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AUSTIN, TEXAS
Mark White to lie at state Capitol Funeral for ex-Democratic governor open to members of the public By Chuck Lindell COX N EWSPAPE RS
AUSTIN, Texas — Former Gov. Mark White, who died Saturday in Houston, will lie in state Thursday afternoon in the Capitol Rotunda so members of the public can pay their respects to one of the last Demo-
TEXAS’ SPECIAL LEGISLATIVE SESSION
‘Bathroom bill’ in jeopardy of sinking
crats to lead Texas. Announcing the arrangements on behalf of White’s family, Gov. Greg Abbott White said his predecessor’s funeral will be at 11 a.m. Wednesday at
Second Baptist Church in Houston. Afterward, White’s body will be brought to Austin and will lie in state in the Rotunda — where his portrait has been draped in black — from noon until 3 p.m. Thursday. White will be buried in the Texas State Cemetery in East Austin
during a ceremony for members of his family, Abbott said. Texas and U.S. flags will remain at half-staff until sunset Thursday. White, one of the last leaders of the Democratic Party’s conservative wing, served as attorney general for four years beginning in 1979, when he
clashed frequently and publicly with Republican Gov. Bill Clements, setting up a rivalry that defined Texas politics through the 1980s. White took on Clements in the 1982 elections, defeating the Republican despite being vastly outspent. His time in the GovWhite continues on A12
CLIMATE CHANGE
SCIENTISTS CONTRADICT TRUMP’S CLIMATE CLAIMS
Activists, companies continue protesting By David Montgomery N EW YORK T I ME S NEWS SERVICE
AUSTIN, Texas — With little more than a week left in Texas’ 30-day special legislative session, a barrage of corporate advertising and activism is threatening to sink legislation restricting transgender bathroom use that has been a flash point in the state’s culture wars. Social conservatives and the state’s powerful lieutenant governor, Dan Patrick, have backed the effort. Gay rights groups, business groups and the House speaker, Joe Straus, one of the few powerful moderate voices in the Texas Legislature, have opposed it. But after the state Senate, where Patrick presides, passed a bill, a narrower one is showing few signs of life in the 150-member House. The effort is now focused on the House version, but state Rep. Jonathan Stickland, one of the bill’s 46 co-authors and a member of the Tea Partybacked Freedom Caucus, said he was pessimistic about its chances of being allowed to advance to a vote. “I think the Straus team has already decided that they are not going to let it out,” said Stickland, who, like other members of the staunchly conservative caucus, persistently defies the speaker’s leadership. “This is clearly part of a national Bill continues on A12
Noah Berger / AP
In this 2016 file photo, vintage cars line a property after the Loma fire burned through Loma Chiquita Road near Morgan Hill, California. As President Donald Trump touts new oil pipelines and pledges to revive the nations struggling coal mines, federal scientists are warning that burning fossil fuels is already driving a steep increase in the United States of heat waves, droughts and floods.
President declares change in weather is a ‘hoax’ By Michael Biesecker and Seth Borenstein ASSOCIATED PRE SS
WASHINGTON — As President Donald Trump touts new oil pipelines and pledges to revive the nation’s struggling coal mines, federal scientists are warning that burning fossil fuels is already driving a steep increase in the United States of heat waves, droughts and floods. It is the latest example of collisions between Trump’s environmental policies and the facts presented by his government’s experts. Contradicting Trump’s claims that climate change is a
“hoax,” the draft report representing the consensus of 13 federal agencies concludes that the evidence global warming is being driven by human activities is “unambiguous.” That directly undercuts statements by Trump and his Cabinet casting doubt on whether the warming observed around the globe is being primarily driven by man-made carbon pollution. “There are no alternative explanations, and no natural cycles are found in the observational record that can explain the observed changes in climate,” says the report, citing thousands of peer-reviewed Climate continues on A5
Ross D. Franklin / AP
In this June 20 file photo, a local temperature sign reads 120-degrees as temperatures climb to near-record highs in Phoenix.
Zin brief A2 | Wednesday, August 9, 2017 | THE ZAPATA TIMES
CALENDAR
AROUND THE NATION
TODAY IN HISTORY
WEDNESDAY, AUG. 9
ASSOCIATED PRE SS
Rhythm Path Library Drumming Circle. 3 p.m. - 4 p.m. McKendrick Ochoa Salinas Branch Library. 1920 Palo Blanco. Event is free and and family friendly. Join the library drumming circle and learn to play West African rhythms and songs. Preregistration encouraged. For more information, contact Analiza PerezGomez at 956-795-2400 ext. 2401.
Today is Wednesday, Aug. 9, the 221st day of 2017. There are 144 days left in the year.
Today's Highlight in History: On August 9, 1945, three days after the atomic bombing of Hiroshima, Japan, a U.S. B-29 Superfortress code-named Bockscar dropped a nuclear device ("Fat Man") over Nagasaki, killing an estimated 74,000 people.
SATURDAY, AUG. 12 Harry Potter Book Club. 3 p.m - 5 p.m. McKendrick Ochoa Salinas Branch Library. 1920 Palo Blanco. Event is free and children, teens and adults are welcome to attend. Discussion about “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows” will be held at the meeting. For more information, contact Analiza Perez-Gomez at 956-795-2400 ext. 2401.
FRIDAY, AUG. 18 South Texas Food Bank Empty Bowls XI. Laredo Energy Arena. Tex-Mex power rock trio Los Lonely Boys will perform. The event includes a dinner, a benefit concert and a silent auction featuring artworks from local and regional artists. Sponsorship tables of 10 that include dinner and access to silent auction items are available. There are different levels of sponsorship available: Diamond $20,000, Platinum $10,000, Gold $5,000, Silver $2,500 and Bronze $1,500. Individual table tickets are $150. Table tickets are available at the food bank, 1907 Freight at Riverside. Concert only tickets are $10, $15 and $25. Tickets are available at the LEA box office, Ticketmaster.com, select Ticketmaster outlets or charge by phone at 1-800-745-3000.
MONDAY AUG. 21 Ray of Light Anxiety and Depression Support Group Meeting in Spanish. 6:30 p.m.-8 p.m. Recurring event. Spanish group meets every 3rd Monday of the month. Holding Institute, 1102 Santa Maria Ave., classroom 1. Ray of Light Anxiety and Depression Support Group provides a forum for people with anxiety and/or depression to meet, talk, share experiences and learn more about the conditions. Support groups can help individuals make connections with others facing similar challenges. While a support group does not replace an individual's medical care, it can be a valuable resource to gain insight, strength, and hope. The support group welcomes adults suffering from anxiety and/or depression to participate in free confidential support group meetings and social events. For more info, contact Anna Maria Pulido Saldivar at gruporayitodeluz@gmail.com or 956-307-2014.
TUESDAY. AUG. 22 Habitat for Humanity fundraiser. Wings To Go family sports restaurant, 2019 Bob Bullock Loop near H-E-B Plus! will donate percentage of sales to Habitat For Humanity LaredoWebb County. Wings To Go is open 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. Call 728-9464 for takeout orders. For Habitat information call, 724-3227.
Susan Walsh / AP
Mansour al-Omari, a Syrian human-rights activist documenting cases of people who have disappeared under President Bashar Assad's government, poses for a photo in Maryland.
SYRIAN ACTIVIST GIVES SCRAPS WITH PRISONERS’ NAMES TO MUSEUM BOWIE, Md. — A Syrian humanrights activist presented the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum’s research and preservation center on Tuesday with scraps of cloth that fellow prisoners had written their names on while using a chicken bone as a quill and blood from their own gums as ink. Mansour Omari, who spent nearly a year in captivity, said he hoped museum officials would preserve the 82 names as evidence and, through displaying the items, raise awareness among visitors to
Plutonium detected in air at Washington state nuclear site RICHLAND, Wash. — Radioactive plutonium and americium have been found in air samples collected where workers enter the secure area of the Hanford nuclear reservation in southeastern Washington, state health officials said Tuesday. The air samples were collected by the state Department of Health on June 8 at the Rattlesnake Barricade just off of pub-
the Washington museum about the Syrian civil war, now in its seventh year. Omari said he was tortured, blindfolded and kept in a crowded underground detention center during part of his incarceration. “I want the visitors to know that these names, many of them, are still now under ground, and some of them are dying,” he said, after handing the scraps of fabric and the notebook he kept them in to preservationists. — Compiled from AP reports
lic Highway 240. That was the day workers at the Plutonium Finishing Plant were ordered to take cover indoors because of an airborne release of radioactive particles during demolition of the highly contaminated facility. Department of Health officials at a Hanford Advisory Board committee meeting in Richland on Tuesday said analysis results for the air samples were received Monday. The levels of contamination in the samples were “very, very low,” said John Martell, manager of
the Radioactive Air Emissions Section of the Department of Health. “The level is interesting from a regulatory point of view, but is not a health risk” to the public, said Mike Priddy, manager of the Environmental Sciences Section of the Department of Health. Hanford employees were told in a Tuesday memo that the Department of Health considers “that the amount detected is below levels that would be of concern for human health.” — Compiled from AP rep orts
WEDNESDAY, AUG. 23 Release of new pictorial history of Laredo by Dr. Jerry Thompson. 6 p.m.-8 p.m. Villa Antigua Border Heritage Museum, 810 Zaragoza St. The brand new edition of “Laredo: A Pictorial History” by Thompson makes its long-awaited debut at a reception hosted by the Webb County Heritage Foundation. The event celebrates the latest publication of this exciting local history which features five new chapters and beautiful photos. To pre-order the book, call the Heritage Foundation at 956-727-0977
SATURDAY, AUG. 26 Football Tailgating Cook-Off. 2 p.m. - 11 p.m. Uni-Trade Stadium. Event will feature cook-off competitions, brisket tasting/sampling for People's Choice from 6:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m., car show, live music, food vendors, arts & crafts and merchandise vendors and much more. For more information, contact LULAC Council 14 at 956-286-9055
MONDAY, AUG. 28 Google Computer Science Club. 4 p.m. - 5:30 p.m. McKendrick Ochoa Salinas Branch Library. 1920 Palo Blanco. This free program is limited to 18 participants each week. Participants, ages 12-17, will receive community hours. Learn to code social media projects with the Scratch programming language.
AROUND TEXAS Stainless steel company finishing $450K Texas Tech sculpture EL PASO, Texas — If you’re driving by 305 County Line in Chaparral, New Mexico, in the next few days, be ready to hit the brakes. The El Paso Times reports Tim Downing and the craftsmen at Industrial Stainless International have fabricated “Run,” a traffic-stopping $450,000 sculpture by artists Simon Donovan and Ben Olmstead of Tucson, Arizona. The artwork depicting five female figures running will soon be on display at the new $48 million Texas Tech University Sports Performance Center in Lubbock. But for now, the sculpture made of 240 separate metal layers held together by 12,000 welded pins is undergoing its finishing touches outside the company’s building.
Mark Lambie / AP
In this July 21 photo, the stainless steal sculpture titled "Run," sits in El Paso, Texas.
“We had to kind of figure out some way to put it together, so we went ahead and made this frame to encapsulate it,” Downing explained during a recent visit. Before it is put on display at the university, the frame will be cut away and the art will be placed on a plinth, or heavy base that will support it. According to the artists’
proposal, the 12-foot tall work will stand on a 6-foot tall plinth so that the sculpture will stand a total of 18 feet in the air. Work on the project began May 15 and should be completed by mid-August, Downing said. — Compiled from El Paso Times reports
AROUND THE WORLD Strong quake strikes China, killing at least 7 BEIJING — A strong earthquake shook a mountainous region in southwestern China near a famous national park, killing seven people, injuring 88 others and knocking out power and phone networks. At least five of the dead were tourists. The information office of the Sichuan province government released an updated num-
ber of casualties early Wednesday, but it didn’t have more details on the victims of the Tuesday evening quake, China’s official Xinhua News Agency said. The office said 21 people were seriously injured. Chinese President Xi Jinping called for rapid efforts to respond to the quake and rescue the injured. Authorities sent medical teams, rescuers and other resources. The magnitude-6.5 quake struck a region bordered by the provinces of Sichuan and Gan-
On this date: In 1854, Henry David Thoreau's "Walden," which described Thoreau's experiences while living near Walden Pond in Massachusetts, was first published. In 1936, Jesse Owens won his fourth gold medal at the Berlin Olympics as the United States took first place in the 400-meter relay. In 1942, British authorities in India arrested nationalist Mohandas K. Gandhi; he was released in 1944. In 1967, Ethel Le Neve, the mistress of notorious convicted wife killer Hawley Harvey Crippen, died in Croydon, England, at age 84. In 1969, actress Sharon Tate and four other people were found brutally slain at Tate's Los Angeles home; cult leader Charles Manson and a group of his followers were later convicted of the crime. In 1974, Vice President Gerald R. Ford became the nation's 38th chief executive as President Richard Nixon's resignation took effect. In 1982, a federal judge in Washington ordered John W. Hinckley Jr., who'd been acquitted of shooting President Ronald Reagan and three others by reason of insanity, committed to a mental hospital. In 1992, closing ceremonies were held for the Barcelona Summer Olympics, with the Unified Team of former Soviet republics winning 112 medals, the United States 108. In 2014, Michael Brown Jr., an unarmed 18-year-old black man, was shot to death by a police officer following an altercation in Ferguson, Missouri; Brown's death led to sometimes-violent protests in Ferguson and other U.S. cities. Ten years ago: President George W. Bush held a news conference in which he publicly prodded Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf, his embattled war-on-terror partner, to hold free presidential elections, share intelligence and take "swift action" against terrorist leaders pinpointed in his country. Five years ago: The United States began a landmark project to clean up dioxin left from Agent Orange at the site of a former U.S. air base in Danang in central Vietnam, 50 years after the defoliant was first sprayed by American planes on Vietnam's jungles to destroy enemy cover. One year ago: Gunfire broke out during a demonstration in Ferguson, Missouri, on the second anniversary of Michael Brown's death, disrupting what had been a peaceful gathering but apparently wounding no one. House Speaker Paul Ryan defeated Paul Nehlen, a longshot Republican challenger praised by Donald Trump, in a Wisconsin congressional primary. Today's Birthdays: Basketball Hall of Famer Bob Cousy is 89. Actress Cynthia Harris is 83. Tennis Hall of Famer Rod Laver is 79. Jazz musician Jack DeJohnette is 75. Comediandirector David Steinberg is 75. Actor Sam Elliott is 73. Singer Barbara Mason is 70. Former MLB All-Star pitcher Bill Campbell is 69. College Football Hall of Famer and former NFL player John Cappelletti is 65. College Football Hall of Famer and former NFL player Doug Williams is 62. Actress Melanie Griffith is 60. Actress Amanda Bearse is 59. Rapper Kurtis Blow is 58. Hockey Hall of Famer Brett Hull is 53. TV host Hoda Kotb (HOH'-duh KAHT'-bee) is 53. Actor Pat Petersen is 51. Pro and College Football Hall of Famer Deion Sanders is 50. Actress Gillian Anderson is 49. Actor Eric Bana is 49. Producer-director McG (aka Joseph McGinty Nichol) is 49. NHL playerturned-assistant coach Rod Brind'Amour is 47. TV anchor Chris Cuomo is 47. Actor Thomas Lennon is 47. Rock musician Arion Salazar is 47. Rapper Mack 10 is 46. Actress Nikki Schieler Ziering is 46. Latin rock singer Juanes is 45. Actress Liz Vassey is 45. Actor Kevin McKidd is 44. Actress Rhona Mitra (ROH'-nuh MEE'-truh) is 42. Actor Texas Battle is 41. Actress Jessica Capshaw is 41. Actress Ashley Johnson is 34. Actress Anna Kendrick is 32. Thought for Today: "The man who makes no mistakes does not usually make anything." — Edward John Phelps, American lawyer and diplomat (1822-1900).
CONTACT US su at a depth of just 9 kilometers (5.5 miles), according to the U.S. Geological Survey. Shallow earthquakes tend to cause more damage than deeper ones. The China Earthquake Networks Center measured the earthquake at magnitude-7.0 and said it struck at a depth of 20 kilometers (12 miles). The quake occurred around 9:20 p.m. near Jiuzhaigou, or Jiuzhai Valley, a national park known for spectacular waterfalls and karst formations, the Chinese agency said.
The area is located on the edge of the Tibetan Plateau in northern Sichuan province, home to many Tibetan and other ethnic minority villages. Earthquakes are common in China’s west, although the low population density there often means casualties are low. China’s deadliest earthquake this century, a magnitude-7.9 temblor with a depth of 19 kilometers (12 miles), struck Sichuan province in May 2008, killing nearly 90,000 people. — Compiled from AP reports
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THE ZAPATA TIMES | Wednesday, August 9, 2017 |
A3
STATE
Torrential rains bring flooding to Houston area By Juan A. Lozano A S S OCIAT E D PRE SS
HOUSTON — Heavy rains that caused flooding in some parts of the Houston area and prompted about twodozen water rescues on Tuesday seemed to have stopped just before getting worse but with more rain expected authorities remain on guard and residents should stay prepared, officials said. “Unfortunately, this is one of those Texas flood events that’s part of living in Southeast Texas,” said Michael Walter, a spokesman for Houston’s Office of Emergency Management. While the thunderstorms that dropped up to 5 to 6 inches of rain in some parts of Houston overnight Tuesday have mostly moved out of the area, additional storms could pop up Tuesday afternoon, which could cause additional flooding in areas already saturated by rainfall. “We don’t want anyone to let their guard down just because it stopped raining for now,” Walter
said. Authorities plan to pre-stage emergency vehicles and barricades in different areas of Houston just in case expected rainfall Tuesday afternoon and evening becomes problematic, Walter said. The National Weather Service has issued a flash-flood watch for the region until Wednesday morning. Jeff Lindner, a meteorologist with the Harris County Flood Control District, said he expects some homes and structures will be flooded but that tally is still being determined. Houston is located in Harris County. An expected break in the rainfall on Tuesday should help waters recede from area bayous and streets, Lindner said. Many of the streets, roadways and neighborhoods that got flooded on Tuesday were locations that have had flooding in the past, Lindner said. “This is one of the more kind of marginal rain events, where the rain stopped just an inch
or two before we really got into serious problems and potential to affect a lot of homes,” Lindner said. For the most part, the area’s system of bayous and other man-made channels that dispatch storm runoff to the Gulf of Mexico “did a good job even though the ground was wet and the rainfall was very intense overnight,” Lindner said. According to the flood control district, only a few local bayous had overflowed their banks and were causing some flooding of homes and businesses. But levels on most other waterways were falling and many streets that had been flooded earlier were once again open by Tuesday afternoon. Both Lindner and Walter said recent heavy rain events in Houston in May 2015 — when seven people were killed — and April 2016 — when eight people were killed — were more serious and caused hundreds of millions of dollars in damage. While flooding is noth-
House votes to restrict insurance coverage of abortion A S S OCIAT E D PRE SS
AUSTIN, Texas — The Texas House has given preliminary approval to a bill requiring women to purchase separate insurance policies for coverage of abortions, except in cases of medical emergency. Amarillo Republican Rep. John Smithee’s proposal was approved 95-51 after hours of debate
Tuesday. A final House vote Wednesday would send it to the Texas Senate, which approved a similar proposal last month. Smithee said the bill only requires purchasing supplemental coverage for “elective” abortions, and promotes “economic freedom” by ensuring that Texans who object to abortions don’t have to subsidize them for other
insurance policyholders. Democratic opponents called the bill anti-women’s health and “strictly political.” They argued that insurance companies don’t recognize elective abortions and already only cover the procedure when it’s medically necessary. Texas’ 30-day special legislative session ends next week.
Godofredo A. Vasquez / AP
Motorists drive through floodwaters on West Mount Houston Road near Interstate 45 North on Tuesday in Houston. Torrential rains have brought more flooding to the Houston area as emergency officials urge motorists to stay home until the water recedes.
ing new in Houston, the nation’s fourth-largest city has had more frequent and destructive floods in its recent history. Since 1986, extreme downpours — the type measured in double-digit inches — have occurred twice as often as in the
previous 30 years, an AP weather analysis last year showed. Unrestrained development in Houston — the only major U.S. city without zoning rules — has also meant more pavement and less waterabsorbing wetlands that could help mitigate flood-
ing. The same storm system that hit Houston also brought widespread flooding to San Antonio and other areas on Monday. The San Antonio area was mostly clear on Tuesday with some scattered showers and thunderstorms.
Zopinion
Letters to the editor Send your signed letter to editorial@lmtonline.com
A4 | Wednesday, August 9, 2017 | THE ZAPATA TIMES
COLUMN
OTHER VIEWS
The future of public bathrooms? Remember the Alamo By Ken Herman COX N EWSPAPE RS
I have seen the future and it’s in the present in the bathroom at the Alamo Drafthouse at Mueller. Alamo Drafthouse is ahead of the curve on this. Previously unbeknownst to me, Alamo Drafthouse, at its Mueller theater, has precisely what I’m talking about. Alamo Drafthouse CEO and co-founder Tim League got some attention last year when he sought input on the gender-neutral bathroom concept, which became reality. I recently checked it out and found one big, clean room labeled “Restrooms.” It has fully enclosed stalls with toilets and a separate room with urinals. League says it’s working well: “No complaints at all.” Richard Weiss, the Austin architect who designed the bathroom, told me his firm gets about five inquiries a week from architects around the country seeking help designing gender neutral bathrooms. Alamo Drafthouse patron Curtis Polk is a fan of the bathroom at the new Alamo Drafthouse, though he said it took some getting used to. “You do you your business and then you come out — and standing next to a woman kind of threw me off when I was washing my hands and looking into the mirror next to a woman.” During my visit, I found it a little unsettling — but for no reason other than it’s just not what I’m used to —when I heard what sounded like a mom and a young girl in the room while I was in the individual stall. But really, what’s the problem with that? At the end of my call for an end to separate but equal bathrooms, I invited readers to discuss this. Some discussed. Some are disgusted. Larry Knepper is OK with the concept: “However, if we ever go that way, do NOT remove the urinals! Once women use our stalls, there will be something we guys have never had to experience in the past — LINES!” Barbara Garland said she recently used a gender-shared bathroom in Sweden: “While it was odd for us Americans, it wasn’t particularly uncomfortable. And the men had to endure the long lines, just like women have had to do forever. Seems like a win/win to me.” But Jerri Matthews didn’t like her experience in a gender-shared bathroom at a restaurant in France where she discovered that some patrons,
“men, I assumed, were lacking good aim. The floor was swimming in wetness. “Having to slough through that in sandals wasn’t pleasant,” Matthews told me. Sorry if you’re reading this at a meal. Ronald Sawey congratulated me “for not taking the obvious cheap laugh of asking about that pesky toilet seat and keeping it up or down.” And Sawey had an idea: “Perhaps the seat could come spring loaded to keep it up unless one sits on it?” Joe Kowalczyk is against my idea. “Oh, Ken, NO! We need to keep separate and unequal as it is today. Just think how we men would be giving up on a quick pit stop,” Kowalczyk wrote, predicting longer intermissions at the opera and a need for a fourth-inning stretch at the ballpark. Bonnie Carothers said, “I don’t want to share public bathrooms with strange men -- private stalls or not.” OK, how about two bathrooms, one marked “Strange Men” and one marked ‘Everybody Else?’” In pushing for the bathroom bill now before the state Legislature, Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick and other lawmakers said a law limiting transgenderfriendly policies is needed to protect girls and women. Senate sponsor Lois Kolkhorst, R-Brenham, pitched it as an “opportunity to shut down predators and voyeurs.” Reader Julia Spann, self-identifying as “a feminist and advocate for equality,” based her opposition to shared bathrooms on experience. “All my husbands and sons (total of eight so far) have had one thing in common -- the male propensity for belching, flatulence and expectoration. We shan’t discuss the universal aim problem. ... It is best for all that they have their own facility,” she wrote, adding that she and her husband now have “his and her bathrooms” at home. Hmm, I was unaware that some of those bodily functions are gender specific. Let’s end with something on which everybody can agree. It’s from reader Louise Brown, an extraordinarily insightful human being. “Thank you,” she said of my call for one bathroom for all. “Intelligence is in short supply these days and we should all celebrate displays of brilliance such as yours!” Ken Herman is a columnist for the Austin American-Statesman.
COMMENTARY
North Korea is fast approaching Trump’s red line By Aaron Blake WASHINGTON P O ST
One of the biggest questions about President Donald Trump is how he would respond to a crisis. Thus far, Trump’s presidency has been marked by controversies and stubborn politics, yes, but also by a strong economy and no natural disasters, major domestic terrorist attacks or new large-scale foreign conflicts. That may be starting to change. A new Washington Post report indicates that North Korea is approaching the Trump administration’s red line faster than previously thought. The big takeaway, as The Post is reporting, is that North Korea’s nuclear capabilities appear to be advancing far more rapidly than previously believed. This is a milestone when it comes to North Korea’s ability to strike distant targets with nuclear weapons. Although it’s not known yet that Pyongyang can strike the United States with an ICBM, U.S. officials concluded last month that
the effort was proceeding more rapidly than experts had anticipated. Now we find out that those ICBMs could be “nuclear-tipped.” In other words, North Korea may have solved half of the puzzle when it comes to threatening the U.S. mainland with a nuclear weapon. And, importantly, that’s a threshold that the Trump administration has said North Korea simply wouldn’t be allowed to cross. “It won’t happen!” Trump tweeted in January. National security adviser H.R. McMaster also said as recently as this weekend that North Korea having nuclear weapons that could threaten the United States would be “intolerable, from the president’s perspective.” The DIA report is dated July 28, more than a week before McMaster made those comments. “The president has been very clear about it: He said he’s not going to tolerate North Korea being able to threaten the United States,” McMaster
told Hugh Hewitt on MSNBC. “Obviously, war is the most serious decision any leader has to make,” McMaster said. “And so, what can we do to make sure we exhaust our possibilities, and exhaust our other opportunities to accomplish this very clear objective of denuclearization of the peninsula, short of war?” The prospect of war, of course, can’t help but hang over this entire drama. And polls show that Americans are increasingly resigned to the fact that the conflict may be headed in that direction. While they don’t necessarily back military action now, it’s clear that public support could quickly be marshaled under the right circumstances. A new Chicago Council on Global Affairs poll, for instance, shows that 62 percent of Americans would support sending troops if North Korea invades South Korea — up sharply from recent years. The poll also shows a rise in the threat North Korea is perceived to pose, with 75 percent
EDITORIAL
If vaping helps people kick tobacco, it has merit PITT SBURGH P O ST-GAZETTE
The rate at which people quit smoking has gone up a notch, a recent study shows, and e-cigarettes may have something to do with it. The study, published in the British Medical Journal, analyzed data from five U.S. Census tobaccouse surveys, the first of which was from 2001 to 2002 and the last from 2014 to 2015. Only the last, which followed a substantial increase in ecigarette use, showed a significantly higher rate than the others of people
quitting smoking. And the increase came entirely from people who had tried e-cigarettes. It was an increase of a little more than a percentage point, to 5.6 percent of people who said they had smoked in the year preceding the survey. But extrapolated to the population of smokers, that’s 350,000 people. And ecigarette users accounted for the whole increase. There are caveats. Using e-cigarettes may not have been the cause of the quitting, but an effect of motivation to quit. Also,
some people who start using e-cigarettes keep using them, and that may have health effects. The American Lung Association said the Food and Drug Administration had found other methods, but not yet e-cigarettes, to be safe and effective for quitting smoking. To the contrary, the FDA under President Barack Obama issued retroactive regulations on e-cigarettes that small e-cigarette companies said could kill them if they took full effect. President Donald Trump’s FDA has
LETTERS POLICY Laredo Morning Times does not publish anonymous letters. To be published, letters must include the writer's first and last names as well as a phone number to verify identity. The phone number IS NOT published; it is used solely to verify identity and to clarify content, if necessary. Identity of the letter writer must be verified before publication. We want to assure our readers that a letter is written by the person who signs the
letter. 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.
labeling it a critical threat. But a CBS News poll released Tuesday morning shows pessimism about Trump’s ability to handle a showdown. About 6 in 10 registered voters — 61 percent — said they were “uneasy” about Trump’s ability to deal with the situation. Only 35 percent said they were “confident.” The same poll showed that only 29 percent favored military action now, but Republicans were about evenly split, with 48 percent in favor — a striking level of support for military action in the president’s own party. And those numbers are likely to rise given Tuesday’s news. Trump received plaudits for his limited airstrikes against the Syrian government and even seemed dazzled by his ability to launch them. Increasingly, he also seems to be facing some difficult decisions ahead on North Korea. And for the American people, that’s a moment that’s clearly interlaced with fear.
DOONESBURY | GARRY TRUDEAU
extended deadlines under those regulations. It might be wise to reconsider them altogether. The new study is at least some evidence that e-cigarettes deserve some credit for helping people move away from smoking. And any uptick in quitting is grounds for celebration. That doesn’t mean nonsmokers should take up vaping, especially young people. But if e-cigarettes are helping adults quit a tobacco habit, that deserves consideration in discussions of vaping’s future.
LAREDO MORNING TIMES | Wednesday, August 9, 2017 |
A5
CRIME AND MORE CLIMATE From page A1 studies. “Evidence for a changing climate abounds, from the top of the atmosphere to the depths of the oceans.” Faced with reams of evidence compiled by federal scientists that conflicts with their policy positions, Trump and his advisers frequently cite the work of industry-funded think tanks. Environmental Protection Agency chief Scott Pruitt and Energy Secretary Rick Perry have championed the formation of a “red-team, blueteam” exercise where climate-change skeptics would publicly debate mainstream climate scientists. Submitted as part of the upcoming National Climate Assessment, the draft federal report sends the overriding message that failing to curb carbon pollution now will exacerbate negative consequences in the future. That assessment calls into question the wisdom of Trump’s environmental and energy policies, which seek to boost U.S. production and consumption of fossil fuels even as the world’s other leading economies promote cleaner sources of energy. An early version of the report, a copy of which was obtained by The Associated Press, was distributed widely in December for review by leading scientists. The New York Times published a copy Monday. The U.S. Global Change Research Program, which will edit and produce the final climate report, did not respond to phone calls and emails seeking comment on Tuesday. White House press secretary Sarah Sanders criticized the Times for reporting on the draft document “without first verifying its contents
“There are no alternative explanations, and no natural cycles are found in the observational record that can explain the observed changes in climate.” with the White House or any of the federal agencies directly involved with climate and environmental policy.” She then declined to comment on the report. “The White House will withhold comment on any draft report before its scheduled release date,” Sanders said. The assessment has generally been released every four years under a federal initiative mandated by Congress in 1990. The current draft for 2018, targeted for release later this year, largely builds on the conclusions of the 2014 assessment released under the Obama administration. The assessment said global temperatures will continue to rise without steep reductions in the burning of fossil fuels, with increasingly dire effects on the lives of every American. Worldwide, 15 of the last 16 years have been the warmest years on record. Today, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration said 2017 is on track to be the second warmest for the United States. Scientists from all over the world have documented warming in the air and water, melting glaciers, disappearing snow, shrinking sea ice and rising sea level. The report said the United States will see temperature increases of at least 2.5 degrees (1.4 degrees Celsius) over the next few decades, even with significant cuts to carbon pollution.
Even if humans stop spewing heat-trapping gases today, the world will warm another half a degree (0.3 degrees Celsius), the report said, citing high confidence in those calculations. Scientists, such as Stanford University’s Chris Field, say that even a few tenths of a degree of warming can have a dramatic impact on human civilization and the natural environment. “Every increment in warming is an increment in risk,” said Field, who wasn’t part of the report but reviewed it for The National Academy of Sciences. Trump, who has called climate change a “total con job” and “hoax” perpetrated to harm U.S. economic competitiveness, has spearheaded a wholesale scrapping of Obama-era initiatives that sought to reduce carbon emissions from coal-fired power plants and other sources. Last week, Trump’s administration formally told the United Nations that the U.S. intends to pull out of the international climate accord signed in 2015, in which nearly 200 nations pledged to reduce carbon emissions. U.S. climate scientists have watched these policy developments with increasing alarm, with some expressing concern the Trump administration might seek to bury or significantly water down the quadrennial climate assessment. Four co-authors of the science assessment, who spoke to AP on the condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss the issue, said they have not heard of or witnessed any attempt by the White House to suppress or censor the scientific document. “It was under the radar and we were fine about that,” one author told AP on Tuesday.
Infant’s body found in closet in Fort Worth home ASSOCIATED PRE SS
FORT WORTH, Texas — Authorities say the body of an 8-month-old child has been found in a locked closet at a Fort Worth home. The Tarrant County medical examiner’s office identified the infant Tuesday as John Norris of Weatherford.
Police say the child was found dead in the closet Monday evening. A cause of death has not been determined. Fort Worth police spokesman Brad Perez told the Fort Worth StarTelegram that the infant had been in the closet for several hours. He called the circumstances “suspicious” and
said homicide detectives are involved in the investigation. Police were dispatched to the home following a report of an unconscious person. It was not clear Tuesday why the child was in the closet of the home and police did not release any other details.
Woman pleads guilty to helping lover kill wife ASSOCIATED PRE SS
A woman has pleaded guilty to helping her boyfriend kill his wife. Prosecutors said she gave him a gun and her car, stayed in his apartment to establish an alibi, and
then disposed of the weapon after the deed was done. Both the boyfriend and his wife were in the U.S. Army. Karlyn Ramirez was found fatally shot with her infant daughter unharmed next to her, at
her home in Maryland. A prosecutor’s statement Tuesday said 32year-old Dolores Delgado of San Antonio, Texas, pleaded guilty to interstate travel to commit domestic violence resulting in death.
Zfrontera A6 | Wednesday, August 9, 2017 | THE ZAPATA TIMES
RIBEREÑA EN BREVE REGRESO A CLASES 1 El distrito escolar del Condado de Zapata llevará a cabo un evento de arranque del año escolar el 10 de agosto y el primer día de clases se realizará el 28 de agosto. TORNEO DE BOLICHE 1 Zapata Crime Stoppers invita al torneo de boliche de verano que se llevara a cabo el 15 de agosto en Jett Bowl North a partir de las 5 p.m. Habrá transporte disponible desde Zapata. Mayores informes con Joe Peña al 956-3104528. FERIA DE SALUD COMUNITARIA 1 El Condado de Zapata junto con organismos y entidades públicas invita a la Primera Feria Anual de Salud Comunitaria, el 16 de agosto, de 5 p.m. a 7 p.m.; Club Boys & Girls, 302 6th Avenue. Habrá regalos para los primeros 500 niños. NOCHE MEXICANA 1 La Ciudad de Roma invita a la Noche Mexicana que se celebrará el 14 de septiembre de 7 p.m. a 11 p.m. Disfrute de bailes folclóricos y antojitos mexicanos en la Plaza Guadalupe de la Ciudad de Roma. CAMINATA CONTRA CÁNCER 1 Walk All Over Cancer! en su cuarta caminata anual. Inscripciones en el Ayuntamiento llamando al 956-8491411 x 9241 o en el 956-844-1428. Caminata iniciará en Citizens State Bank o en el Centro Comuniario de Roma, el 21 de octubre.
TEXAS
CLIMA SEVERO
Laredo recuerda a Mark White
Toman medidas por tormenta tropical ‘Franklin’
Ocupó gubernatura de 1983 a 1987
Ciudad Victoria, MÉXICO — El Gobierno del Estado de Tamaulipas, a través del Consejo Estatal de Protección Civil, monitorea la trayectoria y comportamiento de la tormenta tropical Franklin, que se desplaza actualmente por el Mar Caribe, con el objetivo de informar y prevenir a la población de fuertes lluvias en el estado. Como parte de los trabajos preparativos para hacer frente a los posibles efectos del fenómeno meteorológico, la Secretaría de Desarrollo Urbano y Medio Ambiente (SEDUMA) convocó a reunión urgente a los subsecretarios y directores de los Organismos Públicos Descentralizados para recibir instrucciones en caso de contingencia. En la reunión presidida por el secretario Gilberto Estrella Hernández se informó que la SEDUMA responderá ante cualquier emergencia con personal y equipo para intervenir en apoyo de la población que lo requiera. La Comisión Estatal del Agua supervisa las acciones emprendidas por los Ayuntamientos en la limpieza de drenes para evitar taponamientos y prepara el equipo necesario para atender contingencias, como motobombas, retroesca-
Por Julia Wallace TIEMP O DE ZAPATA
El ex gobernador de Texas Mark White, quien falleció el sábado a los 77 años, fue un gran amigo de Laredo por muchas décadas, de acuerdo a varios destacados laredenses que lo conocían. Tony Sánchez Jr., quien se postuló para gobernador de Texas en 2002, mencionó que la primera vez que conoció a White él estaba ejerciendo la abogacía en Houston a principios de los setenta, en esa época la compañía de petróleo y gas de Sánchez comenzó a operar. White fue nombrado secretario del estado por el entonces gobernador Dolph Briscoe en 1973 y Sánchez fue asignado a la Comisión de Parques y Vida Silvestre de Texas. La relación de White con muchos laredenses data de 40 a 45 años, dijo Sánchez. Él le contó a Sánchez en muchas ocasiones cuanto amaba visitar la ciudad los fines de semana con su esposa, Linda Gale White, y especialmente visitar hogares y ranchos. “Él disfrutó mucho a sus amigos en Laredo”, dijo Sánchez. White fue nombrado Mr. South Texas en febrero de 1984, cuatro meses
antes de asumir el puesto de gobernador, que sostuvo de 1983 a 1987. "En White reconocimiento público por las muchas contribuciones individuales hechas como un líder dinámico en el desarrollo del gran estado de Texas, y el bienestar de sus ciudadanos; por sus logros personales que trajeron reconocimiento nacional; por la calidad del liderazgo que este tejano ha ofrecido a nuestra nación; y por su continuo servicio al sur de Texas ", se lee en el programa de Mr. South Texas de 1984. El ex Juez del Condado de Webb, Mercurio Martínez, dijo que White era un muy buen amigo de Laredo. En 1983, cuando la Legislatura aprobó la creación de la Corte de Distrito 341, White, quien en esa época era fiscal general, asignó a la corte a Elma Teresa Salinas Ender, convirtiéndola en la primera jueza de distrito hispana en Texas. White asignó a otros jueces de distrito ese año, y Elmer mencionó que los nombramientos estuvieron perfectamente balanceados por sexo, raza y
etnicidad. Anteriormente, estos puestos eran ocupados principalmente por hombres de edad avanzada, dijo Ender. “Él cambió la complexión del sistema judicial en el estado de Texas”, dijo Ender. White también formó la Comisión para la Mujer de Texas y el Salón de la Fama para la Mujer en Texas, creando oportunidades para las mujeres de todas las razas en el estado, agregó Ender. White y su esposo contaban con buenas amistades en Laredo y siempre visitaban la ciudad durante la Celebración del Natalicio de Washington, de acuerdo con Ender. Ella mencionó que White abrió las puertas a laredenses al hacer posibles reuniones y relaciones en la capital del estado. “Él era un buen hombre que hizo lo correcto sin importar las consecuencias”, dijo Ender. “…Desearía que hubiera más como él”. White fue un reconocido promotor de reformas educativas durante su gubernatura y luchó por los estudiantes con deficiencias de aprendizaje, por conseguir aumentos salariales a los maestros y por reducir la cantidad de estudiantes en el salón de clases, mencionó Ender.
E SPECIAL PARA TIEMP O DE ZAPATA
vadoras y unidades vactor entre otro equipo pesado. Por su parte, la Coordinación Estatal de Protección Civil, inició la notificación a las autoridades de los municipios que podrían ser afectados por el fenómeno meteorológico, asimismo la activación de los refugios temporales en caso de contingencia y recomendó el desazolve de cárcamos, drenes pluviales y canales para evitar inundaciones causadas por las lluvias que se estiman de 75 hasta 200 milímetros a partir del próximo miércoles. La dependencia recomendó a la población, principalmente aquella que vive cerca de cuerpos de agua, a mantenerse alerta a los avisos de las autoridades; en sus domicilios, fijar objetos que podrían proyectarse al aire por las ráfagas de viento, resguardar documentos personales en bolsas plásticas, contar con agua embotellada y alimentos no perecederos, lámparas y radio con pilas; y ubicar los refugios temporales en sus municipios. Informó que las presas del centro del estado y el sistema lagunario del sur de Tamaulipas, así como el río Pánuco, se encuentran en niveles óptimos para la captación de agua, por lo que descarta cualquier riesgo de desborde por lluvia.
TAMAULIPAS
FINALIZAN OBRA EN MIGUEL ALEMÁN
ANIVERSARIO DE CIUDAD DE ROMA 1 La ciudad de Roma invita al 250 aniversario de su fundación el sábado 14 de noviembre de 2015, de 8 a.m. a 11:30 p.m. PAGO DE IMPUESTOS 1 Desde diciembre, los pagos por impuestos a la propiedad de la Ciudad de Roma deberán realizarse en la oficina de impuestos del Distrito Escolar de Roma, localizado en el 608 N. García St. PAGO EN LÍNEA 1 La Ciudad de Roma informa a sus residentes que a partir de ahora el servicio del agua puede pagarse en línea a cualquier hora las 24 horas del día.
Foto de cortesía
La alcaldesa de Miguel Alemán Rosy Corro junto con familias del Fraccionamiento del Norte estuvieron presentes durante el corte de listón de la obra de repavimentación de la calle Ramón Gutiérrez Nájera, así como la rehabilitación de la red de agua potable, que se encontraba en muy malas condiciones. La inversión total fue de 577,518 pesos provenientes del Fondo de Hidrocarburos 2017.
GRUPOS DE APOYO 1 Grupo de apoyo para personas con Alzheimer se reúne el primer martes del mes a las 7 p.m., en el Laredo Medical Center, primer piso, Torre B en el Centro Comunitario. 1 Grupo Cancer Friend se reúne a las 6 p.m. el primer lunes del mes en el Centro Comunitario de Doctors Hospital. 1 Grupo de Apoyo para Ansiedad y Depresión Rayo de Luz se reúne de 6:30 p.m. a 7:30 p.m. en Centro de Educación del Área de Salud, ubicado en 1505 Calle del Norte, Suite 430, cada primer lunes de mes.
GUERRERO AYER Y HOY
Luchan por autonomía municipal Nota del editor: Esta serie de artículos sobre la historia de Ciudad Guerrero, México, fueron escritos por la guerrerense Lilia Treviño Martínez (1927-2016), quien fuera profesora de la escuela Leoncio Leal. Por Lilia Treviño Martínez TIEMP O DE ZAPATA
Durante la administración municipal, presidida por Fabio de la Garza (1946-1948) y ante la confirmación de que era inminente el cambio
de la población por la construcción de la gran Presa. Autoridades y ciudadanos destacados contemplaron la necesidad de formar un Comité con representación legal, que atendiera el trabajo de orientar a los propietarios y residentes de la Antigua Ciudad Guerrero, a la vez que defender sus derechos de Compensación por la expropiación de que era objeto el Municipio. Fue una tarea que se prolongó a través del Gobierno Municipal de
Don Lorenzo González Vela (1949-1951) y a la siguiente de Don Serafín Vela García (1952-1954). Este comité luchó sin tregua y con gran valor, asumiendo como tarea prioritaria obtener el Decreto para que Guerrero siguiera bajo la Ley de Municipio Libre. Apoyado por el pueblo, y por guerrerenses residentes en lugares próximos a Guerrero, tanto dentro de México como en el extranjero, este Comité organizó la defensa de los intereses del
pueblo, en lo referente a las indemnizaciones, a la vez que defendía la autonomía municipal, pues la Nueva Ciudad Guerrero estaba siendo construida en terreros del vecino Municipio de Mier. Durante los años de 19501953, continuó la lucha para obtener lo que se consideraba justo para los expropiados; sin embargo, con fecha 29 de marzo de 1954, y ya efectuado el traslado de habitantes a la Nueva Ciudad, la Secretaría de Recursos Hidráulicos informó
desde México que las compensaciones de casas solamente se efectuarían para propietarios que estuviéramos residiendo en la Antigua Ciudad. Esto provocó problemas de acomodo que se fueron resolviendo poco a poco. En cuanto al municipio libre, se obtuvo mediante decreto No. 274, de fecha 14 de septiembre de 1953, expedido por el H. Congreso del Estado, ordenando canje de terrenos entre los dos municipios litigantes.
Sports&Outdoors THE ZAPATA TIMES | Wednesday, August 9, 2017 |
NATIONAL FOOTBALL LEAGUE
A7
NFL: DALLAS COWBOYS
Manziel hopes to stay in sports Former QB ponders coaching
Ron Schwane / Associated Press file
Cowboys QB Dak Prescott, right, may have a bright future, but last year’s Rookie of the Year is focused on making the best of the present.
Prescott focused on the now, not the future
A S S OCIAT E D PRE SS
Former NFL quarterback Johnny Manziel wants to remain in the sports world, possibly as a college coach. In an interview with Outkick the Coverage at the International Football Betting Conference in Costa Rica, Manziel said he’s thought about what he would do if he fails to resume his NFL playing career. “I’d do something involved with sports,” the 2012 Heisman Trophy winner said. “I can’t get away from it. I’ve had to ask myself that a little bit as of late over the past year, but at the same time, I’d want to be involved in sports in some
By Jon Machota THE DALLAS MORNING NEWS
Patric Schneider / Associated Press file
Former Texas A&M QB Johnny Manziel is hoping to stay in sports, possibly as a college coach, after numerous incidents which derailed his professional career.
way, whether it’s coaching, whether it’s doing something like that. So I think that’d be my route.” Asked which level he’d like to coach, Manziel said “probably college.” The 24-year-old coached at an Elite 11 quarterbacks camp in Miami in February.
The former Texas A&M star said the Canadian Football League “is definitely something I’ve looked into,” but that he still hopes to play in the NFL. He has been out of the league since the Cleveland Browns released him last year amid several off-field issues.
OXNARD, Calif. — Dak Prescott was part of the group of Cowboys players and coaches who visited the Pro Football Hall of Fame before Jerry Jones’ induction speech Saturday night. The team’s official Twitter account posted a short video of Prescott taking a photo of Roger Staubach’s HOF bust. They also shared a video of Prescott and star receiver Dez Bryant using a computer program to design what the Cowboys’ sixth Super Bowl ring might look like. While Prescott enjoyed the experience, he’s not quite ready to discuss his bust one day being in the same
building. "That’s a long time away," Prescott said. "That’s what, 14 years, maybe 15 years? Who knows? But I don’t really look at it from that standpoint. Yeah, I’m goal-oriented, but it’s more for what I’m going to do today in practice or what we’re going to do this year as a team. Obviously, I hope if you play this game, I know especially for me, that’s Football Heaven. "It’s the place you want to be. It’s the place you want to go. But it takes a lot of work and it takes worrying about right now to get there." During a Tuesday news conference after the Cowboys’ morning walk-through, Prescott shared his thoughts on conversations he’s had with Staubach.
NCAA FOOTBALL: TEXAS LONGHORNS
HORNS’ FRESHMAN MAKES STATEMENT Texas’ Graham sheds his red stripe By Nick Moyle SA N A NT ONI O E XPRE SS-NEWS
AUSTIN – A red stripe runs down the center of every newcomer’s helmet. It’s a prominent reminder that they’re “not quite members of the family yet.” “They’ve got to go prove it on the practice field and at some point they’ll get that stripe off,” Texas coach Tom Herman said. Ta’Quon Graham was the first to pass UT’s fall practice “pledging” phase. Scarlet strip removed, the 6-foot-4, 280-pound freshman can now focus on settling in and providing depth on the defensive line. He’s been working with the second unit alongside Charles Omenihu and Gerald Wilbon.
Tom Reel / San Antonio Express-News
Texas had its first freshman shed his red stripe this week in defensive lineman Ta’Quon Graham.
“We didn’t know how well he would run and move,” defensive coordinator Todd Orlando said. “We’re pretty complex on defense, so with younger guys like that you’re always concerned at how fast this kid is going to
pick it up and he’s actually gonna not be able to use his tools out there because he’s thinking so much. And that’s probably the most impressive part that he’s been able to do that.” Herman and Orlando believe in their talented
starting trio of Malcolm Roach, Poona Ford and Chris Nelson. But they can’t play every snap. “You’re going to probably need seven, eight guys that are game ready,” Orlando said. “But guys like Poona Ford, they’re
going to have to toe a certain percentage of the game. So if it’s 80 plays you’re looking for Poona to take 50, 55 plays, somewhere in that ballpark. And we’ve got to train the other guys to take the rest. “(Graham) has been
doing a really good job. He’s got the physical tools already. He can run. He’s a mature kid. He’s a focused kid. Oscar (Giles) and myself know we gotta get him right and ready to play. But we’ve got guys behind those and they’re battling every day.” Physically, Graham appears ready to rage inside. Sans stripe, he looks like he could be entering his final college season, rather than his first. Graham’s stature and progress have made it easy to forget he’s not even a year removed from a 10-sack senior season at Temple. “He comes from a great high school program,” Herman said. “So when you’re trained the way that that he’s trained, you’re physically and mentally able to adapt. When you’re 18 going against 22-year-old men there’s still a growth and development that you can’t make up. But at least he’s as developed as you can be for an 18-year-old.”
NATIONAL FOOTBALL LEAGUE: CLEVELAND BROWNS
A&M’s top draft pick Garrett eyes exhibition debut By Tom Withers A S S OCIAT E D PRE SS
BEREA, Ohio — Myles Garrett won’t be satisfied with just sacks or decleating a running back. For his first NFL exhibition, Cleveland’s rookie wants to make sure the New Orleans Saints remember him — and that the rest of the league takes notice. “They don’t have much film to go off of, at least not of me now, and they don’t know what I have to offer,” Garrett said Tuesday. “So I’m looking forward to sending a message through this first game.” Garrett, who has more than lived up to expecta-
tions in his first training camp, will make his preseason debut on Thursday night when the Browns host the Saints at FirstEnergy Stadium. The No. 1 overall pick in this year’s draft is eager to showcase his speed, power and new pass-rush moves he’s been trying out on Cleveland offensive linemen eager to see him abuse someone new. Soft-spoken yet deadserious, Garrett wants to make a mark. “It doesn’t matter if it’s preseason or a scrimmage,” the defensive end said. “I want to display a dominance when I’m on the field, so I’m trying to have a dominant performance, whether it’s pre-
Tony Dejak / Associated Press
The Browns’ No. 1 overall draft pick in Myles Garrett is looking to “send a message” in the preseason.
season first series or whenever I get out there.” He’ll be out there with Cleveland’s starting defense. After beginning camp deep on the depth chart, Garrett has worked his way into the lineup
with steady, solid performances. He has shown a willingness to put in extra work, staying on the field after practice to run 100yard sprints to build his stamina. It’s been something to
see, and now the Saints will be the first team to get a close-up look at the 6-foot-4, 272-pounder. The former Texas A&M standout has enthralled Browns fans and even wowed Hall of Famer Bruce Smith, the league’s career sacks leader, who stopped by camp for a visit last week. He has won over 10-time Pro Bowl tackle Joe Thomas, who was beaten badly by Garrett last week while protecting quarterback Cody Kessler. The only thing Garrett hasn’t been able to do is hit a QB, but that will change against the Saints. “It’s kind of a relief,” said Garrett, who was credited with two sacks in
last week’s scrimmage. “It’s really harder to avoid hitting him than it is to actually wrap him up and take him down. Now that I can follow through, I can actually show that I’m getting there and I’m making big plays.” But while he’s targeting QBs, Garrett has also expressed respect for players he has grown up admiring. Drew Brees may or may not play in Garrett’s debut, but he’ll face Ben Roethlisberger in the season opener and QB stars Andrew Luck, Aaron Rodgers and Philip Rivers are on Cleveland’s schedule. Garrett already admires them, and now it’s time to attack them.
A8 | Wednesday, August 9, 2017 | THE ZAPATA TIMES
ENTERTAINMENT
Glen Campbell, superstar entertainer of 1960s dies By Kristin M. Hall A S S OCIAT E D PRE SS
NASHVILLE, Tenn. — Glen Campbell, the affable superstar singer of “Rhinestone Cowboy” and “Wichita Lineman” whose appeal spanned country, pop, television and movies, died Tuesday, his family said. He was 81. Campbell’s family said the singer died Tuesday morning in Nashville and publicist Sandy Brokaw confirmed the news. No cause was immediately given. Campbell announced in June 2011 that he had been diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease and that it was in its early stages at that time. In the late 1960s and well into the ‘70s, the Arkansas native seemed to be everywhere, known by his boyish face, wavy hair and friendly tenor. He won five Grammys, sold more than 45 million records, had 12 gold albums and 75 chart hits, including No. 1 songs with “Rhinestone Cowboy” and “Southern Nights.” His performance of the title song from “True Grit,” a 1969 release in which he played a Texas Ranger alongside Oscar winner John Wayne, received an Academy Award nomination. He twice won album of the year awards from the Academy of Country Music and was voted into the Country Music Hall of Fame in 2005. Seven years later, he received a Grammy for lifetime achievement. His last record was “Adios,” which came out in June, and features songs that Campbell loved to sing, but never
Matt Sayles / AP
In this 2011 photo, musician Glen Campbell poses for a portrait in Malibu, California.
recorded, including tunes made famous by Bob Dylan, Linda Ronstadt and Johnny Cash. Campbell was among a wave of country crossover stars that included Johnny Cash, Roy Clark and Kenny Rogers, and like many of his contemporaries, he enjoyed success on television. Campbell had a weekly audience of some 50 million people for the “Glen Campbell Goodtime Hour,” on CBS from 1969 to 1972. He gained new fans decades later when the show, featuring his cheerful greeting “Hi I’m Glen Campbell,” was rerun on cable channel CMT. He released more than 70 of his own albums, and in the 1990s recorded a series of gospel CDs. His 2011 album “Ghost On the Canvas” included contributions from Jacob Dylan, Rick Nielsen of Cheap Trick and Billy Corgan of Smashing Pumpkins. The documentary “Glen Campbell ... I’ll Be Me” came out in 2014. The film about Campbell’s 2011-12 farewell tour offers a poignant look at his decline from Alzheimer’s while showcasing his virtuoso guitar chops that somehow continued to
shine as his mind unraveled. The song “I’m Not Gonna Miss You” won a Grammy for best country song in 2015 and was nominated for an Oscar for best original song. Campbell’s musical career dated back to the early years of rock ‘n roll. He was part of the house band for the ABC TV show “Shindig!” and a member of Phil Spector’s “Wrecking Crew” studio band that played on hits by the Ronettes, the Righteous Brothers and the Crystals. He played guitar on Frank Sinatra’s “Strangers In the Night,” the Monkees’ “I’m a Believer” and Elvis Presley’s “Viva Las Vegas.” Born outside of Delight, Arkansas, he was just 4 when he learned to play guitar. As a teenager, anxious to escape a life of farm work and unpaid bills, he moved to Albuquerque, New Mexico, to join his uncle’s band and appear on his uncle’s radio show. By his early 20s, he had formed his own group, the Western Wranglers, and moved to Los Angeles. He opened for the Doors and sang and played bass with the Beach Boys as a replacement for Brian Wilson.
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THE ZAPATA TIMES | Wednesday, August 9, 2017 |
A9
BUSINESS
Nissan to pay Disney dumps Netflix for own service $97.7M in proposed The moves show how seriously [Disney] views the threat from streaming services Takata settlement By Christopher Palmeri BL OOMBERG NEWS
A S S OCIAT E D PRE SS
MIAMI — Nissan Motor Co. would pay $97.68 million under a proposed settlement with vehicle owners affected by the Takata air bag recalls. The settlement would pay for a new outreach program to ensure Takata air bags are removed from 4.4 million affected Nissan vehicles. It would also compensate owners for expenses while getting their cars fixed, including rental cars. Takata’s air bag in-
flators can explode with too much force, hurling shrapnel into drivers and passengers. The inflators are blamed for at least 16 deaths and 180 injuries worldwide. The problem touched off the largest automotive recall in U.S. history. The Nissan settlement is similar to those reached in May with Toyota, BMW, Mazda and Subaru. The settlement was filed Tuesday in federal court in Miami. It still needs a judge’s approval.
Walt Disney Co., once again shaking up the media industry, said it will stop selling movies to Netflix Inc. and begin offering ESPN sports programming and family films directly to consumers via two new streaming services. Disney’s online entertainment service will being in 2019, the Burbank, California-based company said Tuesday in a statement. Starting next year, an ESPN online service, which the company had said was in the works, will feature 10,000
like Netflix and Amazon.com Inc. live events a year, including Major League Baseball, hockey, soccer and tennis, as well as college sports. Investors didn’t have to look far to find out why Disney suddenly chose to upend its business. The company reported a rare drop in revenue and profit -- from falling ad sales at ESPN and a decline at the film division. The moves show how seriously Chief Executive Officer Bob Iger views the threat from
streaming services like Netflix and Amazon.com Inc. and their impact on conventional pay-TV. “Our direct-to-consumer services mark an entirely new growth strategy for the company, one that takes advantage of the incredible opportunity that changing technology provides us to leverage the strength of our great brands,” Iger said in the statement. Shares of Disney fell as much as 2.6 percent to
$104.25 in extended trading after the announcements. Netflix, which is losing a key supplier, lost 3.5 percent $172.15. The ability to stream some of Disney’s most valuable sports and films without a cable TV subscription shows how rapidly the business is changing. The new Disney entertainment service will feature Disney films, as well as new programs and content from the company’s Disney Channel library. Those will include movies from the Disney studios and Pixar, but not Marvel or Lucasfilm, the producer of “Star Wars.”
Jay Janner / AP
In this July 11 file photo, Austin police Ford utility vehicles are parked on East Eighth Street outside police headquarters in Austin, Texas.
Ford repairs Austin police SUVs, but questions linger By Dee-ann Durbin A P AUT O W RI T E R
DETROIT — Ford Motor Co. has begun repairing Ford Explorer SUVs in Austin, Texas, that were pulled off police duty because exhaust containing carbon monoxide was seeping into them. But the company faces lingering questions about the safety of thousands of other Explorers on the road. Ford is repairing police SUVs in Austin and other cities for free. Austin city spokesman David Green said a team from Ford took five of the police department’s Explorers to local dealers Monday to teach them how to fix the issue. Austin pulled nearly 400 Explorers off its patrol fleet late last month because of concerns about carbon monoxide. Green
says the city will likely send its entire fleet out for repairs, but he didn’t know how long it would take to get them all fixed. “When we are confident our employees will be safe, they’ll be back on the road,” Green said. Ford blames the issue on non-factory outfitters that drill holes into police SUVs to install extra equipment like lights and radios. In visits to police departments, the company has seen multiple examples of holes that weren’t sealed properly after the equipment and wiring was installed. But Ford is still investigating why many non-police consumers have also complained to the automaker and the government about exhaust fumes — which contain odorless, colorless carbon monoxide as well as sulfur and other chemicals — in
their vehicles. It also can’t explain why there have been no carbon monoxide complaints about a rival SUV, the Chevrolet Tahoe, which is also used by police. It’s a critical issue for the automaker. The Explorer makes up more than half of all U.S. police vehicle sales, and the seven-passenger SUV is also a big profit generator for the company. Ford has sold more than 1.35 million Explorers since 2011, the model year in which the Explorer was last redesigned. Bill Gubing, the chief engineer for the Ford Explorer, said Tuesday that Ford hasn’t found elevated levels of carbon monoxide in non-police vehicles. One explanation is that police vehicles drive differently than normal SUVs. Police often have to accelerate to full speed
from a stopped position, for example, which causes the engine to work harder and emit more exhaust. “Most average retail customers don’t drive like that in freeways,” Gubing told The Associated Press. But Ford clearly knows it has a problem with non-police Explorers. It has issued two bulletins to dealers — in December and March — telling them how to repair vehicles with exhaust in their cabins, and has told customers with concerns to take their Explorers to a dealer. It also settled a class action lawsuit over the issue in Florida last fall. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has found more than 2,700 complaints of exhaust odors in the passenger compartment in an investigation started a year ago. Among the complaints were three crashes
and 41 injuries, mostly loss of consciousness, nausea and headaches. Many — but not all — of the complaints came from police departments. The agency tested multiple vehicles at its Ohio research center, and made field inspections of police vehicles involved in crashes. As of Thursday, NHTSA said it had no evidence or data to support claims that injuries or crash allegations were caused by carbon monoxide poisoning. It said tests suggested carbon monoxide levels may be higher in certain driving conditions, but the significance and effect of those levels remain under investigation. Gubing said the problem isn’t found in police cars like the Ford Taurus because the exhaust is usually trapped in the trunk. But he couldn’t explain why police depart-
ments haven’t complained about the Chevrolet Tahoe, which is also fitted with extra equipment. Darrel Stephens, head of the Major Cities Police Chiefs Association, said he hasn’t heard about exhaust problems in the Tahoe. “I wish I could comment on their product design, but I don’t have that,” Gubing said. “This is not a Ford-specific design problem.” Gubing also said Ford has ruled out cracks in the exhaust manifold as a cause of the problem. NHTSA says tiny cracks in the manifold — a cast iron or stainless steel tube that carries combustion gasses to the exhaust — could explain why exhaust is entering the cabin. But Gubing said there is no pathway for exhaust to escape from the manifold and into the car.
A10 | Wednesday, August 9, 2017 | THE ZAPATA TIMES
INTERNATIONAL
Trump threatens ‘fire and fury’ against North Korea By Peter Baker and Choe Sang-Hun N EW YORK T I ME S NEWS S ERVIC E
President Donald Trump threatened Tuesday to unleash “fire and fury” against North Korea if it endangers the United States as tensions with the isolated nuclear-powered state grow into perhaps the most serious foreign policy challenge yet in his young administration. “North Korea best not make any more threats to the United States,” Trump told reporters at his golf club in Bedminster, New Jersey. “They will be met with fire and fury like the world has never seen. He has been very threatening beyond a normal state, and as I said they will be met with fire and fury and frankly power the likes of which this world has never seen before.” The president’s comments came as North Korea earlier in the day escalated its criticism of the United States, as well as its neighboring allies, by warning that it will mobilize all its resources to take “physical action” in retaliation against the latest round of U.N. sanctions. The statement, carried by the North’s state-run Korean Central News Agency, was the strongest indication yet that the country could conduct another nuclear or missile test, as it had often done in response to past U.N. sanctions. Until now, the North’s response to the latest sanctions had been limited to strident yet vague warnings, such as threatening retaliation “thousands of times over.”
Al Drago / NYT
President Donald Trump speaks during a meeting at his Trump National Golf Club on Tuesday in New Jersey. Trump threatened on Tuesday to unleash ‘fire and fury’ against North Korea if it endangers the United States.
“Packs of wolves are coming in attack to strangle a nation,” the North Korean statement said. “They should be mindful that the DPRK’s strategic steps accompanied by physical action will be taken mercilessly with the mobilization of all its national strength.” DPRK stands for the North’s official name, the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea. North Korea’s statement Tuesday appeared to defy efforts by both Washington and Beijing to defuse the tense situation. On Monday, while attending a regional security meeting of foreign ministers in Manila, U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson kept the door open for talks with North Korea, suggesting that the country should
stop its recent string of missile launches to set the stage for negotiations over its weapons programs. At the same venue, Foreign Minister Wang Yi of China said he told his North Korean counterpart, Ri Yong Ho, that the North should stop carrying out nuclear and missile tests. Incensed by the North’s two intercontinental ballistic missile tests last month, the U.N. Security Council adopted a new sanctions resolution over the weekend, the eighth since the country conducted its first nuclear test in 2006. Backers of the resolution said the new sanctions would cut North Korea’s meager annual export revenue by about a third, impeding its ability to raise cash for its weapons programs.
Trump praised the sanctions in a tweet Tuesday morning. “After many years of failure, countries are coming together to finally address the dangers posed by North Korea,” he said. “We must be tough & decisive!” The sanctions ban member countries from importing coal, iron, iron ore, lead, lead ore and seafood from North Korea. They also prohibit member nations from hosting any additional workers from the North above their current levels. Washington called the restrictions “the most stringent set of sanctions on any country in a generation.” But strong doubts remain over how rigorously China and Russia, the North’s two neighboring allies, will enforce
the sanctions. The sanctions also do not impair the North’s ability to import oil and export clothing and textiles that its workers produce for Chinese companies, although the sanctions ban new joint ventures with North Korea and any new investment in current joint ventures. Clothing and textile exports are a leading source of foreign currency for the impoverished country. Officials and analysts still doubt that North Korea has mastered the technology needed to deliver a nuclear payload on an intercontinental ballistic missile. But its last ICBM test, conducted July 28, alarmed Washington and its allies by demonstrating that missiles now could potentially reach much of
the continental United States. “North Korea’s development of ballistic missiles and its nuclear program are becoming increasingly real and imminent problems for the Asia-Pacific region including Japan, as well as the rest of the world,” the Japanese government said in an annual threat assessment released Tuesday. “It is possible that North Korea has already achieved the miniaturization of nuclear weapons and has acquired nuclear warheads.” One of the last technical hurdles that North Korea must clear is mastering the “re-entry” know-how to protect a small nuclear warhead as the missile crashes through the earth’s atmosphere.
THE ZAPATA TIMES | Wednesday, August 9, 2017 |
A11
NATIONAL Activists challenge Florida officials
Day care worker faces charges after boy found dead in van By Mike Schneider
A S S OCIAT E D PRE SS
ASSOCIATED PRE SS
MIAMI — More than 100 immigration rights activists are urging Republican lawmakers in Florida to firmly oppose President Donald Trump’s proposals to increase funding for immigration enforcement as deadlines for budget decisions near in Congress. Advocates from Texas, New Mexico and Washington D.C. expressed anger Tuesday at Rep. Mario Diaz-Balart for backing a spending bill that gives $1.6 million for Trump’s controversial border wall. Other bills would add immigration agents and judges. Activists targeted DiazBalart because he is a House Appropriations Committee member. They’re also concerned that other Cuban-American representatives in South Florida will side with the administration. One demonstrator, Dian Alarcon, said DiazBalart’s office told a smaller group Tuesday the border wall measure would not likely pass the Senate. Diaz-Balart’s aide Cesar Gonzalez told reporters he would not comment.
ORLANDO, Fla. — A Florida day care van driver will face criminal charges after a child was found dead inside the vehicle at the end of a sweltering summer day, law enforcement officials said Tuesday. Orlando Police Chief John Mina said 3-year-old Myles Hill spent all day in the van outside the Little Miracles Academy before he was discovered Monday night. Mina wouldn’t say what charges the day care worker could face but says the worker has been cooperative. Detectives were awaiting autopsy results, but believe they will show the death was caused by the heat. Temperatures reached a high of 94degrees Fahrenheit in Orlando on Monday. Temperatures inside a vehicle under the summer sun can rise much higher. “This is an absolute tragedy that could have been prevented,” Mina said at a news conference. Myles was supposed to have been dropped off in the morning at another Little Miracles Academy
John Raoux / AP
Flowers are left outside in a makeshift memorial Tuesday in Orlando, Florida in front of a day care center where a young boy was found dead after being left in a van.
day care center but instead the boy was taken to the location where he was found on the floor of the vehicle more than 11 hours later. It was too early to say why Myles was taken to the wrong location, but the driver “did admit to not doing a head count,” Mina said. Florida Department of Children and Families records show the Little Miracles Academy was
found not in compliance last month with a rule requiring day care centers to maintain logs of the time children arrive, where they were supposed to be transported and what time they departed. Officials with the state agency said Tuesday that the department had opened its own investigation into the death. “DCF is pursuing ev-
Ex-Los Angeles school food director charged with embezzling By Brian Melley A S S OCIAT E D PRE SS
LOS ANGELES — The once-lauded leader of efforts to bring healthier meals to more than 600,000 Los Angeles school children was charged Tuesday with embezzlement, perjury and misuse of public funds. David Binkle, 55, former food services director at the nation’s secondlargest school district, pleaded not guilty in Los Angeles Superior Court to 15 felony counts and was released on $220,000 bail. Binkle funneled $65,000 from the Los Angeles Unified School District to a chefs’ club he ran and to his own bank account between 2010 and 2014, prosecutors said. He was accused of conflict of interest for awarding contracts to organizations he was connected to and failing to disclose income from a private consulting business. He was also charged with forgery for putting
Pablo Martinez Monsivais / AP
In this 2014 file photo, David Binkle speaks during a meeting with school leaders and experts during an event in Washington.
someone else’s signature on an application to be a district vendor. Binkle, who helped reduce fat, sugar and salt
in school lunches and touted his successes at a White House event with former first lady Michelle Obama, resigned from
the district two years ago after a scathing audit found inappropriate spending and mismanagement. The professional chef denied wrongdoing after being suspended by the district in 2014 while under investigation for business conflicts. He was allowed to continue drawing his $152,000 annual salary while being investigated. At the time, he told the Los Angeles Times that he was “deeply disheartened, frustrated and baffled” by his removal. “I have done nothing wrong and have nothing to hide since my actions were approved and encouraged from senior district officials, general counsel or the ethics office,” he wrote in an email. “I am confident the truth and facts will show the allegations are unsubstantiated.” If convicted of all charges, Binkle could face more than 13 years in state prison. He was ordered to return to court Oct. 5.
ery legal option available to cease operations by tomorrow at both of these facilities,” Mike Carroll, the agency’s secretary, said in a statement. No one answered the phone at the day care Tuesday afternoon. Another number for the day care’s president found in state Division of Corporation records was disconnected. Mina said Myles’ death
was the fifth fatality in Florida this year involving a child left in a hot vehicle. He pleaded with parents and caregivers to put their cellphones, wallets or purses in the back seat with their children so they are reminded to look back there when they leave their vehicles. “Every time we hear about this ... it hurts us all,” Mina said.
First medical marijuana dispensary opening in Hawaii By Cathy Bussewitz ASSOCIATED PRE SS
HONOLULU — Dispensary sales of medical marijuana in Hawaii are beginning after patients waited 17 years for a legal way to purchase the drug. Maui Grown Therapies received approval from the Department of Health to begin selling medical cannabis Tuesday. The dispensary plans to start selling medical marijuana to patients Tuesday, said Teri Freitas Gorman, director of community relations and patient affairs. “Clearly this is a historic day not just for Maui but for the state of Hawaii,” Freitas Gorman said. “This is the first time in Hawaii that patients will be able to buy labtested, quality-assured medical cannabis from a state-licensed dispensary. We’re so excited.” The Maui dispensary
has been pre-registering patients and will begin selling medical cannabis to patients by appointment only, Freitas Gorman said. Walk-in sales will start in about a week. “This is an important day for qualified patients and caregivers on Maui who now have assurance the medical cannabis they purchase at Maui Grown Therapies has been thoroughly tested and is safe for them to use,” said Virginia Pressler, director of the state Department of Health, in a statement. “Implementing a new health program is always challenging, and the dispensary program was no exception.” Hawaii was among the first states to legalize medical marijuana in 2000. But the state didn’t legalize dispensaries until 2015, so the state’s 18,000 patients had to grow or obtain the drug on their own.
Woman pleads Girl raped by another student guilty in cancer at school sues for $3.5M fundraising scheme ASSOCIATED PRE SS
A S S OCIAT E D PRE SS
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. — An Alabama woman pleaded guilty to fraud charges for portraying herself as a terminal cancer patient in a pair of online fundraising schemes. A statement from acting U.S. Attorney Robert Posey says 37-year-old Jennifer Flynn Cataldo on Tuesday entered her guilty pleas to one count of wire fraud and one count of bank fraud in federal court. Authorities say Cataldo agreed to repay nearly $80,000 to people verified to have given her money.
Authorities say Cataldo agreed to repay nearly $80,000. Authorities say Cataldo used online fundraising drives to ask for money for medical expenses and a family trip to Disney World. In addition, investigators say she asked for money from friends and family in person, online and through text messages adding up to more than $260,000. An investigation found her claim of a terminal illness wasn’t true.
PROVIDENCE, R.I. — A girl who was 13 when she was raped by another student in a school bathroom in Rhode Island is suing for $3.5 million. The lawsuit filed Tuesday in U.S. District Court
names the city of Pawtucket, the school department and various school officials. It says her civil rights were violated under Title IX, the federal law that prohibits sexbased discrimination in federally funded programs.
The girl, identified as Jane Doe, was raped in 2016 by an 18-year-old student at the Pawtucket Learning Academy, a public school. He was convicted and sentenced to serve 10 years in prison. The lawsuit says offi-
cials knew sexual harassment and molestations were pervasive at the school. Doe’s lawyer declined to comment. City officials say the Pawtucket School Department “takes all allegations and incidents seriously.”
Fourth victim of fatal crash identified; didn’t use seat belt ASSOCIATED PRE SS
BRIDPORT, Vt. — Vermont state police have identified the fourth victim of a crash in which a car crossed a highway center line and slammed into a pickup truck.
Police say 34-year-old Jennifer N. Valdez, of Websterville, Ohio, was a passenger in the car when it crashed Monday in Bridport. The four occupants of the car were not wearing seat belts and died. The two occupants of the
truck were wearing seat belts and survived. Authorities say the others who died are car driver Steven Holmes, of Chatsworth, Georgia, and passengers Amber Brewer, of Dalton, Georgia, and Justin Hendrix, of Bryceville, Florida.
The crash was among four in Vermont since Friday that have killed eight people. Vermont’s public safety commissioner says seven of the eight people killed were not wearing seat belts.
A12 | Wednesday, August 9, 2017 | THE ZAPATA TIMES
FROM THE COVER BILL From page A1 agenda that is being pushed by the progressive left, and I think that that is just all coming to a head here.” The Senate bill would require transgender people to use bathrooms in schools and local government buildings corresponding to the gender listed on their birth certificates or state-issued identification cards. The House bill would prevent school districts and county or local governments from adopting or enforcing nondiscrimination ordinances that would allow transgender people to use bathrooms of their choice. The ordinance override provision is also an element in the Senate bill. Although law enforcement, religious groups and transgender advocates have all been part of the opposing coalition, big business has been a dominant force throughout the debate. “Corporate America is stepping forward, speaking loudly about the fact that this will have a chilling effect on business opportunity in this state,” said state Rep. Byron Cook, a Republican and the chairman of the House State Affairs Committee, who has thus far refused to call a hearing on the bill. “I’m hearing from many major corporations about this bill and the effect it will have.” Corporations active in Texas that have opposed the measure include IBM, Amazon, Apple, Dell, Microsoft, Intel, Capital One, Ben & Jerry’s, Facebook, American Airlines, Southwest Airlines and United Airlines. More than 650 businesses, chambers of commerce, and convention and visitors’ bureaus have come out against the bill, according to the Texas Association of Business, which is leading the charge to defeat the legislation. The list includes 50 Fortune 500 companies and more than 400 small businesses, according to the group. The association is the most powerful business lobby in the state, representing companies with more than 2 million employees and $8 billion in business. The group’s president, Chris Wallace,
WHITE From page A1 ernor’s Mansion is best known for education policies that included teacher pay raises, limits on elementary school class sizes, a basic-skills graduation test for high school students and a tax increase to help pay for schools. Clements unseated White after one term in office in 1986.
said the association moved quickly to form a coalition, Keep Texas Open for Business, against legislation when it became apparent that the bathroom battle was heading to Texas. “We do not want to do anything to tarnish Texas’ brand,” he said. The strategy has included a seven-figure radio ad buy, strategically targeted letters signed by prominent chief executives, lobbying blitzes throughout the Capitol and rallies on the Capitol grounds. Nearly a dozen female business owners and chief executives were scheduled to speak out against the legislation Tuesday. Business executives repeatedly cite North Carolina as Exhibit A in opposing the bill, pointing to millions of dollars in economic losses through boycotts and the cancellations of sports events and concerts after a similar bill passed there in 2016. A study commissioned by the business association also projects billions of dollars in losses in Texas. Patrick and other supporters of the legislation say the projections in Texas and the impact in North Carolina have been vastly exaggerated. If the session goes all 30 days — and it could end earlier — lawmakers would adjourn on Aug 16. Abbott, a Republican, has given no hints on whether he would call another session, although he has been particularly insistent that lawmakers give Texans new safeguards against rising property taxes. As for the bathroom legislation, the governor told the Austin AmericanStatesman newspaper Friday that it was “way premature” to conclude that the House bill wouldn’t come up for a vote.
Judge OKs plan to move inmates from hot prison By Michael Graczyk ASSOCIATED PRE SS
HOUSTON — A federal judge who found the oppressive heat at a Texas prison threatened the health of many of the inmates agreed Tuesday to the state’s plan to temporarily move the 1,037 prisoners to other cooler lockups. U.S. District Judge Keith Ellison ruled last month in a lawsuit from six inmates that the conditions inside the Wallace Pack Unit, a state prison about 65 miles (105 kilometers) northwest of Houston where it sometimes feels hotter than 100 degrees (38 Celsius), amount to cruel and unusual punishment. He ordered that inmates with certain health conditions or who are at least 65 years old be transferred or housed elsewhere in the prison where temperatures don’t exceed 88 degrees (31 Celsius). The Texas Department of Criminal Justice proposed housing most of the inmates in climatecontrolled state prisons in Austin and the East Texas city of Diboll until the summer heat subsides. After a court hearing, Ellison ordered the plan be implemented. State attorneys said the transfers would begin before daybreak Wednesday with inmates being moved in air-conditioned buses. They’ll be returned to the Pack Unit once temperatures drop in several months. “I want to make clear we’re not waiting in any way,” assistant Texas Attorney General Craig
Warner said. “It’s a process that’s going to take a couple weeks to achieve. You can’t move 1,000 people at one time.” Jeff Edwards, the lead attorney for the prisoners, said he was satisfied “1,000 people won’t face the same danger that TDCJ purposely exposed them to.” “Do I feel it’s the best solution? No. What the state’s response misses is that our society does and has evolved, and the idea of living in humane temperatures is something that is here to stay. And as the temperatures get hotter, the dangers are going to increase. I am
satisfied that the most vulnerable will be protected.” Ellison didn’t require the Pack Unit, built in 1983, be air conditioned, and state officials said installing temporary cooling would be costprohibitive and couldn’t guarantee a temperature that would comply with the judge’s mandate. The judge did give them the option to move the inmates, a step the state is taking. Edwards said the plan didn’t address the urgency of the problems, but Ellison said it was “much more than I ever dreamt we could do” in the short
time since his findings last month. Still to be resolved is the language of posters to be placed at the prison reminding inmates of the dangers of heat and a plan for prison managers to implement during times of an extended heat wave. Evidence during a nine-day hearing in June showed the heat index at the prison, the combination of temperature and humidity, topped 100 degrees during 13 days in 2016, and was between 90 and 99 degrees on 55 days. On July 19, the date of Ellison’s ruling, it was 104.