The Zapata Times 4/3/2010

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2010 CENSUS

CRIME

Zapata’s Deadly attack on baby return rate low Zapata Sheriff charges uncle with capital murder in 6-month-old’s death

By CÉSAR G. RODRIGUEZ THE ZAPATA TIMES

By LORRAINE L RODRIGUEZ THE ZAPATA TIMES

Zapata County has the dubious distinction of having the lowest Census form return rates in Texas, but it appears many residents have yet to receive the questionnaires.

“I received a notice in the mail that I would receive the census form by mail two weeks ago but still have not received anything,” resident Anita Arredondo said.

U.S. Census Day was April 1, and at the end of that day, Zapata’s mail has the lowest mail response rate in the state, 16 percent.

But many Zapata residents live in rural areas and receive their mail in post office boxes, which poses a problem.

According to Efren Salinas, the U.S. Census Bu-

“

I received a notice in the mail that I would receive the census form by mail two weeks ago but still have not received anything.”

Zapata County Sheriff ’s deputies say a man fatally assaulted his 6-month-old nephew last weekend because the child was crying.

Gabriel Alvarez Briones, 34, is charged with capital murder in the death of Carlos Eduardo Gonzalez, who had been left tempo-

rarily in Alvarez Briones’ care.

Alvarez Briones remained in Zapata Regional Jail on Friday under a $1 million cash bond.

“He admitted to the murder,” said Sheriff Sigifredo Gonzalez, noting Alvarez Briones told investigators he became frustrated with the baby’s cry.

“The baby died of multiple

fractures to the head.”

According to a sheriff ’s department report, the child was asALVAREZ saulted at a BRIONES residence in the 600 block of Ramireño Avenue over the weekend.

The Zapata County Fire Department received a 911 medical call at about 5:30 p.m. Sunday. At the scene, paramedics met with the baby’s 19-year-old mother who was carrying the

child, covered with a small blanket, in her arms.

“The eyes were partially closed,” paramedics said.

“The child was moaning.”

EMS personnel didn’t see any visible injuries — such as bruises, lacerations or bumps — on the infant’s body.

Gonzalez said the mother stated the baby seemed to be OK, but when she was changing the boy’s diaper, she noticed he was “very unresponsive.”

See BABY PAGE 9A

RECREATION

FISHING AND FUN AT ANOTHER TOURNAMENT

ANITA ARREDONDO, RESIDENT reau Dallas Region media specialist, census forms aren’t sent to colonias or P.O. boxes. Instead, a census employee, known as an enumerator, will go door-todoor and deliver it to

See CENSUS PAGE 10A

ECONOMY

Grant will affect area favorably Funds will help create new jobs program and help diversify economy

By JOE RUTLAND THE ZAPATA TIMES

A recent grant that was awarded to help Texas border communities revitalize their local economies will have an impact on Zapata.

The University of Texas at San Antonio’s Institute for Economic Development received a three-year, $780,000 grant from the North American Development Bank and the Community Adjustment and Investment Program to create sustainable new jobs and expand and diversify local economies in major Texas border communities.

Richard Perez, executive director of Texas A&M In-

ternational University’s Small Business Development Center, said he has funds available to hire a full-time adviser for Zapata “so that area is going to get direct involvement from TAMIU-SBDC in helping their job creation, business starts, job retention and expansion.”

“We’re concentrating on these rural areas that have been so important,” Perez said. “If we don’t take care of these rural areas that don’t have the means like the urban area we live in around Laredo, then they will continue to crumble.”

Perez said he’s been in

See BUSINESS PAGE 10A

Photos by Cuate Santos | The Zapata Times

Arnoldo Garcia, of Zapata, fishes under the Arroyo Veleño Bridge in Zapata on Thursday afternoon.

April 11 is second annual Bass Blast

By STEPHANIE M. IBARRA THE ZAPATA TIMES

S

un blazing, calm winds and plenty of catch are what organizers of the Second Annual Falcon Lake Tackle Bass Blast are hoping for the Sunday, April 11, tournament.

With registration set for Saturday, April 10, from 5 to 7 p.m., the tournament is open to two-man teams and includes a $125 entry fee.

James Bendele, of Falcon Lake Tackle, takes his boat out on Falcon Lake on Thursday afternoon.

Door prizes from more than a dozen sponsors, payouts based on entries and meals for the competi-

tors are also part of the contest, as the Falcon Lake Tackle owners host the tournament as a way to show

their customer appreciation.

Started in 2000, the Falcon Lake Tackle is now owned by fishing aficionados Tom and James Bendele. Originally from San Antonio, the Bendeles have been fishing since the 1960s and decided to purchase a home in Zapata in 1990.

“We had been in talks for awhile with the previous owners.

Two to three years ago

See FISHING PAGE 10A

PAGE 2A

Zin brief CALENDAR

SATURDAY, APRIL 3 Siesta Shore Homeowners Association will be meeting at 4 p.m. today.

Members and non-members are invited to attend.

City of Laredo hosts Annual Easter Egg Hunt at the Laredo Civic Center Grounds today from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m.

The free event promises fun for the whole family, food, drinks, games and prizes while supply last.

Generales Texas Trail Riders are hosting their 1st Annual Autism Cabalgata today. Registration starts at 8 a.m. and trail ride at 9:30. There is a $20 donation fee for adults and $10 for children 12 and under. The event promises kids mechanical bulls, saddle raffles, inflatable bouncers and more!

Proceeds for the 14 mile ride from Las Lomas on Hwy 59 to Life fair grounds will go to Autism Awareness. For more information, call Eric Rodriguez at 3240484 or Hector Esparza at 285-3335.

TUESDAY, APRIL 6 Zapata Masonic Lodge #1402 meets tonight at 7:30 p.m. at the Zapata Masonic Lodge located between 14th Street and hwy 16.

THURSDAY, APRIL 8 With hits from the 70s, 80s, & 90s, Chicago is putting on a show tonight at the Laredo Energy Arena at 8 p.m. Tickets may be purchased at the box office or online. For more information, call 791-9192.

FRIDAY, APRIL 9 Join the Mariachi Falcon Booster Club for its first Spring Benefit Dance at the Zapata County Dance tonight at the Zapat County Pavilion from 8 p.m. to midnight. Sponsored in part by Los 5 de Zapata, Grupo Zamorales, Jorge Roel Y Potrillo, Grupo K-Libre and Trey’s DJ & Sound System Rentals, presale tickets are $10 and $12 at the door. For more information, contact Celia Balderas at cbalderas@zapatachamber.com SATURDAY, APRIL 10 Falcon Lake Tackle celebrates their 11th year in business with the 2nd Annual Falcon Lake Tackle Bass Blast set for April 11. The tournament is open to two man teams, with a $125 entry free, which includes Big Bass.

Registration begins tonight from 5 to 7 p.m. Great door prizes and a payout based on entries, one place for every five. For more information, call 7654866.

Laredo Crime Stoppers, Inc. is hosting the Crime Stoppers 5K Run/ Walk Against Crime today at Lake Casa Blanca. Registration begins at 7 a.m. and the run/walk starts at 8 a.m. Pre registration for adults is $15, and $20 the day of the event. Children under 12 go in free. First 100 paid entries receive a free t-shirt. For more information, go to www.laredocrimestoppers.org.

TRASHion Fashion Show & Competition struts down the runway at the Laredo Civic Center today. Hosted by Keep Laredo Beautiful, “Trashion Fashions” will be judged on three divisions: Organic – paper; natural fiber or materials, Inorganic- plastics; vinyl; metal or synthetics, and Mixed Media (trash) – combination of organic & inorganic.

Entries vary on size as whole outfits, separates and accessories were accepted.

Apart of TRASHion Fashion, today Community Green: Keep Laredo Beautiful, Borderplex and the CW celebrate Earth Day Festival from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. at the Laredo Civic Center with environmental displays, entertainment, artwork, a farmers market, and much more.

THURSDAY, APRIL 15 American Legion Auxiliary meets this afternoon at 1:30 p.m. at the American Legion Building at 2213 North Hwy 83.

American Legion meets tonight at 5:00 p.m. at the American Legion Building at 2213 North Hwy 83.

SATURDAY, APRIL 17 1st Annual Autism Trail ride & Fun Fest is set for this morning. Trail ride starts at Las Lomas on hwy. 59 at 9 a.m., arrives at life downs at 2 p.m.

Fun fest starts at noon to 6 p.m. at L.I.F.E. Downs open pavilion. There will be live music, food games, clowns, pony rides, raffles and mechanical bulls all to sponsor Autism Awareness. The fun fest is free for all participants, $10 per child rider and $20 per adult rider.

SATURDAY, JULY 17 The Zapata County Chamber of Commerce presents the Fishing Tournament for Life Extravaganza March of Dimes on Falcon Lake. Registration begins today at 5 to 7 p.m. at the Oso Blanco Lodge Boat Ramp. For more information, please call 765-4339.

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

SATURDAY, APRIL 3, 2010

AROUND THE NATION

TODAY IN HISTORY ASSOCIATED PRESS

Photo by Eric Risberg | AP

Stafford Muller, left, of Fremont, Calif., gets help with his resume from Janis Barat, right, Tuesday, March 30, at a career fair put on by National CareerFairs in San Jose, Calif. The nation’s economy created the largest number of jobs last month since the recession began, while the unemployment rate remained at 9.7 percent for the third straight month.

Economy adding jobs

By JEANNINE AVERSA AND CHRISTOPHER S. RUGABER ASSOCIATED PRESS

WASHINGTON — The nation added jobs at the fastest pace in three years last month as factories, stores, hospitals and the census all brought workers on board — the surest sign yet that the worst employment market in a generation has finally snapped back.

The unemployment rate stayed at 9.7 percent for the third month in a row, the Labor Department said Friday. Economists actually consider that a hopeful sign because it means more people are encouraged and starting to look for work.

“This recovery is for real,” said Chris Rup-

Neighbors’ fear impedes NJ child gang-rape case TRENTON, N.J. — The reported gang rape of a 7-year-old girl who police say was offered for sale by her 15-year-old stepsister to a group of grown men at Rowan Tower has shocked residents and put them in a quandary.

If they identify the men responsible, they risk violent retaliation from the street gangs that stalk the neighborhood.

key, Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi economist.

Overall, the economy added 162,000 jobs for the month. About a third of the gains came from the census, with much more to come: About 700,000 head-counters will be hired to tally the nation’s population this spring.

Economists took heart that even aside from the population count, the private sector added 123,000 jobs for the month.

Hiring is not expected to be robust enough anytime soon to significantly bring down the unemployment rate. Economists think unemployment will probably still be above 9 percent by the November midterm elections.

Thousands of vets missing Doctor’s sign warns away out on better benefits Obama supporters WILMINGTON, N.C. — Only a fraction of wounded veterans who could get better benefits have applied in the two years since Congress ordered the Pentagon to review disputed claims.

As of mid-March, 921 vets have applied out of the 77,000 the Pentagon estimates are eligible, according to numbers provided to Associated Press by the Physical Disability Board of Review.

MOUNT DORA, Florida — A central Florida urologist has posted a sign on his office door urging supporters of President Obama to find a different doctor.

The notice on Dr. Jack Cassell’s Mount Dora practice says, “If you voted for Obama, seek urologic care elsewhere. Changes to your healthcare begin right now, not in four years.”

-- Compiled from AP reports

AROUND TEXAS UT recalls students from northern Mexico AUSTIN — The University of Texas at Austin, citing violence in northern Mexico, has ordered its foreign exchange students in Monterrey to return home.

It’s the first time UT, which had more than 2,200 students in study-abroad programs around the globe in the 2008-2009 school year, has ever recalled students.

A UT official issued the order March 23. The order only applies to students enrolled at the Monterrey Institute of Technology and Higher Education.

Officers in El Paso motorist shooting identified EL PASO — A 20-year-old El Paso man shot by an off-duty police officer remained hospitalized Friday.

Officer Jorge Gonzalez shot Andres Elias Cortes in the neck Thursday after Cortes allegedly hit another off-duty officer with his car.

Photo by James Blair/NASA | AP

NASA astronauts, from left Dorothy Metcalf-Lindenburger, Naoko Yamazaki and Stephanie Wilson are shown at Johnson Space Center in Houston. Monday morning they will be head into orbit aboard shuttle Discovery.

Ex-Rio Grande City teacher guilty of drug trafficking McALLEN — A former fifthgrade teacher who coordinated the transportation of tons of marijuana to Houston faces at least 20 years in federal prison after pleading guilty to conspiracy.

Federal agents arrested David Rey Ramirez, 30, at Rio Grande City’s General Ricardo Sanchez Elementary School in late January, a month after his indictment.

He admitted in a plea agreement signed last Friday to conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute at least 1,000 kilograms of marijuana.

-- Compiled from AP reports

AROUND THE WORLD 5 gunmen killed in shootout in Reynosa MEXICO CITY — Five gunmen died in a shootout with soldiers in the border city of Reynosa early Friday, the latest of a series of clashes between troops and alleged drug traffickers in northeastern Mexico.

The confrontation took place in a residential area of Reynosa, across the border from McAllen.

Assailants Tuesday set up roadblocks near army garrisons and

opened fire on checkpoints in cities of the northeastern states of Tamaulipas and Nuevo Leon, setting off shootouts that killed 18 attackers and wounded one soldier.

The attacks are occurring as the Gulf cartel and the Zetas, the cartel’s former hit men, fight over control of northeastern Mexico.

Experts say drug lords are trying to get military patrols out of the way of their bloody battle.

Elsewhere in Mexico, at least 12 people were killed in drug-related violence Thursday and Friday.

In the border city of Tijuana, police on Friday found the bodies

of three men who had been shot to death in a residential area, state prosecutors said in a statement.

Also Friday, authorities in Nogales, Mexico, said they were investigating the death of a man who had been shot in the head and his body later burned up inside a car.

Farther south, police in Morelia, capital of the western state of Michoacan, found the mutilated bodies of two men who had been shot to death. A “Z” was carved on their bodies, an apparent reference to the Zetas.

-- Compiled from AP reports

Today is Saturday, April 3, the 93rd day of 2010. There are 272 days left in the year.

Today’s Highlight in History: On April 3, 1860, the legendary Pony Express began carrying mail between St. Joseph, Mo., and Sacramento, Calif.

(The delivery system lasted only 18 months, giving way to the transcontinental telegraph.)

On this date: In 1865, Union forces occupied the Confederate capital of Richmond, Va. In 1882, outlaw Jesse James was shot to death in St. Joseph, Mo., by Robert Ford, a member of James’ gang.

In 1936, Bruno Hauptmann was electrocuted in Trenton, N.J. for the kidnap-murder of Charles Lindbergh Jr. In 1946, Lt. Gen. Masaharu Homma, the Japanese commander responsible for the Bataan Death March, was executed by firing squad outside Manila.

In 1948, President Harry S. Truman signed into law the Marshall Plan, designed to help European allies rebuild after World War II and resist Communism.

In 1968, the day before he was assassinated in Memphis, Tenn., civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr. delivered his famous “mountaintop” speech to a rally of striking sanitation workers. North Vietnam agreed to meet with U.S. representatives to set up preliminary peace talks.

In 1974, deadly tornadoes struck wide parts of the South and Midwest before jumping into Canada; more than 300 fatalities resulted.

In 1979, Jane M. Byrne was elected mayor of Chicago, defeating Republican Wallace D. Johnson.

In 1990, jazz singer Sarah Vaughan died in suburban Los Angeles at age 66.

In 1996, an Air Force jetliner carrying Commerce Secretary Ron Brown and American business executives crashed in Croatia, killing all 35 people.

Five years ago: A day after the death of Pope John Paul II, the body of the pontiff lay in state. Millions prayed at services across the globe, as the Vatican prepared for the ritual-filled funeral and conclave that would choose a successor.

Today’s Birthdays: Actresssinger Doris Day is 87. Former German Chancellor Helmut Kohl is 80. Conservationist Dame Jane Goodall is 76. Actor William Gaunt is 73. Actor Eric Braeden is 69. Actress Marsha Mason is 68. Singer Wayne Newton is 68. Singer Billy Joe Royal is 68. Singer Tony Orlando is 66. Comedy writer Pat Proft is 63. Folkrock singer Richard Thompson is 61. Country musician Curtis Stone (Highway 101) is 60. Blues singer-guitarist John Mooney is 55. Rock musician Mick Mars (Motley Crue) is 54. Actor Alec Baldwin is 52.

Actor David Hyde Pierce is 51.

Rock singer John Thomas Griffith (Cowboy Mouth) is 50.

Comedian-actor Eddie Murphy is 49.

Thought for Today: “Our firmest convictions are apt to be the most suspect, they mark our limitations and our bounds. Life is a petty thing unless it is moved by the indomitable urge to extend its boundaries.” — Jose Ortega y Gasset, Spanish philosopher (1883-1955).

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SATURDAY, APRIL 3, 2010

Zlocal

PAGE 3A

Deputies nab boy, seize pot

Mexico denies second flyover

By CÉSAR G. RODRIGUEZ THE ZAPATA TIMES

Despite new sightings of a Mexican military helicopter hovering over Zapata County, an official with the Mexican Navy insisted Thursday that Mexican military aircraft is not crossing into the United States.

The Mexican Navy official, who asked not to be named, did confirm the presence of helicopters flying in the northern areas of the state of Tamaulipas for routine patrol in Nueva Ciudad Guerrero and Ciudad Mier.

Zapata residents said that at least two times in the last three weeks, a chopper with the insignia “Marina” has been seen over Zapata neighborhoods.

Mexican Navy officials formally deny those incidents. The military official acknowledged that he and others have seen the photographs provided to Laredo Morning Times and other media, but said he has been told by his supervisors that the military helicopters are flying only over Mexican territory.

The most recent helicopter incursion happened Sunday, March 28.

According to Zapata County Sheriff Sigifredo Gonzalez Jr., a chopper flew over Beacon Lodge on Sunday afternoon Gonzalez added the aircraft flew low enough, about 150 feet, for people to feel the wind coming from the chopper blades.

Residents from the area took

By CÉSAR G. RODRIGUEZ THE ZAPATA TIMES Courtesy photo

A black helicopter with a Mexican military “Marina” insignia flies over Zapata County in what appears to be a patrol route over the Rio Grande. photographs. Other people called the sheriff ’s office. Gonzalez even received calls on his cell phone from people concerned about the incident.

Jason Darling, Border Patrol Laredo Sector spokesman, said Wednesday that agents responded to a call reporting a Mexican helicopter crossing into the united States.

Darling added that agents went to the scene but did not see

an aircraft.

A first helicopter sighting ws reported about three weeks ago.

Witnesses say an aircraft with “Marina” on its side flew over a neighborhood in East Falcon Village subdivision near Falcon Dam. According to officials, that helicopter was in U.S. airspace for 15 to 20 minutes.

(César G. Rodriguez may be reached at 728-2568 or cesar@lmtonline.com)

Spring is a great time of year in Zapata, So. Texas

BY DORA MARTINEZ

This is the wonderful time of the year in Texas when all the flowers are blooming.

Bluebonnets, marigolds, cactus flowers – all make a beautiful pattern right along the roads and highways and ranch paths.

COLUMN Birds are singing, making sounds of music, and children are gathering to hide Easter eggs and cascarones close to our river, which creates an oasis.

It’s also a spiritual time that

makes us happy, bringing love, joy and laughter to everyone. It is the greatest time of the year; perhaps the finest of all.

Children, come on and join the fun, grab your baskets, Easter eggs and cascarones. Grownups will enjoy Easter lilies, which represent purity, virtue,

innocence, love and life – the very essence of Easter.

May all be blessed in these great times.

(Dora Martinez is a native of Zapata who was publisher of Hispanic News in San Antonio for 21 years. She can be reached at thezapatatimes@att.net)

Zapata County Sheriff ’s deputies seized about 100 pounds of marijuana after a traffic stop, detaining a male juvenile in connection with the incident, Monday.

Sgt. Mario Elizondo said deputies patrolling on U.S. 83 stopped a 2005 Dodge pickup truck for a defective right brake light, north of Ramireño Upon approaching the driver, deputies saw several bundles of marijuana in the back seat of the pickup truck, Elizondo said.

Deputies detained the youth.

His identity could not be released due to his juvenile status.

Deputies charged the juvenile with possession of marijuana and transported him to the Webb County Youth Village in Laredo.

Officials recovered 17 bundles of marijuana weighing 100 pounds. The marijuana had a street value of $44,100.

(César G. Rodriguez may be reached at 728-2568 or cesar@lmtonline.com)

THE BLOTTER ASSAULT Jose Alejandro Juarez, 17, was arrested at 10:15 a.m. Monday in the 400 block of Miraflores Street. Deputies say Juarez grabbed a known female by her neck. He was booked and transported to Zapata Regional Jail, and was cited to appear in court in 10 days.

A 50-year-old man reported at 9:45 a.m. Monday in the 1100 block of Jackson Street that a known man assaulted him.

Amado Rufino Martinez Jr., 24, was arrested on charges of assault causes bod-

ily injury at 3:30 p.m. March 27 in the intersection of 10th and Medina streets. He was booked and transported to Webb County Jail, and held in lieu of a $5,000 bond.

p.m. Tuesday in the 5200 block of Pascual Lane someone burglarized his brother’s house and stole an air conditioning unit and fishing rod and reels.

BURGLARY

DWI

out on U.S. 83. According to an incident report, Garcia had two juveniles with him inside the 1998 GMC pickup truck. He was booked and transported to Zapata Regional Jail, where he was held in lieu of a $5,000 bond.

Deputies responded to a burglary of a vehicle call at 8:30 a.m. Wednesday in the 800 block of Glenn Street. The complainant stated an unknown person broke into his pickup truck during the night and stole two rifles and a hunting camera.

A 62-year-old man reported at 7:30

Willie Garcia, 23, was arrested on charges of driving while intoxicated with a child less than 15 years of age and possession of a controlled substance at 12:45 a.m.

Sunday in the intersection of Guerrero Street and Ocampo Avenue in San Ygnacio.

Deputies say he was pulled over for peeling

POSSESSION

THEFT

Gilberto Alfonso Sanchez, 21, was arrested on charges of possession of a controlled substance at 3:45 a.m. Tuesday in the intersection of Fourth Street and Ramireño Avenue. Deputies say Sanchez dis-

A 40-year-old man reported at 8 a.m.

Tuesday in the 200 block of Third Street in the Flores Addition an unknown subject stole a tool box and assorted items from his 2004 Chevy work truck.

regarded a stop sign. After the traffic stop, He allegedly was found in possession of a white powdery substance believed to be cocaine. He was booked and transported to Zapata Regional Jail, where he was held in lieu of $5,000 bond.

Zopinion

PAGE 4A

SATURDAY, APRIL 3, 2010

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EDITORIAL

OTHER VIEWS

It’s time for reforms NEW YORK TIMES

Passing health care reform was only half of the job. It is just as important — likely just as politically difficult — to quickly and smoothly carry out the reforms. Republican critics have made clear that they are not going to stop fighting just because comprehensive reform has become the law of the land.

One of the first things the Obama administration and Congress must do is put in a strong chief for the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, which runs the public insurance programs that serve a third of Americans. It has been without an administrator since October 2006. That is well before President Barack Obama took office, but we are astonished he has left the job open for so long.

Officials say the president has finally settled on Dr. Donald Berwick. He is a professor of pediatrics and health care policy at

the Harvard Medical School, renowned for his efforts to improve the quality and efficiency of health care.

You may have never heard of the agency that he would lead, but it is the largest buyer of health care in the country and has a huge influence on medical care through its interactions with hospitals, doctors and private health plans. It will have a major role in getting reform right.

The Medicare program that insures older and disabled Americans will be testing new payment mechanisms and delivery reforms that are supposed to slow the relentless rise in health care costs while also improving quality. Pilot programs in Medicare, for example, will reward doctors for the quality, not quantity, of care they deliver and will encourage greater coordination among doctors and institutions that typically work in isolation.

COLUMN

Successful people are endangered

By GARY ANDRES HEARST NEWSPAPERS

W

ASHINGTON — Success in America is an endangered species.

Business bonuses are under heightened scrutiny; soon, making the right picks in the stock market or earning more than $200,000 per year will mean higher taxes; even the occasional business trips that “happened in Vegas” to reward top sales producers doesn’t “stay in Vegas” anymore. They stay at home.

“Junkets” like that fell victim to finger-wagging rebukes from the president. Why blow your money if it can fund another government program?

This animus toward accomplishment is producing political consequences.

The February issue of Trends Magazine included an article titled, “The War on Achievement and its Building Backlash.”

“For 250 years, America has been known throughout the world as the place where anyone could work hard, scrape together a little money and invest in a great idea,” the Trends writers observe. “But a creeping kind of governmental interference has seriously threatened this ideal,” they argue. In other words, Trends continue, “the very bedrock concept underlying what’s typically called ‘the American Dream’ is threatened by these measures.”

Some early evidence suggests the Trends thesis has some merit. A recent Zogby poll found a 10point slide in the number of Americans who believe it is possible to achieve the American dream since the November 2008 election.

The Obama administration is testing the Trends theory with a real life experiment. It’s called the president’s agenda. We won’t know the full implications for years. Yet in the short run, the White

House’s tax-the-rich liberal populism is creating a backlash across America, and producing major political headaches for Democratic candidates running for election in November.

Some specific pillars in the anti-achievement platform appear popular when polled — like raising taxes on the wealthy.

Yet that’s because higher taxes on the wealthy are never linked with any costs for the middle class in these surveys. Once voters understand there is a point at which taxing the rich or other perks produces negative economic consequences, the poll numbers would shift dramatically. Just ask the cocktail waitress in Vegas how Obama’s tax-and-bonus rhetoric affects her economic prospects.

The campaign against success may also restore a broad center-right coalition that elected Republican majorities in Congress between 1994 and 2006. It could reunify a disparate group of social and fiscal conservatives, traditional Republicans, and a majority of independents — the electoral configuration that produced GOP victories in New Jersey and Virginia gubernatorial races, and Sen. Scott Brown’s win in Massachusetts.

Rather than protecting the middle class, Obama’s policies threaten their long-term ambitions through piling up unprecedented levels of debt justified by scorekeeping gimmicks. The president and his staff argued the health bill would reduce the deficit over the first 10 years. But that’s only because it includes 10 years of taxes and spending cuts but only six years of benefits. Moreover, most Americans — regardless of their income status — don’t believe demonizing prosperity through rhetoric or higher taxes helps them or their children achieve success.

EDITORIAL

New auto standards are good NEW YORK TIMES

T

he new automobile fuel economy standards formally adopted by the Obama administration on Thursday will yield a trifecta of benefits: reduced dependence on foreign oil, fewer greenhouse gas emissions and consumer savings at the pump.

This was truly a moment to celebrate. But it was tempered by the fact that some in Congress are trying to undo the laws that made the new standards possible.

The standards will require automakers to build passenger cars, sport utility vehicles and minivans that average 35.5 miles per gallon by 2016 — a 30 percent increase over today’s cars, and the biggest single jump in fuel economy since the original standards were adopted in the 1970s. The government estimates consumers will save an average of $3,000 in fuel over the life of a new vehicle.

The standards will also impose the first-ever limits on automobile greenhouse gas emissions and are ex-

pected to reduce fleetwide emissions by 21 percent by 2030compared with what the output would have been without the standards.

The automakers, who fought the rules until they went bust, have come to accept this step forward. A single national standard provides regulatory certainty, and they’ve got to get more efficient to survive.

Yet some in Congress seemed determined to roll back the laws that got us here. Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, and several other senators have mounted a

challenge to the federal government’s authority to regulate greenhouse gases under the Clean Air Act — not just from automobiles but from other sources. The Supreme Court gave the Environmental Protection Agency that authority three years ago, and the new emissions standards would have been impossible without it.

What all of these opponents mean to do is to roll back history and the hardwon environmental protections it has produced. That would be a huge mistake.

COLUMN

Politics become more uncivil

By JONATHAN GURWITZ SAN ANTONIO EXPRESS-NEWS

B

ricks thrown through the windows of political offices. An ominous message left for a member of Congress. A party leader threatened with death.

Angry rhetoric is out of control, fueling hatred that will inevitably result in violence. When in the name of all that is good and progressive will liberals condemn the extremists in their midst?

You see, the bricks were thrown through the windows of Republican Party offices in Virginia and Michigan. The profanitylaced message left for Rep. Ginny Brown-Waite, RFla., was that she would “not live to see her next term.” The death threat was against House Republican Whip Eric Cantor of Virginia.

FBI agents arrested Norman Leboon Sr. in connection with the threat to kill Cantor, who is Jewish. The FBI affidavit against him quotes from a YouTube video Leboon posted: “Remember Eric ..... our judgment time, the

final Yom Kippur has been given. You are a liar, you’re a Lucifer, you’re a pig, a greedy “expletive” pig, you’re an abomination, you receive my bullets in your office, remember they will be placed in your heads.”

According to campaign finance records made public by OpenSecrets.org, Leboon made two donations totaling $505 to Barack Obama’s presidential campaign.

Is all this evidence that the ranks of the progressive movement are filled with bigots and misogynists prone to acts of violence? Hardly. It merely demonstrates the common sense fact that neither the left nor the right has a monopoly on political extremism, though you wouldn’t know that from following the dominant political narrative of the day.

According to that narrative, concern about a runaway national debt, opposition to the strong-arm tactics of Democrats to pass the health care folly and any criticism of the current commander in chief are signs of irredeemable bigotry. In what

may be the most splenetic example, Washington Post columnist Courtland Milloy wrote, “I know how the ‘tea party’ people feel. ..... I know because I want to spit on them, take one of their ‘Obama’s Plan White Slavery’ signs and knock every racist and homophobic tooth out of their Cro-Magnon heads.”

Let’s be clear. Some of the rhetoric that comes out of the opposition to the Obama White House and the Pelosi-Reid Congress is irresponsible.

Some of it goes beyond even reprehensible words to despicable acts. Those words and acts must be condemned.

But the people doing the condemning need to keep some sense of proportion.

John Avlon, author of “Wingnuts: How the Lunatic Fringe is Hijacking America,” writes on the Daily Beast that acts of vandalism and threats against Democratic lawmakers create “parallels, intentional or not, to the Nazis’ heinous 1938 Kristallnacht, or ‘Night of Broken Glass,’ so-named for the 7,000 storefront windows that were smashed.”

DOONESBURY | GARRY TRUDEAU

Got that? The shameful vandalism of a handful of Democratic offices means the Third Reich is emerging in America. But broken windows at Republican offices and an actual threat to kill a Jewish GOP lawmaker aren’t even worthy of a mention.

The people doing the condemning also need to keep some sense of balance. Where were they when Photoshopping George W. Bush’s face onto the body of Hitler or carrying signs equating him with Nazism represented the height of rhetorical creativity? Where were they when anti-Bush progressives made the fantasy snuff film “Death of a President”? Where are they now as the game “Kill George Bush” racks up visitors on Internet video game sites?

People in glass houses shouldn’t hurl bricks — real or rhetorical. Censuring incivility in our political culture and denouncing the words and acts of extremists isn’t a partisan issue. It’s a matter of decency.

(E-mail: jgurwitz@express-news.net)

SATURDAY, APRIL 3, 2010

THE ZAPATA TIMES 5A

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Zlifestyle

SATURDAY, APRIL 3, 2010

Symbols of spring

By DENISE BLAZ LAREDO MORNING TIMES

A full week before Easter Sunday, dozens of spring-colored chicks are hopping around an outside pen at a local feed store, Laredo Ranch Heights, waiting to go to new homes.

Specially shipped in from New Mexico for Easter, these unusually colored chicks whose feathers have been dyed in a wide variety of colors — blue, purple, yellow, red, orange and green — are in high demand.

Just down the street, El Corral Feed Store also has chicks, these without dye.

The store also boasts ducklings.

All 30 of the bunnies that had been ordered sold out quickly, according to the salesman.

“If we get 100 chicks, we sell 100 of them,” said Pedro Gonzalez, manager of Laredo Ranch Heights.

“Everyone has been calling about bunnies, too, and we have to tell them we don’t have any,” he said.

“We only were able to get nine shipped in, and they were here for about an hour.

So far today, we have sold about 20 chicks.”

The ‘aww’ factor The lucky purchaser of a few of the fuzzy, floppy-eared bunnies, Gabriela Jimenez bought hers for a client who was looking for the animals 150 miles away in San Antonio.

“My client wanted them for a ranch because he wanted all baby animals for spring,” Jimenez said. “So

Photo by Cuate Santos | Laredo Morning times

Bunny rabbits are a favorite gift for children during Easter. far today, I’ve bought the nine bunnies, 11 ducklings and 30 chicks.”

Another patron of the feed store, Emmanuel “Yoshi” Salazar, stocked up on five chicks for their cute factor.

“We were just passing by and saw that they were selling them. They’re awesome,” Salazar said. “I’ve raised chickens before, so they’ll be heading to a good home.”

Being mindful Historically bought by parents as gifts for their children as Easter pets, the sometimes-impulse buys are a long-term commitment, reminds local veterinarian Dr. Sandra Leyendecker.

“People need to realize

that it’s a living, breathing creature,” Leyendecker said.

“They need to make sure what kind of food they’re already on.

“It’s a commitment; it’s not something that you give the kids and then you forget about it.”

For instance, spaying and neutering bunnies is strongly suggested. Also, special attention must be paid to the rabbit’s teeth, which may overgrow as a result of not having enough proper food to munch on.

The Internet, recommends Leyendecker, is a perfect resource for anyone who has made a recent animal purchase.

However, when it comes down to maintenance, the most important aspects to remember is properly feeding and watering the pet, as

well as ensuring it and its living area are kept clean.

“For bunnies, rabbit pellets are a complete diet,” Leyendecker said. “That’s the best thing to feed them.

Rabbits need to have plenty of fruits and vegetables — carrots, spinach and grass.”

Some pets also may not be good for children. Very young children, for instance, can inadvertently “love” a pet to death by squeezing too tight. In those cases, a very cute, soft, plush toy may be in order.

A bunny for beginners But slightly older children often do just fine with pets — and according to local pet store owner, Joe Carvalho, a bunny can be a good starter pet.

MISS MANNERS

Disagreement over words threatens friendship DEAR MISS MANNERS — I have a friend who is 12 years my junior.

We have been close for at least 10 years, but since she began attending college, I’ve found her friendship altering from very dear to quite demanding.

She has a high regard for social justice, which I admire, but this has come to include co-opting word usage to the point of my distaste.

I have long been a lover of Victorian literature, foremost being the works of Oscar Wilde and Lewis Carroll, whilst writing fiction in such styles as a beloved hobby.

Upon rereading the Alice books, I find myself flinching at how often the words “queer” and “gaily” come up as a reminder that I may be robbed from using them in the manner Lewis Carroll and other writers have done. It now seems I’m only “allowed” to use them for the sole purpose of their modern upgrades.

I’m terribly perplexed on how to behave around my friend. In my teens, I discovered I was bisexual, and her conveniently ignoring this fact neither helps our friendship nor the goals we both share.

I have so far deduced that, for the sake of etiquette, I may only relish my books in isolation and

“

JUDITH MARTIN

refrain from expressing my own queer notions of gaiety in her presence.

GENTLE READER — In the hope of interesting other Gentle Readers as well as of furthering her study of mankind, Miss Manners always examines surface etiquette problems for more widely applicable underlying issues. And you have provided tantalizing clues: Connecting college attendance with objectionable traits.

Squabbling about words that now refer to homosexuality.

Complaining that ignoring your bisexuality is detrimental to your shared goals.

But why would your friend’s education be a problem when you also have intellectual interests?

Why would you, being bisexual, denounce the modern uses of “queer” and “gay” in particular, when doing so is associated with homophobia?

And if that reference to your own sexuality contains a subtext, it is too deep for Miss Manners.

So maybe the two of you are just fighting over whether some words legitimately change meaning.

SÁBADO 3 DE ABRIL DE 2010

Zfrontera

PÁGINA 7A

Gobernador garantiza seguridad

Agenda en Breve SÁBADO 3 DE ABRIL LAREDO — El Departamento de Parques y Servicios de Entretenimiento de la Ciudad de Laredo informa que hoy habrá una Búsqueda de Cascarones de Pascua de 9 a.m. a 2 p.m. en terrenos del Laredo Civic Center. Se invita a niños de 3 a 14 años de edad. Habrá refrescos y hot dogs (cantidad limitada), así como juegos, mascotas, música y diversión para la familia. El evento es gratuito.

LAREDO — Una venta de libros y revistas se realizará hoy de 8:30 a.m. a 1 p.m. en el Widener Room de la First United Methodist Church (1120 McClelland Ave). La entrada es gratuita y el público está cordialmente invitado. La iglesia agradece donaciones de libros y revistas.

LAREDO — TAMIU será anfitrión de la Caminata pro Autismo de la National Student Speech Language Hearing Association (NSSLHA), hoy de 9 a.m. a 1 p.m. en los Jardines de la Universidad.

Más información escribiendo a Lino Cantu a linocantu@dusty.tamiu.edu LAREDO — La Cabalgata Inaugural de Autismo es hoy a las 9:30 a.m. La cabalgata es desde Las Lomas en Texas 359 al LIFE Downs, 14 millas. Las inscripciones inician a las 8 a.m. La donación es de 20 dólares por adultos y 10 dólares para menores de 12 años. Más información llamando a Hector Esparza al 285-3335.

LAREDO — Hoy a las 10 a.m. salen a la venta los boletos para el concierto de Korn en el Laredo Energy Arena el martes 1 de junio.

Los costos son de 34 y 44 dólares (más la cuota de las instalaciones).

Adquiéralos en Ticketmaster, la taquilla de LEA ó llamando al (800) 745-3000.

DOMINGO 4 DE ABRIL NUEVO LAREDO — El Zoológico Regional invita a su evento por la Pascua, hoy de 12 p.m. a 4 p.m.

Habrá una persona disfrazada de ‘Coneja’ para tomarse fotos con los niños. El horario será de 10 a.m. a 7 p.m. para visitar los atractivos nuevos del zoológico como son los monos araña, el jaguar y un tigre.

JUEVES 8 DE ABRIL LAREDO — Hoy es el concierto de Chicago el en el Laredo Energy Arena. El costo de los boletos varía de 70, 52, 42 y 32 dólares, más la cuota de instalaciones.

Pueden adquirir sus boletos en la taquilla de LEA y en Ticketmaster.

SAN ANTONIO — “La Arquitectura de Tatiana Bilbao 20042010”, curada por Patrick Charpenel, se presenta a partir de hoy a las 6 p.m. en la galería del Instituto Cultural de México (600 Hemisfair Park). La exposición presenta modelos y proyectos, así como videos, obras, objetos, ideas y documentos.

Más información en el (210) 2270123.

DOMINGO 10 DE ABRIL LAREDO — Mike’s Barrio Ball tendrá un Torneo de Baloncesto de Doble Eliminación 3-sobre-3 hoy y el 11 de abril en 3 Points Pavillion.

Acuda por sus formas de inscripción a El Rio Pharmacy, todos los Centros Recreativos, KGNS-TV, Cricket Gíreles, Hamilton Trophies, Orozcos Towing, Kikes Too Meat Market, Guerra Communications y Escamilla Used Cars & Trucks.

SÁBADO 17 DE ABRIL LAREDO — El Consulado de México en Laredo anuncia que su Programa de Jornadas Sabatinas será hoy de 9 a.m. a 2 p.m., donde se brinda servicio al público que requiera documentación consular además de orientación en el ámbito de protección. Más información en el 723-0990.

DOMINGO 18 DE ABRIL LAREDO — La Misión San Carlos tendrá su Jamaica 2010 el día de hoy.

LAREDO — Los Testigos de Jehová le invitan a escuchar el discurso bíblico titulado “¿Cuándo tendremos verdadera paz y seguridad?” hoy a las 10 a.m. en el Salón del Reino de los Testigos de Jehová en el 4105 Casa Blanca Rd. — Compilado por Tiempo de Zapata

ESPECIAL PARA TIEMPO DE ZAPATA

Foto de cortesía | Gobierno de Ciudad Mier

El Jefe de Gobierno de Ciudad Mier José Iván Mancias Hinojosa, segundo de derecha a izquierda, supervisó los abances de las obras en el Velatorio Municipal.

Mejoran calles y velatorio de Mier POR YAHAIRA L. ZAMBRANO ESPECIAL PARA TIEMPO DE ZAPATA

CIUDAD MIER — Inició el acondicionamiento y rehabilitación del Velatorio Municipal, con inversión de 170,000 pesos del programa Suma de Voluntades para la Prosperidad Social.

La obra consiste en la instalación de aires para la nueva sala de velación, el aislamiento del edificio, cambio de la fachada.

El Jefe de Gobierno José Iván Mancias Hinojosa dijo que al concluirse los trabajos la ciudadanía tendrá un lugar adecuado donde velar a sus familiares, en caso de necesidad.

Mancias informó que por gestiones del Sistema DIF igualmente se contará con una nueva carroza.

Recarpeteo El 26 de febrero dio inicio el programa de recarpeteo de baches en calles e instalación de focos para el alumbrado público de esta ciudad.

El Director de Obras Públicas Ulises De León sostuvo que al tapar los baches se mejorará la ca-

Foto de cortesía | Gobierno de Ciudad Mier

Empleados de Obras Públicas Municipales tienen a su cargo los trabajos de recarpeteo de baches por las calles de Ciudad Mier. lidad de vida de los residentes.

“La introducción de la carpeta asfáltica se realiza en todas las calles del municipio”, dijo De León.

La labor había sido interrumpida debido a la temporada de lluvias, “pero ahora trabajadores del municipio trabajan a marcha forzada para concluir el proyecto”, dijo De León.

Mancias sostuvo por su parte que con la instalación de fondos, la ciudadanía podrá transitar por las calles con mayor tranquilidad “La instalación brindará una mayor seguridad

para los ciudadanos al tener sus calles alumbradas”, dijo Mancias.

MATAMOROS, México — El Gobernador Eugenio Hernández Flores fue categórico: Tamaulipas es tan seguro como cualquier otro punto de México, por lo que los paseantes pueden tener la seguridad de que no serán molestados ni en su desplazamiento, ni en su estancia.

“Hemos reforzado nuestros operativos para poder dar mayor tranquilidad y seguridad a los paseantes.

Junto con la Policía Federal hemos implementado un operativo especial para esta Semana Santa”, dijo Hernández en una gira de trabajo por este municipio.

Precisó que Tamaulipas está listo para recibir a miles de turistas porque se está trabajando coordinadamente con los municipios del Estado y con el gobierno federal para garantizar seguridad a los paseantes.

“En esta ocasión hemos implementado un operativo de seguridad más importante por la situación que vive el país en materia de inseguridad. Hemos conjuntado esfuerzos con el gobierno federal y con

“

Hemos reforzado nuestros operativos para poder dar mayor tranquilidad”.

GOBERNADOR DE TAMAULIPAS EUGENIO HERNÁNDEZ FLORES

el gobierno de Nuevo León para que haya mucha presencia policiaca en nuestras carreteras”, dijo.

Hernández afirmó que al haber mayor seguridad, habrá mayor tranquilidad para todos los paseantes.

“Estamos listos en todos los centros recreativos, en nuestras playas, en nuestras bellezas naturales que año con año son destino de miles y miles de turistas. Esperamos más de un millón de visitantes en esta ocasión”, aseguró.

ENTREGAN 350 DESPENSAS

Mesa de gestiones Con el objetivo de obtener mayores recursos para la ciudad, Mancias participó en una reunión con la denominada Mesa de Gestiones del Gobierno del Estado.

Dentro de los apoyos obtenidos se encuentra el envío de despensas por parte del programa Unidos Avanzamos Más.

(Yahaira L. Zambrano es Directora de Comunicación Social en el Gobierno de Ciudad Mier).

Foto de cortesía | Gobierno de Ciudad Mier

La Presidenta del Sistema DIF-Mier Isabel Cristina Treviño Ruiz, a la extrema derecha, orienta a las familias asistentes al programa de Entrega de despensas PASSAF, el 26 de marzo. Se hizo entrega de 350 despensas en las oficinas del DIF Municipal.

Decomisan y destruyan producto contaminado ESPECIAL PARA TIEMPO DE ZAPATA

CIUDAD VICTORIA, México — Luego de ser verificados casi el 100 por ciento del total de establecimientos empadronados que comercializan productos del mar, a la fecha la Comisión de Protección contra Riesgos Sanitarios (COEPRIS) ha decomisado un promedio de casi 30 kilogramos de ostión y 3 kilogramos de ceviche en las coordinaciones sanitarias de Tampico y Nuevo Laredo.

Roberto Hernández Báez, Comisionado Estatal, explicó que debido a que este tipo de productos se encuentra prohibida su venta y comercialización por representar un riesgo a la salud del consumidor, por lo que se procedió a la destrucción del mismo.

Dijo que parte de las acciones del programa de “Cuaresma 2010”, las visitas de verificación sanitaria se intensifican precisamente para evitar la venta del ostión y el ceviche y que los establecimientos se encuentren en condiciones higiénicas adecuadas para elaborar los productos, realizando a la fecha un promedio de 370 apercibimientos a establecimientos por caer en este tipo de anomalías.

De igual manera y luego de casi siete semanas intensivas de verificación, se han tomado un promedio de más de 340 muestras de alimentos para análisis microbiológico, de las cuales menos del 10 por ciento han quedado fuera de especificación sanitaria, procediendo de manera inmediata a la destrucción de los productos analizados.

El Comisionado Estatal, expuso que las actividades anticipadas que esta área realiza, se enfocan a garantizar que los productos que se consuman durante esta temporada, como los productos de mar, no representan un riesgo a la salud y lo que se busca es evitar enfermedades trasmitidas por la ingesta de alimentos mal elaborados.

Destacó que el gobernador del estado Eugenio Hernández Flores, preocupado por la salud de los tamaulipecos y de quienes visitan la entidad, destina recursos adicionales para que estas actividades sean reforzadas y se realicen de la mejor manera, por lo que se supervisa que los establecimientos se encuentren en condiciones sanitarias para elaborar los alimentos así como el que cuenten con sus respectivos certificados de salud.

“El objetivo, es garantizar a los paseantes y a quienes visitan los lugares turísticos de la entidad, que los productos que consumen se encuentran en condiciones para ingerirlos, así como el que eviten los productos crudos y mal elaborados como el ceviche y el ostión, lo que mantiene al estado libre de cólera”, destacó Hernández Báez.

Entre los operativos sanitarios que se llevan a cabo, destacan la instalación de mantas en los lugares estratégicos de la entidad y la distribución de más de 10 mil trípticos en centros turísticos y recreativos; y a casi 7 semanas intensivas de estas actividades se han verificado un promedio de casi mil establecimientos, refirió el titular de la COEPRIS.

Foto de cortesía | Gobierno de Nuevo Laredo

El Jefe de Gobierno, al centro, observa el trabajo que realiza la máquina ‘El Dragón’, que se utiliza para el recarpeteo de calles, en Nuevo Laredo.

Arreglan 150 cuadras POR MIGUEL TIMOSHENKOV TIEMPO DE ZAPATA

NUEVO LAREDO — Un proyecto para repavimentar 150 cuadras sobre la Avenida Dr. Mier, desde Abasolo hasta la calle América, en la colonia Hidalgo. El plan está calendarizado para concluirse el seis de mayo.

A fin de darle celeridad a los trabajos, se utilizará la máquina ‘El Dragón’.

“Es inversión bipartita entre Municipio-Estado por 20 millones de pesos”, dijo el Jefe de Gobierno Ramón Garza Barrios.

Raúl Zamora Bernal, jefe de Supervisión de Obras Públicas, informó que son alrededor de 20 colonias las que se beneficiarán con estas acciones y el proceso es sumamente rápido y de calidad.

“En unas tres horas ya se puede volver a utilizar la cua-

dra”, dijo Zamora.

Los trabajos tienen garantía de tres años.

El equipo de El Dragón permite que el asfalto sea reciclado, precalentado y extendido en una sola acción. Dos aplanadoras y cuatro camiones de volteo también serán utilizados.

Pero no todas las calles pueden tener un trabajo acelerado.

Expertos deben aprobar que las calles muestren capacidad de reciclaje basados en el espesor mínimo de tres centímetros. Otra característica es que sea arteria con alto flujo vehicular.

La maquinaria levanta una capa 2.5 centímetros del asfalto de las calles y lo mezcla con un volumen similar de carpeta nueva y se vuelve a colocar en la superficie de la calle.

El Dragón tiene capacidad de reciclado de 6,000 metros cuadrados diariamente, equivalentes a unas 6 o 7 cuadras.

PAGE 8A

Zentertainment

‘Colour My World’ SPECIAL TO THE TIMES

THE 411

With more than 30 years on the music scene, Chicago is a classic.

According to Billboard chart statistics, Chicago is second only to the Beach Boys as the most successful American rock band of all time, in terms of both albums and singles.

And the band is returning to Laredo on Thursday, April 8, for a concert at the Laredo Energy Arena.

Tickets are still available for $70, $52, $42 and $32, plus facility free, at all Ticketmaster locations, including the LEA box office, by phone at 1-800-745-3000, or www.ticketmaster.com.

What: Chicago Where: Laredo Energy Arena When: 8 p.m. Thursday, April 8 Cost: Tickets are still available for $70, $52, $42 and $32, plus facility free, at all Ticketmaster locations, including the LEA box office, various H-E-B locations, charge by phone 1-800-745-3000 or visit www.ticketmaster.com.

The Chi-Town sound Chicago marked the confluence of two distinct, but intermingling musical strains in Chicago in the mid-’60s: an academic approach and one coming from the streets.

Reed player Walter Parazaider, trumpeter Lee Loughnane and trombonist James Pankow were students at DePaul University.

But they moonlighted in the city’s clubs, where they encountered guitarist now-deceased Terry Kath and drummer Danny Seraphine.

In the mid-’60s, most rock groups followed the instrumentation of The Beatles — two guitars, bass, and drums — and horn sections were heard only in R&B. But in the summer of 1966, The Beatles used horns, and, as usual, pop music began to follow their lead.

At the end of the year, the Buckinghams, a Chicago band guided by a friend of Parazaider’s, James William Guercio, scored a national hit with the horn-filled “Kind of a Drag.”

That was all the encouragement Parazaider needed.

Parazaider called a meeting

of the band on Feb. 15, 1967, inviting a talented organist and singer he had run across, Robert Lamm.

The new band rehearsed in Parazaider’s parents’ basement before beginning to get gigs around town under the name the Big Thing.

Meanwhile, the sextet became a septet when Peter Cetera, singer and bassist, joined. This gave the group three lead singers, the smooth baritone Lamm, the gruff baritone Kath, and Cetera, who was an elastic tenor. When Guercio saw the group in the late winter of 1968, he deemed them ready for the next step. In June 1968, he financed their move to Los Angeles.

A big debut “Chicago Transit Authority,” released in April 1969, debuted on the charts in May as the band began touring nationally. It was certified gold by the end of the year, and eventually went on to sell more than 2 million copies.

To Guercio’s surprise, he was contacted by the real Chicago Transit Authority, which objected to the band’s use of the name; he responded by shortening the name to simply “Chicago.”

When he and the group finished the second album for release in 1970, it was called “Chicago.”

“Chicago II” vaulted into the Top 10 in its second

week on the Billboard chart, even before its first single, “Make Me Smile,” hit the Hot 100.

The album quickly went gold and eventually platinum. In the fall of 1970, Columbia Records released “Does Anybody Really Know What Time It Is?,” drawn from the group’s first album, as its next single; it gave them their third consecutive Top 10 hit.

“Chicago III,” another double album, was ready for release at the start of 1971.

Its singles did not reach the Top 10, however, and Columbia again reached back, releasing “Beginnings” (from the first album) backed with “Colour My World” (from the second) to give Chicago its fourth Top 10 single.

“Chicago VIII,” which marked the promotion of sideman percussionist Laudir de Oliveira as a full bandmember, appeared in the spring of 1975, spawned the Top 10 hit “Old Days.”

After the profit-taking “Chicago IX: Chicago’s Greatest Hits” in the fall of 1975 came “Chicago X,” which missed hitting No. 1 but eventually sold more than 2 million copies, in part because of the inclusion of the Grammy-winning No. 1 single “If You Leave Me Now.”

Tough times But there was trouble beneath the surface. The band’s big hits were starting to be solely ballads sung by Cetera, which frustrated the musicians. They had failed to attract critical notice, and what press attention they were given often alluded to Guercio’s Svengali-like control. Chicago determined to fire Guercio. Shortly afterward, they were struck by a crushing blow. Kath, a gun enthusiast, accidentally shot and killed himself on Jan. 23, 1978.

CHICAGO

SATURDAY, APRIL 3, 2010

SATURDAY, APRIL 3, 2010

THE ZAPATA TIMES 9A

CLAUDIA REYES Claudia Reyes, 35, passed away on Saturday, March 20, 2010, at Laredo Medical Center.

Ms. Reyes is preceded in death by her mother, Maria Azucena Garza.

Ms. Reyes is survived by her daughters, Nanette Garza and Dayna L. Reyes; sons, David Alonso Reyes and Jorge Garza; father, Jesus M. Garza; brothers, Jesus M. Garza, Ruben (Yolanda) Garza, Orlando Garza and Esteban S. Garza; sister, Olga (Juan G.) Ramon; and numerous nephews, nieces, aunts, uncles and friends.

Visitation hours were held Tuesday, March 22, 2010, from 8 a.m. to 9:30 a.m. with a rosary at 9 a.m. at Rose Garden Funeral Home.

The funeral procession departed Tuesday, March 22, 2010, at 9:45 a.m. for a 10 a.m. funeral Mass at Our Lady of Lourdes Catholic Church. Committal servic-

es followed at Lopeño Cemetery.

Condolences may be sent to the family at www.rosegardenfuneralhome.com Funeral arrangements are under the direction of Rose Garden Funeral Home, Daniel A. Gonzalez, Funeral Director, 2102 U.S. 83 in Zapata.

BABY Continued from Page 1A The mother held the baby as they rode in the ambulance to Laredo Medical Center. Paramedics checked the child’s blood pressure and other vital signs en route to the hospital.

It was determined that the baby was suffering from head and internal injuries caused by blunt force trauma, said Zapata County Sheriff ’s Sgt. Greg Gutierrez.

The report states that the child was taken by medical helicopter from Laredo Medical Center to Methodist Children’s Hospital in San Antonio with lifethreatening injuries.

The baby was pronounced dead Tuesday at 1:40 p.m.

Gutierrez said the Bexar County Medical Examiner

ruled the death a homicide.

Gutierrez added that there were possibly three families living together in the same residence. They shared responsibilities of taking care of the children, including the now-deceased baby, he said.

The sheriff ’s office and Texas Rangers from Laredo and the Rio Grande Valley, along with the District Attorney’s Office, are conducting the investigation.

(César G. Rodriguez may be reached at 728-2568 or cesar@lmtonline.com) Carmen Ramirez - Rathmell, D.D.S.

“Let your smile be a sign of happiness & good health” 1520 Corpus Christi Street Telephone (956) 726-0160

MARIA E. PEÑA Maria E. Peña, 86, passed away on Monday, March 22, 2010, at McAllen Medical Center.

Ms. Peña is preceded in death by her husband, Raul Peña; son, Jose Peña; parents, Enrique and Candelaria Juarez; sister, Elva Zavala; and a granddaughter, Maria Del Carmen Peña.

Ms. Peña is survived by her sons, Erbey (Benita) Peña, Adbiel (Iliana) Peña, Raul Jr. (Yolanda) Peña and Javier (Velma) Peña; grandchildren, Erbey Peña Jr., Eduardo (Liliana) Peña, Adbiel (Veronica) Peña, Eliza (Francisco) Gutierrez, Arianna (Emmanuel) Almaguer, Linda (Juan Manuel) Garcia, Maria (Marco Antonio) Flores, Clarissa R. Peña, Javier Peña Jr., Joshua D. Peña, Jennifer Peña and Samantha, Oscar and Alyssa; great-grandchildren, Erbey Peña III, Esai Peña, Francisco Gutierrez Jr., Cristina Garcia, Juan Manuel Garcia Jr. and Marco Antonio Flores Jr.; and numerous other relatives and friends.

Pallbearers were Erbey Peña Jr., Eduardo Peña, Jose Adbiel Peña Jr., Marco Antonio Flores and Juan Manuel Garcia.

Honorary Pallbearers were Erbey Peña III, Esai Peña, Francisco Gutierrez Jr., Juan Manuel Garcia Jr. and Marco An-

tonio Flores Jr. Visitation hours were held on Tuesday, March 23, 2010, from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. with a rosary at 7 p.m. at Rose Garden Funeral Home.

The funeral procession departed on Wednesday, March 24, 2010, at 9:45 a.m. for a 10 a.m. funeral Mass at Our Lady of Lourdes Catholic Church. Committal services followed at Zapata County Cemetery.

Condolences may be sent to the family at www.rosegardenfuneralhome.com Funeral arrangements were under the direction of Rose Garden Funeral Home, Daniel A. Gonzalez, Funeral Director, 2102 U.S. 83 in Zapata.

JESUS J. ’SONNY’ HERNANDEZ Jesus J. “Sonny” Hernandez, 66, passed away on Tuesday, March 23, 2010, at Laredo Medical Center.

Mr. Hernandez is preceded in death by his father, Refugio Hernandez.

Mr. Hernandez is survived by his wife, Diamantina Hernandez; sons, Michael Anthony Hernandez, Jose Adame and Roberto Adame; daughters, Lillie Villanueva and Norma Adame Villarreal; grandson, Jake Anthony Hernandez; mother, Leonor Hernandez; brothers, Refugio (Lupita) Hernandez, Silverio (Alma) Hernandez and Fernando (Eva) Hernandez; sisters, Yolanda Dapslauf, Maria (John) Williams, Norma Hernandez, Rosa (Arturo) Silva and Graciela (Juan) Garcia; and numerous other relatives and friends.

Visitation hours were held Thursday, March 25, 2010, from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. with a rosary at 7 p.m. at Rose Garden Funeral Home.

The funeral procession departed on Friday, March 26, 2010, at 9:30

a.m. for a 10 a.m. funeral Mass at Our Lady of Lourdes Catholic Church. Committal services followed at Zapata County Cemetery.

Condolences may be sent to the family at www.rosegardenfuneralhome.com Funeral arrangements were under the direction of Rose Garden Funeral Home, Daniel A. Gonzalez, Funeral Director, 2102 U.S. 83 in Zapata.

10A THE ZAPATA TIMES

SATURDAY, APRIL 3, 2010

FISHING Continued from Page 1A when the owner passed, his wife said ‘buy it or we’re closing it down,’ so we brought it,” said James Bendele.

Bendele, a self proclaimed fishing addict, admits he couldn’t have found a more perfect town to reside in.

“I just like being outside, surrounding myself with people that share the same fishing affliction. And here you’ve got the friendliest people, cheap living and good eating. What more could you ask for,” Bendele asked.

Attendees of the Bass Blast should be prepared to release all catch as organizers practice a catch-andrelease policy.

“We preach catch-and-release. This lake and the fish are a limited resource and Zapata’s lifeline. With all the people that have come in – never have we had so much pressure on

Photo by Cuate Santos | The Zapata Times

A group of anglers fish the waters of Falcon Lake on a sunny and windy Thursday afternoon. the lake. While most understand that – a lot don’t so we need to encourage this conscientiousness,” Bendele said.

With Falcon Lake’s ever growing popularity and last year’s tournament boasting 51 teams, Bendele

is expecting a similar turnout this year.

For more information about Falcon Lake Tackle or the tournament, contact the Bendeles at 765-4866.

(Stephanie M. Ibarra may be reached at 728-2567 or sibarra@lmtonline.com)

CENSUS Continued from Page 1A each of those homes personally.”

Although Thursday was the U.S. Census unofficial day to mail back the census questionnaire people still have until April 15 to mail it back. After that date, the U.S. Census Bureau will begin its non-response follow up. Residents should expect an enumerator to knock on their door to help them fill out the form as early as May, Salinas said.

“If you want to avoid the census employee then just fill it out and send it back,” Salinas said.

According to Romeo Rodriguez, Zapata County Independent School District superintendent, it is important for all entities to get funding and that is why the school district is working hand in hand with the U.S. Census Bureau to ensure everyone in the county is counted.

ZCISD has made a series of presentations to parents, and teachers have been instructed to educate their students on the importance of the census and encourage their parents to fill out the form and turn it in.

“We’re doing everything possible,” Rodriguez said.

“The census is the base for everything.”

Some residents have expressed their concerns about the census questionnaire and are afraid to reveal their information to the government for fear of deportation, or other insecurities.

“Some people don’t like for the government to know all their personal data,” Falcon Lake Tackle coowner Tom Bendele said.

But the form asks for basic information already available, such as names, ages and a phone number.

Still, some have wondered whether the census

questionnaire can be submitted partially filled out.

Salinas said the questionnaire will not be disqualified or thrown out but the person will be called to complete the information, and if no phone number is provided, a census employee will have to visit the residence to get the missing information.

“We strongly encourage people to fill it out completely,” Salinas said. “The questions do not harm you and there is no reason why you shouldn’t turn it in if the questions are completely confidential.”

The census form is not an issue for everyone, as some residents simply completed the form and mailed it back.

“They left it out there,” Yvette Cabrera said. “I filled it out and sent it in.”

(Lorraine L. Rodriguez may be reached at (956) 7282557.)

BUSINESS Continued from Page 1A contact with Zapata Economic Development Corporation Executive Director Peggy Umphres about bringing this business adviser on board.

“I’ve already told Peggy that this adviser will be working closely with her,” he said. “This particular person will not only be doing this locally, but spending a lot of time going from Webb County along the U.S.-Mexico border from Webb County north to El Paso.”

Umphres said, “We believe that growth is built on sound economic principles of research, planning, leadership, entrepreneurial and strategic mobilization of private and pub-

lic sources of capital.”

She added the ZEDC’s aim is to help communities by revitalizing strategies toward increasing competitiveness. The end goal is toward raising economic opportunity and improving the quality of life in Zapata County.

Perez said TAMIU-SBDC is looking to push forward and help rural communities like Zapata.

“As they get strong, we get strong and that’s our main intent,” he said. “I’m glad to see the NAD Bank is looking and agreeing with us that these rural areas need assistance and need this to improve rural economic development.”

Al Salgado, director of

the South-West Texas Border SBDC Network based at UTSA, made it clear his group doesn’t want to go into places, do infrastructure studies and leave.

“In the border communities, they have experienced that enough,” Salgado said. “Our SBDCs serve pretty much every county along the border.”

Cultivating tax bases that have withered away, bringing increased employment and stirring up economic development are results that Umphres, Salgado, Perez and their counterparts are focused upon right now.

(Joe Rutland may be reached at 728-2529 or jrutland@lmtonline.com)

SATURDAY, APRIL 3, 2010

ON THE WEB: THEZAPATATIMES.COM

Sports&Outdoors REBUILT ASTROS OPTIMISTIC ABOUT ’10 AP Photo

West Virginia coach Bobby Huggins has not changed his ways.

Huggins: Same ol’, same ol’

By JOHN MARSHALL ASSOCIATED PRESS

AP Photo

The Houston Astros’ Pedro Feliz (77) is welcomed into the dugout after hitting a home run during the sixth inning of a spring training game Saturday, March 27, 2010 in Kissimmee, Fla.

New manager Mills adds energy

By CHRIS DUNCAN ASSOCIATED PRESS

H

OUSTON — Rookie manager Brad Mills has won over the Houston Astros with his energy and upbeat attitude. Whether that leads to more wins in 2010 is an open question.

The 53-year-old Mills, Terry Francona’s bench coach in Boston for the past six seasons, was hired to take over the Astros after Cecil Cooper was fired and Houston finished 74-88 last year.

Mills delivered an impassioned speech at spring training, trying to set the tone for this season. He vowed to create a positive working environment and set no expectations beyond players simply reaching their potential.

“I just want to give these guys a freedom to be who they are,” Mills said. “We have a lot of good players here, a lot of good talent, and I’m not just talking about position players, but pitchers and we’ve got some young guys with a lot of talent.”

The message resonated with the players, who all seem re-energized after losing confidence in Cooper

AP Photo

Houston Astros manager Brad Mills watches during a spring training game against the Tampa Bay Rays Saturday, March 27, 2010 in Kissimmee, Fla. as last season unfolded.

“It’s a little more exciting this year, new guys, new faces,” said ace Roy Oswalt. “The manager brings a lot of fire to the team. It should be fun. This year should be a lot more exciting in the clubhouse.”

That still may not be enough to

propel the Astros into contention in the National League’s Central Division. They ranked 14th in the NL in runs (3.97 per game) and 13th in runs allowed (4.75 per game), and they have plenty of questions lingering, starting with

See ASTROS PAGE 2B

Rangers seek less talk

By STEPHEN HAWKINS ASSOCIATED PRESS

ARLINGTON — With Nolan Ryan’s resume as a Hall of Fame pitcher, his job as team president and his pending role as part-owner of the Texas Rangers, his words — and predictions — certainly carry some weight.

And Ryan expects more from the Rangers after they finished second in the American League West last year with only their second winning record in 10 seasons.

“If the injuries are not critical, and we don’t have people that underperform, then I don’t think there’s a reason that we shouldn’t be capable of winning 92 games,” Ryan said. “I just feel like it is a reasonable figure. ... I don’t believe I’m just pulling a figure out of the sky.”

Texas won 87 games a year ago even though Michael Young and Josh Hamilton missed most of the final month of the season injured.

The Rangers also were depending

AP Photo

Texas Rangers third baseman Michael Young makes a diving attempt on a base hit in a spring training game Monday, March 29, 2010, in Surprise, Ariz. on rookies in center field, at shortstop and out of the bullpen.

Getting at least five more victories doesn’t really seem out of reach considering: — The two All-Stars who played only once together in September are now healthy.

— The valuable experience

gained last summer by Julio Borbon, now the leadoff-hitting center fielder; shortstop Elvis Andrus, who finished second in voting for AL Rookie of the Year as the youngest position player in the majors; and 100-mph pitcher Neftali

See RANGERS PAGE 2B

INDIANAPOLIS — Michigan State coach Tom Izzo is friendly, yet fiercely competitive. Duke’s Mike Krzyzewski is efficient and professional. Butler’s Brad Stevens is young and enthusiastic.

So what about West Virginia’s Bob Huggins?

Depends on who you ask.

To some, he’s bombastic, others a lovable Huggy Bear. He’s been called a great recruiter and a cheater. He can seem bored answering questions one minute, affable and joking the next. He produces NBA players, though few

graduates. He’s magnacum-laude smart, but occasionally has lapses in judgment.

Of all the coaches at the Final Four, Huggins is the enigma. A winner everywhere he’s been, but tough to figure out for those who don’t know him.

“People don’t see the charismatic, joking, laughing side. I wouldn’t call it a smile; It’s more of a grin for him,” West Virginia forward Kevin Jones said Thursday, two days before the Mountaineers face Duke in the Final Four.

“They don’t see that outside the cameras. They just see him yelling at us

See HUGGINS PAGE 2B

Braves seek winning end for manager

By CHARLES ODUM ASSOCIATED PRESS

ATLANTA — The Atlanta Braves are inviting fans to celebrate Bobby Cox’s career this season. He would prefer to celebrate a return to the playoffs.

And Cox is counting on rookie Jason Heyward to help he and the Braves get there.

Cox, retiring after this season, named the 20-year his starting right fielder during sprint training.

Heyward caused a stir when his batting practice homer cleared the bullpen beyond the right-field wall and destroyed the sun roof on assistant general manager Bruce Mano’s car.

It was no fluke. Heyward’s blasts kept reaching the parking lot at the Braves’ spring facility, so a net was raised to protect the cars. In one week of spring training, J-Hey forced the stadium addition that had not been needed in the Braves’ first decade at Disney.

The Braves return to Atlanta from Florida with a few dented cars — and a rising star in Heyward, the new starter in right field.

Heyward adds needed power to the Braves’ lineup.

BOBBY COX: Distinguished Braves manager will retire after 2010.

“When you add a young player like Jason Heyward, it gets everyone jacked up,” said third baseman Chipper Jones. “It makes our lineup better to have him in it. Now it’s up to the old guys like me to do our part.”

Jones and first baseman Troy Glaus are keys in the middle of the lineup.

Jones’ batting average dropped 100 points in 2009 from his NL-leading .364 mark in 2008. He fell to .264 last season with 31 fewer hits in almost 50 more atbats and finished with career-low totals of 18 homers and 71 RBIs. Jones, who will turn 38 in April, this spring repeated his pledge to retire after the season “if I don’t play this game at the level I want to play it.” He signed a three-year, $42 million contract extension last spring which runs through 2012.

Glaus, who missed most of last season with St. Louis after shoulder surgery; is moving from third base to first base. He has

See BRAVES PAGE 2B

PAGE 2B

Zscores

TRANSACTIONS BASEBALL American League BOSTON RED SOX: Optioned 2B Tug Hulett to Pawtucket (IL).

CLEVELAND INDIANS: Purchased the contract of RHP Jamey Wright from Columbus (IL). Reassigned RHP Saul Rivera, C-1B Chris Gimenez, INF Brian Buscher, INF Luis Rodriguez and INF Niuman Romero to their minor league camp.

TEXAS RANGERS: Agreed to terms with RHP Scott Feldman on a three-year contract. Traded RHP Luis Mendoza to Kansas City for cash

considerations.

National League LOS ANGELES DODGERS: Reassigned RHP Josh Towers to their minor league camp.

PHILADELPHIA PHILLIES: Placed RHP Brad Lidge and LHP J.C. Romero on the 15-day DL. PITTSBURGH PIRATES: Traded RHP Virgil Vasquez to Tampa Bay for a player to be named.

BASKETBALL NBA NBA: Fined Boston F Kevin Garnett $25,000 for publicly criticizing game officials and for using inappropriate language during an interview after Wednesday’s game against Oklahoma City.

LOS ANGELES LAKERS: Signed G Kobe Bryant

to a three-year contract extension.

FOOTBALL NFL DALLAS COWBOYS: Released OT Flozell Adams and S Ken Hamlin.

OAKLAND RAIDERS: Re-signed OT Langston Walker.

PHILADELPHIA EAGLES: Traded CB Sheldon Brown and LB Chris Gocong to Cleveland for LB Alex Hall and 2010 fourth- and fifth-round draft picks.

WASHINGTON REDSKINS: Agreed to terms with RB Willie Parker on a one-year contract.

HOCKEY NHL

SATURDAY, APRIL 3, 2010

NHL: Suspended Atlanta F Colby Armstrong two games for using his elbow to deliver a blow to the head of Washington F Mathieu Perreault during Thursday’s game.

ANAHEIM DUCKS: Recalled G Joey MacDonald from Toronto (AHL). Reassigned G J.P. Levasseur to Springfield (AHL).

CHICAGO BLACKHAWKS: Assigned LW Kyle Beach to Rockford (AHL).

COLUMBUS BLUE JACKETS: Assigned C Trevor Frischmon to Syracuse (AHL).

LOS ANGELES KINGS: Assigned G Jonathan Bernier to Manchester (AHL).

NASHVILLE PREDATORS: Signed F Ryan Flynn to a two-year contract.

WASHINGTON CAPITALS: Assigned C Math-

ieu Perreault to Hershey (AHL).

AHL PROVIDENCE BRUINS: Signed G Nevin Hamilton and F Brian Roloff.

TORONTO MARLIES: Reassigned D Joey Ryan to Reading (ECHL). Recalled G Andrew Engelage, F Alex Berry and D Todd Perry from Reading. Signed F Philippe Paradis.

ECHL ECHL: Fined Ontario D Mike Egener and Ontario RW Sean O’Connor undisclosed amounts as a result of their actions following Thursday’s game at Las Vegas.

COLLEGE BOISE STATE: Named Dave Wojcik men’s associate basketball coach and Jeff Linder as-

sistant men’s basketball coach GEORGIA TECH: Announced junior F Gani Lawal is entering the NBA draft.

KENT STATE: Agreed to terms with men’s basketball coach Geno Ford on a two-year contract extension through the 2014-15 season.

PURDUE: Signed men’s basketball coach Matt Painter through the 2016-17 season.

SAM HOUSTON STATE: Named Jason Hooten men’s basketball coach.

UCLA: Named Daronte’ Jones defensive graduate assistant football coach.

UNC GREENSBORO: Announced the resignation of men’s associate head basketball coach Rod Jensen so he can become men’s basketball coach at The College of Idaho.

comfort in his right shoulder. Tests showed only inflammation in the shoulder, and he is ready for the season.

Hanson was 11-4 with a 2.89 ERA in 21 starts as a rookie and is entering his first full season. Kenshin Kawakami, 7-12 with a 3.86 ERA in 2009, is the No. 5 starter.

“We’ve got five quality starters, and how many teams can say that?” Cox asked.

Entering his 21st consecutive season and 25th overall as the Braves’ manager, Cox led the Braves to 14 straight division titles. He

says the Braves have the talent to return to the playoffs an end their four-year postseason drought.

“I like our pitching and I like our chances,” said Cox, 68. “We should be right there in the race.”

The problem is the Braves compete with the Philadelphia Phillies in the NL East. Jones set his aim on a wild-card spot even before the season began.

“Is this team capable of winning 90 games with the talent that’s in here?”

Jones asked. “No question.

Is 90 games enough to make it to the wild-card?

Who knows?”

little leeway if the Rangers stumble out of the gate or have any extended struggles this season.

The key additions for the Rangers are designated hitter Vladimir Guerrero, Harden and Lewis, their former first-round pick who pitched in Japan the last two seasons.

The 35-year-old Guerrero had two stints on the disabled list last season (torn pectoral muscle, strained left knee) with the Angels.

The eight-time All-Star and former AL MVP hit .333 with 10 RBIs in 19 games this spring in Arizona, with no home runs in his 57 at-bats.

While right-hander Harden is healthy after being on the DL seven times the last five seasons, his numbers weren’t this spring — 1-3 with an 8.87 ERA in six

Arizona starts.

Lewis won 10 games as a rookie for Texas in 2003, and was in the rotation the next season before a torn rotator cuff in his right shoulder. He went 26-17 with a 2.82 ERA over two seasons in Japan.

In his last spring-training start, Lewis had seven scoreless innings before giving up a pair of runs in the eighth. Feldman had seven shutout innings in his final tuneup.

Another rotation newcomer is left-hander C.J. Wilson, the former closer who next week will make his first start since his rookie season five years ago.

“What I’m trying to do right now is just pace myself and go out and pitch,” Wilson said. “I know I’m always going to have something in the tank.”

BRAVES Continued from Page 1B made a smooth transition defensively and gives the team a right-handed bat between the switch-hitting Jones and catcher Brian McCann.

Glaus carried a strong batting average through the spring but has yet to prove he has regained his power stroke.

The Braves finished 22nd in the majors with 149 homers in 2009. They need more than singles from Glaus, who has hit 27 or more homers in eight of his 11 seasons. He hit .270 with 27 homers and 99 RBIs for St. Louis in 2008.

If Heyward, Jones and

Glaus are productive, the lineup should be improved.

The Braves made a late playoff push in 2009 after Martin Prado took the starting job at second base from Kelly Johnson. Prado, who hit. 307, found a home as the No. 2 hitter. Shortstop Yunel Escobar moved to fifth and sixth in the lineup and hit .299 with 14 homers and 76 RBIs. The Braves added outfielder Melky Cabrera in the trade which sent righthander Javier Vazquez to the Yankees. Cox says Cabrera can play any spot in the outfield. Matt Diaz, who hit .313 last season,

and Nate McLouth return in the outfield.

The other major offseason additions were new closer Billy Wagner and Takashi Saito. Wagner, 38, pitched for the Mets and Red Sox last year in his return from Tommy John surgery. Saito, 40, could see some saves opportunities behind Wagner.

Atlanta’s strength in Cox’s final season as manager is starting pitching, the same as in most of the last two decades. Even after dealing Vazquez, the Braves have a strong top four of Derek Lowe, Jair Jurrjens, Tim Hudson and

Tommy Hanson.

Hudson, the team’s former ace, made a late-season return last year from elbow ligament-replacement surgery and says his arm has never felt better.

Strong cases could be made for Hudson, Jurrjens or Hanson as the No. 1 starter, but Cox chose Lowe as the opening day starter.

It could be a confidence boost for Lowe after he heard his name in trade rumors through the offseason.

Jurrjens, who was 14-10 with a 2.60 ERA last year, was held back at the start of spring after feeling dis-

RANGERS Continued from Page 1B Feliz, still in the bullpen after a spring shot at the rotation.

— Rich Harden and Colby Lewis have been added to the rotation, though Scott Feldman will start the opener Monday at home against Toronto after going from long reliever to 17-game winner last season.

“It’s not just Nolan that thinks that or is just throwing out a number,” Feldman said. “We all think we’re going to have a pretty good year.”

Texas last year won one more game in the regular season than Detroit or Minnesota, who had to play a one-game tiebreaker for the AL Central title.

But the young Rangers weren’t quite ready to overtake the Los Angeles Angels (97-65) for the AL West

or Boston (95-67) in the wild-card race.

This is the 50th season of the franchise that began as the Washington Senators in 1961, and moved to Texas in 1972.

In all that time, the Rangers have never won a playoff series, going 1-9 in the postseason — all against the New York Yankees — after winning their only three AL West titles in a four-year span at the end of the 1990s.

The only time they came close to the playoffs since was 2004, their only other winning season since 1990s.

“In the past there was a lot of talk, and right now I don’t want to make it about talk,” said Young, the longest-tenured Ranger going into his 10th season. “I want to make it about ac-

“

It’s not just Nolan that thinks that or is just throwing out a number.

SCOTT FELDMAN, RANGERS PITCHER

tion. ... There’s not much talking. It’s just a feeling that we feel like we’re going to be a good team.”

Texas has improved its record each year under fourth-year manager Ron Washington, who doesn’t have a contract past this season. He didn’t get an extension last summer, though it became apparent why this spring with the revelation that the 57-yearold manager had tried cocaine then.

Washington called the drug use a “huge mistake”

and one-time incident.

The Rangers knew about his indiscretion last summer, and refused Washington’s offer then to resign.

They stuck with him again when it became public.

Washington kept his job after some early struggles the past two seasons — a 2-7 stretch after Texas opened last year with a three-game series sweep, and a 20-loss May in 2008.

Considering the expectations for this team and his off-field mistake last summer, Washington likely has

HUGGINS Continued from Page 1B all the time.”

Huggins’ journey has the earmarks of a redemption story: Coach builds winning program, survives heart attack, gets fired, returns to his alma mater and leads it to the Final Four for the first time in 51 years.

But this odyssey has nothing to do with atonement or recovery for Huggins.

Loved or hated, Huggins is going to be consistently inconsistent, the nonconformist in a black windbreaker who does things his way — whether people like it or not.

“The people who know me know what I’m about,” Huggins said.

Huggins’ trip started where it has ended, in Morgantown, W.Va. He was born in the town along the Monongahela River, was a two-time Academic AllAmerican as a player at West Virginia and got his start in coaching with the Mountain-

eers, as a graduate assistant in 1977.

But Cincinnati was where Huggins made his name — good and bad.

He led the Bearcats to the 1992 Final Four in his third season, 13 straight NCAA appearances after that. Huggins established himself as one of the nation’s best recruiters, producing NBAcaliber talent nearly every year and earning a reputation as a demanding coach who could get his players to do things no one thought they could.

A rash of injuries kept his teams from making deep runs in the NCAA tournament, but his reputation as a winner was set.

“I was at a speaking engagement with (Louisville’s) Denny Crum and he said, ’You have to be lucky and you can’t be unlucky,”’ Huggins said. “Then he pointed at me and said, ’That’s the most unlucky guy I know.”’

But Huggins also created some of his own bad luck, trouble stacking up along with the wins.

Huggins’ teams had a 0.0 graduation rate several seasons and his players were viewed as thugs who were constantly in trouble with the law, including an incident where two were accused of punching a police horse.

Huggins survived a heart attack in 2002 — he was back on the court less than two weeks later — but couldn’t shake the effects of an embarrassing DUI arrest that was caught on video and helped start a contentious feud with university president Nancy Zimpher that led to his firing in 2005.

Nowhere left to turn, he spent a year out of coaching before returning at Kansas State. Huggins led the Wildcats to the 2007 NIT, but erased all the goodwill by bolting for his alma mater af-

ter a season.

Since then, it’s been all good Hugs.

On the court, he’s led the Mountaineers to the NCAA tournament three straight years, including their first run to the Final Four since Jerry West did it in 1959. Off it, he’s been a perfect mesh for the blue-collar work ethic of an entire state — he’s one of them, after all — and become the man everyone in West Virginia seems to love.

“There’s not a better human being in this business than Bob Huggins,” said Kansas State coach Frank Martin, Huggins’ assistant at Cincinnati and KState. “There’s not a more deserving person in this business than Bob Huggins. It’s about time people start talking about the man and the coach that he is rather than some of his unfortunate transgressions, which we’ve all had in our lives. He is

a man’s man.”

This man still has two sides to him.

Though he’s toned it down a decibel or two — OK, maybe just one — Huggins is still unafraid to let his players or an offending official know what he thinks in his typical hurt-yourfeelings bluntness. He’s got an emotional side, too, allowing the tears to flow when West Virginia’s adopted anthem, John Denver’s “Country Roads,” played after the Mountaineers advanced to the Final Four.

“At times, it gets hard, but look at where you’re at because of him,” West Virginia forward Wellington Smith said. “Once you see that and how your game has evolved as you’ve been with him, you see how many opportunities open for you with him being your coach. It’s a great experience and I wouldn’t trade it for anything in the world.”

Neither would Huggins.

ASTROS Continued from Page 1B their two biggest stars.

Roy Oswalt and first baseman Lance Berkman, two of the last holdovers from Houston’s only World Series appearance in 2005, endured injuries and put up some of the worst numbers of their career last year.

Oswalt went 8-6 in 2009 and finished with a careerhigh 4.16 ERA and a franchise-record 16 no-decisions. He strained his lower back in July, then sat out the last two weeks of the season with a bulging disk. Berkman missed a month with a strained calf and finishing with a .274 average, 25 homers and 80 RBIs, among the lowest numbers of his 11-year career.

And Berkman is already dealing with the team’s first significant injury. He underwent arthroscopic knee surgery at spring

training and could miss opening day.

Berkman and Oswalt must produce this season to give the Astros any chance at a playoff run.

“I know that, Lance knows that,” Oswalt said, “it all goes back on me and him every time. He’s third in the lineup. If he doesn’t hit, we don’t win.

If I don’t pitch, we don’t win. We know that. That’s what we get paid to do.”

The Astros acquired Brett Myers to fill the No. 3 spot in the rotation behind Oswalt and left-hander Wandy Rodriguez, who is coming off career highs in wins (14) and strikeouts (193) and a career-low ERA (3.02). Myers was Philadelphia’s opening-day starter the previous three years and also started Game 2 of the 2008 World Series.

Bud Norris, a rookie last season, is the front-runner

The Astros also need production from second baseman Kaz Matsui, who hit .250 in 2009 and has missed chunks of his two seasons in Houston with injuries. for the No. 4 spot, after going 6-3 in 10 starts with the Astros in 2009. Mills was going to choose between Brian Moehler and Felipe Paulino for the final spot.

The 37-year-old Moehler went 8-12 with a 5.47 ERA in 2009, though he ranked third with 29 starts. Paulino bounced between the minors and the Astros last year and the team brass expects improvement after he went 3-11 with a 6.27 ERA in 23 games.

“Felipe is 25, but everybody knows Felipe, he’s

been around,” general manager Ed Wade said.

“He’s had these opportunities before. Brian Moehler has to go out and prove what he’s capable of doing, and then let everybody involved make the right decision.”

The Astros signed free agents Brandon Lyon and Matt Lindstrom to compete for the closer’s role after Jose Valverde and setup man LaTroy Hawkins signed elsewhere.

“I hope that is a hard decision,” Mills said. “If it’s a hard decision, that

means we’ve got two guys who are really battling and making it tough on who we’re going to choose.”

The rest of Mills’ decisions revolve around the offense. Miguel Tejada led the 2009 Astros with a .313 average, but he signed with Baltimore in the offseason.

Unproven rookie Tommy Manzella, a defensive whiz with only five career major-league at-bats, will replace Tejada. Mills also has to chose a new catcher, between light-hitting J.R. Towles and rookie Jason Castro.

The Astros also need production from second baseman Kaz Matsui, who hit .250 in 2009 and has missed chunks of his two seasons in Houston with injuries. Houston also is hoping that new third baseman Pedro Feliz can

improve on his .266 average from last season.

Carlos Lee and Michael Bourn largely carried the offense last season. Lee topped 100 RBIs for the fifth straight season and Bourn led the NL with 61 steals.

Despite the apparent unknowns, Berkman thinks the Astros will improve as long as they avoid injuries.

“I like our club,” Berkman said. “Health is a big factor for us. There are some older guys who are going to be counting on to play some key roles, so we’ve got to stay healthy.

I’ve got stay on the field, Carlos has got to stay on the field, Roy’s got to stay on the mound, Brett Myers has to come back and have a healthy season.

If those things happen, we’re going to be competitive. We have good personnel.”

SATURDAY, APRIL 3, 2010

THE ZAPATA TIMES | 3B

HINTS BY HELOISE Dear Readers: Did you know that what many people call white ‘doves’ are actually DOMESTIC HOMING PIGEONS, also known as rock doves, and that pigeons and doves are part of the same bird family?

Homing pigeons are very intelligent and are able to find their way home from long distances using Earth’s magnetic field. Thus the ‘homing pigeons’ name!

There are companies that are experts in dove releases for all occasions. You should use these bird professionals for your wedding or other event.

You can choose from a single bird to several to be released!

The doves are fed a particular diet so they won’t ‘be messy’ for the event.

They can only be let go OUTDOORS, and should be released well before sunset, although they can find their way home after dark, if trained to do so.

The doves make a lovely display at a reception. They most likely will primp, preen and cuddle with each other in a pretty cage. When released outdoors, the doves will circle above to get oriented, and then head home. They should NOT be released indoors, and they

“

HELOISE

should NOT be part of any food display, such as a fake wedding cake tier.

I would love to hear from readers who have doves as pets or those who have had a good experience with them at a wedding.

E-mail Heloise@Heloise.com, and please put ‘doves’ in the subject line. -Heloise PET PAL Dear Readers: My friends Larry and Sandi have a 10year-old German shorthaired pointer, Hurricane Hannah. I ran into all three of them while at the pet-food store getting a rawhide chewy for Cabbie, our mini schnauzer. They had Hurricane Hannah with them, and as a joke I bought Hannah a 3-foot-long rawhide chewy. The photo they sent shows Hannah carrying it around -- it looks like she has a dinosaur leg bone in her mouth!

To see Hannah and her special treat, visit www.Heloise.com. -- Heloise

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4B THE ZAPATA TIMES

SATURDAY, APRIL 3, 2010

Boeheim, Turner honored with awards

By JIM O’CONNELL ASSOCIATED PRESS

INDIANAPOLIS — As Evan Turner clutched his trophy and posed for yet another photo, he couldn’t escape a little ribbing.

“That going to fit at home?”

Ohio State teammate David Lighty said Friday as Turner walked past with The Associated Press player of the year award.

“This is going to be a window ornament,” Turner shot back as both laughed.

It’s got to be a good feeling to receive almost every player of the

year honor and have a couple of teammates make a 21/2-hour drive to see you get the latest one as part of the Final Four festivities.

“They have been there for me my whole career, and they are here now,” Turner said. “They really are family, and this shows it.”

Turner, a 6-foot-7 junior swingman who averaged 20.3 points, 9.2 rebounds and 5.9 assists, received 54 votes from the 65-member national media panel. Kentucky freshman John Wall was second with nine votes.

Syracuse’s Jim Boeheim was selected the AP’s coach of the year, receiving 39 votes, while Kansas State’s Frank Martin was next with eight.

Boeheim took Syracuse from an unranked team in the preseason to No. 1 in the poll and a No. 1 seeding in the NCAA tournament.

The Orange, who lost their top three scorers from last season, finished 30-5, giving the Hall of Fame coach 829 wins.

The Orange reached No. 1 in the poll this season for the first time since 1990.

AP Photo

Ohio State junior Evan Turner, left, and Syracuse head coach Jim Boeheim pose with their trophies after being named The Associated Press’ college basketball player of the year and coach of the year Friday in Indianapolis.

Plump takes in Indy finals

One Duke in Indy, one not

By CLIFF BRUNT ASSOCIATED PRESS

INDIANAPOLIS — Bobby Plump settled in at a table in the family restaurant and began spinning the tale of his childhood, the one everyone loves.

The one he loves.

As fans in nearby seats stopped eating and leaned in close to hear the details, Plump patiently described his buzzer-beating jumper in the 1954 Indiana state championship game. The shot that led to “Hoosiers” and the shot that has thrust him, willingly, into a role as Indiana’s ambassador for its beloved basketball and his alma mater, Butler.

The 73-year-old Plump smiles often, occasionally bellowing in laughter at details as he describes Milan High’s historic win over Muncie Central as though it happened yesterday. He takes about five minutes to describe 18 seconds. Patrons young and old nod in approval.

People have been waiting in line at “Plump’s Last Shot” all week to talk with the owner, to get his autograph, hear his voice.

And Plump? He may have been waiting all his life for this — who wouldn’t love a chance to relive a glorious piece of your past?

“I’ve been weary after these things,” Plump says.

“It’s so much fun, and I enjoy it, but I tell you what.

It does make you tired.”

He’s made numerous appearances, including some at Hinkle Fieldhouse

By JIM O’CONNELL ASSOCIATED PRESS

AP Photo

In this April 8, 2003, file photo, Indiana basketball great Bobby Plump,of Milan, Ind., is shown with his 1954 Indiana State championship jacket, and the hoop his father made for him. (site of that 1954 game), and his interview schedule has been daunting. He’s opened his restaurant three hours early. Plump said Indiana Gov. Mitch Daniels has invited Plump and his eight living Milan teammates to watch Saturday’s game with him in a suite at Lucas Oil Stadium.

Everyone remembers Plump’s famous high school shot. More and more are remembering that he was a star at Butler, which is in the Final Four and will play Michigan State on Saturday night.

Plump was an all-conference guard and is in the

school’s athletic hall of fame. He remains close to the program and likes the fact that people can tie Butler and the man who made the dream shot.

“It’s very satisfying for Butler to get the recognition it deserves, and I appreciate finally being connected with the Bulldogs,” he said.

As Plump addressed his patient fans Thursday, he starts a conversation with Dick Kuchen, former coach at California and Yale. Tall and sophisticated, Kuchen’s eyes sparkle like a small child’s as he talks to Plump.

“Every summer I ran a basketball camp, and the

movie I ran for every camper that came in there was ’Hoosiers,”’ he said. “I just think it’s a great story, and he wears it well.”

Bob Brown of Danbury, Conn., isn’t a Butler fan — he backs Kansas — but he’ll cheer for the Bulldogs. He brought his two sons to the restaurant.

“When we decided to come to the Final Four, we said, ’We’ve got to come to Plump’s Last Shot,”’ he said. “They like the whole story of Milan High School and of course, the movie.”

Plump said real parallels between Butler and Milan are few. He said Butler is a much better team and faces higher stakes.

INDIANAPOLIS — Wayne Duke, a Final Four fixture, won’t be at this year’s event, just the second he has missed since 1953.

The first full-time NCAA employee who later became commissioner of the Big Eight and Big Ten, Duke wasn’t allowed to make the trip from his Barrington, Ill. home after undergoing recent shoulder surgery.

What made the doctors’ decision even tougher is that Duke is a member of the National Collegiate Basketball Hall of Fame’s 2010 class that is being honored this weekend.

“I can always walk out in front of 80,000 people and hear my name,” he said with a laugh on Wednesday.

Everyone involved at the Final Four — administrators, coaches, players and fans — should all know his name as one of the architects of what turned into March Madness.

“I was hired by Walter Byers in 1952, and the NCAA took over the tournament the next year,” Duke said. “I wrote the first tournament handbook and people have told me it’s been used for all the tournaments in all sports since.”

He left the NCAA a decade later and became the commissioner of the Big Eight at age 34.

He later went on to lead the Big Ten. But he never lost his roots with the NCAA tournament.

He served on the tournament committee from 1976 to 1981 and was chairman of it for four years, a post that now lasts two years at the most.

The tournament expanded to what it is now under his charge.

He was the driving force behind allowing more than one team from a conference to participate, behind the start of the seeding process, behind the use of computer ratings, threeman officiating crews, televising every game, moving games to domes and the list goes on and on.

“In my mind Wayne played a very significant leadership role in the growth and development of the NCAA men’s basketball championship,” said NCAA executive vice president Tom Jernstedt, a 38-year NCAA employee who also is being inducted into the collegiate hall of fame.

Duke, as is his way, won’t take the credit.

He said the success can be attributed to many who helped aid and make it what it has become.

“A lot of people contributed to the tournament over a lot of years,” he said.

“Timing is important.

“It was an unusual group of guys who preceded me and followed me on the committee.”