMV Fashion. DLMV Fashion is now open to the public and they encourage the community to come and visit the latest business in Zapata.
Shop for new looks, dresses, trendy tops, purses, shoes and accessories at DLMV Fashion. The shop is located at 1109 N. U.S. Highway 83 Ste. 2 and opened from Monday through Saturday from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. For more information, contact Luis Valdez at 956489-9191.
Indexes inch higher as oil prices jump By MARLEY JAY ASSOCIATED PRESS
NEW YORK — A surge in the price of oil sent energy companies higher on Friday, but U.S. stocks got only a small boost overall as retailers suffered big losses. Stocks rose in morning trading as oil prices climbed, and the Dow Jones industrial average jumped more than 150 points early on. Retailers skidded as investors worried about reports from Gap and L Brands. Biotech drugmakers returned some of their gains from earlier in the week. Oil prices climbed about 7 percent this week as the dollar got weaker. The price of oil has seesawed as investors hope energy producing companies will cut production. Experts aren’t sure the gains will last. “If this fizzles out in a week or so I think you could see oil prices roll over,” said Steve Chiavarone, associated portfolio manager for Federated Investors. The Dow picked up 35 points, or 0.2 percent, to 17,576.96. The Standard & Poor’s 500 index rose 5.69 points, or 0.3 percent, to 2,047.60. The Nasdaq composite index eked out a gain of 2.32 points, or less than 0.1 percent, to 4,850.69. Benchmark U.S. crude rose $2.46, or 6.6 percent, to $39.72 a barrel in New York. Brent crude, used to price international oils, gained $2.51, or 6.4 percent, to $41.94 a barrel in London. ConocoPhillips picked
Photo by Richard Drew | AP file
In this file photo, people pass a Wall Street subway stop, in New York’s Financial District. Stocks are rising in early trading, led by energy companies as the price of crude oil turns sharply higher. Murphy Oil jumped 5 percent early Friday. up 92 cents, or 2.3 percent, to $41.23 and Murphy Oil advanced $1.25, or 5.1 percent, to $25.69. Oil prices recovered this week, and Chiavarone said that’s partly because the Federal Reserve is stressing that it will raise interest rates slowly. That makes the dollar weaker, and investors think that means demand for oil will go up. Gap said all three of its major chains saw their sales drop in March, and added that levels of product inventory are high, which could lead to bigger discounts that will hurt its profits. Meanwhile L Brands said it will re-
structure its Victoria’s Secret brand and eliminate about 200 corporate jobs. Gap plunged $3.83, or 13.8 percent, to $23.85 and L Brands stock lost $3.65, or 4.3 percent, to $80.50. The companies’ statements and their losses hurt companies that sell everything from athletic apparel to handbags to watches to department store chains. Macy’s gave up 94 cents, or 2.3 percent, to $39.68. Under Armour lost 87 cents, or 2 percent, to $43.54. Analyst Simeon Siegel of Nomura Securities said Gap and L Brands both reported decent sales, and their problems don’t sug-
gest big trouble for retailers in general. “Everything gets lumped in together,” he said. He added that retail stocks have made big gains recently. “For the past few weeks we’ve had this incredible rally that really wasn’t predicated on any results,” he said. Pain drug maker Depomed rose after activist investment firm Starboard Value disclosed a 9.8 percent stake in the company, making it one of Depomed’s largest shareholders. Last year Horizon Pharma tried to buy Depomed for about $1.1 billion, or $33 per share, but Depomed fended off that
effort and Horizon dropped it in November. Depomed’s stock jumped $1.95, or 13 percent, to $16.95. Biotech drugmakers retreated. Regeneron Pharmaceuticals lost $13.43, or 3.2 percent, to $404.94 and Biogen declined $2.21, or 0.8 percent, to $270.83. Those stocks logged their biggest gain in almost five years on Wednesday, but have suffered big losses since July. Specialty glass maker Corning said it will buy optical components maker Alliance Fiber Optic Products for $18.50 per share, or $305 million. Alliance stock surged $2.99, or 19.3
percent, to $18.45. Corning dipped 13 cents to $20.53. Ruby Tuesday tumbled 62 cents, or 11.9 percent, to $4.60. The restaurant chain’s earnings were disappointing and it cut its forecasts. The company also said its chief financial officer will leave to take a job with another company. The price of gold rose $6.30 to $1,242.50 an ounce. Silver gained 23 cents, or 1.5 percent, to $15.38 an ounce. Copper edged up 1 cent to $2.02 a pound. Energy prices rallied in late February and march as investors hoped that major oil-producing nations will agree to freeze production levels in midApril. But Chaivarone said they may be disappointed, and if a deal doesn’t emerge, he thinks oil prices could fall back to around $30 a barrel. In other energy trading, wholesale gasoline rose 8 cents, or 6 percent, to $1.46 a gallon. Heating oil jumped 7 cents, or 6.6 percent, to $1.20 a gallon. Natural gas slipped 3 cents to $1.99 per 1,000 cubic feet. The yield on the 10-year U.S. Treasury note rose to 1.72 percent from 1.69 percent. The dollar rose to 108.33 yen from 108.24 yen. The euro inched up to $1.1397 from $1.1377. Stocks in Europe rallied. France’s CAC 40 rose 1.4 percent and the FTSE 100 in Britain climbed 1.1 percent. Germany’s DAX added 1 percent. Japan’s benchmark Nikkei 225 index finished 0.5 percent higher. South Korea’s Kospi dipped 0.1 percent. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng rose 0.5 percent.
10A THE ZAPATA TIMES
SATURDAY, APRIL 9, 2016
STAAR Continued from Page 1A though TEA spokeswoman Debbie Ratcliffe said in an email that "because 5th and 8th graders took two tests" last week, "theoretically the same student could have been impacted twice but hopefully that didn’t happen." Of the 14,220 affected exams, Ratcliffe said 8,778 were STAAR A, which is
given to special-education students. The rest were regular and STAAR L exams, which is given to English language learners. Morath again described the problem as "simply unacceptable" on Wednesday, echoing a strongly worded statement he issued last week that said
"Kids in the classroom should never suffer from mistakes made by adults." The state left the decision of whether to retest affected students up to school districts. Some opted to retest students, Morath said Wednesday. But he said the exam scores of affected students would not factor into school rat-
SHOOTING Continued from Page 1A ing. The commander oversaw a base K-9 unit, the official said. A motive for the shooting and many other details were not released by authorities Friday. Brig. Gen. Robert LaBrutta, who oversees Joint Base San Antonio, declined to identify the men, saying their families must first be notified. He also stressed the shooting was not an act of terrorism. Investigators from the Air Force and FBI are tracing two handguns found near the bodies of the two men inside a building that holds classrooms and offices. Military-issued and personal firearms are heavily restricted on the base and it’s not clear whether the gunman was authorized to have a weapon, according to Dan Hawkins, a spokesman for the base. Weapons are used for training purposes and carried by base security personnel, Hawkins said, but personal firearms cannot be freely carried on the base. “Allowing everyone to carry personal firearms would make the job of our security
professionals much more difficult,” Hawkins said. He also said security officers must be notified if a personal weapon is being brought onto the installation and the firearm must be registered, in addition to other requirements. The restrictions apply not only to Lackland but also to Fort Sam Houston, the Randolph air base and another installation that comprise Joint Base San Antonio, which has more than 80,000 full-time personnel and is the home of Air Force basic training. The 2016 defense policy bill signed by President Barack Obama directed the Pentagon to set up a process by which commanders of U.S. military installations and certain other commanders at military reserve or recruiting centers can authorize a member of the armed forces to carry a firearm if “necessary as a personal- or force-protection measure.” But Hawkins said that congressional legislation did not alter firearms policies already in place at
Joint Base San Antonio, and neither did the Texas Legislature’s decision last year to allow for the opencarry of handguns in the state. Friday’s shooting, which the San Antonio ExpressNews reports caused officials to abruptly end a nearby military training parade with thousands of spectators, is the latest to occur at a military facility in Texas in the last several years. In January 2015, an Army veteran and former clerk at the veterans’ clinic at Fort Bliss in El Paso shot and killed a psychologist, then killed himself. About a year earlier, three soldiers were killed and 16 wounded in an attack at Fort Hood near Killeen by Army Spc. Ivan A. Lopez, who also killed himself. And in the deadliest attack to occur at a U.S. military installation, 13 people were killed and 31 were wounded in a mass shooting in 2009 at Fort Hood. Nidal Hasan, a former U.S. Army major, was convicted and sentenced to death in that shooting.
SPRINGTIME Continued from Page 1A Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center in Austin, who knows well how we’re drawn to capture the springtime sight. Gina Rokas, tourism director for the city of Ennis, laughs when she hears from The Dallas Morning News the antipicking myth. Ennis is the Official Bluebonnet City of Texas and brings in thousands of tourists for the annual Bluebonnet Trails Festival, which this year is April 15-17. “We do hear that a lot,” she said, especially among folks from outside the state. “It’s really sweet when they ask, ‘Can I just pick one because they’re so beautiful.”’ This is the 65th year for the Ennis festival, Rokas said, but it’s really taken off in the last 10 years since the advent of social media. Go to Ellis County during peak-bloom (best estimates say second week of April this year, Rokas said) and you’ll find bumper-to-bumper traffic along the trails as people try to get their perfect portrait. Rokas said she jokes with visitors who ask about picking the flowers, but she hopes people won’t actually go through with it. “We just say if everybody’s picking them, they won’t go back to seed,” Ro-
kas said. “It gives us an opportunity to tell them not to trespass onto private property.” Sgt. Lonny Haschel, a spokesman for the Texas Department of Public Safety, said that while actually picking the wildflowers isn’t a crime, it’s important to be safe while setting up for photos. The grassy area near a busy highway might offer a pretty backdrop, but make sure to pull completely off the roadway before getting out for photos. “Obviously in the Metroplex, you wouldn’t stop along 635 anywhere,” he said. “You want to make sure people are safe.” Haschel also said to avoid private property, because picking bluebonnets may not be a crime, but trespassing sure is. Parents should keep an eye out for other dangers in wildflower patches as well. “Be careful with kids, because Texas is known for bluebonnets and fire ants,” Haschel said. “Once you’re there, scout out what’s under the flowers.” Marcus suggests finding a (safe) roadside slope, where photographers can arrange the picturesque patchwork of blue and green behind their subjects without wading into the patch.
“People are looking for the perfect picture, the perfect angle, and they end up destroying what they try to appreciate,” Marcus said. Our statewide obsession with these little blue wildflowers dates back over a century, Marcus said. The state legislature first considered picking a state flower in the spring of 1901, spurring fierce floor debate. Some lawmakers considered the cotton boll, harkening back to the state’s Southern, cotton plantation roots. A representative from Uvalde suggested the cactus for its hardiness and beautiful flowers, earning him the nickname “Cactus Jack.” In the end, the Sandyland Bluebonnet of South Texas — which blooms taller and earlier than its North Texas cousin — won the honor. It wasn’t until the 1970s that the legislature named all five or six species of Texas lupines as the state symbol. Today, Marcus gets messages from all over the country from Tex-pats hoping to grow bluebonnets out-of-state. He’s even gotten emails from military service members in Iraq and Afghanistan hoping to bring a little slice of Texas to the Eastern Hemisphere.
ings under the state’s accountability system. If the problem isn’t solved by May, Morath said the state would reconsider its contract with Educational Testing Services, the New Jerseybased company it picked last year to develop and administer the state-required exams. The deci-
sion to hire ETS made waves as London-based Pearson had held the contract since Texas began requiring state student assessments in the 1980s. ETS did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Morath said ETS would also be financially penalized. The TEA is still de-
termining the amount of the penalty, Ratcliffe said. "One of the primary reasons" for the problem was a "timeout issue," she said in an email. "The system was set to log someone off if he was inactive for 30 minutes," she said. "That timeout limit was adjusted as the week went along."
TEEN Continued from Page 1A an area that hums with activity day and night. The slaying shook a campus that’s home to about 50,000 students. University President Greg Fenves called Weiser’s slaying “horrifying and incomprehensible” and described it as an attack on the entire school community. “It was unsettling,” said 20-year-old Jasmine Chavez, who was on UT’s central mall area Friday but hails from Houston. “I feel better now that they’ve caught the guy.” Police released surveillance video that showed a man they said was a suspect walking a women’s bicycle. Firefighters recognized the man on the video as Criner, whom they had spoken to in connection with a trash fire near the UT campus on Monday. An Austin resident who reported the fire also called police when she saw the surveillance video, Acevedo said. Criner wasn’t arrested for the fire but was instead taken to a shelter. Police found him there Thursday and took him into custody without incident. The arrest warrant said his clothing matched that of the man on the surveillance video and that he was in possession of a women’s bike, as well as Weiser’s duffel bag and some of her other belongings, including her laptop. Acevedo wouldn’t speculate on motive and said
authorities are still working to determine Criner’s criminal record. Texas Department of Family Protective Services spokeswoman Julie Moody said Criner “had been in Child Protective Services care” but that she couldn’t elaborate on where, for how long or provide any further details, citing privacy rules and the ongoing criminal investigation. Police have not released many details on Criner’s background, though a person with the same name and birthdate as the suspect is listed in driver’s license records as having lived in Texarkana, about 350 miles northeast of Austin. A 2014 article in a Texarkana high school publication featured a Meecchaiel Criner who described being bullied and difficulties in foster care as a child, saying, “What I want to leave behind is my name — I want them to know who Meechaiel Criner is.” Weiser’s autopsy showed she had been assaulted, but police have refused to release further details about her death, except to say that the route she took from her dorm to the drama building often passed Waller Creek, where her body was found. Fenves said increased police patrols on campus, which have included Texas state troopers in cars, on bikes and on horseback, would continue for
the time being. The Department of Public Safety also is conducting a security review on campus, including checking video monitoring, lighting and building security systems “We will honor Haruka’s life and what she stood for,” Fenves said. “We will take this as an occasion to do as Haruka’s parents asked us to do, learn from this and make this a better community and a safer community for everyone.” The university said that Weiser’s was the first on-campus homicide since former Marine Charles Whitman climbed to the top of UT’s bell tower on Aug. 1, 1966, and opened fire, killing 14 people and wounding scores of others. Authorities later determined Whitman also killed his wife and mother in the hours before he went to the tower. A 17th death would be attributed to Whitman in 2001 when a Fort Worth man died of injuries from the shooting. Weiser’s family said she had planned to take on a second, pre-med major soon and to travel to Japan this summer to see relatives. In a statement Friday, it said “we are relieved to hear” an arrest had been made. “We remain steadfast in our desire to honor Haruka’s memory through kindness and love,” the family said “not violence.”
SATURDAY, APRIL 9, 2016
ON THE WEB: THEZAPATATIMES.COM
Sports&Outdoors NATIONAL FOOTBALL LEAGUE: DALLAS COWBOYS
PROFESSIONAL BOXING
Aikman gives back Photo by John Gurzinski | Getty
Boxers Manny Pacquiao and Timothy Bradley Jr. face off for the WBO International Welterweight Title on Saturday.
File photo by Sharon Ellman | AP
Former Cowboys quarterback Troy Aikman, left, was known for his stellar play on the field with receiver Michael Irvin, right, but has also made an impact off the field with donations to charity.
Dallas legend donates $1 million to United Way By CHERYL HALL THE DALLAS MORNING NEWS
DALLAS — Troy Aikman has plans of significance for his second half. As the Hall of Fame quarterback bears down on his 50th birthday, he wants to be an impact player on Dallas’ philanthropic field. And as we all know, Aikman likes to call the shots. He believes he’s found the answer by signing on with United Way of Metropolitan Dallas. Aikman has committed $1 million to the nonprofit’s Unite Forever Campaign in the Dallas organization’s first donor-advised fund. This increasingly popular form of giving allows a donor to set up an account managed by a charitable organization but stay in the driver’s seat when it
Legendary boxer Pacquiao competes in what could be his final fight By TIM DAHLBERG
comes to how the money is invested and where it’s distributed. "I’m going to be 50 in November - I have a hard time saying that," Aikman said at United Way’s headquarters in downtown Dallas. "I’m looking to build something that will have impact after I’m gone. This is home for me. My motivation is real simple: I want the community of North Texas to know that philanthropically, I’m still giving back." Jennifer Sampson, CEO and president of United Way, called it a "catalytic gift." "We are in the early stages of a public endowment campaign to raise $100 million," Sampson said. "Troy very much wanted to be a part of that
See COWBOYS PAGE 2B
Pacquiao prepares for Bradley ASSOCIATED PRESS
File photo by Patrick Smith | Getty
Troy Aikman donated $1 million to a Dallas-area United Way this week to the Unite Forever Campaign.
NASCAR SPRINT CUP: TEXAS MOTOR SPEEDWAY
LAS VEGAS — He returns to a familiar place, with an equally familiar opponent. Manny Pacquiao is taking no chances when he meets Timothy Bradley in what could be the last fight of his remarkable career. There’s chatter in the background about a possible rematch with Floyd Mayweather Jr., though that appears very unlikely. Their hugely hyped fight last May was a dud, and Mayweather has shown no interest — at least publicly — in changing his mind about retirement. Pacquiao could be headed there himself, even if he beats Bradley in the rubber match of their series. He’s running
for the Senate in the Philippines, a job that takes far more time than his current position of congressman in his native country, and polls make him a favorite in next month’s election. Pacquiao might solidify his position in the polls with a win over Bradley in Saturday night’s welterweight fight at the MGM Grand, where he met Mayweather last May. Everyone loves a winner, though Pacquiao is already beloved by most people in the Philippines as the biggest sports hero the country has ever had. Indeed, Bradley said he would be in Pacquiao’s corner if he had a vote. “He’s shown over and
See BOXING PAGE 2B
NBA: GOLDEN STATE WARRIORS
Warriors eye NBA record of 73 wins By JOSH DUBOW ASSOCIATED PRESS
30 previous races there, only six of the winners qualified worse than 10th, and the last was 11 races ago in 2010. Still, Johnson has dominated in his No. 48 Chevrolet at Texas, where his record six Sprint Cup wins are twice as many as the next closest driver — Carl Edwards, the polesitter. Johnson has led 1,023 laps and has 19 top-10 finishes, both records at the track starting its 20th season of racing.
OAKLAND — Coach Steve Kerr may be apprehensive, believing his Golden State Warriors may need a mental and physical break before the playoffs start more than chasing the record for most wins in a season. His young stars have no such doubts. With a once-in-a-lifetime chance to set a record with 73 wins by sweeping the final three games, they want to seize the opportunity. “Everything is gravy at this point with coach Kerr,” forward Draymond Green said. “All he wanted was the number one seed. For a lot of guys in the locker room, it’s not gravy. We put ourselves in a position all year. ... To get this far and kind of
See NASCAR PAGE 2B
See WARRIORS PAGE 2B
Photo by Ralph Lauer | AP
Jimmie Johnson and the rest of the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series drivers will compete at Texas Motor Speedway in Fort Worth on Saturday night.
NASCAR heads to Texas By STEPHEN HAWKINS ASSOCIATED PRESS
FORT WORTH — Jimmie Johnson certainly knows his way to Victory Lane at Texas Motor Speedway. Already with two wins this season, Johnson is back in Texas, where he has won the last three NASCAR Sprint Cup races and five of the last seven. “It’s just this race track. I think tracks with an older surface; the bumpier it is, the more tire wear, it’s just a condition that plays
into our wheelhouse,” Johnson said. “And we’ve hit on some things here over the last few trips and it consistently works for us and it continues to put speed and longevity in the car.” But Johnson has never had to come from so far back in the field to win at the high-banked, 1 1/2mile track. Johnson will start 11th on Saturday night in the Duck Commander 500. Johnson started eighth or better is all six of his victories at Texas. In the
Photo by Nhat V. Meyer | TNS
Golden State is looking to sweep their final three games of the season to set a new NBA record with 73 wins in a single season.
PAGE 2B
Zscores
SATURDAY, APRIL 9, 2016
WARRIORS Continued from Page 1B just tank it and say never mind? Face it, we’ll probably never get to this point again. That’s why it’s only been done one time. I think most guys in the locker room are all in.” The Warriors (70-9) joined the 1995-96 Chicago Bulls as the only teams in NBA history to win 70 games in a season by beating San Antonio 112-101 on Thursday night to secure home-court advantage throughout the playoffs. To break the mark of 72 that Michael Jordan and the Bulls set 20 years ago, the Warriors must sweep a weekend road trip to Memphis and San Antonio and then beat the Grizzlies again in the season finale next Wednesday night at
home. “With three games left and 73 still there, it’s obviously a lot to play for,” star Stephen Curry said. The game against the Spurs figures to be the toughest. The Warriors have lost 33 straight regular season games at San Antonio, last winning on Feb. 14, 1997, when Tim Duncan was still in college. They did win one of three games there in the playoffs in 2013, but lost in their only trip to San Antonio earlier this season. Golden State will need to win there again to have a chance at setting the record. Kerr asked his players a few weeks ago if 73 wins was important to them.
When most said yes, he made a pact with young stars like Curry, Green, Klay Thompson and Harrison Barnes that he would not force them to sit as long as they were honest about their health. “I want to finish out these last three games,” Thompson said. “I pride myself on playing every game. I’m still young in my career. I’m only 26. When I’m 36 I’ll be looking to rest more.” Kerr said he would discuss the choice again with his coaches and players Friday on the plane ride to Memphis. He has given time off recently to veterans like center Andrew Bogut and guard Shaun Livingston. Other players
NASCAR Continued from Page 1B Matt Kenseth also has been impressive in Texas, matching Johnson’s mark with 13 top-five finishes and second to Johnson in top-10 finishes (17), laps led (834) and average finish (9.46). Asked what he has noticed about Johnson’s success in the Lone Star State, Kenseth responded that the biggest thing is that the six-time Sprint Cup champion is pretty good everywhere. “He’s not too much of a slouch anywhere that I can really think of,” Kenseth said. “Nothing really stands out special to here, really to me.” Kenseth is 14th in points this season, with his lone top-10 finish coming in the only race that he didn’t lead any laps. Kenseth missed Texas last fall while serving the first of his two-race suspension for intentionally wrecking Joey Logano the previous week. Before that, Kenseth had consecutive finishes of 23rd and 25th there, and his wins were back in 2002 and the 2011 spring race. “Haven’t done too well here in recent history, but before that it’s always
been a good track for us,” said Kenseth, who will start ninth. “I like the challenge of the different ends of the race track that are different and the worn out pavement. I think the low aero package is going to be different.” Some things to watch in the 31st Sprint Cup race at Texas: UNDER THE LIGHTS Joey Logano, who will start second, said there is “nothing big” about making the transition to the racing at night for the first time this season. “Obviously, the mornings are a lot more relaxed than what it is if you were racing at one or two o’clock, so obviously that changes it a little bit,” he said. “But it’s like you have a night schedule and a daytime schedule for races as a driver as your prep stuff.” STUFFED GOAT Lil’ Dale was a Nubian goat born in Florida in 2002 with a white No. 3 marking on its otherwise brown fur that resembled the “3” made famous by the late Dale Earnhardt. The goat that died last year will be immortalized at Texas Motor Speedway.
TMS President Eddie Gossage struck an undisclosed deal with the goat’s owner to bring it back to Texas for permanent display after taxidermy. The goat was revealed Friday, with Gossage saying Lil’ Dale will serve as “part mascot, part good-luck charm” at the track. ON THE POLE Edwards is the seventh different polesitter in seven Cup races this season. Edwards has three wins at Texas, the last when he swept the 2008 races, but none of those victories were from the pole. Edwards and Johnson are the only drivers with more than two Cup wins at Texas. KURT’S CREW CHIEF Tony Gibson, crew chief for driver Kurt Busch, is expected to be on top of the No. 41 Chevrolet pit box Saturday night after missing the first two days of racing weekend. Stewart-Haas Racing said Gibson stayed home in North Carolina to care for his wife, who is dealing with an unspecified illness. Johnny Klausmeier served as interim crew chief while Busch qualified 21st.
like sixth man Andre Iguodala and backup center Festus Ezeli have gotten time off because of injuries. But no one on the young core has gotten a game off since Curry missed a game with a sprained ankle on March 1. “I’m not sure they actually need a rest physically. But maybe a break mentally will do them some good,” Kerr said. “On the other hand, I’m pretty sure we’re not going to be in this position again next year. You can’t keep winning at this level. It’s a very unique situation.” Kerr knows well what the Warriors have accomplished, having played all
82 games as a key reserve on the Bulls team that set the mark. He has noted the parallels of the toll the 82-game grind takes late in a season and knows that what his Warriors team is aiming to do is even harder than what Chicago did in breaking the mark of 69 wins set by the Los Angeles Lakers in 1971-72. “In ’96 we had to get to 70,” Kerr said. “We have to get to 73. When you’re talking about an 82-game season, three games is huge. This is a monumental task if that’s what we’re calling it. Yes, I’m kind of confused with how we should approach it.” Green and Curry have been the most vocal play-
ers about wanting the record, while some others like Iguodala and Bogut have downplayed its importance. Green made a point this week of telling his teammates that they should feel free to sit out a game if they feel like they need a rest and not feel as if they are letting teammates down. “The goal is to win a championship, and nobody should sacrifice that for anything in this regular season,” Curry said. “If you’re able to play, and feel like you can go out there and give what you got, and continue to build momentum into the playoffs, then we’ll do it. I think that’s kind of the majority.”
BOXING Continued from Page 1B over that he is for the people and by the people and that he’s a man of his word,” Bradley said. “He’s always shown that character and that integrity and I think he’s the right man for the job.” Pacquiao has waffled about whether this is his last fight, saying he still loves boxing but his family wants him to retire. Trainer Freddie Roach said he believes Pacquiao has benefited from a year’s rest after the Mayweather fight and can go on at the age of 37, even though he hasn’t scored a knockout since 2009. “He hasn’t slowed down at all,” Roach said. “He still has a couple fights left in him.” Pacquiao weighed in Friday afternoon at 145 1/2 pounds to 146 1/2 for Bradley. The welterweight limit is 147 pounds. Pacquiao is guaranteed $7 million — a far cry from the $100 million or so he got to fight Mayweather — to meet Bradley again in a pay-perview fight that is struggling to get noticed. With good reason, because there’s still a hangover from the Mayweather
fight and he and Bradley have already fought 24 mostly non-descript rounds. “He will be remembered as one of the best fighters who ever put on the gloves,” Bradley said. “But I’m a different fighter than I was in the first two fights.” Bradley won the first of those fights on a highly controversial decision, then faded in the later rounds to lose the second bout. He says he is rejuvenated under new trainer Teddy Atlas, the longtime ESPN broadcaster who he convinced to return to boxing to train him. “Having Teddy is like having a cheat sheet. He analyzes fights,” Bradley said. “This fight will be fought differently. I’m going to be a lot smarter than I was the first two fights.” Pacquiao is a 2-1 favorite in his return to the ring, which comes after shoulder surgery and a long rest in the Philippines. The winner of titles in eight weight classes — the first one coming 17 years ago at 112 pounds — he hasn’t had a knockout since 2009 though he was
on the receiving end of one when he lost to Juan Manuel Marquez. “I feel it’s good that I had a long layoff,” said Pacquiao, who began his pro career as a 16-year-old in 1995 in the Philippines. “It makes me hungry again, makes me fresher.” Not feeling quite as good is promoter Bob Arum, who has struggled to sell the fight. There were tickets widely available in the days leading up to the bout, and payper-view projections have been scaled down. Mayweather had trouble selling his last fight, too, drawing relatively meager pay-per-view numbers for what most considered a non-competitive bout against Andre Berto. The low numbers for both fighters indicate fans are suffering from hangover from buying the Mayweather-Pacquiao fight. Arum has tried to generate more interest by trumpeting a “No Trump” undercard of mostly Hispanic fighters he said will strike a blow for immigrants. “My Hispanic army is marching,” Arum said.
COWBOYS Continued from Page 1B effort and has a long history with us. So it was an inspiration and motivation for us to think differently about funding and fundraising." Aikman’s gift, which will be announced at an event in Klyde Warren Park on Saturday night, will fold into the Unite Forever capital campaign that was launched a year ago at United Way’s 90th anniversary celebration at AT&T Stadium. Unite Forever’s current tally of more than $35 million includes two $5 million gifts - one from the 19 grandchildren of Caroline Rose Hunt in her honor and the other from Diane and Hal Brierley. — Aikman’s ties with United Way date back to his early playing days when he did promotional spots for the national organization. More recently, he was cochair of United Way’s 90th anniversary celebration with Charlotte Jones Anderson. In 2011, he and Dr. Kenneth Cooper launched the Healthy Zone Schools Recognition Program, a partnership between United Way and the Cooper Institute to fight childhood obesity at the school level. "Troy came to us and said, ’Can you work with me?’ " Sampson said. "It was an inspiration and motivation for us to think differently about funding and fundraising. It’s a first for us and an exciting start for what I see as the future." But it took nine months to make sure everyone was on board with the idea, which is a departure from the traditional way that United Way takes in donations, says Ed Galante, a retired Exxon Mobil executive who’s co-chair of the
File photo by John T. Greilick | AP
Former Cowboys quarterback Troy Aikman has had ties to the United Way since his playing days but has also recently been co-chair of United Way’s 90th anniversary celebration. capital campaign. "When Troy came to us with the notion of a donoradvised fund, we didn’t have to be convinced - we just wanted to make sure that we were comfortable that we could deliver on the promise that we’d be making to him as a donor," Galante said. "If you sit back and think about it, it’s the equivalent of Troy’s own endowment. He has his own nest egg here that he’ll make grants out of for decades to come. It’s the kind of gift that, frankly, I’m not sure we ever would have thought of had we not embarked on the Unite Forever Campaign." — For Aikman, it’s the next
chapter for his foundation, which he created in 1992, when he was 26, wearing his first Super Bowl ring and wanting to do something unique for kids. He opened the first Aikman’s End Zone at Children’s Medical Center in Dallas in 1996. The interactive, therapeutic playroom was quickly followed by a more extensive one at Cook Children’s Medical Center in Fort Worth. The idea was to give kids in the hospitals a taste of Disneyland. In 2001, Garth Brooks saw what Aikman was doing and fell in love with the concept. The country music legend thought it was a perfect match for his Teammates for Kids Foundation.
Together, Aikman and Brooks built the Child Life Zone Network, with playrooms in a dozen pediatric hospitals across the country; a couple more are in the pipeline. The one at Mount Sinai Hospital in New York has a full broadcast studio. Last year, Aikman decided to concentrate on North Texas philanthropy and turned over his interests in the Zone Network to Brooks. "I never imagined it would become what it’s become," Aikman said. "So 20 years later, I’m real proud of it. I told Garth to take the ball and go. That’s what he’s doing." — Mike Reilly, who guides
Aikman’s philanthropic efforts on a pro bono basis, suggested the donor-advised fund to his longtime friend. "I told Troy, ’This is a great next step for you. You don’t want the burden of managing assets of the foundation,’ " Reilly said. "As a result of what Troy’s doing, I think they’ll raise well over $100 million with these designated giving funds. You’re going to see all sorts of people coming in with $1 million, $5 million checks. He’s going to make an even greater impact." Aikman and Sampson have tossed around a number of ideas about where to direct his funds, including some sort of tie-in with the
Zone Network. "I don’t want to completely get away from what we’ve done with the kids in the hospitals," he says. But another idea is at the opposite end of the age spectrum - doing something for seniors. That’s been on his mind for two decades, since he and his girlfriend at the time happened into Fernando’s Travis in Highland Park on a Tuesday night. It was packed with seniors being entertained by a lady lounge singer. "I enjoyed watching them dancing and having the time of their lives," Aikman said. "I talked with the owner and he said this was a Tuesday night ritual. So every Tuesday night that she and I were free, we’d go. "It made me think, ’OK, what can I provide that they’re not getting?’ I don’t have an answer yet, and I don’t know that that’s ultimately where I’m going to mainly focus, but it is something that has my interest." Sampson says that whatever Aikman zeros in on, she’s certain that one of the 103 agencies United Way supports will provide a good platform for his investment. And yes, she’s thrilled with Aikman’s million bucks. But there’s more to his gift than money. "He brings significant leadership. He’s a great civic force in Dallas. But most importantly, he brings heart power to our work," she said. "We’re 91 years old now. If in the next 90 years we have people like Troy and other leaders who push us to think differently, to be innovative and entrepreneurial, the seemingly impossible could be possible in Dallas."
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Dear Readers: When you get GREAT SERVICE from a phone agent, server, bank teller, department-store clerk or anybody in the service industry, please thank them. It’s a really busy world, and we all seem to be in a rush. Take a few minutes to say thanks for the good work. When I speak with a phone agent who has really been helpful, I ask for a supervisor and tell the agent I’m going to compliment them. The supervisor usually is a little taken aback, since most people complain. If you can say "thank you" or a nice word to just one person a day, it’s worth the few seconds it takes. – Hugs, Heloise STAINLESS-STEEL FRIDGE Dear Heloise: About six months after I bought a new stainless-steel refrigerator, I ran out of the cleaner/polish sample that came with it. When I went back to the dealer for more, the
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clerk said that the stuff is really expensive. There’s something that does a better job for 1/10th the cost: spray lubricant. The stuff works beautifully on all my stainless-steel appliances! I enjoy your column and have learned many helpful things from it. – Ann K., Baton Rouge, La. Ann, many readers do use this type of product. Please note that not all spray lubricants are the same – some are waterdisplacement products; others are graphite-based. – Heloise NO MATTRESS STAIN Dear Heloise: Occasionally we have our grandchildren over, and they spend the night. Our grandson is 3 and is pottytrained, but sometimes during the night he will have an accident in bed. I keep a shower curtain on hand and place it under the fitted sheet, and there are no accidents on the mattress. – Gail in Alabama
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