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ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT CENTER
FALCON LAKE
County told to name directors
Angling for fish
By NICK GEORGIOU THE ZAPATA TIMES
The Zapata County Economic Development Center is at risk of losing funding from Zapata County if it does not allow Commissioners Court to appoint the majority of the nonprofit’s board of directors. That stipulation is spelled out in a proposed memorandum of understanding between the center and the county.
See BOARD PAGE 12A
Sportsmen flood lake despite threat of violence By DUDLEY ALTHAUS HOUSTON CHRONICLE
Casting aside warnings of deadly peril and the ongoing gunbattles just across the water, anglers are pouring once again onto Falcon Lake, the border reservoir that many insist offers the finest bass fishing in the world. The lust for lunkers — as the poodle-sized fish are called — has trumped fear of El Lazca, leader of the gangsters terrorizing the mesquite-choked ranchlands along the lake’s Mexican shore.
“It’s picking up, “ said San Antonian Paul Hulin, 58, who rolled into the town of Zapata this week for three days of bass-chasing with a buddy, a registered firearm and what appeared to be an expensively effective boat. “You can’t keep fishermen away from fish.” The sportsmens’ return underscores the starkly uneven threats faced on either side of the Rio Grande, where U.S. communities live largely free of the gangland rampage snaring Mexican cities, towns and villages. Long tranquil in recent years as
bloodshed flooded other swaths of Mexico, the lands bordering far south Texas have exploded as the Zetas commanded by El Lazca — Heriberto Lazcano — battle former patrons from the narcotics gang known as the Gulf Cartel. The Mexican towns near Falcon Lake have become battlefields as the two groups warred for smuggling routes through them into Texas. Searching for new sources of revenue, the Zetas have branched into kidnap-
See FISHING PAGE 12A
ZAPATA COUNTY FAIR
Photos by Ulysses S. Romero | The Zapata Times
A FAIR WEEKEND FOR THE PARADE Annual parade draws hundreds By DIANA R. FUENTES LAREDO MORNING TIMES
Hundreds of people lined U.S. 83 in Zapata under clear blue skies last weekend, eagerly awaiting the annual Zapata County Fair parade. Kids and adults sat in chairs and on parked pickups’ tailgates. Vendors walked the route, selling souvenirs, snacks and water. The paleta man was particularly popular as the sun grew hotter. Harry and Geneva Zippe, longtime Winter Texans originally from Iowa, were among the spectators. “We’ve seen it a number of times,” recalled Harry Zippe, now 93 and still active. “Sometimes we’d wait for the parade, and then go home the day after.”
The Zippes have spent winters in Zapata for 30 years. “We’ve found a lot of friends here,” said Geneva Zippe, 89. “And we like the fishing.” Finally, the sound of sirens and the beating of the Zapata High School band’s drums could be heard coming down the highway. As the colorful floats and shiny custom vehicles made their way past the crowd, residents and visitors waved. Kids scrambled for candy tossed from the slow-moving vehicles. “This is better,” said Amanda C. Hurtado, 23, of Zapata when asked to compare the parade to those from previous years. Many others agreed.
See FAIR PAGE 11A
ABOVE: Mr. and Mrs. Anguinaldo Navarro, Zapata County Fair Parade marshals, were honored during this year’s parade, on March 12. LEFT: Zapata County Fair Queen Paola Jasso rides on her float during the parade in Zapata.
PAGE 2A
Zin brief CALENDAR
SATURDAY, MARCH 19, 2011
AROUND TEXAS
TODAY IN HISTORY
SATURDAY, MARCH 19
ASSOCIATED PRESS
El Centro de Laredo Farmer’s Market is from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. today at Jarvis Plaza, in Downtown Laredo.
WEDNESDAY, MARCH 23 The City of Laredo Purchasing Division will have a free workshop from 2:30 to 5 p.m. at the City of Laredo Public Works Service Center, located at 5512 Thomas Avenue, for all businesses who are interested in working with the City of Laredo. For more information, call the city’s purchasing division at (956) 790-1800. Texas A&M International University’s Writing Center, the South Texas Writing Project and the Voices in the Monte Writers Series is proud to feature the 2010 Texas Poet Laureate, Karla K. Morton from 11 a.m. until 12:30 p.m. The first female Texas poet laureate in 20 years, Morton will read selections of her poetry, lead a discussion on her craft and take part in an evening book signing from 5 p.m. until 6:30 p.m. in the University Success Center, room 101. For more information, call Kimberly Thomas at (956) 326-2885 or e-mail kthomas@tamiu.edu. Ed Asner, recipient of seven Emmys, five Golden Globes, and member of the TV Academy Hall of Fame, will star in the solo performance drama, “FDR,” based upon Dore Schary’s Broadway hit “Sunrise at Campobello” at 7 p.m. at the Texas A&M International University Center for the Fine and Performing Arts Recital Hall. Admission is free and open to the public, but tickets are required. Tickets are available at Laredo Morning Times, 111 Esperanza Drive, and at the Lamar Bruni Vergara Science Center, room 301. Seats not held by ticket holders by 6:45 p.m. will be released to others. For more information call (956) 326-2460.
FRIDAY, MARCH 25 A fish fry for First International Bass Challenge contestants and the public is from 6 p.m. to 10 p.m. today at the Zapata County Community Center, 607 N. U.S. 83. Fish plates are $10. Spend the evening at the Texas A&M International University Lamar Bruni Vergara Planetarium and enjoy “Planet Quest” at 6 p.m. and “IBEX: Search for the Edge of the Solar System” at 7 p.m. General admission is $5 and $4 for children and TAMIU students, faculty, staff and alumni. Premium shows are $1 more. For additional show times, call (956) 326-DOME (3663) or visit tamiu.edu/planetarium.
SATURDAY, MARCH 26 The South Texas Food Bank is having its first fishing tournament at Falcon Lake, the First International Bass Challenge, featuring a $2,000 prize for the heaviest stringer. Entry to the Bass Challenge is $150 per boat. Register at the Zapata Chamber of Commerce or by calling Pancho Farias at the South Texas Food Bank at (956) 568-3673. The United States Tennis Association will be at the Laredo Country Club from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. to get children 10 and under excited about the sport of tennis and encourage a healthy and active lifestyle on the court. For more information, contact Michael Welnetz at mike@laredocountryclub.net. Spend the evening at the Texas A&M International University Lamar Bruni Vergara Planetarium and enjoy “One World, One Sky: Big Bird’s Adventure” at 5 p.m. and “IBEX: Search for the Edge of the Solar System” at 6 p.m. From 7 p.m. until 9 p.m., TAMIU Planetarium presents Floyd After Dark with the screening of Pink Floyd’s “Dark Side of the Moon” at 7 p.m. and “Wish You Were Here” at 8 p.m. At 9 p.m. there will be a musical performance by “Reborn.” General admission is $6 and $5 for children and TAMIU students, faculty, staff and alumni. Premium shows are $1 more. For additional show times, call (956) 326-DOME (3663) or click on tamiu.edu/planetarium.
SUNDAY, MARCH 27 The Movimiento Easter Funfair and Carshow is from noon to 6 p.m. today at Romeo Flores Park, in Zapata. Admission is free for children 12 or younger and $5 for adults. The event will begin with an Easter egg hunt. To RSVP or for more information, call 210429-2628. The United Methodist Men of the First United Methodist Church will host an all-you-can-eat spaghetti lunch from noon to 1:30 p.m. today in the Fellowship Hall, 1220 McClelland Ave. Free-will donations are welcome. To submit an item for the calendar, send the name of the event, the date, time, location and contact phone number to editorial@lmtonline.com
Photo by Betsy Blaney | AP
Stuffed animals left by well-wishers for the safe return of Hailey Dunn hang on a bridge in the missing teen’s hometown of Colorado City on Friday. Billie Jean Dunn, her mother, was arraigned Friday on three misdemeanor charges related to police coming to her home Thursday night to look for her former live-in boyfriend, Shawn Adkins. Dunn’s bail was set at $6,500.
Teen’s mom charged By BETSY BLANEY ASSOCIATED PRESS
COLORADO CITY, Texas — The mother of a missing 13-year-old West Texas cheerleader has been charged with lying to police about the whereabouts of her boyfriend, who was previously named as a person of interest in the teen’s disappearance, authorities said. Billie Jean Dunn was arraigned Friday on charges of misdemeanor hindering prosecution, possession of a dangerous drug and giving a false report to an officer after authorities came to her home looking for her boyfriend. Dunn first reported her daughter, Hailey Darlene Dunn, missing on Dec. 28 from their Colorado City home. The woman’s boyfriend, Shawn Adkins, has said he last saw Hailey a day earlier when she told him she was going to her father’s home nearby and then on to
Ex-FBI informant charged in Texas officer assault EL PASO — A former FBI informant who helped reveal a plot to destroy the Sears Tower and who later claimed the agency discounted his warning about one of the Sept. 11 hijackers was in jail Friday after being charged with hitting a police officer with his car. Elie Assaad, 38, remained in custody at the El Paso County jail, two weeks after the incident that hospitalized a police officer.
Bats return to Texas town, but don’t touch SAN ANTONIO — Out of tens of millions of Mexican free-tailed bats that make their annual return trip here, the vast majority keep a low profile, with their preference for nighttime feeding and cool, dark roosts. The sick or weakened fall to the groundwhile others inadvertently become trapped inside homes and buildings.
spend the night at a friend’s home. She did neither. Authorities have named Adkins as a person of interest but have not charged him. Officers who had a search warrant for Adkins tried to find him on Thursday in Big Springs where they last knew he was living, but he was not there, said Mitchell County Sheriff Patrick Toombs. Officers later found Adkins at Dunn’s residence where he was searched but not arrested. Officers arrested Dunn after she denied that Adkins was there and also found the drugs while searching her house, Toombs said. “She did lie to a police officer whenever he (Shawn Adkins) was there,” Toombs said. Dunn was released from jail on Friday after posting $6,500 bail. She had declined to have an attorney appointed.
And health officials again are urging people not to touch them with bare hands — and to tell children to leave them alone. “Never touch a bat on the ground. If you come across a bat that you can easily reach and touch, then that’s a bat more likely to be sick,” said Dianne Odegard with Bat Conservation International in Austin.
UT approves tuition hike for med students AUSTIN — Medical students in the University of Texas system will pay at least $1,000 more starting next fall after the Board of Regents approved tuition and fee increases Friday. The regents met by telephone to approve tuition increases ranging from 6.4 percent for students at UT Southwestern in Dallas to 16 percent at UT Health Science Center in Houston. In a letter to regents, UT Southwestern President Dr. Daniel Podolksy said the tuition increases were needed to offset budget cuts, stay competitive
with other medical schools and continue providing “superior instruction to students.” Tuition at UT medical schools has remained fairly low throughout the years and will still be much less than at comparable schools. The University of Illinois charges $35,000 per year for tuition, and University of Michigan students pay $28,118. In comparison, medical students in Houston pay $12,509, and those at UT Southwestern pay $15,640. Next fall, medical school tuition will increase to $14,509 on the Houston campus and $16,640 at UT Southwestern.
Former state Sen. Don Kennard dies AUSTIN — Don Kennard, a longtime Texas lawmaker and a conservationist, has died. He was 81. Kennard, who served in the Senate from 1963 to 1973, died Thursday after a lengthy illness. He also served in the Texas House from 1953 to 1963. — Compiled from AP reports
AROUND THE NATION Trustee cites interest-free Madoff loan in filing
CONTACT US
NEW YORK — The trustee recovering money for investors in Bernard Madoff ’s Ponzi scheme has filed new court papers that he says shows the cozy relationship between Madoff and the owners of the New York Mets. Trustee Irving Picard filed the papers Friday in U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Manhattan. He says Madoff made an interest- and cost-free bridge loan to the Mets’ owners to aid the purchase of the broadcast rights for the Mets from Cablevision.
Tenn. man sentenced to jail for cross-burning KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — Prosecutors say a Tennessee man has been sentenced to six months in federal prison for burning a cross at the Anderson County home of an interracial couple. U.S. District Judge Thomas W.
Today is Saturday, March 19, the 78th day of 2011. There are 287 days left in the year. Today’s Highlight in History: On March 19, 1911, the first International Women’s Day, the inspiration of German socialist Clara Zetkin, was observed with rallies and parades in Germany, Austria, Denmark and Switzerland. On this date: In 1859, the opera “Faust” by Charles Gounod premiered in Paris. In 1918, Congress approved Daylight-Saving Time. In 1920, the Senate rejected, for a second time, the Treaty of Versailles (vehr-SY’) by a vote of 49 in favor, 35 against, falling short of the two-thirds majority needed for approval. In 1931, Nevada Governor Fred B. Balzar signed a measure legalizing casino gambling. In 1941, Jimmy Dorsey and Orchestra recorded “Green Eyes” and “Maria Elena” for Decca Records. In 1945, during World War II, 724 people were killed when a Japanese dive bomber attacked the carrier USS Franklin off Japan; the ship, however, was saved. Adolf Hitler issued his so-called “Nero Decree,” ordering the destruction of German facilities that could fall into Allied hands. In 1951, Herman Wouk’s World War II novel “The Caine Mutiny” was first published. In 1979, the U.S. House of Representatives began televising its day-to-day business. In 1981, during a pre-flight test of the space shuttle Columbia, two Rockwell International employees were killed after entering a chamber filled only with nitrogen (three other workers survived). In 2003, President George W. Bush ordered the start of war against Iraq. (Because of the time difference, it was early March 20 in Iraq.) Ten years ago: California officials declared a power alert, ordering the first of two days of rolling blackouts. Boxer Kevin Payne, 34, died one day after winning an eight-round welterweight bout in Evansville, Ind. One year ago: The White House released an online video of President Barack Obama making a fresh appeal directly to the people of Iran, saying a U.S. offer of diplomatic dialogue still stood, but that the Tehran government had chosen isolation. Today’s Birthdays: Former White House national security adviser Brent Scowcroft is 86. Theologian Hans Kung is 83. Jazz musician Ornette Coleman is 81. Author Philip Roth is 78. Actress Renee Taylor is 78. Actress-singer Phyllis Newman is 78. Actress Ursula Andress is 75. Singer Clarence “Frogman” Henry is 74. Singer Ruth Pointer (The Pointer Sisters) is 65. Actress Glenn Close is 64. Film producer Harvey Weinstein is 59. Actor Bruce Willis is 56. Playwright Neil LaBute is 48. Rock musician Gert Bettens (K’s Choice) is 41. Rappper Bun B is 38. Rock musician Zach Lind (Jimmy Eat World) is 35. Actress Abby Brammell is 32. Actor Craig Lamar Traylor is 22. Actor Philip Bolden is 16. Thought for Today: “As a woman I have no country. As a woman my country is the whole world.” — Virginia Woolf, English author (18821941).
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Former New York Gov. Mario Cuomo exits Manhattan federal court on Thursday, March 3. A federal appeals court is hearing a challenge by former clients of Bernard Madoff’s fraud on how a trustee is calculating gains and losses. Phillips handed down the sentence to 50-year-old Steven D. Archer of Heiskell, Tenn., on Friday after his conviction last July of willfully interfering with the couple’s federal housing rights because of their race. The couple lived in a home on his family’s
property. In July 2008, a cross wrapped in fuel-soaked cloth was set ablaze at the home. According to prosecutors, Archer admitted to burning the cross but denied a racial motivation. — 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, MARCH 19, 2011
Zlocal
PAGE 3A
Tourney set for March 26 By ERICA MATOS THE ZAPATA TIMES
Fishing enthusiasts full of goodwill are reminded to register for the first annual Bass International Challenge taking place at Falcon Lake on March 26. The event is being sponsored by the Zapata County Chamber of Commerce and Webb County Sheriff Martin Cuellar. “Our mission is to fight hunger, and I hope the fishermen are going to join us in this event,” said Pancho
Farias, South Texas Food Bank representative. All the proceeds go to the food bank, which services seven other counties in addition to Zapata County. However, some lucky entrants won’t leave empty-handed; all those competing are eligible for $2,000 in cash prizes. In addition, the tournament is an opportunity to support and promote tourism at Falcon Lake, especially during spring, which is an ideal time to visit. One goal is to put Zapata at the forefront of communities vying for the title of Ultimate Fishing Town
Mexican troops seize 5 tons of marijuana By CÉSAR G. RODRIGUEZ THE ZAPATA TIMES
Soldiers with the Mexican defense ministry on Monday seized more than five tons of marijuana in a municipality within Miguel Alemán, Tamaulipas, right across from Roma. The defense ministry, known as SEDENA, stated in a news release that soldiers from the Eighth Military Zone patrolling Guardados de Abajo noticed an abandoned construction site on Pedro J. Méndez Street. A SEDENA news release states soldiers noted a
strong marijuana odor coming from the site. The soldiers found the contraband when they inspected the site. Soldiers found several packages of the green, leafy substance hidden inside a cistern. Officials counted 1,180 packages with an estimated weight of five tons. No one was arrested in connection with the discovery. On Thursday, Mexico’s attorney general issued a news release announcing a thorough investigation to find the people responsible for stashing the contraband at the abandoned site.
USA, recently announced by the World Fishing Network. At least 30 teams have already registered for the tournament. The last opportunity for interested parties to pay the $150 registration fee is by 10 p.m. the night before the tournament. “So far, it’s looking pretty good. We’re shooting for 100 people,” said Pete Arredondo, assistant chief at the Webb County Sheriff ’s Office. For more information on rules and regulations or on the event itself, contact Farias at 645-0840 or Arredondo at 489-2421.
MIGHTY FINE EATIN’
Courtesy photo | Texas Parks & Wildlife Department
Bruce Sublett shows off a fine trout at the The Texas Freshwater Fisheries Center. The center’s visitors are allowed to harvest up to five rainbow trout at no charge through the end of the season in late April. Regular admission applies, but there’s no additional fee for catching a trout. Harvesting channel catfish will still require payment of a $10 fee for the opportunity to harvest up to five fish. All fishing tackle and bait are provided, and no fishing license is required. The center is at 5550 FM2495 in Athens, abouts 75 miles southeast of Dallas. For more information, call (903) 676-2277 or visit www.tpwd.state.tx.us/tffc.
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Easter party, car show planned at Flores Park By ERICA MATOS THE ZAPATA TIMES
The Easter Bash Fun Fest is right around the corner, bringing lighthearted Easter spirit to Romeo Flores Park on Sunday, March 27. The event will host several car clubs in addition to fun and games for local children. The day will kick off at noon with a large-scale Easter egg hunt and continue until 6 p.m. with the raffling of Easter baskets donated by participating car clubs, a number of moonbounces, and pictures with the Easter bunny. “What I’m asking the car clubs to bring is one Easter basket per vehicle, and those will be given out to the kids,” said event coordinator Daniel “Loke G” Olavarrieta. One of the main attractions for parents bringing kids to the festivities is the car club exhibitions. Participating clubs will be contending for the title of best lowrider, best paint job, best sound sys-
tem, best big rims and best overall car. Judging for the competition will begin at 5:45 p.m., and the grand prize for best overall car is a lowrider motorcycle. The Fun Fest will also feature an extensive set list of musical artists — 17, to precise, including Olavarrieta’s Knights of the Round Table. This event serves as an excellent opportunity for ambitious local talent to find its way into the entertainment business. The deadline for artists to register has passed, but car clubs can still register up to the day before the event, March 26. The Knights of the Round Table frequently host benefits such as this. “In Zapata, this is the fourth charity event we’ve done,” Olavarrieta said. Car club members must arrive at the park by 10 a.m. to help set up the event. Concessions will be available, but those who wish to have their own booths must contact Olavarrieta at (210) 429-2628.
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Zopinion
SATURDAY, MARCH 19, 2011
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COLUMN
OTHER VIEWS
The unheard is what keeps people happy By DAVID BROOKS NEW YORK TIMES
T
he nice thing about being human is that you never need to feel lonely. Human beings are engaged every second in all sorts of silent conversations — with the living and the dead, the near and the far. Researchers have been looking into these subtle paraconversations, and in this column I’m going to pile up a sampling of their recent findings.
Home winners For example, Tobias J. Moskowitz and L. Jon Wertheim wrote a fantastic article for Sports Illustrated explaining home-field advantage. Home teams win more than visiting teams in just about every sport, and the advantage is astoundingly stable over time. So what explains the phenomenon? It’s not because players perform better when their own fans are cheering them on. In basketball, free-throw percentages are the same home and away. In baseball, a pitcher’s strike-to-ball ratio is the same home and away. Neither is it the rigors of travel disadvantaging the away team. Teams from the same metro area lose at the same rate as teams from across the country when playing in their rival’s stadium.
Don’t boo the ref No, the real difference is the officiating. The refs and umpires don’t like to get booed. So even if they are not aware of it, they call fewer fouls on home teams in crucial situations. They call more strikes on away batters in tight games in the late innings. Moskowitz and Wertheim show that the larger, louder and closer a crowd is, the more the refs favor the home team. It’s not a conscious decision. They just naturally conform a bit to the emotional vibes radiating from those around them. They say you only hurt the ones you love. That may not be strictly true, but in the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, Johanna Peetz and Lara Kammrath find that people are more likely to break promises made to people they love. That’s because they are driven by affection to make lavish promises in the first place. They really mean it at the time, but lavish promises are the least likely to be kept.
Pay the group If you want a person to work harder, you should offer to pay on the basis of individual performance, right? Not usually. A large body of research suggests it’s best to motivate groups, not individuals. Organize your people into a group; reward everybody when the group achieves its goals. Susan Helper, Morris Kleiner and Yingchun Wang confirm this insight in a working paper for the National Bureau of Economic Research.
They compared compensation schemes in different manufacturing settings and found that group incentive pay and hourly pay motivate workers more effectively than individual incentive pay. Joachim Huffmeier and Guido Hertel tried to figure out why groups magnify individual performance for a study in the Journal of Experimental Social Psychology. They studied relay swim teams in the 2008 Summer Olympics. They found that swimmers on the first legs of a relay did about as well as they did when swimming in individual events. Swimmers on the later legs outperformed their individual event times.
COLUMN
Egypt reaching crucial point
A motivating swim
By TRUDY RUBIN THE PHILADELPHIA INQUIRER
In the heat of a competition, it seems, later swimmers feel indispensible to their team’s success and are more motivated than when swimming just for themselves. Not all groups perform equally well, of course. Researchers led by Thomas W. Malone at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology Sloan School of Management have found they can measure a group’s IQ, which is not well predicted by the median IQ of the group members. Measures of motivation didn’t predict group performance all that well either. Instead, the groups that did well had members that were good at reading each other’s emotions. They took turns when speaking. Participation in conversation was widely distributed. There was no overbearing leader dominating everything. This leads to the question: What sorts of people are good at reading emotion? Age may play some role here. Jamin Halberstadt has a paper coming out in the journal Psychology and Aging that suggests that the young may on average read emotional cues more sensitively than the old. Halberstadt showed various people videos of someone committing a faux pas. Younger viewers were able to better discriminate between appropriate and inappropriate behavior. Older subjects also performed worse on emotion recognition tests. Taste may play a role, too. For the journal Psychological Science, Kendall Eskine, Natalie Kacinik and Jesse Prinz gave people sweet-tasting, bitter-tasting and neutral-tasting drinks and then asked them to rate a variety of moral transgressions. As expected, people who had tasted the bitter drink were more likely to register moral disgust, suggesting that having Cherry Coke in the jury room may be a smart move for good defense lawyers. It’s important to remember that one study is never dispositive. But if this stuff interests you, I have a newish blog — brooks.blogs.nytimes.com — in the Opinion section of The Times online celebrating odd and brilliant studies from researchers around the world.
O
vershadowed by the terrifying events in Japan and the violence in Libya, the struggle for Mideast democracy will reach a turning point this week in Egypt. I’m not referring to Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton’s visit to Cairo on Wednesday, including a walk through Tahrir Square, the scene of last month’s revolution. That visit was significant, both for what happened and what didn’t, but I’ll get to that later.
People decide I refer instead to a national referendum today that will consider several amendments to Egypt’s constitution. The vote will determine whether the country advances toward the democratic reforms the rebels are seeking, or slides toward a mix of authoritarian and Islamist rule. Let me first give you the good news about Egypt: In stark contrast to the bloodshed in Libya, Yemen, and Bahrain, most ongoing battles in Cairo involve points of law, not weapons. That doesn’t mean that this legal strife is not tense and divisive; it will decide whether new, more democratic political forces can emerge on the Egyptian scene. At first glance, the proposed constitutional amendments appear to make some positive changes, such as limiting
Egyptian presidents to two four-year terms and curbing their power to maintain an indefinite state of emergency.
Leaving some out But then things get sticky. Many Egyptian constitutional experts complain that the military — which is temporarily in charge — failed to include the country’s top constitutional experts on the panel that wrote the amendments. It did include jurists close to the old regime, along with a member of the Muslim Brotherhood, an Islamist organization. “We are worried about the way of thinking of the military in forming such a committee,” says Nasser Amin, head of the Arab Center for the Independence of the Judiciary. Critics say the referendum fails to mandate the rewriting of the current, much-criticized constitution. One hotly debated article of that document decrees that the principles of sharia (Islamic law) provide the source for all legislation. Many of the young rebels want the definite article “the” changed to “a,” meaning sharia is only one of many sources.
Scary options What really scares the young rebels, however, is that the amendments set up an optional process for rewriting the constitution that, if used, would effectively hand control to the
Muslim Brotherhood and pols from the old regime. Here’s how it would work: If the next parliament so chooses, it can form a committee to draft a new constitution. But elections for the next parliament are set for June, according to the military’s timetable. This doesn’t allow enough time for the rebels to form new parties, and gives the advantage to the only political forces that already have structure and funds — the former ruling NDP party, which will return under a new name, and the Muslim Brotherhood. “It won’t be a fair fight,” I was told by Shady el-Ghazaly Harb, a 32-yearold surgeon and member of the Coalition of Revolutionary Youth — the organizational leaders of the revolution. “The next parliament might be overwhelmed by the Brotherhood and the NDP, who would form the next constitution. That would be a disaster.” Not surprising, nearly all the groups that led the revolt, along with all opposition parties, are urging the public to vote no on the referendum. They want the military to postpone parliamentary elections until after an interim period of a year, during which a new constitution is drafted through a more open process. This would also give new parties time to organize. So, Americans — who have a dog in the Egyptian democracy fight — should be watching to see what happens Saturday. After all, Egypt is the
largest and most important Arab country. If Egypt’s revolution goes well, it could help stabilize a reeling region (whose oil, unfortunately, appears even more crucial as Japan’s reactors melt down). This brings me back to Clinton, who said in Cairo, “No one is permitted to hijack this revolution.” The United States would “help in any way possible,” she added.
Clinton problem Yet the leaders of the Coalition of Revolutionary Youth refused to meet with Clinton in Cairo. Harb told me by phone that the group had “a personal problem with Mrs. Clinton” because her early statements “were totally against the revolution and supported the (Mubarak) regime.” I wish Harb and the others had met with Clinton. She surely grasps now that Egypt is central to a Mideast whose uprisings are mostly going awry. She offered Egypt an economic-aid package — including credits and new trade benefits — that could help create desperately needed jobs for Egypt’s youth bulge. But I hope she was also urging the Egyptian military, with whom we have economic leverage, to listen more closely to the young rebels. In a region where U.S. influence is waning and the White House is still groping for a policy, we need Egypt to succeed.
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SATURDAY, MARCH 19, 2011
THE ZAPATA TIMES 5A
6A THE ZAPATA TIMES
SATURDAY, MARCH 19, 2011
Groups move to stop Clemens subpoena
Taking beauty to court Woman eyes keeping crown ASSOCIATED PRESS
ASSOCIATED PRESS
WASHINGTON — The law firm and the congressional committee that investigated drugs in baseball are fighting pitching standout Roger Clemens over access to evidence collected against him, a development that could delay the trial on charges he lied about being a user. The House Oversight and Government Reform Committee and the firm that produced the Mitchell Report filed motions in federal court in Washington on Friday to quash Clemens’ subpoenas. Clemens wants to see their evidence accusing him of using steroids and human growth hormone, likely looking for weaknesses or inconsistencies in witness testimony to defend himself in the trial scheduled for July. In 2006, Major League Baseball Commissioner Bud Selig hired former Sen. George Mitchell and the DLA Piper firm he worked for at the time to investigate allegations that players used drugs. The Mitchell Report issued Dec. 13, 2007, accused several players, including Clemens. The House committee held hearings on the report in February 2008. Clemens testified that he never used performanceenhancing drugs during 23 seasons, in which he recorded 354 wins and 4,672 strikeouts and won seven Cy Young awards. Prosecutors say evidence proves that he did and charged him with perjury, false statement and obstruction of Congress. Clemens wants DLA Piper to turn over material related to its interviews with his personal trainer Brian McNamee, who told investigators he injected Clemens with perform-
Photo by Evan Vucci/file | AP
Former Major League Baseball pitcher Roger Clemens leaves the federal court in Washington on Feb. 2. The law firm that produced the Mitchell Report investigating performance-enhancing drugs in baseball is fighting Clemens over access to evidence it collected. ance-enhancing drugs; admitted steroid user and retired player Jose Canseco; and former New York Mets clubhouse attendant Kirk Radomski, who McNamee said provided the drugs Clemens used. Clemens’ subpoena to the committee covers its communications with those three men and 17 other people, including retired baseball players Chuck Knoblauch, C.J. Nitkowski and Andy Pettitte and staff from all four teams Clemens played for — the Boston Red Sox, the Toronto Blue Jays, the New York Yankees and the Houston Astros. The firm said most of the material Clemens is seeking is covered by attorney-client privilege. The committee said its evidence is protected by the constitutional separation of powers between the legislative and judicial branches. The House counsel’s office argued that the committee already has provided all witness statements, including interview tran-
scripts, declarations, affidavits and letters for all the witnesses Clemens cited. The firm said it found 25 documents that would fall under the subpoena. It said it turned over five documents to Clemens, including a letter to Canseco requesting his cooperation, an email exchange with Canseco’s attorney setting dates for an interview, a letter Mitchell sent to Canseco’s attorney requesting access to his medical data, a declaration that a DLA Piper attorney wrote regarding the firm’s interviews of McNamee and a letter to Radomski reimbursing him for $36 in parking fees. But the firm argued the judge should prevent Clemens from having access to 20 internal documents, including notes and memos from their interviews with the three men and a summary of a telephone discussion with Canseco’s attorney about Canseco’s online drug purchases.
SAN ANTONIO — The bikini fit, and she never swelled to a size 6. That’s what a Texas beauty queen suing to regain her title told jurors Friday, rejecting claims by Miss San Antonio officials that the teenager slipped out of shape and arrived at a bikini shoot with 40-inch hips. Dominique Ramirez testified she was never that big before the pageant stripped her title in January. Ramirez is asking a jury to restore her crown and her shot at Miss America. The 17-year-old took the witness stand a day after the pageant’s president testified that bikini photos of Ramirez were so “unusable” that not even photo-editing software could slim down the publicity pictures. Ramirez’s response? “I won the swimsuit (competition),” Ramirez said of her Miss San Antonio victory in April. “So obviously I was good enough.” But pageant officials say Ramirez didn’t lose her sash over measurements. Instead, they said the teenager was too unreliable, chronically showing up late for events such as grocery store openings, and violated her contract in ways ranging from not writing thankyou notes to blowing off her physical fitness program. Ramirez, taking the witness stand in a conservative pink sweater and her hair pulled back in a simple pony tail, denied those claims. She told jurors about graduating high school early and her job bussing tables at a cafeteria chain. At one point during her testimony, she stood up to demonstrate how measurements are taken. She said she never embarrassed the pageant by thumbing her nose at a prominent vocal coach, and during one strange line of
Photo by Billy Calzada/The San Antonio Express-News | AP
Former Miss San Antonio Dominique Ramirez leaves court in San Antonio on Wendesday after opening arguments in her lawsuit against the Miss San Antonio pageant. Ramirez has sued to regain her crown and be allowed to compete in the Miss Texas contest. questioning, she denied secretly being a 17-year-old bride. Lorena Briseño, Ramirez’s mother, testified earlier that her daughter was fired two days after choosing to model wedding dresses at a bridal show instead of appearing in her crown and sash. That angered pageant leaders, Briseño said, because they felt a minor wearing a wedding gown sent an inappropriate message. Briseño also said her daughter wasn’t married — a topic that came up when pageant attorney Ben Wallis asked her about pictures on her daughter’s Facebook page. Wallis also told Briseño he may call a witness to testify they saw Ramirez once change her relationship status to “married.” Ramirez later denied being married, shaking her head and smiling. The 5foot-8, 129-pound teen then emphasized that she had always been a size 2. “I think I’ve actually gotten a little bit taller,” she said. When measured and weighed by the pageant director weeks before being fired, Ramirez said, no comments were made about her size. “She just measured me and said, ‘OK,’” Ramirez said. Ramirez has said that other pageant officials told her to “get off the tacos.” Her testimony is expected to continue Monday.
SÁBADO 19 DE MARZO DE 2011
Agenda en Breve SÁBADO 19 DE MARZO LAREDO — El equipo de béisbol de TAMIU recibe a St. Edward’s University a las 12 p.m. Entrada general es de 5 dólares. LAREDO — Hoy se presenta lucha libre de la CMLL en el Veterans Field a las 5:30 p.m. Se presentan: La Sombra, La Mascara y Mascarita Dorada contra Averno, Mephisto y Volador Jr. LAREDO — Disfrute el Metal & Rock Knight Show a partir de las 7 p.m. de hoy en Sky Club, 301 calle Market. Costo de entrada: 5 dólares. Hoy se presenta Monster Jam en Laredo Energy Arena a las 7:30 p.m. NUEVO LAREDO — Hoy se presenta el musical ‘Perfume de Gardenía’ en el Teatro Principal del Centro Cultural Nuevo Laredo en dos funciones, a las 6 p.m. y 9:30 p.m. Adquiera sus boletos en la taquilla del teatro.
Zfrontera AGRICULTORES SIEMBRAN 650 MIL HECTÁREAS
TAMAULIPAS
Norte espera ciclo positivo
Anuncian becas en arte y cultura
TIEMPO DE ZAPATA
Una buena producción es la que esperan los agricultores del norte de Tamaulipas este año. Y a decir de la Secretaría de Desarrollo Rural, el ciclo agrícola otoño-invierno se observa positivo. Los productores de la zona norte sembraron 650,000 hectáreas, de las cuales 250,000 son de riego y 400,00 de temporal. “Se estima en poco más de 2 millones de toneladas de sorgo, 450,000 toneladas de maíz amarillo y cerca de 100 toneladas de maíz blanco”, dijo el titular de Desarrollo Rural, Jorge Alberto Reyes Moreno. “Los productores de la zona norte del
JORGE A. REYES: Dijo zona norte está en periodo de resiembra. estado en estos momentos se encuentran en un periodo de resiembra y desarrollo de sus cultivos”. Reyes no quiso adelantar expectativas porque el rendimiento podría variar ya que la planta apenas empieza su desarrollo y dependerá de las condiciones climáticas que se presenten. En el caso de los productores de la zona sur, Reyes sostuvo que la situación es distinta. “(Ellos) no pudieron sembrar en el ciclo primavera-verano por falta de pre-
POR IMELDA CÁZARES cipitaciones pluviales”, informó él. Para la zona sur, el Gobernador Egidio Torre Cantú solicitó al Programa de Apoyos Directos al Campo (PROCAMPO) el apoyo de modalidad de Preparado No Sembrado. “PROCAMPO Preparado No Sembrado es un programa emergente en el cual se pagan los apoyos aún cuando el productor no haya llevado a cabo su siembra”, explicó Reyes. “Tal es el caso de algunos agricultores del Estado”. El trámite a PROCAMPO fue elaborado por el Secretario de Ganadería, Desarrollo Rural, Pesca y Alimentación, Roberto Salinas Salinas.
CIUDAD MIER
DOMINGO 20 DE MARZO LAREDO — Hoy se presenta Monster Jam en Laredo Energy Arena a las 2 p.m. NUEVO LAREDO — Teatro Universitario presenta “Lilith Vs Eva” y “Asmodeo Vs Adán” a las 7 p.m. en el Teatro Lucio Blanco de la Casa de la Cultura. CORPUS CHRISTI — Se invita al Texas Jazz Festival Society en tributo a “Mr. G” a las 3:30 p.m. en el 5626 Wooldridge en Corpus Christi.
Fondos serán para el STFB POR SALO OTERO ESPECIAL PARA TIEMPO DE ZAPATA Foto de cortesía | Gobierno de Tamaulipas
El especialista en Arte Terapia, Miguel Carriere, encabezó un taller en el marco de las Brigadas de Alegría para motivar las diferentes categorías de arte entre la niñez.
BRIGADAS DE ALEGRÍA
JUEVES 24 DE MARZO NUEVO LAREDO: Epidauro Teatro presenta hoy la obra “Papá Querido” en el Teatro Lucio Blanco de la Casa de la Cultura, a las 8 p.m.
VIERNES 25 DE MARZO LAREDO — Laredo Community College y Doctors Hospital invitan a la Feria anual de Bienestar de 8 a.m. a 11 a.m. en el Gimnasio Maravillo del Campus Fort McIntosh de LCC. Se ofrecerán servicios gratuitos de: examenes del colesterol, glucosa, próstata, asma, entre otros. LAREDO — A fin de ayudar en la detección temprana del cáncer de próstata, el Laredo Medical Center invita a examenes gratuitos el día de hoy para hombres mayores de 40 años, en el A.R. Sanchez Cancer Center de LMC de 8 a.m. a 11 a.m. LAREDO — Pase la tarde en el Planetario Lamar Bruni Vergara de TAMIU y disfrute “Planet Quest” a las 6 p.m. e “IBEX: Search for the Edge of the Solar System” a las 7 p.m. Entrada general es de 5 dólares. ZAPATA — Hoy habrá una cena de pescado frito para los participantes y público en general en el First International Bass Challenge de 6 p.m. a 10 p.m. en el Zapata County Community Center, 607 N. U.S. 83. Los platillos son de 10 dólares. — Tiempo de Zapata
CD. VICTORIA, México — A fin de permitir que talentos tamaulipecos tengan acceso a mostrar sus habilidades, el Fondo Nacional para la Cultura y las Artes (FONCA) abrió su temporada para otorgar hasta 200 becas. “Creadores tamaulipecos pueden participar en estas convocatorias”, según el sitio de internet del Instituto Tamaulipeco para la Cultura y las Artes (ITCA). FONCA invita a los artistas en las disciplinas y especialidades de arquitectura, artes visuales (escultura, fotografía, gráfica, medios alternativos y pintura), danza, letras (crónica y relato histórico, cuento, novela, dramaturgia, ensayo, guión radiofónico y poesía), medios audiovisuales, música y teatro. Los interesados deben: ser mexicanos de entre 18 y 34 años de edad
al 30 de abril presentar un proyecto individual que sea exclusivamente de creación de obra desarrollar la obra durante el periodo de la beca. “No se aceptarán solicitudes de grupos artísticos o colectivos”, explica el sitio de ITCA. También se explica que en el caso de la disciplina de letras en lenguas indígenas los participantes deberán escribir en alguna de las lenguas indígenas de México. Las postulaciones a la beca deberán hacerse en línea, a través de fonca.conaculta.gob.mx/convocatorias_abiertas.html. Es en ese sitio donde cargarán sus archivos y deberán también entregar una carpeta impresa en las fechas establecidas para cada caso. La fecha para cargar archivos en la categoría de fotografía va del 5 de abril al 23 de mayo.
Habrá torneo de pesca en Lago Falcón
NUEVO LAREDO — La Alizana Ministerial Pastores Amigos invita a la marcha 2011 “Exaltando a Jesús, bendiciendo a Nuevo Laredo” a partir de las 4:30 p.m., partiendo de la Plaza 1º de Mayo y con la concentración final en el Zócalo del Palacio Federal.
LAREDO — El equipo de softból de Texas A&M International University recibe a University of Incarnate Word a la 1 p.m. y 3 p.m. Entrada general es de 5 dólares.
ESPECIAL PARA TIEMPO DE ZAPATA
FRONTERA
LUNES 21 DE MARZO
MARTES 22 DE MARZO
PÁGINA 7A
Capacitan en modelo motivacional TIEMPO DE ZAPATA
A
fin de fomentar que la niñez explore, exprese y se divierta utilizando las diversas formas de arte, el Instituto Tamaulipeco para la Cultura y las Artes (ITCA) empezó un programa denominado “Brigadas de Alegría”. “Los lenguajes del arte que fomentamos son la música, la expresión corporal y las artes visuales”, explicó el especialista en Arte Terapia, Miguel Carriere.
En el recorrido de las Brigadas de Alegría el 15 de marzo se visitó a Ciudad Mier, el 17 de marzo a Güemez y el 28 de marzo a Jiménez. “También estamos capacitando en este modelo terapéutico motivacional a educadoras, creadores y talleristas infantiles”, explicó Carriere. Posteriormente la idea es que los participantes apliquen los conocimientos adquiridos en jornadas donde niños de los diferentes municipios jueguen
con arte para estimular todos sus sentidos a nivel neuronal, explicó él. “Compartirnos qué piensan y qué sienten”, dijo Carriere. “(Es) como un medio de catarsis física y mental encaminado a lo terapéutico”. Las Brigadas de Alegría fueron auspiciadas por el Consejo Nacional para la Cultura y las Artes, en coordinación con el ITCA y el apoyo del Gobierno de Tamaulipas y los gobiernos municipales de Ciudad Mier, Güémez y Jiménez.
ANIVERSARIO EN CIUDAD MIER
Una competencia de pesca será el orden del día el sábado 26 de marzo en el Lago Falcón de Zapata. Todo es a beneficio del South Texas Food Bank (Banco de Alimentos del Sur de Texas — STFB, por sus siglas en inglés) y su misión de alimentar al necesitado. La primera competencia internacional de róbalo (lubina, perca) beneficiará al STFB, que alimenta a 23,000 familias por mes en un área de ocho condados. La campaña de recaudación de fondos es patrocinada por el Alguacil del Condado de Webb Martin Cuellar y la Cámara de Comercio de Zapata.
Detalles La cuota de entrada es de 150 dólares por bote con un premio en efectivo de 2.000 dólares en la línea del más pesado. Habrá premios para el segundo y tercer lugar. Las oficinas centrales y el pesaje de la competencia estarán en la rampa pública del Condado de Zapata, en el lago. El torneo inicia 15 minutos antes del amanecer y el pesaje a las 3 p.m.
Un día previo
Foto de cortesía | Gobierno de Ciudad Mier
La calle principal de Ciudad Mier fue el escenario donde varios residentes participaron en el evento de "La Pollada" el domingo 6 de marzo, en el marco del 258 Aniversario del Pueblo Mágico.
El evento incluirá una noche de pescado frito el viernes 25 de marzo en el Centro Cívico de Zapata ó en el Pabellón de la Feria del Condado de Zapata. El platillo de pescado frito costará 10 dólares. Los participantes pueden inscribirse en la Cámara de Comercio del Condado de Zapata ó llamando a los coordinadores del evento, Pancho Farias del South Texas Food Bank y a Pete Arredondo del
Webb County Sheriff Department. “El Lago Falcón es el lago número 1 de róbalo en la nación”, dijo Farias. “Róbalos de 10 libras ó más son comunes”.
Temporada Farias espera que haya varios peces de 10 libras por la temporada. “Estamos en la cúspide”, dijo él. El hecho de que el STFB convierte cada dólar recaudado en siete comidas, hace pensar que habrá unos 100 botes participando. “Había más de 200 pescadores en el más reciente torneo de pesca”, dijo Arredondo. El tesorero del Condado de Zapata, Romero Salinas, e integrante de STFB, dijo que “un torneo de este tipo es un aliciente económico para la comunidad”. “Tenemos un lago hermoso, y los niveles del agua están altos”, dijo Salinas. “Nuestro lago es seguro si se mantiene en aguas de EU”.
Meta Agregó que visitantes que no estén interesados en la pesca también pueden acudir y disfrutar el pesaje. “Los peces son regresados al lago y es un extra para Zapata y el banco de alimentos”, dijo Salinas. “El dinero se utiliza en continuar con la misión del organismo”.
Información Puede localizar a Farias en el (956) 645-0840 y a Arredondo en el (956) 4892421. El teléfono de la Cámara de Comercio de Zapata es el (956) 765-4871. También puede obtener información con Ellie Reyes del STFB escribiendo a elliereyes3@gmail.com.
8A THE ZAPATA TIMES
ZEntertainment
Photo by Edward A. Ornelas/eaornelas@express-news.net
Grave Digger, driven by Chad Tingler, jumps over cars during the Monster Jam on Sunday Jan. 11, 2009, at the Alamodome.
Smashing fun Monster Jam returns to Laredo Energy Arena THE ZAPATA TIMES
The Laredo Energy Arena will host a fun event for the entire family this weekend. Advanced Auto Parts’ Monster Jam, the family-friendly experience that stars the biggest performers on four wheels, begins with a show tonight at 7 p.m. It continues Saturday, also at 7 p.m., and a performance is set for Sunday at 2 p.m. Among the Monster Jam monster trucks that are making the trip south are “Grave Digger,” “Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles,” “Max Destruction,” “AAP Grinder,” “Martial Law” and “Heartbreaker.” Other spectacles include the “Quad Wars,” which are races on 4-wheelers, the “Human Bomb,” and the “Cannon Lady” — a woman who is shot high in the air from an oversized cannon. All performers are subject to change, of course. The non-dirt event features the 12-foottall, 10,000-pound machines that will surely bring you to your feet. The colorful, larger-than-life beasts capture the hearts of both young and old. They’ll race and rip up a custom-designed track full of ob-
stacles to soar over, or better yet, smash through. Tickets are $8 for children and $18 for adults. They are available at all Ticketmaster locations, including the LEA box office, various H.E.B. locations or at www.ticketmaster.com. Also, for the first time ever, the arena will have an all-you-can-eat buffet at the Club Level (section 200 and suites) during the three days. Friday’s buffet will offer Creole cuisine, including crawfish etouffee, sausage gumbo, white rice, garden salad, fresh fruits, strawberry shortcake and caldo de mariscos. Saturday’s buffet will have beef and broccoli, sweet-andsour chicken, shrimp fried rice, fresh fruits, chocolate mousse cake and potato soup. Sunday’s lunch buffet will be Italian, offering chicken alfredo, spaghetti and meatballs, roasted potatoes, Caesar salad, frosty orange cake, Italian wedding soup and garlic bread. The buffet price is $15. For more information on the Feld Entertainment event — the same company that brings Disney on Ice — call the LEA at 718-2825.
SATURDAY, MARCH 19, 2011
Japan
SATURDAY, MARCH 19, 2011
THE ZAPATA TIMES 9A
One week later, leader vows to rebuild By MARI YAMAGUCHI AND ERIC TALMADGE ASSOCIATED PRESS
TOKYO — One week after an earthquake and tsunami spawned a nuclear crisis, the Japanese government conceded Friday it was slow to respond to the disaster and welcomed ever-growing help from the United States in hopes of preventing a complete meltdown at the Fukushima Dai-ichi power plant. The entire world was on alert, watching for any evidence of dangerous spikes in radioactivity spreading from the six-reactor facility, or that damage to the Japanese economy might send ripple effects around the globe. As day broke Saturday, steam rose from Unit 3, an unwelcome development if not a new one that signaled continuing problems. Emergency crews faced two continuing challenges at the plant: cooling the nuclear fuel in reactors where energy is generated and cooling the adjacent pools where thousands of used nuclear fuel rods are stored in water. “In hindsight, we could have moved a little quicker in assessing the situation and coordinating all that information and provided it faster,” Chief Cabinet Secretary Yukio Edano said on Friday. Crucial to the effort to regain control over the plant is laying a new power line to the complex, allowing operators to restore cooling systems. Power company official Teruaki Kobayashi warned that experts will have to check for anything volatile to avoid an explosion when the electricity is turned on. “There may be sparks, so I can’t deny the risk,” he said. Even once the power is reconnected, it is not clear if the cooling systems will still work. The storage pools need a constant source of cooling water. Even when removed from reactors, uranium rods are still extremely hot and must be cooled for months, possibly longer, to prevent them from heating up again and emitting radioactivity.
AP photo
Visitors stand in front of a Buddhist shrine on Friday, near a memorial wreath at the Seattle Betsuin Buddhist Temple, prior to a memorial service for the victims of the massive earthquake that rocked Japan a week ago. The government raised the raised the accident classification for the nuclear crisis from Level 4 to Level 5 on a seven-level international scale. That put it on a par with the Three Mile Island accident in Harrisburg, Pa., in 1979, and signified its consequences went beyond the local area. Edano also said Tokyo was asking Washington for additional help, yet another change from a few days ago, when Japanese officials disagreed with American assessments of the severity of the problem. The Science Ministry said radiation levels about 19 miles northwest of the Fukushima Dai-ichi plant rose at one time Friday to 0.15 millisieverts per hour, about the amount absorbed in a chest X-ray. While levels fluctuate, radiation at most points at that distance from the facility have been far below that. The ministry did not have an explanation for the rise. A U.S. military fire truck was among a fleet of Japanese vehicles that sprayed water into Unit 3, according to air force Chief of Staff Shigeru Iwasaki, sending tons of water arcing over the facility in an attempt to prevent nuclear fuel from overheating and emitting dangerous levels of radiation.
Additionally, the United States also conducted overflights of the reactor site, strapping sophisticated pods onto aircraft to measure radiation aloft. Two tests conducted Thursday gave readings that U.S. Deputy Energy Secretary Daniel B. Poneman said reinforced the U.S. recommendation that people stay 50 miles away from the Fukushima plant. American technical experts also are exchanging information with officials from the Tokyo Electric Power Co. which owns the plans, as well as with Japanese government agencies. Sirens wailed along the devastated northeast coastline on Friday to mark one week since the prosperous country was stricken. Natural forces have claimed the lives of more than 6,900, with many thousands more missing in an area struck first by a magnitude 9.0 earthquake and then an enormous wall of water that seemed to scrape the earth clean. But amid the misery, the threat of nuclear disaster has riveted international attention. The tsunami knocked out power to cooling systems at the nuclear plant and its six reactors. In the week since, four have been hit by fires, explosions or
partial meltdowns. The events have led to power shortages and factory closures, hurt global manufacturing and triggered a plunge in Japanese stock prices. Most of Japan’s auto industry is shut down. Factories from Louisiana to Thailand are low on Japanese-made parts. Idled plants are costing compa-
nies hundreds of millions of dollars. And U.S. car dealers may not get the cars they order this spring. Prime Minister Naoto Kan vowed the disasters would not defeat Japan. “We will rebuild Japan from scratch,” he said in a nationally televised address, comparing the work with the country’s emergence as a global power
from World War II. “In our history, this small island nation has made miraculous economic growth thanks to the efforts of all Japanese citizens. That is how Japan was built,” he said. Edano said that the “unprecedented scale of the earthquake and tsunami that struck Japan, frankly speaking, were among many things that happened that had not been anticipated under our disaster management contingency plans,” he said. “In hindsight, we could have moved a little quicker in assessing the situation and coordinating all that information and provided it faster,” he said. Water in at least one fuel pool — in Unit 3 — is believed to be low. Without enough water, the rods may spew radiation. While nuclear experts have been saying for days that Japan was underplaying the crisis’ severity, Hidehiko Nishiyama of the nuclear safety agency said the rating was raised when officials realized that at least 3 percent of the fuel in three reactors had been severely damaged. That suggests those reactor cores have partially melted down and thrown radioactivity into the environment.
10A THE ZAPATA TIMES
SATURDAY, MARCH 19, 2011
Tapping reserves won’t do much to avoid cuts ASSOCIATED PRESS
AUSTIN — Texas lawmakers this week freed up $4 billion to spend over the next two years, but it won’t do much to save teachers, nursing homes or the hundreds of other state programs coming under the budget knife. The plan, now being considered by a House budget committee, would put $2 billion back into public schools and add almost $2 billion to pay for Medicaid caseload
growth. The money was made available after leaders agreed to tap the Rainy Day Fund to knock out a deficit in the 2011 budget. The proposal is expected to get a committee vote next week. By some estimates, that leaves the state only $23 billion short of what it needs to maintain current services for the next two years. The Rainy Day Fund would still have a projected $6.3 billion in it by 2013, though Gov. Rick Perry has said he won’t
sign a budget that takes any more money from the savings account. Under the new budget proposal, schools would still be underfunded by almost $8 billion — or about $800 per student. Lawmakers would cut full-day prekindergarten, teacher incentive pay, arts education and other programs. “If this is all they’re willing to do, to spend a tiny part of the Rainy Day Fund, they’re just going to make a tiny improvement in a big problem,” said
Eva DeLuna Castro, a budget analyst for the Center for Public Policy Priorities, which advocates for needy Texans. DeLuna Castro estimates the $2 billion in new money would keep roughly 12,500 teachers, cafeteria workers and other staff at work. More than 108,000 jobs would still be lost. The part of the budget that pays for health care programs for the needy, elderly and disabled still faces a $4 billion shortfall.
Proposals to reduce reimbursement rates to nursing homes and other Medicaid providers wouldn’t change from the original House proposal. The projected 33 percent cut to nursing homes could jeopardize 45,000 residents in the state’s 550 nursing homes that depend on Medicaid, experts said. “So far, it doesn’t appear that any direct actions have been taken to solve a very difficult problem of funding for nursing
home care,” said Tim Graves, president and chief executive officer of the Texas Health Care Association. The budget still would cut Medicaid reimbursement rates by 10 percent. That’s on top of a three percent rate reduction that state leaders requested this year. Medicaid, the state and federal costsharing program, serves 3.1 million Texans — mostly children, pregnant women and adults with disabilities.
Ex-FBI informant charged in assault on police officer By JUAN CARLOS LLORCA ASSOCIATED PRESS
EL PASO — A former FBI informant who helped reveal a plot to destroy the Sears Tower and who later claimed the agency discounted his warning about one of the Sept. 11 hijackers was in jail Friday after being charged with hitting a police officer with his car. Elie Assaad, 38, stayed in custody at the El Paso County jail, two weeks after the incident that hospitalized the officer. Assaad, who has no attorney in the case, is being held on $25,000 bail. His attorney on a previous traffic incident did not return calls, and his home number rang unanswered. Authorities say the chase that landed Assaad in jail on March 4 began when a police officer tried to get a black SUV to pull over for speeding, but the driver sped away and
When the alleged assault occurred, Assaad was awaiting trial in El Paso on a charge of driving while intoxicated in June 2010, local court records show. crashed into a light post. When El Paso police officer Jorge Gonzalez got out of his car, the driver put his SUV in reverse and hit both Gonzalez and the police car. The policeman fired two shots without hitting anyone. The driver fled, but his car rolled over about a mile away. Assaad was arrested by another officer. Gonzalez, Assaad and a woman passenger in the SUV were taken to nearby hospitals and released the next morning. The woman who got out of the car sometime between the two crashes is considered a witness in the investigation and has not been identified by police. When the alleged assault occurred, Assaad was
awaiting trial in El Paso on a charge of driving while intoxicated in June 2010, local court records show. Assaad told ABC News in 2009 that before the Sept. 11 attacks he met Mohammed Atta, the lead hijacker of one of the planes that crashed into New York’s World Trade Center. In that interview, Assaad said he voiced his suspicions of Atta, but agents made him work on another
investigation of what he called “wannabe terrorists.” The FBI has said no evidence supports the story. Two years before that interview, Assaad was a key witness for the government in a terrorism trial. In 2006, acting under instructions from the FBI, Assaad pretended to be “Brother Mohammed,” a representative of al-Qaida’s leader Osama bin Laden. During
the operation, Assaad administered an oath to seven men who pledged their allegiance to the terrorist leader and vowed to follow the “path of holy war.” The tape was a central piece of evidence against
the group from Liberty City, an impoverished neighborhood of Miami. The prosecutors said the accused were planning to plant a bomb to bring down Chicago’s 110-story Sears Tower.
SATURDAY, MARCH 19, 2011
THE ZAPATA TIMES 11A
ALICIA RODRIGUEZ Alicia Rodriguez, 86, passed away Wednesday, March 16, 2011, at Laredo Medical Center. Ms. Rodriguez is preceded in death by her husband, Jose Mario Rodriguez; parents: Lauro and Jovita De La Garza; daughter Irma Celia Rodriguez; son Enoc Rodriguez; grandson Luis De Los Santos; and a son-inlaw, Ramon Vasquez. Ms. Rodriguez is survived by her children: Jose Antonio (Maria Ignacia) Rodriguez, Blanca Alicia Vasquez, Rosa Hilda Rodriguez, Oscar Mario (Victoria) Rodriguez, Joel
Arturo (Virginia) Rodriguez, Maria Eunice (Rafael) Moreno and Jemima (Martin) Campos; 27 grandchildren; many great-grandchildren; and
by numerous nephews, nieces, and many friends. Visitation hours were held Thursday, March 17, 2011, from 6 to 9 p.m. with a chapel service at 7 p.m. at Rose Garden Funeral Home. A chapel service was held Friday, March 18, 2011, at 9:30 a.m. at Rose Garden Funeral Home. Committal services followed at Zapata County Cemetery. Funeral arrangements were under the direction of Rose Garden Funeral Home, Daniel A. Gonzalez, funeral director, 2102 Highway 83, Zapata.
Photo by Anja Niedringhaus | AP
Libyan people celebrate in the main square of Benghazi, eastern Libya, on Friday. Libya declared an immediate cease-fire Friday, trying to fend off international military intervention after the U.N. authorized a no-fly zone and “all necessary measures” to prevent the regime from striking its own people. A rebel spokesman said Moammar Gadhafi’s forces were still shelling two cities.
Libya cease-fire aims to outflank no-fly zone Military use OKd By HADEEL AL-SHALCHI AND RYAN LUCAS ASSOCIATED PRESS
TRIPOLI, Libya — Trying to outmaneuver Western military intervention, Moammar Gadhafi’s government declared a ceasefire on Friday against the rebel uprising faltering against his artillery, tanks and warplanes. The opposition said shells rained down well after the announcement and accused the Libyan leader of lying. Wary of the cease-fire, Britain and France took the lead in plans to enforce a no-fly zone, sending British warplanes to the Mediterranean and announcing a crisis summit in Paris with the U.N. and Arab allies. In Washington, President Barack Obama ruled out the use of American ground troops but warned that the U.S., which has an array of naval and air
to stop Gadhafi
“
The cease-fire for us means no military operations whatsoever, big or small,” LIBYAN DEPUTY FOREIGN MINISTER KHALED KAIM
forces in the region, would join in military action. There should be no doubt about the Libyan leader’s intentions “because he has made them clear,” Obama said. “Just yesterday, speaking of the city of Benghazi, a city of roughly 700,000, he threatened ‘we will have no mercy and no pity.’ No mercy on his own citizens.” In a joint statement to Gadhafi late Friday, the United States, Britain and France — backed by unspecified Arab countries — said a cease-fire must begin
“immediately” in Libya, the French presidential palace said. The statement called on Gadhafi to end his troops’ advance toward Benghazi, the rebel headquarters, and pull them out of the cities of Misrata, Ajdabiya and Zawiya, and called for the restoration of water, electricity and gas services in all areas. It said Libyans must be able to receive humanitarian aid or the “international community will make him suffer the consequences” with military action.
ASSOCIATED PRESS
WASHINGTON — After weeks of hesitation and divisions among his advisers, President Barack Obama on Friday endorsed military action against Libya’s Moammar Gadhafi, saying U.S. values and credibility are at stake to stop “the potential for mass murder” of innocents. The U.S. military, which is already stretched thin by two wars and an expanding effort to assist disaster victims in Japan, would take a supporting role, Obama said, with European and Arab partners in the lead. He explicitly ruled out sending American ground forces into the North African nation. A wide range of U.S.
firepower stood ready, including Navy ships and submarines capable of launching Tomahawk cruise missiles with highexplosive warheads that could destroy air defense sites and other potential targets in the earliest stages of any allied military action. In remarks at the White House, Obama never used the word “war,” but that is what U.S. forces could face if Gadhafi refuses to comply with United Nations demands. It is widely anticipated that a first step in imposing a no-fly zone over Libya — a tactic aimed at keeping Gadhafi’s planes from attacking — would be assaults on coastal air defenses. Obama offered a string of reasons for committing
to military action. “Left unchecked, we have every reason to believe that Gadhafi would commit atrocities against his people,” he said. “Many thousands could die. A humanitarian crisis would ensue. The entire region could be destabilized, endangering many of our allies and partners. The calls of the Libyan people for help would go unanswered. The democratic values that we stand for would be overrun.” That marked a shift from the caution expressed by Obama’s top national security advisers, Defense Secretary Robert Gates, Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton and the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Adm. Mike Mullen.
FAIR Continued from Page 1A The parade lasted more than an hour. In a ceremony before the parade, friends and family watched as a fountain in front of the Zapata County Courthouse was dedicated to Army Pfc. Ira Benjamin “Ben” Laningham IV, the Zapata native who died in Afghanistan in January while on duty, and ICE Special Agent Jaime Zapata, who was killed by drug traffickers in February while serving in Mexico. Parade entries honored each man. The first came as cadets marched down the street, carrying a banner that read “Community of Zapata honors Ira Ben Laningham.” That drew spontaneous applause from the crowd. A few entries later, a large Border
Patrol float decorated with replicas of the Statue of Liberty and Mount Rushmore, among other U.S. landmarks, bore a sign reading, “In memory of Jaime J. Zapata.” That, too, received applause. The parade included numerous entries from U.S. Customs and Border Protection and Border Patrol, including the Horse Patrol and field operation units. Two CBP agents delighted the crowd with fancy driving on their ATVs, zooming back and forth in the dark green vehicles. Laredo showed its support by sending some of its best representatives, from celebrities to custom cars. Princess Pocahontas Rosemary Therese Santos and her escort, Chief Fire
Mountain Alex Jacob Cavazos, headed a Washington’s Birthday Celebration Association delegation, including two of their court on horseback and others riding on the princess’s float. The Laredo Police Department had perhaps the most popular float, featuring an elaborate medieval theme complete with a “fire-breathing” animatronic dragon. Adults and kids alike oohed and ahhed as its wings flapped, its head moved and smoke came from its open mouth. A knight, armed with a sword, did battle with the beast. “To Protect and Serve,” read the sign on the float. The Mexican town of Guerrero, across Falcon
Lake from Zapata, sent several parade entries, including its young queen, Cassandra I. The IBC letters, representing International Bank of Commerce-Zapata, walked down the highway, followed by a float featuring the IBC Bee. The Zapata National Bank had a blue-and-gold float. Other businesses, including Farmers Insurance and Champion Care Home Health Services, also had entries. The elementary schools were well represented in the parade, and there was plenty of royalty, including Zapata County Fair Queen Paola Jasso and her court, dressed in stunning evening wear, as well as Quinceañera Ball Madrina Mar-
la G. Davila in casual western wear. Falcon Lake Church members played instruments and sang from the back of a decorated flatbed. Falcon Lake Nursing Home residents, including a cheery woman in a wheelchair with a pink, pioneer-style bonnet, waved from their flatbed. Lots of local officials were on floats and in vehicles, including Sheriff Sigi Gonzalez Jr., County Judge Joe Rathmell and librarian Olga Figueroa. Horses drew a lot of admiring attention. In addition to those from the Princess Pocahontas court and the Border Patrol, equine entries included the Zapata County Sheriff ’s Office Posse and the
Brush Country Trail Riders. “Save gas, ride a horse,” read the riders’ sign. The trail riders also had a float with singer Jessica Joy Botello belting out music every few blocks. As the parade ended with a cacophony of blaring sirens and blasting horns from the Zapata County Fire Department’s ambulances and a couple of sheriff ’s office units, the Zippes picked up their lawn chairs. “That was fun,” said a smiling Geneva Zippe, praising the many colorful entries. “We’ve got something to talk about.” (To reach Diana R. Fuentes, call 728-2581 or email dfuentes@lmtonline.com)
12A THE ZAPATA TIMES
SATURDAY, MARCH 19, 2011
FISHING Continued from Page 1A ping, extortion and robbery. Nearly everyone in some Mexican towns near Falcon has fled amid repeated Zetas raids. U.S. anglers all but evaporated from Falcon last October following the reported murder of Coloradoran David Hartley, who had crossed Falcon on jet skis with his wife to tour the half submerged town of Guerrero on the Mexican bank. Hartley, his wife Tiffany told police, was shot in the head by armed thugs who swarmed upon the couple in boats. The attack followed reports last spring of Mexican “pirates” assaulting U.S. fishermen on Falcon.
Fair warning Hartley’s body never has been recovered and more than a few people along the Texas side of Falcon express doubts about the incident. But some local and Texas state officials point to the attack as proof that Mexico’s gangland wars, which have killed more than 35,000 people across Mexico in little more than four years, threaten to cross the border. “I have to inform the public about what’s happening,” said Zapata County Sheriff Sigifrido Gonzalez Jr., who has placed widely ignored signs at boat ramps warning U.S. anglers of the dangers of fishing in Mexican waters. “I don’t know how much more you can warn people about not going to Mexico. “I’m not going to be a politician who sticks his head in the sand and says everything is okay.”
Soldiers evident Reacting both to Hartley’s presumed murder and to gangland battles in nearby towns, hundreds of Mexican soldiers and marines have poured into the Falcon area in recent
months. Mexican military helicopters frequently patrol the lake and surrounding countryside. U.S. federal and state agencies have beefed up their local contingents.
Business back The added security has brought a wary calm, at least to the Texas shore. Local fishing guides and tackle shops say business has returned almost to normal in recent weeks. Bass boats towed by pickup trucks and SUVs clog the parking lots of Zapata’s hotels and restaurants. “We’ve seen a number of boaters back in town. There are calls coming in.” said Celia Balderas, an official with the hotel-financed Zapata County Chamber of Commerce, which is sponsoring fishing tournaments on Falcon this spring. “Protection is the greatest it’s ever been on Falcon Lake.” But that security is far less assured across the lake, where Mexican military patrols have lessened but not eliminated the threat. The Mexican army has reported recent skirmishes with gangsters at Nueva Ciudad Guerrero, near Falcon Lake’s dam. And soldiers last week seized five tons of marijuana in Miguel Aleman, a town across the Rio Grande from Roma, 40 miles south of Zapata.
Fear remains Many of the 6,000 residents who fled Zeta attacks last year in Ciudad Mier, a few miles outside Miguel Aleman, have yet to return despite the deployment of hundreds of Mexican troops there four months ago. The streets of the 258year old town remain deserted, most shops shuttered. The Zetas continue to raid Mier at will, some residents say, coming with the
dark after the soldiers withdraw. Three local men were kidnapped three weeks ago, one of them left dead on the outskirts of town, the other two still missing. “The army is providing security, Why isn’t there protection for all of us? I don’t know,” said Mayor Alberto Gonzalez, 64, a career educator who took office on New Years Day. “But people are coming back little by little. Their land is here. They have to come back sooner or later.”
Following the fish U.S. anglers already have returned because their prey is here. “There are boats everywhere on the Mexican side, lots of people fishing over there,” said James Bendele, who along with his brother Tom owns Falcon Lake Tackle, Zapata’s largest fishing supply. “Anybody who is fishing on the lake is a lot more aware. Anyone with any sense, that is.” Jerry English and Mike Stafford, middle aged friends from the Hill Country west of Austin, returned to Zapata from the Mexican side of the lake one afternoon last week, gushing about the scores of bass they had caught in eight hours of fishing. A stringer of the largest fish weighed more than 40 pounds, guide Jim Edwards said. The three men had been fishing on Falcon’s Mexican side the day Hartley was reported killed. They’ve been back on the Mexican waters nearly a dozen times since, English said, and will continue returning. “You don’t feel threatened at all over there,” English said. “Concerned about it? Absolutely not. It’s a nice place.” (To reach Dudley Althaus, e-mail dudley.althaus@chron.com)
BOARD Continued from Page 1A The county, which gives the center $85,000 a year, is proposing the MOU to gain leverage and oversight of the organization, which some commissioners say lacks accountability.
Supports memo Peggy Umphres Moffett, president and executive director of the center, has said she supports the MOU but that it threatens the charitable status of the organization. Likewise, George Altgelt, an attorney representing the center, said the organization will lose its nonprofit status if it is government controlled. The center’s previous board of directors, most of whose members resigned early this month, supported the MOU as well. “We wanted to make sure that the MOU was in place because (it) then gave the Zapata County Commissioners Court permission to appoint the majority of the board, then the corporation could continue into the
future,” said Erasmo Villarreal, former board president of the center. Villarreal and the other former board of directors members, in one of their last actions before resigning, suspended the center’s operations because not enough money was available to pay employees until the county makes it next scheduled payment April 1. On Monday, the commissioners tabled a vote to approve the MOU, initially presented in December, after Altgelt questioned the legality surrounding the document. They also tabled three other items dealing with the center, including voting to approve the new board of directors as well as the next quarterly payment to the organization. It’s unclear if that payment, or any future payment, will happen. A special meeting might be called in the near future to tackle the unresolved issues between the county and the center. If the commissioners vote to no longer fund the
center, Altgelt said that may prompt legal action, as the county has a resolution with the center saying it will fund the organization $85,000 during the year. Juan Cruz, of Escamilla, Poneck and Cruz, a firm contracted by the county that drew up the MOU, said the resolution is not a legally binding document. Whether the center gets funded by the county or not, the nonprofit plans to move forward, Altgelt said. However, he added that the center needs, and wants, the support of the Commissioners Court. Meanwhile, the center is reassembling its ninemember board of directors. The only member who did not resign was Joe Medrano, the lone county appointee on the board. Altgelt, who is on the center’s new board of directors, said Tuesday that six of the eight vacant positions have been filled. (Nick Georgiou may be reached at 728-2582 or ngeorgiou@lmtonline.com)
SATURDAY, MARCH 19, 2011
ON THE WEB: THEZAPATATIMES.COM
Sports&Outdoors MARCH MADNESS
TOYOTA SHARELUNKERS
FISHING HEATS UP
AP photo
Texas forward Gary Johnson looks to pass as Oakland, Mich., center Keith Benson defends in the first half of a West Regional NCAA tournament second round basketball game Friday in Tulsa, Okla.
Longhorns advance
Courtesy photo
Ed Carter of Broken Bow, Okla., caught Toyota ShareLunker 518 from Lake Fork on Sunday. The fish bit a black lizard. It weighed 14.25 pounds and was 25 inches long and 22.5 inches in girth.
Warmer waters lead to more local catches By LARRY HODGE
85-81 victory over Oakland sends UT to second round ASSOCIATED PRESS
TULSA, Okla. — Tristan Thompson caught the ball on the left side of the basket and spun to his right. Guarded by the Summit
League’s best player in center Keith Benson, the Texas freshman had to make a choice as his momentum carried toward the baseline. Rather than put the
See UT PAGE 2B
MARCH MADNESS
SPECIAL TO THE TIMES
ATHENS — While fans of college basketball are glued to television sets watching that manifestation of March Madness, bass anglers are enjoying a fishy form of the mayhem. Sunday afternoon saw two anglers boat Toyota ShareLunkers. Number 518 bit a black lizard on Lake Fork around 3 p.m. Ed Carter of Broken Bow, Okla., was the lucky angler who pulled in the 14.25-pounder. The fish was held for pickup at the Minnow Bucket, an official Toyota ShareLunker weigh and holding station. Before the Toyota ShareLunker Tundra made it back to Athens with that fish, Robert Amaya of Robert’s Fish ’n Tackle in Zapata called to report Toyota ShareLunker 519, a 13.37pounder from Falcon International Reservoir. That fish was
caught by David Cosner of Austin and was held for pickup at Robert’s Fish ’n Tackle. Unseasonably cold weather in February held water temperatures down and slowed the bite but recent sunny days have warmed the shallows and encouraged spawning fish to move up. “Anglers tell me they are seeing lots of big fish cruising in shallow water,” said Jerry Hunter, manager of Elm Creek Village on O.H. Ivie. “The water has just hit 60 degrees, there will be a full moon this weekend-everything is lined up just right, and we just need somebody to get a hook in one.” Last season O.H. Ivie produced 11 Toyota ShareLunkers, and seven of them were caught when the water temperature was 60 degrees or higher. The current lake record, a 16.08pounder, was caught the last day of the season from 69-degree
water.
Falcon races O.H. Ivie Six weeks ago it looked like no lake in Texas could catch O.H. Ivie in the Toyota ShareLunker race. By Jan. 30, O.H. Ivie, 55 miles east of San Angelo, had produced four ShareLunkers, and anglers could follow the smoke to the lake. On Jan. 31, Falcon International Reservoir produced its first ShareLunker of the season. Ho-hum. But since then the big bass lake on the Rio Grande has kicked out five more Toyota ShareLunkers to O.H. Ivie’s two. That puts the two reservoirs neck and neck at six Toyota ShareLunkers each with another six weeks to go in the season, which ends April 30.
See FISHING PAGE 2B
NFL
NFL players say Goodell attempted to ‘divide’ ASSOCIATED PRESS
Photo by Charles Rex Arbogast | AP
Florida State’s Derwin Kitchen (22) drives around Texas A&M’s Naji Hibbert in the first half of a second-round NCAA Southwest Regional tournament basketball game in Chicago on Friday.
Seminoles end A&M’s run in Chicago, 57-50 ASSOCIATED PRESS
CHICAGO — The suffocating defense that carried Florida State to the NCAA tournament squeezed Texas A&M right out of it. Derwin Kitchen scored 15 points, and the 10th-seeded Seminoles won a tournament game for the first time in 13 years, knocking off the seventhseeded Aggies 57-50 in the sec-
ond round on Friday. Bernard James added 10 points, keying a go-ahead run in the second half, and the Seminoles (22-10) advanced even though star Chris Singleton struggled in his return from a broken right foot, finishing with five points and four fouls. The nation’s leader in field-
See AGS PAGE 2B
MARCO ISLAND, Fla. — NFL players and their leadership tried to make a few things perfectly clear Friday: They consider the letter Commissioner Roger Goodell sent them a day earlier an attempt to create “dissension.” They refute the league’s contention that the union walked away from negotiations. They dispute the owners’ depiction of their last-minute offer made last Friday. They say it wasn’t close to acceptable because it would have made salaries a fixed cost and eliminated the players’ chance to share in higher-than-projected revenue growth. They say the proposal would cut players’ take of more than $9 billion in annual revenues from 50 percent to 45 percent in the first year of a new contract. Pete Kendall, the former union’s permanent player representative, called the league’s offer “kind of the old switcheroo.” Pittsburgh Steelers safety Ryan Clark, his team’s main representative, called it “probably the worst deal in sports history,” echoing words used by NFLPA
A hearing on the players’ request for a preliminary injunction to stop the lockout is scheduled for April 6 in Minneapolis, and there appears to be little chance of a return to bargaining before then. chief executive DeMaurice Smith in a radio appearance. “If the union had a problem, the best course of action would have been to make a counterproposal, continue to discuss the issue, or explain the problem,” NFL spokesman Greg Aiello wrote in an email to The Associated Press. “They were in such a hurry to get out of the room last Friday and file their lawsuit that they never mentioned this ... issue.” Mediation cut off a week ago, and the union dissolved itself, allowing players to file a classaction antitrust suit in federal court. Hours later, when the old collective bargaining agreement expired, owners locked out the players. That created the sport’s first work stoppage since 1987,
and players can’t sign new contracts or get paid under existing ones. Their health insurance premiums are not being paid by teams. A hearing on the players’ request for a preliminary injunction to stop the lockout is scheduled for April 6 in Minneapolis, and there appears to be little chance of a return to bargaining before then. Aiello wrote that the league “made it clear” there would be an opportunity for players to get a share of extra revenues starting in 2015. He continued: “The union is now saying that instead of further negotiations the best thing to do was walk out of mediation, pretend to no
See NFL PAGE 2B
PAGE 2B
Zscores
SATURDAY, MARCH 19, 2011
Heat honor former player for Iraq service By TIM REYNOLDS ASSOCIATED PRESS
MIAMI — Center court. All eyes on him. Fans coming to their feet in a raucous ovation, the din drowning out all other sounds in the arena. Tim James never had that moment when he played for the Miami Heat. He will this weekend, when the Heat celebrate him for wearing a different uniform — the one of the U.S. Army. The Heat have honored soldiers who served in Iraq and Afghanistan with pregame ceremonies as part of the team’s “Home Strong” initiative since 2006, and before they face the Denver Nuggets on Saturday, they will stop to welcome back one of their own. “I’m excited, I’m nervous and I’m also a bit overwhelmed, because I never expected this amount of excitement,” James said in a telephone
interview from his base in Killeen, Texas before flying to South Florida. “It just shows the level of class that the Miami Heat organization really is. I really appreciate that they’re putting out their appreciation, not just for me but for the entire Armed Forces.” James was Miami’s first-round pick in 1999, out of the University of Miami. His NBA career was unspectacular, and with the Heat, he only appeared in four games. To Heat President Pat Riley, that doesn’t matter. If you’re ever alongside Riley, you’re usually alongside him for life. So even though James is tied for 168th on the franchise scoring list with all of 11 points, the Heat hope he gets the sort of ovation typically reserved for NBA champions. “What Tim has done in enlisting, making a fiveyear commitment, signing a five-year contract to be
Photo by Brian Wilson/US Army | AP
This undated handout provided by the U.S. Army, shows Tim James, the Miami Heat’s 1999 first round pick, at Camp Speicher in Iraq. Center court. All eyes on him. Fans coming to their feet in a raucous ovation, the din drowning out all other sounds in the arena. James never had that moment when he played for the Heat. in the service, it just goes above and beyond probably what most people in his category would do,” Riley said. “I just take my hat off to him. Very grate-
ful to have coached him and known him and that he’s part of this organization.” James played in all of 43 NBA games, the last 39
with Charlotte and Philadelphia. When his NBA days ended, he played in Japan, Turkey and Israel, before calling quits to his pro career in 2007. Needing something to do, James couldn’t shake his longtime fascination with the military. He joined the Army on Sept. 12, 2008. Before long, the 6foot-8 James — who now carries the rank of Corporal — was serving in Iraq, 85 miles or so away from Baghdad. “With what’s going on in our world today, I think one of the greatest sacrifices that anybody, anybody, in our country today can make is to enlist in the military and help this war on terror,” Riley said. “I just think what he’s done is so unselfish and so great, that we really hope we can do justice by honoring him on Saturday.” James has been back in the U.S. for about seven months. He spends much
of his days now working on and maintaining heavy equipment, although not long ago he was in a heavily wooded area of Texas for two weeks for some intense training. There’s a chance he could be deployed again to either Iraq — where he’s already served for a year — or Afghanistan. “Most of us don’t worry about war,” James said. “We don’t know what it’s like to be exposed to it on our streets. You have people and organizations like the Heat who are going to make everybody remember, and bring the focus back, on the fact that we have people who are in a war zone, put in harm’s way, some killed, some maimed, some disfigured. There’s people sacrificing everything they have.” When he was in Iraq, the Heat sent care packages to his unit regularly. That gesture alone generated plenty of goodwill among the troops.
www.tpwd.state.tx.us/sharelunker. The site also includes a searchable database of all fish entered into the program along with pictures where available. Information on current catches, including short videos of interviews with anglers when available, is posted on www.facebook.com/sharelunkerprogram. The Toyota ShareLunker Program is made possible by a grant to the Texas
Parks & Wildlife Foundation from Gulf States Toyota. Toyota is a long-time supporter of the Foundation and Texas Parks and Wildlife Department, providing major funding for a wide variety of education, fish, parks and wildlife projects. (Larry Hodge is an information specialist at the Texas Freshwater Fisheries Center in Athens, a division of the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department.)
FISHING Continued from Page 1B Toyota ShareLunker 520 was caught at Falcon Lake by Todd Elrod of Fritch at about 1 p.m. March 15. It weighed 13.18 pounds and was 25.5 inches long and 20 inches in girth. Elrod caught the fish on an Arkie jig in 20 feet of 66-degree water. It was held for pickup at Robert’s Fish ‘n Tackle, an official Toyota ShareLunker weigh and holding station in Zapata. Genetic testing at the A.E. Wood Fish Hatchery
in San Marcos showed Toyota ShareLunker 519 to be pure Florida largemouth, so that fish will become part of the selective breeding program at ShareLunker headquarters at the Texas Freshwater Fisheries Center in Athens.
March Madness March is traditionally the peak month for ShareLunker entries. The game is on.
Anyone legally catching a 13-pound or bigger largemouth bass from Texas waters, public or private, between Oct. 1 and April 30 may submit the fish to the Toyota ShareLunker program by calling program manager David Campbell at (903) 681-0550 or paging him at (888) 784-0600 and leaving a phone number, including area code. Fish will be picked up by TPWD personnel within 12 hours. Anglers entering fish in-
to the Toyota ShareLunker program receive a free replica of their fish, a certificate and ShareLunker clothing and are recognized at a banquet at the Texas Freshwater Fisheries Center in Athens. For complete information and rules of the ShareLunker program, tips on caring for big bass, a list of official Toyota ShareLunker weigh and holding stations and a recap of last year’s season, see
AGS Continued from Page 1B goal defense, they held Texas A&M (24-9) to 31.4-percent shooting on the way to their first NCAA win since they beat TCU in the first round in 1998. The Seminoles had dropped three straight NCAA games, losing to Wisconsin in overtime in 2009 and Gonzaga last season. Now, they can start a different kind of streak. If they beat Notre Dame on Sunday, they’ll head to San Antonio for the next round in the Southwest Regional, with the Final Four in Houston. Khris Middleton scored 16 for Texas A&M — 11 in the first half. Nathan Walkup added 11, David Loubeau scored 10, but a team that was hoping to two-step its way to tournament games in Texas can forget about that. Florida State got going early in the second half, erasing a 31-23 deficit with a 13-0 run in which James scored eight straight. The 6foot-10 junior converted a put-back after the Kitchen nailed a 3, then dunked off a nice feed from Ian Miller to pull the Seminoles within one. He scored down low to give Florida State the lead after blocking Kourtney Roberson and scored again just over seven minutes into the half to make it 34-31. Michael Snaer added a floater to make it a five-point game before Loubeau followed his own miss with a basket that broke about a 61/2-minute drought for Texas A&M. It was 42-40 after the Aggies’ Nathan Walkup hit a 3 with about 7:10 left when Singleton nailed one of his own from the left corner.
NFL Continued from Page 1B
Florida State got going early in the second half, erasing a 31-23 deficit with a 13-0 run in which James scored eight straight. Kitchen made it 48-40 when he drove by Naji Hibbert for a three-point play with 4:49 left, and the Seminoles remained in control the rest of the way. The Seminoles’ leading scorer and rebounder, Singleton checked in with 7:35 left in the first half after a 9-0 run by the Aggies. A small contingent of FSU fans cheered when he replaced Okaro White after the freshman hit two free throws that momentarily put Florida State back on top 14-12. About 21/2 minutes later, Singleton hit his first shot — a mid-range jumper. Otherwise, it was a quiet start for the Seminoles star. The jumper was his lone basket of the half and he quickly picked up three fouls in his first appearance since he was injured against Virginia on Feb. 12. He had surgery two days later, and the Seminoles split the six games in his absence leading up to the NCAA tournament. The Aggies led 26-23 at the half after Middleton nailed a 3 from the left corner at the buzzer.
longer be a union, and file a lawsuit. Those actions simply make no sense.” In a speech Friday to players at the NFLPA’s annual meeting, Smith said he won’t be paid during the work stoppage — the league’s first since 1987. Goodell and NFL general counsel Jeff Pash, the league’s lead labor negotiator, already said they would reduce their salaries to a dollar each. “Our players are locked out,” Smith said during a brief session with reporters. “The league made a unilaterial decision to punish the people who made this game great.” Smith said he does not consider Goodell’s letter — emailed to all active players Thursday — an attempt to engage in good-faith negotiations. The league, he said, could attempt to restart talks by writing, instead, to lawyers representing the players now that the union has dissolved. “Let’s not kid ourselves. Jeff Pash ... knows that class counsel can always engage in discussions with counsel for the National Football League to have discussions relating to a settlement,” Smith said. “He knows what letter should have been sent.” In his letter, Goodell outlined the NFL’s version of last week’s proposal and told players: “I hope you will encourage your union to return to the bargaining table and conclude a new
collective bargaining agreement.” Players were upset by that line, particularly the reference to “your union” — the NFLPA renounced its status as a union and says it is now a trade association, which permits the court actions under antitrust laws; the league calls that move a “sham.” Clark said the letter was written “to create confusion, to create dissension among the players.” Dallas Cowboys linebacker Bradie James thought Goodell’s words were meant “to divide us; it’s that simple.” Kendall said that throughout negotiations, the players’ chance to share in increased revenues had been a key component of how to divide the NFL’s yearly take of more than $9 billion, a figure both sides expect to continue to increase. He said the negotiations, until talks stopped on the 16th day of federal mediation, always revolved around the premise that if the rise in league revenues exceeded a certain percentage each year, players would get a cut. Pash told the AP this week that the owners’ final proposal was for a 10year CBA. Kendall confirmed that. “A 10-year, fair deal might be something worth considering,” Kendall said. “A 10-year deal where the players don’t participate in any of the upside is not a deal that I think is ... something that the players should have taken.”
UT Continued from Page 1B ball up with his left hand, his shooting hand, and risk a block, the 6-foot-8 Thompson shot with his right hand to create extra space between he and Benson. The shot banked off the glass and went in. It was that kind of day for Thompson and the Longhorns, who survived a late rally to defeat Oakland 85-81 in their NCAA tournament opener Friday. Thompson finished with 17 points, 10 rebounds and a careerhigh seven blocks in helping Texas avoid the same fate as fellow No. 4 seed Louisville, which lost to Morehead State on Thursday. “We just won a game against an outstanding team,” Texas coach Rick Barnes said. “A team that’s tough, hard-nosed and not going away. We knew they’d fight.” Thompson controlled his matchup with the 6-foot-11 Benson, collecting three offensive rebounds on Texas’ first three possessions while battling head-tohead with the senior. He didn’t
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We played a team that can win the national championship, and we did everything we thought we could do. We didn’t make enough shots.” OAKLAND COACH GREG KAMPE
let up after that, attacking the glass with the intensity that concerned Oakland coach Greg Kampe before the game and showing off an array of spin moves and power dunks on offense. “First off, (Benson’s) an outstanding big man,” Thompson said. We knew coming in trying to try and make it difficult for him. Trying to get him off the block and have him resort to turnaround jumpers. “I just tried to play defense and help my team win.” The Summit League’s Player of the Year finished with 15 points and 11 rebounds, but was 6-of-15 shooting. He struggled to find a niche inside during the
up-and-down game against Texas’ frontcourt duo of Thompson and Jordan Hamilton, who added 19 points and 10 rebounds. “(Thompson’s) a really athletic player,” Benson said. “He had long arms and he goes hard to the offensive boards. “ So I just tried to battle with him and keep him off the boards.” Oakland trailed 46-38 at halftime and fell behind by as many as 17 points after Jai Lucas’ 3pointer gave the Longhorns a 6346 lead early in the second half. Texas continued to control throughout the half, leading 7863 with less than five minutes remaining after a jumper by J’Covan Brown.
Oakland finished 33-of-75 (44. percent) shooting, while the Longhorns were 30-of-63 (47.6 percent). “What can I say?” Kampe said. “We played a team that can win the national championship, and we did everything we thought we could do. We didn’t make enough shots.” The Golden Grizzlies (25-10), the NCAA’s second-highest scoring team with an average of 85.6 points per game, didn’t fold. They closed the Longhorns’ lead to 80-75 after a Larry Wright 3pointer with 1:23 remaining and appeared on the verge of sending Texas to an opening loss at the tournament for a second straight year.
The Longhorns, however, responded to the late surge by hitting five free throws in the final minute to secure the win. Texas finished 21-of-26 at the line, including a 12-of-12 performance from Brown, who led Texas with 21 points. Next up for the Longhorns is Arizona on Sunday. It’s a welcome game for a Texas team that lost in the first round to Wake Forest last year. “It’s a new year,” Barnes said. “But, yeah, this is what we play for. I don’t think there is any question this time of year. “I’ve said before, you don’t take for granted getting into the tournament, but once you’re in it, you want to do something.”
SATURDAY, MARCH 19, 2011
THE ZAPATA TIMES 3B
HINTS BY | HELOISE Dear Readers: Have you ever seen those cute TURTLES in a pet store and been tempted to buy one? Here are some important things to know about turtles: They can carry salmonella, which is a nasty stomach infection that causes diarrhea, headache, fever and vomiting. If you have a turtle, wash your hands! This is the MOST important thing to do every time you handle the turtle. Another point is that it is illegal to offer for purchase turtles that are less than 4 inches in length; they can die quickly from rough care. You may see these small turtles for sale, but it is still not a good idea to buy them. There are some turtles that are endangered, so if you happen to find a turtle in your yard, a pond, etc., it is best to release it into a lake. A friend of one of my assistants had a turtle “wash” into her yard after a rainstorm. She attempted to take it to a pet store and was told that it was an endangered species and to please take it to a pond or river and release it. So, make your choice carefully when considering having a turtle as a pet. — Heloise PET PAL Dear Readers: Mary Farrar of Madison, Maine, sent a picture of her Himalayan mix cat, Kiwi, lying in a box perfectly suited for him. Long-haired silver with a black tail, it’s Kiwi’s job to wake Mary up every morning. To see Kiwi and our other Pet Pals, visit www.Heloise.com and click on “Pets.” — Heloise DOGS AND COTTON SWABS Dear Heloise: My dog likes to eat used cotton
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HELOISE
swabs, of all things. Admittedly, I found this out while teasing her with one, but it explains what she was looking for every time I found the contents of my bathroom garbage can spread out on the floor. This could cause serious problems like intestinal blockage, so dog owners, please dispose of cotton swabs where your dog can’t get to them. — Christopher, via e-mail CAT-BOX SOLUTION Dear Heloise: Through the years, I’ve tried just about every cat-box liner on the market, and none of them holds up to my cat with the determined claws. Recently, I ran out of liners, and for a temporary solution, I cut the top off a contractor’s trash bag — the heavy-duty kind you can get at homeimprovement stores. It turned out to be perfect for the litter box, and the cat has been unable to shred it. — Bea, via e-mail ANOTHER USE Dear Heloise: My 3year-old spilled a whole cup of juice on the kitchen floor. I didn’t want to grab the mop, so I spied one of the (clean) pet potty pads that we had been using to train our new puppy. I tossed it on the spill, and it soaked up all of the liquid. What a great thing to have in a situation just like this! — M.C., via email (c)2011 by King Features Syndicate Inc. Photo caption: Mary Farrar of Madison, Maine, sent this photo of her Himalayan mix cat, Kiwi, lying in a box perfectly suited for him.
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SATURDAY, MARCH 19, 2011
Earnhardt downplaying strong start ASSOCIATED PRESS
BRISTOL, Tenn. — When Dale Earnhardt Jr. failed to qualify for last year’s championship race, he spent the final three months of the season out of the spotlight. The focus was no longer on the struggles of NASCAR’s most popular driver, shifting instead to the title contenders. Earnhardt liked being under the radar, without having every underwhelming run dissected. He doesn’t have that luxury anymore. A decent start to the season has Earnhardt ranked 10th in the Sprint Cup standings for the first time since early last season. It’s created a buzz around Earnhardt from a rabid fan base eager to see its driver snap his 96-race winless streak. But Earnhardt isn’t getting too far ahead of himself and urged everyone to be patient. “I think we’ve just got to temper our excitement over what we’ve seen so far,” he said Friday at Bristol Motor Speedway. “You’ve got to temper your mood a little bit and just keep working hard, keep staying focused,
realizing how much further in the season we got to go.” Earnhardt has been down this road before, most recently 2008 in his first season with Hendrick Motorsports. Although he won only one race, he ran well most of the season and hovered inside the top-five in points all the way up to the start of the Chase for the Sprint Cup championship. Then he faded fast and has been mired in a slump ever since. Earnhardt failed to make the Chase the last two seasons, finished inside the top-five just five times and couldn’t get close to Victory Lane. Those struggles played in a role in team owner Rick Hendrick’s offseason organizational changes, which led to crew chief changes on three of his four teams. Earnhardt was paired with Steve Letarte, who had spent the last several seasons with four-time champion Jeff Gordon. Through three races this season, the pairing seems to be perfect. “I think Stevie pulls things out of Dale that are valuable to making them go faster,” Gordon said, “and I think Dale adds something to Stevie to keep them in
check and calmed down to focus on his job. I think they are good together. I really like hearing them work together.” Earnhardt won the pole for the season-opening Daytona 500 and ran up front before a late flat tire contributed to being caught in an accident. He was 10th at Phoenix and eighth at Las Vegas. But there’s 33 races remaining, and Earnhardt knows he’s got a long way to go before he can call this season a comeback. “The challenge (is) me and (Letarte) maintaining our positive attitude, maintaining the communication and the consistency of how it’s working right now,” Earnhardt said. “That is going to be the part that is the hardest, that will determine whether we will succeed or not, is whether we can keep that going over an entire season. The season is long. Things don’t go right. You get (mad). “You have to get through those points. They happen, whether it be in a practice or whatever — the littlest thing, you’ve got to be able to manage it. I have a hard time not letting certain things just ruin my day and
getting (mad) at everything around me. I’ve always had that problem.” That’s where Letarte has to take over. His role so far has been in-race cheerleader, keeping Earnhardt calm and confident during the bumpy stretches. “When you get yourself in a hole or the car isn’t quite going like you want it to go or the car is not responding like you think it should, he gives you the impression that you’re going to fix it before the end of the day,” Earnhardt said. “As long as he doesn’t fool me too many times — he does a great job of keeping you in the game, that you’re part of the puzzle and everybody needs to be pulling in the same direction.” The key is showing enough improvement over the next few weeks to get Earnhardt closer to ending this long losing streak. His last victory came at Michigan in June, 2008. Mark Martin, his teammate at Hendrick Motorsports, believes Earnhardt is headed in the right direction. “Junior is well on his way to what I would call a recovery,” Martin said.
Photo by Wade Payne | AP
Crews work on cars after practice for the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Jeff Byrd 500 race at Bristol Motor Speedway on Friday in Bristol, Tenn.
HoF to honor ‘Talkin’ Baseball’ composer ASSOCIATED PRESS
As a minor league pitcher, Dennis Minogue hardly had Hall of Fame talent. Once he changed his tune — and name — and forever linked Willie, Mickey and the Duke, he earned his spot in Cooperstown. The Hall will honor “Talkin’ Baseball” composer and singer Terry Cashman this summer as part of induction weekend, 30 years after his song became a ballpark favorite. Funny thing, the popular refrain almost included another player. “I kept trying to fit Joe DiMaggio into the song and it wasn’t working,” Cashman told The Associated Press this week.
Photo by Eric Miller | AP
Left to right, Duke Snider, Willie Mays and Mickey Mantle join hands as they pose at the New York chapter dinner of the Baseball Writers Association, in New York, on Jan. 22, 1995. The Hall will honor “Talkin’ Baseball” composer and singer Terry Cashman this summer as part of induction weekend, 30 years after his song became a ballpark favorite. Once he dropped Joe D, the most familiar verse flowed rather easily.
“It just came into my head that way,” Cashman said. “I sat down and
wrote the whole thing in 20 minutes.” Cashman said he was
inspired to write the song by a picture of all four great center fielders walking across the field at Shea Stadium during an Old-Timers’ Day. He liked the photo so much, in fact, he bought the rights to use it. The 69-year-old Cashman also was stirred by the memory of debates he had on the street corners of New York in the 1950s over which of the three future Hall of Famers was best. Being a Giants fan, Mays was his guy. Cashman said, however, that’s not why Willie’s name came first in the song — it simply sounded better that way. Mays is the only one still alive from that famed trio. Mantle died more than 15 years ago and
Snider passed away last month, with “Talkin’ Baseball” often playing in memory for the Duke of Flatbush. “And Willie will soon be 80,” Cashman said. Cashman will perform his song once again during ceremonies on July 23 that hail a writer and broadcaster, as well as executive Roland Hemond for lifetime achievement. The next day, Roberto Alomar, Bert Blyleven and Pat Gillick will be inducted. “Just the idea I’m in the baseball Hall of Fame is like heaven for me,” he said by phone from his home in the Bronx. His original sheet music for the song, incidentally, is already part of the Cooperstown collection.
“Shogun” Rua, Jones headline UFC 128 By DAVE SKRETTA ASSOCIATED PRESS
Photo by Alberto Saiz | AP
Saxo Bank rider Alberto Contador of Spain, winner of the Vuelta de Murcia cycling race 2011, rides on his way to win the third and final stage during an individual time trial in Murcia, Spain, on March 6.
US chief concerned over ‘flip-flop’ By ROB HARRIS ASSOCIATED PRESS
LONDON — The United States’ anti-doping chief described the Spanish cycling federation’s decision to clear Alberto Contador of doping as a “flip-flop,” saying the backtracking on a proposed one-year ban could send out the wrong messages to both athletes and fans. Spain’s disciplinary committee accepted Contador’s defense that a positive test for banned substance clenbuterol while winning last year’s Tour de France was caused by unintentionally eating contaminated beef. But Travis Tygart, the chief executive of the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency, said authorities must not be
afraid of “bringing down our heroes” if they have cheated, and wants Spain’s Contador dossier fully reviewed by international bodies. The International Cycling Union must decide by March 24 whether to appeal against the Spanish federation’s decision to the Court of Arbitration for Sport in Switzerland. The World Anti-Doping Agency has three more weeks than the UCI to decide whether to appeal to CAS. “If there are questions about whether the outcome is fair and just based on the rules and particular facts they should appeal that to the supreme court of sport,” Tygart, who hasn’t seen the Contador dossier, told The Associated
Press on Friday. “WADA plays the great equalizer to ensure justice is even and in line with the facts and the rules around the world.” The Spanish federation overturned Contador’s ban after Spanish Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero declared there was “no legal reason” to sanction Contador, who was also backed by the country’s sports minister. “Clearly what has been reported was a flip-flop — there was a one-year agreement (ban) and then there were statements from the prime minister ... and then there is a zero sanction,” Tygart said when attending an anti-doping conference in London this week. “I don’t know what the right
outcome is, I haven’t seen the evidence, but from a perception standpoint, something is not right there. “Something should be looked into, and it looks (like) it is right at the heart of the lack of independence when you have a national federation ... which might not have the expertise, which might not have the funding, which has to go after and prosecute a national hero who just won the biggest cycling event in the world. That is not an easy thing to do for anyone.” Contador registered a minute trace of clenbuterol, which is listed as a zero-tolerance drug by WADA, from a test taken on a rest day at last year’s Tour.
NEW YORK — Jon Jones was still in high school when Mauricio “Shogun” Rua was becoming a mixed martial arts star fighting in Japan. The brother of Baltimore Ravens defensive tackle Arthur Jones, young Jon was never that good at sports growing up. He certainly wasn’t going to follow his big brother into the NFL, or even his other brother, Chandler, who played college football at Syracuse. Jones stuck with wrestling instead, because he realized that hard work could overcome any athletic shortcomings. He found success on the mat and eventually transitioned to MMA. Now all of 23 years old, he’ll have the opportunity to become UFC light heavyweight champion when he fights Rua — still only 29, but with vastly more experience — today in Newark, N.J. “I’m just enjoying the ride; I’m grateful to be where I’m sitting today,” Jones said earlier this week. “I realize it’s a dream come true, so I’m just enjoying it.” UFC president Dana White said he believes Jones is the future of mixed martial arts. He’s exciting in the cage, where he’s won 12 of his 13 professional fights, the lone loss coming on a disqualification for illegal elbows. He is equally adept at knocking out opponents with blinding speed as he is forcing
them to submit once the fight hits the floor. Beyond his crowd-pleasing fighting style, Jones has a crowd-pleasing personality. He has more than 53,000 followers on Twitter, where he often posts inspirational messages. He helps raise money for charities trying to combat cancer, which claimed the life of his older sister in 2000. And he remains so grounded — despite a fanbase that includes rapper 50 Cent — that he rarely speaks above a whisper and is terrified of being portrayed in a negative light. “I’m aware of all the ways you can fall by the wayside,” Jones said during a news conference at Radio City Music Hall. “I guess awareness is key, knowledge is power. I’m a pretty smart guy. I know the warning signs when you can be sidetracked.” He also knows when to take advantage of an opportunity. Jones was added to the card in February as a late replacement for Rashad Evans, who hurt his knee during training. Jones jumped at the chance to face a veteran in Rua who is coming off a knockout of Lyoto Machida that earned him the light heavyweight title last year. “I was a champion back when I was 23 in Pride,” Rua said of his days in Japan. “So if you compare our careers in that sense, you can see some similarities. “Jon Jones is a great fighter,” the Brazilian added through a translator.