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PUBLIC SCHOOL FINANCE
MILITARY HONORS
Appreciated trustees face budget cuts By LORRAINE L. RODRIGUEZ THE ZAPATA TIMES
January is board of trustees’ appreciation month and all the Zapata County ISD schools showed their appreciation all week, ending with gifts and plaques at the regular school board meeting on Tuesday. For the first meeting of the year, the board discussed approximately $1.8 million in cuts to the district budget. “We received another preliminary report from (the) Region One (Education Service Center) and these figures range from 5 to 8 million (dollars), so obviously this means we will have to make some cuts,” said Superintendent Norma Garcia. Garcia has met with the executive team to reconstruct and analyze all programs and budgets, she said. “We will also have several budget workshops to involve as
ZAPATAN LAID TO REST Soldier honored with flags, music
many stakeholders as possible to help us come up with our recommendations,” Garcia said. Also at the meeting, the board approved Sepulveda and Associates for architectural services for the Zapata North Elementary construction project. The company was chosen based on a process requiring certain criteria be met, Garcia said. “Mr. Robert Sepulveda worked with us in the Zapata Middle School renovation project,” Garcia added. The board has not made a decision on whether Zapata North Elementary needs to be renovated or completely rebuilt, Garcia said. “We need a feasibility study first,” Garcia said. In other business, the board approved four auxiliary position transfers. “The four transfers were in an
See SCHOOLS PAGE 12A
COUNCIL ON ALCOHOL AND DRUG ABUSE
Ceremony marks agency relocation
By DENISE BLAZ THE ZAPATA TIMES
By LORRAINE L. RODRIGUEZ
S
miling pictures of Pfc. Ira Benjamin “Ben” Laningham IV, 22, were shown to a packed crowd of approximately 500 people at the Rose Garden Funeral Home in Zapata early Tuesday, lasting photographic reminders of a fallen soldier and hero in the community. Buried with full military honors, Laningham was surrounded by close family, friends and colleagues who traveled from Fort Polk, La., where he trained, as they
THE ZAPATA TIMES
Photos by Ulysses S. Romero | Laredo Morning Times
TOP: Friends, family, community members and special guests attend a special Mass for Private First Class Ira Bnejamin “Ben” Laningham on Tuesday morning at Lady of Lourdes Church in Zapata. MIDDLE: Holding a blessed cross, Laningham’s mother, Norma Cantu, reacts after Mass at Lady of Lourdes Church. BOTTOM: General Arnold Gordon-Bray presents military awards including the Purple Heart to Laningham’s mother, Norma Cantu, and wife, Stephanie Armendariz-Laningham, at the Lady of Lourdes Church.
See LANINGHAM PAGE 12A
The South Texas Council on Alcohol and Drug Abuse will be hosting a grand-opening ceremony for its new location in Zapata. “We’re opening up a new office to better serve the community,” said STCADA executive assistant Sonia Adrienne Bernal. The ceremony will take place Wednesday, at 1:30 p.m. at its new location at 906 Hidalgo St., Suite A. The community will have an opportunity to tour the facility and get information on programs and services, Bernal said. STCADA is a non-profit organization serving Webb, Zapata,
Jim Hogg, Starr, Cameron and Duval counties. “STCADA has served the community for more than 20 years,” Bernal said. “Our mission is to help individuals and families rebuild their lives through substance abuse prevention, treatment and HIV services.” Three main programs include youth prevention, adult treatment services and HIV services, Bernal said. “As the years go by we want to grow and help as many people as we can,” Bernal said. Refreshments and pastries will be available after the ceremony, Bernal added. (Lorraine L. Rodriguez may be reached at (956)728-2557.)
POVERTY
Food bank says record number of families served By SALO OTERO SPECIAL TO THE ZAPATA TIMES
2010 was a record year of product distribution for the South Texas Food Bank in Zapata County. According to the organization’s figures, 17,502 Zapata County families were served. Among them were 24,921 adults
and 13,883 children. The food bank served 30,092 meals. The South Texas Food Bank distributed an all-time record of 12.4 million pounds in 2010, including 577,046 pounds in Zapata County. Zapata is served via five pantries which the food bank depends on for distribution. Helping Hands is the largest and is open
Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Norma Mendoza is in charge; her telephone number is (956) 765-9327. The other four pantries’ contact persons and phone numbers are: Shepherd’s Pantry, Mary Pulido 7650123. Concilio El Buen Pastor, Gilberto Hernandez, 765-1300.
Boys and Girls Club, Viola Torres, 765-3892. Iglesia Pentecostes Emmanuel, Enedina Morales, 750-0182. Patrons must call to get the hours of distribution. Elia Solis, STFB agency-pantry coordi-
See FOOD PAGE 12A
PAGE 2A
Zin brief CALENDAR
SATURDAY, JANUARY 22, 2011
AROUND TEXAS
TODAY IN HISTORY
SUNDAY, JAN. 23
ASSOCIATED PRESS
The Laredo Philharmonic Orchestra is "Singing the Blues" during its second concert of the 2010-2011 season at 3 p.m. in the Guadalupe and Lilia Martinez Fine Arts Center theater at Laredo Community College’s Fort McIntosh Campus. Admission is free to law enforcement professionals who show their badge at the door and to students with a valid student ID. Tickets for all others are $25 for adults and $17 for senior citizens.
TUESDAY, JAN. 25 Texas A&M International University’s Office of Career Services and the Laredo Federal Credit Union will host "Learn to Manage Your Money" workshop, today from 12 – 1 p.m. in the Student Center, room 114, Resource Center. Event is open to TAMIU students and alumni. Light lunch will be provided. Contact the Office of Career Services at (956) 326-HIRE (4473) or careerservices@tamiu.edu.
WEDNESDAY, JAN. 26 The South Texas Council on Alcohol and Drug Abuse invites the community to celebrate the grand opening of its new location on 906 Hildalgo, Ste. A today at 1:30 p.m. Refreshments and pastries will be offered immediately following the presentation.
THURSDAY, JAN. 27 The monthly meeting of the Laredo Community College Board of Trustees is held at 6 p.m. in the Samuel A. Meyer Board Room, located in Laird Hall, room 124. The meeting is open to the public. Call 721-5101.
FRIDAY, JAN. 28 The Laredo Public Library and Laredo Books & More will be hosting a lecture and book signing with Laredo author Roberto Hernandez, Jr., author of the book “Quest for Survival by Hunting and Fishing.” The event will be held in the Library Program Room, at 1120 East Calton Road. Contact Pam Burrell at (956) 795-2400,x2268 or via e-mail at pam@laredolibrary.org. Texas A&M International University Lamar Bruni Vergara Planetarium presents “Attack of the Space Pirates” at 6 p.m. and “The Zula Patrol: Under the Weather” at 7 p.m. General admission is $5 and $4 for children and TAMIU students, faculty, staff and alumni. Premium shows are $1 more. Call (956) 326-DOME or visit tamiu.edu/ planetarium.
SATURDAY, JAN. 29 Spend the evening at the Texas A&M International University Lamar Bruni Vergara Planetarium and explore “One World, One Sky: Big Bird’s Adventure” at 5 p.m., “Violent Universe: Catastrophes of the Cosmos” at 6 p.m. and “Rock on Demand” at 7 p.m. General admission is $5 and $4 for children and TAMIU students, faculty, staff and alumni. Premium shows are $1 more. Call (956) 326-DOME or visit tamiu.edu/planetarium. The Tuesday Music & Literature Club will host the Annual Valentine Tea today at 4 p.m. at the First United Methodist Church Fellowship Hall at 1220 McClelland. The program will be "A Romantic Medley" by Joseph Crabtree and Dana Crabtree, accompanied on the piano by Mikolaj Gorecki. Contact Linda Mott at (956) 206-3033 or lmott@stx.rr.com.
Photo by Jennifer Polixenni Brankin/Rep. Giffords Office | AP
In this photo released by the office of Rep. Gabrielle Giffords, D-Ariz., Giffords is loaded into an ambulance in Tucson, Ariz., as she is transferred to Texas Medical Center in Houston, on Friday. Giffords is recovering from a gunshot wound to the head.
Giffords now in rehab By MARILYNN MARCHIONE AND SUSAN MONTOYA BRYAN ASSOCIATED PRESS
HOUSTON — Rep. Gabrielle Giffords smiled inside an ambulance as she heard applause during a dramatic send-off from her hometown Friday, and doctors say her transfer by jet and helicopter to a hospital in Houston went flawlessly. Sign-carrying well-wishers lined the streets in Tucson to wave and cheer. “She responded very well to that — smiling and even tearing a little bit,” said Dr. Randall Friese, a surgeon at the University Medical Center trauma center in Tucson. “It was very emotional and very special.” Friese and Giffords’ doctors in Houston spoke Friday afternoon at Texas Medical Center. Doctors say Giffords has a drain in her brain because of a fluid buildup, so she will stay for now in the ICU. She will be
Panel seeks progress in case that led to execution
Jail for man who impersonated officer
Some workers face budget pink slips
AUSTIN — A state commission looking into a fatal fire that led to the execution of Cameron Todd Willingham has decided to ask the Texas Attorney General’s Office to resolve jurisdictional questions but move forward with a report of the disputed case. Texas Forensic Science Commissioner Lance Evans said Friday he wanted to make progress while issues concerning the board’s authority are addressed.
KILLEEN — A man who police say flashed a fake badge and threatened prostitutes to get free sex is going to jail. Paul Carroll Cathey was convicted of impersonating a public servant by pretending to be a police officer. A judge on Thursday sentenced Cathey to 10 years of probation and ordered him to serve six months in the county jail.
HOUSTON — Harris County has begun notifying employees of layoffs in an effort to trim its $1.3 billion budget. About 700 county employees, about 1 in 22 full-time workers, were paid at least $100,000 last fiscal year, including doctors, attorneys and department heads. The county’s Architecture and Engineering Department last week notified 14 employees they would be out of work Feb. 25.
Jobless rate jumps for 2nd straight month AUSTIN — The state’s employment agency says the jobless rate in Texas has increased for the second straight month despite continued improvement in the number of jobs. The Texas Workforce Commission said Friday the unemployment rate for December was 8.3 percent, up from 8.2 percent in November.
SATURDAY, FEB. 12 Laredo Community College Fort McIntosh Campus hosts Family Fun Fest and Musicale from noon to 5 p.m. Admission is free and open to the public. Call (956) 721-5140.
WEDNESDAY, FEB. 16 The Texas A&M International University A.R. Sanchez, Jr. School of Business and the Center for the Study of Western Hemispheric Trade present the IBC Keynote Speaker Series, featuring Barry Lawrence, at the TAMIU Student Center Ballroom (SC 203 A&B) from 7 to 9 p.m. Free and open to the public. To submit an item for the calendar, send the name of the event, the date, time, location and contact phone number to editorial@lmtonline.com
Bandera County sheriff faces trial over boat BANDERA — A South Texas sheriff faces trial April 4 over use of a donated $17,000 boat. Bandera County Sheriff Weldon Tucker is charged with abuse of official capacity. A judge on Thursday declined to throw out the indictment. A game warden in 2009 stopped Tucker, with his wife and mother, on the boat at Choke Canyon Reservoir.
Woman accused of locking child in closet jailed BROWNSVILLE — A woman accused of keeping her 12-yearold daughter locked in a closet, except for school or using the bathroom, is accused of failing to appear in court and jailed. Her underdeveloped and malnourished daughter was placed in foster care after a relative reported the alleged abuse. — Compiled from AP reports
AROUND THE NATION
WEDNESDAY, FEB. 9 The South Texas Food Bank board of directors meets today at Commerce Bank, San Dario and Mann Road, on the second floor. Call (956) 726-3120 or (956) 568-3673.
moved later to the center’s TIRR Memorial Hermann rehabilitation hospital. She has “great rehabilitation potential,” said Dr. Gerardo Francisco, chief medical officer at TIRR Memorial Hermann. A gunman shot Giffords and 18 others Jan. 8 as she met with constituents outside a grocery store in Tucson. The suspect, Jared Loughner, 22, of Tucson, is in federal custody. Giffords has been making progress nearly every day at University Medical Center in Tucson. Her husband, Houston-based astronaut Mark Kelly, tweeted Friday: “GG going to next phase of her recover today. Very grateful to the docs and nurses at UMC, Tucson PD, Sheriffs Dept....Back in Tucson ASAP!” Kelly traveled with Giffords, her mother, a doctor and other workers. A specially outfitted jet took her to Houston.
Warrant issued for woman who stole child
CONTACT US
RALEIGH, N.C. — The woman who raised a child kidnapped from a New York hospital two decades ago has violated her probation and is believed to be on the run from authorities. A warrant was issued for her arrest. She is on probation because of a conviction for attempted embezzlement and is not allowed to leave the state.
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Solon dropping organ-donor proposal DENVER — A Colorado bill that defaults all driver’s license applicants as organ donors is unlikely to become law this year. Democratic Sen. Lucia Guzman said she dropped her proposal that the state change to a “presumed consent” system. That system automatically classifies all applicants for driver’s licenses and state ID cards
Today is Saturday, Jan. 22, the 22nd day of 2011. There are 343 days left in the year. Today’s Highlight in History: On Jan. 22, 1973, the U.S. Supreme Court, in its Roe v. Wade decision, legalized abortions using a trimester approach. On this date: In 1498, during his third voyage to the Western Hemisphere, explorer Christopher Columbus arrived at the present-day Caribbean island of St. Vincent. In 1901, Britain’s Queen Victoria died at age 81. In 1907, the Richard Strauss opera “Salome” made its American debut at the Metropolitan Opera in New York; its racy content sparked outrage and forced cancellation of additional performances. In 1917, President Woodrow Wilson pleaded for an end to war in Europe, calling for “peace without victory.” (By April, however, America also was at war.) In 1922, Pope Benedict XV died; he was succeeded by Pius XI. In 1944, during World War II, Allied forces began landing at Anzio, Italy. In 1959, 12 workers were killed in the Knox Mine Disaster in Pennsylvania. In 1973, former President Lyndon B. Johnson died at age 64. In 1995, Rose Fitzgerald Kennedy died at the Kennedy compound at Hyannis Port, Mass., at age 104. In 2008, actor Heath Ledger was found dead of an accidental prescription overdose in New York City; he was 28. Ten years ago: On the anniversary of the Supreme Court decision legalizing abortion, President George W. Bush signed a memorandum reinstating full abortion restrictions on U.S. overseas aid. Four of the seven convicts who’d broken out of a Texas prison the previous month were captured southwest of Denver; a fifth killed himself. Five years ago: Evo Morales, Bolivia’s first Indian president, took office with a promise to lift his nation’s struggling indigenous majority out of centuries of poverty and discrimination. The Pittsburgh Steelers won the AFC title game, dismantling the Denver Broncos 34-17. The Seattle Seahawks claimed the NFC title, routing the Carolina Panthers 34-14. Today’s Birthdays: Former Sen. Birch Bayh (D-Ind.) is 83. Actress Piper Laurie is 79. Actor Seymour Cassel is 76. Author Joseph Wambaugh is 74. Actor John Hurt is 71. Singer Steve Perry is 62. Country singer-musician Teddy Gentry (Alabama) is 59. Movie director Jim Jarmusch is 58. Hockey Hall-of-Famer Mike Bossy is 54. Actress Linda Blair is 52. Actress Diane Lane is 46. Actor-rapper DJ Jazzy Jeff is 46. Country singer Regina Nicks (Regina Regina) is 46. Rhythm-and-blues singer Marc Gay (Shai) is 42. Actor Gabriel Macht is 39. Actor Balthazar Getty is 36. Actor Christopher Kennedy Masterson is 31. Pop singer Willa Ford is 30. Actress Beverley Mitchell is 30. Rock singer-musician Ben Moody is 30. Thought for Today: “Children need models rather than critics.” — Joseph Joubert, French moralist (1754-1824).
Photo by Kevin M. Cox/Galveston County Daily News | AP
Crew members work on a U.S. Coast Guard MH-65 Dolphin helicopter after an emergency landing at the two-mile marker of the Texas City Dike on Friday afternoon. It was on patrol when a small fire forced the crew to land on the dike. as organ and tissue donors unless they opt out.
Trial date set for Russian arms suspect NEW YORK — A lawyer for a
former Soviet military officer accused of offering to sell weapons to a terrorist group said Friday that she’ll challenge the government’s case on the grounds that it has no jurisdiction to prosecute him in the United States. — Compiled from AP reports
SUBSCRIPTIONS/DELIVERY (956) 728-2555 The Zapata Times is distributed on Saturdays to 4,000 households in Zapata County. For subscribers of the Laredo Morning Times and for those who buy the Laredo Morning Times at newsstands, the Zapata Times is inserted. The Zapata Times is free. The Zapata Times is published by the Laredo Morning Times, a division of The Hearst Corporation, P.O. Box 2129, Laredo, Texas 78044. Phone (956) 728-2500. The Zapata office is at 1309 N. U.S. Hwy. 83 at 14th Avenue, Suite 2, Zapata, TX 78076. Call (956) 765-5113 or e-mail thezapatatimes.net
SATURDAY, JANUARY 22, 2011
Zlocal
PAGE 3A
Sole UIL meet LCC hires new VP for instruction planned for La Feria SPECIAL TO THE TIMES
By LORRAINE L. RODRIGUEZ THE ZAPATA TIMES
Zapata County ISD students will be attending the District UIL competition in La Feria, where they will compete against six other schools from the area in several topics, including oral reading and story telling. Fidel and Andrea Villarreal Elementary students have been preparing for the competition since October, said librarian Annabel Alvarez. “The students have been practicing once a week for at least an hour to an hour and a half,” Alvarez said. “We put a lot of work into it.” This is the district’s only UIL competition after the news of nearly $2 million in budget cuts, Alvarez said. The district used to attend UIL invitational competitions for more practice and now only hold local events to practice for the district competition, Alvarez added. ZCISD schools A.L. Benavides Elementary, Zapata North Elementary and Zapata South Elementary will be competing against each other in the competition, Alvarez said. Grades 2, 3, 4, and 5 will compete in the one-day event for trophies or ribbons that will be presented at an awards ceremony at the end of the competition, Alvarez said. The competition includes oral reading, story telling, general math, spelling, art smart, maps, charts, and graphs, dictionary skills, and English and Spanish
This is the district’s only UIL competition after the news of nearly $2 million in budget cuts, Alvarez said. oral divisions, Alvarez said. In the art smart competition students will be shown a piece of art for which they will have to identify the artist and the name of the art piece, Alvarez said. Speaking events begin with preliminaries during which students are divided into groups of three, Alvarez said. After preliminaries two teams advance to the next round, she said. Out of the six students in the last two teams that advanced, only three will receive first, second and third place, Alvarez said. (Lorraine L. Rodriguez may be reached at (956)7282557.)
Fueled by a longstanding passion to help improve lives, Dianna L. Miller hopes to make a bigger impact in the lives of college students in her new role as the vice president for instruction at Laredo Community College. A veteran nursing educator and college administrator with 18 years of service at LCC, Miller began the new year as the VPI for the community college. She emerged as the top candidate for the job after the college conducted an extensive national search to fill the position. “Laredo Community College is very pleased to have Dr. Miller assume the role of vice president for instruction,” college president Juan L. Maldonado said. “She served on an interim basis in the fall, and she has proven to be well organized, very professional and taskoriented. She exhibits the qualities that will lead to the continued success of the college’s instructional division. “Of four candidates who initially applied for the position, Dr. Miller was the sole candidate to advance to a formal interview, and the search committee was
DIANNA L. MILLER: Has moved up the ladder at LCC.
unanimous in choosing her for the position based on her proven track record during her tenure at LCC.” Miller, who possesses experience as a nursing practitioner, educator, and administrator, is honored to continue serving LCC in her new capacity. “Health care and specifically nursing has been my passion since I was young,” Miller said. “As I moved into nursing education I realized I was making a difference in the lives of others on a larger scale. In nursing practice, I directly influenced the lives of my clients whose care I was responsible for. In nursing education, I could affect many students who in turn affected the lives of their clients. “All of the nursing and administration experiences provided me the foundation to pursue the VPI position. My motivation for pursuing this position was based on recognizing I possessed the education and experience needed for the job, and I felt that I could make a larger contribution to
LCC by serving in this role.” As vice president for instruction, Miller said she is striving to provide effective leadership by increasing communication and by being a transparent leader. She hopes to meet the college’s challenges of increasing student enrollments through creative restructuring of course offerings, and addressing decreasing state budgets with minimal detrimental impact to the college’s mission and goals. “As the VPI, I need to focus on the best direction and decisions for LCC, while balancing the needs of those who work at the college and the students who attend it. The VPI must provide leadership and represent LCC in the local community, as well as on a larger state and national perspective,” Miller said. Miller has served a notable tenure at LCC, including 13 years as a faculty member for the vocational and associate degree nursing programs, six years as the chair for the Associate Degree Nursing Department and seven years as the dean of
Health Sciences, which included the task of being directly responsible for the success of the college’s nursing programs. “I am proud to be part of the LCC family and look forward to many more years,” Miller said. “LCC has quality people who care about providing the best educational experiences for students in various settings. The college is intensely student success oriented.” Miller holds a doctorate in Education in Educational Leadership/Curriculum and Instruction, which she earned in 2009 from the University of Phoenix. She also holds master of science and bachelor of science degrees in nursing.
PAGE 4A
Zopinion
SATURDAY, JANUARY 22, 2011
LETTERS TO THE EDITOR SEND YOUR SIGNED LETTER TO EDITORIAL@LMTONLINE.COM
COLUMN
OTHER VIEWS
Economics of China seen as bad news W
ith Hu Jintao, China’s president, visiting the United States, stories about growing Chinese economic might are everywhere. And those stories are entirely true: Although China is still a poor country, it’s growing fast, and given its sheer size it’s well on the way to matching America as an economic superpower.
Bad situation What’s also true, however, is that China has stumbled into a monetary muddle that’s getting worse with each passing month. Furthermore, the Chinese government’s response to the problem — with policy seemingly paralyzed by deference to special interests, lack of intellectual clarity and resort to blame games — belies any notion that China’s leaders can be counted on to act decisively and effectively. In fact, the Chinese come off looking like, well, us. How bad will it get? Warnings from some analysts that China could trigger a global crisis seem overblown. But the fact that people are saying such things is an indication of how out of control the situation looks right now.
Policy lacking The root cause of China’s muddle is its weakcurrency policy, which is feeding an artificially large trade surplus. As I’ve emphasized in the past, this policy hurts the rest of the world, increasing unemployment in many other countries, America included. But a policy can be bad for us without being good for China. In fact, Chinese currency policy is a lose-lose proposition, simultaneously depressing employment here and producing an overheated, inflation-prone economy in China itself. One way to think about what’s happening is that inflation is the market’s way of undoing currency manipulation. China has been using a weak currency to keep its wages and prices low in dollar terms; market forces have responded by pushing those wages and prices up, eroding that artificial competitive advantage. Some estimates I’ve heard suggest that at current rates of inflation, Chinese undervaluation could be gone in two or three years — not soon enough, but sooner than many expected.
Inflation woes China’s leaders are, however, trying to prevent this outcome, not just to protect exporters’ interest, but because inflation is even more unpopular in China than it is elsewhere. One big reason is that China already in effect exploits its citizens through financial repression (other kinds, too, but that’s not relevant here). Interest rates on bank deposits are limited to just 2.75 percent, which is below the official inflation rate — and it’s widely believed that China’s true inflation rate is substantially higher than its
“
PAUL KRUGMAN
government admits. Rapidly rising prices, even if matched by wage increases, will make this exploitation much worse. It’s no wonder that the Chinese public is angry about inflation, and that China’s leaders want to stop it.
Wrong controls But for whatever reason — the power of export interests, refusal to do anything that looks like giving in to U.S. demands or sheer inability to think clearly — they’re not willing to deal with the root cause and let their currency rise. Instead, they are trying to control inflation by raising interest rates and restricting credit. This is destructive from a global point of view: With much of the world economy still depressed, the last thing we need is major players pursuing tight-money policies. More to the point from China’s perspective, however, is that it’s not working. Credit limits are proving hard to enforce and are being further undermined by inflows of hot money from abroad.
Limits fail With efforts to cool the economy falling short, China has been trying to limit inflation with price controls — a policy that rarely works. In particular, it’s a policy that failed dismally the last time it was tried here, during the Nixon administration. (And, yes, this means that right now China is going to Nixon.) So what’s left? Well, China has turned to the blame game, accusing the Federal Reserve (wrongly) of creating the problem by printing too much money. But while blaming the Fed may make Chinese leaders feel better, it won’t change U.S. monetary policy, nor will it do anything to tame China’s inflation monster.
COLUMN
Oil may be key to 2012 winner By LLEWELLYN KING HEARST NEWSPAPERS
W
ASHINGTON — Like death and taxes, the price of oil is always with us. And like taxes, it may be President Obama’s worst nightmare at election time next year. Among forecasters, there is a sharp division between those who see an inexorable rise in the price of oil and those who believe it will stabilize about where it is now.
Looking at $4 The hawks see gasoline streaking ahead to $4-a-gallon this year and $5-a-gallon in 2012. Others say demand will collapse and it won’t go that high. The federal Energy Information Administration is very conservative in its forecasts and it gives very high prices only a 10-percent chance of coming about. Adding to the confusion is a nasty little spat between the International Energy Agency in Paris and the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries over price, inventory and what OPEC calls “technical factors,” such as pipelines down for repair or the loss of the Deepwater Horizon rig in
the Gulf of Mexico last April 20. The IEA is saying that OPEC is keeping its production quotas low to jack up the price — currently just under $90 a barrel and the highest grade Brent crude from the North Sea as high as $99 a barrel — and it is endangering the global recovery with its actions.
Criticism But OPEC Secretary General Abdalla Salem elBadri has taken issue with the IEA for roiling the markets with weak data and speculation. “Supplying the world’s media with unrealistic assumptions and forecasts will serve only to confuse matters and create unnecessary fear in the markets,” he said. OPEC, which drastically cut back its targets for production in 2008 with the collapse of the global economy, has, in fact, increased its production by 2.3 million barrels a day while formally not changing its declared targets. OPEC controls about 42 percent of the world’s oil production. What is certain is that world is slurping up more oil than ever. The latest IEA prediction is that daily consumption is increasing and will reach 89.1 mil-
lion barrels a day as the recovery proceeds. Emerging markets and China in particular are held responsible for the surge, though that could change if Beijing takes steps to slow its booming economy.
Little comment With the exception of two of the savants of the oil industry, the legendary T. Boone Pickens and former Shell Oil Company chief John Hofmeister, comment in the United States has been muted. When asked why the price of oil was so high despite the recession, White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs brushed aside the question, recommending the reporter ask the secretary of the Department of Energy, a physicist who has not spoken on oil pricing. Jack Gerard, president of the American Petroleum Institute, did not offer an explanation when he was asked the same question.
Many factors The fact is that the price of oil is not determined only by simple supply and demand but by complex premiums and market sensitivities. It is a market that is roiled by wars and rumors of wars and, because
oil was the first truly globalized commodity, the premiums can have their genesis far from the futures markets of New York and London. Uncertainty in Russia, turmoil in Central Asia, the ongoing suspense of Iran’s nuclear plans and even corrosion in the Trans Alaska Pipeline System are cranked into the price. No wonder hedge funds are involved in oil. Instability is mothers’ milk to hedge funds.
Uncertainty One way or another, two things stand out: The chances are the summer driving season will put pressure on gasoline prices, after an extremely cold winter all over the Northern Hemisphere. The conservative (10-percent chance of happening) scenario by the federal Energy Information Administration says $4-a-gallon gas would come at the end of the summer. The second reality is that the world thirst for oil has not been slaked; as the world prospers, the greater that thirst. In 1974, the heads of 23 democracies lost their jobs because of energy prices. Obama, beware. (E-mail: lking@kingpublishing.com)
Simple solution Could all of this really turn into a full-fledged crisis? If I didn’t know my economic history, I’d find the idea implausible. After all, the solution to China’s monetary muddle is both simple and obvious: Just let the currency rise, already. But I do know my economic history, which means that I know how often governments refuse, sometimes for many years, to do the obviously right thing — and especially when currency values are concerned. Usually they try to keep their currencies artificially strong rather than artificially weak; but it can be a big mess either way. So our newest economic superpower may indeed be on its way to some kind of economic crisis, with collateral damage to the world as a whole. Did we need this?
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DOONESBURY | GARRY TRUDEAU
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SATURDAY, JANUARY 22, 2011
THE ZAPATA TIMES 5A
6A THE ZAPATA TIMES
THE BLOTTER BURGLARY Police responded to a burglary call at 5:20 p.m. Jan. 16 at the 140 block of Madison Avenue. The complainant, according to police, reported that her home had been burglarized. Police responded to a burglary call at 8:30 a.m. Jan. 18 at the intersection of 4th Street and Falcon Avenue. The complainant reported that a suspect entered through the kitchen window located at the rear of her residence.
CRIMINAL MISCHIEF Police responded to a criminal mischief call at 10:46 a.m. Jan. 18 at the 2100 block of Yucca. The complainant said a man threw an ice chest through a window. Police responded to a criminal mischief call at 4:03 p.m. Jan. 18 in the 500 block of Villarreal Avenue. The complainant, according to police, reported that someone broke a window to his house to gain entry.
PUBLIC INTOXICATION Tadeo Gonzalo Garza was arrested at the intersection of 25th Street and Delmar Street at 11:09 p.m. Jan. 16 and was charged with public intoxication.
RECKLESS DRIVING Osiel Alaniz was arrested on 7th Street at 12:35 a.m. Jan. 20 and charged with reckless driving.
THEFT Police responded to a theft call at the Zapata County Public Library at 11:12 a.m. Jan. 19. The complainant, according to police, reported that a male subject entered the library and stole a figurine. The complainant also reported that the male subject attempted to sell the item at an antique shop. The figurine was recovered. Police responded to an identity theft call at 1:52 p.m. Jan. 19 in the 600 block of Hidalgo. The complainant reported that she received a letter from the Internal Revenue Service in regards to some income taxes that are delinquent since 2009 in the amount of $2,319. The complainant also reported that she does not owe the amount and claimed someone is using her Social Security number.
SATURDAY, JANUARY 22, 2011
Reporter who seeks asylum has hearing By WILL WEISSERT ASSOCIATED PRESS
EL PASO — A journalist from Mexico pleaded his case for asylum in the United States on Friday, more than two years after he fled across the border with his 15-year-old son because of receiving what he called death threats for his critical coverage of the military during the bloody drug war. Emilio Gutierrez Soto said he spent about seven hours presenting his case to Immigration Judge Robert Hough, but the process moved slowly because of frequent objections from a U.S. immigration attorney. The hearing, closed to the public, adjourned without concluding. After the hearing was done, Gutierrez said he presented hundreds of pages of documentation in support of his request, and that the attorney for the government raised objections every few pages — usually on technical issues. “They were delaying the case and keeping our expert witnesses from giving their opinions,” Gutierrez said. “It’s an immigration judge and an immigration attorney and it’s their job to prevent asylum.” The U.S. government’s attorney assigned to the hearing refused to comment or even to be identified. Proceedings will resume Feb. 4. Hough may not rule immediately even when the hearing concludes. Gutierrez and his son had appeared at a border checkpoint in New Mexico in June 2008 and declared their intent to seek asylum. He said his life was threatened nearly every day for more than two years after he wrote a series of stories accusing the military of abusing civilians in its search for cartel members and smugglers amid Mexico’s brutal drug war. His first day in court came four months after an-
other Mexican journalist who claimed to have received threats from Mexican officials protecting traffickers had his U.S. asylum request granted — making Jorge Luis Aguirre the first reporter to receive asylum since Mexico’s drug war erupted and cartels began targeting the media to silence coverage. Aguirre fled across the border after Gutierrez, but pleaded his case through an application rather than in court. The September decision to grant Aguirre asylum was heralded by supporters as an indication that the U.S. was recognizing the country’s reporters as a targeted group. In El Paso to testify on Gutierrez’s behalf were Ricardo Sandoval of the Washington-based Center for Public Integrity, and Mike O’Connor, of the Committee to Protect Journalists in Mexico City, as well as Gustavo de la Rosa Hickerson, head of the Juarez office of Mexico’s National Commission on Human Rights. When it became clear there wouldn’t be enough time for them to address the hearing Friday, the judge called them in to introduce themselves. If they can’t return in person when the hearing resumes, they will be allowed to testify by phone or video conference. “He wants to make a careful decision, to take his time,” Sandoval, a former U.S. newspaper correspondent long assigned to Mexico City, said of the judge.
Photo by Brian Jackson/Chicago Sun-Times | AP
Torture victims from left, Victor Saffold, Mark Clements, Anthony Holmes and Darrell Cannon talk to the media in the lobby of the federal building in Chicago on Thursday, where former Chicago police officer Jon Burge received a 4-½ year sentence for lying about the torture of suspects.
Former cop convicted for lying about torture By KAREN HAWKINS ASSOCIATED PRESS
CHICAGO — A decorated former Chicago police officer whose name has become synonymous with police brutality in the city was sentenced Friday to 4 1/2 years in federal prison for lying about the torture of suspects. Dozens of suspects — almost all of them black men — have claimed for decades that Jon Burge and his officers electrically shocked, suffocated and beat them into confessing to crimes ranging from armed robbery to murder. After the hearing, several victims and their supporters said the sentence wasn’t nearly stiff enough. “It’s outrageous,” said Mark Clements, who claims Burge’s officers tortured him into giving a
JON BURGE: Convicted of lying about torture of suspects. false confession in 1981 when he was 16. Tears ran down his face and his voice rose in anger. “It’s not justice.” Standing nearby, community activist Fred Hampton Jr. echoed the outrage, saying the white officer’s sentence was disproportionately low compared to what others receive for lesser crimes. “People in our community get more time than this for fist fights,” said Hampton, whose father was a Black Panther leader killed by police before the Burge era. Flint Taylor, an attorney who has represented several police torture victims, predicted the sen-
tence would become an issue in the Chicago mayor’s race. A host of candidates, including former White House chief of staff Rahm Emanuel, are vying to replace retiring Mayor Richard Daley. “The new mayor will have to apologize to these victims of torture,” Taylor said. But others were satisfied with the verdict, including U.S. Attorney Patrick Fitzgerald, whose office prosecuted Burge. “Justice delayed isn’t justice completely denied,” Fitzgerald said. U.S. District Judge Joan Lefkow said the sentence reflected the seriousness of the allegations and, in making her decision, she wondered why a respected officer so admired by his department would resort to such violence.
SATURDAY, JANUARY 22, 2011
THE ZAPATA TIMES 7A
PAGE 8A
Zentertainment
Laredoan Mick Cruz and his band Diamondback release CD By EMILIO RÁBAGO III
have played out of town, with gigs at the popular Old West Rodeo (now Cowboys Dancehall) in San Antonio. They’ve opened up for established acts such as Jason Aldean, Tracey Lawrence, Pat Green and the Randy Rogers Band, when the popular groups visited Laredo. And although Laredo doesn’t have the type of country vibe other Texas cities have, the music is growing in Laredoans’ hearts, Cruz has noticed.
THE ZAPATA TIMES
Y
esterday was a special day for Laredo country artist Mick Cruz and his band Diamondback. Cruz and Diamondback released their first full-length album during the official Randy Rogers Band after party last night at Rumors Country Bar and Patio, a place Cruz calls his “second home.” For Cruz, who’s been in the game since 1997, it was a long time coming. “I feel pretty good,” Cruz said Tuesday about his new album. “It’s a good representation of what I am and I’m happy with the project.” The album is titled “All of Me” — both the name of one of the tracks and the sum of Cruz’s hard work. “I think I’ve harnessed my craft: my playing skills, my writing skills and my vocal skills,” Cruz said, of his experience throughout the years. His baritone-accentuated Southern drawl and rock-inspired guitar riffs dictate his tunes. His music sounds a bit like Joe Nichols. Guitarist Rene Duran, bassist Albert Salazar, drummer Carlos “Yoshi” Salcedo and pianist Joel Isquierdo round out the band. Although Cruz and Duran are original band members, this particular group formed in 2008. “Texas country has changed. It’s a little more rock-based and younger fans lean that way. Rock hits everyone, every gender, every ethnic background,” said Cruz, who was primarily a rock fan, most notably of groups such as AC/DC, in his younger years.
The album It took a year to complete, but “All of Me” is finally out. Cruz wrote all the lyrics and set the melodic structure for the whole album. The album is a 13-track production that covers everything from love to breakups to just plain good ol’ feel-good music. The album includes a bonus track, the acoustically produced “Without You,” with just Cruz and his guitar. “Without You” talks about losing a significant other and asking for a second chance. “It’s so hard living my life without you,” the song says.
Family a priority
Courtesy photo
Mick Cruz, who leads his band Diamonback, performs during a recent concert. Cruz talks about getting back with a loved one he may have hurt in “Whatever it Takes.” Other love-based tracks include “If This is Love,” the title track “All of Me,” and “Bring Back My Baby.” On “Beer Drinkin’ Heart Broke Loser,” Cruz relates to those that may be feeling depressed. The song is written as a first-person story, talking about the singer getting himself off the ground and getting a beer to clear his mind. “Country Hoedown” is a livelier, toe-tapping track, about hooking up with the first girl the singer sees at the bar. All-in-all, the album is well produced and sounds pretty mainstream. After all, Cruz is all about “people having a good time.”
Not a country market Cruz knew all along that Laredo wasn’t very fond of country music, but he decided to go that route after coming across a wellknown artist. George Strait made him what he is today. “There wasn’t a country music station (in the past) or a country venue,” he said. “And that kind of hurt me.” In the past, Mick Cruz and Diamondback
Trying to find a “happy balance” may have been, at times, hard for Cruz, but he kept his priorities straight. With two children, Cruz wasn’t about to jump ship to another city without having an established income. He also wanted to make sure he provided for his family. “I couldn’t just go ‘cold turkey,’” he said. Cruz, who has a day job with the government, said his secure employment has allowed him to both support his family and help fund his project and his musical aspirations.
‘The next level’ His objective now that his CD has been produced is to “try and take it to the next level.” Among his goals is the greatest one an artist — of any genre — can have: getting signed to a record label. “I’m not gonna let it go. I’m giving it my best shot,” Cruz said. The band is working on a website to allow people to experience their music. For now, you can find him on social networking sites such as MySpace and Facebook. Although he loves the outdoors, Cruz currently doesn’t own a ranch, but says “I will, though, one of these days.” It’s his perseverance that might take him places and clearly has gotten him this far. His band is meeting with distribution companies and, through local connections, has already been in contact with people in Los Angeles. “All I need is one (hit),” he says of his music. He takes one of his favorite quotes to heart: “Stop wishing, and go do it.” (Emilio Rábago III may be reached at 7282564 or erabago@lmtonline.com)
SATURDAY, JANUARY 22, 2011
Globetrotters make return to arena Thursday THE ZAPATA TIMES
The world-famous Harlem Globetrotters will return to the Laredo Energy Arena for the first time since 2007. The Globetrotters will face the Washington Generals on Thursday at 7 p.m. The innovative basketballers surely entertain fans of all ages with their captivating ball-handling skills and overthe-top performances, which include a bunch of tricks. In December, the Harlem Globetrotters implemented the first-ever 4-point shot as part of all of its games for the team’s 2011 “4 Times the Fun” North American tour. The team is in its 85th season of touring. Tickets start at $23.75 and are on sale at harlemglobetrotters.com and at the LEA box office. Two designated 4-point shooting spots are on each side of midcourt, located 35 feet from the basket — 12 feet beyond the NBA’s official 3-point line. Throughout their history, the Globetrotters have showcased their talents in 120 countries and territories on six continents, often breaking down cultural and societal barriers while providing fans with their first-ever basketball experiences, according to a press release.
Courtesy photo
SÁBADO 22 DE ENERO DE 2011
Agenda en Breve SÁBADO 22 DE ENERO LAREDO — Hoy es la Jornada Sabatina del Consulado General de México en Laredo, de 9 a.m. a 1 p.m. El objetivo es brindar atención en los renglones de trámites de pasaportes, matrículas consulares, actos de registro civil y que necesitan asistencia consular en el ámbito de protección. LAREDO — Hoy es la 16ta edición del Menudo Bowl, Cook-off, organizado por Laredo Crime Stoppers en LIFE Fairgrounds de la Carretera 59, de 11 a.m. a 7 p.m. La entrada es de 5 dólares por adulto; niños de 12 años y menores entran gratis. El estacionamiento también será gratuito. Más información en el 724-1876. LAREDO — A partir de las 11 p.m. de hoy se realizará la Rock Night con Reborn e invitados especiales en The Cold Brew, 4520 San Bernardo. SAN ANTONIO — Dentro del ciclo de cine mexicano se presneta la película “El Santo y Blue Demon vs. Los Monstruos” a las 5 p.m. en el Auditorio del Instituto Cultural de México, 600 Hemisfair Park. Entrada gratuita. Reservar al (210) 227 0123.
Zfrontera
PÁGINA 9A
Torre visita Mier Consideran seis planes ecológicos
TIEMPO DE ZAPATA
CIUDAD MIER, México — Tras vivir un año difícil envuelto en el temor a causa de la inseguridad, familias de esta ciudad salieron a las calles para salir al nuevo Gobernador de Tamaulipas. “Los habitantes de este municipio cuentan con todo el apoyo para salir adelante”, dijo el Gobernador Egidio Torre Cantú, agregando que hay en puerta diversos proyectos que permitan fortalecer la economía y el desarrollo regional. Reunido con el Presidente Municipal Alberto González Peña y el cabildo en pleno, Torre delinó proyectos en materia de agua potable, vivienda, generación de empleo, cultura y salud, entre otros aspectos. “Cuentan ustedes con todo el apoyo de mi administración para todos estos proyectos”, dijo Torre al resaltar la importancia que para su administración representa la participación de la ciudadanía y el trabajo en equipo. A nombre de la ciudadanía, González agradeció el apoyo que otorga actualmente el gobierno del estado para impulsar diversas acciones y estrategias que permiten dar respuesta inmediata a las demandas de las familias de esta región. Dijo que requieren atención urgente rubros como la seguridad, empleo temporal, vivienda y agua pota-
ESPECIAL PARA TIEMPO DE ZAPATA
Foto de cortesía | Gobierno de Ciudad Mier
El jueves se dio la primera visita del Gobernador Egidio Torre Cantú a Ciudad Mier. Fue recibido por el Presidente Municipal Alberto González Peña y el cabildo en pleno. ble, entre otros. Como parte de su primera gira por este municipio, Torre se reunió también con empresarios, representantes de sectores productivos e integrantes de diversas organizaciones locales, con quienes llevó a cabo la salutación con motivo del año 2011.
La Comisión de Cooperación Ecológica Fronteriza (COCEF) anunció que tienen programados seis proyectos para Tamaulipas. En una primera reunión de acercamiento entre el organismo federal y la Secretaría de Desarrollo Urbano y Medio Ambiente, sus titulares, María Elena Giner, de la COCEF, y Homero de la Garza Tamez, del estado, acordaron el fortalecimiento de mecanismos de coordinación interinstitucional para ejecutar en breve los proyectos de infraestructura ambiental. Giner explicó que los seis proyectos tienen un costo de alrededor de ocho millones de dólares. “También contamos con una lista de solicitudes para 30 proyectos más por un valor estimado de 150 millones de dólares”, dijo Giner. A la fecha, la COCEF ha certificado alrededor de 15 proyectos en Tamaulipas, con valor superior a los 600 millones de dólares.
Miller asume reto en LCC
DEPORTES
DOMINGO 23 DE ENERO LAREDO — Las series de la Orquesta Filarmónica de Laredo presenta “Singing the Blues” a las 3 p.m. en el Martinez Fine Arts Center del Campus Fort McIntosh del Laredo Community College. La entrada es gratuita para agentes de la ley que muestren su placa en al puerta y para estudiantes con ID vigente. La entrada general es de 25 dólares para adultos y 17 dólares para adultos mayores. Se tocarán los géneros de jazz de orquesta y ópera.
POR STEVE TREVIÑO ESPECIAL PARA TIEMPO DE ZAPATA
JUEVES 27 DE ENERO LAREDO — Los Harlem Globetrotters se presentan hoy a las 7 p.m. en la Laredo Energy Arena. Adquiera sus boletos en la taquilla de LEA.
VIERNES 28 DE ENERO LAREDO — Big River Outfitters realizará su campaña musical cuatrimestral de 7 p.m. a 11:30 p.m. junto a la alberca del Rio Grande Plaza Hotel, 1 S. Main Ave. Las ganancias se destinarán al albergue de animales de Laredo. LAREDO — Big River Outfitters llevará a cabo una carrera de canotaje al mediodía de hoy. El costo es de 30 dólares por persona, con kayak y equipo ó 20 dólares por persona si llevan su propio kayak y equipo. Inscríbase llamando al 209-1879. LAREDO — Juego de Hockey, los Laredo Bucks reciben a Allen Americans a las 7:30 p.m. en Laredo Energy Arena.
Foto de cortesía | Gobierno de Tamaulipas
La campeona panamericana de esgrima, Úrsula González Garate, a la izquierda, viajó el viernes a la Ciudad de México para integrarse al campamento de entrenamiento para formar la selección nacional. La despidió el encargado del Instituto Tamaulipeco del Deporte Enrique de la Garza Ferrer.
RUMBO A LOS PANAMERICANOS TIEMPO DE ZAPATA
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IUDAD VICTORIA — Una tamaulipeca, considerada número uno en el esgrima, partió el viernes rumbo a la Ciudad de México para unirse a otros seleccionados nacionales. Úrsula González Garate, campeona panamericana de esgrima, se integra este fin de semana al campamento de entrenamiento deportivo que iniciará la selección nacional de esta disciplina en el Centro Nacional de Alto Rendimiento (CNAR).
LAREDO — WBCA invita a UETA Jamboozie en el Centro de Laredo de 4 p.m. a 12 p.m. Entrada gratuita antes de las 6 p.m. En preventa el boleto es de 7 dólares y en la puerta, después de las 6 p.m., de 10 dólares. Niños de 12 años y menores entran gratis. LAREDO — El día de hoy Teodoro “Terry” Higuera, Steve LaMantia, Fernando Fiore, serán inducidos a la 36ta clase del Latin American International Sports Hall of Fame a las 7 p.m. en el Laredo Country Club. Los boletos tienen costo de 30 dólares ó mes para 10 por 300 dólares. — Tiempo de Zapata
El titular del Instituto Tamaulipeco del Deporte, Enrique de la Garza Ferrer, dijo que los seleccionados estarán trabajando bajo las órdenes del nuevo entrenador nacional, el italiano Igor Chelli. “Chelli dará continuidad al programa de entrenamiento de cara a los Juegos Panamericanos de Guadalajara 2011”, dijo De la Garza. Será la próxima semana cuando el combinado mexicano se traslade a Guadalajara para tomar parte del Cuarto Campeonato Nacional Juvenil Selectivo el 1 y 2 de febrero.
“Úrsula es primer lugar del ranking con el sable como arma de combate”, dijo De la Garza. “Ahí participarán los mejores ocho exponentes de México en cada especialidad”. Tras este compromiso, González regresará a la Ciudad de México para dar seguimiento a su preparación previa a la gira europea que efectuará la selección. Durante esa gira, los deportistas se concentrarán un mes en Hungría, para de ahí trasladarse a cuatro copas del mundo que se estarán realizando en diferentes países.
La nueva vice presidenta para instrucción en el Laredo Community College espera lograr su meta: tener impacto en la vida de los estudiantes. Dianna L. Miller, quien ha estado 18 años con LCC, posee una amplia experiencia en enfermería, educación y administración. “Ella posee la calidad que para continuar el éxito de la División de Instrucción del colegio”, dijo el Presidente de LCC Juan L. Maldonado. MILLER Miller asegura que el cuidado y la enfermería han sido siempre su pasión “porque haces una diferencia en la vida de otros a gran escala”. “En la enfermería, influyes directamente en la vida de los clientes de cuyo cuidado eres responsable”, dijo ella. “Pudiera influir en muchos estudiantes quienes a su vez influirán en la vida de sus clientes”.
Objetivos
Localizan mariguana en Los Guerra TIEMPO DE ZAPATA
SÁBADO 29 DE ENERO
También ha ofrecido asesoría técnica a fondo perdido por alrededor de cuatro millones de dólares para el desarrollo de las fichas técnicas y los expedientes técnicos para la construcción de los proyectos. De la Garza dijo que principalmente se desea trabajar en los sectores básicos de agua potable, alcantarillado, saneamiento y conservación del agua del agua. “Es importante estar en sintonía en los objetivos y proyectos de trabajo”, dijo De la Garza. “Además, los municipios, a través de sus organismos operadores de agua y alcantarillado, deben participar activamente para su consecución”. Se espera que sea calendarizada una reunión con los representantes de los municipios para conocer sus necesidades y resolver según sea el propósito. En este encuentro de acercamiento asistieron además el Coordinador de Proyectos del NADBANK, el Director Regional de CNA Cuenca del Río Bravo, Oscar Gutiérrez Santana, así como el Gerente de Asuntos Fronterizos.
En el marco de la estrategia del gobierno federal contra del narcotráfico y la delincuencia organizada, elementos de la Secretaría de la Defensa Nacional han tenido una serie de operativos en la frontera de Tamaulipas, cuyos reportes son los siguientes: En el Poblado Los Guerra, del municipio de Miguel Alemán, el 16 de enero, tropas de la 8/a. Zona Militar, localizaron 91 paquetes de mariguana con un peso total de 965 kilogramos. El comunicado de SeDeNa explica que con esa cantidad se hubieran podido producir 482,500 dosis, que de haberse vendido hubieran otorgado ganancia de más de 48 millones de pesos.
El enervante fue puesto a disposición de las autoridades correspondientes.
Valle Hermoso El 17 de enero, en el crucero de Victoria y Sexta, de la colonia Centro, elementos militares fueron agredidos con disparos de armas de fuego por integrantes de la delincuencia organizada, indica el comunicado. “El personal militar en defensa de su integridad física y de las personas que se encontraban a inmediaciones del lugar, repelió la agresión”, agrega. El resultado fue tres sospechosos muertos y el aseguramiento de nueve armas largas, un arma corta, 80 cargadores para diferentes armas, cuatro
vehículos, una motoneta y diversos cartuchos pendientes por contabilizar. Los cuerpos de los agresores y lo asegurado, fueron puesto a disposición de las autoridades correspondientes.
Reynosa El 19 de enero en Reynosa, personal militar aseguró más de una tonelada de mariguana. Según el reporte, soldados atendieron una denuncia anónima acerca de la presencia de vehículos sospechosos en brechas aledañas al ejido Cavazos. Al llegar, elementos militares localizaron un túnel en la tierra, cuya entrada estaba cubierta de una tabla y basura, en cuyo interior fueron localizados 228 pa-
quetes de mariguana, con peso total de 1,102.100 kilos. No se reportan personas detenidas. Previamente, el 16 de enero, mientras realizaban recorrido por la colonia El Campanario, personal militar fue agredido con disparos de arma de fuego por presuntos integrantes de la delincuencia organizada, indica el comunicado. “En defensa de su integridad física y de la sociedad repelieron la agresión”, agrega. En el lugar falleció un sospechoso y fue asegurada un arma larga, dos cargadores, 57 cartuchos y un vehículo. El cuerpo, arma, cargadores, cartuchos y vehículo fueron puestos a disposición de las autoridades correspondientes.
Sostuvo que buscó el puesto de vice presidenta a fin de poder hacer una más amplia contribución a LCC. Como VPI, Miller buscará ofrecer un liderazgo efectivo por medio de incrementar la comunicación siendo transparente. Una de sus metas será incrementar la inscripción estudiantil a través de reestructurar los cursos y buscar que los recortes presupuestarios del estado afecten lo menos posible la misión y metas del colegio. “Como VPI necesito enfocarme en la mejor dirección y decisiones para LCC, mientras hago un balance de las necesidad de aquellos quienes trabajan en el colegio y los estudiantes que asisten a clases”, dijo Miller. Reconoció que LCC cuenta con personas de calidad quienes se preocupan por proveer las mejores experiencias educativas para los estudiantes.
10A THE ZAPATA TIMES
SATURDAY, JANUARY 22, 2011
Business tax breaks costly Report: State loses billions to exemptions By APRIL CASTRO ASSOCIATED PRESS
AUSTIN — Business tax breaks cost Texas $4.3 billion in the last state budget, a figure that amounts to about a third of the state’s massive revenue shortfall, according to a legislative report obtained Friday by The Associated Press. The report also found that local governments lost $235 billion in state property tax exemptions, including those given for elderly and disabled homeowners, according to the report prepared by the House Ways and Means Committee. A tally for sales tax exemptions — the state’s biggest cash generator — was not available. One of the largest carveouts was for the natural gas tax, which totaled about $1 billion a year in exemptions, according to the report. An exemption for bottled water sales amounted to a loss of about $250 million a year for the state, while an exemption for corporations with busi-
But with a new Republican House supermajority that has largely opposed tax increases, initial budget drafts assume no new revenue and propose massive cuts to state services like education and health care for the poor, elderly and disabled. ness interests in solar energy devices cost more than $1 million over the last two years. The committee prepared the report to address Republican House Speaker Joe Straus’ charge to examine the exemptions and determine “how the current costs and benefits compare with the original legislative objectives,” according to the report, which did not make recommendations about which tax exemptions should be repealed. Rep. Rene Oliveira, chairman of the tax-writing committee, also did not say which exemptions he would favor for repeal, but said the report contains as much as $2 billion in “low hanging fruit.” “We should be looking at exemptions that should be repealed — whether it’s a corporate welfare exemption … or whether it’s a personal one — that the public policy that was the
basis for it 10, 15, 20, 30 years ago no longer exists,” Oliveira told the AP. The Legislature is struggling to make up for a $15 billion revenue shortfall. But with a new Republican House supermajority that has largely opposed tax increases, initial budget drafts assume no new revenue and propose massive cuts to state services like education and health care for the poor, elderly and disabled. “Before the election many of those exemptions could be on the table for consideration, now I don’t know,” Oliveira said. “There were certainly a significant amount of Democrats that would have joined me in the repeal of many of these exemptions, they’re not here now. “With the supermajority of Republicans, they’re going to decide if we do any of these.” Exemptions in the state business tax — which in-
clude a break for small businesses — also included a carve-out for certain insurance companies that pay another levy on premiums. That exemption cost the state about $1 billion in the last two years. The report also examined sales tax exemptions for aircraft sales, internet service, coin-operated machine sales and billboard advertising. It raised the possibility of taxing cosmetic surgeries and automotive repair and maintenance services. Straus, along with Gov. Rick Perry and Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst, has said he opposes any tax increases. “We haven’t seen any specific legislation concerning exemptions, and the House members should first have an opportunity to review any legislation and discuss,” Straus spokeswoman Tracy Young said Friday when asked if the speaker would support repealing any exemptions.
A WORLD WAR II ICON CHANGES HANDS Chuckie Hospers of North Richland Hills, right, and Don Anklin of Virginia Beach, Va., are photographed in front of Hospers’ World War II B-17 Flying Fortress bomber at the Vintage Flying Museum in Fort Worth, on Thursday. Hospers is selling the plane to Anklin.
Photo by Khampha Bouaphanh/The Fort Worth Star-Telegram | AP
Art immortalizes ‘the girls’ of WWII By BECCA BACON MARTIN SPRINGDALE MORNING NEWS
SPRINGDALE, Ark. — They were “the girls,” iconic images of wives, girlfriends, movie stars and pinups that graced the noses of fighter planes, bombers and other military aircraft during World War II. They had names like “Little Bit O’Heaven,” “Lady Luck,” “Sleepy Time Gal” and “Lassie, I’m Home.” Jo Condra of Springdale, now 94, was one of those girls. Condra was surprised 67 years ago to find out that her husband, 1st Lt. Paul T. Condra, had christened his B-24 bomber “Arkansas Joe.” She was surprised again in December, when an image of “Arkansas Joe” ran in the Arkansas Postcard feature of the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette. But Paul Condra has never been far from his widow’s thoughts. Photos on the bedroom wall of her Springdale home remind her of the day he and his colleagues posed in front of a B-17 to celebrate their commissioning as first lieutenants and of the B-29 he was flying when the couple lived in Albuquerque, N.M., at the end of the war. An image of “Arkansas Joe” hangs there, too. “It’s the only airplane I ever had named after me,” she said with a chuckle. “During a mission over eastern Europe in April 1944, ‘Arkansas Joe’ took heavy flak damage that killed the bombardier, Lt. Bud Ackerman, my stepfather’s close friend, and wounded my stepfather,” Condra’s son, Jim Morriss, former executive editor of The Springdale News and The Morning News, picks up the story. “Lt. Condra
and his copilot brought the four-engine plane back to base on 1½ engines. Lt. Condra was returned to the U.S. and recovered from his wounds. He carried flak in his body until he died. “A crew member I met in the 1980s stayed with the plane for several missions, then was transferred to another crew,” Morriss adds. “He survived over 35 missions and eventually saw the former ‘Arkansas Joe’ (the new pilot changed the name) crash into the Adriatic Sea.” After Paul was discharged in 1946, the Condras moved back to northwest Arkansas and opened an auto parts store in Springdale in February of that year. When Paul died
in 1956, Jo took over and ran the store until 1986. Condra still works five afternoons a week. Few people know that she was immortalized as “nose art,” but she admits she was “thrilled” to see the image of “Arkansas Joe” in print. “War is horrible,” she said. “But it brought back a lot of good memories.” World War II was the golden age of nose art, said Larry Decuers, a curator at the National World War II Museum in New Orleans. “It just wasn’t good luck to have a plane that wasn’t named,” he explains. “When you were made a pilot in 18 months and became commander of an aircraft, in charge of 10 men, it was nice to have some
things from home — like nose art. “And it was a way for people to express some individuality in the military culture.” “During World War II, Americans produced 237,000 airplanes. Of those sent overseas, it would be safe to say that over 90 percent would have some type of painting on the nose,” said Jeff Wood, of the American Airpower Heritage Museum in Midland. “Centerfolds were very popular in that time period,” he goes on. “Most nose art paintings were done for $50 or a bottle of scotch by anyone who had any drawing ability whatsoever,” but many of them were modeled on popular centerfolds created by Alberto Vargas.
Executed man subject of report By MICHAEL GRACZYK ASSOCIATED PRESS
AUSTIN — A Texas commission looking into an arson investigation that led to the execution of the man convicted of starting the fatal fire decided Friday to move ahead with a report on the case even though its authority is not clear. The Texas Forensic Science Commission has been looking into the investigation of a 1991 house fire that killed three small children. The children’s father, Cameron Todd Willingham, was convicted of setting the fire and executed in 2004. But the commission said it’s not sure it has authority in cases that started before it was created in 2005 and has asked the Texas Attorney General’s Office for advice on that matter. The commissioners also have asked whether they have authority over investigators or agencies who may have not been accredited before 2005. Still, commissioners decided to move ahead with their report without waiting for the attorney general’s response. “I want the commission to find a way where we can continue making progress, so things do not come to a standstill,” Commissioner Lance Evans said. “I would like us to move forward with all speed.” State law gives the commission the authority to make recommendations on overall practices and procedures performed by investigators, but it does not have the power to sanction them, Evans said. The panel’s investigation started in 2006. It became politically charged in September 2009 when Gov. Rick Perry, who appoints its members and refused to stop Willingham’s execution, replaced the chairman and two other commissioners days before they were to hear from a fire expert who later testified that he thought the fire’s cause should have been listed as undetermined. That man, Craig
Beyler of Baltimore, Md., finally testified two weeks ago. In the original investigation, the lead investigator with the State Fire Marshal’s Office ruled the fire was an arson started with an accelerant, and a local investigator concurred. Prosecutors accused Willingham of starting the fire, and he was later convicted and executed. The assistant director of the fire marshal’s office, who also appeared before the commission two weeks ago, stood by those 1991 findings despite contrary conclusions reached by Beyler and John DeHaan, a consultant from Vallejo, Calif. They described the original investigation as deficient and inadequate. Death penalty opponents contend such testimony could help make Willingham the first inmate declared wrongly executed since the U.S. Supreme Court allowed capital punishment to resume in the mid-1970s. However, the commission said previously it found no misconduct or negligence by the original investigators, who were relying on techniques and information available at the time. New fire investigation standards weren’t adopted until 1992, the same year Willingham was convicted. Willingham, a 36-yearold unemployed mechanic from Corsicana always insisted — even in the moment before his execution — that he was innocent. He believed the Dec. 23, 1991, fire could have been started accidentally by his 2-year-old daughter, Amber, who died along with her 1year-old twin sisters, Karmon and Kameron. The commission did not set a timetable for work on the report. Its next meeting is in April. Commissioner Arthur Eisenberg said the investigation had already experienced many delays and it needed to be wrapped up with a report. But he said that without a decision from the attorney general, “we’re still going to be in this muddy water.”
SATURDAY, JANUARY 22, 2011
THE ZAPATA TIMES 11A
FROM TUSCON TO PHOENIX
HIGINIO GUTIERREZ JR. ZAPATA, TEXAS — Higinio Gutierrez Jr., 74, passed away Monday, Jan. 17, 2011, at Laredo Medical Center. Mr. Gutierrez is preceded in death by his parents Higinio (Rosa) Gutierrez; parents Antonio (Hermelinda G.) Gutierrez; brother Cesar Gutierrez; and sister Rosa D. Gutierrez. Mr. Gutierrez is survived by his wife Sylvia V. Gutierrez; son Higinio Antonio “Tony” Gutierrez; daughter Michelle Villalobos; granddaughters: Chelsea Gutierrez and Manika Mendez; brother-in-law Humberto R. Gonzalez Jr.; sister-in-law Elena Gutierrez; and by numerous other family members and many friends. Visitation hours were held Wednesday, Jan. 19, 2011, from 5 p.m. to 9 p.m. with a rosary at 7 p.m. at Rose Garden Funeral
Home. The funeral procession departed Thursday, Jan. 20, 2011, at 9:45 a.m. for a 10 a.m. funeral Mass at Our Lady of Lourdes Catholic Church. Committal services followed at Zapata County Cemetery, including full military honors by the American Legion Post 486 Color Guard. Condolences may be sent to the family at www.rosegardenfuneralhome.com. Funeral arrangements were under the direction of Rose Garden Funeral Home, Daniel A. Gonzalez, funeral director, 2102 Highway 83 Zapata, Texas.
Photo by Matt York | AP
A police motorcade leads the ambulance carrying U.S. Rep. Gabrielle Giffords, D-Ariz., away from University Medical Center, in Tucson, Ariz., on Friday. Giffords was transported to a medical facility in Houston.
Judge limits which teachers get laid off By CHRISTINA HOAG ASSOCIATED PRESS
LOS ANGELES — A judge on Friday approved a sweeping overhaul of how teachers are laid off in what education reformers hail as a landmark decision to keep more effective instructors in the classroom, but unions denounced as a step toward dismantling tenure policies. The decision was the outcome of a lawsuit brought by the American Civil Liberties Union of Southern California in February, charging that inner-city students’ right to a quality education was being violated by a lasthired, first-fired layoff policy. “This is a historic decision for the state of California,” said John Deasy, deputy superintendent of Los Angeles Unified School District. “The court lifted up the voice of youth. That voice was loud and clear.” The ruling by Superior Court Judge William Highberger approved a settlement between the ACLU, the state and LAUSD in which the district agreed to shield 45 of its lowest performing schools from layoffs and to cap layoffs at other schools at the district average. It also calls for an incentive plan to attract and retain teachers and principals at the struggling schools. “This settlement is about giving our most disadvantaged children a fighting chance at their schools,” said Mark Rosenbaum, ACLU-SC chief counsel. Teachers union United Teachers Los Angeles will appeal the ruling because it is unfair to pass on layoffs to teachers who have earned their jobs and skills, said Vice President Julie Washington. “What it is really saying is that experience in teaching has no value,” she said. “We feel that this remedy, if allowed to go
through, will actually exacerbate the problem.” The union was supported by state Superintendent of Public Instruction Tom Torlakson, who filed a brief opposing the settlement noting it “could have far reaching, unintended consequences throughout the state.” The agreement could harm the instruction quality at the 45 schools because it maintains inexperienced teachers there instead of seeking ways to bring more experienced “arguably more effective teachers,” said Torlakson, who was elected last year with the endorsement of the statewide union California Teachers Association. Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, a long-standing proponent of school reform, said he was confident that Highberger’s decision would stand and called on the union to collaborate on reform initiatives. “No one is saying seniority shouldn’t be a factor,” he said. “But in what successful system, when isn’t performance taken into account at all? This isn’t a radical notion.” The lawsuit was filed on behalf of students at three troubled middle schools in south and central Los Angeles, which have traditionally had high turnover of teachers and administrators. Because of that turnover, a large portion of their staffs are recent graduates who expressed a desire to work in urban schools. However, layoffs over the past two years meant that the untenured teachers were the first to receive pink slips. More than half of the teaching staffs at Edwin Markham, John H. Liechty and Samuel Gompers middle schools lost their jobs. At Liechty, 72 percent of the teachers received layoff notices; at Markham, the layoffs included almost the entire English department, along with every 8th grade history teacher.
Photo by Kiichiro Sato/file | AP
This November 2005 photo shows the death chamber at the Southern Ohio Corrections Facility in Lucasville, Ohio. The sole U.S. manufacturer of a key lethal injection drug said Friday it is ending production because of death-penalty opposition overseas — a move that could delay executions across the United States. The current shortage of the drug in the U.S. has delayed or disrupted executions in Arizona, California, Kentucky, Ohio and Oklahoma.
US company stops making key death penalty drug By ANDREW WELSH-HUGGINS ASSOCIATED PRESS
COLUMBUS, Ohio — The sole U.S. manufacturer of a key lethal injection drug said Friday it is ending production because of death-penalty opposition overseas — a move that could delay executions across the United States. Over the past several months, a growing shortage of the drug, sodium thiopental, has forced some states to put executions on hold. And the problem is likely to get worse with the announcement from Hospira Inc. of Lake Forest, Ill. Hospira said it decided in recent months to switch manufacturing from its North Carolina plant to a more modern Hospira factory in Liscate, Italy. But Italian authorities demanded a guarantee the drug would not be used to put inmates to death — an assurance the company said it was not willing to give. “We cannot take the risk that we will be held liable by the Italian authorities if the product is diverted for use in capital pun-
ishment,” Hospira spokesman Dan Rosenberg said. “Exposing our employees or facilities to liability is not a risk we are prepared to take.” Italian Health Ministry officials were not immediately available for comment. All but one of the 35 states that employ lethal injection use sodium thiopental. In nearly every case, they use it as part of a three-drug combination that sedates and paralyzes the inmate and stops the heart. There are other, similar sedatives on the market, but substituting one drug for another would require new laws or lengthy administrative processes in some states, and could also lead to lawsuits from death row. Similarly, switching to another manufacturer could invite lawsuits from inmates demanding proof that the drug will not cause pain in violation of their constitutional protection against cruel and unusual punishment. Hospira is the only sodium thiopentalmaker approved by the Food and Drug Administration.
Because of what Hospira described as problems with its rawmaterial suppliers, sodium thiopental is already scarce in the U.S., and any batches Hospira made before it suspended manufacturing more than a year ago are set to expire this year. In Texas, the nation’s busiest death penalty state, the Department of Criminal Justice said Friday it is exploring the use of another anesthetic. The state has four executions scheduled between now and July but has enough sodium thiopental to carry out only two February executions, spokesman Jason Clark said. Ohio has enough to carry out a Feb. 17 execution but will not comment on its supply after that, or on Hospira’s announcement, said Ohio prisons spokeswoman JoEllen Smith. Hospira has long deplored the drug’s use in executions but said it regretted having to stop production, because sodium thiopental has legitimate medical purposes as an anesthetic used in hospitals.
12A THE ZAPATA TIMES
SATURDAY, JANUARY 22, 2011
FOOD Continued from Page 1A nator, hailed the annual figures as all-time records. “The overall numbers show a high increase from years past,” Solis said. “It shows our economy is still down, and we’re always looking for more distribution sites.” For more information, call Solis at 726-3120. The South Texas Food Bank helps the unemployed, the under-employed and those living on fixed incomes with supplemental food. “Families just run out of money to buy food after paying their mortgagerent, utilities, transportation and other bills. That’s when the food bank steps in,” said STFB executive director Alfredo (Chawy) Castillo. Castillo, executive director for 12 years, announced at the January board of directors meeting he is leaving the position Dec. 31. The board has named a committee to search for his replacement The food bank is a nonprofit 501 c-3 organization. Tax deductible donations can be sent to PO Box 2007, Laredo, Texas, 78044. The phone number is (956) 7263120; website is at www.southtexasfoodbank.org. The organization also can be found on Facebook (South Texas Food Bank) and Twitter (www.twitter.com/SoTxFoodBank). The food bank, at 1907 Freight and Riverside in west Laredo, is open Monday through Friday 8 a.m. to noon and 1 to 5 p.m. The food bank development office number is 5683673. Zapata is one of eight counties served by the Laredo-based South Texas Food Bank, a member of the national organization Feeding America and of the Texas State Food Bank Network. The other seven counties are Webb, Starr, Jim Hogg, Dimmit, Maverick, Val Verde and Kinney.
LANINGHAM Continued from Page 1A made their way to Our Lady of Lourdes Catholic Church for Mass in his honor. Paying homage to Laningham, many individuals brought American flags to hold as they gave a final salute to the soldier killed in action. The funeral procession ended at the Rio Grande Valley State Veterans Cemetery, in Mission, where Laningham was buried underneath a tombstone that reads at the top: “Always in Our Hearts.” A bugler played taps. The farewell song was a piece he knew all too well, as he was known for lending his musical talents to his local American Legion Post 486, playing often on Veterans Day and Memorial Day. “A soldier is never alone in a time of need,” said Staff Sgt. Kenneth Bull, part of a crew that returned Laningham’s body to
Photo by Ulysses S. Romero | Laredo Morning Times
A Zapata resident holds an American flag as he waits outside of Lady of Lourdes Church during the funeral service of PFC Ira Benjamin “Ben” Laningham. his Zapata home from Afghanistan. “A Texan never leaves a Texan behind.” On Jan. 7, on a mission supporting Operation Enduring Freedom, Laningham was killed after his unit accidentally struck and detonated an improvised explosive device and a small-arms firefight ensued in Logar Province, Afghanistan. Also killed in the attack
SCHOOLS Continued from Page 1A effort to ensure that all elementary schools have security guards and one custodian was needed in one of our schools,” Garcia said. Three existing maintenance positions were transferred to the security department and one security position was transferred to maintenance. Lastly, the board approved the E-Rate budget for 2011-2012. “E-Rate helps us save
money in many of our technology-related services,” Garcia said. “We qualify for discounts up to 90 percent so we take advantage of this program.” In executive session the board discussed the formative superintendent evaluation. The next regular school board meeting will be held Feb. 22. (Lorraine L. Rodriguez may be reached at (956)7282557.)
was Spc. Ethan C. Hardin, 25, of Fayetteville, Ark. Laningham had been deployed to Afghanistan in October, bringing with him his new wife, Stephanie Armendariz-Laningham, also a soldier, who had wanted to plan a bigger wedding at Walt Disney World to celebrate with family and friends upon their arrival. “I’m so glad that he got
to meet her and fall in love and be happy,” said Norma Cantu, Laningham’s mother, during an interview from her Zapata home on Jan. 10. “I now feel for her because she has to bear that pain. He was so proud of her.” During Tuesday’s funeral services, Laningham’s family was awarded the Good Conduct Medal, the Bronze Star Metal and a
Purple Heart. “I can never know him like you know him,” Gen. Arnold Gordon-Bray said as he made the presentation. “I do know about his character. … He held his face in danger.” A graduate of Zapata High School in 2006, Laningham followed his dream of being a soldier and enlisted in the Army in 2009. Before joining the military, he had served as a detention officer at the Zapata County Regional Jail, along with his younger brother, Pvt. Joseph “Joey” E. Cantu, 20, who followed his lead and enlisted in the Army. Laningham had been assigned to the 2nd Battalion, 30th Infantry Regiment, 4th Brigade Combat Team, 10th Mountain Division, at Fort Polk. La. (Denise Blaz may be reached at 728-2547 or dblaz@lmtonline.com)
SATURDAY, JANUARY 22, 2011
ON THE WEB: THEZAPATATIMES.COM
Sports&Outdoors NFL
ONE MORE RODEO
Photo by Gene J. Puskar | AP
In this Dec. 19, 2010, file photo, New York Jets quarterback Mark Sanchez, left, scrambles as Pittsburgh Steelers linebacker James Farrior (51) chases during the first quarter in Pittsburgh.
Photo by Morry Gash | AP
Green Bay Packers’ Greg Jennings (85) and Jordy Nelson (87) celebrate with fans after the Packers defeated the Chicago Bears 10-3 on Jan. 2, in Green Bay, Wis.
Veteran players relish Super Bowl shot By CHRIS JENKINS ASSOCIATED PRESS
GREEN BAY, Wis. — To be clear, nobody’s kicking them out the door just yet. Veterans such as Green Bay Packers wide receiver Donald Driver, cornerback Charles Woodson, left tackle Chad Clifton and Chicago Bears linebacker Brian Urlacher will start Sunday’s NFC championship game as cornerstone players for their teams. They believe they have good years left. Still, any player in his 30s without a Super Bowl ring doesn’t have to be told that such opportunities are hard to come by. While a rivalry game with a trip to the Super Bowl at stake doesn’t really need any extra
juice, it’s even more urgent for veterans who might never get another shot this good. “I’ve been once, and it was an incredible experience,” Woodson said of the Super Bowl. “It’s been a long time ago, though, now. The thing is, you never know when you’ll get back. You never know if you’ll get there. You never know if you’ll win one. But to have the opportunity, and again, to be one of the final teams trying to get to the Super Bowl, it means a lot.” The 34-year-old Woodson played for the Oakland Raiders when they were beaten by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in the January 2003 Super Bowl. Urlacher and the Bears lost a Super Bowl to Indianapolis in February 2007. Even at age 32, he made it clear this week that he
doesn’t think this will be his last shot. “No,” Urlacher said. “I don’t see us getting any worse next year. I think we should get better. You don’t want to say this is your last shot and I’m not saying we should lose. We want to win this game, but I am not in any way thinking this is our last shot. I think we’re a talented football team. We’ll just get better every year.” Even Bears linebacker Lance Briggs, who recently turned 30, was asked if his window might be closing. “I’m 30, I’m not dead,” Briggs said. “I don’t see it that way. I don’t know how many years I’ll get to play, or all of us on the
See NFC PAGE 2B
Bucking history Jets hope to turn a new page against Steelers By BARRY WILNER ASSOCIATED PRESS
PITTSBURGH — History tells us the Pittsburgh Steelers belong. The New York Jets? Not so much. The 2010 season and playoffs, however, have written their own version of history, with a com-
mon theme: Anything can happen. It already has to the Jets, who never had won in the Steel City before edging the Steelers 22-17 in December. They also have humbled Peyton Manning and Tom Brady in
See AFC PAGE 2B
COLLEGE BASKETBALL
CYCLING
Post-punch: Griner, Barncastle rematch
Armstrong yearns for vindication from accusations
Duo will share court for first time since 2010 scuffle By STEPHEN HAWKINS ASSOCIATED PRESS
ASSOCIATED PRESS
WACO — Brittney Griner and Jordan Barncastle haven’t spoken to each other or had any direct contact since the punch. They won’t be able to avoid each other Saturday night. No. 1 Baylor is hosting Texas Tech in the first meeting between the teams since a confrontation last March that left Barncastle with a broken nose and Griner suspended for two games. The video went viral. “That’s all behind us,” Griner said this week. “That was last year, everybody’s moved on. So we’re just going to come out and play a good game.” Baylor (17-1, 4-0 Big 12) has won 14 games in a row overall, and its last 13 at home. The Lady Raiders (16-2, 3-1) are coming off a loss at No. 14 Oklahoma that snapped their second eight-game winning streak of the season. Texas Tech coach Kristy Curry, like Griner, insisted that the focus is on this game. “It continues to be where others want to bring it to the forefront, but if you’ve noticed from my comments, it hasn’t been talked about, won’t be talked about,” Curry said. “Different team, different year. Those two young ladies need to be allowed to just play the game.” They play again Feb. 19 in Lubbock. The day after the punch, which came in
ADELAIDE, Australia — Lance Armstrong says he will be vindicated by a U.S. Anti-Doping Agency investigation of claims raised by a report in Sports Illustrated. Armstrong used Twitter on Friday to suggest that USADA may probe allegations published by the magazine this week in an article entitled “The Case Against Lance Armstrong.” “Great to hear that USADA is investigating some of SI’s claims. I look forward to being vindicated,” the seven-time Tour de France winner said. Armstrong is currently competing in the Tour Down Under in South Australia and has refused to comment on the Sports Illustrated report, other than to say he has nothing to worry about “on any level” from its claims. He would not speak to reporters after the fourth stage on Friday and could not be contacted later in the evening. “While we can’t comment on the specifics of the investigation that UCI and USA Cycling asked us to open last year, we value the confidence all athletes have in the process to ultimately reveal the truth, preserve the integrity of sport, and protect the rights of clean athletes,” USADA CEO Travis Tygart wrote in an e-
Photo by Orlin Wagner | AP
Baylor center Brittney Griner (42) shoots over Kansas center Krysten Boogaard (14) during the second half in Lawrence, Kan., on Wednesday.
a Baylor victory at Lubbock, Griner issued a written apology through the school to Barncastle, Texas Tech and her own teammates and coaches. But they haven’t seen each other since. Even at the Big 12 media day in October, Griner and Barncastle didn’t see or talk to each other. Their teams were involved in different sessions with reporters. Barncastle has started all 18 games this season for Tech, averaging 5.9 points and
See POST-PUNCH PAGE 2B
Photo by James Knowler | AP
Lance Armstrong, riding for Radio Shack, gets ready for the Tour Down Under bicycle racing prologue at Adelaide, Australia, on Jan. 16.
See ARMSTRONG PAGE 2B
PAGE 2B
Zscores
SATURDAY, JANUARY 22, 2011
NASCAR point system up for change By JENNA FRYER ASSOCIATED PRESS
DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. — NASCAR President Mike Helton strongly indicated the points system used since 1975 will be scrapped for a simpler scoring method. “The goal for some time has been to create a points system that is easy to understand, easy to explain, easy to be talked about, but also be credible at the end of the season,” Helton said Friday during a competition update at Daytona International Speedway. The current system is a complicated formula that NASCAR says was drawn up on a napkin over drinks at a Daytona Beach bar in 1974. The Associated Press reported this week that NASCAR is informing teams it wants a system that would award points based on finishing posi-
Photo by Reinhold Matay | AP
NASCAR driver Dale Earnhardt Jr. addresses the media during a news conference after auto racing testing at Daytona International Speedway in Daytona Beach, Fla., on Thursday. tion, from 43 points to the winner to one for last place. “We’re in the middle of
the conversations, actually telling the competitors where our mind is,” Helton said. “The main goal is to
get one that’s just easier to understand and simpler. And we’re close. We’re getting a lot of great input
By STEPHEN HAWKINS ASSOCIATED PRESS Photo by Jeff Chiu | AP
Former baseball player Barry Bonds walks into a federal courthouse in San Francisco on Friday.
Judge: Former players to testify at Bonds trial By PAUL ELIAS ASSOCIATED PRESS Photo by Tony Gutierrez | AP
Texas Rangers’ Josh Hamilton (32) follows through on a double to left off a pitch from Oakland Athletics’ Brett Anderson in the first inning in Arlington on Aug. 27. the $3.25 million he got last season. Hamilton says he is “counting on” the case going to an arbitration hearing Feb. 14.
SAN FRANCISCO — A federal judge says some of Barry Bonds former teammates, along with other retired Major League Baseball players, will have to testify at the slugger’s upcoming perjury trial. The ruling was made Friday by U.S. District Court Judge Susan Illston. Lawyers for Bonds had argued for the exclusion of the players because of
their ties to Greg Anderson, Bonds’ former personal trainer who is refusing to testify against the slugger. The judge has barred much of the evidence relating to Anderson because of his willingness to go to prison on contempt charges rather than testify at the trial set to start March 21. The 46-year-old Bonds has pleaded not guilty to 10 counts of perjury and an obstruction charge.
NFC Continued from Page 1B team will get to play, but we’re going to enjoy it. Obviously it’s not easy to get to the Super Bowl so I think that, more than anything else, it’s just not easy. So it’s hard-fought. We haven’t been there in years. It’s precious.” Until now, Driver and Clifton haven’t been closer than the Packers’ January 2008 NFC championship loss to New York Giants. “It’s always been a dream of mine to get to the Super Bowl,” Driver said. “It’s right in front of me right now, and I think everybody in this locker room believes that it’s right in front of us, and we’ve believed it since March.” Packers coach Mike McCarthy said he sees a
unique sense of urgency from Driver and his other veterans. “It’s really Donald all the way down, particularly the players that were here in ’07,” McCarthy said. “You really have an understanding now of how hard it is to get to this game. I know my first year in the NFL in 1993, we went to the AFC championship game, and you kind of think, ’Boy, this is great. This is not that big of a deal.’ But it’s such a hard game to get to.” Packers defensive lineman Ryan Pickett was a member of the St. Louis Rams when they lost in the Super Bowl to New England in February 2002. He said younger players have asked him and Woodson about
NASCAR officials want feedback from competitors, Helton said the rule changing process takes time. In the end, though, the approach legitimizes the changes, Helton said. “I think the credibility of our final decision is actually better because of the collaborative effort that we put into it today,” he said. “Our appetite and our desire is to do it correctly and have one that makes sense and not one just for the sake of changing things.” Even if fans, already weary of so many changes to NASCAR, have roughly three weeks to digest a massive points shake up? “I think that our fans — as long as we maintain the core elements of the sport, tweaking the points, tweaking the Chase, tweaking different components in the sport — they’re quick studies,” Helton said.
POST-PUNCH Continued from Page 1B
Hamilton healthy and swinging ARLINGTON — Josh Hamilton is swinging a bat again and regaining his energy after spending six days in the hospital for pneumonia. Now the AL MVP is preparing for spring training and salary arbitration. Hamilton says he is feeling about “90 percent” and getting better every day. He took some batting practice Friday, his third day since resuming baseball activities. Before being released from the hospital Sunday, Hamilton said his temperature reached as high as 105 degrees. The Rangers and Hamilton are $3.3 million apart in salary figures exchanged this week. Hamilton is asking for $12 million, up from
from the drivers about the tweaks that would go along with something like that.” NASCAR chairman Brian France is expected to announce any changes, including potential tweaks to the Chase for the Sprint Cup championship format, next Wednesday night in Charlotte, N.C. It appears that’s the only unfinished business as NASCAR prepares for next month’s season-opening Daytona 500. The brief offseason — last year’s finale was Nov. 20 — ended this week when teams reported to the newly paved Daytona International Speedway for three days of testing. But Helton defended NASCAR’s credibility, which many fans are questioning because the changes are so close to the start of the season and how the championship will be won hasn’t been formally announced. Because
their experiences. “We just tell them that it’s the greatest experience that you could ever have,” Pickett said. “It’s so hard to get to where we are right now. We want to keep them focused, but it’s so hard to get to where we are right now. So we have to take advantage of the opportunity.” Greg Jennings said he and the other Packers receivers know how much it means to Driver. “Obviously the window of opportunity, it opens and closes as it will, and you know, the window of opportunity isn’t getting any bigger,” Jennings said. “Donald has been around for a while, and I think he’s been in this position once, I believe, and we didn’t get it done that
3.6 rebounds, about what she did a year ago. Texas Tech officials said she wasn’t among the players available for scheduled interviews Friday. At the Big 12 media day, Barncastle said the incident wasn’t going to change her physical style of play. “We’re not really dwelling on the past,” Barncastle said then. The 6-foot-2 Barncastle was called for a foul on the play that led to the infamous scrap. When the two players got tangled under the basket, Barncastle twisted and slung the 6-foot-8 Griner off of her. After lunging toward the baseline, Griner stopped, took two steps and delivered a roundabout right to Barncastle’s face. Griner, already a YouTube sensation for her dunks and blocked shots, got an automatic one-game NCAA ban for the punch. Baylor coach Kim Mulkey added a second game to
the suspension. Mulkey repeatedly said that Griner shouldn’t be defined for the mistake. In an interview with The Associated Press earlier this season, Griner spoke about learning from the incident. “I’ve just got to keep a cool, cool head no matter what happens,” Griner said. “You’ve just got to be able to walk away and just not retaliate. That’s what I learned, that’s not acceptable at all. ... I’ve just got to be able to just walk away, and I feel like I can do that.” There have been no issues this season for Griner, who averages 22 points and 7.8 rebounds a game. When asked then about the first game against Barncastle, Griner said she didn’t feel like anything needed to be said between the two players. “Just go play,” she said. “It’s a one-time thing, you don’t even have to say anything about it. Just go play.”
ARMSTRONG Continued from Page 1B time, and now we have a second chance. You’re not afforded too many second chances in this game, so we have to make the best of it.” And Driver appreciates the sentiment from his teammates. “They’ve addressed it all this year, as well as the previous years that our whole receiver group has been together, is that they want to get me to the Super Bowl,” Driver said. “As bad as they want to get me to the Super Bowl, I want to get them to the Super Bowl. When it comes to their career, they don’t have to worry when they’re ever going to get there. So, if we can get there all together at one time, that’ll put a nice little icing on the cake.”
mail to The Associated Press. Sports Illustrated reported that when Italian authorities raided the home of Armstrong teammate Yaroslav Popovych last November in Italy, they found texts and emails linking their Radio Shack team with Dr. Michele Ferrari as recently as 2009. Armstrong publicly severed his connection with Ferrari in 2004, amid accusations the doctor aided another rider in using performance-enhancing drugs. Ferrari was convicted and then later cleared of criminal charges on appeal. Armstrong spokesman Mark Fabiani called the
Sports Illustrated report “old news from the same old, discredited sources.” A federal grand jury in Los Angeles has been hearing evidence for months on cheating in professional cycling. The investigation turned toward Armstrong — and several of his associates have testified — since former teammate Floyd Landis accused him of systematic doping. Armstrong won the Tour de France every year from 1999 to 2005. He is currently 85th overall and nearly 4 minutes behind the leader after four stages at the Tour Down Under, which he has said will be his final race outside the United States.
AFC Continued from Page 1B the playoffs — who does that in consecutive weeks? In a season when both conference title games feature No. 2 seeds and against No. 6s, it’s foolish to discount the Jets in Sunday night’s AFC championship. A franchise that validated the AFL’s talents by winning the Super Bowl in 1969 has not been back since. The Jets played for the conference title in 1982, 1998 and last year. They hadn’t even won postseason games in consecutive years until doing so last season and this. “It’s been a long time for our fans and our franchise,” said defensive end Shaun Ellis, a first-round pick in 2000 and the current player with the longest Jets career. “So for us to be able to get to that point —
and not just get there, but get there and win it —would be huge for us. “It’s time.” Naturally, the Steelers say otherwise. Their time for AFC championship games has been frequent: this is No. 15 for Pittsburgh, with a 7-7 split thus far. As for Super Bowls, no franchise owns more than Pittsburgh’s six Lombardi Trophies. The Steelers have won it twice in the last six years, after the 2005 and 2008 seasons. They’re 4-point favorites, and part of the oddsmakers’ belief in them has to stem from their experience at this level. “We have one standard,” coach Mike Tomlin said. “That standard is winning.” Hines Ward has lived up
to that standard for 13 seasons, easily the most as a Steeler on the current roster. He has been one of the franchise’s greatest postseason performers and was MVP of the 2006 Super Bowl. He understands fully what has bred success in Pittsburgh, and will continue to do so after he is long gone. “People try to compare this team to the Super Bowl teams we played on, but every team is different,” Ward said. “We’ve got a lot of young guys and a lot of battle-tested guys who have been there. “What this team has that impresses me is the resiliency. To do it the way we have done it, not having Ben (Roethlisberger) for four games (while he was suspended), missing Troy
(Polamalu) for two or three games, our offensive line getting hurt. It’s been remarkable to see the guys fill in.” It’s the Steelers way. “It starts up top,” Ward said of ownership, the front office and coaching staff. “The 53-man roster we pick in training camp, we always say it will come down to the guys we took back then. And it does.” The Jets aren’t likely to be swayed by the Steelers’ resume of success. They weren’t intimidated by facing the Colts in Indy or the Patriots in Foxborough — not even with the fresh memory of being pummeled 45-3 at Gillette Stadium five weeks earlier. If anything, the Jets should be brimming with confidence that they can match up well with Pitts-
burgh, get key contributions from their playmakers, and ride off with what truly would be their biggest victory since Joe Namath came through on his guarantee. “We’ve talked about it quite a bit,” said veteran running back LaDainian Tomlinson, who was with San Diego for the 2007 AFC title game but barely played because of a left knee injury as the Chargers lost to the undefeated Patriots. Tomlinson joined the Jets this season. “I think everybody understands where we are, and obviously it helps with those guys getting here last year and knowing that this doesn’t happen often and how special it is. You never know when you’re going to get the next opportunity and they can look at guys
like myself and Jason Taylor, even Shaun Ellis, to see that.” Asked what it would mean to walk off the field Sunday knowing he’s going to the Super Bowl — something so many Steelers are familiar with — the usually descriptive Tomlinson struggled. “I don’t know if I can put into words, but I can definitely imagine the feeling,” he said. “Every year, you see a team that walks off that field in the AFC championship game going to the Super Bowl and you see the excitement on guys’ faces, the atmosphere, and just how proud guys are. I really can’t put it into words, I just know I have the vision of what it may feel like.” In this strange season, LT and the Jets might get to experience it.
SATURDAY, JANUARY 22, 2011
THE ZAPATA TIMES 3B
HINTS BY | HELOISE DOG, MEET CAT Dear Heloise: How do you safely INTRODUCE A CAT AND A DOG? My daughter’s cat will be with us for a year, since my daughter is leaving for the Middle East soon (military duty). Our dog is 13 and has been around cats, but the kitty has always been an “only child.” Any suggestions you can give will be greatly appreciated. -- Amelia, via e-mail Amelia, give your daughter a hug from me. Here are some hints from the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals and our files: First, be very patient. The cat WON’T be in a hurry to meet the dog; it may take a cat several weeks (if ever) to bond. It is best to have the dog restrained by a leash or harness for first meetings. The dog may try to bound after the cat. When your dog obeys you, reward him with praise and a treat. Try not to yell, scold or fuss at the dog. Keeping the mood cheerful will help everyone. Don’t leave the house unless you keep the animals separate until you are sure they will get along. Be sure to give the cat attention, when wanted, and let the dog know he is wel-
“
HELOISE
come, too. You may have to keep them separate if it does not work out well. Hope these hints make for a smooth adjustment for all. -- Heloise DIAPER FOR FERRET Dear Heloise: One of our family pets is a ferret. One day, our daughter thought that the ferret looked cold and asked for a cloth diaper to place in the ferret’s bed. From that point on, we have always given our ferret a cloth diaper to use as a blanket. Our ferret is always found curled up under her “blanket” when not playing! -- L.D. in San Antonio How resourceful! Having had ferrets as pets, I know they do like to curl up under things. -- Heloise PERCH FOR A CAT Dear Heloise: For my cat, I secured with nylon rope a smooth piece of scrap lumber and plank, and, using a ladder, hung it from a tree out back that he frequents. It is a pleasure while doing yardwork to look up and see him sound asleep on it. -Mark in Canfield, Ohio
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Sports
4B THE ZAPATA TIMES
SATURDAY, JANUARY 22, 2011
Fast and furious: Playing Rafa and Roger By JOCELYN GECKER ASSOCIATED PRESS
MELBOURNE, Australia — Playing against Rafael Nadal or Roger Federer is a fast-paced, physically exhausting and intimidating process that typically leaves opponents worn into submission. Nothing quite prepares the pros for playing Rafa and Roger. Xavier Malisse, a 30-yearold Belgian who has known the Swiss star since they were 12, lost in a businesslike fashion 6-3, 6-3, 6-1 on Friday. “He’s extraordinary,” Malisse said. “His style was like that in the beginning, when he was 12. But when you see how it evolved — it’s another world.” They both turned pro in 1998, but Federer owns a record 16 Grand Slam titles. Malisse is ranked 45th after a career high of 19th. “When he hits the ball, there’s an incredible speed,” Malisse said. “You’re always on the defensive. You have to adapt to each point, but you don’t have time,” said . “He’s a perfect player.”
The 29-year-old Federer exudes calm on the court and an effortless grace, which belies the intense power of his shots and ability to generally outthink and outmaneuver opponents by anticipating their next move. Federer often says he still enjoys tennis. He is not tortured by the pressure of living up to his reputation. After Friday’s match, he was asked what keeps him excited about the sport. Federer said he loves playing on center court. “It takes a lot of hard work to get there,” said Federer, who has a staggering 755-177 career record. “When you’re there, you want to stay there.” Nadal’s style is different. The 24-year-old Spaniard is muscular, intense and phenomenally athletic. He relentlessly chases down balls and pounds them back with viscous topspin. Since Nadal turned pro in 2001, he’s won nine Grand Slam titles and logged a 477-102 record. Together, Federer and Nadal have monopolized the No. 1 and No. 2 year-end rankings since 2004. At the
Photo by Andrew Brownbill | AP
Switzerland’s Roger Federer makes a forehand return to Belgium’s Xavier Malisse during their third round match at the Australian Open tennis championships in Melbourne, Australia, on Friday. Australian Open, Nadal is in the top spot and trying to complete a “Rafa Slam” by winning his fourth straight major. Federer is bidding to become the second man in history to win five Australian Opens. A Federer-Nadal matchup in Melbourne could only happen in the fi-
nal. Frenchman Gilles Simon gave Federer the biggest challenge of the tournament so far, pushing him to five demanding sets. Simon is one of only three players — along with Nadal and Andy Murray — who own a winning record against Federer. Simon said it felt like he
was running nonstop for three hours, while Federer was still speedy at the end. “You look at the ball, and you have the impression that you can’t do anything in the moment,” Simon said. “I feel like he’s in control, he can do whatever he wants.” Murray, who holds an 8-6
record against Federer, has never beaten him at a Grand Slam. The Scot, who lost to Federer at the 2010 Australian Open final, studies both players. “If they’re on TV and you’re in the hotel, you’ll definitely sit and watch some. You can learn a lot from those guys,” Murray said. Novak Djokovic is ranked No. 3, yet he considers the gap enormous. “I’m in this small group of players behind them that is trying to challenge them in each event,” said Djokovic, the 2008 Australian Open champion. “They are physically fit and mentally very strong.” Like others, Djokovic marvels at their nearly flawless games and ability to improve. “This mental strength is, I guess, a big advantage over the other opponents,” he said. “They always play in full speed, especially Nadal.” American qualifier Ryan Sweeting lost to Nadal in a clinical straight-set match that didn’t take long, but left the 23-year-old wiped out.
Injured Venus Williams exits Australian Open By JOHN PYE ASSOCIATED PRESS
MELBOURNE, Australia — Venus Williams had played 251 Grand Slam matches and never once been forced to retire because of injury. It took all of four minutes for that streak to end. The seven-time major winner spent more than 48 hours agonizing over whether she’d be ready for the third round of the Australian Open. She decided to go ahead, hoping enough adrenalin would kick in to allow her to play through the pain. Williams was ailing after her second-round victory, her ability to move severely restricted. Waiting for her in the third round was 30thseeded Andrea Petkovic. Williams took the court on a cool Friday night at Rod Laver Arena “just hoping for some magic.” The match was over almost before it began. Williams won just one of the seven points she played before she bent over in pain, clutching her right side. She knew she had to stop. “A lot of times when you play ... you get this adrenalin that blocks pain,” she said. “But I just didn’t get enough of that today. Obviously, I just couldn’t play. I couldn’t move. It was too painful.” The lunge to her right side on the last point aggravated a muscle in her hip that she hurt Wednesday night against Sandra Zahlavova. Her thigh was heavily bandaged when she walked
Photo by Andrew Brownbill | AP
Venus Williams sits in her chair holding a injury after losing the first set to Sandra Zahlavova of the Czech Republic during their second round match at the Australian Open tennis championships in Melbourne, Australia, on Wednesday. on the court Friday. “The last 48 hours I did as much pain management and recovery that I could. I just hit some balls ... just kind of standing still,” she said. “Just kind of warming up standing still and trying to give my best for the match. “I’ve never had to retire from a Grand Slam, especially after working so hard to pull out the match the other day. ... It’s super disappointing because this is just not how I envisioned my Australian Open being.” Things are looking far better for defending cham-
pion Roger Federer. The second-seeded Swiss beat Xavier Malisse 6-3, 6-3, 6-1, a vast improvement on his five-set second-round win over Gilles Simon. Top-seeded Rafael Nadal plays 18-year-old Australian wild card Bernard Tomic on Saturday night. The Spaniard is trying to become the first man since Rod Laver in 1969 to hold all four major titles at once. Nadal made a quarterfinal exit in Australia last year, then won the French Open, Wimbledon and the U.S. Open. No. 8 Andy Roddick overcame a slow start before
powering to victory with 32 aces, stopping Robin Haase 2-6, 7-6 (2), 6-2, 6-2. No. 6 Tomas Berdych, No. 9 Fernando Verdasco and No. 19 Stanislas Wawrinka advanced. Wawrinka defeated No. 12 Gael Monfils 7-6 (4), 6-2, 6-3 and will meet Roddick in the next round. No. 3 Novak Djokovic, the 2008 Australian Open champion, was leading Viktor Troicki 6-2 when his Serbian Davis Cup teammate retired because of a stomach muscle strain. That was hours before Venus Williams stepped on the court. She was the only Williams sister in the draw, and had a lot to live up to. Younger sister Serena, the defending champion, withdrew because of a foot injury Their mother and coach, Oracene Price, said Venus should not have even traveled to Australia as well because of recent injuries.
She spoke during the postmatch news conference from a seat in the auditorium after Venus directed a question to her. Venus hasn’t won a major since Wimbledon in 2008 and been in a Grand Slam final since Wimbledon in 2009. She’s never won the Australian title, her best finish a runner-up to Serena in 2003. “Well, I’m still pretty good, even when I’m injured,” she said, pointing to her run to the U.S. Open semifinals last September as evidence. “I mean, at the Open I came pretty close to winning that tournament just on a hope and a prayer and little to no preparation. “Here, you know I was grinding. So I’m just going to focus obviously on getting healthy and coming back. Because I love tennis and I’ve got a lot of great tennis in me. I love my job, so no end in sight.” Justine Henin has re-
tired once already, and came back to reach the Australian Open final last year in her return to Grand Slam tennis. Until she came back to Australia, she hadn’t played a competitive match since Wimbledon because of an ailing right elbow. Like Venus Williams, Henin has won seven majors and been ranked No. 1. She had never lost in the Australia Open to anyone who hadn’t been No. 1 at one time. She also had never lost in a major to Svetlana Kuznetsova. That changed Friday when Kuznetsova, a former French and U.S. Open champion once ranked No. 2, won 6-4, 7-6 (8). She completed the victory on her fourth match point after wasting two chances to serve for the match before the tiebreaker. This was Henin’s worst showing at Grand Slam tournament since Wimbledon in 2005.