SPURS PICKING 18
SATURDAY MAY 19, 2018
FREE
SAN ANTONIO ENTERING THE NBA DRAFT WITH ITS HIGHEST SELECTION SINCE 1997, A7
DELIVERED EVERY SATURDAY
TO 4,000 HOMES
A HEARST PUBLICATION
ON THE WEB: THEZAPATATIMES.COM
SOUTH TEXAS FOOD BANK
Campaign launched Board seeks to raise $5.7M for renovations SPECIAL TO THE TIME S
Courtesy photo
The South Texas Food Bank kicked off the Capital Improvements Campaign on Friday.
The South Texas Food Bank officially kicked of the Capital Improvements Campaign Friday at its new facility located at 2121 Jefferson St. in Laredo. South Texas Food
Bank Board President Doug Howland announced the campaign goal of $5.7 million. These funds will be used to renovate the newly purchased 93,000-squarefoot facility to fit the foodbanking needs of the
NAFTA
South Texas Food Bank and to be in compliance with USDA and Feeding America requirements. Hickey-Peña Architect firm and Dominion Builders were contracted for the renovations. Among the new facility
features will be an on-site community garden, a volunteer center, a pavilion and a state-of-the-art kitchen. Howland expressed his excitement over the new possibilities that this facilCampaign continues on A3
SANTA FE, TEXAS
Chance of 2018 deal diminishes
10 KILLED IN HIGH SCHOOL SHOOTING
Talks drag past Congressional deadline By Ana Swanson and Elisabeth Malkin N EW YORK T I ME S
WASHINGTON — The prospect of rewriting the North American Free Trade Agreement this year appeared to diminish significantly Thursday, as a deadline set by congressional Republicans passed and the lead U.S. trade negotiator, Robert Lighthizer, said the countries involved were “nowhere near close to a deal.” To get an agreement approved by the current, Republican-controlled Congress, House Speaker Paul D. Ryan set a May 17 cutoff for the White House to notify Congress of an impending deal. As that deadline came and went Thursday, Canada, Mexico and the United States remained at odds over significant portions of the sprawling 24-year-old agreement. Trade advisers across the political spectrum said that the current Congress could still vote on the deal this year if negotiators wrapped up their talks in the next few weeks. But with significant disagreements remaining among the three countries as well as disparate views among the lawmakers who must approve the deal, the chance of NAFTA’s quick resolution is diminishing. In a statement Thursday, Lighthizer, the U.S. trade representative, said that “gaping differences” remained between the countries on intellectual property, agriculture, energy and other areas. “We of course will continue to engage in negotiations, and I look forward to working with my counterparts to secure the best possible deal for American farmers, ranchers, workers and businesses,” he added.
The delays could leave the future of a revised NAFTA in the hands of Democrats, if they win one or both houses of Congress in this year’s midterm elections. And that in turn would most likely increase the chances that President Donald Trump’s NAFTA deal would not be ratified by Congress at all, trade experts say. Trump officials had been angling for a quick agreement to avoid that possibility and appeared to be making progress last week on key provisions related to automobiles. But the three countries have yet to finalize the auto terms and remain divided on some provisions, as well as other controversial points, like the Trump administration’s proposal to add a five-year sunset clause to the deal and scale back legal protections for foreign investors. Further complicating the talks is Trump’s insistence that Mexico address the flow of migrants into the United States and his threat to tie immigration to the revised agreement. U.S. officials have proposed limiting the flow of migrants into the United States by creating what is known as a “Safe Third Country” agreement with Mexico. The United States has such an agreement with Canada, and forging a similar pact with Mexico could significantly reduce the number of migrants flowing in over the southern border. But such a deal would create logistical and financial burdens for Mexico in dealing with asylum seekers, many of whom travel from Central America and through Mexico on their way to the U.S.
Michael Ciaglo / AP
People embrace outside the Alamo Gym where students and parents wait to reunite following a shooting at Santa Fe High School on Friday in Santa Fe, Texas.
Numerous explosive devices found at campus and surrounding areas By Juan A. Lozano ASSOCIATED PRE SS
SANTA FE, Texas — A gunman carrying a shotgun and a revolver opened fire at a Houston-area high school Friday, killing 10 people, most of them students, authorities said. It was the nation's deadliest such attack since the massacre in Florida that gave rise to a campaign by teens for
gun control. The suspected shooter, who was in custody, also had explosive devices, including a molotov cocktail, that were found in the school and nearby, said Gov. Greg Abbott, who called the assault "one of the most heinous attacks that we've ever seen in the history of Texas schools." The assailant intended to kill himself but gave up and told authorities that he did not have the courage to
take his own life, Abbott said. Another 10 people were wounded at the school in Santa Fe, a city of about 13,000 people roughly 30 miles (48 kilometers) southeast of Houston. One hospital reported treating eight wounded patients. Six were treated and released. One was listed in critical condition, and another in fair condition. Michael Farina, 17, said he was on the other side of campus when the shooting began and thought it was a fire drill. He was holding a door open for special education students in wheelchairs when a principal Shooting continues on A5
U.S. BORDER SECURITY
Troops face surveillance limits By Manny Fernandez NEW YORK TIME S
HOUSTON — The hundreds of National Guard troops deployed by President Donald Trump in April are now busy securing the southern border. But when it comes to surveillance, they are forbidden from looking across it. The troops operating and monitoring high-tech surveillance equipment along the border have been told they are prohibited from
using it to look into Mexico. The little-known caveat is part of the legal ground rules for the new National Guard deployment along the southwest border, which calls for troops to operate “up to” the U.S.Mexico border, state and federal officials said. Here in Texas, the other side of the Rio Grande is off limits for Guard members overseeing 24-hour surveillance video feeds from camera towers, tethered helium balloons and other
equipment. The troops face other limitations: They are prohibited from performing law-enforcement duties, making arrests or interacting with migrants. And while troops are allowed to look across the border with their eyes, the rules on electronic surveillance place a significant restriction on the monitoring capability that federal officials have said is key to preventing illegal entries from Mexico. Mexico serves as a stag-
ing ground for illegal entry into the United States, as groups of immigrants, smugglers and guides assemble on the Mexican side of the border before crossing the river or scaling the fence in daylight and darkness. The Border Patrol, which is not bound by the National Guard limits on surveillance, routinely watches both sides of the border. “They have their hands tied,” said Rep. Vicente Troops continues on A3
In Brief A2 | Saturday, May 19, 2018 | THE ZAPATA TIMES
CALENDAR
AROUND THE NATION
TODAY IN HISTORY
SATURDAY, MAY 19
A S S O C I AT E D P R E S S
Laredo Spring Alzheimer’s Educational Symposium. 8 a.m.-2 p.m. UT Health Regional Campus Laredo, 1937 Bustamante, Laredo, Texas, 78041. Call Ginny Funk for more information at (210) 822-6449 Ext. 8102. An informational symposium regarding Alzheimer’s. Our Lady of Guadalupe Church loteria. 6:30 p.m. 1718 San Jorge Ave., in the church hall. $20 for four cards. Open to the public.
TUESDAY, MAY 22 Tiny Toes Virtual Tour – English. 11 a.m.-12 p.m. 1700 East Saunders. Tower B, 1st floor. The virtual tour gives mothers-to-be detailed information about what to expect upon arrival and during their stay at Laredo Medical Center. To reserve a space, call 956-796-4019 or visit www.laredomedical.com/tiny-toes.
WEDNESDAY, MAY 23 First United Methodist Church Used Book Sale. 1220 McClelland Ave. 10 a.m. to noon. Hard cover $1, paperbacks $0.50, magazines and children’s books $0.25. Public is invited. Proceeds are used to support the church’s missions.
THURSDAY, MAY 24 Healthy Woman Luncheon. 12 p.m. Laredo Medical Center invites women between the ages of 21 and 54 to have lunch and listen to a presentation on stroke by the city’s newest neurosurgeon, Dr. Scott Robertson. To reserve a space, call the LMC Healthy Woman program at 956796-2222.
FRIDAY, MAY 25 Special Needs Transition Conference. 9 a.m.-1 p.m. Joe E. Guerra Laredo Public Library, 1120 E. Calton Rd. Call Area Health Education Center for more information at (956) 712-0037. A conference for parents seeking information about their child’s transition into independent adulthood.
SATURDAY, MAY 26
Bob Karp/The Daily Record / AP
Emergency personnel examine a school bus after it collided with a dump truck, injuring multiple people, on Interstate 80 in Mount Olive, N.J. on Thursday.
2 DIE IN SCHOOL BUS, DUMP TRUCK CRASH MOUNT OLIVE, N.J. — A school bus taking children on a field trip to a historic site collided with a dump truck on Thursday, ripping the bus apart and killing a student and a teacher. The crash left the bus lying on its side on the guardrail of Interstate 80 in Mount Olive, its undercarriage and front end sheared off and its steering wheel exposed. Some of the victims crawled out of the emergency exit in the back and an escape hatch on the roof. More than 40 people were taken to hospitals. Fifth-grade student Theo Ancevski,
who was sitting in the fourth row of the bus and was treated at a hospital for cuts and scrapes, said he heard a scraping sound and the bus “toppled over.” Gov. Phil Murphy said one adult and one student were killed. Their names had not been released. Murphy said the truck driver was hospitalized, but officials didn’t reveal his condition. The front end of the red dump truck was mangled in the wreck, which took place about 50 miles west of New York. The truck was registered to Mendez Trucking, of Belleville. — Compiled from AP reports
Mexico Lindo 2018. Laredo Little Theater, 4802 Thomas Ave. 7 p.m. Tickets are $10 for adults and $5 for children 12 years of age or younger.
SUNDAY, MAY 27 St. Patrick Catholic Church Men's Club Steak Plate Sale. 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. St. Patrick Church grounds, 555 Del Mar Blvd. $5 per plate for scholarships to St. Patrick parish high school seniors. For more information, call 956-324-2432.
TUESDAY, MAY 29 Tiny Toes Virtual Tour – Spanish. 11 a.m.-12 p.m. 1700 East Saunders. Tower B, 1st floor. The virtual tour gives mothers-to-be detailed information about what to expect upon arrival and during their stay at Laredo Medical Center. To reserve a space, call 956-796-4019 or visit www.laredomedical.com/tiny-toes.
Senate confirms Haspel as 1st female CIA director WASHINGTON — The Senate confirmed Gina Haspel on Thursday as the first female director of the CIA following a difficult nomination process that reopened an emotional debate about brutal interrogation techniques in one of the darkest chapters in the spy agency’s history. The 54-45 vote split both parties, with six Democrats
joining most Republicans in support. It was the closest vote for a CIA nominee in nearly seven decades, since the law was changed to require Senate confirmation. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., called President Donald Trump’s choice of Haspel to lead the agency “the right woman at the right time.” McConnell steered the confirmation swiftly past opponents, including the ailing Republican Sen. John McCain, whose long-distance rejection
of the nominee over her role in the CIA’s torture program hung over an impassioned debate. McCain, who was captured and tortured in the Vietnam War, is at home in Arizona while battling brain cancer and did not vote. Before voting began, McConnell said Haspel “demonstrated candor, integrity, and a forthright approach” throughout the process and “has quietly earned the respect and admiration” of intelligence community leaders at CIA headquarters and abroad. — Compiled from AP reports
WEDNESDAY, MAY 30 First United Methodist Church Used Book Sale. 1220 McClelland Ave. 10 a.m. to noon. Hard cover $1, paperbacks $0.50, magazines and children’s books $0.25. Public is invited. Proceeds are used to support the church’s missions.
SATURDAY, JUNE 2 First United Methodist Church Used Book Sale. 8:30 a.m. - 1 p.m. 1220 McClelland Ave. Hard cover $1, paperback $0.50, magazines and children’s books, $0.25. Public is invited. Proceeds are used to support the church’s missions.
MONDAY, JUNE 4 AHEC College Academy. 9 a.m. - 2 p.m. UT Health Regional Campus Laredo, 1937 Bustamante St. A free one-week summer program to prepare students for the high school to college transition. To register: https:// aheccollege2018.eventbrite.com
WEDNESDAY, JUNE 6 First United Methodist Church Used Book Sale. 1220 McClelland Ave. 10 a.m. to noon. Hard cover $1, paperbacks $0.50, magazines and children’s books $0.25. Public is invited. Proceeds are used to support the church’s missions.
WEDNESDAY, JUNE 13 First United Methodist Church Used Book Sale. 1220 McClelland Ave. 10 a.m. to noon. Hard cover $1, paperbacks $0.50, magazines and children’s books $0.25. Public is invited. Proceeds are used to support the church’s missions.
WEDNESDAY, JUNE 20 First United Methodist Church Used Book Sale. 1220 McClelland Ave. 10 a.m. to noon. Hard cover $1, paperbacks $0.50, magazines and children’s books $0.25. Public is invited. Proceeds are used to support the church’s missions.
WEDNESDAY, JUNE 27 First United Methodist Church Used Book Sale. 1220 McClelland Ave. 10 a.m. to noon. Hard cover $1, paperbacks $0.50, magazines and children’s books $0.25. Public is invited. Proceeds are used to support the church’s missions.
AROUND THE STATE Ex-Bandidos biker gang leaders found guilty of murder SAN ANTONIO — Two former leaders of the notorious Bandidos biker gang have been found guilty by a federal jury in Texas of racketeering charges alleging multiple murders, attempted murders and other crimes. The jury in San Antonio reached its verdict Thursday against 62-year-old Jeffrey Fay Pike of Conroe and 58-year-old John Xavier Portillo of San Antonio. Pike was the national president of the gang from 2005 to January 2016, when he was arrested on racketeering charges that also included conspiracy to commit assault with a dangerous weapon. Portillo was the national vice president. The federal investigation of Pike and Portillo arose from the 2006 killing of Anthony Benesh of Austin. At the time, Benesh was trying to organize a Texas
Kin Man Hui / San Antonio Express-News
John Xavier Portillo and Jeff Pike, former Bandidos Motorcycle Club members, were found guilty on multiple charges.
chapter of another rival, the Hell’s Angels Outlaw Motorcycle Organization, according to documents. Trial testimony revealed that Portillo, with Pike’s approval,” declared that the Bandidos were “at war” with the Cossacks, a rival gang, leading to numerous acts of violence around Texas. The verdict comes on the
three-year anniversary of the shooting at a Waco restaurant involving the Bandidos and the Cossacks that left nine dead and 20 injured. However, the federal investigation began before the shootout. Jurors also found that Portillo participated in the killing of Robert Lara of San Antonio in 2002. — Compiled from AP reports
AROUND THE WORLD Ebola virus spreads to big Congo city KINSHASA, Congo — Congo’s Ebola outbreak has spread to a crossroads city of more than 1 million people in a troubling turn that marks the first time the vast, impoverished country has encountered the lethal virus in an urban area. “This is a major, major gamechanger in the outbreak,” Dr. Peter Salama, the World Health Organization’s deputy director-
general of emergency preparedness and response, warned on Thursday. A single case of Ebola was confirmed in Mbandaka, a densely populated provincial capital on the Congo River, Congo’s Health Minister Oly Ilunga said late Wednesday. The city is about 150 kilometers (93 miles) from Bikoro, the rural area where the outbreak was announced last week. Late Thursday, Congo’s Ministry of Health announced 11 new confirmed Ebola cases and
Today is Saturday, May 19, the 139th day of 2018. There are 226 days left in the year. Today's Highlight in History: On May 19, 1943, in his second wartime address to the U.S. Congress, British Prime Minister Winston Churchill pledged his country's full support in the fight against Japan; that evening, Churchill met with President Franklin D. Roosevelt, where the two leaders agreed on May 1, 1944 as the date for the D-Day invasion of France (the operation launched more than a month later). On this date: In 1536, Anne Boleyn, the second wife of England's King Henry VIII, was beheaded after being convicted of adultery. In 1649, England was declared a republic by Parliament following the execution of King Charles I. (The monarchy was restored in 1660.) In 1780, a mysterious darkness enveloped much of New England and part of Canada in the early afternoon. In 1913, California Gov. Hiram Johnson signed the Webb-Hartley Law prohibiting "aliens ineligible to citizenship" from owning farm land, a measure targeting Asian immigrants, particularly Japanese. In 1927, the silent movie "Wings," a World War I drama starring Clara Bow, Charles "Buddy" Rogers and Richard Arlen, had its world premiere in San Antonio, Texas, where it was filmed. ("Wings" went on to win the first Academy Award for best picture.) In 1935, T.E. Lawrence, also known as "Lawrence of Arabia," died in Dorset, England, six days after being injured in a motorcycle crash. In 1958, British actor Ronald Colman died in Santa Barbara, California, at age 67. In 1962, actress Marilyn Monroe sang "Happy Birthday to You" to President John F. Kennedy during a Democratic fundraiser at New York's Madison Square Garden. In 1973, Secretariat won the Preakness Stakes, the second of his Triple Crown victories. In 1981, five British soldiers were killed by an Irish Republican Army landmine in County Armagh, Northern Ireland. In 1993, the Clinton White House set off a political storm by abruptly firing the entire staff of its travel office; five of the seven staffers were later reinstated and assigned to other duties. In 1994, former first lady Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis died in New York at age 64. Ten years ago: Chinese stood still and sirens wailed to mourn the country's nearly 87,000 earthquake victims. Jon Lester of the Boston Red Sox shut down Kansas City 7-0 for the first no-hitter of the season. Five years ago: President Barack Obama, in a soaring commencement address on work, sacrifice and opportunity, told graduates of historically black Morehouse College in Atlanta to seize the power of their example as black men graduating from college and use it to improve people's lives. One year ago: Sweden dropped a rape investigation of WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange, who remained holed up in Ecuador's embassy in London to avoid arrest and possible extradition to the United States to face charges stemming from the publication of thousands of pages of classified documents. Former U.S. Rep. Anthony Weiner, D-N.Y., whose penchant for sexting strangers ended his political career, pleaded guilty in Manhattan to a sex charge, tearfully apologizing for communications with a 15-year-old girl. (Weiner received a 21-month prison sentence.) Today's Birthdays: PBS newscaster Jim Lehrer is 84. TV personality David Hartman is 83. Actor James Fox is 79. Actress Nancy Kwan is 79. Actor Peter Mayhew is 74. Rock singercomposer Pete Townshend is 73. Concert pianist David Helfgott is 71. Rock singer-musician Dusty Hill is 69. College Football Hall of Famer and former NFL player Archie Manning is 69. Singer-actress Grace Jones is 67. Rock musician Phil Rudd is 64. Actor Steven Ford is 62. Actress Toni Lewis is 58. Rock musician Iain Harvie is 56. Actress Polly Walker is 52. Actor Jason Gray-Stanford is 48. Gospel singer Israel Houghton is 47. Rock singer Jenny Berggren is 46. Race car driver Dario Franchitti is 45. TV personality Kim Zolciak Biermann is 40. Country/rock singer Shooter Jennings is 39. Actor Drew Fuller is 38. Actorcomedian Michael Che is 35. Christian rock musician Tim McTague is 35. Rock musician James Richardson is 35. Actor Eric Lloyd is 32. Thought for Today : "How slowly I have made my way in life! How much is still to be done!" — Nathaniel Hawthorne, American author (born 1804, died this date in 1864).
CONTACT US two deaths tied to cases in the country’s northwest, none of which were in Mbandaka. A total of 45 cases of Ebola have now been reported in Congo in this outbreak: 14 confirmed, 21 probable and 10 suspected, the ministry said, after results from lab tests returned Thursday. There has been one new death in Bikoro, where the first death took place. That new death had epidemiological ties to another case. — Compiled from AP reports
Publisher, William B. Green .....................................728-2501 General Manager, Adriana Devally ..........................728-2510 Adv. Billing Inquiries ................................................728-2531 Circulation Director ..................................................728-2559 MIS Director, Michael Castillo..................................728-2505 Managing Editor, Nick Georgiou ..............................728-2582 Sports Editor, Zach Davis ........................................728-2578 Spanish Editor, Melva Lavin-Castillo.......................728-2569
SUBSCRIPTIONS/DELIVERY (956) 728-2555 The Zapata Times is distributed on Wednesdays and Saturdays to 4,000 households in Zapata and Jim Hogg counties. For subscribers of the Laredo Morning Times and for those who buy the Laredo Morning Times in those areas at newstands, 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. Call (956) 728-2500.
The Zapata Times
THE ZAPATA TIMES | Saturday, May 19, 2018 |
A3
LOCAL
Border Region unveils mural created by clients S P ECIAL T O T HE T I ME S
Border Region Behavioral Health Center held a special art exhibit and mural unveiling Thursday to commemorate the 10th anniversary of the Shira De Llano Art Program. "The mural was painted as a collaborative effort of clients participating in the Art Program," said Paty Orduña, instructor of the art program. "Art used as therapy offers a window for self-expression that boosts their sense of self-esteem and self-awareness which enhances their well-being, control and recovery." In 2008, local mental health advocate and art aficionado Marilyn De Llano approached
Border Region Behavioral Health Center, 1500 Pappas, about the creation of an art program as a form of therapy. Since its initiation, it has been under the instruction of Orduña. Clients attend weekly classes and explore a variety of art media and techniques to produce beautiful works. During October's International Mental Illness Awareness Week, their artwork is displayed at Gallery 201 to showcase and sell the pieces produced throughout that year. All proceeds of the sales benefit the artists and the continuation of this art program. "With 10 years of existence, the art program has been able
to provide evidence of the psychological changes and the transformation of health issues, behaviors and emotions of clients participating in these classes," Orduña said. "This alternative treatment modality, in conjunction with their ongoing psychopharmacological management, opens up new ways of creative expression, socialization and skill development." Border Region is a nonprofit agency in the state of Texas established in 1979 to provide mental health for citizens of Webb, Jim Hogg, Starr and Zapata counties with mental and emotional disabilities. For more information about the
Cuate Santos / Laredo Morning Times
In honor of the 10th anniversary of the Shira De Llano Art Program, the Border Region Behavioral Health Center held a special art exhibit and mural unveiling on Thursday.
Shira de Llano Art Program or how to donate to this program,
contact Laura Kim at 956-7943130.
Scholarship recipients announced
CAMPAIGN From page A1
S P ECIAL T O T HE T I ME S
ity will bring to the food bank and the communities in the eight-county service area that the food bank serves. He also made mention that there are several organizations and businesses that have been contacted and have expressed an interest in supporting this campaign. Present at the announcement where the South Texas Food Bank board members, staff, food bank member agency representatives and City of Laredo Mayor Pete Saenz and Webb County Judge Tano Tijerina — the latter made special remarks about the positive impact that this new facility will bring to the community. City of Laredo Mayor Pete Saenz made mention of his time as his time as a board member the last time the food bank went into a capital campaign in the mid-1990s to purchase the current location at 1907 Freight St. The mayor recalled both the challenges and the support of the community and the many different organizations that stepped up to the plate to support. Alma Boubel, South Texas Food Bank executive director, mentioned the different reasons that led to this decision. “The food bank board had been contemplating the idea of purchasing a new facility for some years now and an extensive search for a suitable property was done. We ran out of both office and
The Webb County Better Community Foundation has named its scholarship recipients after reviewing hundreds of applicants from all high school in Webb and Zapata counties. The academic collegiate scholarships were awarded to high school seniors during a special ceremony held at the Webb County 406th District Court Room. The recipients chosen were students who demonstrated a commitment to excellence throughout their high school career in academics, athletics, extracurricular activities, community involvement and based on financial need. The $1,000 scholarship will aid high school seniors with financial assistance to students wanting to pur-
Courtesy photo
Pictured are the Webb County Better Community Foundation board of directors along with Rogelio Rodriguez, Rogelio Vasquez Jr., Jiovanni A. Rodriguez, Blanca N. Rodriguez, Magdalena Pecina, Javier Medina, Mario Martinez, Melanie Espinoza, Ismael Contreras and Alejandro C. Arredondo.
sue a college degree in any field. The following students were the scholarship recipients: 1 Mario Martinez, Zapata High School 1 Alejandro C. Arredondo, United South High School
TROOPS From page A1 Gonzalez, D-Texas, whose district includes the border city of McAllen. “This is not what the National Guard was designed for.” He said the money spent on putting troops on the border should be used instead to hire additional Border Patrol agents. But Republicans in the four states that share a border with Mexico — Arizona, California, New Mexico and Texas — have largely supported the call-up. National Guard and Border Patrol officials played down any effect the rules were having on the troops and touted the deployment’s achievements so far. The roughly 800 troops already working in Texas, New Mexico and Arizona have so far helped Border Patrol agents apprehend more than 1,600 people making illegal border crossings and seize more than 1,000 pounds of marijuana, officials said. The soldiers have been providing air support in Lakota helicopters, repairing roads and vehicles, and monitoring stateside surveillance footage from hundreds of camera towers and other equipment. In
1 Ismael Contreras, United High School 1 Melanie Espinoza, LBJ High School 1 Carla Hernandez, Early College High School 1 Javier Medina, Alexander High School 1 Magdalena Pecina,
Southern California on Monday, Border Patrol officials formally welcomed the first wave of about 50 troops in the region. There are generally three types of National Guard deployments. Troops can be called to active duty by governors in a state duty status, by presidents in a federal status or in a hybrid role known as Title 32, named for a Guard-related section of the U.S. Code intended for homeland defense. Trump’s National Guard mobilization on the border is a Title 32 deployment, in which the soldiers are under the command and control of their governor, but the federal government finances the operation. In a purely federal deployment, troops can perform their duties anywhere in the world, but in a Title 32 mobilization, soldiers are limited to the continental United States, and foreign intelligence collection cannot be part of such an operation. In April, in rural Starr County in South Texas’ Rio Grande Valley, the soldiers stationed at two observation posts appeared to be following the guidelines. The troops stood on rocky, muddy cliffs on the river’s edge, peering through binoculars and focusing
Nixon High School 1 Blanca N. Rodriguez, Cigarroa High School 1 Jiovanni A. Rodriguez, Martin High School During the ceremony, two seniors from Nixon High School were also awarded with the Isidro R. Alaniz scholarship.
most of their attention on the banks and the brush on the U.S. side. The official boundary between the two countries at that point is not the border fence but the middle of the Rio Grande, and several of the troops at the outposts stood facing east and west, but never directly focused their binoculars south across the river into the brush in Mexico. National Guard officials said the troops were carrying out their approved mission, and they did not view the surveillance rules as a prohibition or restriction but simply as part of the parameters of the deployment. Their mission, National Guard officials said, is to monitor and detect, and to perform many of the administrative, logistical, maintenance and surveillance tasks that Border Patrol agents would be doing, so those agents can be freed up to be out in the field. Officials refer to the troops’ support role as being a “force multiplier.” The number of troops along the border was expected to increase in the coming weeks. Defense Secretary James Mattis signed orders authorizing Defense Department funds to be used for up to 4,000 National Guard personnel.
warehouse space some years back. We at times had to decline loads of food and we were unable to expand on the types of services that we could offer to our clients.” Boubel is confident that this new facility will allow the food bank to receive more fresh produce and add new programs for the clients and community, including cooking classes. Staff and services are expected to start at the new facility as soon as it is operational. A ribboncutting ceremony will be announced at a later time and will part of the food bank’s upcoming 30th anniversary. A tour of the facility was given after the program. The South Texas Food Bank is a nonprofit organization whose mission is to alleviate hunger in the eight-county service area in the south Texas area by collecting and distributing food through partner agencies and programs while creating awareness and educating the community on the realities of hunger. The food bank serves an average of 28,000 families; 9,500 elderly; and 1,600 children per month throughout their eightcounty service area: Webb, Zapata, Jim Hogg, Maverick, Dimmit, Val Verde, Kinney and Starr. South Texas Food Bank Food pantries can be found in communities like Laredo, Zapata, Hebbronville, Eagle Pass, Brackettville, Del Rio, Roma, Rio Grande City and other rural communities.
Letters to the editor Send your signed letter to editorial@lmtonline.com
A4 | Saturday, May 19, 2018 | THE ZAPATA TIMES
COLUMN
OTHER VIEWS
A blue wave of moral restoration By Charles M. Blow N EW YORK T I ME S
Donald Trump’s approval rating is rising. The Democratic advantage on survey questions about party preference for control of Congress is vanishing. Liberal anxiety about the fate of the midterms — and I would venture, the country itself — is rising. To all this, I say: Calm down. Not relax. Not rest easy. Not coast. But stay the course and don’t panic. Work hard, message well and bring your passion — and a few neighbors and friends — to the polls in November. If voters do that, as they have already done in special elections, signs are positive for a major realignment in Washington. As a CNN analysis last month said: “These results suggest that the Republican Party is in trouble heading into the midterm elections. If past trends hold, it is possible Democrats could see a double- digit swing in the average House district in 2018 compared with past elections.” The analysis continued: “The reason is fairly clear: The Democrats are outperforming their baseline far more often than they are underperforming it. The average swing across all elections has been +13 Democratic, signaling a national political environment is 13 points in the Democrats’ direction.” The report concluded: “The last time the average shift from the partisan baseline in federal elections looked anything like this cycle was in 2006. That year Democrats won the national House vote by 8 percentage points and had net gain of 30 House seats. Democrats need a net gain of 23 seats to take back the House this November. Like 2006, we shouldn’t expect Democrats to win the national House vote by nearly as much as they over-performed in the special elections.” The much-hyped “blue wave” may very well manifest. This, to me, is simply about the partisan reality of the mood of the country and the dictates of historical precedent. But what happens this November, and indeed in November 2020, is about something more than an affinity for Democratic candidates. For me, those candidate enlistees in the resistance army are agents of a greater correction. My vision of our forthcoming election is rooted not simply in partisan politics but in a more profound sense of morality, righteousness and patriotism. That is a higher purpose. And it doesn’t hinge on Trump’s absolute failure, his penchant for self-immolation or his ineptitude posing as competence. The truth is, no presidency is a complete failure, because the machinery of America wants it to succeed. That machinery will make the best of whatever it’s given. Furthermore, other countries will do whatever it takes to have a successful relationship with
the United States, whatever their version of “successful” means. In the case of Trump, many have realized that the best way to work with him is to flatter him, and the highest form of flattery is to make him feel that he’s winning and is respected. For world leaders, Trump is the representative of America, which remains the planet’s military and economic powerhouse, and in that way, for now, America is not only too big to fail, it is too big to forsake. To that end, much of Trump’s foreign policy may not be met with vocal condemnation from our allies — but make no mistake, Trump is systematically forfeiting American leadership on the global stage. Donald Trump is the leader of this country, but also the enemy of it. No person who treats women the way Trump does and brags on tape about sexually assaulting them should be president. No person who has demonstrated himself to be a pathological liar should be president. No person enveloped by a cloud of corruption should be president. All that’s apart from whatever Robert Mueller and other investigators may discover. Americans of good conscience know that Trump is a moral blight on this country, dragging down virtues and destroying conventions. Every day that Trump occupies the presidency, he diminishes it. And a vast majority of the Republican Party — its voters, its officials and its apparatus — has chosen the path of accommodation, if not outright cheering, of Trumpism. At this point, Trump is the Republican Party, and the whole lot of them must be hobbled if not vanquished at the ballot box. Stop hoping that Trump’s supporters will abandon him. They may never. Each voter must be governed by his or her own conscience. If they have chosen to follow the forsaken down his path of destruction, so be it. Focus instead on increasing the awareness, passion and turnout of the honorable and the ethical, and on fighting apathy and burnout. The objective must be greater than politics. It must be about the restoration of normalcy, civility, truth, fair play and respect. It must be about the expulsion of corruption, complicity, hypocrisy, deceit and fraud. Democratic politicians may reap the rewards of resistance, but they are not the progenitors of it. Nov. 6, 2018, will be the first day since Trump was elected that most Americans will be able to step into a voting booth and say “No more!” to this country’s being dragged down into the sewer. Trump promised to “make America great again,” but he is in fact destroying America’s fundamental ideals. On Election Day, America will once again have its say. Charles M. Blow is a New York Times columnist.
COLUMN
This isn’t bigotry; it’s a religious disagreement By Noah Feldman BL OOMBERG NEWS
So you think I’m going to hell. So what? Color me genuinely confused by the outcry against Texas televangelist Robert Jeffress, who spoke Monday at the opening of the American Embassy in Jerusalem. Jeffress has previously said that “you can’t be saved being a Jew,” that Mormonism is a “heresy” and that Islam is “wrong.” It seems strange to me, for example, that Mitt Romney, a devout Mormon, is tweeting that Jeffress is “a religious bigot.” Do those statements really make Jeffress, the pastor of First Baptist Church in Dallas, a bigot? All he is doing is echoing an almost 1,800year-old doctrine: Extra ecclesiam nulla salus, there is no salvation outside the church. It can be traced to St. Cyprian of Carthage, who died in the year 258. The basic idea is that Jesus Christ came to save those who believe in him – and not those who don’t. This view doesn’t reflect the latest in pluralism. The Catholic Church treated it as dogma for more than a millennium, but has backed away in recent decades. Pope Benedict XVI, when he was still the theologian Joseph Ratzinger, expressed skepticism about the view in a 1964 sermon. “We are no longer ready and able,” he said, “to think that our neighbor, who is a decent and respectable man and in many ways better than we are, should be eternally damned simply because he is not a Catholic.” But plenty of Christians of many different denominations still be-
lieve this teaching in one way or another. Even Mormons have their version. “Jesus Christ taught that baptism is essential to the salvation of all who have lived on earth (see John 3:5),” as the official website for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints puts it. That’s one reason Mormons practice posthumous baptism of those who would otherwise be unsaved: so that good people who were not members of the LDS church can achieve salvation. To be clear, I have no dog in the Christian theological fight about whether good people who aren’t Christians can be saved – much less which version of Christianity is necessary to achieve salvation. That’s because I’m not a Christian. My point is rather that I can’t, and shouldn’t, feel offended by someone telling me that I won’t be saved because I don’t have the right religious beliefs. Most religions in the monotheistic tradition think they are right and others are wrong. That’s normal. It isn’t a reason to consider those who hold other beliefs to be bigots. What’s more, someone who believes I am going to hell because I am not a Christian or the right kind of Christian doesn’t think I am necessarily morally bad. To the contrary, the believer thinks I will go to hell even if I am wholly righteous – because salvation requires specific faith in Christ. It might also be upsetting if the believer were saying something like, “the hell with you.” But the believer isn’t dismissing me. He’s trying to convince me to adopt his
truth. Think of it this way: If you believe I’m going to hell, there are two logical possibilities. Either you’re right or you’re wrong. If you’re right, then you are doing me an enormous service by instructing me in the error of my ways. I could adopt the true faith and be saved. If you’re wrong, then there’s no harm done. I’m not going to hell. Your belief that I am makes not one bit of difference to my salvation, or lack of same. Of course, religious coercion, oppression or brainwashing in the name of forcing me to be saved would be terribly wrong. Religious liberty is a basic human right. But there is no necessary connection between believing that I will be saved and trying to force me to adopt your beliefs. Indeed, one of the best arguments in favor of religious toleration, deployed most famously by the philosopher John Locke, is that God (specifically, Locke’s Christian God) would not accept a faith that was not freely chosen. Religious coercion was therefore pointless, because it wouldn’t achieve salvation for the people being coerced. So far as I know, Jeffress hasn’t advocated religious coercion. He just believes that the only way to be saved is through Jesus Christ. This brings me to the somewhat different question of whether it is bigoted to believe, as Jeffress does, that “gay is not okay.” In his posted lecture on the topic, Jeffress says that it would be wrong for Christians to use “derogatory language or crude terminology to
DOONESBURY | GARRY TRUDEAU
describe homosexuality.” He takes the scriptural view that “Jesus did condemn homosexuality.” But he says that gayrights advocates are correct to point out the hypocrisy of evangelicals who focus exclusively on the sin of homosexuality while neglecting other sins. “Christians need to be consistent,” Jeffress says, “by not just zeroing in on homosexuality but also speaking out about every kind of sexual immorality.” Finally, Jeffress says that homosexuality is a sin that can be forgiven like all others – through Christ’s sacrifice. Does this religious view – that gay sex is sinful – amount to bigotry? Jeffress could have followed the path of progressive Christians and Jews who have reinterpreted both the Hebrew Bible and the New Testament to mitigate, marginalize, or otherwise reread the prohibitions and condemnations of homosexuality that occur there. That he does not take this religious path could, I think, plausibly be described as “bigoted” in the sense of reflecting prejudice against gay people. If Jeffress read the scripture to teach the racial inferiority of the descendants of Ham, as many whites did in previous centuries, we would presumably call him a racist. It is different to condemn gay sex as immoral than to say that nonChristians aren’t saved, no matter how moral they might be. That’s not bigotry. It’s theology. And it makes no sense to be offended by it. Noah Feldman is a Bloomberg News columnist.
THE ZAPATA TIMES | Saturday, May 19, 2018 |
FROM THE COVER SHOOTING From page A1 came bounding down the hall and telling everyone to run. Another teacher yelled out, "It is real!" Students were led to take cover behind a car shop across the street from the school. Some still did not feel safe and began jumping the fence behind the shop to run even farther away, Farina said. "I debated doing that myself," he said. A law enforcement official identified a person in custody in the shooting as Dimitrios Pagourtzis, also 17. The official was not authorized to discuss the shooting by name and spoke on condition of anonymity to The Associated Press. A woman who answered the phone at a number associated with the Pagourtzis family declined to speak with the AP. "Give us our time right now, thank you," she said. Pagourtzis plays on the Santa Fe High School junior varsity football team, and is a member of a dance squad with a local Greek Orthodox church. The suspect used a shotgun and .38-revolver obtained from his father, who owned them legally, Abbott said. It was not clear whether the father knew his son had taken them. One or two other people of interest were being interviewed about the attack, Abbott said. The shooting was all but certain to re-ignite the national debate over gun regulations. While cable news channels carried hours of live coverage, survivors of the Feb. 14 attack in Park-
land, Florida, took to social media to express grief and outrage. "My heart is so heavy for the students of Santa Fe High School. It's an all too familiar feeling no one should have to experience. I am so sorry this epidemic touched your town — Parkland will stand with you now and forever," Marjory Stoneman Douglas student Jaclyn Corin said in a tweet. She also directed her frustration at Trump, writing "Our children are being MURDERED and you're treating this like a game. This is the 22nd school shooting just this year. DO SOMETHING." In Texas, senior Logan Roberds said he was near the school's art room when he heard a fire alarm and left the building with other students. Once outside, Roberds said, he heard two loud bangs. He initially thought somebody was loudly hitting a trash can. Then came three more bangs. "That's when the teachers told us to run," he said. At that point, Roberds said, he told himself, "Oh my God, this is not fake. This is actually happening." Friday's assault was the deadliest in Texas since a man with a semiautomatic rifle attacked a rural church late last year, killing more than two dozen people. The Parkland attack killed 17. Aerial footage showed students standing in a grassy field and three medical helicopters landing at the school. One student told Houston television station KTRK in a telephone interview that a gunman came into her first-period art class and started shooting. The student said she saw one girl
with blood on her leg as the class evacuated the room. "We thought it was a fire drill at first but really, the teacher said, 'Start running,'" the student told the television station. The student said she did not get a good look at the shooter because she was running away. She said students escaped through a door at the back of the classroom. In the aftermath of the assault on Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School, survivors pulled all-nighters, petitioned city councils and state lawmakers, and organized protests in a grassroots movement. Within weeks, state lawmakers adopted changes, including new weapons restrictions. The move cemented the gun-friendly state's break with the National Rifle Association. The NRA fought back with a lawsuit. In late March, the teens spearheaded one of the largest student protest marches since Vietnam in Washington and inspired hundreds of other marches from California to Japan. The calls for tighter gun controls that have swelled since the February mass shooting at a Florida high school have barely registered in gunloving Texas — at least to this point. Texas has some of the most permissive gun laws in the U.S. and just hosted the NRA's annual conference earlier this month. In the run-up to March primaries, gun control was not a main issue with candidates of either party. Republicans did not soften their views on guns, and Democrats campaigned on a range of issues instead of zeroing in on gun violence.
A5
Frontera A6 | Saturday, May 19, 2018 | THE ZAPATA TIMES
RIBEREÑA EN BREVE Fun Run/Walk 1 La Ciudad de Roma invita a la carrera/caminata Fun Run/Walk 5K & 1K por el Día de las Fuerzas Armadas, que se llevará a cabo el 19 de mayo desde las 8 a.m. La carrera iniciará en Roma Guadalupe Plaza.
Premios televisivos 1 La preparatoria Roma High School invita a la entrega de premios Roma High School Gladiator Television Network Awards el 24 de mayo desde las 6:30 p.m., en el Centro de Artes Escénicas del Roma ISD.
Programa ayuda para ganado 1 La Oficina del Representante Henry Cuéllar invita a conocer el Programa de Emergencia para el Ganado dirigido a ganaderos y agricultores. La cita es el 30 de mayo en el Cento Comunitario de Zapata, de 3:30 p.m. a 5 p.m.
TIROTEO EN SANTA FE, TEXAS
Masacre escolar Diez personas mueren y otras 10 quedan lesionadas Por Juan A. Lozano ASSOCIATED PRE SS
SANTA FE, Texas — Al menos un hombre armado abrió fuego el viernes en una escuela secundaria de la zona de Houston, matando a 10 personas y dejando heridas a otras 10, informaron las autoridades. Dos sospechosos estaban detenidos y se cree que son estudiantes. El gobernador de Texas Greg Abbot informó de las víctimas en la masacre en la escuela secundaria Santa Fe. Agregó que el Michael Ciaglo / Houston Chronicle
pistolero tenía una escopeta y un revolver .38, ambos del padre del sospechoso. Un número indeterminado de artefactos explosivos fueron hallados en la escuela y sus alrededores. Las autoridades estaban desarmándolos y pidieron a la población que reportara sin demora la presencia de objetos sospechosos. El distrito escolar con-
Una mujer ora en el exterior del Gimnasio Álamo donde los padres y los estudiantes esperan a ser reunidos después de un tiroteo masivo en la preparatoria Santa Fe High School, el viernes en Santa Fe.
firmó que hubo varios heridos, pero dijo que no daría más detalles. El subdirector Cris Richardson dijo que había un sospechoso detenido. “Esperamos que lo peor haya pasado y en verdad no puedo decir
más porque serían puras conjeturas”, dijo Richardson a la prensa en el lugar. Michael Farina, de 17 años, dijo que estaba en otro lugar de la escuela cuando comenzaron los tiros y pensó que era un
simulacro. Sostenía una puerta abierta para alumnos discapacitados en sillas de ruedas cuando un director vino corriendo, gritando a todos para que huyeran. Un maestro gritó “esto es real”. Condujeron a los estudiantes a un lugar detrás de una concesionaria de autos al otro lado de la calles. Algunos, pensando que todavía no estaban a salvo, huyeron aún más lejos, dijo Farina. El ataque del viernes fue el más mortífero en Texas desde que un hombre con un fusil de asalto mató a una veintena de personas en una iglesia rural a fines del año pasado. Se produjo tres meses después del ataque del 14 de febrero en Parkland, Florida, que dejó 17 muertos. Imágenes aéreas mostraron a muchos estudiantes en un prado y tres helicópteros médicos en la escuela en Santa Fe, una población de 13.000 habitantes 48 kilómetros al sureste de Houston.
El vicepresidente Mike Pence dijo que él y el presidente Donald Trump estaban al tanto. Pence dijo que estudiantes, familiares y todos los afectados deben saber que “estamos con ustedes. Oramos por ustedes y sé que el pueblo estadounidense ora por ustedes”. Trump agregó en un tuit que los primeros informes “no parecen buenos. Dios bendiga a todos”. Alumnos sobrevivientes de la matanza a tiros en Parkland, Florida, manifestaron indignación y angustia en las redes sociales. “Todo mi corazón está con los estudiantes de la secundaria Santa Fe. Es un sentimiento demasiado conocido que nadie debería vivir. Me apena mucho que esta epidemia los haya alcanzado, Parkland está con ustedes ahora y siempre”, dijo en un tuit Jaclyn Corin, alumna de la secundaria Marjory Stoneman Douglas.
Aviario 1 La Ciudad de Roma invita a visitar el aviario Roma Bluffs World Birding Center en el distrito histórico de Roma. El aviario estará abierto desde el jueves a domingo de 8 a.m. a 4 p.m. hasta enero. Mayores informes al 956-849-1411
SOUTH TEXAS FOOD BANK
Lanzan campaña para mejora de instalaciones Por Angie Osterman
Botes de basura
E SPECIAL PARA TIEMP O DE
1 La Ciudad de Roma informa a la comunidad que sólo estará recolectando basura contenida en botes propiedad de la ciudad. Informes al 849-1411
ZAPATA
Pago de impuestos 1 Desde diciembre, los pagos por impuestos a la propiedad de la Ciudad de Roma deberán realizarse en la oficina de impuestos del Distrito Escolar de Roma, localizado en el 608 N. García St.
Pago en línea 1 La Ciudad de Roma informa a sus residentes que a partir de ahora el servicio del agua puede pagarse en línea a cualquier hora las 24 horas del día.
Llenado de aplicaciones 1 La Ciudad de Roma ofrece el servicio de llenado de aplicaciones para CHIP, Medicaid, SNAP, TANF, Chip, Prenatal y otros. Contacte a Gaby Rodríguez para una cita en el centro comunitario o en su domicilio al 956246-7177.
Laboratorio computacional 1 La Ciudad de Roma pone a disposición de la comunidad el Laboratorio Computacional que abre de lunes a viernes en horario de 1 p.m. a 5 p.m. en Historical Plaza, a un lado del City Hall. Informes en el 956849-1411.
Foto de cortesía / ZCIS
Interpretan obra ‘La Cenicienta El Departamento de Teatro de la preparatoria Zapata High School interpretó la obra ‘La Cenicienta’ a los alumnos de la escuela primaria Zapata North Elementary School, el jueves.
El Banco de Alimentos del Sur de Texas oficialmente dio arranque a la Campaña de Mejoras de Capital en sus nuevas instalaciones ubicadas en 2121 Jefferson St. El presidente de la Junta Directiva del South Texas Food Bank, Doug Howland, anunció el objetivo de la campaña de 5,7 millones de dólares. Estos fondos se utilizarán para renovar las instalaciones nuevas de 93.000 pies cuadradopara que se ajusten a las necesidades del banco de alimentos South Texas Food Bank y para cumplir con los requisitos de USDA y Feeding America.
La firma de arquitectos Hickey-Peña y Dominion Builders, LLC fueron contratados para las renovaciones. Entre las nuevas características de las instalaciones se encuentran un jardín comunitario en el lugar, un centro de voluntarios, un pabellón y una cocina de última generación. Howland expresó su entusiasmo por las nuevas posibilidades que esta instalación traerá al banco de alimentos y a las comunidades del área de servicio de los ocho condados a los que sirve el banco de alimentos. También mencionó que hay varias organizaciones y negocios que han sido contactados y han expresado su interés en apoyar esta campaña.
COLUMNA
Vespucio, misteriosa estancia mexicana Por Raúl Sinencio Chávez E SPECIAL PARA TIEMP O DE ZAPATA
Tratándose de México, las incursiones colonizadoras abren con el sello de Américo Vespucio. A tal grado que en las costas del país bien puede ser el primer europeo conocido. Pero estas glorias terminan regateadas, tornándolas más interesantes. El florentino habría partido de Cádiz el 10 de mayo de 1497. Aventaja bastante a Juan de Grijalva, supuesto pionero que desde el sureste bordea Veracruz en 1518. Precede asimismo el reconocimiento del litoral tamaulipeco, hecho al siguiente año por su descubridor Alonso Alvarado de Pineda. Adelantándoseles, Vespucio leva anclas y navega rumbo a las islas Canarias. Tras prudente alto, prosigue sin pausa. Impulsado por los vientos, surca el Océano Atlántico, cuyos extremos contrarios bañan mundos en gran medida entonces ignotos. Los registros suponen 17 meses y cinco días en altamar. Re-
torna el 15 de octubre de 1498. En la ida enfila siempre hacia el poniente. Cubre mil leguas, poco más, poco menos. Bajo la bóveda tropical halla el Caribe hondureño y remonta el Golfo de México, incluidas las penínsulas extremas. Inspecciona por último la bahía de Chesapeake –próxima a Washington, D. C.–, sitio del que regresa. Desembarca en distintos parajes de la franja costera. Ocurre con mayor frecuencia durante las jornadas tempranas. El propio navegante lo manifiesta. “Costeando de continuo la tierra” que sube al norte, “hicimos muchas escalas y tuvimos trato con mucha gente” nativa, relata en la carta remitida a Pier Soderini, magistrado de Florencia. Parece nuestro personaje hablar de los mayas cuando escribe: “Con huesos de pescado o con piedras blancas o verdes”, tal vez jade, fabrican “sartales que cuelgan de las mejillas, de los labios o de las orejas”, a manera de alhajas. Da noticia de las hamacas, desconocidas por los visitantes. “Duermen en
unas redes muy grandes” –observa–, hechas de algodón y suspendidas al aire”. Ciertos datos sugieren que traspone después la bocana del caudaloso río Pánuco, lindero meridional de Tamaulipas. Según oye y entiende, informa que la comarca ribereña se denomina Lariab. Conforme relata, “está […] llena de gente”, lo cual nos remite a los numerosos vecindarios que en fechas prehispánicas ocupan los alrededores. Consideraciones similares caben respecto de la fauna característica, en amplia parte hoy extinguida: manatíes, tortugas, loros, escuintles… Además, el vocablo Lariab –acaso mal recogido—tampoco desentona con la toponimia huasteca; por ejemplo, Tanchilab o Tancuayalab. Vespucio fortalece las pistas disponibles. “Esta tierra –anota—está dentro de la zona tórrida, directamente debajo del paralelo que describe el Trópico de Cáncer, de donde el polo de su horizonte se eleva 23 grados, al extremo de su segundo cli-
Foto de cortesía
Retrato de Américo Vespucio
ma”. Lo anterior revela el punto casi exacto de la desembocadura del Pánuco. Dicho viaje, en particular, enfrenta objeciones y críticas. Al menos con los derroteros aquí expuestos, incluso se pone en duda. No obstante, median circunstancias incontrovertibles, que merecen atenderse en descargo. A partir del aludido periplo vespuciano aparecen mapas del aproximado perfil de América. El de Waldeseemüller delinea el Golfo de México en 1507, mucho antes de que Grijalva descubriera el río Pánuco.
Sports&Outdoors
THE ZAPATA TIMES | Saturday, May 19, 2018 |
NATIONAL BASKETBALL ASSOCIATION
A7
NATIONAL BASKETBALL ASSOCIATION: SAN ANTONIO SPURS
A brief history of the Spurs’ upcoming No. 18 draft pick San Antonio starts highest in draft since 1997 By Jeff McDonald SAN ANTONIO EXPRE SS-NEWS
Maddie Meyer / Getty Images
Terry Rozier and the Celtics are attempting to improve on their 1-4 playoff road record in Game 3 of the Eastern Conference finals Saturday in Cleveland.
Celtics hope to put road woes aside in Cleveland Boston rolling at home but only 1-4 away in postseason By Kyle Hightower A S S OCIAT E D PRE SS
WALTHAM, Mass. — Home-court advantage has proven to be a valuable commodity for the Celtics so far this postseason. Boston is 9-0 at TD Garden during these playoffs and has blistered opponents early in games, shooting 47 percent from the field and 39 percent from the 3-point line. It’s often led to cushions that have helped the Celtics sustain opponents’ runs in the second half. But after boasting the third-best road record in the NBA during the regular season, the Celtics have looked like a totally different team since the postseason began. They are just 1-4 away from their building and seen their shooting numbers dip to 41 percent overall and 31 percent from beyond the arc. That can’t persist if Boston is going to have success as the series shifts to Cleveland on Saturday. Marcus Smart, who was all over the court in the Celtics’ Game 2 win , didn’t take any offense to Cavs coach Tyronn Lue’s comment that the Celtics have “shown they haven’t played that well on the road.” “We haven’t played well. We know that and understand that,” Smart said. “We understand that other teams see that and try to exploit it. But that’s the beauty about this game. It just takes one game. You never know. Things change. Our confidence is high. Who knows?” Coach Brad Stevens said he thought the entire team seemed a little “shellshocked” at Milwaukee in the first round, when after taking a 2-0 series lead, was promptly blown out 116-92 in Game 3. It lost all three road games in that series. “We took a punch in the mouth right when guys came out and they surprised us a little bit,” Smart said. “We can’t afford to be surprised this time around. ... We’re just
trying to make it as hard as we can on those guys for them to win a game and for us to execute whatever plan Brad has for us.” That will be easier said than done against a Cavaliers team that got 42 points and near tripledouble by LeBron James in Tuesday’s loss. Pressure will certainly be on the Cavs, but they have history on their side. James has won at least one playoff road game in 31 of his last 32 playoff series. To have a chance to make it 32 out of 33, Cleveland would need to win one of the next two games at home to force a Game 5. That’s not out of their reach by any means. Stevens isn’t sure Cleveland has yet to play up to its full potential. “I don’t know if that was their best,” he said. “We’ve all seen them play at an elite level for a long time. ... At the end of the day they’ve got a lot of guys that have been there, done that. And we’re expecting that every game we’re going to have to play better to have a chance to win.” One of the reasons that the Celtics have had success against the Cavs so far is their willingness to challenge James defensively. Jaylen Brown has been one of several players tasked with guarding James. He also drew that duty at times in last year’s conference finals. He said he is no longer intimidated by the matchup . “And why should I? Brown said. “The stage is set for all of us to do something spectacular. LeBron has been to the finals (seven) straight times. He’s a great player. But we want to win and we want to beat a team that does win and get to the finals. “We got a bunch of young guys trying to make names for themselves in this league. Why not come out and play hard? Everybody says we’re playing with house money anyway. So why not come out with the energy level that we need and try to do something special?”
In a little more than a month, the NBA world will converge on the Barclays Center in Brooklyn for the 2018 draft. Typically, draft night for Spurs' decision-makers – and the team's fans – involves multiple pots of coffee and a maximum strength dosage of No-Doz. Since 1997 – when the Spurs tabbed a forward from Wake Forest named Tim Duncan first overall – the Spurs have not entered the draft with a pick higher than No. 20. It makes for a long night for those interested in the Spurs' choice. That will change June 21, when the Spurs will take the 18th pick into this year's Select-A-Palooza. Known for often working latenight magic to find a productive player deep in the 20s, general manager R.C. Buford and Co. will have a larger talent pool from which to cull their next rookie. What kind of player might the Spurs be able to grab at No. 18? Recent history is not so encouraging. Here are the eight players taken 18th overall since 2010: 2017 – T.J. Leaf, Indiana 2016 – Henry Ellerson, Detroit 2015 – Sam Dekker, Houston 2014 – Tyler Ennis, Phoenix 2013 – Shane Larkin, Atlanta 2012 – Terrence Jones, Houston
Michael Macor / The Chronicle file
Head coach Gregg Popovich and the Spurs have the No. 18 pick in the upcoming 2018 NBA draft.
2011 – Chris Singleton, Washington 2010 – Eric Bledsoe, Oklahoma City (traded to the L.A. Clippers) Of them, only one –Bledsoe – has developed into a bona fide NBA rotation player. Only two – Bledsoe and Jones – have posted a double-digit scoring season. Two players – Leaf and Ellenson – remain with the team that drafted them. They also happen to be the two most recent No. 18 selections. Two players taken No. 18 during this decade are no longer in the NBA. Neither Jones nor Singleton played in the league last season. The 2000s were a little more fertile when it came to grabbing a
future rotation player at No. 18. Players picked at that spot include David West (2003), J.R. Smith (2004), Marco Belinelli (2007) and JaVale McGee (2008). The 1980s were the golden age of No. 18 overall picks. In 1985, the Detroit Pistons made future Hall of Famer Joe Dumars perhaps the most famous No. 18 pick of all time. Ricky Pierce, a future All-Star with Milwaukee, was selected 18th in 1982 by Detroit. Mark Jackson went on to have a long and productive career as a point guard after going 18th to New York in 1987. Vern Fleming (Indiana, 1984) and B.J. Armstrong (Chicago, 1989) also put together a decent NBA resume from the No. 18 spot.
NATIONAL BASKETBALL ASSOCIATION
COTE: ROCKETS, CAVS LIKELY TO GET GAME 7S Both finals last went 7 games in 1979 By Greg Cote MIAMI HERAL D
Narratives in a best-ofseven playoff series tend to pivot and change faster than a liar’s recollection. It only takes one game, one result, to flip the script, as we are seeing in the NBA’s Western Conference finals. After Golden State’s big Game 1 second half and comfy win it was "Sorry, Houston. Order restored." The Warriors winning without much from Steph Curry and the Rockets losing at home despite 41 from James Harden seemed one of those proverbial "statement" games (with Kevin Durant’s 37 doing most of the talking. Game 2? Get me rewrite! Rockets in control front to back in a 22-point rout in which Harden only shot 3-for-15 on 3’s and it hardly mattered. This was the Houston that earned the No. 1 seed. Thank you, Rockets, for restoring tension to the proceedings and the idea the series could be a long way. We have the same impression in the East, despite Boston’s declaration of 2-0 series lead. A 13point Cleveland loss despite LeBron James’ 42 Game 2 points and tripledouble gut-punched Cavaliers fans, and yet, for me, the series got interesting. With LeBron’s historic talent and indefatigable will and the next
Tim Warner / Getty Images
James Harden scored 27 points Wednesday as the Rockets won 127-105 to even their series against the Warriors.
two games being played in Cleveland, anybody out there writing off the Cavs? Didn’t think so. (And, by the way: How discouraging must it be for the rest of the East to see Boston doing what it is doing while missing its two best players in injured Kyrie Irving and Gordon Hayward?) Here’s what I see happening. I see something last seen in the NBA in 1979: Both conference finals being decided by Game 7s. Houston’s Game 2 gave it a chance to happen. LeBron’s hallmark ability to rise up and take over when he is doubted also gives it a chance to happen. As a hopeless sports historian with a bent for oddball facts I could not recall two NBA confer-
ence finals both going the full seven games at the same time. With good reason, it turns out. It was 1979 when the league saw two 4-3 conference finals. The trivia answer: Gus Williams’ Seattle SuperSonics edging Phoenix on a huge Game 7 from Jack Sikma, and Elvin Hayes’ Washington Bullets rallying from 3-1 down to survive San Antonio. In fact that is the only time in the previous 50 NBA playoffs that both conference finals went the distance. The magic of Game 7s in sports is not just that they are about the only time that "must win" is literally true. It is that they are so rare, therefore so special. Do they not always feel like a gift? Like some-
thing you’ll watch even if your interest is otherwise casual? In the NBA only 24 of the past 100 conference finals since 1968 have gone to Game 7s, including only three of the past 24 since 2006. In the NHL it’s only 23 of the past 100 across the same timeline, and only twice in the past 50 years (2000 and 2015) have both conference finals gone the distance the same season. In baseball it’s 26 of the past 100 league championship series going the distance, but only four times in 50 years have both series gone the max, and not since 2004. The real anomaly, the freak of mathematical chance, is that the NBA hasn’t rolled double 7s in the conference finals in just under 40 years.
A8 | Saturday, May 19, 2018 | THE ZAPATA TIMES
BUSINESS
US mortgage rates at 7-year highs A S S O CIAT E D PRE SS
WASHINGTON — Long-term U.S. mortgage rates jumped this week, marking their highest levels in seven years amid the peak home buying season. The benchmark 30-year rate pushed toward the significant 5 percent level. Mortgage buyer Freddie Mac said Thursday the average rate on 30-year, fixed-rate mortgages was 4.61 percent, up from 4.55 percent last week. The
new average rate was the highest since May 19, 2011. By contrast, the 30-year rate averaged 4.02 percent a year ago. The average rate on 15-year, fixed-rate loans climbed to 4.08 percent from 4.01 percent last week. The latest indications of a strong economy and rising commodity prices — gasoline is at a fouryear high — lifted yields on bonds and mortgage rates followed suit. U.S. retail sales rose at a
solid pace in April, according to a government report issued Tuesday, a sign that consumers may be rebounding from weak spending earlier this year and driving stronger economic growth. Consumer spending has rebounded in the past two months after a weak January and February, a trend that could accelerate growth in the April-June quarter. Despite higher borrowing costs and home prices, demand for home purchases has grown so far in
the spring buying season, as the economic outlook has continued to improve and bolstered consumer confidence. Still, “inflationary pressures and the prospect of (mortgage) rates approaching 5 percent could begin to hit the psyche of some prospective buyers,” said Freddie Mac chief economist Sam Khater. To calculate average mortgage rates, Freddie Mac surveys lenders across the country between Monday and Wed-
Rogelio V. Solis / AP
This photo shows a sold sign in front of a home in Jackson, Miss. On Thursday, Freddie Mac reported that the average U.S. mortgage rates jumped this week, marking their highest levels in seven years.
nesday each week. The average doesn’t include extra fees, known
as points, which most borrowers must pay to get the lowest rates.