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TEXAS EDUCATION AGENCY
TEXAS
Zapata County ISD meets minimum standards
More forms of ID OK’d
All local schools pass state rating system, which will change next year By Will Weissert A S S OCIAT E D PRE SS
Nearly 94 percent of districts and around 84 percent of public schools in Texas met minimum education standards, officials announced Monday, in the final incarnation of an academic rating system that next year will be replaced with letter grades between A and F. Zapata County Independent
School District as a whole as well as all of its campuses received a rating of “met standard.” However, ZCISD failed in the Student Achievement category, scoring a 59; a passing score is 60. Their Student Progress rating made up for that, though. ZCISD scored a 36; the minimum score to pass is 22. Each public and charter Schools continues on A11
Voters to have more options THE ZAPATA TIME S
Danny Zaragoza / The Zapata Times
Zapata High School is shown in this July photo. Zapata High School met standards in the TEA’s most recent school rating system.
TEXAS
HURRICANE SEASON
Pu Ying Huang / The Texas Tribune
Drivers attempt to cross the floodwaters on Highway 59 in Houston on April 18.
State’s disaster fund drained from earlier events By Julián Aguilar TH E T E XAS T RIBUNE
As Texas takes on another hurricane season, Gov. Greg Abbott’s office has nearly committed all of the 2016-17 emergency funds reserved for state disaster recovery efforts in the aftermath of floods and other natural disasters. And Abbott’s staffers are pointing the finger at state budget writers, who allotted nearly $50 million less in general revenue for disaster relief than what Abbott’s office had asked for ahead of the 2015 legislative session. The issue came to light in a letter from Abbott’s office to
Harris County lawmakers, dated June 30, when the governor denied their request for funds from the Disaster and Deficiency Grants program after severe flooding in that part of the state. “Despite numerous conversations with representatives from both the House and Senate, the final budget for this biennium appropriated a net amount of just $14.8 million to the Disaster and Deficiency Grants program,” Deputy Chief of Staff Robert Allen wrote in the letter. “In the end, the Disaster Fund was appropriated $48.5 million less than the Governor’s Office requested.” The request from Harris County came as Texas had been Hurricane continues on A11
Texas Secretary of State Carlos H. Cascos announced last Wednesday that voters will have additional options when presenting ID at the polls for the November election. “In elections this fall, Texas voters who cannot obtain one of the seven forms of approved photo ID will have additional options when casting their ballots,” Cascos said. “My agency is working to make sure Texans know about these changes and that all qualified voters are ready to cast a ballot.” As provided by a court order issued Wednesday, if a voter is not able to obtain one of the seven forms of approved photo ID, the voter may vote by signing a declaration at the polls explaining why the voter is unable to obtain one of the seven forms of approved photo ID, and providing one of various forms of supporting documentation. Supporting documentation can be a certified birth certificate (must be an original), a valid voter registration certificate, a copy or original of one of the following: current utility bill, bank statement, government check, or paycheck, or other government document that shows the name and address of the voter, although government documents which include a photo must be original and cannot be copies. If a voter meets these requirements and is otherwise eligible to vote, the voter will be able to cast a regular ballot in the election. The seven forms of approved photo ID are: 1 Texas driver license issued by the Texas Department of Public Safety 1 Texas Election Identification Certificate issued by DPS 1 Texas personal identification card issued by DPS 1 Texas license to carry a handgun issued by DPS 1 United States military identification card containing the person’s photograph 1 United States citizenship certificate containing the person’s photograph 1 United States passport With the exception of the U.S. Voters continues on A11
MEXICO
Authorities say ‘El Chapo’s son among those abducted at resort By Mark Stevenson ASSOCIATED PRE SS
David Diaz / AP
The entrance of the restaurant "La Leche" stands closed after armed men abducted as many as 16 people who were dining in the upscale restaurant in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico, Monday.
MEXICO CITY — One of the sons of imprisoned drug lord Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzman is among the half-dozen men abducted by gunmen at a restaurant in the Mexican beach resort of Puerto Vallarta, authorities said Tuesday.
Jalisco state Attorney General Eduardo Almaguer said 29-year-old Jesus Alfredo Guzman Salazar had been determined to be among those taken, though authorities still had not received any missing person complaints. “The person by the name of Jesus Alfredo Guzman Salazar, age 29, is the son of Joaquin
Guzman Loera,” Almaguer said at a news conference. His abduction “has been confirmed by what was found in the vehicles and what security agencies found and the forensic examinations performed.” Earlier in the day, Almaguer had said authorities were trying to confirm whether anothMexico continues on A11
Zin brief A2 | Wednesday, August 17, 2016 | THE ZAPATA TIMES
CALENDAR
AROUND TEXAS
TODAY IN HISTORY
THURSDAY, AUGUST 18
ASSOCIATED PRE SS
1 Cancer Friends Meet. 6 p.m. Every third Thursday of the month. Laredo Medical Center, A.R. Sanchez Cancer Center, Tower A, 1st Floor. 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.
Today is Wednesday, Aug. 17, the 230th day of 2016. There are 136 days left in the year.
Today’s Highlight in History: On Aug. 17, 1807, Robert Fulton’s North River Steamboat began heading up the Hudson River on its successful round trip between New York and Albany.
FRIDAY, AUGUST 19 1 South Texas Food Bank Empty Bowls X fundraiser. 6–11 p.m. Laredo Energy Arena. Concert by Grand Funk Railroad The American Band. Tickets are $10, $15, $25 at the LEA box office or ticketmaster.com.
SATURDAY, AUGUST 20 1 ‘Lucha Libre’ pro wrestling. 7 p.m. Laredo Firefighters Union Hall, 5219 Tesoro Plaza. General admission $5 to benefit the South Texas Food Bank mission of feeding the hungry. Tickets at the door. For more information call the South Texas Food Bank at 726-3120 or Salo Otero at 324-2432.
MONDAY, AUGUST 22 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.
THURSDAY, AUGUST 25 1 Spanish Book Club. 6–8 p.m. Laredo Public Library on Calton. For more information, contact Sylvia Reash at 763-1810.
SATURDAY, AUGUST 27 1 Doctors Hospital at Renaissance 11th Annual “Fishing for Hope” Tournament. Louie’s Backyard, 2305 Laguna Blvd., South Padre Island.
MONDAY, AUGUST 29 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.
SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 3 1 Book sale. 8:30 a.m.–1 p.m. Widener Book Room, First United Methodist Church. No admission charge. Everyone is invited.
MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 5 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. 1 Ray of Light anxiety and depression support group meeting. 6:30–7:30 p.m. Area Health Education Center, 1505 Calle del Norte, Suite 430. Every first Monday of the month. People suffering from anxiety and depression are invited to attend this free, confidential and anonymous support group meeting. While a support group does not replace an individual's medical care, it can be a valuable resource to gain insight, strength and hope.
Rodger Mallison/Star-Telegram / AP
In this Aug. 10 photo, water flows from a structer at the Conservatory at Fort Worth Botanic Garden in Fort Worth, Texas.
GARDEN NEEDS $15M IN UPDATES By SANDRA BAKER FORT WORTH STAR-TELEGRAM
FORT WORTH, Texas — Three times since March, the Conservatory at the Fort Worth Botanic Garden closed to the public because a leaking irrigation system flooded the 30-year-old metal and glass structure, itself suffering stress fractures and equipment malfunctions that twice this past winter caused temperatures inside to drop to 38 degrees. The Fort Worth Star-Telegram reports the temperature shouldn’t drop below 50 degrees, to avoid placing the plant and
Off-duty officer charged in alcoholrelated death
Tip leads to about 10K marijuana plants in woods
Teen dies after found in swimming hole
RICHMOND — An off-duty Houston police officer has been arrested over what investigators say was an alcohol-related traffic accident that left another driver dead. Officer James Combs was being held Tuesday on an intoxication manslaughter count in the death of 36year-old Brian Manring. Houston police relieved Combs of duty.
HEMPHILL — Investigators say a tip has led to about 10,000 marijuana plants that were being secretly grown in some East Texas woods. Dozens of law enforcement officers were working Tuesday in Sabine County to harvest the illegal plants and look for suspects. Sheriff Thomas Maddox says a campsite was found near where the plants were located.
DRIPPING SPRINGS — Investigators say a teenager has died after he went under at an Austin-area swimming hole that’s part of a nature preserve. The Travis County Sheriff’s Office on Monday identified the victim as Anthony Dorsett, 17, of Harker Heights. A medical examiner has determined the drowning was an accident. — Compiled from AP reports
NBC audience soars with first full week of Olympics Games
MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 12 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.
AROUND THE WORLD
1 New Urbanism Film Festival. 7:30 p.m. In front of Plaza Theater, 1018 Hidalgo St. Block party hosted by City of Laredo’s Plan Viva Laredo and Plaza Partners.
SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 10 1 9th Annual Football Tailgaiting Cook-Off. 2–10 p.m. El Metro Park & Ride, 1819 E. Hillside. Admission is $2. There will be a finger ribs cook-off. The first place winner will get $1,500 in prize money. There will also be a fajita and beans cook-off as well as live music, a car show, food vendors, merchandise booths and more. The Animal Care Facility will be on site with pets up for adoption. For more information, call 286-9055.
THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 15 1 Cancer Friends Meet. 6 p.m. Every third Thursday of the month. Laredo Medical Center, A.R. Sanchez Cancer Center, Tower A, 1st Floor. 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 285-5410.
Brazil’s Rousseff proposes plebiscite if restored to power RIO DE JANEIRO — Suspended President Dilma Rousseff made a last-ditch effort Tuesday to avoid impeachment, telling Brazilian lawmakers she would let voters decide if they want an early presidential election if she is restored to power. Rousseff had been publicly mulling the idea of a plebiscite for weeks as the Senate moves
Matt Slocum / AP
Russia's Darya Klishina makes an attempt in the women's long jump final during the 2016 Summer Olympics, Tuesday.
coverage setting gave NBC a nice bump in the evening-news race, which is usually neckand-neck between NBC and ABC. NBC’s “Nightly News” was decisively on top with 10.4 million viewers, followed by ABC’s “World News Tonight” with 7.9 million. The “CBS Evening News” had 6.2 million. NBC was crowing Tuesday
closer to an impeachment vote on charges her administration violated fiscal rules to hide a gaping budget deficit. The vote is scheduled for Aug. 25, four days after the end of the Olympics being held in Rio de Janeiro. She made the proposal official in a long letter “to the federal senate and Brazilian people” in which she mixed expressions of regret for failing to listen to her compatriots with stern admonishments for critics she accused of plotting to carry out a “coup.”
Ten years ago: In a lawsuit brought by the American Civil Liberties Union, a federal judge in Detroit ruled that President George W. Bush’s warrantless surveillance program was unconstitutional. (A divided federal appeals court threw out the lawsuit in July 2007, and the U.S. Supreme Court later let the appeals court decision stand.) Five years ago: Vice President Joe Biden arrived in Beijing to meet with his Chinese counterpart, Xi Jinping. One year ago: A bomb exploded within a central Bangkok shrine that was among the city’s most popular tourist spots, killing at least 20 people and injuring more than 100. (Two men are facing trial for the bombing, but one has maintained he was tortured to obtain a confession.)
AROUND THE NATION
NEW YORK — You don’t need to be a numbers-cruncher to guess what won the ratings race last week — and why. With blanket coverage of the Rio Games, NBC had the ratings game all to itself in prime time, scoring the top seven slots (Tuesday, Thursday, Monday, Sunday, Wednesday, Saturday and Friday) by a mile while crushing its network rivals. The network led with an average of 28.2 million viewers, trailed waaayyyyyy back by CBS with 3.6 million and ABC with 2.7 million, according to Nielsen figures. Spanish-language networks Univision (with 1.6 million) and Telemundo (1.4 million) both topped Fox, which barely had a pulse with 1.2 million. ION Television drew 1.1 million, followed by CW with 900,000 viewers. Meanwhile, the Olympics-
THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 8
tree collection in danger. Nearby, a 50year-old greenhouse that houses a worldrenowned begonia collection needs to be replaced. In June, a sinkhole formed behind the stage where the Fort Worth Symphony performs its popular Concerts in the Garden summer series. Across the 110-acre city park that opened more than 80 years ago as the first botanic garden in the state, there are all kinds of needs and deferred maintenance issues that consultants recently estimated will take $15 million to fix.
On this date: In 1863, Federal batteries and ships began bombarding Fort Sumter in Charleston harbor during the Civil War, but the Confederates managed to hold on despite several days of pounding. In 1915, a mob in Cobb County, Georgia, lynched Jewish businessman Leo Frank, 31, whose death sentence for the murder of 13-year-old Mary Phagan had been commuted to life imprisonment. (Frank, who’d maintained his innocence, was pardoned by the state of Georgia in 1986.) In 1943, the Allied conquest of Sicily during World War II was completed as U.S. and British forces entered Messina. In 1945, Indonesian nationalists declared their independence from the Netherlands. The George Orwell novel “Animal Farm,” an allegorical satire of Soviet Communism, was first published in London by Martin Secker & Warburg. In 1962, East German border guards shot and killed 18-year-old Peter Fechter, who had attempted to cross the Berlin Wall into the western sector. In 1969, Hurricane Camille slammed into the Mississippi coast as a Category 5 storm that was blamed for 256 U.S. deaths, three in Cuba. In 1978, the first successful transAtlantic balloon flight ended as Maxie Anderson, Ben Abruzzo and Larry Newman landed their Double Eagle II outside Paris. In 1982, the first commercially produced compact discs, a recording of ABBA’s “The Visitors,” were pressed at a Philips factory near Hanover, West Germany. In 1985, more than 1,400 meatpackers walked off the job at the Geo. A. Hormel and Co.’s main plant in Austin, Minnesota, in a bitter strike that lasted just over a year. In 1987, Rudolf Hess, the last member of Adolf Hitler’s inner circle, died at Spandau Prison at age 93, an apparent suicide. In 1996, the Reform Party announced Ross Perot had been selected to be its first-ever presidential nominee, opting for the third-party’s founder over challenger Richard Lamm. In 1999, more than 17,000 people were killed when a magnitude 7.4 earthquake struck Turkey.
that this, its seventh straight week at No. 1 in viewership, equals the network’s longest winning streak in 19 years. Among cable networks in prime time last week, Fox News Channel took the lead with 1.8 million viewers, followed by Disney Channel with 1.5 million. — Compiled from AP reports
Today’s Birthdays: Former Chinese president Jiang Zemin is 90. Author V.S. Naipaul is 84. Former MLB AllStar Boog Powell is 75. Actor Robert DeNiro is 73. Movie director Martha Coolidge is 70. Actor/screenwriter/ producer Julian Fellowes is 67. International Tennis Hall of Famer Guillermo Vilas is 64. Country singersongwriter Kevin Welch is 61. Olympic gold medal figure skater Robin Cousins is 59. Singer Belinda Carlisle is 58. Author Jonathan Franzen is 57. Actor Sean Penn is 56. Jazz musician Everette Harp is 55. Rock musician Gilby Clarke is 54. Singer Maria McKee is 52. Actor David Conrad is 49. Singer Donnie Wahlberg is 47. College Basketball Hall of Famer and retired NBA All-Star Christian Laettner is 47. Rapper Posdnuos is 47. International Tennis Hall of Famer Jim Courier is 46. Retired MLB All-Star Jorge Posada is 45. TV personality Giuliana Rancic is 42. Actor Mark Salling is 34. Actor Bryton James is 30. Actor Brady Corbet is 28. Actress Taissa Farmiga is 22. Olympic bronze medal figure skater Gracie Gold is 21. Thought for Today: “Experience is a good school, but the fees are high.” — Heinrich Heine, German poet and critic (1797-1856).
CONTACT US “The full restoration of democracy requires that the population be the one to decide what is the best way to expand governability and perfect the Brazilian political and electoral system,” she said in the letter, which she also read in a message. “It’s the only way out of the crisis.” Rousseff’s current term ends in 2018. If she is permanently removed by the Senate, interim President Michel Temer would serve out the term. — Compiled from AP reports
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The Zapata Times
THE ZAPATA TIMES | Wednesday, August 17, 2016 |
A3
LOCAL & STATE
Annual Back-to-School Fishing Tournament S P ECIAL TO THE TI ME S
The Zapata Chamber of Commerce is holding its annual Back-toSchool Kid’s Fishing
Tournament this month. The Family Fun Fest will be Aug. 20 from 7 a.m. to 3 p.m. at Bravo Park. The tournament is for
children ages 3-12. Registration begins at 7 a.m. A fishing rod and bait will be provided, but it is first come, first serve.
Schedule 1 Fishing: 8 a.m.-10 a.m. 1 Vendors: 10 a.m.-12
p.m. 1 Lunch for kids: 12 p.m.-1 p.m. 1 Backpacks for kids on site: 1 p.m.-2 p.m.
1 Awards presentation: 2 p.m.-3 p.m.
Trumped nationally, Ted Cruz looks to get his Texas groove back By Jonathan Tilove AUSTIN A M ER ICAN-STAT E SMAN
AUSTIN, Texas — U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz was crisscrossing Texas last week, meeting with constituents in Houston, El Paso, San Antonio, Laredo, Amarillo, Lubbock, Dallas and Tyler. It wasn’t how Cruz had once hoped to be spending the second week of August, when, had things gone his way, he might have been hopscotching battleground states as the Republican nominee for president. Instead, it was Donald Trump with rallies and speeches in North Carolina, Virginia, Florida and Pennsylvania — Donald Trump, who Cruz refused to endorse for president in his speech at the Republican National Convention in July, and who, the day after he accepted the nomination in Cleveland, said he would not accept Cruz’s endorsement if it were offered and swore he would spend what he could to defeat Cruz for re-election. And so, Cruz found himself doing what a U.S. senator does during the August recess, particularly a senator who is up for a second term in two years and who, for the first time
in his swift rise in Texas and national politics, finds himself not the hunter but the prey. “I know there are people looking for someone to run against Ted Cruz because I’ve had four or five national leaders call to ask if I had an interest, which I don’t by the way,” said former Texas Republican Party Chairman Steve Munisteri, who added that Cruz’s traversing Texas is exactly what he ought to be doing right now. Among Republicans being recruited to challenge Cruz, according to a recent CNN story, is U.S. Rep. Michael McCaul, a six-term congressman from Austin who chairs the House Homeland Security Committee. McCaul spokesman Walter Zaykowski said the congressman is focused on his job and re-election campaign this year — but he did not rule out a Senate run. “I think it is far too early for somebody to assume that Sen. Cruz would be vulnerable in 2018,” Munisteri said. “It doesn’t mean he won’t be, but it’s way too early and Sen. Cruz has time to rebuild his base.” “It looks like he’s trying to batten down the hatches and reconnect where
Victor Strife / The Zapata Times
U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz speaks with Webb County Judge Tano Tijerina and Laredo Mayor Pete Saenz during his visit at the Laredo Chamber of Commerce offices on Aug. 10.
he’s been disconnected,” said Lubbock County GOP Chairman Carl Tepper, an early Trump supporter, who said West Texas farmers have been waiting a long time for Cruz to lend them his ear. “He hasn’t been much of a senator from Texas,” Tepper said. “His interest has been running for president.” ‘Running hard for 2018’ Four years since he won a low-turnout, midsummer runoff against thenLt. Gov. David Dewhurst for the Republican nomination for an open U.S. Senate seat in what became the model for the kind of tea party insurgency that has come to dominate Texas Republican primary politics, Cruz for the first time looks less than invulnerable.
He ran a strong but losing campaign for his party’s nomination for president, but now finds himself estranged from his party’s nominee and from party loyalists — including indispensable allies and donors — and with his national ambitions hinging on Trump losing and Hillary Clinton winning the White House. A second Cruz run for the presidency would presumably be built on the argument that nominating Trump instead of Cruz was, as he warned, a terrible mistake and that only a through-andthrough “constitutional conservative” like Cruz can carry the party to victory. But first Cruz faces the predicament of how to wage a re-election campaign even as he is laying
the groundwork for a presidential run that would have to begin in earnest almost as soon as he takes office for a second term. Cruz announced his candidacy for president in March 2015. March 2019 would be only three months into a new Senate term. “You don’t do it,” said Jason Johnson, the chief strategist for Cruz’s Senate and presidential campaigns. “There’s not a parallel campaign.” “If you’re seeking reelection to the United States Senate in Texas in 2018, that’s the campaign you’re running,” Johnson said. “As people say, you run scared or you don’t run at all. I tend to say you run hard or you don’t run at all. He’s really running hard for 2018.” But how will Cruz respond when a rival — possibly McCaul in the primary, or Democratic U.S. Rep. Joaquin Castro of San Antonio in the general election — asks whether he intends to serve his full term if he is re-elected to the Senate? “We’ll see how he answers that in 2018,” Johnson said. “My looking glass gets a little foggy looking that far out.” ‘Effective conservatism’ The more fundamental
problem for Cruz, said Samuel Popkin, a political scientist at the University of California in San Diego, is how he goes back to the Senate or justifies extending his stay there. “He’s the most despised, distrusted and disliked member of the United States Senate,” said Popkin. As became apparent in the campaign just past, his colleagues in Washington have no interest in helping him either as a senator or as a presidential candidate. By effectively laying waste to the Republican Party in Washington, Popkin said, “Cruz is the man who made Trump possible.” “He never picked a fight that he knew he could win,” said Popkin, who studies the presidency. “He had an Alamo strategy to be the last one to die.” He ran for president with a “now-or-never strategy. He did not have a Plan B. This was burn every bridge so you can’t go back,” Popkin said. Or, as his Texas colleague, Sen. John Cornyn, the No. 2 Republican in the Senate, said of Cruz in an interview in April, “clearly, he didn’t come here to remain in the Senate. He came here to run for president.”
Zopinion
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A4 | Wednesday, August 17, 2016 | THE ZAPATA TIMES
COLUMN
OTHER VIEWS
Wisdom, courage and the economy By Paul Krugman N EW YORK T I ME S
It’s fantasy football time in political punditry, as commentators try to dismiss Hillary Clinton’s dominance in the polls — yes, Clinton Derangement Syndrome is alive and well — by insisting that she would be losing badly if only the GOP had nominated someone else. We will, of course, never know. But one thing we do know is that none of Donald Trump’s actual rivals for the nomination bore any resemblance to their imaginary candidate, a sensible, moderate conservative with good ideas. Let’s not forget, for example, what Marco Rubio was doing in the memorized sentence he famously couldn’t stop repeating: namely, insinuating that President Barack Obama is deliberately undermining America. It wasn’t all that different from Donald Trump’s claim that Obama founded ISIS. And let’s also not forget that Jeb Bush, the ultimate establishment candidate, began his campaign with the ludicrous assertion that his policies would double the American economy’s growth rate. Which brings me to my main subject: Clinton’s economic vision, which she summarized last week. It’s very much a center-left vision: incremental but fairly large increases in high-income tax rates, further tightening of financial regulation, further strengthening of the social safety net. It’s also a vision notable for its lack of outlandish assumptions. Unlike just about everyone on the Republican side, she isn’t justifying her proposals with claims that they would cause a radical quickening of the U.S. economy. As the nonpartisan Tax Policy Center put it, she’s “a politician who would pay for what she promises.” So here’s my question: Is the modesty of the Clinton economic agenda too much of a good thing? Should accelerating U.S. economic growth be a bigger priority? For while the U.S. has done reasonably well at recovering from the 200709 financial crisis, longerterm economic growth is looking very disappointing. Some of this is just demography, as baby boomers retire and growth in the working-age population slows down. But there has also been a somewhat mysterious decline in labor force participation among primeage adults and a sharp drop in productivity growth. The result, according to the Congressional Budget Office, is that the growth rate of potential GDP — what the economy could produce at full employment — has declined from
around 3.5 percent per year in the late 1990s to around 1.5 percent now. And some people I respect believe that trying to get that rate back up should be a big goal of policy. But as I was trying to think this through, I realized that I had Reinhold Niebuhr’s famous Serenity Prayer running through my head: “Grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, courage to change the things I can, and wisdom to know the difference.” I know, it’s somewhat sacrilegious applied to economic policy, but still. After all, what do we actually know how to do when it comes to economic policy? We do, in fact, know how to provide essential health care to everyone; most advanced countries do it. We know how to provide basic security in retirement. We know quite a lot about how to raise the incomes of low-paid workers. I’d also argue that we know how to fight financial crises and recessions, although political gridlock and deficit obsession has gotten in the way of using that knowledge. On the other hand, what do we know about accelerating long-run growth? According to the budget office, potential growth was pretty stable from 1970 to 2000, with nothing either Ronald Reagan or Bill Clinton did making much obvious difference. The subsequent slide began under George W. Bush and continued under Obama. This history suggests no easy way to change the trend. Now, I’m not saying that we shouldn’t try. I’d argue, in particular, for substantially more infrastructure spending than Clinton is proposing, and more borrowing to pay for it. This might significantly boost growth. But it would be unwise to count on it. Meanwhile, I don’t think enough people appreciate the courage involved in focusing on things we actually know how to do, as opposed to happy talk about wondrous growth. When conservatives promise fantastic growth if we give them another chance at Bushonomics, one main reason is that they don’t want to admit how much they would have to cut popular programs to pay for their tax cuts. When centrists urge us to look away from questions of distribution and fairness and focus on growth instead, all too often they’re basically running away from the real issues that divide us politically. So it’s actually quite brave to say: “Here are the things I want to do, and here is how I’ll pay for them. Sorry, some of you will have to pay higher taxes.” Wouldn’t it be great if that kind of policy honesty became the norm?
EDITORIAL
We were lucky to see Michael Phelps, Usain Bolt in their prime CHICAGO TRIBUNE
These Olympics are golden, aren’t they? We’ve tumbled for American gymnast Simone Biles and her coach Aimee Boorman. We’ve been awed by the U.S. women’s basketball team, players who’ve won their games by an average of 40.8 points and appear to be cruising toward gold. There’s plenty more to come in Rio de Janeiro, but we’re catching our breath here to contemplate the magnificent athletic legacies of American swimmer Michael Phelps and Jamaican sprinter Usain Bolt. Phelps is the greatest swimmer in the history of the Games. Bolt is the greatest sprinter. Think about it, sports fans: Two of the greatest
athletes of all time have been racing across your TV screens. And each says Rio is the finale as well as the pinnacle — a last Olympics. Phelps says he is retiring immediately, while Bolt says he plans to finish his career next year. In terms of comparing achievements, sprinting and swimming are about as different as can be. It’s land vs. water, endurance and technique vs. concentrated speed. There are stylistic differences between the two men too. Bolt is a joy to watch and apparently a joy to be: He beams, he prances, he poses. He was even caught by a camera apparently flashing his cheeky grin before crossing the finish line in his semifinal heat. Phelps is more of a gameface, alpha-dog kind of
guy. He’ll be remembered for his glare-of-death in the direction of rival South African swimmer Chad le Clos before their 200 meter butterfly semifinal. What links Phelps and Bolt is the record book. Michael Phelps: He’s got 23 gold medals in five Olympic Games, by far the most of any athlete in any sport. He competed in five Games and at age 31 was old enough to swim in Rio against world-class athletes who grew up idolizing him. Phelps tried retirement after the 2012 Games, dispirited by his performance (four gold, two silver and one fourthplace finish — ugh, right?), which make these comeback Games even more amazing. “As a kid I set out to do
COLUMN
Is Texas’ love for wind power waning? By Tara Trower Doolittle AUSTIN AMERICAN-STATE SMAN
AUSTIN, Texas — Texas lawmakers bet big on wind power in the last decade — and to some extent that bet has paid off. It has used its economic development program to subsidize wind farms and has invested more than $7 billion in infrastructure to get the electricity flowing from operations mostly located in West Texas to urban hubs like Austin. As a result, Texas leads the nation in installed wind power capacity, and wind power made up about 12 percent of energy used in the state in 2015. Austin Energy’s share is
about 10 percent of the wind power on the entire ERCOT grid at 1,340 megawatts in 2015. However, in the past few years Republican leaders who have been staunch supporters of the energy industry in general have shifted their stance on wind and the state’s incentives program. And a story last week by the Austin American-Statesman’s Asher Price calls into question the continued use of the state’s economic development programs for renewable energy, which have taken billions of dollars off the state property tax rolls. The state is subsidizing 176 renewable energy projects that remove roughly $7 billion from
local school tax rolls over the lifetime of the tax agreements, which typically last a decade apiece, for an overall $1.45 billion tax benefit for active wind and solar projects. Although the districts are the ones who sign the agreements, the lost property tax revenue is made up by the state, so essentially those costs are borne by all Texas taxpayers. The economic development program is just one of a menu of renewable incentives that have come under scrutiny in recent years. A separate incentive program was headed for the cutting floor last session when a bill sponsored by Sen. Troy Fraser passed the Senate.
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letter. Laredo Morning Times does not allow the use of pseudonyms. This space allows for public debate of the issues of the day. Letters are edited for style, grammar, length and civility. No name-calling or gratuitous abuse is allowed. Also, letters longer than 500 words will not be accepted. Via email, send letters to editorial@lmtonline.com or mail them to Letters to the Editor, 111 Esperanza Drive, Laredo, TX 78041.
something that nobody had ever done before,” Phelps said. “I can look back at my career and say: ‘I did it.’” Usain Bolt: There may be no more fundamental claim to athletic fame than to be the world’s fastest human. That’s the unofficial title that goes with winning the 100-meter dash. Bolt owns the world record with a 9.58 second performance in 2009 and now he’s a singular Olympic champ who also has two more racing events in Rio. Phew! What performances. There’s nothing we can imagine doing that compares to the physical and mental training and skill required to be an Olympic athlete, let alone best. We’re just glad we got to watch.
DOONESBURY | GARRY TRUDEAU
Senate Bill 931 would have dismantled the Renewable Portfolio Standard, which requires electricity suppliers to buy a certain amount of their electricity from renewable sources such as solar, wind and biomass. Wind generators have been among the biggest winners of the program. There were critics of that bill who suggested that the impetus was more about philosophy than state economics. One of the state’s most powerful conservative policy groups, Texas Public Policy Foundation, has lobbied hard against renewables — a position that many say is probusiness and anti-environment.
THE ZAPATA TIMES | Wednesday, August 17, 2016 |
A5
ENTERTAINMENT
‘I Am Cait’ axed after 2 seasons A S S OCIAT E D PRE SS
NEW YORK — E! network is canceling “I Am Cait” after two seasons. The reality series chronicled the life of Caitlyn Jenner, who had formerly been Bruce Jenner, the TV personality and Olympics athlete. It debuted a year ago to huge fanfare (and 2.7 million viewers) as part of a publicity drive accompanying Jenner’s transition from a man into a woman. Jenner’s stepdaughter Kim Kardashian and husband Kanye West, as well as her
ex-wife Kris Jenner made appearances. A second season aired in Jenner March and April of this year. But the average audience had sunk to about 700,000 viewers. In a statement, E! said “Caitlyn and E! have mutually decided not to move forward” with another season. It added that Jenner will continue to appear on “Keeping Up With the Kardashians.”
John McLaughlin, host of confrontational TV show, dead at 89 By Frazier Moore ASSOCIATED PRE SS
NEW YORK — John McLaughlin, the conservative political commentator and host of the namesake long-running television show that pioneered hollering-heads discussions of Washington politics, has died. He was 89. McLaughlin died Tuesday morning, according to an announcement on the Facebook page of “The McLaughlin Group” series. No cause of death was mentioned, but an ailing McLaughlin had missed the taping for this past weekend’s show — his first absence in the series’ 34 years. Since its debut in April 1982, “The McLaughlin Group” upended the soft-
spoken and non-confrontational style of shows such as “Washington McLaughlin Week in Review” and “Agronsky & Co.” with a raucous format that largely dispensed with politicians. It instead featured journalists quizzing, talking over and sometimes insulting each other. In recent years, the show billed itself as “The American Original” — a nod to all the shows that copied its format. “John McLaughlin was a TV institution for generations of Americans,” tweeted House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi. “We will miss his contagious spirit & tireless dedica-
tion.” In an interview with The Associated Press in 1986, McLaughlin said he felt talk shows hadn’t kept pace with changes in television. “I began the group as a talk show of the ‘90s,” he said, adding that he thought informing an audience could be entertaining: “The acquisition of knowledge need not be like listening to the Gregorian chant.” Critics said the show was more about show business and entertainment than journalism and politics. They said it celebrated nasty posturing, abhorred complexity and featured a group of mostly aging conservative white men spouting off on topics they knew little about.
“Whether it was the guerrilla strategy of Afghan mujahedeen or the next open-market operation by the Federal Reserve Board, the members of the group always seemed to have just gotten off the phone with the guy in charge,” Eric Alterman charged in his 2000 book, “Sound and Fury: The Making of the Punditocracy.” But the format was hugely successful. As McLaughlin himself might have said, on a probability scale from zero to 10 — zero meaning zero probability, 10 meaning metaphysical certitude — in the show’s heyday, the chances that the Washington establishment were faithfully tuning in each week was definitely a 10.
Sports&Outdoors A6 | Wednesday, August 17, 2016 | THE ZAPATA TIMES
SUMMER OLYMPICS
Biles wins floor exercise
Dean Mouhtaropoulos / Getty Images
Simone Biles won her fourth gold medal of the Rio 2016 Olympic Games on Tuesday taking first place in the floor exercise. Teammate Aly Raisman took second in the event for her third medal during Rio and the sixth of her career.
Closes with record-tying 4th Olympic gold By Will Graves A S S OCIAT E D PRE SS
RIO DE JANEIRO — The Simone Show went out in style. And gold. Again. Simone Biles put the finishing touches on one of the greatest Olympics by a gymnast, capturing her fourth gold of the games with an electric performance in the floor exercise on Tuesday. The 19-year-old American completed an extraordinary stretch that included a team gold for the “Final Five” as well as individual golds in the all-around and vault and bronze on balance beam. Her five medals tie the most for an American female gymnast in a single Olympics and her four golds tie an Olympic record shared by four others. “It’s been a long journey,” Biles said. “I’ve enjoyed every single moment of it. I know our team has. It’s been very long in competing so
many times. It got tiring. But we just wanted to end on a good note.” Biles embraced her longtime coach shortly after her routine — which includes a tumbling pass named in her honor and a Brazilianthemed segment intended to play to the crowd in Rio — and beamed when her score of 15.966 was posted. Teammate Aly Raisman followed with a 15.500 to give her a third medal during Rio and six overall in her Olympic career. The 22-year-old team captain — who was second in the all-around to Biles last week — waved to the stands as she walked off the floor, likely for the final time as a competitor. The medals gave the American women nine during the meet, the most ever by the U.S. at an Olympics. Amy Tinkler of Great Britain earned bronze, though the day — and really the Olympics —
belong to Biles. While she admitted she was a bit tired on Monday after her only one real mistake of the games — a wobbly landing on beam that cost her a shot at gold — Biles didn’t look it during her signature event. Buoyant in a glittery red, white and blue leotard, Biles spent 90 seconds showcasing her talent. She doesn’t tumble so much as fly, her 4-foot-8 frame soaring over the white mat as if she was trying to touch the video board three stories above. She plans to take a break following the closing ceremonies and try to adjust to a life that will never be the same after nine days that elevated her from gymnastics’ best-kept secret to star. American Danell Leyva matched Biles and Raisman with a pair of medals of his own, taking silver on both the parallel bars and high bar. The triumph also served as a bit of redemption for
Leyva, a bronze medalist in the all-around four years ago but who has struggled with his form recently. He was initially named an alternate to the Olympic team before filling in when John Orozco went down with an injury. Leyva will leave Rio with the only two medals by the U.S. team. Teammate Sam Mikulak narrowly missed out on the podium by finishing a close fourth in the high bar final. Oleg Verniaiev of Ukraine took gold on parallel bars, followed by Leyva and David Belyavskiy of Russia. Fabian Hambuechen of Germany finally reached the top step of the podium in the Olympics by claiming the high bar title. A bronze medalist in Beijing and a silver medalist in London, Hambuechen’s score of 15.766 was clear of Leyva’s 15.500. Nile Wilson of Great Britain earned bronze.
Alex Livesey / Getty Images
Simone Biles celebrates on the podium at the medal ceremony after winning the floor exercise to tie an Olympic record with her fourth gold medal.
NATIONAL FOOTBALL LEAGUE: HOUSTON TEXANS
Texans RB Lamar Miller hitting the ground running By Joshua Koch ASSOCIATED PRE SS
Thearon W. Henderson / Getty Images
Lamar Miller ran four times for 30 yards in his debut with the Texans Sunday as Houston opened the preseason with a 24-13 win over the 49ers.
HOUSTON — As practices and now games start to pile up, Houston Texans running back Lamar Miller is settling into his new home quite nicely. His skills and quiet, lead-by-example leadership are translating well into Bill O’Brien’s offense. “I’m getting comfortable every day,” Miller said. “I’m getting used to how the guys block. I think they did a great job the first preseason game of just giving me the opportunity to show the coaches what I could do with my skill-set. So I give all the credit to them, they made my job easy on Sunday.” In Sunday’s preseason opener against the San Francisco 49ers, Miller didn’t take long to show
off what he can do. A handoff from quarterback Brock Osweiler on the very first play of the game for the Texans’ offense, Miller found an opening on the right side and went 14 yards. “It’s always good just to get your feet wet,” Miller said. “I’m here with a whole new offensive line, whole new scheme. So just to go out there and get my feet wet and just having a good run on my first play is always good.” Miller finished with 30 yards on four carries, averaging 7.5 yards per attempt in his Texans’ debut. Entering 2016, Miller comes in among the best running backs in the NFL. During the past two seasons, Miller has led the AFC and ranked fourth in the NFL in rushing yards
(1,971) and average yards per carry (4.89). Miller also ranks fifth among all running backs in total scrimmage yards racking up 2,643 (1,971 rushing, 672 receiving) during the past two seasons. “He’s a very hard worker,” O’Brien said. “Tough guy. People ask me what type of runner he is, he can run inside, he can run outside. He can move the pile. He’s a tough running back and can do different things for us. So it’s good to have him.” After spending the past four years in Miami, Miller decided in the offseason to make a change and come to Houston. With the exit of Arian Foster, who is now in Miami, the Texans needed a leader in the backfield to guide the young corps of backs and he has filled
that role. “Lamar is great,” rookie running back Tyler Ervin said. “One thing is he’s very patient and not only that, he’s just great to be around. I’m learning a lot from him.” Coming to Houston from Miami there have been some differences Miller said and the biggest for him is having more opportunities in Houston to get the ball in his hands. Thus far everything has gone as planned. “The opportunity has been good so far,” Miller said. “I’m just here every day just trying to put in the work and just trying to get better. It’s the first preseason game, I’m still getting used to the scheme and how the guys block. I still have a lot of room for improvement.”
Zfrontera THE ZAPATA TIMES | Wednesday, August 17, 2016 |
RIBEREÑA EN BREVE CAMBIO DE DOMICILIO 1 La Extensión Educativa de Texas A&M Agrilife Extension en el Condado de Zapata ha cambiado sus oficinas a 200 E. 7th Avenue, Suite 249, Zapata County Courthouse. Tel.: (956) 765-9820. Fax (956) 765-8627. ACADEMIA PARA PADRES 1 Zapata County ISD invita a los padres de estudiantes desde Prekinder hasta 12avo. Grado a la Academia para Padres que se llevará a cabo el jueves 18 de agosto, de 5 p.m. a 7 p.m. en las instalaciones de Zapata High School, 2009 State Highway 16. Todos los participantes recibirán una caja de útiles escolares mientras duren las existencias. TORNEO DE PESCA 1 La Cámara de Comercio del Condado de Zapata invita al tradicional “Torneo anual de pesca para niños por el regreso a clases”, que se llevará a cabo el sábado 20 de agosto en Bravo Park de 7 a.m. a 3 p.m. El registro inicia a las 7 a.m.. Evento dirigido a menores de 3 a 12 años. Mayores informes en 956-7654871. INICIO DE CLASES 1 Zapata County ISD informa que el primer día de clases para todos los grados escolares será el 22 de agosto. El horario de entrada para primaria y secundaria será a las 7:45 a.m., mientras que para preparatoria será a partir de las 8 a.m. El horario de salida para los estudiantes de cada institución será como sigue: primaria, 3:15 p.m; secundaria, 3:23 p.m; y, preparatoria, 3:35 p.m. El desayuno será servido a partir de las 7: 15 en los tres niveles escolares.
A7
AGENCIA DE EDUCACIÓN DE TEXAS
SALUD
Sustituirán calificaciones
Ratifican caso de zika en Texas
Distrito Zapata CISD cumple con estándares
AUSTIN — Un residente de Texas que viajó recientemente a un área de Miami donde se ha registrado transmisión local de zika dio positivo al virus en pruebas de detección, dijeron el lunes funcionarios de salud. El Departamento de Servicios Estatales de Salud de Texas dijo que se trata del primer caso en Texas que está vinculado a un viaje en la parte continental de Estados Unidos. Funcionarios de salud vincularon el caso a un viaje a Miami después de investigar factores como fechas de viaje y la aparición inicial de síntomas de la enfermedad. El residente del condado El Paso buscó ser analizado después de que se sintió enfermo.
Por Will Weissert ASSOCIATED PRE SS
Cerca del 94 por ciento de los distritos y alrededor del 84 por ciento de las escuelas públicas en Texas cumplieron con los estándares educativos mínimos, aunciaron funcionarios el lunes, en la encarnación final de un sistema de calificación académica que será sustituida el próximo año con calificaciones que van de la letra A a la F. El distrito escolar Zapata County Independent School District (ZCISD por sus siglas en inglés), como un todo al igual que todos sus campus recibieron una calificación de “reúne los estándares”. Sin embargo, falló en la
categoría de Aprovechamiento estudiantil, con una puntuación de 59; el puntaje aprobatorio es de 60. La calificación de progreso estudiantil enmendó por bastante esa situación. ZCISD calificó con 36 puntos cuando el pase mínimo aprobatorio es de 22. Las escuelas públicas y alternativas en el Condado de Webb también cumplieron con los estándares excepto por una: la primaria Oilton Elementary del distrito Webb Consolidated Independent School District, la cual fue calificada como “requiere mejoras”. La Agencia de Educación de Texas ha modificado las calificaciones para asegurar pocas cal-
ificaciones con fallas de “requiere mejoras”, lo que significa que más del 90 por ciento de los distritos y el 85 por ciento de las escuelas tienen que reunir ahora los requerimientos básicos estatales en cada uno de los últimos cuatro años. Eso, a pesar de la sugerencia de Mike Morath, Comisionado de Educación de que solamente una tercera parte de los graduados de preparatoria en el segundo estado más poblado del país están listos para tener éxito en universidad o en una carrera inmediata u oficio. El portavoz de la Asociación de Maestros del estado de Texas Clay Robison dijo que las escuelas y distritos señaladas por
ASSOCIATED PRE SS
fallar en cumplir con los estándares se han concentrado tradicionalmente en áras pobres y tienen un desproporcionado número de estudiantes pertenecientes a las minorías, o aquellos que hablan otra lengua en casa y requieren de instrucción extra para aprender inglés. Dijo que el problema empeorará cuando el estado empiece a entregar la calificación “F”. “Lo llaman diferenciación. Yo lo llamo estigma“, dijo Robinson. Cerca del 65 por ciento, 5,2 millones de niños en las escuelas públicas de Texas son negros o hispanos, y cerca del 60 por ciento de los estudiantes a nivel estatal provienen de hogares pobres.
CIUDAD DE ROMA
FIESTA DE MOCHILAS
CLÍNICA VACUNAS CONTRA RABIA 1 La Ciudad de Roma invita a sus residentes a Clínica de Vacunas contra Rabia proporcionadas por Margo Veterinary Clinic. Las vacunas se aplicarán en J.C. Ramírez Store, el 24 de agosto de 5 p.m. a 7 p.m.. Costo de vacunas: 17 dólares. Otras vacunas y desparasitación estarán disponibles para las mascotas. Informes al 4873623. BAILE PARA RECAUDACIÓN DE FONDOS 1 La corporación de IBC Bank invita a un baile en beneficio del UT MD Anderson Cancer Center. El evento titulado “Give Cancer The Boot!” será el 27 de agosto a partir de las 8 p.m. en Zapata Community Center. Patrocinios desde 1.500, 1.000 y 500 dólares. Boleto individual 50 dólares. Música de Vidal y La Mafia. Informes en el 956-765-8361. CONFERENCIA 1 La Diócesis de Brownsville y Evangelización Activa invitan a conferencia El Amor Conyugal impartida por Pbro. Ernesto María Caro en el Performing Art Center de la preparatoria Roma High School de la ciudad de Roma, 1 de septiembre a las 7 p.m.
Foto de cortesía | City of Roma
El evento Back To School Backpack Bash 2016, organizado por la Ciudad de Roma, en conjunto con agencias, empresas y organizaciones, lograron donar mochilas y útiles escolares a más de 600 estudiantes de escasos recursos, el jueves en la plaza Roma Guadalupe Plaza.
CULTURA
La Posada, locación de película Nota del Editor: Artículo basado en el documento escrito por Enrique T. de la Garza en relación a filmación de película en Laredo. Por Enrique T. de la Garza TIEMP O DE ZAPATA
Eddie Macon's Run, es una película filmada en Laredo en 1981 y está basada en un libro escrito por James McLendon. El filme trata de un hombre sentenciado a cumplir una condena en Huntsville por delitos menores y escapa a Laredo donde espera cruzar hacia México para reunirse con su esposa y su hijo. Este escrito surge de mi experiencia al haber sido contratado por el productor ejecutivo de la película, Lou Stroller, para ser scout (explorador). Cuán-
Foto de cortesía
Kirk Douglas en una escena de Eddie Macon's Run, teniendo de fondo la entrada principal del Hotel La Posada, en Laredo.
do pregunté cuáles serían mis funciones, él dijo: "Te haremos saber lo que buscamos y tú nos darás algunas ideas de lo que queremos y lo conseguirás. Tomarás fotogra-
fías de los diferentes lugares y escogeremos de ahí. Después firmaremos un contrato con el dueño de la propiedad", señaló Stroller. Stroller señaló que le
interesaba asegurar tres lugares ese mismo día: La Posada Hotel, la cárcel y el rodeo. Así que junto a Stroller, Jeff Kanew, director del filme y Bill Kenney, director artístico, y yo nos dirigimos al hotel La Posada. Después de los saludos de rigor, le presenté a Tom Herring a las personas que me acompañaban y le informé del motivo de nuestra visita. "Estamos aquí para ver la posibilidad de utilizar La Posada en nuestra película. Pero creo que no será posible", dijo Stroller. Herring se extrañó de escuchar aquello. "En el libro de James McLendon, La Posada Hotel es un hotel de segunda, con cuartos baratos y un pobre servicio. Esto no es exactamente lo
que buscamos", dijo Kanew. Entonces, Kenney intervino y dijo: "Sr. Herring, la única forma de que esto funcione para nosotros es hacer deslucir el frente del hotel. Definitivamente no podemos usar el interior. No hay modo de bajarle el tono al hermoso lobby y al restaurante de este hotel". Kanew agregó que si decidían utilizar el hotel cambiarían el frente con fachadas que harían que luciera como un hotel de tercera o de clase baja. "¿Y?", preguntó Herring, manifestando estar de acuerdo. Stroller dijo que le mostrarían los planos y los bocetos de lo que se haría. "Si lo aprueba, haremos la escena en La Posada", aseguró Stroller.
A8 | Wednesday, August 17, 2016 | THE ZAPATA TIMES
INTERNATIONAL
Poland plans prison terms for using term ‘Polish death camp’ By Vanessa Gera ASSOCIATED PRE SS
Seismological Institute / AP
The Santiaguito volcano blows outs a thick cloud of ash in Quetzaltenango, Guatemala, Tuesday.
Guatemala’s Santiaguito volcano spouts ash plume A S S OCIAT E D PRE SS
GUATEMALA CITY — The Santiaguito volcano spouted a plume of ash Tuesday that rose 16,400 feet (5,000 meters) above sea level and scattered ash into neighboring Mexico. The National Seismological Institute said the eruption took place at about 7 a.m. at the volcano, which is about 65 kilometers (40 miles) from the Mexican border. David De Leon, spokesman for Guatemala’s disaster response agency, said ash fell as far away as the southern Mexico state of Chiapas, where authorities described the fall in cities such as Tapachula as light. De Leon said the volcano is one of the most explosive in Latin America, with about 76 eruptions this year. Santiaguito is a crater on the slope of the 12,375foot (3,772-meter) Santa Maria volcano.
WARSAW, Poland — The Polish government approved a new bill on Tuesday that foresees prison terms of up to three years for anyone who uses phrases like “Polish death camps” to refer to Auschwitz and other camps that Nazi Germany operated in occupied Poland during World War II. The bill aims to deal with a problem the Polish government has faced for years: foreign media outlets — and even U.S. President Barack Obama — referring to the Nazi
camps as “Polish.” The Justice Ministry said the Cabinet of Prime Minister Beata Szydlo approved the legislation during a weekly session on Tuesday. It is expected to pass easily in the parliament, where the nationalistic right-wing ruling Law and Justice party enjoys a majority. Poles fear that as the war grows more distant younger generations across the world will incorrectly assume that Poles had a role in running Auschwitz, Treblinka and other German death camps, a bitter association for a nation that was occupied and sub-
jected to brutality that left some 5.5 million Polish citizens dead during the war, about 3 million Jews and 2.5 million non-Jews. “It wasn’t our mothers, nor our fathers, who are responsible for the crimes of the Holocaust, which were committed by German and Nazi criminals on occupied Polish territory,” Zbignew Ziobro, the justice minister, said Tuesday. “Our responsibility is to defend the truth and dignity of the Polish state and the Polish nation, as well as our fathers, our mothers and our grandparents.” Many Poles support such legislation and feel
Alik Keplicz / AP file
In this file photo dated July 29, a man crosses the iconic rails leading to the former Nazi death camp of Auschwitz-Birkenau prior to a visit by Pope Francis, in Poland.
that it differs little from laws that some countries, including Poland and Germany, have that make Holocaust denial a crime. However, critics note that the government will ultimately be powerless to punish people outside of Poland, those most likely to use such language. They fear its true intent is to repress historical inquiry within Poland into
Polish behavior toward Jews. Though the Polish state never collaborated with the Nazis, there were some Poles who killed Jews or identified them to the Germans. That subject is anathema to the country’s nationalistic leadership, which has an official “historical policy” of promoting knowledge of the heroic episodes in Poland’s past.
THE ZAPATA TIMES | Wednesday, August 17, 2016 |
A9
BUSINESS
Ford says it will have a fully autonomous car by 2021 By Dee-Ann Durbin A S S OCIAT E D PRE SS
DETROIT — Ford Motor Co. intends to have a fully driverless vehicle — no steering wheel, no pedals — on the road within five years. The car will initially be used for commercial ride-hailing or ride-sharing services; sales to consumers will come later. “This is a transformational moment in our industry and it is a transformational moment for our company,” said CEO Mark Fields, as he announced the plan at Ford’s Silicon Valley campus in Palo Alto, California. Ford’s approach to the autonomous car breaks from many other companies, like Mercedes-Benz and Tesla Motors, which plan to gradually add self-driving capability to traditional cars. Just last
month, BMW AG, Intel Corp. and the automotive camera maker Mobileye announced a plan to put an autonomous vehicle with a steering wheel on the road by 2021. Instead, Ford is taking the same approach as Alphabet Inc.’s Google, which supports moving directly to self-driving cars once the technology is perfected. “We abandoned the stepping-stone approach of driver-assist technologies and decided we were going to take the full leap,” said Raj Nair, Ford’s chief technical officer. Nair says Ford will continue developing systems that assist the driver, like automatic emergency braking or lane departure warning. But he said semi-autonomous systems that can operate the car but then cede control back to the driver when an obstacle is encoun-
tered are actually dangerous in Ford’s view. Engineers couldn’t figure out how to make sure drivers stay engaged and ready to take over. So, Ford decided to remove the driver altogether. “We learned that to achieve full autonomy, we have to take a completely different path,” Nair said. Jeremy Carlson, a senior analyst with IHS Automotive, says he doesn’t know of another automaker who’s taking Ford’s approach. But there are challenges either way, he said. Riders may have a hard time trusting fully autonomous cars, for example, but semiautonomous cars can be dangerous because drivers may not understand what the vehicles can and cannot do. “I don’t think there’s going to be any one right answer,” he said. Ford’s vehicle will be specifically designed for
Univision’s $135 million bid wins auction for bankrupt Gawker By Sydney Ember N EW YORK T I ME S
Gawker Media, whose fierce independence afforded it an unsparing approach to web journalism that influenced news organizations across the internet and the wider media world, was sold to Univision for $135 million at auction on Tuesday, according to two people with direct knowledge of the deal who spoke on condition of anonymity because it had not been made public. Univision outbid Ziff Davis, and when the deal is made official by a bankruptcy judge later this week, Gawker, a freewheeling collection of websites, will have an outside owner for the first time since its founding 14 years ago. The sale came two months after Gawker filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy, a concession to the financial pressure the company faces from a $140 million legal judgment in an invasion-ofprivacy lawsuit by the former professional wrestler Hulk Hogan, whose
Steve Nesius / AP file
In this March 16 file photo, Gawker Media founder Nick Denton arrives in a courtroom in St. Petersburg, Fla.
real name is Terry G. Bollea. Making matters worse for Gawker was Peter Thiel, the billionaire Silicon Valley entrepreneur, who acknowledged after the Hogan trial that he had funded the lawsuit and was providing financial support for other legal cases against the company. Univision, best known for its Spanish-language television network, has recently moved aggressively to expand its online portfolio, and adding Gawker’s sites fits with its plans to extend its reach beyond Spanish-speaking viewers. Univision bought a large stake in The Onion this year and
acquired full control of Fusion, the news site and cable channel that it started with the Walt Disney Co. in 2013. For Gawker, the sale is the end of an era. Founded in 2002 by Nick Denton, a former journalist for The Financial Times, the site attracted young journalists who took on articles that traditional media organizations were sometimes reluctant to pursue. The company also had its critics, who said its sites skirted the boundaries of good taste. But Gawker’s take-noprisoners approach has also been to its detriment. Bollea sued Gawker Media in 2012 over its publication of a video that showed him having sex with the wife of a friend. He has been unable to collect from Gawker on the $140 million judgment because of its bankruptcy filing. Denton, who is personally liable for $10 million and jointly liable for $115 million, filed for bankruptcy this month, listing $10 million to $50 million in assets and $100 million to $500 million in liabilities.
commercial mobility services, like taxi companies, and will be available in high volumes. Ford says personal ownership of self-driving cars will come later. Ford didn’t say whether it would work with a ride-sharing partner or try to establish services on its own. Rival General Motors Co. has a partnership with the ridehailing company Lyft and has also bought a selfdriving software company called Cruise Automation. Dearborn, Michiganbased Ford also said it plans to double the staff at its Palo Alto research center by the end of next year to nearly 300 people. It will buy two more buildings next to its current building in order to expand its campus, Fields said. Ford will also make several investments and partnerships to speed its development of autono-
Ajit Solanki / AP file
In this March 26, 2015, file photo, Ford President and CEO Mark Fields speaks during the inauguration of Ford's manufacturing facility and engine plant at Sanand, near Ahmadabad, India.
mous vehicles. Ford and Chinese search engine company Baidu will each invest $75 million in Velodyne, a company that makes laser sensors that help guide self-driving cars. Velodyne, based in Morgan Hill, California, says it will use the $150 million investment to expand design and production and reduce the cost of its sensors. Laser sensors — dubbed Lidar, which stands for light, detection and ranging — can also be used in conventional vehicles as part of driver assist systems. Ford said it has ac-
quired Israel-based computer vision and machine learning company SAIPS for its expertise in artificial intelligence and computer vision. It also invested in Berkeley, California-based Civil Maps for its three-dimensional mapping capabilities. Ford has also formed a partnership with New York-based Nirenberg Neuroscience LLC, a machine vision company that has developed devices for restoring sight to patients with degenerative eye diseases. Ford shares fell 9 cents to $12.34. and were flat in after-hours trading.
Insurers continue to abandon ACA exchanges, limiting choice By Tom Murphy ASSOCIATED PRE SS
Aetna will abandon Affordable Care Act insurance exchanges next year in more than twothirds of the counties where it now sells the coverage, the latest in a string of defections by big insurers that will limit customer choice in many markets. Dwindling insurer participation is becoming a concern, especially for rural markets, in part because competition is supposed to help control insurance price hikes, and many carriers have already announced plans to seek increases of around 10 percent or more for 2017. “This is really going to be felt in Southern states and rural areas,” said Cynthia Cox, associate director of health reform and private insurance for the Kaiser Family Foundation, which studies health care issues. Experts say it is too soon to determine how shrinking insurer participation will affect rates beyond next year, but fewer choices generally contribute to higher prices over time. Aetna, the nation’s third-largest insurer, says
it will limit its participation in the exchanges to four states in 2017, down from 15 this year. The announcement late Monday came several weeks after UnitedHealth and Humana also said they would cut their coverage plans for 2017 and after more than a dozen nonprofit insurance co-ops have shut down in the past couple of years. The Kaiser Family Foundation estimated earlier this year that about one in five U.S. counties could be down to one health insurer on their public exchanges for next year, and about 70 percent of those markets will be rural. That was before Aetna announced its changes. Cox said the total may be closer to one in four now. Rural markets can be less attractive to insurers because there are fewer customers for insurers to spread costs across, and hospitals and other health care providers can build dominating market positions, making them better able to negotiate rates. In contrast, urban markets, where most people live, are expected to still have plenty of health insurance choices on their exchanges for 2017.
Alabama, Alaska and Oklahoma are among the states that will have one health insurer selling individual coverage on their exchanges next year. South Carolina and most of North Carolina could join that list due to the Aetna decision, Cox noted. Aetna’s pullback leaves Pinal County outside Phoenix with no insurers selling individual coverage for next year on the exchange, although some will sell coverage off the exchange, according to Arizona’s insurance department. The exchanges have helped millions of people gain health coverage, most with help from incomebased tax credits. But insurers say this relatively small slice of business has generated huge losses since they started paying claims in 2014. Insurers have struggled to enroll enough healthy people to balance the claims they pay from high-cost customers, and they have complained about steep shortfalls in support from government programs designed to help them. The nation’s largest insurer, UnitedHealth Group, only plans to offer policies in three states next year.
A10 | Wednesday, August 17, 2016 | THE ZAPATA TIMES
NATIONAL
Clinton: Trump’s foreign policy ‘absolutely bewilders’ her By Ken Thomas and Jill Colvin A S S OCIAT E D PRE SS
PHILADELPHIA — Hillary Clinton vowed Tuesday to conduct a national security and foreign policy that Americans could be proud of, saying rival Donald Trump “just absolutely bewilders” her when he talks about his policies around the globe. Clinton embraced the U.S. Olympic team’s success at a voter registration rally in Philadelphia, pointing to Team USA’s gold as an example of an optimistic nation that runs counter to what she considers Trump’s pessimism and negativity. “It just absolutely bewilders me when I hear Donald Trump try to talk about national security,” Clinton said, pointing to Vice President Joe Biden’s dissection of Trump’s foreign policy at a Pennsylvania event on Monday. “What (Trump) often says hurts us. It sends the wrong message to friend and foe alike.” Turning to the Olympic team, she said, “Team USA is showing the world what this country stands for.” Trump on Monday said the country’s national security requirements demanded “extreme” vetting of immigrants seeking admission to the United States, pointing to the threat of the Islamic State group and terrorism elements. But he offered few specifics about how the process might work or how it would be paid for by taxpayers. Clinton and Trump have each sought the upper hand as the chief executive most capable of
Michael Bryant/Philadelphia Inquirer / TNS
Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton speaks to the crowd at West Philadelphia High School on Tuesday in Pennsylvania.
battling terrorism. While the GOP business mogul has vowed to project strength and decisive action against terror, the former secretary of state has pointed to her deep foreign policy credentials and warned that Trump could plunge the nation into another war. Trump has previously called for an unprecedented temporary ban on Muslims entering the U.S., and said in his Ohio speech that he would overhaul the nation’s screening process and block those who sympathize with extremist groups or fail to embrace American values. The Republican nominee has made changes to the nation’s immigration system and the construction of a wall along the Mexican border a key part of his fight against terrorism and the Islamic State group, which he compared to the struggle against communism during the Cold War. As president, Trump said he would encourage immigrants to assimilate and urge parents, teachers and others to promote “American culture.” But he declined to say which
regions of the world would race “extreme” vetting and how federal agencies would go about conducting the review. Trump traveled Tuesday to Milwaukee, the site of ongoing protests over the fatal shooting of a black man by a black police officer. His visit followed several days of violence that has left businesses in flames. Trump began his visit with a meeting with local law enforcement officers at the Milwaukee County War Memorial Center on Lake Michigan, where he was joined by former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani. Among those present were Milwaukee County Sheriff David Clarke and Inspector Edward Bailey. Clarke in an op-ed Monday blamed liberal Democrats and the media for the unrest that has rocked the city. Trump also posed for photographs with a handful of veterans, including one wearing a “Hillary for Prison” T-shirt. Clinton said Monday during a stop in Scranton, Pennsylvania, that the Milwaukee protests showed the nation had
NBC chairman blasts Trump in private Facebook post By Lynn Elber A S S OCIAT E D PRE SS
LOS ANGELES — The chairman of NBC Entertainment slammed Donald Trump, the network’s onetime “Apprentice” star, as “toxic” and “demented” in a private Facebook post that became public. Robert Greenblatt’s post refers to a “sad state of affairs thanks to a pompous businessman turned reality TV star” who thinks that speaking his mind is “refreshing.” “It’s actually corrosive and toxic because his ‘mind’ is so demented; and his effect will unfortunately linger long after he’s been told to get off the stage,” the executive said in the post Monday, which doesn’t refer to Trump by name.
Greenblatt does not oversee NBC News or its campaign coverage. HowGreenblatt ever, his remarks likely will give critics of the media an opening for attack. His post also derided the business mogul’s ratings prowess, writing that Trump’s show “consistently ran LAST in its time period, by the way.” “The Apprentice,” was a hit for NBC when it began airing in 2004 but the most recent season finale of “Celebrity Apprentice,” the latest incarnation, finished in fourth place when it aired in February 2015, behind shows including “ABC’s “The Bachelor” and CBS’
“Two Broke Girls.” A person familiar with Greenblatt’s private page said Tuesday the post came from the NBC executive. The person, who lacked authority to discuss the matter publicly, spoke on condition of anonymity. Trump’s campaign did not immediately return a message seeking comment NBC, part of Comcast Corp. subsidiary NBCUniversal, declined comment Tuesday. Comcast did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Greenblatt took over as entertainment chairman in 2011. In June 2015, NBCUniversal said it was cutting its business ties with Trump because of his “derogatory statements” about immigrants.
“urgent work to do to rebuild trust between police and communities” and that “everyone should have respect for the law and be respected by the law.” In an interview on Fox News Channel, Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker accused Clinton of “inflaming the situation” with her comments. “I think people understand in that neighborhood and Sherman Park and in Milwaukee, they want law enforcement to step up and protect them,” he said, adding that “statements like that” from Clinton and a “lack of leadership” from Obama “only inflame the situation.” Trump told Fox News that the shooting in Milwaukee may have occurred because the officer had a gun to his head. “Who can have a problem with that?” Trump said in an excerpt of the interview, aired Tuesday. “If it is true, then people shouldn’t be rioting.” While polls have shown Clinton building a lead following the Philadelphia convention, Democrats are fearful that a depressed voter turnout might diminish support among the minority, young and female voters who powered President Barack Obama to two victories. Clinton said at the voter registration event at a Philadelphia high school that she’s “not taking anybody anywhere for granted” in the race for the White House, saying the stakes “could not be higher.” While guarding against complacency, Clinton is also preparing for a potential administration.
Justin Sullivan / Getty
U.S. Secretary of the Navy Ray Mabus speaks during a ship naming ceremony for the new USNS Harvey Milk on Aug. 16 in San Francisco.
Navy names ship after gay rights champ Harvey Milk By Lolita C. Baldor ASSOCIATED PRE SS
WASHINGTON — The Navy is naming a ship in honor of the late gay rights leader Harvey Milk, who served in the Navy for four years before he began a career in San Francisco city government. Navy Secretary Ray Mabus said Tuesday that Milk displayed tremendous courage fighting for the rights of the LGBT community. The ship is one of a new fleet of replenishment oilers that will be built in San Diego. Milk’s career as a Navy officer, however, ended with an “other than honorable” discharge, due to allegations of fraterniza-
tion with enlisted personnel. Some argue that Milk was forced out of the military because he was gay. A defense official said Tuesday that Milk accepted the other than honorable discharge to avoid possible disciplinary action. Fraternization with enlisted personnel by an officer is against military regulations — whether they are the same or different genders. The official was not authorized to discuss the matter publicly, and spoke on condition of anonymity. The ban on gays serving openly in the U.S. military was formally ended in September 2011.
THE ZAPATA TIMES | Wednesday, August 17, 2016 |
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FROM THE COVER
In flooded Louisiana, a cleanup and a search for bodies By Michael Kunzelman, Melinda Deslatte and Rebecca Santana A S S OCIAT E D PRE SS
BATON ROUGE, La. — Authorities went door to door and car to car to check for bodies Tuesday, and homeowners began the heartbreaking task of gathering up soaked family photos and mucking out houses dank with bayou mud, as the floodwaters started to recede across parts of southern Louisiana. Even as the water fell in some areas, it was rising in other places
HURRICANE From page A1
battered with severe weather since last year. “Texas has withstood six presidentially-declared disasters in the past 13 months,” Allen wrote. “These disasters have impacted nearly 60 percent of Texas’ counties and a population of over 19 million people.” The state expenditures have been used primarily for search and rescue, swift water rescue, emergency medical, incident management and other law enforcement or emergency needs, John Wittman, a spokesman for Abbott, told the Tribune. The program’s budget includes money from general revenue funding and other sources, including grants, unspent balances from previous sessions and money from the state’s savings account, known as the Rainy Day Fund. When all of those sources are taken into account for the current biennium’s funding, the program actually received a slight increase from the previous session. According to the
downstream, where people furiously filled sandbags and fled to shelters. Officials painted a stark picture of the crisis so far: at least 40,000 homes damaged and 11 people killed in some of the worst flooding in Louisiana history, touched off by as much as 2 feet of rain in 48 hours. Over 30,000 people have been rescued since Friday, with more being brought to safety by the hour. There were scattered reports of looting, and Gov. John Bel Edwards said parishes with widespread damage would be
placed under curfew beginning Tuesday night. The smell of muddy water hung heavy in the air as people donned surgical masks and began the back-breaking job of
Legislative Budget Board, the total budget was about $89 million, compared with $83.3 million the previous biennium. Where the fund took the biggest hit — and what Allen makes note of in his letter — is the reduction in general revenue funding, which fell from $63.3 million in the previous biennium to $14.8 million in the current budget cycle. That total comes after $10 million of the fund was used for body cameras for law enforcement, as required by Senate Bill 158. While the general revenue funding appears low, it’s normal, according to the Legislative Budget Board. Agency spokesman R.J. DeSilva said the general revenue amount reflects the average annual amount in grants awarded over a prior six-year period, after the $10 million deduction. Asked about the funding amount, a spokesman for House Speaker Joe Straus noted that the amount was on par with previous funding levels and that the governor has the discretion to use the funds as he chooses. “The Governor’s office
was appropriated $89 million for the Disaster Fund and has discretion over how to use those dollars,” spokesman Jason Embry said in an email. “The House is willing to work with the Governor to identify options to provide additional funding.” Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick’s office declined to comment on the issue. As of June 30, there was about $46.1 million left in the state fund, according to Wittman. But the remaining balance might already be spoken for. “Based on our current projections of outstanding costs associated with disasters that have already occurred — which include estimating historical FEMA reimbursement amounts and timelines — the remaining funds may already be oversubscribed without supplemental assistance,” Wittman said. In its letter to Abbott, the bipartisan group of Harris County lawmakers did not request a specific amount, but the letter said the money would help reimburse local agencies who would be
citizenship certificate, the approved photo ID must be current or have expired no more than four years before being presented for voter qualification at the polling place. Voters with a disability may continue to apply with the county registrar for a permanent exemption to showing approved photo ID (which now may be expired no more than four years) at the polls. Also, voters who have a consistent religious objections to being photographed or do not present one of the seven forms of approved photo ID because of certain natural disasters as declared by the president of the United States or the Texas governor, may continue apply for a temporary exemption to showing approved photo ID at the polls. Voters with questions about how to cast a ballot in these elections can call 1-800-252VOTE. Early voting begins Oct. 24 and ends Nov. 4. Election Day is Nov. 8.
school in Webb County also met standard except for one: Webb Consolidated Independent School District’s Oilton Elementary, which was labeled “improvement required.” The Texas Education Agency has tweaked accountability ratings to ensure few failing “improvement required” ratings, meaning that 90-plus percent of districts and around 85 percent of schools have now met basic state requirements each of the last four years. That’s despite Education Commissioner Mike Morath suggesting only about a third of high school graduates in the country’s second most-populous state are actually ready to succeed in college or an immediate career or vocation. “It’s just like children’s soccer nowadays, where everyone gets a trophy,” Bill Hammond, a former state lawmaker who now heads the Texas Association of Business lobbying group, said of Monday’s ratings. “It doesn’t tell the public
er Guzman son, Ivan Archivaldo Guzman, was among those abducted. He said later that authorities had identified four of the six men marched out of the upscale restaurant by seven armed assailants. He did not say whether Ivan could be one of the two still not identified. Almaguer said officials have determined the kidnappers belonged to the Jalisco New Generation cartel, the dominant criminal group in the state. The victims are all believed to be the rival Sinaloa cartel headed by Guzman in the neighboring state of Sinaloa. Experts have said Ivan Archivaldo assumed
ineligible for Federal Emergency Management Agency assistance. In their plea, the lawmakers applauded Abbott for declaring a state of emergency and making Texas eligible for federal assistance. But they said that effort would only go so far. “Many affected individuals or entities like emergency service districts that provided services like transportation or post-storm debris removal may not be able to access this federal aid due to the varied and specific requirements for the various programs for addressing different types of disaster-related need,” they wrote. The group added that some households could also go without help because of “inadequate insurance coverage or inability to meet FEMA or Department of Housing and Urban Development requirements.” State Rep. Ana Hernandez, D-Houston, said that some of those families could include undocumented immigrants who don’t qualify for federal aid because of their status. According to
the FEMA website, a qualified immigrant must be in the county legally, though undocumented parents can apply for aid on behalf of their U.S. citizen children or be eligible for short-term aid that doesn’t include a cash award, like legal services. Lawmakers still have options to add more money to the fund even with the Legislature not in session, including asking the Legislative Budget Board to move money between agencies. Allen said another significant event could deplete the fund. “Unfortunately, the funds remaining in the Disaster and Deficiency Grants program may not be sufficient for additional emergency operations that may be necessary to respond to future disasters during the remainder of the current biennium,” he wrote. “Even under the most optimistic of FEMA reimbursement scenarios, the fund balance is a fraction of what would be needed for critical emergency response efforts for a minor hurricane or significant flood event.”
Asked if the governor’s office plans to seek more money next session, Wittman said Abbott is in discussions with legislative leaders about disaster funds. “The Governor has visited with the Speaker and Lt. Governor about the Disaster Fund situation and will work with leadership to ensure the State has the necessary resources in the Fund to be prepared for any disaster that may come our way,” he said. Hernandez said it might not be a bad idea for lawmakers to look at other line items and see where money should be reallocated when lawmakers gavel back in in January. “As the governor’s office prioritized border security, I think that it’s also important that we have funds available to our first-aid responders when natural disasters strike,” she said, referring to the record $800 million lawmakers approved for more staff and equipment on the border. “We definitely need to look at the metrics and whether it’s a prudent investment of state resources.”
Brendan Smialowski / Getty
SCHOOLS From page A1
control of parts of the cartel’s drug operations after his father was rearrested in January. The U.S. Treasury Department designated both brothers in 2012 under the Foreign Narcotics Kingpin Designation Act as assisting their father in drug trafficking. Jesus Alfredo, along with his father and other Sinaloa cartel leaders, were indicted in federal court in Chicago in 2009 on drug trafficking charges. After reviewing security camera footage, Almaguer said that besides the restaurant’s staff, there were nine women and seven men dining together when the gunmen burst in early Monday. “The subjects enter, control the diners, sep-
through stacks of family photos, removing them from their sleeves and placing them on a table to dry out. Many of the photos were of her 15year-old daughter, Olivia. “I can’t live without her pictures. It breaks my heart,” she said. Officials started going house to house to make sure everyone was accounted for and searched the countless cars that had been caught in the flooding. “I don’t know we have a good handle on the number of people who are missing,” the governor said.
A man navigates a boat of rescued goats past a partially submerged car after flooding on Aug. 16 in Gonzales, Louisiana.
VOTERS From page A1
MEXICO From page A1
ripping out soggy carpet, drywall and insulation. They cleaned out spiders and cockroaches that had bubbled up through the sewer grates. Raymond Lieteau, 48,
returned to his home in the Woodlands neighborhood of Baton Rouge to survey the damage Tuesday and begin cleaning up. The water line on a mirror showed that he had more than 5 feet of water inside his home. “My furniture is all over the place,” he said. “It’s just amazing.” The bedroom floors were buckled and the walls bowed, and the swimming pool, once a crystal-clear blue, was filled with brown water. His wife, Daniella Letelier, put on rubber gloves and began sorting
anything because there’s no differentiation between the various schools.” Texas State Teachers Association spokesman Clay Robison countered that those schools and districts flagged for failing to meet state standards have traditionally been concentrated in poor areas and have disproportionate numbers of minority students, or those who speak foreign languages at home and require extra instruction to learn English. He said the problem will only get worse when the state starts handing out “Fs.” “They call it differentiation. I call it stigma,” Robison said. Nearly 65 percent of Texas’ 5.2 million public school children are black or Hispanic, and almost 60 percent of students statewide come from impoverished households. The ratings use student performance on a statewide exam regimen known as STAAR that this year was plagued by computer problems. Also Monday, the education agency announced that high school student performance on
arate the women to a side and violently take them (the men),” he said in an interview with The Associated Press prior to the news conference. “They resisted; however, these criminals who arrived did it with a certain violence with long guns.” Almaguer said one of the men managed to escape. He said authorities also had not located any of the women who were left behind. Officials earlier estimated that 10 to 12 had been kidnapped, based on the confused nature of evidence at the crime scene. Investigators took fingerprints from the scene, viewed security video and checked identifications related to five vehicles — some luxury models — left behind by the victims at the restau-
four of the five standardized STAAR tests needed to graduate improved or stayed the same last year when compared with the 2014-2015 academic year — even as passing standards got tougher. In 2013, Texas cut the number of such required exams from 15 to five amid widespread student and parent complaints about overtesting. Biology exam passing rates slipped a percentage point to 91 percent in the 2015-2016 academic year, while Algebra I remained unchanged at 81 percent, as did English I at 63 percent and English II at 66 percent. Ninety-four percent of students taking the U.S. history exam passed last school year, up three percentage points from 2014-2015. The accountability system also examines how well districts and schools close “achievement gaps” between minority and economically disadvantaged students and their white or wealthier counterparts, and youngsters’ readiness for college or the workforce after high school. The state rated more than
rant. “We have not received a single report from anyone to help locate these people who were (kidnapped),” Almaguer said at the news conference. He said authorities had also not heard of anyone demanding a ransom. He would not repeat the name of the Jalisco New Generation cartel, but in response to a reporter’s question, he said authorities had confirmed that group was responsible for the abductions. The Jalisco cartel has grown quickly to rival Guzman’s Sinaloa cartel as the most powerful of Mexico’s drug gangs. Experts said before the news conference that Ivan Archivaldo Guzman had reportedly been running roughshod over
1,200 districts and 8,600-plus schools, including charter campuses. About 1,100 public school districts and charter operators met the standard this year, while 66 — or 5.5 percent — didn’t. Among elementary schools, 234 needed improvement compared with 118 middle schools and 67 high schools. There were 48 schools with kindergarten through 12th grade all on one campus that needed improvement. The letter grades law sailed through Texas’ Republicancontrolled Legislature last year, with supporters saying it will be easier for parents and students to understand. Democrats and education advocates opposed the measure, and Robison said Monday that it was easier “to pass this A to F gimmick” than increase public education funding. Florida implemented an A-F grade system in 1999, under then-Gov. Jeb Bush, who unsuccessfully ran for president this year. Fifteen states have since adopted similar ratings or are in the process of doing so.
allies in his father’s business. They said he had the reputation of a braggart, showing off expensive liquor, clothes, guns and cars on social media, something that could have angered more traditional traffickers who keep a lower profile. “Ivan Archivaldo was, I believe, a bit crazy,” said Raul Benitez, a security specialist who teaches political science at the National Autonomous University of Mexico. “He spent all his time posting things on Facebook, WhatsApp, Twitter. A serious narco doesn’t do that.” Benitez added: “He was a ‘junior”’ — a term Mexicans use to describe privileged youths. “He didn’t have the ability to run the cartel.” Experts said the kid-
napping could be the latest in a string of attacks against Guzman’s family, perhaps suggesting the drug lord has lost control of his cartel. He purportedly ran affairs from prison until his second escape in 2015, but since being recaptured had been kept under stricter security measures. In June, local media reported that an armed gang broke into the home of Guzman’s mother in Sinaloa and taken vehicles and other goods. “There is a war right now for control of the Sinaloa cartel and a central theme in that war is the issue of attacks on his family,” Benitez said. “People have information about the family’s movements and they want to destroy the family.”
A12 | Wednesday, August 17, 2016 | THE ZAPATA TIMES