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WASHINGTON, D.C. POLITICS
DRUG VIOLENCE
Budget cuts Administration warns of possible impact By JIM KUHNHENN AND TRACIE CONE ASSOCIATED PRESS
WASHINGTON — Widespread flight delays and shuttered airports, off-limit seashores and unprotected
parks. The Obama administration is painting a dire portrait of the many ways the public will feel the effects of automatic federal spending cuts due to begin March 1.
The grim picture is emerging as the White House and lawmakers count down the days until the government is forced to trim $85 bil-
See BUDGET PAGE 9A Photo by Damian Dovarganes/file | AP
41ST ANNUAL ZAPATA COUNTY FAIR
This 1993 photo shows Joaquin Guzman, alias ‘El Chapo,’ after his arrest in Mexico a decade ago.
TIME FOR THE FAIR!
False alarm: ‘El Chapo’ is, or isn’t, shot Sighting called a ‘misunderstanding’ by Guatemalan government official By TIM JOHNSON MCCLATCHY NEWSPAPERS
Photo by Cuate Santos/file | The Zapata Times
Charlie “The Hatman,” shown here in 2011, is from Montana and sells cowboy hats. He has been participating at the Zapata County Fair for the past quarter of a century.
Pageant, Queen’s Contest kick things off By RICARDO R. VILLARREAL THE ZAPATA TIMES
The 41st Annual Zapata County Fair will kick off with the Youth Pageant and the Queen’s Contest this weekend and will continue with the traditional trail ride on Saturday,
March 2. Zapata High School Auditorium will be the setting for the Youth Pageant on Saturday and the Queen’s Contest on Sunday. The Youth Pageant will begin at 2 p.m. and this year is adding two new
categories, the Pre-teen and the Teen divisions. “We have six categories, including one category for boys, called the Lil’ Cowboy, and which is only for boys in kinder and first grade. The girls’ divisions include kinder to 8th grade and are divided into
five categories, the Lil’ Tiara, the Lil’ Miss, the Junior Miss, the Pre-teen and the Teen,” said pageant committee chairperson Nina Gutierrez. “This year the Cowboy and Queen as well as the
See FAIR PAGE 9A
MEXICO CITY — Was it Elvis? How about D.B. Cooper? Or could it have been Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzman, the world’s most wanted man? Supposed sightings of the fugitive Mexican drug boss are growing in frequency, adding to his legend. The latest swirl of rumors erupted Thursday night, when Guatemala’s interior minister said a victim of a firefight in that country resembled Guzman, the head of the Sinaloa cartel. On Friday, Guatemala did a U-turn. Interior Minister Mauricio Lopez said he couldn’t even confirm that a firefight had occurred in the remote Peten region, much less that Guzman was dead. “I apologize if there was a misunderstanding,” Lopez said. It marked another false alarm for a fugitive listed by Forbes as having a $1 billion fortune — with $7 million in bounties on his head. The Obama administration calls him “the most powerful drug trafficker in the world.” Guzman hasn’t been seen in public since early 2001, when he escaped from a Jalisco, Mexico, prison in a laundry basket and
slipped away from a 20-year jail term. Since then, he has built the Sinaloa cartel into a worldwide criminal enterprise with tentacles in 48 countries. The U.S. government has offered $5 million for a tip that leads to his capture (the tip line is chapotipsusdoj.gov) and the Mexican government has put up another $2 million. Only dated photos of Guzman exist. The most widely circulated one was taken in a rainy prison yard more than a decade ago. Drug lords in Mexico commonly undergo plastic surgery to alter their appearances, and no one seems to know what the once-stocky 5-foot-8 Guzman might look like today. Rumors abound of his whereabouts. The drug lord, whose age may be 55 or 58, is from the town of Badiraguato in Sinaloa state, where loyalty to him is strong and visitors rarely get past gunmen. An anti-drug squad came within hours of capturing Guzman last February in Los Cabos on Mexico’s Baja Peninsula, arresting a prostitute and Guzman’s pilot, a Mexican prosecutor later said. But even that story has its doubters. The newspaper
See ‘EL CHAPO’ PAGE 9A
‘VICTORY OR DEATH’ LETTER
Travis letter at the Alamo By MICHAEL GRACZYK ASSOCIATED PRESS
SAN ANTONIO — Brought by police escort and welcomed with honor guards, drawn swords and a drum roll, the iconic “Victory or Death” letter written by Alamo commander William Barret Travis returned Friday to San Antonio for the first time since it left by courier at the start of the famous siege at the old Spanish mission 177 years ago. Travis’ letter seeking reinforcements to bolster his badly outnumbered rebel
Texans failed to prevent their deaths nearly two weeks later on March 6, 1836. But the following month, Alamo-inspired men led by Gen. Sam Houston defeated elements of the same army under the Mexican president, Gen. Antonio Lopez de Santa Anna, in an 18-minute battle outside present-day Houston to win independence for Texas from Mexico. “This is a day of pride — pride in our state, pride in our history,” Michael Waters, chairman of the Texas State Library and Archives
Commission, said, calling it a “reunion of two icons of Texas history.” The single-page faded and yellowing letter, with Travis’ some 200 words written on both sides, arrived by police motorcycle escort in a truck with Massachusetts license plates that backed up on the grounds of the Alamo. It’s to be displayed for 13 days inside the shrine, beginning Saturday. With a drum roll in the background, four police officers reverently carried a blue crate containing the letter through an arch of
sabers held by members of the Texas A&M Corps of Cadets and into the mission. Travis’ letter, written Feb. 24, 1836, was addressed to “the People of Texas and All Americans in the World.” “I call on you in the name of Liberty, of patriotism & everything dear to the American character, to come to our aid, with all dispatch,” the 26-year-old lawyer wrote. He also promised: “I shall never surrender or retreat.”
See LETTER PAGE 8A
Photo by Eric Gay | AP
William Barret Travis’ letter addressed to “the People of Texas,” seeking aid for the Alamo in 1836, is in San Antonio on display.
PAGE 2A
Zin brief CALENDAR
SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 23, 2013
AROUND TEXAS
TODAY IN HISTORY
SATURDAY, FEB. 23
ASSOCIATED PRESS
The Zapata County Fair Association Junior Pageant will take place from 3 p.m. through 5 p.m. at the Zapata High School auditorium. For more information, call Raquel Martinez at 236-4838.
Today is Saturday, Feb. 23, the 54th day of 2013. There are 311 days left in the year. Today’s Highlight in History: On Feb. 23, 1863, British explorers John H. Speke and James A. Grant announced they had found the source of the Nile River to be Lake Victoria. (This finding was disputed by Speke’s colleague, Richard F. Burton, who felt that proof was lacking, but the lake is now considered the Nile’s source.) On this date: In 1836, the siege of the Alamo began in San Antonio, Texas. In 1848, the sixth president of the United States, John Quincy Adams, died in Washington, D.C., at age 80. In 1861, President-elect Abraham Lincoln arrived secretly in Washington to take office, following word of a possible assassination plot in Baltimore. In 1870, Mississippi was readmitted to the Union. In 1903, President Theodore Roosevelt signed an agreement with Cuba to lease the area around Guantanamo Bay to the United States. In 1927, President Calvin Coolidge signed a bill creating the Federal Radio Commission, forerunner of the Federal Communications Commission. In 1945, during World War II, U.S. Marines on Iwo Jima captured Mount Suribachi. In 1954, the first mass inoculation of children against polio with the Salk vaccine began in Pittsburgh. In 1965, film comedian Stan Laurel, 74, died in Santa Monica, Calif. In 1970, Guyana became a republic within the Commonwealth of Nations. In 1981, an attempted coup began in Spain as 200 members of the Civil Guard invaded Parliament, taking lawmakers hostage. (However, the attempt collapsed 18 hours later.) In 1992, the XVI Winter Olympic Games ended in Albertville, France. Ten years ago: In West Warwick, R.I., relatives of the victims of a deadly nightclub fire were allowed to walk up to the charred rubble to pray and say goodbye. Norah Jones won five Grammys, including album and record of the year. Five years ago: Defense Secretary Robert Gates and other U.S. officials held daylong meetings with Australian leaders in Canberra. Former United Auto Workers president Douglas A. Fraser died in Southfield, Mich., at age 91. Today’s Birthdays: Actor Peter Fonda is 73. Singer-musician Johnny Winter is 69. Actress Patricia Richardson is 62. Rock musician Brad Whitford (Aerosmith) is 61. Singer Howard Jones is 58. Rock musician Michael Wilton (Queensryche) is 51. Actress Kristin Davis is 48. Tennis player Helena Sukova is 48. Actor Marc Price is 45. Actress Niecy Nash is 43. Rock musician Jeff Beres (Sister Hazel) is 42. Rock musician Lasse (loss) Johansson (The Cardigans) is 40. Actress Kelly Macdonald is 37. Actress Emily Blunt is 30. Actor Aziz Ansari is 30. Actress Dakota Fanning is 19. Thought for Today: “Never doubt that a small, group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has.” — Margaret Mead, American anthropologist (1901-1978).
SUNDAY, FEB. 24 The Zapata County Fair Association’s Queen’s Contest will take place from 2 p.m. through 5 p.m. at the Zapata High School auditorium. For more information, call Nina Gutierrez at 2903301.
THURSDAY, FEB. 28 The Texas A&M International University Lamar Bruni Vergara Planetarium will show “Laser Mania” at 7 p.m. and “Laser U2” at 8 p.m. General admission is $5 for children/TAMIU community (with ID) and $6 adults. For more information, call 956-3263663.
FRIDAY, MARCH 1 The Texas A&M International University Lamar Bruni Vergara Planetarium will show “Laser Retro” at 6 p.m. and “Classic Rock Laser” at 7 p.m. General admission is $5 for children/TAMIU community (with ID) and $6 adults. For more information, call 956-326-3663.
SATURDAY, MARCH 2 The Zapata County Fair Association’s Trail Ride will start at 7 a.m. at the Bustamante Roping Arena and will end at 5 p.m. at the county fairgrounds. For more information, call Dora Martinez at 285-7794. The Texas A&M International University Lamar Bruni Vergara Planetarium will show “Laser Beatles” at 6 p.m.; “iPOP” at 7 p.m.; and “Pink Floyd’s Dark Side of the Moon Laser” at 8 p.m. General admission is $5 for children/TAMIU Community (with ID) and $6 adults. For more information, call 956-326-3663. St. Mary’s University School of Law will hold a legal clinic from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. at Fernando A. Salinas Community Center, 2600 Cedar Ave. Topics covered include Social Security, IRS/tax issues, identify theft, debt collection, consumer issues and family law. For more information, contact 956-722-1458 or rsepulveda@webbcountytx.gov.
THURSDAY, MARCH 7 Today is the first day of the three-day 41st Annual Zapata County Fair, which begins at 8 a.m. at the Zapata County Fairgrounds. A battle of the bands will be featured. For more information, contact the Zapata County Chamber of Commerce or www.zapatacountyfaironline.com.
FRIDAY, MARCH 8 Performances by Zamoralez, Solido and Kevin Fowler highlight Day Two of the Zapata County Fair. The Texas A&M International University Lamar Bruni Vergara Planetarium will show "Star Signs" at 6 p.m. and "Live Star Show" at 7 p.m. General admission is $5 for children/TAMIU Community (with I.D) and $6 adults. For more information, call 956-3263663.
SATURDAY, MARCH 9 The Bass Champs South Region Fishing Tournament will take place from 7 a.m. through 3 p.m. Performances by the battle of the bands winner, Los 5 De Zapata, Siggno and Pesado highlight Day Three of the Zapata County Fair.
MONDAY, MARCH 11 The Zapata County Commissioners Court meets at 9 a.m. at the Zapata County Courthouse.
THURSDAY, MARCH 21 The four-day Bassmaster Elite Series Tournament – Falcon Slam – begins at 7 a.m. at the Zapata County Public Boat Ramp. For more information, go to www.zaspatachamber.com.
SATURDAY, JUNE 1 The Bass Champs South Region Fishing Tournament is set for 7 a.m. through 4 p.m. at the Zapata County Public Boat Ramp. Submit calendar items by emailing editorial@lmtonline.com with the event’s name, date and time, locations and purpose and contact information for a representative. Items will run as space is available.
AP file photo
A pick up truck is moved from the scene of an incident after a helicopter chase between the Texas Department of Public Safety and suspected human smugglers north of La Joya on Oct. 25 in which a trooper shot at the truck. DPS troopers now are forbidden to fire from the air unless their lives are in danger.
DPS tightens rules By PAUL J. WEBER ASSOCIATED PRESS
AUSTIN — Nearly four months after a Texas state trooper in a helicopter fired on a pickup truck speeding along the U.S.-Mexico border, killing two Guatemalan immigrants, state officials said Thursday that troopers are now forbidden from aerial shooting unless they’re under fire. Texas Department of Public Safety Director Steve McCraw announced the policy change while facing questions from lawmakers about the deadly high-speed pursuit near La Joya in October. The truck was mistakenly thought to be carrying a drug load, and DPS says a trooper opened fire to disable the vehicle because it was barreling toward a school zone. McCraw continued to defend that shooting, even while rolling out new rules that
would now forbid it. ‘I’m convinced that now, from a helicopter platform, that we shouldn’t shoot unless being shot at, or someone is being shot at,’ McCraw said. According to the revised policy later released by DPS, ‘a firearms discharge from an aircraft is authorized only when an officer reasonably believes that the suspect has used or is about to use deadly force by use of a deadly weapon against the air crew, ground officers or innocent third parties.’ A suspect driving aggressively or recklessly does not constitute use of a deadly weapon, the new policy states. The American Civil Liberties Union quickly applauded the move. ‘We are relieved that Texas is ending this extreme practice,’ said Terri Burke, executive director of the ACLU of Texas.
Dozens of small airports could be hit by shutdown
Woman gets suspended sentence in hit-and-run
DA: Marsh settlements won’t affect criminal case
DALLAS — Federal officials say air traffic control centers at 25 smaller Texas airports could close or see hours reduced if automatic federal spending cuts take effect next week. The FAA said Friday that the reductions are part of its plan to cope with a spending reduction of $600 million during the rest of the fiscal year.
AUSTIN — A former Texas Capitol staffer has received a suspended sentence a day after being convicted of a 2011 hit-andrun that left a pedestrian dead. A jury Friday recommended Gabrielle Nestande receive a suspended 10-year sentence and be issued a $10,000 fine. The Travis County jury convicted the 25year-old Nestande on Thursday of criminally negligent homicide.
LUBBOCK — The settlement of civil lawsuits alleging Stanley Marsh 3 paid teenagers for sex won’t affect the sex assault case against the eccentric millionaire, a prosecutor says. Special prosecutor Matt Powell said he plans to present the criminal case to grand jurors sometime next month. Marsh faces six counts of sexual assault and five counts of sexual performance by a child. The charges involve two boys, ages 15 and 16.
FBI probes $1M in bid-rigging at UTSA SAN ANTONIO — The FBI is investigating whether contractors and a former project manager at the University of Texas at San Antonio committed more than $1 million in fraud through a bid-rigging scheme. The probe began with a tip last year to the university claiming a contractor was doing work at the home of the former manager, and that the jobs were being invoiced to UTSA.
3 plead guilty in $11M health care fraud MCALLEN — A South Texas couple who ran a medical equipment company and an ex-worker have pleaded guilty in an $11 million health care fraud investigation. Prosecutors say RGV DME owner Marcello Herrera, his wife Carla Cantu Herrera and Ramon De La Garza pleaded guilty to conspiring to defraud Medicare and Texas Medicaid.
Woman’s body found in Houston grass fire HOUSTON — Emergency personnel in Houston responding to a small grass fire have discovered the charred body of a woman. Houston police are seeking the public’s help in identifying the body located around dawn Friday. — Compiled from AP reports
AROUND THE NATION Obama, Japan’s PM signal solidarity on N. Korea WASHINGTON — President Obama and Japan’s new prime minister said Friday that North Korea’s recent nuclear provocations would not be tolerated and pledged to seek strong action against the isolated nation. Following an Oval Office meeting, Obama said he and Prime Minister Shinzo Abe were united in their “determination to takes strong actions” in response to North Korea’s nuclear test launch earlier this month. Abe, speaking through a translator, said the two leaders have agreed to deal “resolutely” with North Korea.
Arias seeks death penalty stay, court rejects PHOENIX — Jodi Arias’ effort to get the death penalty option in her murder case temporarily set aside was met Friday with a re-
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In this Tuesday photo, Ryan Travis Christian lays out a tape pattern on the floor in front of his wall-sized drawing at the Contemporary Art Museum in Raleigh, N.C. The Chicago artist reworked his drawing into his first museum exhibition. jection from the Arizona Supreme Court denying the motion filed just hours earlier. Arias is charged in the June 2008 stabbing and shooting death of her lover in his Phoenix home. She claims self-defense, while authorities say she planned the at-
tack in a jealous rage. Testimony has been ongoing since early January. She failed to win a mistrial or stay of the death penalty option in the lower court earlier this year. — 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, FEBRUARY 23, 2013
THE ZAPATA TIMES 3A
Feds catch man with 463 pounds of pot By CÉSAR G. RODRIGUEZ THE ZAPATA TIMES
Federal agents arrested a Laredo man who allegedly attempted to transport approximately 463 pounds of marijuana from Roma to Zapata, a criminal complaint released Tuesday states. Mario Alberto Ambriz, 34, was arrested and charged with possession with intent to distribute more than 100 kilograms of marijuana. Ambriz remains in federal custody.
The case initiated at 10 a.m. Feb. 15. U.S. Border Patrol agents monitoring U.S. 83 spotted a red Dodge pickup traveling north about three miles south of the town of Zapata. A complaint states the pickup reduced speed when it drove by the agents’ position. Authorities noticed how the driver moved, trying to hide from the agents. They followed the pickup but the driver accelerated. When officials activated their emergency lights to pull the Dodge over, the
driver abandoned the vehicle on the side of the road. He then jumped a gate and ran away from agents toward the brush. Agents apprehended the man later and identified him as Ambriz. In a post-arrest interview, Ambriz stated that two men in Zapata offered him $500 to drive the pickup with about 463 pounds of marijuana from a warehouse in Roma to Zapata. (César G. Rodriguez may be reached at 728-2568 or cesar@lmtonline.com)
Courtesy photo
Sheriff’s investigators have recovered an estimated $1,500 of $2,890 worth of reported stolen items, and are asking the public to come by and reclaim their property.
Property ready to claim By CÉSAR G. RODRIGUEZ THE ZAPATA TIMES
Sheriff ’s investigators solved several burglaries and are asking the community to go by the office to claim their property, a Zapata County sheriff ’s spokesman said Friday. “Investigators have been busy lately solving burglaries, especially in the Siesta Shores (subdivision) area, in which four (cases) have been solved,” said Sgt. Ma-
rio Elizondo. He added that two people were detained. Their identities were not immediately released since the case remains open. Warrants are pending to be served, he said. According to Elizondo, investigators have recovered an estimated $1,500 of $2,890 worth of reported stolen items. Sheriff ’s officials are informing those who believe they were victims of crime to go by the
office to identify their property. A courtesy picture released Friday shows stolen items included a barbecue pit, an outdoor grill, a propane tank, life jackets, and fishing rods and reels, among other fishing equipment. Call the sheriff ’s office at 765-9960 for more information on property recovered. (César G. Rodriguez may be reached at 728-2568 or cesar@lmtonline.com)
PAGE 4A
Zopinion
SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 23, 2013
LETTERS TO THE EDITOR SEND YOUR SIGNED LETTER TO EDITORIAL@LMTONLINE.COM
COLUMN
OTHER VIEWS
Myths about picking a new pope By THOMAS J. REESE SPECIAL TO THE WASHINGTON POST
Next month, 117 cardinals from across the globe will gather inside the Vatican’s Sistine Chapel, invoke the Holy Spirit and elect a pope to replace Benedict XVI, who’s resigning at the end of this month. Behind closed doors, cut off from the outside world, they will choose a leader who will have an impact on not only the Catholic Church but the entire planet. Let’s look at some of the misconceptions about how the cardinals will select the latest successor to Saint Peter. 1. Pope Benedict resigned, rather than remain in office until death, so he could influence the cardinals to elect someone like him. In Washington, we tend to be suspicious of the explanations politicians give for anything, but in the case of the pope’s resignation, the explanation — his deteriorating health — appears to be accurate. Benedict recognizes that he is no longer up to the job, and he should be honored for giving up power and position for the good of the church. So how will the cardinals decide? Each will look for someone who agrees with the cardinals’ values and vision for the church. He will also want someone with whom he will have a good, friendly relationship. Finally, since all politics is local, each cardinal wants someone who will be well received in his country. The cardinals realize that this election will be one of the most important things they ever do. One pope, Felix IV (526-30), tried to influence the selection of his successor; the Roman Senate objected and passed an edict forbidding any discussion of a pope’s successor during his lifetime. Benedict has appointed 57 percent of the cardinal electors (John Paul II named the rest), so they will most likely elect someone with similar views. In American terms, that means someone to the right of Newt Gingrich on social issues and to the left of Nancy Pelosi on economic issues. 2. The next pope is likely to be African or Latin American. Catholicism has been growing dramatically in the developing world, but with 52 percent of the cardinals coming from Europe, chances are the next pope will be European. The Italians have the largest bloc of votes, almost one-fourth of the 117 electors. John Paul II, who was Polish, was elected because the Italian cardinals were divided. Current evidence, including documents leaked from the Vatican, indicates that the Italian cardinals are again split. A non-Italian is again possible. Those who support a pope from Africa argue that the vibrant and growing African church is Catholicism’s future. Others say that the church in Africa is doing fine and that Catholics need a leader who can save the church in the developed world. In the United States, about one out of three people raised Catholic have left the church.
The church in Europe has been in trouble since the 19th century. Today, more people in Paris go to mosques on Friday than go to Mass on Sunday. 3. The cardinals will elect a brilliant theologian like John Paul and Benedict. At the past two conclaves, the cardinals elected the smartest man in the room. Now, it may be time to choose a man who will listen to all the other smart people in the church. The problem with most academics and intellectuals, especially philosophers and theologians, is that they have already made up their minds on important issues and rarely change them. It might be time for a skilled diplomat who has experience in negotiating and building consensus, useful skills for responding to the priest shortage, declining church attendance and internal divisions. 4. Don’t expect big surprises from the next conclave. In the new papacy, there will probably be more continuity than radical change. Don’t expect female priests next month. But the Holy Spirit can always surprise us, as it did with the election of John XXIII, whom the cardinals thought would be a “do nothing” pope; instead, he convened the Second Vatican Council, which transformed modern Catholicism. Everyone was also surprised by the 1978 election of John Paul II, the first non-Italian in centuries. While the cardinals will be loyal to the pope, the new pontiff, once elected, has no one from whom to take his cues. He has to think, consult and pray before each big decision. Where that will lead him is anyone’s guess. 5. It doesn’t matter who is elected pope, nobody listens to him. While the pope can no longer command absolute obedience among the faithful, he is still the leader of a 2.2 billionmember organization. What he says and does matters, whether it is regarding the Middle East, AIDS, climate change or many other issues that touch not only Catholics but everyone. The most important challenge for the pope and the church is to figure out how to preach the Gospel in a way that is understandable and attractive to people of the 21st century, especially young people, who can be turned off by religion. Benedict got it right when he said Christianity should not be presented as a series of “no’s,” but as a “yes” to Jesus and his message of love, life, justice, peace and community. If the new pope does this, he could revitalize the church. He needs to use all the modern means of communication, even Twitter, to get his message across. In preaching the Gospel, the church needs to imitate, not just quote, great theologians such as Augustine and Thomas Aquinas. Both took the best thinking of their times — for Augustine it was Neoplatonism, for Thomas it was the writings of Aristotle — and used it to explain Christianity.
COMMENTARY
Obama has golf-game hazards By ALBERT R. HUNT BLOOMBERG NEWS
For all its social-media and communications skills, the Obama White House remains politically tone deaf. This impairment was on display last weekend, when
President Barack Obama played a round of golf with Tiger Woods and big campaign contributors at a posh Florida resort, with the draconian budget cuts under the sequester slated to take effect in less than two weeks.
The press corps was shut out, and the White House even made sure Woods wouldn’t be seen leaving the club. Understandably, this didn’t play well. Yet there was a simple way to avoid all the bad feeling: Asking
Republican Jeb Bush to join the golf round. Obama and the former Florida governor could have discussed their shared agendas on immigration and education. But this White House doesn’t like to reach out to Republicans.
COLUMN
Gun permits and the Capitol AUSTIN — There are 41 freshmen in the Texas House, and Lord knows there’s no way to know what’s bouncing around in a freshman’s head. But eventually they file legislation, and we get a peek into their souls. I’m happy to report that one of the newbies actually shows some signs of creative thinking. Really. I’m not being sarcastic here. At least not yet. Let’s see where this goes. The freshman in question is Rep. Jonathan Stickland, R-Bedford. I haven’t met him yet and I think it’s going to take me a session or two to resist typing his name as the more common Strickland. Anyway, Stickland recently filed HB 1298, which deals with one of my favorite topics: concealed handguns and the Texas Capitol and how a concealed handgun license allows holders to bypass the building’s metal detectors. As a CHL holder who owns no weapons, I appreciate the expedited access on an almost daily basis. So
“
KEN HERMAN
my eye was caught by this headline on a statement from Stickland’s office: “Are CHL holders at the Capitol committing a felony when a school trip walks by?” Geez, I hope not. The statement posited a potentially felonious “a concealed handgun licensee walks into the Capitol” scenario. “A concealed handgun licensee walks into the Capitol with a concealed handgun under his coat. As he walks in, he’s greeted by an ‘express lane’ where he displays his concealed handgun license to a DPS security officer and is admitted to the building without being screened by a metal detector,” the statement said. Yeah, OK, what’s the problem (other than the debatable wisdom of allowing anybody in the building with a concealed weapon)? “The procedure gives the
licensee a sense of confidence that he has the approval of the state to carry in the building,” the statement continues. Now we get to how this becomes a potential crime scene. “To his right is a group of schoolchildren passing through security on their way into the Capitol on a field trip,” the statement said (and you might want to hit a D-minor chord in your head at this point). “Has the man committed a felony?” It’s a pretty good question, actually, and here’s why. Stickland notes the Texas Penal Code says, “A person commits an offense if the person intentionally, knowingly or recklessly possesses or goes with a firearm ... on ... any grounds or building on which an activity sponsored by a school or educational institution is being conducted. ...” There probably aren’t many days during the legislative session when there’s not a school-sponsored group touring the building.
What’s a gun-toting CHL holder to do? It’s “poor wording,” Stickland says of the current law. “We owe it to CHL holders to have clear laws about where they can and cannot carry,” Stickland said in the statement. “I hope all of my colleagues, Republican and Democrat alike — including those who don’t even support concealed carry — will recognize that law-abiding CHL holders don’t deserve to be subject to felony prosecution just because they happen to be present in the same building with kids on a field trip.” The more Texasy, gunfriendly solution, of course, would be to ban kids from the Capitol. Kudos to Stickland for going in another direction, though he’s attempting to fix what is, at most, a theoretical problem. Let’s hope he and the other freshmen turn out to be as creative in solving real problems. (Ken Herman is a columnist for the Austin American-Statesman. E-mail: kherman@statesman.com.)
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ing or gratuitous abuse is allowed. Via e-mail, send letters to editorial@lmtonline.com or mail them to Letters to the Editor, 111 Esperanza Drive, Laredo, TX 78041.
SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 23, 2013
THE ZAPATA TIMES 5A
THE BLOTTER ASSAULT An assault, family violence incident was reported at 9:19 p.m. Tuesday in the 1400 block of Ramireño Avenue.
ACCIDENT An accident was reported at 11 a.m. Feb. 16 in the 2400 block of South U.S. 83. An accident was reported at 5:09 p.m. Feb. 16 at Texas 16 and Alamo Street. An accident was reported at 1:20 p.m. Tuesday in the 300 block of Ramireño Avenue.
An accident was reported at 6:32 p.m. Tuesday at First Street and Flores Avenue.
PROHIBITED SUBSTANCE
BURGLARY
A prohibited substance was seized at 9:36 p.m. Sunday at the Zapata Regional Jail.
A vehicle was broken into at 7:55 p.m. Feb. 14 in the 800 block of Diaz Avenue. A burglary of a building was reported at 2:24 p.m. Feb. 15 in the 600 block of Del Mar Street. A burglary of a vehicle was reported at 12:12 p.m. Sunday in the 500 block of Diaz Avenue.
By MICHAEL GRACZYK
THEFT
ASSOCIATED PRESS
A theft was reported at 11:59 a.m. Feb. 16 at Dr. Ike’s in the 400 block of FM 496. A second theft was reported Tuesday at the same location. A theft was reported at 11:29 a.m. Monday at the Pump N Shop, 1824 S. U.S. 83.
Courtesy photo
South Texas Food Bank employees Norma Alvarez, Marissa Alvarez and Merarie Lopez look over two vehicles, purchased with a grant from the Beaumont Foundation.
Food bank buys 2 cars SPECIAL TO THE TIMES
The Beaumont Foundation continues as an outstanding advocate of the South Texas Food Bank mission of “feeding the hungry.” The most recent Beaumont Foundation grant allowed the South Texas Food Bank to purchase two vehicles for use in the Kids Café program and the Supplemental Nutrition Assist-
ance Program (or SNAP, formerly food stamps) Outreach Program. “The Beaumont Foundation has truly been a blessing to our cause,” STFB Executive Director Alfonso Casso said. The South Texas Food Bank delivers supplemental food to 26,000 needy families per month in an eight-county area from Del Rio to Rio Grande City. In Zapata, the food bank
Man executed who killed ex-girlfriend
distributes food at the Shepherd’s Pantry, 305 Hawk St. The number is 956-765-0123. For more information call the South Texas Food Bank in Laredo, 956-7263120, or visit the website www.southtexasfoodbank.org. Tax deductible donations can be mailed to South Texas Food Bank, 1907 Freight, Laredo, TX 78041.
HUNTSVILLE — A man convicted of killing his ex-girlfriend by dousing her with gasoline and setting her on fire was executed in Texas on Thursday after the U.S. Supreme Court refused his final appeal. Carl Blue, 48, was condemned to die for attacking Carmen RichardsSanders at her apartment in Bryan, about 100 miles northwest of Houston, in September 1994. He also tossed gasoline on a man in the apartment, but the man survived and testified against Blue. Blue claimed it was a prank gone wrong, but prosecutors said it was an intentional attack sparked by jealously. In his final statement, Blue greeted his victim’s daughter, Terrella Richards, as she entered the death chamber viewing area by telling her he loved her. “I never meant to hurt your mama,” Blue said while strapped to a gurney. “If I could change that, I would. ... I hope you can forgive me.” He then told his parents, watching from an adjacent room, that he loved them and acknowledged he had done something wrong. He said he was “paying the ultimate justice. ... It may be crooked justice but I forgive those people.” He later added: “Cowboy up. I’m fixin’ to ride, and Jesus is my vehicle.” Blue took about a dozen breaths as the lethal drug began taking effect. He said he could “feel it,” then slipped into unconsciousness before being pronounced dead at 6:56
“
I never meant to hurt your mama. If I could change that, I would.” CONDEMNED INMATE CARL BLUE
p.m. Richards declined to take questions after the execution, but said her journey was over. “I can move on with my life,” she said. “My journey has ended today.” Prosecutors said Blue walked seven miles from his home to a convenience store, and had been drinking malt liquor and smoking crack behind the store, when he bought 50 cents’ worth of gasoline and put it in a “Big Gulp” cup. Court records said he waited outside RichardsSanders’ apartment, then when she opened the door, rushed in and told her: “I told you I was going to get you.” He then doused Richards-Sanders and set her ablaze. When Blue discovered Larence Williams at the apartment, he threw what was left of the gasoline on Williams, setting him on fire. “He had only one true love in his life ... and here she was with another guy,” recalled John Quinn, the lead defense attorney at Blue’s 1995 trial. Hours after the attack, Blue turned himself in to police. “When I went to knock, she snatched the door open and had a cigarette,”
Blue told police in a taperecorded statement played at his trial. “I wasted gas on both of them. And she caught on fire, and he caught on fire, and I took off running ... I was scared, man.” Shane Phelps, a prosecutor at Blue’s punishment trial, said RichardsSanders was trying to start her life over after she and Blue broke up months earlier, “and Carl wasn’t part of that, and that was a problem for Carl.” In appeals this week, Blue’s attorney, Michael Charlton, argued that it was a conflict of interest for one of Quinn’s co-counsels to represent him in appeals because he likely wouldn’t contend his previous work was deficient. The conflict “resulted in valuable and worthwhile claims not being presented to any court,” Charlton said. But the Texas Attorney General’s office said the federal appeals were meritless because Blue had waived his right to a different lawyer, negating the conflict claim. Five years after Blue’s conviction, his death sentence was among about half a dozen in Texas overturned by a federal judge who ruled it was improper for a former state prison psychologist to testify that the black man’s race could indicate a propensity for violence. But Blue again was sentenced to die at a second punishment trial in 2001. His was the first execution this year in the nation’s most active death penalty state. At least 11 other prisoners are scheduled for lethal injection in the coming months in Texas, which executed 15 inmates last year.
6A THE ZAPATA TIMES
SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 23, 2013
Boeing proposes battery fix Anti-violence By JOAN LOWY AND JOSHUA FREED
House bill gets a look
ASSOCIATED PRESS
WASHINGTON — Boeing attempted a major step Friday toward getting its 787 Dreamliners flying again, proposing a fix for the plane’s troubled batteries that could allow the flights to resume as early as April, congressional officials said. The next question is whether the Federal Aviation Administration will agree to let the planes fly even though the root cause of a battery fire in one plane and a smoking battery in another is still unknown. A Boeing team led by CEO Ray Conner presented the plan to Federal Aviation Administration head Michael Huerta. The airliners, Boeing’s newest and most technologically advanced, have not been allowed to fly since mid-January. The plan calls for revamping the aircraft’s two lithium ion batteries to ensure that any short-circuiting that could lead to a fire won’t spread from one battery cell to the others, officials said. That would be achieved by placing more robust ceramic insulation around each of the battery’s eight cells. The aim is to contain not only the short-circuiting, but any thermal runaway, a chemical reaction that leads to progressively hotter temperatures. The additional spacers will enlarge the battery, requiring a bigger battery box to hold the eight cells. That new box would also be more robust, with greater insulation along its sides to prevent any fire from escaping and damaging the rest of the plane, officials said. The plan will require testing and partially recertifying the safety of the plane’s batteries, said the officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity because they weren’t authorized to speak publicly. The testing and recertification will take time, with engineers currently estimating completion sometime in April at the soonest, they said. Even after the batteries are recertified, it could take some more time to get the planes back into the air. Boeing will have to send teams to seven airlines in six countries to retrofit their planes. It’s up to Huerta to decide whether to approve the plan. But Boeing’s plan is not a surprise, since the company has kept regulators closely informed, the officials said. Boeing, the FAA and the National
By JIM ABRAMS ASSOCIATED PRESS
Photo by Elaine Thompson/file | AP
A line of Boeing 787 jets sit at Paine Field in Everett, Wash., on Feb. 5. A long-term fix for the Dreamliner’s troubled batteries could have the planes back in the air in April. Transportation Safety Board still have not identified the root cause of a Jan. 7 fire that erupted in an auxiliary power unit battery of a Japan Airlines 787 about a half-hour after the plane landed at Boston’s Logan International Airport. The safety board is investigating that incident, but NTSB officials didn’t attend Friday’s meeting and declined to comment on the proposal. Engineers and battery experts gathered by Boeing developed a list of possible causes for the fire and a plan to modify the batteries to address the spread of a fire created by any of those causes, officials said. Nine days after the Boston fire, an All Nippon Airways 787 with a smoking battery made an emergency landing in Japan. The FAA and aviation authorities overseas ordered the planes grounded soon afterward. There are 50 of the planes in service worldwide, and Boeing had orders for 800 of the airliners at the time they were grounded. On Thursday, United Airlines cut its six 787s from its flying plans at least until June and postponed its new Denver-to-Tokyo flights as airlines continued to tear up their schedules while the plane is out of service. United is the only U.S. carrier with 787s in its fleet. The 787 is the world’s first airliner made mostly from lightweight
composite materials. It also relies on electronic systems rather than hydraulic or mechanical systems to a greater degree than any other airliner. And it is the first airliner to make extensive use of lithium ion batteries, which are lighter, recharge faster and can hold more energy than other types of batteries. Boeing has billed the plane to its customers as 20 percent more fuel efficient than other mid-sized airliners. That’s a selling point, since fuel is the biggest expense for airlines. Having the plane flying as soon as April “would be fantastic news for Boeing,” said Carter Leake, an aerospace analyst at BB&T Markets. If the battery fix ends up being as described, “I don’t think it’s that difficult to retrofit. I think it would be viewed very favorably” by investors, Leake said. If FAA were to approve Boeing’s proposed fix as early as next week, that would be a “home run” for the company, he said. However, the idea of recertifying part of the design is trickier. Getting certification from the FAA for a particular part or design is an involved process — and one that’s likely to make investors nervous. “Recertification suggests time,” Leake said. “Given what most know about aircraft certification processes, six months would be sort of quick.”
WASHINGTON — The House and Senate appeared headed for another partisan battle as the House prepared to take up its version of the once-noncontroversial Violence Against Women Act. The Republican-crafted House bill to renew the popular 1994 act, which expired in 2011, was introduced Friday to instant criticism from Senate Democrats, who said it fell short in fulfilling the law’s mission of protecting women from domestic violence. The office of House Majority Leader Eric Cantor, R-Va., defended the bill, saying Cantor was committed to reauthorizing the law and had worked hard to build consensus. The Senate last week passed its version of what is called VAWA on a bipartisan 78-22 vote, and Senate supporters, joined by House Democrats, have been urging House GOP leaders to model their legislation after the Senate bill. The House bill, headed for a vote next week, does move toward the Senate on the issue of giving tribal authorities the power to prosecute non-Indians in domestic violence cases but drew fire on other points. The House proposal, said Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Patrick Leahy, D-Vt., a chief sponsor of the Senate bill, “will not provide critical protections for rape victims, domestic violence victims, human trafficking victims, students on campuses or stalking victims.”
Sen. Patty Murray, DWash., said it stripped protections in the Senate bill for the lesbian and gay community. The failure of the two chambers to find common ground on the measure last year, when the House resisted Senate provisions to make clear that lesbians and gays, immigrants and Native Americans have access to VAWA programs, became an election issue, with Democrats asserting that they were the party that best represented the interests of women. Cantor has been at the head of GOP efforts to come up with a House alternative and has promised legislation that will ensure that the law’s role in protecting women is continued. Supporters of the House approach say it strengthens protections by increasing accountability in VAWA programs and guaranteeing that sexual assault resources are distributed equitably. The law has been a cornerstone in federal efforts to reduce acts of violence against women and prosecute offenders and is credited for making Americans more aware of the domestic violence issue. It provides federal grants for programs such as transitional housing, law enforcement training, legal assistance and anti-violence hotlines. Kim Gandy, president of the National Network to End Domestic Violence, said her group was “extremely hopeful that House leadership would introduce a bill that would safely and effectively meet the needs of all victims.
Pistorius gets bail as murder trial looms By JON GAMBRELL AND CHRISTOPHER TORCHIA ASSOCIATED PRESS
Photo by Alexandre Meneghini | AP
Republican Sen. John McCain from Arizona, center, gets ready for a press conference in Mexico City, on Friday. McCain says he is optimistic about producing an immigration reform proposal.
McCain talks legislation By MICHAEL WEISSENSTEIN ASSOCIATED PRESS
MEXICO CITY — U.S. Sen. John McCain said Friday that he and other lawmakers working on an immigration overhaul will meet with President Barack Obama on Tuesday to discuss the issue. McCain, a member of a bipartisan group of eight senators working on a bill, said there is still significant disagreement with the president, but he is optimistic about producing legislation that includes a path to legalization for illegal immigrants. “The president of the United States has supported our efforts. In fact we will be meeting with the president on Tuesday,” he said during a visit to Mexico. McCain did not say how many senators would attend the meeting. McCain told reporters after meeting with Mexican President Enrique Peña Nieto that many details must be worked out between Obama and senators trying to produce legislation. Asked about the prospects for reaching a deal, he said: “I am guardedly optimistic that we could by the end of the next month.
There’s still a number of agreements that need to be made before I can assure you that we will have a resolution.” McCain said he envisions immigration legislation including a way for illegal migrants to obtain legal status; a process for agricultural and low-skilled laborers to go to work in the United States; a provision for highly educated workers to remain in the U.S.; better identification cards for migrants; punishment for businesses that hire illegal migrants; greater use of advanced technology to prevent illicit border crossings and a special path for migrants brought to the U.S. as children. “On some of those we have specific agreement, in other areas we agree in principle, but we have not resolved the details,” he said. “We are making progress, but we are still not at a point where we can say we will succeed.” McCain also said that former Sen. Chuck Hagel had been weakened by his battle to be confirmed as defense secretary, but McCain said he and Senate colleagues could work with Hagel at the Pentagon. Hagel is expected to be confirmed Tuesday. “I think he will have
been weakened, but having said that, the job that he has is too important,” McCain said. “I know that I and my other colleagues, if he’s confirmed, and he very likely will be, will do everything we can to work with him.” Turning to Mexico, McCain said Peña Nieto had reassured him that Mexico would continue to battle drug cartels while reassessing the country law-enforcement strategy. The Mexican administration that took office Dec. 1 has, at least in its public rhetoric, emphasized social programs and economic growth as the answer to drug crime, a change from the previous government’s focus on a militarized offensive against cartels. That has provoked concern in Washington about a reduction in anti-drug cooperation with Mexico. “I have no doubt about his commitment,” McCain said. “I think he feels that policies and practices of the previous administration need to be examined.” McCain said the Mexican president had emphasized the need to reinforce Mexico’s southern border with Guatemala, a new emphasis in a relationship that has focused heavily on the U.S.-Mexican border.
PRETORIA, South Africa — Oscar Pistorius walked out of court Friday — free at least for now — after a South African magistrate released him on bail, capping four days of often startling testimony that foreshadowed a dramatic trial in the Valentine’s Day slaying of his girlfriend. But as he was driven away, chased by photographers and cameramen, questions continued to hound the double-amputee Olympian about what actually happened the night he gunned down Reeva Steenkamp inside a locked bathroom in his home. Pistorius is charged with premeditated murder, and even Chief Magistrate Desmond Nair expressed doubts about his story that he mistook the 29-year-old model for an intruder and fired out of fear. “Why would (Pistorius) venture further into danger” by going into the bathroom at all, Nair asked. Cries of “Yes!” went up from Pistorius’ supporters when Nair announced his decision to a packed courtroom after a nearly twohour explanation of the ruling. Nair set bail at 1 million rand ($113,000), with $11,300 in cash up front and proof that the rest is available. The 26-year-old track star was also ordered to hand over his passports, turn in any guns he owns and keep away from his upscale home in a gated community in Pretoria, which is now a crime scene. He cannot leave the district of Pretoria without his probation officer’s permission and is not allowed to consume drugs or alco-
hol, the magistrate said. His next court appearance was set for June 4. PISTORIUS Earlier, Pistorius alternately wept and appeared solemn and composed, especially as Nair criticized police procedures in the case and as a judgment in the track star’s favor appeared imminent. He showed no reaction as he was granted bail. Pistorius left the courthouse in a silver Land Rover just over an hour after the bail conditions were set. The vehicle, tailed by motorcycles carrying television cameramen, later pulled into the home of Pistorius’ uncle. “We are relieved at the fact that Oscar got bail today, but at the same time we are in mourning for the death of Reeva, with her family,” said Pistorius’ uncle, Arnold Pistorius. “As a family, we know Oscar’s version of what happened on that tragic night and we know that that is the truth and that will prevail in the coming court case.” Dozens of journalists and international and local television crews had converged on the red-brick courthouse to hear the decision — a sign of the global fascination with a case involving a once-inspirational athlete and his beautiful girlfriend, a law school graduate and budding reality TV show contestant. Nair said Pistorius’ sworn statement, an unusual written account of what happened during the pre-dawn hours of Feb. 14, had helped his application for bail. “I come to the conclusion that the accused has made a case to be released
on bail,” Nair said. Pistorius said he shot Steenkamp accidentally, believing she was an intruder in his house. He described “a sense of terror rushing over” him and feeling vulnerable because he stood only on his stumps before opening fire. Prosecutors say he intended to kill Steenkamp as she cowered in fear behind the locked bathroom door after a loud argument between the two. Yet despite poking holes in Pistorius’ version of events and bringing up incidents they say highlight his temper, the state’s case started to unravel during testimony by the lead investigator, Detective Warrant Officer Hilton Botha. Botha, who faces seven charges of attempted murder in an unrelated incident, was removed from the case Thursday. His replacement, the nation’s top detective, Vinesh Moonoo, stopped by the hearing briefly Friday. While Nair leveled harsh criticism at Botha for “errors” and “blunders,” he said one man does not represent an investigation and that the state could not be expected to put all “the pieces of the puzzle” together in such a short time. The prosecution accepted the judge’s decision without protest. “We’re still confident in our case,” prosecution spokesman Medupe Simasiku said. Pistorius faced the sternest bail requirements in South Africa because of the seriousness of the charge, which carries a life sentence if convicted. His defense attorneys had to prove that he would not flee the country, would not interfere with witnesses or the case, and his release would not cause public unrest.
SÁBADO 23 DE FEBRERO DE 2013
Agenda en Breve SÁBADO 23 DE FEBRERO LAREDO — Desfile del WBCA Anheuser-Busch, a partir de las 9 a.m. por el sur de San Bernardo. Bancas a 5 dólares. LAREDO — WBCA presenta el Festival Jalapeño, de 3 p.m. a 1 a.m. con la presentación de “Intocable” en El Metro Park & Ride, Thomas y Hillside). Costo: 20 dólares. LAREDO — Presentación del Señor Internacional, a las 7 p.m. en el Laredo Civic Center. Por EU será reconocido Julián Castro, Alcalde de San Antonio; y, por México, Benjamín Galván Gómez, presidente de Nuevo Laredo. Habrá música de mariachi y espectáculo de comediantes. Costo: 50 dólares por persona. LAREDO — La exhibición “Algorithm”, de Berrones, se presenta a partir de las 8p.m. en The Gram Kracker, 1701 Jacaman Rd Ste. 1. Habrá música en vivo a cargo de Archer Crab and Jewels in the Sky. NUEVO LAREDO, México — Exhibición de Reliquias Sagradas de Buda y otros Maestros Budistas, de 10 a.m. a 7 p.m. en el Espacio Cultural de la Antigua Aduana “Sergio Peña”. Son bienvenidos personas de todas las creencias. Entrada gratuita. NUEVO LAREDO, México — Estación Palabra presenta “Bazar de Arte” a las 12 p.m.; Festival Infantil, a las 2 p.m.; Coloquio colectivo titulado ’’Lo erótico como literatura’’ en Estación Palabra a las 3 p.m.; Sábados de cine, proyectando la película “Paris Je T’aime”, a las 4 p.m. Entrada libre.
Zfrontera
PÁGINA 7A
SEGURIDAD
Medida prohíbe disparar POR PAUL J. WEBER ASSOCIATED PRESS
AUSTIN — Casi cuatro meses después de que un policía de Texas disparó desde un helicóptero contra una camioneta que iba a toda velocidad sobre la frontera entre México y Estados Unidos matando a dos inmigrantes guatemaltecos, las autoridades estatales informaron que se les ha prohibido a los oficiales a que disparen desde el aire a menos que sean atacados. Steve McCraw, director del Departamento de Seguridad Pública de Texas (DPS, por sus siglas en inglés), anunció el jueves el cambio de política mientras enfrentaba preguntas de los legisladores sobre la letal persecución cerca de La Joya en octubre. La oficina indicó que, por error, se pensó que la camioneta transportaba droga
y un oficial disparó para inutilizar el vehículo porque se dirigía hacia una zona escolar. McCraw siguió justificando la respuesta armada, aunque dio a conocer las nuevas normas que ahora la prohíben. “Estoy convencido de que ahora, desde un helicóptero, no debemos disparar a menos que haya un disparo o alguien esté disparando”, dijo el funcionario. De acuerdo con la nueva política del DPS, “una descarga de armas de fuego desde una aeronave está autorizada sólo cuando un oficial crea razonablemente que el sospechoso ha utilizado o está a punto de utilizar fuerza letal o un arma contra la tripulación aérea, oficiales en tierra o terceras partes inocentes”. Un sospechoso conduciendo agresiva o negligentemente no implica el uso de un arma letal, esta-
blece la nueva política. La Asociación Nacional para la Defensa de los Derechos Civiles (ACLU, por sus siglas en inglés) aplaudió la decisión. “Estamos aliviados de que Texas esté poniendo fin a esta práctica extrema, que ningún otro estado de la frontera suroeste ha permitido jamás”, dijo Terri Burke, directora de la ACLU en Texas. “Esperamos que esta decisión sea un paso, aunque sea pequeño, para terminar con la cultura de la violencia que se usa en la aplicación de la ley en Texas”. Las autoridades en el condado de Hidalgo siguen investigando el tiroteo, que hizo que el vehículo se accidentara en una cuneta. Dos inmigrantes sin permiso de ingreso al país murieron y un tercero resultó herido. Los oficiales dijeron que los inmigrantes heridos integraban un grupo de seis, que
MATAMOROS, MÉXICO
POLÍTICA
ACCIDENTAL
Gobierno se reduce; partido pide más recorte POR TOM RAUM ASSOCIATED PRESS
DOMINGO 24 DE FEBRERO LAREDO — Como parte de la Serie Steinway de TAMIU se presenta Larysa Davis, quien interpretará obras de Brahm. El recital inicia a las 3 p.m. Entrada gratuita. LAREDO — Extravaganza de Fuegos Artificiales de H-E-B, en L.I.F.E. Downs, por Carretera 59 Este, a las 8 p.m. Entrada gratuita. NUEVO LAREDO, México — Danza con la Compañía de Danza de Nuevo Laredo y el Instituto Artístico de Nuevo Laredo, a las 5 p.m. en el Teatro Experimental del Centro Cultural. Entrada gratuita. NUEVO LAREDO, México — Domingo de Teatro Universario presenta “Historias Íntimas del Paraíso” a las 6 p.m. en el Teatro Lucio Blanco de Casa de la Cultura. Entrada libre.
LUNES 25 DE FEBRERO NUEVO LAREDO, México — “Grupo Por Amor al Arte” presenta exposición fotográfica “Perspectivas Aleatorias” de Pepe García y Nora Signoret en Paseo Reforma, a las 5 p.m. Entrada gratuita.
MIÉRCOLES 27 DE FEBRERO LAREDO — El Taller de Ópera de LCC presenta “Viva la Mamma!” a las 7:30 p.m. en el teatro Martinez Fine Arts Center del Campus Fort McIntosh. Costo: 10 dólares. Ganancias se destinarán a becas y futuras producciones.
Foto de cortesía | Gobierno de Tamaulipas
Personal de Protección Civil y Bomberos aplican medidas para evitar que un incendio en el Centro de Acopio de Llantas de Matamoros, México, afectara a otros sectores, el domingo 17 de febrero.
Autoridades esperan medir impacto de incendio TIEMPO DE ZAPATA
E
l peritaje preliminar del incendio ocurrido en el Centro de Acopio de llantas de Matamoros, México, el domingo 17 de febrero, fue considerado accidental. Personal de la Subsecretaría de Medio Ambiente de la SEDUMA realizó una visita de protección y determinó que el incendio fue generado de manera accidental al propagarse el fuego que inició en un área de pastizal adyacente al Centro de Acopio. El fuego consumió alrededor de un 75 por ciento del millón trescientas mil llantas que estaban confinadas en el centro de acopio, según comunicado de prensa del Gobierno de Tamaulipas. La Dirección de Protección Civil en Matamoros mencionó que el incendio fue controlado en aproximadamente 24 horas. El fuego no provocó daños a domicilios, comercios o empresas que se ubican cerca del centro de acopio, ni tampoco hubo reportes de personas quemadas o intoxicadas por el humo, agregó Protección Civil. El fuego abarcó una gran superficie debido a los fuertes vientos registrados, agrega el
Foto de cortesía | Gobierno de Tamaulipas
Hasta un 75 por ciento de las llantas que fueron acumuladas durante campañas de descacharrización por el Gobierno de Matamoros, fueron afectadas por un incendio ocurrido el domingo 17 de febrero, que autoridades ecológicas asumen fue accidental. comunicado. Autoridades esperan reunirse en estos días a fin de definir acciones pertinentes para poder retirar las llantas que no se hayan quemado, así como implementar medidas para sanear el sitio, a fin de que no represente ningún riesgo para la población y se restablezcan las condiciones ambientales del sitio. Matamoros recibió recientemente una trituradora de llantas lo que les permitirá reciclar
a través de los procesos de producción de la industria cementera, según la SEDUMA. El proceso permitía reducir un promedio de 60.000 unidades por mes del total acumulado por cerca de 14 años en Matamoros, agrega el comunicado. Las llantas en el Centro de Acopio fueron acumuladas en campañas de recolección por parte de personal del municipio, o a través de los programas de descacharrización.
WASHINGTON — Republicanos y otros conservadores en materia fiscal siguen insistiendo en más austeridad federal y un gobierno más pequeño. Sin mucha fanfarria o admisión, ya han obtenido bastante de ambos. El gasto federal, de gobiernos estatales y locales en nómina, equipo, edificios, maestros, trabajadores de atención de emergencias, programas de defensa y otras funciones gubernamentales medulares ha estado encogiéndose constantemente desde la profunda recesión de 2007-2009 y mientras continúa la raquítica recuperación. Otra ronda de recortes grandes golpeará a partir del 1 de marzo, significando potencialmente el despido de cientos de miles de empleados federales a menos que el Congreso y el presidente Barack Obama puedan llegar a un acuerdo de reducción del déficit para evitarlos. Con la fecha límite a sólo una semana, Obama y los republicanos que controlan la Cámara de Representantes están muy distanciados sobre cómo resolver el estancamiento. Aunque los acuerdos presupuestales de último minuto son frecuentes en Washington, ninguna parte es optimista sobre alcanzar uno en esta ocasión. Aun cuando el sector privado han estado agregando lentamente empleos, los gobiernos han estado recortándolos, restringiendo la ganancia general de empleo y manteniendo la tasa de desempleo cerca de 8%, en comparación con niveles normales en tiempos sin recesión de 5 a 6% que han prevalecido desde la década de 1950. El crecimiento económico, mientras tanto, ha estado avanzando lentamente en un débil de 1 a 2%, lo que no es suficiente para hacer bajar significativamente la tasa de desempleo nacional, que ahora es de 7,9%. Aunque está proyectado que el gasto federal disminuirá del 22,8% del producto interno bruto registrado el año pasado a 21,5% para el 2017, aún será superior del promedio de 40 años de 21%, según la no partidista Oficina de Presupuesto del Congreso. El gasto alcanzó un máximo de 25,2% del PIB en 2009. La oficina de presupuesto agregó que la economía es aproximadamente 5,5% más pequeña de lo que hubiera sido si no hubiera habido recesión.
TAMAULIPAS
VIERNES 1 DE MARZO LAREDO — Planetario Lamar Bruni Vergara de TAMIU presenta: “Laser Retro” a las 6 p.m. y “Classic Rock Laser” a las 7 p.m. Costo: 5 dólares, niños y comunidad de TAMIU; 6 dólares, general. NUEVO LAREDO, México — “Grupo Por Amor al Arte” presenta música la colección “Séptem” de la diseñadora Fabiola Sol, en Paseo Reforma a las 5 p.m. Entrada gratuita.
iba oculto bajo una manta en la parte trasera de la camioneta. “Soy un firme creyente de que ellos (los oficiales) hicieron exactamente lo que pensaron que se necesitaba hacer”, declaró McCraw el jueves. El incidente comenzó con una persecución después de que vigilantes avistaron una camioneta pickup roja cerca de La Joya y la frontera con México, a unos 400 kilómetros (250 millas) al sur de San Antonio. Los guardianes pidieron ayuda y un helicóptero de la DPS persiguió al vehículo porque los oficiales creían que traía “una típica carga oculta de droga”. Tras el incidente, grupos civiles y el gobierno de Guatemala manifestaron su preocupación por lo sucedido. (Siga a Paul J. Weber en www.twitter.com/pauljweber)
Promueven Ciudad Mier y Tula, ‘Pueblos Mágicos’ TIEMPO DE ZAPATA
CD. VICTORIA, México — El Estado de Tamaulipas cuenta con dos ciudades consideradas ‘Pueblos Mágicos” por su riqueza cultural, que los hace puntos importantes para atraer al turismo. El actual gobierno esta-
tal espera implementar una estrategia en el renglón de turismo cultural, y los pueblos mágicos de Tula y Ciudad Mier, ésta en la frontera norte del Estado, son una parte escencial. Actualmente en Tula se lleva a cabo el rescate del centro histórico con obras de mejoramiento de ima-
gen urbana y de señalización turística. La inversión ahí es de 20 millones de pesos. “En Ciudad Mier hemos trabajando conjuntamente también para la remodelación de sus fachadas, arreglo de calles entre otras acciones de embellecimiento y rehabilitación de los si-
tios de interés”, dijo González. Ciudad de Mier cuenta con la Plaza de Armas y la Iglesia de la Purísima Concepción; la Casa de las Columnas o Edificio Consistorial, que a lo largo de la historia ha tenido múltiples funciones: ayuntamiento, cárcel y templo
masónico. En el siglo XIX, los barcos de vapor llegaban hasta Mier, cuando el Río Bravo llevaba mucha agua. Cuenta con 3 ríos, El Bravo, El Álamo y El San Juan, que dan vida a la fauna, lo cual hace de esta región un punto privilegiado para el turismo cinegético.
8A THE ZAPATA TIMES
SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 23, 2013
Ex-Legion priest: I saw improprieties By MICHELLE R. SMITH ASSOCIATED PRESS
PROVIDENCE, R.I. — A former priest for the disgraced Roman Catholic religious order the Legion of Christ said in sworn testimony that he witnessed financial improprieties at the order’s operation in Rome, including the founder’s use of large amounts of cash without any accounting, and that he believed the order’s founder and thensecond-in-command gave gifts to people at the Vatican to curry favor with them. A spokesman for the Legion said the testimony concerned things that happened years ago, and that the order’s accounting practices are now stricter. Father Stephen Fichter, who left the Legion in 2000 and is now a parish priest in New Jersey, gave the testimony in a deposition in November 2011 as part of a lawsuit brought by the niece of an elderly Rhode Island widow, Gabrielle Mee. Mee bequeathed $60 million to the Legion before she died in 2008. The deposition was included in thousands of pages released last week after The Associated Press and other news organizations fought to unseal the court records in the case. Fichter and others have discussed similar allegations in the past about practices by the Legion, a conservative order taken over by the Vatican in 2010 after a church investigation deter-
Photo by Plinio Lepri/file | AP
Pope John Paul II blesses Father Marcial Maciel, founder of the Legion of Christ, in 2004. Pope Benedict XVI took over the Legion in 2010 after an investigation showed Maciel sexually molested seminarians and fathered three kids by two women. mined that its founder, the late Rev. Marcial Maciel, lived a double life: He sexually molested seminarians and fathered three children. But the documents released in the Rhode Island lawsuit contain the first sworn testimony to publicly emerge about the allegations from Legion priests, including from the Rev. Luis Garza, the Legion’s former No. 2 official, who is currently in charge of its North American operations. Mee’s niece, Mary Lou Dauray, sued the Legion after her aunt died. She said Mee was defrauded by an order whose leaders orchestrated an effort to
hide its founder’s misdeeds from her aunt. A judge ruled in September that she did not have standing to sue, but she appealed that decision last week. Fichter was head of the order’s general administration office in Rome from 1998 to 2000, a position he describes in his testimony as similar to a chief financial officer. He said he would give Maciel $10,000 cash whenever he left Rome, including $5,000 in U.S. currency and $5,000 in the currency of the country where he was headed. “I do not know what he used that money for. He never gave an accounting of the money,”
Fichter said, adding that was inconsistent with what other order members would have to do. In a sworn deposition given the same month, Garza, who has long been known to control the Legion’s finances, said he did not know about the cash Fichter would routinely give Maciel until he read about it in the newspaper. When asked whether he or the Legion had done any audit of its finances to see if Maciel used Legion money for personal purposes, he said he didn’t know. Dauray’s lawyer, Bernard Jackvony, on Friday questioned where Maciel got the money to
support his family outside the Legion, and said Fichter’s testimony indicates it was coming from the Legion, which got it from donors including his client’s aunt. His client’s lawsuit argues Mee would not have given the Legion money if she knew about Maciel’s double life. “Mrs. Mee was one of the largest donors ever,” Jackvony said. When asked Friday if there had ever been an inquiry into Maciel’s spending, including what he spent the money on and how much, a Legion spokesman, the Rev. Benjamin Clariond, said it would be difficult to reconstruct since Maciel traveled widely, visiting Legion communities worldwide, and he died in 2008. Clariond said he doesn’t know if an inquiry has ever taken place. He said Maciel was not questioned about his use of order money at the time because he was the founder, and that in retrospect, Legion officials would have acted differently. He said that today there is a “great sense of accountability in the use of resources” at the Legion. Clariond added that Mee gave her money to the Legion, not Maciel, which is different. “We believe that our actions regarding Mrs. Mee and her estate have been both appropriate and honorable,” he said. The Maciel scandal has tarnished the legacy of Pope John Paul II.
Dozens of airports Gov: Underground could be closed nuke tanks leaking By DAVID KOENIG ASSOCIATED PRESS
DALLAS — Federal officials say air traffic control centers at 25 smaller Texas airports could close or see hours reduced if automatic federal spending cuts take effect next week. Travelers should expect delays when the cutbacks begin in April, the officials say. One of those is the Brownsville-South Padre Island International Airport. The Federal Aviation Administration said Friday that the reductions are part of its plan to cope with a spending reduction of $600 million during the rest of the fiscal year, which runs through Sept. 30. The FAA said it is considering furloughing most of its 47,000 employees for one day every two weeks — in effect, a 10 percent reduction in staffing — and closing more than 100 air traffic control centers, including 19
in Texas. Overnight shifts could be eliminated at more than 60 additional airports, including six in Texas. The largest airports, such as Dallas Fort-Worth International Airport and Houston’s Bush Intercontinental Airport, are not on FAA’s list of potential closures or cutbacks. U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood and FAA chief Michael Huerta said Friday in a letter to aviation industry trade groups that the agency “may reduce the efficiency of the national airspace in order to maintain the highest safety standards.” Flights to major cities like New York, Chicago and San Francisco could have delays of up to 90 minutes during peak hours because there will be fewer controllers on staff, they said. Airlines are likely to cancel some flights if they expect problems, similar to the way that they reduce flights during bad weather
to avoid overloading a weakened air-travel system. Automatic federal spending cuts are scheduled to take effect next Friday if Congress and President Barack Obama can’t agree on future government spending, although the deadline could be pushed back, as it was at the end of 2012. Government rules require giving workers 30 days’ notice of furloughs, which can’t start until March 1, so the slowdowns would be expected to hit in April. On Thursday, airline industry officials tried to sound optimistic that political leaders will reach a deal. “We fully expect and urge the Congress and the president to ensure that the air transportation system is not negatively impacted” by automatic spending cuts, said Dan Elwell, senior vice president for safety and operations at Airlines for America, a trade group representing the biggest U.S. airlines.
LETTER Continued from Page 1A Historians consider Travis’ words a heroic reflection of individual sacrifice for a bigger and nobler cause. Lynn Jones, a 53-year-old graphic artist from Mesquite, made a special trip to San Antonio for Friday’s event. “It’s just history,” said Jones, her face painted with the image of the Texas flag. “The hair on the back of my neck was standing up.” The state of Texas owns the letter, which carries Travis’ postscript declaration, “The Lord is on our side.” It’s been displayed before, but never in San Antonio. Its exhibition has been much less frequent in recent years to alleviate damage light causes to the fragile paper and ink. Its display case inside the Alamo is designed to block harmful ultraviolet light and control the temperature and humidity. Archivists will also monitor it. “The idea that letter is coming home after 177 years, that’s incredible, that’s phenomenal,” said Melinda Navarro, executive administrator at the Alamo. The timing coincides with the anniversary of the siege and deaths of some 180 Alamo defenders. Prominent among them were Travis, David Crockett and James Bowie. Travis and his colleagues were fighting “for princi-
ples of the American Revolution, democracy and representative government and against an enemy they considered in contrast to those principles,” Baylor University history professor Michael Parrish said. “This was very messy democracy, but nevertheless everything dear to the American character, and he proclaimed he would rather die than surrender.” The Alamo’s enclosure for the document is bulletproof, but guards will be stationed by the exhibit and visitors will be wanded with hand-held metal detectors. Normally, tourists are allowed to walk into the shrine without such a scan. Denton County Sheriff Will Travis, a fifth-generation nephew of his namesake uncle, read the letter aloud during Friday’s ceremonies. “It was a humbling moment,” said Travis, who grew up in Mississippi and is a descendant of John Travis, one of the Alamo Travis’ nine siblings. He was besieged afterward by people asking him to sign copies of the document. Texas Land Commissioner Jerry Patterson’s office assumed ownership of the Alamo in 2011 and he proposed last year the letter be shown to the public, at least temporarily. “One of my goals is to try to keep my voice from breaking, or getting too
misty eyed,” Patterson told the several hundred people at the ceremony. “I’m of the opinion every Texan in their lifetime should be able to eyeball the document.” Travis wrote the letter from a room across the plaza from the mission’s main entrance. The spot is now a Ripley’s Haunted Adventure, part of a block-long strip of tourist businesses. A courier on horseback slipped through the Mexican lines outside the Alamo under cover of night so it could get published. After the war, the letter somehow was returned to Travis’ family in Alabama. Travis’ great-great grandson sold it to the state of Texas in 1893 for $85, or $2,179 in presentday dollars.
By SHANNON DININNY ASSOCIATED PRESS
YAKIMA, Wash. — Six underground tanks that hold a brew of radioactive and toxic waste at the nation’s most contaminated nuclear site are leaking, federal and state officials said Friday. Washington Gov. Jay Inslee said the leaking material poses no immediate risk to public safety or the environment because it would take a while — perhaps years — to reach groundwater. But the leaking tanks raise new concerns about delays for emptying them and strike another blow to efforts to clean up southcentral Washington’s Hanford nuclear reservation, where successes often are overshadowed by delays, budget overruns and technological challenges. Department of Energy spokeswoman Lindsey Geisler said there was no immediate health risk and said federal officials would work with Washington state to address the matter. State officials just last week announced that one of Hanford’s 177 underground tanks was leaking 150 to 300 gallons a year, posing a risk to groundwater and rivers. So far, nearby monitoring wells haven’t detected higher radioactivity levels. Inslee traveled to Washington, D.C., this week to discuss the problem with
federal officials. He said Friday that he learned in meetings that six tanks are leaking waste. “We received very disturbing news today,” the governor said. “I think that we are going to have a course of new action and that will be vigorously pursued.” The federal government built the Hanford facility at the height of World War II as part of the Manhattan Project to build the atomic bomb. The remote site produced plutonium for the bomb dropped on Nagasaki, Japan, and continued supporting the nation’s nuclear weapons arsenal for years. Today, it is the most contaminated nuclear site in the country, still surrounded by sagebrush but with Washington’s Tri-Cities of Richland, Kennewick and Pasco several miles downriver. Hanford’s tanks hold some 53 million gallons of highly radioactive waste — enough to fill dozens of Olympic-size swimming pools — and many of those tanks are known to have leaked in the past. An estimated 1 million gallons of radioactive liquid already leaked there. The tanks also are long past their intended 20-year life span — raising concerns that more tanks could be leaking — though they were believed to have been stabilized in 2005. Inslee said the falling
waste levels in the six tanks were missed because only a narrow band of measurements was evaluated, rather than a wider band that would have shown the levels changing over time. “It’s like if you’re trying to determine if climate change is happening, only looking at the data for today,” he said. “Perhaps human error, the protocol did not call for it. But that’s not the most important thing at the moment. The important thing now is to find the leakers.” There are legal, moral and ethical considerations to cleaning up the Hanford site at the national level, Inslee said, adding he will continue to insist that the Energy Department completely clean up the site. He also stressed the state would impose a “zero-tolerance” policy on radioactive waste leaks. Cleanup is expected to last decades and cost billions of dollars. The federal government already spends $2 billion each year on Hanford cleanup — one-third of its entire budget for nuclear cleanup nationally. The Energy Department has said it expects funding levels to remain the same for the foreseeable future, but a new Energy Department report released this week includes annual budgets of as much as $3.5 billion during some years of the cleanup effort.
SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 23, 2013
THE ZAPATA TIMES 9A
MARIA DE JESUS RIVERA Maria De Jesus Rivera, 101, passed away Saturday, Feb. 16, 2013, at Laredo Medical Center in Laredo, Texas. Ms. Rivera is preceded in death by her husband, Eutimio Rivera-Jasso; sons, Antonio G. Rivera and Jose Alfredo (Rafaela) RiveraGonzalez; daughter, Maria Adelfa R. Hinojosa; grandchildren, Jose Antonio Rivera, Jose Agapito Hinojosa and Julio Cesar Rivera; and by a great-grandchild, Randy Joel Heinlein. Ms. Rivera is survived by her children, Maria Magdalena Rivera-Gonzalez, Maria Candelaria R. Alaniz, Maria Guadalupe R. Benavides, Armando (Enedelia B.) Rivera and Jose Ramiro (Sylvia) Rivera; by numerous grandchildren, great-grandchildren, great-great-grandchildren; and by numerous other family members. Visitation hours were Tuesday, Feb. 19, 2013, from noon to 2:30 p.m. at Rose Garden Funeral Home. The funeral procession
Continued from Page 1A
departed at 2:30 p.m. for a 3 p.m. funeral Mass at Our Lady of Lourdes Catholic Church. Committal services followed at Zapata County Cemetery. Funeral arrangements were under the direction of Rose Garden Funeral Home, Daniel A. Gonzalez, funeral director, 2102 N. U.S. 83 Zapata, TX.
CYNTHIA GONZALEZ and ROMEO JONATHAN JUAREZ Cynthia Gonzalez, 23, and her baby, Romeo Jonathan Juarez, passed away Friday, Feb. 15, 2013, at Laredo Medical Center in Laredo, Texas. Ms. Gonzalez is preceded in death by her mother, Brenda Margret Salinas. Ms. Gonzalez is survived by her husband, Benito Juarez; son, Benjamin Nathan Juarez; father, Jose Gonzalez; sister, Joanna E. Gonzalez; paternal grandfather, Santos Castillo; paternal grandmother, Josephine C. Castillo; maternal grandmother, Amelia Gonzalez; uncles and aunt, Juan Luis (Olga) Gonzalez, Noelia (Roberto) Maldonado and Arturo (Melissa) Gonzalez; and by numerous other family members. Visitation hours were Monday, Feb.18, 2013, from noon to 2:30 p.m. at Rose Garden Funeral Home. The funeral procession departed at 2:30 p.m. for a 3 p.m. funeral Mass at Our Lady of Lourdes Catholic
FAIR
Church. Committal services followed at Zapata County Cemetery. Funeral arrangements were under the direction of Rose Garden Funeral Home, Daniel A. Gonzalez, funeral director, 2102 N. U.S. 83 Zapata, TX.
winners in each category will be part of our royalty throughout the year and at the parade,” she said. The Queen’s Contest will begin at 2 p.m. on Sunday. “This event is sold out and is featuring four beautiful juniors from Zapata High School,” Gutierrez said. Competing this year are Leanna Saenz, Krysta Lozano, Cassandra Peña and Celia Rathmell. The winner will be chosen by a panel of three judges and will be crowned by outgoing queen Sofia Regalado. “The contestants will be judged based on their western attire, talent, evening wear and their answer(s) to an impromptu question,” Gutierrez said. She added a Miss Geneology Award and a People’s Choice Award will also be featured on Sunday. The chosen queen and her court will participate in the trail ride taking place on Saturday, March 2. “The trail ride is a big tradition and a huge part of the Zapata County Fair,” said 2013 Zapata County Fair President Jose F. “Paco” Mendoza Jr. He explained the trail ride starts in Bustamante at the Bustamante Roping Arena at about 8 a.m. and heads into Zapata. The ride is about 15 miles long. “Quite a few of the riders are local riders, but we do have many of them coming from out of town. We will probably have between 100 to 150 people on horseback,” Mendoza said. Animal weigh-ins, exhibits and judging will begin Thursday, March 7, at the Zapata County Pavilion. On Friday, March 8, events and judging will continue and the fair will culminate Saturday, March 9, with the grand parade, auction and street dance, among other events. Mendoza said new at the fair this year will be country music entertainment. “We’ve always had Norteño or Tejano music,” Mendoza said, adding that Texas country music star Kevin Fowler will be the headliner for Friday, March 8. (Rick Villarreal may be reached at 728-2528 or rvillarreal@lmtonline.com)
‘EL CHAPO’ Continued from Page 1A El Universal reported last week that it could find no documentation that such a police raid had occurred. Lopez blamed the mingling of fact and fiction for the latest false alarm. “There’s always been rumors, or information, around Chapo: that he’s entered Guatemala, that he went to Honduras, that he’s back in Guatemala, that he went home to Mexico,” Lopez said. In a separate interview with Mexico’s MVS Radio, Lopez acknowledged that the first word of a dead drug traf-
ficker with a likeness to Guzman had come from news reports, not official sources. Even so, the reports were so insistent that President Otto Perez Molina summoned a meeting of his Security Cabinet, the Guatemalan army’s First Brigade was mobilized to the hamlet of San Valentin in the Peten region and Mexico prepared DNA records to verify the identity of the supposed body, Lopez said. Guzman already had been on the minds of newspaper readers in Guatemala. Prensa Libre this week published ex-
cerpts from an internal email of the Stratfor private security and analysis firm that were released by WikiLeaks. “We believe that el Chapo is currently hiding in Peten, Guatemala, near the Mexican border,” the email from Feb. 24, 2010, read in part. On the surface, such an analysis would be surprising. A bloody rival to Guzman’s Sinaloa cartel, Los Zetas, began moving into the relatively lawless Peten region of northern Guatemala in 2009 and had grown fairly entrenched there within a year.
BUDGET Continued from Page 1A lion in domestic and defense spending with hardly any leeway to save some programs from the budget knife. In detailing the costs of the cuts, President Barack Obama is seeking to raise the public’s awareness while also applying pressure on congressional Republicans who oppose his blend of targeted savings and tax increases to tackle federal deficits. “I’ve been very clear that these kinds of arbitrary, automatic cuts would have an adverse impact on families, on teachers, on parents who are reliant on Head Start programs, on our military readiness, on mental health services, on medical research,” Obama said Friday. “This is not a smart way for us to reduce the deficit.” Just in case those consequences didn’t capture the public’s attention, the White House also had Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood spell out the impact on travelers, a frequent-flier nightmare of 90-minute airport waits, limited flights and closed regional airports. LaHood said the cuts would require slicing more than $600 million from the Federal Aviation Administration, resulting in furloughs of one day per pay period for a majority of the agency’s 47,000 employees. “Once airlines see the potential impact of these furloughs, we expect that they will change their schedules and cancel flights,” LaHood said. Moreover, he said, the Transportation Department is looking “to likely close” air traffic control towers at 100 airports that have fewer than 150,000 flight operations per year. “We’re talking about places like Boca Raton, Fla.; Joplin, Mo.; Hilton Head, S.C.; and San Marcos, Texas,” he said. All in all, nearly two-thirds of the airports are concentrated in three states — California, Florida and Texas. In a statement, Airlines for America, an industry group, said the organization, the FAA and airline carriers would be meeting soon to plan for potential cutbacks. “Air transportation is a key driver of our economy, and should not be used as a political football,” the statement said. Paul Rinaldi, the president of the National Air Traffic Controllers Association, said the reductions will not just inconvenience passengers, it will also affect local economies and result in more lost jobs. “The fact that they will not just be furloughing critical FAA personnel but closing air traffic control towers means the system will be even more compromised than anticipated,” he added. Throughout the administration, agency heads have been depicting an onerous after-effect to the cuts. The federal government is required to spell out the consequences to federal workers, but the details are also designed to warn lawmakers that the cuts could have a fearsome result: angry constituents. Some of the warnings: Defense Secretary Leon Panetta last week said that automatic cuts, known in Washington budget language as a sequester, would harm the readiness of U.S. fighting forces and he said the “vast majority” of the Defense Department’s 800,000 civilian workers would have to lose one day of work per week, or 20 percent of their pay, for up to 22 weeks, probably starting in late April. The biggest potential losses,
in terms of total civilian payroll dollars, would be in Virginia, California, Maryland, Texas and Georgia, according to figures provided by the Pentagon. On Friday, the director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said cuts of more than $300 million to his agency would mean less money to solve outbreaks, fight hospital infections and keep illnesses overseas from making their way here. For instance, Dr. Tom Frieden said, the cuts could limit the agency’s investigation of a tuberculosis outbreak in Los Angeles. At the National Park Service, employees would be furloughed for more than a month, hours would be cut and sensitive areas would be blocked off to the public when there are staff shortages, according to a park service memo obtained by The Associated Press. The giant sequoias at Yosemite National Park in California would go unprotected from visitors who might trample their shallow roots. At Cape Cod National Seashore, large sections of the Great Beach would close to keep eggs from being destroyed if natural resource managers are cut. Programs on the chopping block include invasive species eradication in Yosemite and comfort stations on the Natchez Trace Parkway in Mississippi. Gettysburg would decrease by one-fifth the number of school children who learn about the historic battle that was a turning point in the Civil War. And in Yosemite, park administrators fear that less frequent trash pickup would potentially attract bears into campgrounds. “We’re planning for this to happen and hoping that it doesn’t,” said Park Service spokesman Jeffrey Olson. Over the years, budget threats have inevitably resulted in grim warnings, no matter which administration, about calamitous consequences. Many have been avoided; others have been short-lived. But Obama administration officials say they are not exaggerating or bluffing. The cuts, with few exceptions, are designed to hit all accounts equally. The law gives Obama little leeway to ease the pain. Even if granted flexibility to apply the cuts with more discretion — a legislative step Republicans say they might pursue — White House officials say that would still require severe reductions. “It’s essentially rearranging the deck chairs on the Titanic,” Obama senior adviser Dan Pfeiffer said of such a proposal in a recent interview. LaHood, in response to a question, denied that he was simply describing a worst-case scenario that would scare the public and put pressure on Republican lawmakers. “What I’m trying to do,” he said, “is wake up members of the Congress with the idea that they need to come to the table so we don’t have to have this kind of calamity in air services in America.” The Democratic governors, after meeting with Obama, also kept up the drumbeat of opposition to the cuts, saying state economies would be hurt by the cuts. Vermont Gov. Peter Shumlin, chairman of the Democratic Governors Association, said states have seen increased employment but that their prosperity is being hindered by “the games being played by the Republicans in Congress.”
10A THE ZAPATA TIMES
SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 23, 2013
SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 23, 2013
ON THE WEB: THEZAPATATIMES.COM
Sports&Outdoors MAJOR LEAGUE BASEBALL: SPRING TRAINING
Finding his swing Photo by Brandon Wade | AP
Texas Rangers CEO Nolan Ryan disagrees with the common opinion that the Rangers had a bad offseason.
Ryan: ‘We’re a better club’ Rangers’ Hall of Fame CEO is excited about looming season By STEPHEN HAWKINS ASSOCIATED PRESS Photo by David J. Phillip | AP
ican League this year, have had a DH in only a handful of interleague and postseason games, and Pena has been a DH for only 45 games in a 12-year career. There is a good chance he will make it 46 in the season opener against the Tex-
SURPRISE, Ariz. — Nolan Ryan laughs when he hears people describe the Texas Rangers offseason as a disaster and the worst in team history. While the Rangers were unable to re-sign fivetime All-Star slugger Josh Hamilton, failed to lure pitcher Zack Greinke to Texas and traded Michael Young, Ryan still expects the team to be very competitive this season because of how they recovered after the disappointment of the early part of free agency. Hamilton opted to sign with the AL West-rival Los Angeles Angels only days after Greinke took
See ASTROS PAGE 2B
See RANGERS PAGE 2B
Houston Astros infielder Carlos Pena may become the Astros first full-time designated hitter with the team moving into the American League West.
Pena may be Houston’s full-time DH By DICK SCANLON
er.
ASSOCIATED PRESS
“I take so much pride in my glove,” Pena said Wednesday. “I think that’s something people can overlook. I always tell myself no one takes groundballs the way I do at first base; no one has the same type of mentality.” The Astros, moving to the Amer-
KISSIMMEE, Fla. — Carlos Pena may become the first regular designated hitter of the Houston Astros. It would take some getting used to, both for the team and the play-
A PATH LESS TAKEN By PAUL NEWBERRY ASSOCIATED PRESS
KISSIMMEE, Fla. — Spring training is all about those on the fringes. The phenoms looking to make their mark. The geezers trying desperately to hang on. The never-heard-ofs attempting to pull off the camp of their
lives. For some reason, that warm Florida sun (Arizona sun works, too) makes all things seem possible. Then there’s Evan Gattis, a 26-year-old who is so compelling that everyone else pales in comparison. He walked away from the game not long after high school, absolutely terrified of being a
failure and figuring there must be something better out there. There were bouts with depression and drugs, a series of menial jobs ranging from valet to janitor to cart boy at a golf course. He traveled throughout the West, seeking out wandering souls such as himself and spiri-
See GATTIS PAGE 2B
Photo by David J. Phillip | AP
Atlanta Braves catcher Evan Gattis puts on his gear during a spring training workout on Wednesday in Kissimmee, Fla.
NATIONAL BASKETBALL ASSOCIATION
NATIONAL FOOTBALL LEAGUE: SCOUTING COMBINE
Jackson rejoins Spurs
Joeckel impresses teams
By MIKE MONROE
By TOM ORSBORN
SAN ANTONIO EXPRESS-NEWS
SAN ANTONIO EXPRESS-NEWS
LOS ANGELES — Returning to the game he loves and the team he considers family, Spurs guard-forward Stephen Jackson suited up on Thursday for the first time since learning last week that his wife, Renata, had lost the child she had been carrying for six-and-a-half months. Though Jackson said nothing can salve the pain of losing a child that would have been the first for the couple, who married in 2011, he believes playing basketball and being around teammates will be therapeutic. “I’m as good as I can be,” Jackson said before Thursday’s Spurs-Clippers game at Staples Center. “I’m happy to be back with the team. I need to be back with the team,
INDIANAPOLIS — For some top draft prospects, the NFL Scouting Combine can be a source of anxiety. They’re nervous knowing one misstep or botched drill could cost them draft spots and millions of dollars. Luke Joeckel isn’t one of those guys. The fiercely competitive Texas A&M product is eager to show NFL teams he’s the best offensive tackle in the draft and worthy of the No. 1 overall pick in April. “I’m trying to do every-
See SPURS PAGE 2B
Photo by Billy Calzada | San Antonio Express-News
The Spurs’ Stephen Jackson returned after learning his wife had lost the child she had been carrying.
Photo by Stacy Revere | AP
Texas A&M’s Luke Joeckel is expected to be the NFL’s No. 1 overall draft pick. thing right to make sure that happens,” Joeckel said Thursday. “I know it’s a competition between me and the other
tackles, guys like (Central Michigan’s Eric Fisher and Oklahoma’s Lane
See JOECKEL PAGE 2B
PAGE 2B
Zscores
SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 23, 2013
GATTIS Continued from Page 1B tual advisers who could help make sense of it all. Finally, something clicked. Baseball, the sport he once fled from, was what he needed all along. In a way, he’s come to the right place. The Braves conduct spring training on the sprawling grounds of Walt Disney World, just down the road from the Magic Kingdom, a place that turned make believe into a very profitable business. Sure, he’s a longshot. But ol’ Walt would’ve loved this tale. Gattis was initially offered a scholarship to play baseball at Texas A&M. He never made it. “I was smoking a lot of pot,” he recalls. “I knew I was talented. I knew a lot of people were rooting for me. I just didn’t want people to think I was a mess-up, basically. I was scared. ... I was afraid of being
looked at as a failure.” His mother checked him into rehab, where he tackled some of his demons but not his longing for the meaning of life. He gave baseball another try, attending a junior college in Oklahoma, but his heart wasn’t in it. He hurt his knee and was redshirted, then left school midway through the next season. He finally found what he was looking for in California, where yet another spiritual mentor cracked a code that is still hard to understand. “He kind of cleared up anything I had going on,” Gattis remembers. “I don’t know how to put it in words. I was just done looking for whatever it was I was looking for. I was done with it. It cleared up in kind of a final way where, without a shadow of a doubt, I just knew I didn’t have to do that anymore.”
Even at an age when most people are done with college, Gattis learned he was still eligible to play ball. In 2010, he enrolled at the University of Texas of the Permian Basin. After batting over .400, he was drafted by the Braves in the 23rd round. An unorthodox prospect approaching his mid-20s, Gattis was hardly put on a fast-track to the majors, but he kept winning over the brass with his impressive hitting numbers. He batted .322 with 22 homers in the South Atlantic League. Last season, he split time between three minorleague teams and hit a cumulative .305 with 18 homers. If Gattis had chosen a more traditional course, he might already be an established big leaguer. But he has absolutely no regrets about his journey and, really, that’s what we all should be striving for.
Photo by John Raoux | AP
NASCAR appears set to make baseline concussion tests mandatory for all drivers in 2014.
NASCAR set for concussion tests By DAN GELSTON ASSOCIATED PRESS
JOECKEL Continued from Page 1B Johnson) … That’s one of the fun parts about the combine — the competition aspect of it, going against some of the best athletes at your position in the country.” Most experts believe the 6-foot-6, 306-pound Joeckel will emerge victorious. “He’s a big time prospect, athletic, smart and a quick learner,” said Houston Texans coach Gary Kubiak, himself an A&M alumnus. “He’s a slam dunk at left tackle, the kind of guy everyone is looking for to play that position.” Without a clear-cut top-10 quarterback in the draft, it’s possible Kansas City could use the No. 1 pick on Joeckel. Although Chiefs coach Andy Reid said the club is open to trading the pick, he also made it clear he likes the Outland Trophy winner. “I tell you, he’s a pretty good football player,” Reid said. An Arlington native, Joeckel said it’s “just crazy” to think he could be selected first overall. “Starting football in the second grade, you don’t really think about that kind of stuff,” he said. “Just getting a chance to play in the NFL has been a dream come true.” Asked if he’d like to play for the Chiefs, Joeckel said, “That’d be a cool place to go. I’ve been to Kansas City once before, and I loved the barbeque there.” Kidding aside, Joeckel believes he’s well prepared for the NFL after a season in the rugged Southeastern Conference.
Photo by Michael Conroy | AP
Texas A&M offensive lineman Luke Joeckel answers a question during a news conference at the NFL scouting combine in Indianapolis on Thursday. “SEC defensive lines are the best in the country,” he said. “Going from the Big 12 to the SEC, you can see a difference. It’s a great stepping stone to go to the NFL after playing against the top guys I played against.” Joeckel also benefited from playing with Aggies right tackle Jake Matthews, a first-team All-SEC pick and the son of Hall of Famer Bruce Matthews, who starred as an offensive lineman for the Houston Oilers and Tennessee Titans during a 20-year career that ended after the 2001 season. Jake Matthews decided last month to stay with the Aggies rather than follow Joeckel’s lead and declare for the draft as an un-
derclassman. “A lot of me being a great player is a credit to him and (vice versa),” Joeckel said. “We compete every single day in the weight room. We lift together, we run, we do all our drills against each other … He’s almost been a brother. It just helps so much the way we compete.” Titans coach Mike Munchak can relate. He earned a spot in the Hall of Fame after playing alongside Matthews with the Oilers from 1982-93. “Those guys helped each other similar to how Bruce and I did all those years of watching each other and competing,” Munchak said. “They’re very competitive and it’s helped their developments.”
SPURS Continued from Page 1B just for my own sanity. Basketball and being around these guys helps me a lot, so it’s definitely something I needed.” Jackson learned of the loss while the Spurs were on the first phase of the rodeo road trip. He left the team after it arrived in Chicago for a game on Feb. 11, missing games in Chicago, Cleveland and Sacramento. Spurs coach Gregg Popovich told Jackson to take as much time away from the team as he needed. “It was an unfortunate situation,” he said, “very frustrating and emotional and I’m nowhere close to being over it. “My wife is not doing too well, so I’m happy I had a coach like Pop who gave me the time to be with her. In order for me to help her I also have to help myself because this was a baby we were definitely looking forward to having. Being back with the team hopefully is going to help me be able to help my wife even more.” Jackson said daily phone calls from Spurs captain Tim Duncan and support from other members of the Spurs family, from owner Peter Holt to general manager R.C. Buford and broadcaster Sean Elliott, have helped him cope.
“The family atmosphere of this organization is one of a kind,” he said. “Luckily, I’m on this Spurs team while I’m going through this situation because it’s definitely helpful being around these guys.”
Leonard sits Staring small forward Kawhi Leonard was held out of Thursday’s game because of soreness in his left knee, a recurrence of an issue that kept him out of 16 games earlier this season. Popovich said the decision to sit Leonard was precautionary. “We’re a little concerned about overplaying him right now with that knee,” he said. “We’ll probably get it looked at when we get back into (San Antonio). We don’t think it’s anything structural. In the last MRI there was nothing structural but he’s had a good amount of pain and stiffness so we’re going to make sure we’re not doing anything that would keep him from playing heavy minutes come playoff time.”
ASTROS Continued from Page 1B as Rangers on April 2. With 191 home runs over the last six seasons, the left-handed hitter fits the description of what Houston is looking for in a DH. “I think the DH is a luxury,” manager Bo Porter said. “When Jeff (general manager Luhnow) and I talked about a DH, we talked about a player who could actually go in and play a position. That’s a reason we targeted Carlos Pena — No. 1, he has experience as a DH. There’s a craft to it. Everybody can’t do it. What you don’t want is for a guy to just go up and pinch hit four times.” At age 34 and coming off a rough year with the Tampa Bay Rays in which he hit .197 and struck out 182 times, Pena might seem like an odd fit in the clubhouse of the young, low-budget Astros. But this is pretty close to home on several levels. “This is my kind of envi-
ronment,” he said. “We’ve got a lot of young kids who don’t take things for granted. I love to see that. When everything is set in your life, there is a tendency to take it for granted. I don’t ever want to feel like I’ve got it; I want to feel every single day like: ‘Thank you, God, for this uni today.”’ That’s the way Pena felt in 2006 when he was released by the Tigers, Yankees and Red Sox within a period of seven months. The Rays were going to send him to the minors to start the 2007 season when an injury opened a roster spot. Pena would hit 46 home runs that year, still a Rays record. He won a Gold Glove in their pennant-winning season of 2008, then shared the 2009 AL home run championship despite missing the final 25 games with a broken hand. Now he is back in the
position of having to prove he can still get around on a quality fastball. He does not want to be results-oriented in the exhibition season which starts Saturday. “My main purpose is to have some good at bats, to groove some balls, to square some balls up and get that rhythm and timing going,” he said. “I’ve noticed that when I focus on what I’ve got in front of me, then everything else kind of falls into place. So if I hit a home run, ‘Oh, OK,’ but I know all I was trying to do was see the ball and square it up.” And he will continue to take ground balls with the same level of concentration, even if he plays first base only occasionally. “Of course I want to play first every single day. I love fielding. I want to do it as long as I can,” he said. “However, I’m part of this ball club and I just
want to be ready for whatever our manager decides is the way to use me.” NOTES: A 50-year-old Roger Clemens said he was throwing at “about 70 percent” to Astros regulars in a batting practice session Wednesday. “I’m thankful that I’ve taken great care of my body for the most part, and if my sister didn’t make all those cookies and they didn’t have Starbucks, I’d probably be in real game shape right now,” said Clemens, an Astros special consultant ... Lucas Harrell will face the Philadelphia Phillies in the Astros’ exhibition opener at Clearwater on Saturday. Then it will be Bud Norris against the New York Mets on Sunday, Philip Humber against the St. Louis Cardinals on Monday, Erik Bedard and Jordan Lyles in split-squad starts on Tuesday, and Alex White on Wednesday.
DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. — Jeff Gordon can admit it now. Even with the sweeping changes in how sports treats head injuries, Gordon had never heard of the standard test that offers a tangible measure of what’s going on in the brain after a concussion. Dale Earnhardt Jr. made Gordon aware and put NASCAR on notice that the way drivers deal with concussions is as outdated as the Car of Tomorrow. Long a favorite pitchman as NASCAR’s most popular driver, Earnhardt’s weighty plug to his fellow drivers these days: Don’t ignore or hide the troubling symptoms of a concussion, and take an ImPACT test to aid in recovery. Gordon, his Hendrick Motorsports teammate, listened and voluntarily took a baseline concussion test before the start of the season.
NASCAR appears set to make baseline concussion tests mandatory for all drivers in 2014. Steve O’Donnell, NASCAR’s senior vice president of racing operations, said officials had already urged drivers to take an ImPACT test before this season. It’s a critical move in a sport where brutal blows to the head are always a risk with every 200 mph wallop into a wall. O’Donnell said NASCAR had identified 32 concussions in their top three national series since 2004, including three last season. The one suffered by Earnhardt forced NASCAR concussions right into the spotlight. ImPACT testing is only the latest step in bolstering driver safety. But winning over the entire field with real proof that testing works and that putting the final decision in taking the seat in the hands of doctors is the right call will take time.
RANGERS Continued from Page 1B a big deal from the Dodgers. “We stepped back, assessed the situation and were able to accomplish some things that needed to be done as far as strengthening our ballclub,” Ryan said Friday after arriving in Arizona for spring training. “I think we’re a better ballclub today than we were the day Josh signed with the Angels. That’s the way I look at it.” Ryan said he is excited about the offseason additions of A.J. Pierzynski and Lance Berkman and what they can bring offensively to the Rangers. Asked if the Rangers were better without Hamilton, Ryan said it was a complex situation. Before his surge with the Rangers the past five seasons, the 31-year-old slugger and former No. 1 overall pick had a history of alcohol and substance abuse that delayed the start of his big league career. He had two known relapses with alcohol during his time in Texas. “You just don’t replace a talent like that and we all know that,” Ryan said. “But also, there’s a dimension that’s brought to the ballclub that very few players if any other player in baseball would bring. It’s so unique and unusual that you can’t put other players in that category.” Hamilton, the 2010 AL MVP, riled up some Rangers fans last week when in an interview with a Dallas television station said that “there are true baseball fans in Texas, but it’s not a true baseball town.” Ryan said he figures Hamilton is making an adjustment “mentally and emotionally” to being in a new environment with a new team and with how last season ended. Hamilton struggled down the stretch while the Rangers lost a five-game division lead over the last nine games of the regular season. The Hall of Fame pitcher is going into his sixth season as the Rangers president, and for the first time in three years they’re not heading into a season as defending American League champions. They didn’t even win a game last
October. After blowing the AL West title, the Rangers lost the first one-and-one AL wild-card playoff game. “I think emotionally we were drained as a club, physically we were drained as a club,” Ryan said. “I think with the history of our ballclub, two previous years, our expectation was they were going to get it together and play at a level we felt like they were capable of playing and it just didn’t happen.” Ryan said he was concerned about the team in the second half of the season and kept hoping it was just temporary. He said there were telltale signs something wasn’t right, but when asked what those were said he’d have to really think about it. “I’ve kind of blocked that out of my mind,” he said. In a 30-minute session with reporters, Ryan also said he doesn’t have a feel who is a favorite for the No. 5 spot in the starting rotation. But he described Martin Perez as “a very talented kid that has three pitches.” As for 20-year-old top prospect Jurickson Profar, Ryan believes the middle infielder should at least start the season in the minor leagues if he’s not going to be able to play consistently in the majors. That might be difficult behind second baseman Ian Kinsler and shortstop Elvis Andrus, both AllStars. “If we can’t get him the at-bats that I think are appropriate for his development, then we’d probably be doing him a disservice to have him as a utility guy, and not getting the at-bats and opportunity to play every day,” Ryan said, putting that number at 350. “He’s on the verge of being an everyday ball player in the big leagues is the way I view him.” Profar’s minor league stop would be Triple-A Round Rock. “I don’t think anybody in Round Rock would be disappointed if he came there,” Ryan, whose family is part of the group that owns the team, said with a chuckle.
SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 23, 2013
THE ZAPATA TIMES 3B
HINTS | BY HELOISE A METHOD FOR PAYING BILLS Dear Readers: One of the jobs most people dread is making out and PAYING BILLS! It’s easy to put off, but don’t let your bills be late, because you will end up paying more in interest and late fees. Try the following hints to help keep things a bit more organized: When you get home from work, instead of just sitting down, why not take time to do a few small things, like paying bills or sorting paperwork? Or, do the “work” while watching TV and the endless commercials come on! Keep a basket with bills and other paperwork by your chair. You also can place birthday or other-occasion cards that need to be sent in the basket. An additional Heloise Hint: Try to get in the habit of paying bills on a schedule — say, every Wednesday or on the first and 15th. Hope this helps you stay a little better or-
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HELOISE
ganized and get bill paying done on time. — Heloise P.S.: If you pay bills online, it’s important to keep up with due dates, and be aware that some online banking services are not 24/7. Check with yours to see what the cutoff date and time are. It could be midnight on Friday, and the payment won’t “go out” until Monday. PET PAL Dear Readers: Kathy Wan of Carrollton, Texas, sent in a photo of her cat, Miss Babe, lying next to the window watching for squirrels. Kathy says, “She stays on watch until she goes to sleep.” To see Miss Babe on squirrel watch, visit my website at www. Heloise.com and click on “Pets.” — Heloise
DENNIS THE MENACE
FAMILY CIRCUS
PEANUTS
GARFIELD
DAILY CRYPTOQUOTES — Here’s how to work it:
DILBERT
4B THE ZAPATA TIMES
SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 23, 2013