The Zapata Times 6/22/2016

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SECURITY AND IMMIGRATION

ZAPATA COUNTY INDEPENDENT SCHOOL DISTRICT

FBI veteran to lead U.S. Border Patrol

Teacher salaries raised Trustees to spend $75,000 on increase

New chief to oversee annual budget

By Judith Rayo THE ZAPATA TIME S

By Elliot Spagat A S S OCIAT E D PRE SS

SAN DIEGO — An FBI veteran was named Monday to head the U.S. Border Patrol, a departure from the historical practice of picking someone who has risen through the ranks.

Mark Morgan, who briefly led the internal affairs department at the Border Patrol’s parent agency, will oversee a multibillion-dollar annual budget at the agency in the crosshairs of the national debate about border security and immigration.

His selection doesn’t reflect lack of confidence in the Border Patrol’s leadership or performance, said Customs and Border Protection Commissioner R. Gil Kerlikowske. He said nearly all federal law enforcement agencies, from the Coast Guard to the Drug Enforcement Administration, had outsiders take over at one time.

“In the case of the Border Patrol, the current leadership across the top, from headquarters to the field, consists of the finest group of men and women that I have worked with in my more than 40 years in law enforcement,” Kerlikowske wrote in a memo to staff.

Morgan, 50, is no stranger to the Border Patrol. In 2014, the FBI loaned him to Customs and Border Protection to serve as acting assistant commissioner for internal affairs. He oversaw an extensive review of complaints of excessive use of force and employee misconduct.

The National Border Patrol Council, which represents 18,000 agents, said it was disappointed the commissioner passed over several highly qualified internal candidates, ending what it called a 92-year tradition of choosing a leader from within that dates back to the agency’s creation.

“The Border Patrol has a unique mission that is reflected in its culture and we realize it will be difficult for an outsider to quickly gain the trust and respect of his subordinates,” the union said. “We hope that Chief Morgan will quickly overcome this hurdle.”

Advocacy groups that have criticized the Border Patrol and its parent agency over use-of-force practices were generally positive on the appointment but said Morgan had work cut out for him.

During his 2014 stint at Customs and Border Protection, Morgan “acted with independence and integrity that promise to serve the agency well in his new role,” said Chris Rickerd, policy counsel at the American Civil Liberties Union Washington legislative office.

Morgan’s challenge will be to “foster trust in border communities still suffering painful memories of an era when Border Patrol imposed no accountability for numerous abuses,” Rickerd said.

Morgan is currently an assistant FBI chief who leads the training division. He joined the FBI as an agent in Los Angeles in 1996 and has held various positions, including head of its El Paso, Texas, office.

Chief continues on A8

Billy Hathorn / Wikipedia

This 2009 photo shows Zapata High School. ZCISD will spend about $75,000 on teacher salary increases, trustees voted on Monday.

ZCISD will spend about $75,000 on teacher salary increases, trustees voted on Monday.

During the district’s regular monthly meeting, Zapata County Independent School District trustees approved a step increase for teachers.

There are 227 teachers in the district.

Last year, trustees also approved a step increase for teachers and a 3 percent raise for paraprofessionals Step increases, or incre-

ments, are laid out in the teacher pay plan.

For each additional year spent at the district, a teacher earns a higher salary.

At Laredo ISD, trustees also approved a step increase for teachers in May. ZCISD trustees also approved a $750 raise for teachers, aside from the step increase, a 2 percent raise for administration and a 4 percent bump for paraprofessionals.

Judith Rayo may be reached at 728-2567 or jrayo@lmtonline.com.

STARR COUNTY, TEXAS

UNUSED BOATS CAUSE STIR Vessels off the water offer little help in security

By Jay Root and Julián Aguilar TEXAS TRIBUNE

ROMA — Keeping people and drugs from crossing illegally into the United States requires more than boots on the ground. In the busy smuggling corridor of Starr County, Texas, it also takes boats in the water.

But while millions of dollars in state and federal money are being showered on the Rio Grande Valley to beef up border security, the U.S. Border Patrol does not keep its boats patrolling around the clock on the 300 miles of water covered by the Rio Grande Station. As a result, Border Patrol agents are accustomed to watching smuggling action surge after the boats leave the river.

It's so predictable, agents can plan their meals around it.

“The reason they don’t cross here right now is because the boats are out,” veteran Border Patrol Agent Jose Perales observed during a recent tour of the border in deep South Texas. "A lot of the agents take this down-

Todd Wiseman / Texas Tribune

United States Border Patrol agents patrol a portion of the Rio Grande river between Roma, Texas and Miguel Aléman, Tamaulipas.

time to take the opportunity to go get something to eat or whatever because once the boats get out of the water they know they are in for a busy afternoon.”

Explanations for why the boats can't stay on patrol around the clock depend on who you ask. Perales said it's all about warm bodies.

"We don’t have that manpower to man them 24/7.

Other stations that are bigger stations do have three shifts, so the boats are 24/7," he said. "However, we are in the Rio Grande Station area of responsibility, and we don’t have the manpower.”

But it’s more about willpower the way Border Patrol

union official Chris Cabrera sees it. The station has more than 3,000 agents, according to agency statistics, and Cabrera said there are more than enough willing recruits to man the boats.

"For some reason — I don’t know what it is — we have unused boats," said Boats continues on A8

Zin brief A2 | Wednesday, June 22, 2016 | THE ZAPATA TIMES

CALENDAR

AROUND THE NATION

TODAY IN HISTORY

THURSDAY, JUNE 23

ASSOCIATED PRE SS

1

Lamar Bruni Vergara Planetarium shows. TAMIU. “Zula Patrol: Under the Weather” at 3 p.m., “Cosmic Adventure” at 4 p.m. and “A Starry Tale” at 5 p.m. General admission is $3. For more information, call 3263663.

Today is Wednesday, June 22, the 174th day of 2016. There are 192 days left in the year.

Today’s Highlight in History: On June 22, 1941, during World War II, Nazi Germany launched Operation Barbarossa, a massive invasion of the Soviet Union.

SATURDAY, JUNE 25 1

Lamar Bruni Vergara Planetarium shows. The Little Star That Could at 2 p.m., Origins of Life at 3 p.m., A Starry Tale at 4 p.m. and Space Next at 5 p.m. General Admission is $4 for children, TAMIU students, faculty and staff, and $5 for adults. For more information, call 326-DOME (3663).

MONDAY, JUNE 27 1

Chess Club. 4–6 p.m. Every Monday. Inner City Branch Library, 202 W. Plum St. Compete in this cherished strategy game played internationally.

Free. For all ages and skill levels.

Instruction is offered.

1 Laredo Parkinson’s Disease Support Group. 6:30 p.m. Laredo Medical Center, 1st Floor, Tower B in the Community Center. The meeting is open to anyone with Parkinson’s disease, a friend or family member of a PD patient, and primary care givers of patients with PD who are interested in learning more about the disease.

Pamphlets with more information in both English and Spanish are available at all support group meetings.

For more information, call Richard Renner at 645-8649 or 237-0666.

TUESDAY, JUNE 28 1

Take the challenge and climb the Rock Wall. 10 a.m.–12 p.m. Inner City Branch Library, 202 W. Plum St. Fun exercise for all ages and it's free. Must sign release form. For more information call 956-795-2400 x2520.

1 It’s Dine to Donate fundraiser for the South Texas Food Bank. 3 p.m.–10 p.m. Texas Roadhouse, 5722 San Bernardo Ave. Dine in and 20 percent of your check will be donated to the South Texas Food Bank. Also, bring a non-perishable item and receive a free appetizer card for your next visit to Texas Roadhouse. For more information call Salo Otero at 324-2432 or the South Texas Food Bank at 726-3120.

THURSDAY, JUNE 30 1

Lamar Bruni Vergara Planetarium shows. TAMIU. “Zula Patrol: Under the Weather” at 3 p.m., “Cosmic Adventure” at 4 p.m. and “A Starry Tale” at 5 p.m. General admission is $3. For more information, call 3263663.

1 Spanish Book Club. 6–8 p.m.

Laredo Public Library – Calton. For more information, contact Sylvia Reash at 763-1810.

SATURDAY, JULY 2 1

Book sale. 8:30 a.m.–1 p.m. Widener Book Room, First United Methodist Church. No admission charge.

Everyone is invited.

Jose Luis Magana / AP

Demonstrators protest outside of the courthouse during the trial of Officer Caesar Goodson Jr., one of six Baltimore city police officers charged in connection to the death of Freddie Gray.

POLICE, STATE RIFT ON DISPLAY

By Juliet Linderman ASSOCIATED PRE SS

BALTIMORE — A judge gave himself until Thursday to decide the fate of an officer in whose van the neck of a young black arrestee was somehow broken. It could take much longer to repair the tense and uneasy relationship between Baltimore’s prosecutors and police, now that they’ve traded accusations of sabotage, misconduct and dirty dealings during the third trial of an officer in the death of Freddie Gray. The betrayal of the symbiotic relationship police and prosecutors

NYC lawmakers pass requirement for free tampons NEW YORK — New York City is on track to become the nation’s first city to require free tampons and sanitary pads in public schools, homeless shelters and jails after lawmakers approved the idea Tuesday amid a national discussion of the costs of having a period.

The proposal, which Democratic Mayor Bill de Blasio’s administration supports, marks

maintain in most cities has been particularly unwelcome in Baltimore, where murders reached a 40-year high last year and some neighborhoods have yet to recover from the riots that followed Gray’s death. “The citizens of the city have to wonder: If the two agencies can’t work together to investigate and prosecute crime, where do we stand?” said Warren Alperstein, a prominent attorney in the city. If Circuit Judge Barry Williams acquits Officer Caesar Goodson, prosecutors may have to reconsider trying officers who were less involved in Gray’s death.

a new direction in activists’ push to dismantle what they see as unfair financial barriers between women and needed sanitary products. New York state lawmakers voted last month to become the sixth state to eliminate sales tax on the items.

City Councilwoman Julissa Ferreras-Copeland’s proposal would make pads and tampons free in restrooms that serve 300,000 schoolgirls, and it would guarantee the products’ availability to 23,000 women in homeless shelters and add the

force of law to jail standards about sanitary supplies.

Supporters say New York would lead cities by having a law, rather than more changeable policies, in a wide range of locales. “They’re as necessary as toilet paper,” so they ought to be just as freely accessible, Ferreras-Copeland, a Democrat, said before Tuesday’s 49-0 vote.

The council’s female speaker waved a wrapped tampon aloft in the spirit of the once-taboo subject.

— Compiled from AP reports

MONDAY, JULY 4 1

Chess Club. 4–6 p.m. Every Monday. Inner City Branch Library, 202 W. Plum St. Compete in this cherished strategy game played internationally.

Free. For all ages and skill levels.

Instruction is offered.

1 Cancer Friends Meet. 6 p.m. Every first Monday of the month. Doctors Hospital at the Community Center.

Having cancer is often one of the most stressful experiences in a person’s life. However, support groups help many people cope with the emotional aspects of cancer by providing a safe place to share their feelings and challenges and learn from others who are facing similar situations. For more information, call Nancy Santos at 956-285-5410.

TUESDAY, JULY 5 1

Take the challenge and climb the Rock Wall. 10 a.m.–12 p.m. Inner City Branch Library, 202 W. Plum St. Fun exercise for all ages and it's free. Must sign release form. For more information call 956-795-2400 x2520.

1 Community conversation on teen and young adult mental health. 6 p.m.–8 p.m. Border Region Behavioral Health Center, 1500 Papas St. Everyone is invited to attend. The purpose of this event is to encourage the community to voice concerns, ask questions and share information on available resources to help those afflicted with a mental illness or a substance abuse problem. Join others in the community for an informal conversation on mental health presented by Area Health Education Center, Border Region Behavioral Health Center and Texas Department of State Services Office of Border Health. For additional information, call 712-0037 or email hmedellin@mrgbahec.org 1 Alzheimer’s Disease Support Group. 7 p.m. Laredo Medical Center, 1st Floor, Tower B in the Community Center. Meetings are open to individuals who have been diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease, as well as family, friends and caregivers of Alzheimer’s disease patients. For more information, call Melissa Guerra at 956-6939991.

1 Chess Club. 4–6 p.m. Every Monday. Inner City Branch Library, 202 W. Plum St. Compete in this cherished strategy game played internationally.

Free. For all ages and skill levels.

AROUND THE WORLD SKorean military says new NKorean missile launch fails SEOUL, South Korea — North Korea on Wednesday apparently failed yet again to launch a powerful new Musudan mid-range missile, U.S. and South Korean military officials said, its fifth such reported flop since April.

Despite the repeated failures, the North’s persistence in testing the Musudan worries Seoul, Tokyo and Washington because the missile’s potential 3,500-kilometer (2,180-mile) range puts U.S. military bases in Asia and the Pacific within its striking range.

Each new test also presumably provides valuable insights to North Korean scientists and military officials as they push toward their goal of a nuclear and missile program that can threaten the U.S. mainland.

Pyongyang earlier this year conducted a nuclear test and

Ahn Young-joon / AP

South Korean activists march along the military wire fences as South Korean army soldiers stand guard.

launched a long-range rocket that outsiders say was a cover for a test of banned missile technology.

A statement from South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff said a suspected Musudan launch failed but gave no further details on the early-morning firing from near the east coast city of Wonsan.

A U.S. official also said the launch appeared to be another failure, adding that the U.S. was assessing exactly what had happened. The official wasn’t authorized to comment publicly and requested anonymity. In April, North Korea attempted unsuccessfully to launch three suspected Musudan missiles.

— Compiled from AP reports

AROUND TEXAS Wait times manipulated at Houston-area VA clinics HOUSTON — Staff at Houston-area Veterans Affairs facilities improperly manipulated wait times for Texas veterans wishing to make a medical appointment, according to a federal report released Monday.

The Department of Veterans Affairs’ Office of Inspector

On this date: In 1611, English explorer Henry Hudson, his son and several other people were set adrift in present-day Hudson Bay by mutineers aboard the Discovery.

In 1870, the United States Department of Justice was created.

In 1911, Britain’s King George V was crowned at Westminster Abbey.

In 1940, during World War II, Adolf Hitler gained a stunning victory as France was forced to sign an armistice eight days after German forces overran Paris.

In 1944, President Franklin D. Roosevelt signed the Servicemen’s Readjustment Act of 1944, more popularly known as the “GI Bill of Rights.”

In 1945, the World War II battle for Okinawa ended with an Allied victory.

In 1959, the Swedish film “Wild Strawberries,” written and directed by Ingmar Bergman, opened in New York.

In 1969, singer-actress Judy Garland died in London at age 47.

In 1977, John N. Mitchell became the first former U.S. Attorney General to go to prison as he began serving a sentence for his role in the Watergate cover-up. (He was released 19 months later.)

In 1987, actor-dancer Fred Astaire died in Los Angeles at age 88.

In 1993, former first lady Pat Nixon died in Park Ridge, New Jersey, at age 81.

Ten years ago: During a visit to Hungary to commemorate the 1956 revolt against communism, President George W. Bush said war-weary Iraqis could learn from the Hungarians’ long and bloody struggle against tyranny. The Bush administration confirmed it had gained access to international banking records as part of a classified program to choke off financial support for terrorism.

Five years ago: President Barack Obama announced in a White House address that he would pull home 33,000 troops from Afghanistan by the following summer. James “Whitey” Bulger, the longtime fugitive Boston crime boss and fixture on the FBI’s 10 Most Wanted list, was arrested in Santa Monica, California.

One year ago: The Obama administration released a report on global warming that said failure to act on climate change could cause an estimated 57,000 deaths a year in the United States from poor air quality by 2100. South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley said the Confederate flag should be removed from the grounds of the state capitol, reversing her position on the divisive symbol amid growing calls for it to be removed. Oscar-winning film composer James Horner, 61, was killed in the crash of his plane in Los Padres National Forest.

Today’s Birthdays: Actress Prunella Scales (TV: “Fawlty Towers”) is 84.

Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., is 83.

Singer-actor Kris Kristofferson is 80.

Movie director John Korty is 80. Actor Michael Lerner is 75. Actor Klaus Maria Brandauer is 73. Fox News analyst Brit Hume is 73. Singer Peter Asher (Peter and Gordon) is 72. Actor David L. Lander is 69. Singer Howard “Eddie” Kaylan is 69. Singer-musician Todd Rundgren is 68. Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., is 67. Actress Meryl Streep is 67. Actress Lindsay Wagner is 67.

Singer Alan Osmond is 67. Actor Murphy Cross is 66. Actor Graham Greene is 64. Pop singer Cyndi Lauper is 63.

Actor Chris Lemmon is 62. Rock musician Derek Forbes is 60. Actor Tim Russ is 60. Rock musician Garry Beers (INXS) is 59. Actor-producer-writer Bruce Campbell is 58. Rock musician Alan Anton (Cowboy Junkies) is 57.

Actress Tracy Pollan is 56. Environmental activist Erin Brockovich is 56.

Rock singer-musician Jimmy Somerville is 55. Basketball Hall of Famer Clyde Drexler is 54. Actress Amy Brenneman is 52. Author Dan Brown is 52. Rock singer-musician Mike Edwards (Jesus Jones) is 52. Rock singer Steven Page is 46. Actor Michael Trucco is 46. Actress Mary Lynn Rajskub (RYS’-kub) is 45. TV personality Carson Daly is 43. Rock musician Chris Traynor is 43. Country musician Jimmy Wallace is 43. Actor Donald Faison is 42. Actress Alicia Goranson is 42.

Actor-comedian Mike O’Brien (TV: “Saturday Night Live”) is 40.

Thought for Today: “There is only one reason for an individual to sidestep to the useless side: the fear of a defeat on the useful side.” — Alfred Adler, Austraian psychotherapist (1870-1937).

CONTACT US General said more than 200 appointments were incorrectly recorded for the year that ended in June 2015. Two former scheduling supervisors and a current director of two VA clinics instructed staff to incorrectly record cancellations as being canceled by the patient, the report shows.

Veterans in many instances then encountered average wait times of nearly three months when the appointments were rescheduled.

“These issues have continued

despite the Veterans Health Administration ... having identified similar issues during a May and June 2014 system-wide review of access,” according to the report. “These conditions persisted because of a lack of effective training and oversight.” Federal inspectors also determined that wait times for other veterans were understated by more than two months.

As a result, wait times “did not reflect the actual wait experienced.”

— Compiled from AP reports

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The Zapata Times

THE ZAPATA TIMES | Wednesday, June 22, 2016 |

A3

LOCAL & STATE Lawsuit accuses Baylor of fostering ‘hunting ground’ for sexual assault

By Jim Vertuno A S S OCIAT E D PRE SS

AUSTIN, Texas — A federal lawsuit filed Monday against Baylor University accuses the nation’s largest Baptist school of creating a “hunting ground for sexual predators.”

The lawsuit, brought by a former Baylor student, is the third in recent months to claim the school was indifferent to or ignored claims of sexual assault and didn’t enforce federal general discrimination protections.

Baylor demoted former president and chancellor Ken Starr after an outside law firm found the school had mishandled assault allegations for years.

The latest case, brought by a woman identified only as Jane Doe, says she was drugged and abducted from an off-campus residence known as “The Rugby House” in February 2015. The law-

Andrea Zelinski / The Chronicle

A federal lawsuit filed Monday against Baylor University accuses the nation’s largest Baptist school of creating a “hunting ground for sexual predators.”

suit does not name her assailant but said he is not a member of Baylor’s rugby club team.

The woman did not file a police report because she was too embarrassed, and it was her mother who called Baylor officials, according to the alleged victim’s attorney, Paula Elliott.

The lawsuit said Baylor officials indicated there were reports of as many as five previously report-

ed assaults at the same residence. According to the lawsuit, Baylor officials initially attempted to help identify the attacker, and told her there were two more reported victims with similar experiences at the house.

But school investigators stopped all correspondence with the woman after five weeks and did not schedule an administrative hearing in her case. The woman

dropped out of Baylor in summer 2015 and moved home out of state, Elliott said.

The school’s own investigation, parts of which were released last month, demonstrated that Baylor ignored rape claims at the cost of safety to its students for years, the lawsuit said, adding that, “Baylor and the Baylor regents had created a hunting ground for sexual predators to freely prey upon innocent, unsuspecting female students, with no concern of reprisal or consequences.”

Much of Baylor’s investigation focused on allegations surrounding the football team. Head coach Art Briles was fired May 26 after the investigation found football coaches and staff had improper contact with complainants, and interfered or impeded school and potentially criminal investigations.

Meeting to discuss concerns for property owners and managers SPECIAL TO THE TIME S

South Texas’ Property Rights Association would like to invite the public to a regional meeting to be held Tuesday, June 28 from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. at the IBC Bank on U.S. Highway 83 at 10th Avenue.

The meeting is to feature different lectures regarding important information that concerns property owners and managers.

The schedule is as follows: 1 9 a.m. to 9:30 a.m. — Registration, meet and greet 1 9:30 a.m. to 9:45 a.m. — Welcome and STRPA overview 1 9:45 a.m. to 10:30 a.m. — Fever tick update by Andy Schwartz, DVM, executive director for the Texas Animal Health Com-

mission 1 10:30 a.m. to 10:40 a.m.

— Water Regulation and Conversation by Judon Fambrough, senior lecturer and Attorney at Law for the Texas Real Estate Center at TX A&M 1 11:15 a.m. to 12 p.m. — Border Security & Immigration Reform by Manuel Padilla, Jr., South Texas Campaign Commander of the U.S. Border Patrol 1 12 p.m. to 1 p.m. — Lunch and sponsor presentations 1 1 p.m. to 1:30 p.m. — Update on Carrizo Cane Eradication Program by Aaron Wendt, Natural Resources Policy Analyst of the Texas State Soil and Water Conservation For lunch, individuals must RSVP at charlotte@stpra.org or by calling 210-355-0292.

Dallas takes action on loose dogs after pit bulls kill woman

By David Warren A S S OCIAT E D PRE SS

DALLAS — Dallas city leaders expressed outrage in the month after a homeless Army veteran was killed by roaming dogs, bitten more than 100 times as the animals tore one of her arms to the bone and ripped away most of her thigh.

They promised to respond to Antoinette Brown’s death by cracking down on loose dogs found regularly in the city’s poorer neighborhoods. They ramped up arrests of dog owners, hired a consultant and are reviewing several proposals, including requiring an insurance policy for “dangerous breeds.”

The issue of loose dogs has

long plagued low-income neighborhoods in some of America’s largest cities as leaders allocate more funding and attention on broader concerns such as crime, housing and sprawl.

While Brown’s death shows how one incident can prompt a city to take action, animal-welfare groups say fixing the problem in Dallas and elsewhere requires long-term investments that many cities have not made.

“Our field is starting to recognize that we cannot accomplish what we seek to accomplish, which is safe, humane communities, if all we do is respond to crises after they occur and approach the situation with a punitive mindset,” said Cory Smith, a public policy analyst for The Humane Society

of the United States.

The 52-year-old Brown was attacked by three pit bulls in the early hours of May 2 in a neighborhood of single-story, aging homes, some left vacant.

A City Council report on the attack noted that much of a thigh was missing. Brown died in a hospital days later.

The loose dogs had run free before the mauling and in the days after. Their owners have had dogs seized in the past.

Police have said they could face charges, but none had been filed by Tuesday as a criminal investigation continues.

“It happened because this is south Dallas and this is the poorest part of the city and they don’t care,” neighbor Netra Reese told The Dallas Morning

News. “Now they’re talking about it. It takes someone to lose their life for them to come out and do something.”

Brown’s death led the city to increase enforcement: Authorities since early May have arrested at least 40 people on some 160 animal-related warrants.

The outcry in Dallas follows similar ones in Detroit, Houston, San Antonio and other cities where funding for animal services often has been lacking, primarily affecting low-income areas.

Reforms in those cities included adding additional enforcement officers, collaborating with pet adoption agencies and in some cases small acts like handing out leashes to pet

owners.

Houston officials since 2009 have increased animal control funding to more than $12 million, from about $5.5 million, after reports about high rates of animal euthanasia at city shelters and stories of puppies being flushed down drains to quickly dispose of them. By November, more than 90 percent of animals were leaving city shelters alive.

Greg Damianoff, director of Houston’s Bureau of Animal Regulation and Control, said outreach programs must be done continuously in low-income areas because of the transient nature of the population.

“The fallacy is that people in those neighborhoods don’t care about their pets,” he said.

Zopinion

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

A4 | Wednesday, June 22, 2016 | THE ZAPATA TIMES

COLUMN

OTHER VIEWS

A nation of healers I’ve been traveling around to the most economically stressed parts of this country.

You see a lot of dislocation on a trip like this.

In New Mexico, for example, I met some kids who lost their parents — to drugs, death, deportation or something else.

They get run through a bunch of systems, including homeless shelter, foster care, mental health and often juvenile justice.

They’re like any kids — they turn hungrily to any beam of friendship. But for these kids, life has been a series of temporary stops at impersonal places. They sometimes have only the vaguest idea where they are going next month. “I’m going back into the foster care system,” one teenager told me, without affect either way.

You meet people who are uncomfortable with the basics of the modern economy.

I met a woman in West Virginia who had just learned, to great relief, that she didn’t have to give an anticipated speech at church. “We’re not word people,” she explained.

Those words hang in the air. A lot of wonderful people speak through acts of service, but it’s hard to thrive in the information age if you don’t feel comfortable with verbal communication.

You see the ravages of drugs everywhere. I ran into a guy in Pittsburgh who hires people for his small plant. He has to give them drug tests because they’re operating heavy equipment. If he pulls in 100 possible hires, most of them either fail the drug test or don’t show up for it because they know they will fail.

But this kind of tour is mostly uplifting, not depressing. Let me just describe two people I met on Saturday in Albuquerque.

At the New Day Youth and Family Services program I was introduced to an 18-year-old woman who’d been born to heroin and meth addicts. She’d spent her early girlhood riding along as they trafficked drugs from Mexico.

When they were unable to take care of her, she cycled through other homes where she was physically abused. She fell into relationships with men who mistreated her, was hounded in school for being (supposedly) obese and was sent to psych wards for depression.

Yet this woman glows with joy and good cheer.

She’d built a family out of her friendships. She’d completed high school, learned to express her moods through poetry and novellas, found a place to live through New Day’s Transitional Living Program, found a job and had plans to go to community college.

I have no idea how a person this beautiful can emerge from a past that

“

DAVID BROOKS

hard, and yet you meet people like this all the time. Their portion of good luck may have been small, but their capacity for gratitude is infinite.

Earlier in the day I’d met Jade Bock. When she was 17, Bock lost her father to a workplace accident. Now she’s found her calling directing the Children’s Grief Center.

This is a center for kids who, given the stress and poverty all around, have often lost their fathers to suicide, drugs or accidents.

The young kids are anxious about who is going to die next. They don’t really understand what death is and wonder if their loved one is going to be wet and cold if it’s raining on his grave.

The older kids are sometimes trapped in magical thinking: Maybe if I’d gotten better grades, he wouldn’t be gone.

Sometimes they will start dressing, talking and acting like the deceased.

Many teenagers don’t want the other kids in school to know, so they go through life as if nothing is wrong. Then three years later when they suffer some breakup or setback, it all comes barreling out because it hasn’t been processed up until now.

Along with a hundred other volunteers and staff members, Bock gets these kids to process their grief.

She sits with them in group after group, tender but in a realistic no-nonsense sort of way. She’ll cry and be present, but she won’t let you escape the task of moving though it. If it’s mentionable it’s manageable. Pain that is not transformed is transmitted.

The social fabric is tearing across this country, but everywhere it seems healers are rising up to repair their small piece of it. They are going into hollow places and creating community, building intimate relationships that change lives one by one.

I know everybody’s in a bad mood about the country. But the more time you spend in the hardest places, the more amazed you become. There’s some movement arising that is suspicious of consumerism but is not socialist. It’s suspicious of impersonal state systems but is not libertarian. It believes in the small moments of connection.

I remember watching an after-school counselor in Texas sitting in a circle of little girls who had nowhere else to go. She offered them a tongue twister: “OK,” she said chirpily, “who can say ‘Unique New York’ six times fast?”

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OP-ED

Senate fails us on gun control, again

By Rex Huppke CHICAGO TRIBUNE

On Monday, eight days after 49 people were gunned down in an Orlando nightclub by a terrorist claiming allegiance to the Islamic State, the U.S. Senate voted down four different gun control proposals, two from each party.

Democrats saw the Republican proposals as too weak. Republicans saw the Democratic proposals as too tough.

So nothing happened.

There was no agreement

on a way to keep people who are on the country’s terrorist watch list from buying guns capable of slaughtering dozens in minutes. There was no agreement to close "the gun show loophole" by requiring a background check on anyone buying a gun.

Nothing. Our lawmakers, many receiving generous campaign contributions from the National Rifle Association, did nothing.

I took data complied by Mother Jones on mass shootings in America and

fit this most recent development into an unmistakable historical trend.

See for yourself.

Dec. 14, 2012: Newtown school shooting. 28 killed, 2 wounded. Nothing happened.

Sept. 16, 2013: Washington Navy Yard shooting.

12 killed. 8 wounded.

Nothing happened.

Oct. 1, 2015: Umpqua Community College shooting in Oregon. 9 killed, 9 wounded. Nothing happened.

Dec. 2, 2015: San Bernardino mass shooting. 14 killed, 21 wounded. Noth-

ing happened.

Feb. 20, 2016: Kalamazoo shooting spree. 6 killed, 2 wounded. Nothing happened.

June 12, 2016: Orlando nightclub massacre. 49 killed, 53 injured. Nothing happened.

The killers in these cases were of different races and religions. All but two were men. Most had guns that were legally obtained. Nothing happened.

The only thing we know will happen now, disgracefully and certainly, is more of the same.

COLUMN

Cousin Dooley and his sleek, black 1950 Mercury Perhaps junior high age boys aren’t as gullible and impressionable as they were when I was that age.

In my hometown, one campus served both the high school and the junior high, grades 7-12, with 210 students total. If you wanted to be the Big Man on Campus (BMOC), you either had a really long wait or it was never. The latter was the norm.

I was in my first year on that campus, located on Main Street that also doubled as U.S. Highway 84.

During that year, I had a big boost in my status (at times, at least) since my cousin Dooley lived in a rooming house cat-acorner from the campus.

Dooley had returned from military service, had gone to work for the railroad and had bought himself a brand new black 1950 Mercury 2-door.

When he was off the job, he’d cruise around the campus and “drag Main” in that sleek Merc. And, if I was lucky, I got to ride with him and improve my social standing, particularly with the girls, or so it seemed. In 7th grade, a giggle from your “favorite girl,” elicited a major case

of puffy chest. And, if you could wave at ‘em from the window of that “cool” car, well they looked at you as if you were King Kong or at least that’s how it felt.

At that time, most people in my hometown picked out a service station where they did all of their car fueling, maintenance and detailing. Dooley traded at a Humble (now Exxon) downtown.

A young, slender man for whom I only knew a nickname — Pencil, which he’d been given for obvious reasons — always waited on Dooley. He took a liking to Pencil and made sure he was manning the pumps when the black Merc went in for gas, oil or lube.

Dooley often drove in, asked Pencil to get in the car and took him for a ride.

On one such occasion, 13-year-old me was riding with Dooley and he got a wild notion. I only had two tips: “Willis, get in the

back seat,” and “Pencil, you sit up here and help me watch for things.”

Since Dooley was “the cat’s meow” (today’s interpretation would be “way cool”), neither of us questioned him. He instructed Pencil: “Watch the gauges for me, especially the speedometer and be on the lookout for the Highway Patrol. I gotta watch the road.”

Then, Dooley proceeded out U.S. Highway 84 toward Mexia, which was “wet” for beer. There was no liquor-by-the-drink except in private clubs in those days.

I just settled in the back seat and watched “the show.”

As soon as we hit the city limits, Dooley pressed the gas pedal a little more forcefully. In a few seconds, he asked, “How fast we goin’ now, Pencil?”

“You doin’ 60, Dooley.”

He mashed a tad more on the accelerator.

“How fast we goin’ now, Pencil?”

“Uh, y-y-you doin’ 70, Dooley.” (The speed limit was 55 in the early 1950s.)

So, Dooley pushed a lot harder on the gas pedal.

“How fast we goin’ now,

DOONESBURY | GARRY TRUDEAU

Pencil?”

“Y-y-yo-you doin’ 85, Duh-Dooley.”

Same game.

“Y-y-y-yo-you doin’ ni, ni, ninety-five, Doo-DuhDuh-Dooley.”

Pedal to the metal.

Question.

“Y-y-y-y-yo-yo-you dduh-d-doo-in uh hunhun-hun-uh and tuhtuh-10, D-Duh-Doo-Dooley.”

At that point we’d arrived at Dooley’s favorite beer joint. He didn’t have to ask Pencil to get out and get them a beer. Pencil got out grabbed two beers and passed one to Dooley and Pencil proceeded to chug-a-lug his longneck in what had to be record time.

Thankfully, we drove a little slower going home.

When I got in Dooley’s car thereafter, I asked where we were going. If he said, “Mexia,” I politely excused myself and said something about being late for class.

Willis Webb is a retired community newspaper editor-publisher of more than 50 years experience. He can be reached by email at wwebb1937@att.net.

THE ZAPATA TIMES | Wednesday, June 22, 2016 |

A5

NATIONAL California Costumed characters get painted into boxes in Times Square rules are unfair. $500 or jail time.

By Ezra Kaplan years There are really only a The color-coded zones few troublemakers and meant to rein in pushy away from NEW YORK — Elmo, are “the police should do their panhandlers who have job and arrest them and flooded the area, in some Elsa and other costumed making leave the rest of us alone,” cases harassing passerscharacters are getting she said. by and leading to assaults boxed in at Times Square. drought Michelle Wallin was and arrests.

New rules went into visiting from Minneapolis Carmen Peles, from effect Tuesday that restrict recovery street performers to desig- New Jersey, was dressed and enthusiastically took ASSOCIATED PRE SS

By Scott Smith A S S OCIAT E D PRE SS

FRESNO, Calif. — It could take California four years to recover from the most severe drought on record, even if the next several winters bring above-normal snowfall to the Sierra Nevada, researchers said Tuesday.

One winter of El Nino storms that delivered a near-normal snowfall wasn’t enough to make up for the deficit from four consecutive dry years in the Sierra, a critical water supply statewide, the study says.

The lack of snow forces water suppliers and farmers to draw heavily on reservoirs, groundwater and other sources, said Steve Margulis, a civil and environmental engineering professor at the University of California, Los Angeles who led the study.

“The deficit we have is so large it is very, very unlikely to recover in one year,” he said.

Snow typically falls each winter in the Sierra and melts during the warm months, rushing down streams and rivers into reservoirs. It provides critical water supplies to millions of residents and vast farmland in the nation’s leading agricultural state.

Consecutive dry years are common in California, but this drought — now entering a fifth year — is the most severe in the last 1,200 years, according to studies cited in the research.

California recovered in as little as one year from past droughts, such as one in 1977, but this one is exceptional, said Margulis, publishing the findings in the Geophysical Research Letters, a journal of the American Geophysical Union.

In the study, researchers combined three decades of NASA satellite imagery taken of the Sierra snowpack with state snowpack measurements collected since 1951.

Today, California’s snowpack is at 8 percent of normal for this time of year, according to the state Department of Water Resources figures.

The study is designed to help leaders chart water policy. Last year, state regulators imposed historic cutbacks on farms and cities. Restrictions on residents were recently relaxed, allowing local water districts to set their own conservation efforts.

nated painted rectangles on the pedestrian plaza.

The boundaries apply to anyone who is performing a service where there can be an exchange of money, including the costumed characters who for pose for pictures for tips and vendors selling tickets to bus tours or comedy shows.

Those caught out of bounds could be arrested and face a fine of up to

up as Elsa from “Frozen” and said she was already feeling locked up.

“Everybody agrees, we feel like we are in a jail,” she said. “You spend an hour in a box and see how you feel.”

Police Capt. Robert O’Hare, who heads a special Time Square unit, was out on patrol accompanied by police department lawyers as the new rules took effect.

Richard Drew / AP

Costumed characters work in a color-coded designated activity zone in New York's Times Square, on Tuesday.

“We’re not looking to hurt people here,” O’Hare said. “If there’s someone who’s confused, we’re here for clarification as well as enforcement.”

Sandy Kane, the Naked Cowgirl, lives in Manhattan. She has been playing guitar while wearing only pasties and underwear for nine years and thinks the

a picture of her son with Elmo. As soon as the picture was snapped, Elmo pulled out a small laminated card that just said “Tips!” and presented it to Wallin, who retrieved a few coins from her purse and dropped them in the furry outstretched hand.

“I think (the designated squares) are a great idea, especially when you have kids,” said Wallin.

No ‘magic bullet’ against jihadist propaganda, Lynch says

By Eric Tucker and Mike Schneider ASSOCIATED PRE SS

ORLANDO, Fla. — The Orlando massacre at a popular gay nightclub underscores the challenges faced by the U.S. government in countering the narrative of radical extremism, Attorney General Loretta Lynch said Tuesday.

Lynch told The Associated Press in an interview that no one yet has “found the magic bullet” to prevent individuals from being inspired to violence by jihadist propaganda they read on the Internet.

Her visit to Orlando included what she described as a “very difficult meeting” with victims’ relatives, briefings with law enforcement officials and visits with first responders.

As officials investigate the June 12 attack at the

Gerardo Mora / Getty Images

Attorney General Loretta Lynch speaks during a news conference about the Pulse nightclub mass shooting in Orlando.

Pulse nightclub, Lynch said there’s no doubt that Omar Mateen had read and been interested in extremist propaganda. In a 911 call made from the club, he also pledged solidarity with the Islamic State.

But she said investigators haven’t ruled out the possibility of other motives for the carnage, and they don’t yet know for sure why he targeted a

gay nightclub for the shooting, in which 49 people were killed and dozens more wounded.

Mateen died in a gunbattle with police.

“This was clearly an act of terror and an act of hate,” she told reporters later.

She called the rampage a “shattering attack, on our nation, on our people and on our most fundamental ideals.”

Lynch also directly addressed the LGBT community, saying, “We stand with you to say that the good in the world far outweighs the evil ... and that our most effective response to terror and hatred is compassion, unity and love.”

Her remarks at a news conference followed briefings by U.S. Attorney Lee Bentley and other law enforcement officials, including prosecutors assigned to the investigation.

“I think there’s a real benefit to having her here to see everything firsthand,” Bentley said as the two stood with their arms around each other.

Lynch said the Justice Department will provide Florida $1 million in emergency funds to help with response costs.

Florida’s Republican Gov. Rick Scott had earlier complained that Washington had turned down

his request for $5 million to help pay for the state’s response.

Federal Emergency Management Agency spokesman Rafael Lemaitre said its disaster fund is not an “appropriate source” to pay for law enforcement response, medical care and counseling for victims resulting from a shooting.

More clues emerged about the attack Monday when the FBI released a partial transcript of phone calls Mateen had with a 911 operator and police crisis negotiators once the shooting got underway.

In them, he identified himself as an Islamic soldier, demanded that the U.S. “stop bombing” Syria and Iraq, warned of future violence in the coming days and at one point pledged allegiance to Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, the leader of the Islamic State group, the FBI said.

Sports&Outdoors A6 | Wednesday, June 22, 2016 | THE ZAPATA TIMES SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

2016 NBA DRAFT: SPURS

DEFRAUDED ATHLETES

Bob Owen / San Antonio Express-News file

Spurs GM R.C. Buford, left, and coach Gregg Popovich enter Thursday’s NBA Draft with the No. 29 selection.

History of No. 29 pick bodes poorly for Spurs

By Nick Moyle SA N A N TONI O E XPRE SS-NEWS

Life at the top of the NBA is fine as long as you're willing to accept hanging around the depths of the draft.

Since selecting Tim Duncan No. 1 in 1997, the Spurs have not picked higher than 20th, though they did orchestrate a trade for the 15th pick of the 2011 draft, a quiet kid from San Diego State named Kawhi Leonard.

That one turned out fine.

The draft is an inexact science — all the scouting in the world can't predict the future.

Landing Tony Parker at 28 and Manu Ginobili at 57 is about as serendipitous as it comes, and several other role players like Tiago Splitter and Cory Joseph have been uncovered near the bottom of the first round by general manager R.C. Buford and his shrewd minions.

No one strikes gold every time, though.

Every team has James Andersons and Beno Udrihs and Ian Mahinmis, guys that either weren't cut for the league or couldn't assimilate with their first team.

The Spurs have the 29th pick in Thursday's draft, a slot that isn't traditionally high-yielding.

Just three All-Stars have been produced from that spot since 1951, the first season the game was held.

Reports have surfaced that the Spurs are interested in moving up, perhaps with the hope of adding a player more likely to contribute immediately as the team ages and Ginobili and Tim Duncan approach the end.

While general manager R.C. Buford works the phones leading up to and through draft night, let's take a look at all the players drafted with the 29th pick since 200.

PHILADELPHIA 76ERS

John Bazemore / AP file

LSU's Ben Simmons is the favorite to be selected by the 76ers at No. 1 overall in Thursday’s NBA Draft.

Bob Levey / Getty Images file

Former Astros pitcher Roy Oswalt was among a group of athletes including Giants pitcher Jake Peavy and Broncos quarterback Mark Sanchez that were cheated out of more than $30 million in a Ponzi-like scheme, said federal investigators Tuesday.

SEC: Athletes defrauded in ponzi-like scheme

By Juan A. Lozano ASSOCIATED PRE SS

HOUSTON — Several professional athletes, including San Francisco Giants pitcher Jake Peavy, Denver Broncos quarterback Mark Sanchez and retired Houston Astros pitcher Roy Oswalt, were cheated out of more than $30 million by an investment adviser in a Ponzi-like scheme, federal investigators said Tuesday.

In a lawsuit filed last month in Dallas federal court, the Securities and Exchange Commission alleges that Ash Narayan told his clients he was pursuing a low-risk investment strategy for their money but actually put more than $33 million of it into an Illinois-based online sports and entertainment ticket business, The Ticket Reserve, that had lost money for the last four years. It also says he didn't tell them that The Ticket Reserve paid him nearly $2 million in finder's fees for directing their money to the company.

"Narayan exploited athletes and other clients who trusted him to manage their finances. He fraudulently funneled their savings into a money-losing business and his own pocket," Shamoil T. Shipchandler, director of the SEC's Fort Worth regional office, said in a statement.

The SEC's lawsuit alleges that Narayan, The Ticket Reserve, the ticket company's CEO, Richard Harmon, and its chief operating officer, John Kaptrosky, violated antifraud provisions of federal securities laws and a related SEC antifraud rule, and accuses Narayan of violating the antifraud provisions

of the Investment Advisers Act of 1940.

The SEC said Tuesday that it obtained a court order freezing the assets of Narayan, Harmon, and Kaptrosky. A receiver has also been appointed to manage the ticket business. No criminal charges have been filed.

"Mr. Narayan has always sought to act in his clients' best interests.

Accordingly, he will continue to work with the SEC to ensure that this matter is resolved in the most favorable manner for those clients," Howard M. Privette, Narayan's attorney, said in an email.

Court records did not list attorneys for Harmon and Kaptrosky.

They did not immediately return a phone message seeking comment on the lawsuit left with The Ticket Reserve.

Narayan worked out of Irvine, California, for a Dallas-based financial firm, RGT Wealth Advisors, from 1997 until earlier this year. In a statement, RGT said it fired Narayan after discovering what he had done.

"These actions did not conform to RGT's high standards of client service and our core values of integrity and professionalism," RGT said. "We are outraged by this conduct, and are working hard to try to recoup invested funds for the clients involved."

According to court documents, Narayan directed more than $30.4 million into the ticket business from three current and former athletes: $15.1 million from Peavy; nearly $7.8 million from Sanchez; and nearly $7.6 million from Os-

walt.

In statements filed as part of the lawsuit, both Peavy and Sanchez said they believe Narayan forged their signatures to transfer money from their accounts to the business.

Peavy said he had been working to set aside $20 million for after his playing days were over.

"Between 2011 and 2016, Narayan invested approximately $15 million of my funds in (the ticket business) without my authorization. This represents the vast majority of the personal funds that Narayan managed for me. ... To date, I have yet to receive a return on any of my funds used to invest in" the ticket business, Peavy said.

Before the Giants' game Tuesday in Pittsburgh, Peavy said he can't speak publicly on the SEC investigation.

"We're working through it best we can. Just have got to stay focused on this team and doing my job. ... There's always outside distractions in what we do. This obviously has been one," he said.

All three athletes said they hired Narayan in part because he represented himself as a devout Christian involved in charitable causes and claimed to be a certified public accountant. The SEC says Narayan has never been a CPA. In his statement, Sanchez said he had agreed to make only a $100,000 investment in the online ticket company and "because it is such a risky investment, I would not have knowingly invested additional funds in (the business) - much less committed millions of dollars to that company."

Sixers work out Simmons, won’t confirm he’s No. 1 pick

By Keith Pompey TH E P H ILADE LPHIA I NQUIRER

Ben Simmons was in Philadelphia on Tuesday morning to work out for the 76ers.

The former Louisiana State power forward worked out for the Sixers at Philadelphia College of Osepathic Medicine, according to sources close to the player.

The Sixers probably will take the 6-foot-10, 260-pounder first in Thursday’s NBA draft.

Simmons averaged 19.2 points, 11.8 rebounds, 4.8 assists, and 2.0 steals this past season. He was a consensus first-team All-American and the United States Basketball

Writers Association freshman of the year.

Early Monday afternoon, the Cleveland Plain Dealer’s Chris Haynes reported that the 76ers have already told Simmons he’ll be the No. 1 pick. "This morning Philadelphia 76ers informed camp of Ben Simmons he would be taken No. 1 in NBA Draft, league sources tell (at sign)clevelanddotcom," said the tweet.

76ers officials who spoke after Simmons’ workout had no response to the report.

Simmons, however, might have offered a big hint in an Instagram post that just said, "Trust the process."

We’re a $6-billion growth company, and one of the nation’s fastest growing retail organizations.

Can you imagine a more exciting place to grow?

Now Hiring in Zapata, TX

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Apply online at EOE www.tractorsupply.jobs

Zfrontera THE ZAPATA TIMES | Wednesday, June 22, 2016 |

RIBEREÑA EN BREVE Encuesta para padres 1 Zapata County Independent School District está solicitando a los padres de familia con hijos que ingresarán al grado de “pre-k 4” que respondan una encuesta. La encuesta puede ser accesada visitando http://tinyurl.com/ zkcrahr

Academia Roma FC Soccer 1 Se invita a participar en la escuela infantil Academia Roma FC Soccer para niños de 3 años a 10 años de edad. Cuota de 40 dólares que incluye uniforme. Registro es martes y jueves de 6 p.m. a 8 p.m. en el Roma Park Soccer Field. Participan en juegos de fin de semana y torneos. Informes en el 956-437-2700 o 956-437-9112.

GOBIERNO DE TAMAULIPAS

Reportan arrestos por diferentes delitos ZAPATA

CD. VICTORIA, MÉXICO— Del 10 al 19 de junio, las fuerzas federales y estatales del Grupo de Coordinación Tamaulipas reportaron la detención de 25 presuntos delincuentes relevantes por delitos que van desde agresión a la autoridad, tráfico de personas, contra la salud, portación de arma, narcomenudeo y hasta halconeo.

Estas detenciones se dieron a conocer en la reunión ordinaria del

Día de Independencia 1 La Cámara de Comercio del Condado de Zapata anuncia que el día 4 de julio las oficinas permanecerán cerradas por la celebración del Día de la Independencia.

1 La Ciudad de Roma invita a su celebración del 4 de julio en la Plaza Histórica de Roma desde las 7 p.m.

Habá música en vivo y diversión para toda la familia.

Exhibición de juegos pirotécnicos a partir de las 11 p.m. Entrada gratuita.

Evento deportivo 1 La Cuarta Caminata/Carrera y Competencia Infantil Anual de 5K PFC Ira “Ben” Laningham IV se realizará el sábado 16 de julio a partir de 8 a.m. con salida del Palacio de Justicia (Courthouse) del Condado de Zapata.

Habrá trofeos para ganadores en cada categoría. Cuota de participación es de 15 dólares, si se inscriben con anterioridad visitando active.com o 20 dólares el mismo día. Precio especial para estudiantes y niños.

Próximos deportistas 1 Estudiantes interesados en participar en deportes en Zapata Middle School y Zapata High School deberán acudir al examen físico de atletismo el 28 de julio.

Para el nivel preparatoria será a la 1 p.m. en el gimnasio de ZHS. Para el nivel secundaria (7o y 8o grados) será a las 3 p.m. en el gimnasio de ZHS. El costo es de 20 dólares. Para cualquier información llame a Roni Arce en el Departamento de Atletismo de ZCISD en el 956-7650280, ext 3517.

Grupo de Coordinación Tamaulipas que encabezó el Gobernador Egidio Torre Cantú este lunes, en las instalaciones del Complejo de Seguridad de la Secretaría de Seguridad Pública. Estas son algunas de las detenciones relevantes: Junio 13.- En el municipio de Matamoros, personal de una Base de Operaciones Mixtas detuvo a Rafael Emmanuel González Iracheta y Edgar Antonio Ayala Facundo cuando se trasladaban en un vehículo con reporte de robo. Se aseg-

tipo AR-15, en una maleta localizada en el compartimiento de equipaje de los conductores de un autobús de pasajeros, siendo detenidos los choferes Jorge Alfonso Ruiz Osorio y Christian Guadalupe Ávila Hernández.

Finalmente, del 13 al 19 de junio, elementos de las fuerzas federales y estatales detuvieron a 16 personas por narcomenudeo y halconeo destacando 10 personas en Nuevo Laredo, tres en Tampico, una persona en Victoria, una en Reynosa y una más en Padilla.

uraron armas largas, municiones y una lona impresa con mensaje alusivo a un grupo delincuencial.

Junio 16.- Policías estatales detuvieron a Josué Quirino Albarrán, de 37 años y José Carlos Sandeja López, de 25 años, en posesión de un armas, municiones y droga sobre la carretera ZaragozaVictoria, a la altura del kilómetro 9.5.

Junio 17.- En el municipio de El Mante, personal de la Secretaría de la Defensa Nacional aseguró mecanismos para arma

TAMAULIPAS

GRADÚAN NUEVOS INSTRUCTORES

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 956-849-1411.

DESASTRES NATURALES

Detienen a delincuentes E SPECIAL PARA TIEMP O DE

Iniciativa Mérida avala acreditación E SPECIAL PARA TIEMP O DE LAREDO

CD. VICTORIA, MÉXICO— La Universidad de Seguridad y Justicia de Tamaulipas (USJT), en colaboración con el tratado internacional de seguridad Iniciativa Mérida, celebraron la graduación de 32 elementos de Fuerza Tamaulipas del Curso de Habilidades Básicas del Policía, acreditándolos como instructores para las próximas generaciones de policías estatales.

“Formar parte de la Policía Estatal Fuerza Tamaulipas, es una gran responsabilidad y es un gran reto. Los servidores públicos más preparados como ustedes, tienen la responsabilidad de promover el respeto por la vida, ser tolerantes con todas las personas y ante todo, dar cabal cumplimiento con la ley, para que su familia y la sociedad, estemos orgullosos de ustedes”, exhortó José Luis Zaragoza Chacón,

Foto de cortesía | Gobierno de Tamaulipas

Autoridades y funcionarios de la Universidad de Seguridad y Justicia de Tamaulias e Iniciativa Mérida hacen entrega de las constancia de acreditación a elementos de Fuerza Tamaulipas que participaron en el Curso de Habilidades Básicas del Policía.

Rector de la Universidad de Seguridad y Justicia de Tamaulipas.

A su vez, el General Jesús Martínez Martínez, agradeció a nombre de la Secretaría de Seguridad Pública el apoyo recibido por parte de las autoridades presentes, declarando formalmente terminados los trabajos del Curso de Habilidades Básicas del Policía.

El propósito de esa capacitación, fue actu-

alizar los conocimientos relacionados con la función policial y desarrollar las aptitudes necesarias para el desempeño adecuado de su labor en materia de prevención del delito apegado a la ley y en beneficio de la población tamaulipeca.

La Iniciativa Mérida es una asociación bilateral entre los Estados Unidos y México para combatir el crimen organizadoy la violencia asociada mien-

tras se fomenta el respeto a los derechos humanos y la aplicación de la ley.

Basada en principios de responsabilidad común, responsabilidad compartida, confianza mutua, y respeto a la independencia soberana, los esfuerzos de los dos países han construido la confianza que está transformando la relación bilateral, de acuerdo al sitio de Internet del Departamento de Estado.

COLUMNA

Petróleo juega papel importante en Segunda Guerra Mundial Nota del editor: El autor relata hechos relacionados con el abastecimiento petrolero a navíos durante la II Guerra Mundial Por Raúl Sinencio Chávez TIEMP O DE ZAPATA

Bien entrada la noche, resplandece el sureste extremo de Tamaulipas.

Desde las alturas brillan oficinas, centros fabriles, hospitales, comercios y hogares, iluminados con luz eléctrica. De pronto, focos y neones van apagándose, hasta ceñir el área las penumbras. Es 16 de septiembre de 1941.

Lo anterior emana de medidas dispuestas por los acontecimientos de la Segunda Guerra Mundial.

La entidad, límitrofe con EU, aplica medidas

cautelares extraordinarias. Las pesquisas conducen a Nuevo Laredo, México. Inmiscuido en comprometedores asuntos queda al descubierto Arthur Rewiman, viejo residente de la ciudad fronteriza, donde acechaban operadores furtivos del Tercer Reich.

Pero en Tampico y Ciudad Madero, México, el oro negro se vuelve imprescindible para las partes en pugna. Y ambos municipios hacen mancuerna portuaria y petrolera. Dichas actividades despiertan el interés de partidarios de los alemanes.

Aunque condena las invasiones niponas, fascistas y nazis —brindándoles a los perseguidos la oportunidad de asilo—, México permanecía neutral ante el conflicto bél-

A7

ico. No obstante, tras imponerle medida Benito Mussolini en1941, la presidencia de la República incauta 11 trasatlánticos a Berlín y Roma. De ellos, nueve tenían largo tiempo en Tampico, México.

El rompimiento mexicano de relaciones diplomáticas con las potencias del Eje sobreviene al declinar 1941. Lo precede el ataque japonés a Pearl Harbor. Los norteamericanos aflojan el boicot a la expropiación petrolera, siguiéndolos Gran Bretaña, que reabre su embajada. Conocidos los planes de venderle a EU hidrocarburos nacionales, Adolfo Hitler amenaza con drásticas represalias.

Aquello intimida a los tripulantes del “Potrero del Llano”. Tanto, que algunos deciden mantenerse en tierra. Reempla-

zándolos como puede, el capitán Gabriel Cruz Díaz ordena que suelten amarras en muelles de Tamaulipas. La nave zarpa con miles de toneladas de crudo.

Jamás regresa. Navegaba a la altura de Florida el 13 de mayo de 1942.

Poco antes de la media noche recibe impacto el casco. Justo en la parte del centro, lo alcanza un torpedo proveniente del submarino nazi comandado por Reinhard Suhren.

Mueren 11 y 21 sobreviven.

Pese a la neutralidad sostenida por tales actos, ese año se pierden siete buquestanque. El presidente Manuel Ávila Camacho declara la guerra al Eje Berlín-Roma-Tokio el 28 de mayo de 1942.

Con permiso del autor, publicado en La Razón, el 10 de junio del 2016

Brindan consejos para evitar fraudes E SPECIAL PARA TIEMP O DE ZAPATA

La organización Better Business Bureau (BBB por sus siglas en inglés), se encuentra haciendo una advertencia sobre contratistas corruptos que intentan aprovecharse de los residentes por los daños ocasionados en los vecindarios debido a las tormentas y al granizo que se han dejado sentir recientemente.

En abril el Gobernador Gregg Abbott declaró un estado de desastre avisando a residentes que pongan atención a las advertencias, ya que Texas seguiría recibiendo lluvias e inundaciones.

Mientras los dueños de hogares y de negocios empiezan a inspeccionar los daños de una tormenta, muchos podrán identificar la necesidad de un contratista. Desafortunadamente, el resultado de un desastre natural muchas veces atrae a una multitud de contratistas corruptos.

Estos contratistas buscan hogares que necesitan reparaciones inmediatas.

BBB que da servicio al centro y costa suroeste de Texas y a la Cuenca Permian, recibe cada año reportes EN contra contratistas que piden pagos por adelantado, dejan proyectos sin terminar o simplemente nunca empiezan las reparaciones.

Sin embargo, BBB quiere que los consumidores comprendan, que no todos los contratistas y negocios fuera de la ciudad tienen motivos sospechosos o intenciones de estafarlos.

BBB hace las siguientes recomendaciones para evitar ser víctima de un fraude después de un desastre: 1 Contratistas que solicitan trabajo de puerta a puerta. Tenga cuidado con contratistas que no le ofrecen la dirección física o un numero de su compañía.

1 Tácticas para presionar. Resista caer con frases como “buena oferta” que recibirá solamente si firma un contrato en ese instante.

1 Solicitar pago completo por adelantado. Nunca pague el total hasta que el trabajo sea terminado.

Es recomendable pagar un tercio del proyecto y el resto cuando se termine el trabajo.

Además proporciona los siguientes consejos para encontrar un contratista: 1 Revise con su compañía de seguros. Pregunte sobre la cobertura de su póliza y cómo presentar un reclamo.

1 Conozca el negocio que quiere contratar. Es buena idea solicitar dos o tres presupuestos, y comparar materiales, servicios, y garantías, no solamente precio.

1 Lea y entienda el contrato y garantía. Asegúrese de recibir un presupuesto y contrato por escrito. El contrato debe incluir una descripción de los servicios, y el costo de materiales y mano de obra. La garantía debe describir lo que es cubierto y por cuánto tiempo.

A8 | Wednesday, June 22, 2016 | THE ZAPATA TIMES

FROM THE COVER CHIEF From page A1

BOATS From page A1

“Mark’s outstanding investigative work and leadership have been an incredible asset to the FBI, and he will be missed,” FBI Director James Comey said.

Morgan replaces Michael Fisher, who retired in 2015 after five years on the job. Ronald Vitiello, who was deputy chief under Fisher, has been serving as interim chief.

Morgan’s appointment is not subject to congressional approval.

The appointment may be one of the last significant acts by Kerlikowske as commissioner of the nation’s largest law enforcement agency. Commissioners are typically replaced when presidential administrations change. The former Seattle police chief said he considered applicants from within and outside the Border Patrol.

Cabrera, vice president of the National Border Patrol Council's Rio Grande Valley chapter. "Nobody wants to get us the manpower. We have manpower at the station, but they don’t want to take away from the station to put it on a boat, even though it’s a force multiplier."

Citing operational security, the agency won’t say how many boats it has, or how many certified pilots it has to operate them. In an email, CBP spokeswoman Marlene A. Castro would say only that the agency has "numerous" teams that are deployed "day and night.” Asked if it was possible to have vessels in the water round the clock, she said the units are assigned maritime duty "according to trends and intelligence," without elaborating.

Increasing patrols isn't as easy as matching existing agents with available boats, she said, because the Border Patrol follows U.S. Coast Guard safety standards and has rules for selecting crews and captains.

Agents need at least two years on the job to be considered, Castro said.

They must first be certified as a crewman, which requires passing a fitness and swim-rescue test in a full uniform. A crewman can apply to be a vessel commander, attending a four-week course in marine law enforcement at a training facility in Glynco, Georgia. That's followed by a 10-week course to prepare for a field performance evaluation. The names of agents who pass that test are forwarded to the National Marine Training Center in Saint Augustine, Florida, where, if accepted, they are evaluated for two more weeks.

A boat commander has

to pass quarterly and yearly evaluations, Castro added.

Even after all that, additional bureaucratic hurdles loom. Castro said agents can only pilot a boat for 6 out of any 12 hours, followed by at least 10 hours of rest, in accord with Coast Guard standards. What’s not clear is why the Border Patrol is using those standards — developed for commercial vessels — for river boat pilots.

"It’s up to the agencies to decide whether they want to use commercial regulations as their standards or if they want to adopt their own or come up with their own," said Coast Guard spokeswoman Lt. Anne Besser. "The IMO standards are kind of the gold standards as far as internationally set safety standards."

Castro said her agency uses the Coast Guard standards as a starting point.

The state of Texas has a tiny fleet in comparison

to the Border Patrol, but one that doesn’t face the same maritime constraints as the federal agency.

The Texas Department of Safety's Secure Texas project — a big part of the $800 million effort to beef up state law enforcement on the border — includes 10 vessels in its Tactical Marine Unit, with three more coming soon, says agency spokesman Tom Vinger.

He said training is also vigorous for state cops who want to pilot the vessels: They must attend and complete a Texas Parks & Wildlife Department marine safety enforcement officer course, a U.S. Coast Guard Crewman course and a U.S. Military machine gun qualification course.

They must also pass the same training in Georgia that CBP agents attend.

But Vinger said time constraints don't prevent the agency from doing constant patrols, regardless of current maritime

operating policies.

"We currently patrol the Rio Grande River 24/7 for Operation Secure Texas," he said an email.

"DPS follows all U.S. maritime rules and regulations that are in effect on international waterways. We currently have no time restrictions placed on vessel commanders, since we have a sufficient number of vessel commanders to rotate into the position."

Cabrera, the Border Patrol union vice president — and a former boat commander himself — said the failure to stage a more robust fleet of boats on the water "hits a nerve" with him because the maritime patrols are the best assets the agency has.

"If two boats can shut the area down, imagine what 10 or 12 boats can do," he said. "It’s more of a pissing contest, like, 'We don’t want to give you our manpower from our line to go with your manpower on the boats.'"

THE ZAPATA TIMES | Wednesday, June 22, 2016 |

A9

BUSINESS

Are crude oil prices high enough for new drilling?

By Jeffrey Weiss TH E DALLAS MORNI NG NEWS

Oil customers and oil field workers got a bit of mixed news Monday from the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas: Many regional oil and gas exploration companies say crude oil prices are high enough for new drilling in some parts of the major Texas, Oklahoma and Louisiana oil fields. On the other hand, there are some parts that won’t open back up until the prices get a lot higher. And more companies

say they’ll be shedding employees this year than say they’ll be adding jobs.

The information comes from a new survey of oil and gas companies that the Dallas Fed started recently. About 200 such companies operate in the Dallas Fed region that takes in Texas, southern New Mexico and northern Louisiana. All of the results from the second quarter will be released on June 29, but answers to three specific questions were released today.

The chart at the top shows some of the range of good news

and bad. At the moment, the wholesale price of crude is a bit under $48 a barrel.

Here’s the chart that shows what the company executives think will happen with jobs for the rest of the year: Again, some good news and bad news. But Dallas Fed senior research economist Michael Plante has a glass-halffull view of those numbers.

"I thought there would be more companies telling us they would be laying off employees this year," he said.

And as for the ones saying

they expected to add positions?

"I was expecting no one."

The Dallas Fed project is one more data collection process for an industry with a data glut.

From the federal Energy Information Administration to private groups like Baker Hughes with its famous rig count to any number of analysts, there are lots of places to look for numbers. What will the Dallas Fed add to the mix?

Plante said the hope is to get data directly from the companies that will include some forward-looking questions that

aren’t commonly asked. Plus special questions each quarter, like the ones whose results were released today.

"There is an unusually large amount of data available," Plante said. "But there is always data that people would like to have available that is not."

The third question released today? About what the price of oil needs to be to cover expenses from existing wells. Across the board, the break-even point for most of those wells is under today’s crude oil price.

Feds to use tax penalty UAW says Volkswagen reneged data to find uninsured deal to recognize union Millennials

By Erik Schelzig ASSOCIATED PRE SS

By Kelli Kennedy A S S OCIAT E D PRE SS

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. — With time running out for the Obama administration to prove the success of the Affordable Care Act, officials are aggressively targeting a group that could help turn things around: young people.

Federal health officials announced Tuesday they will comb tax records to find 18-34 year-olds who paid the penalty stipulated under President Barack Obama’s health act for not buying health insurance and reach out to them directly with emails to urge them to avoid even higher penalties scheduled for this year. They also plan to heavily advertise the enrollment campaign, including a promotion with trendy ride-sharing service Lyft to offer discounted rides to enrollment events.

Insurance companies need robust enrollment of healthy young people to balance the costs of caring for older, sicker adults, who signed up in droves for insurance under so-called Obamacare. The overhaul has been a financial drain for many companies entering their fourth year of the law. They’ve repeatedly said they were caught off guard by the condition of initial enrollees, who were sicker and required more services than insurers anticipated.

Roughly 11.4 million millennials were eligible for coverage in the federal marketplace, according to 2013 data from Kaiser Family Foundation. Federal health officials said only 28 percent of the enrollees in 2016 were from that age group.

“We’ve gotten a lot better at reaching out to young consumers and using messages that we know work. The penalty is certainly one of those messages,” said Joshua Peck, chief marketing officer for the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services.

The minimum penalty under the health care reform rises to

$695 in 2016 for someone uninsured a full 12 months and not eligible for one of the law’s exemptions. That’s more than double the corresponding figure of $325 for 2015. But the fines are even steeper for those with incomes of about $28,000 or higher, because the law sets the penalty as the greater of $695 or 2.5 percent of taxable income this year.

About 45 percent of taxpayers paying a penalty or claiming an exemption were under the age of 35, compared to about 30 percent of all taxpayers in 2014, according to the federal government.

Since data shows that millennials are procrastinators who wait until the last minute to enroll, health officials will target their emails and media buys toward the end of the enrollment period. They’ll also follow up with consumers in real time if they open an account on healthcare.gov but don’t end up completing an application or purchasing insurance and will also send reminders to pay their first premium. Sort of like a friendly nudge from mom and dad.

Republicans are vowing to repeal the law if they sweep the November elections, leaving little time for the Obama administration to tweak any shortcomings in the controversial health law.

Boosting the enrollment of younger people will help companies struggling financially to balance their risk pools. Aetna lost more than $100 million on its health law business last year but hopes to break even this year.

And while the Obama administration noted that younger enrollees are disproportionately represented among the uninsured, they also noted that coverage in that age group has still grown since 2010 when the law took effect. They said the uninsured rate for 19-25-year-olds fell to 15.8 percent in 2015, which is less than half the uninsured rate for the same group in 2010.

NASHVILLE, Tenn.

— A signed agreement shows that Volkswagen officials reneged on a pledge to recognize the United Auto Workers without another vote at the German automaker’s lone U.S. plant in Tennessee, a top union official said Tuesday.

Gary Casteel, the UAW’s secretary-treasurer, released the 2014 document stating that Volkswagen would recognize the UAW as the representative of its members in exchange for the union dropping a challenge to the outcome of a union election at the plant in Chattanooga.

“Volkswagen never fulfilled its commitments to recognize the union as a representative of its members,” Casteel said in a conference call. “The unfulfilled commitment is at the heart of the ongoing disagreement between the company and the union.”

The union said the written agreement for the company to “recognize the UAW as a ‘members union”’ stemmed from negotiations led by Volkswagen’s then-chief financial officer, Hans Dieter Poetsch, who has since been named chairman amid the company’s diesel emissions cheating scandal.

But Volkswagen Chattanooga spokesman Scott Wilson countered in an email that the company has “no contract with the UAW.” He said the agreement is reflected in a labor policy established at the plant to formalize meetings between worker repre-

Erik Schelzig / AP file

In this July 12, 2013 photo, employees at the Volkswagen plant in Chattanooga, Tenn., work on the assembly of Passat sedans. The United Auto Workers said on Tuesday that Volkswagen reneged on an earlier agreement to recognize the union in exchange for the UAW dropping a legal challenge to the outcome of a union vote at the plant in 2014.

sentatives and management, but stops well short of collective bargaining.

That arrangement “remains an excellent way for deepening the dialogue with employee organizations,” Wilson said.

Casteel told reporters that plant-specific labor policy is “by no stretch” what the negotiators envisioned.

“We all talked extensively about what recognition means and what would occur if we withdrew our objections to the election,” he said. “The meaning was very clear to all in the room.”

Republican politicians in Tennessee and across the region have long opposed the United Auto Workers gaining a foothold among foreign owned plants. And before the 2014 union vote at the plant, Republicans in the state Legislature warned that state grants and incentives to expand the plant could be lost if the UAW

won.

Following the union’s 712-626 defeat in the 2014 vote, the UAW mounted a legal challenge on the basis that the election was tainted by unfounded fears sown by labor opponents.

The union dropped the case after reaching its agreement with the company. Workers specializing in the maintenance of machinery and robots at the Chattanooga factory in December voted 108-44 in favor of UAW representation.

But the company refused to enter into a collective bargaining with the skilled-trades workers, arguing that that only the entire blue-collar workforce at the plant should be allowed to make labor decisions there.

The National Labor Relations Board has ruled in the UAW’s favor on allowing the smaller group of workers to seek union representation. But Volkswagen has vowed to chal-

lenge that decision in federal appeals court.

The union agreement with the company was released on the eve of Volkswagen’s shareholder meeting Wednesday, where UAW supporters plan to hand out fliers highlighting the labor dispute in the U.S. It also comes as German prosecutors have launched an investigation into former CEO Martin Winterkorn and another unnamed executive over allegations they didn’t inform investors soon enough about the company’s scandal over cars rigged to cheat on U.S. diesel emissions tests.

Casteel drew parallels between the emissions scandal and the company’s labor policies, saying that a “common thread is a disregard for its corporate commitment and in our case a disregard for U.S. law.”

“We believe the company is better than this,” he said.

A10 | Wednesday, June 22, 2016 | LAREDO MORNING TIMES