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RECREATION
ECONOMY
Caught at number 1
Jobless rate falls in March ASSOCIATED PRESS
AUSTIN — Texas’ jobless rate fell to 7 percent in March, marking the seventh consecutive month of decline, according to figures released Friday by the state employment agency. The state’s unemployment rate was down from 7.1 percent in February and 8 percent a year ago, the Texas Workforce Commission said. According to the commission, unemployment in McAllen-Edinburg-Mission fell to 10.7 percent, down from its previous 11.1. Laredo fell to 6.9 percent from its previous 7.2 percent, while El Paso’s unemployment rate fell to 9.4 percent, down from 9.6 percent. Brownsville-Harlingen recorded a 10.7 percent unemployment rate, down from 10.9 percent.
Strong showing
Bassmaster’s website contains an entry on Falcon Lake, its bass fishing merits and some of its downfalls. The article makes mention of a 2010 incident in which a man was shot while jet-skiing on the lake, but also cites the “increased safety precautions” that “have anglers returning to the area.” The county is in the midst of a transition from an oil-and-gas-
“The Texas economy continues to show strength” and experience job growth in the private sector, said Tom Pauken, chairman of the Texas Workforce Commission. In addition, he said, the state’s jobless rate consistently has remained below the national jobless rate for at least five years. The national unemployment rate has also been falling, down to 8.2 percent in March. The commission says Texas added 10,900 nonfarm jobs last month, and there were gains in eight of the state’s 11 major industries. Leisure and hospitality sectors grew the most with 6,000 new jobs, followed by a jump of 3,100 positions in information services. The biggest losses were in trade, transportation and utili-
See FALCON PAGE 10A
See JOBS PAGE 10A
Photo by Ulysses S. Romero/file | The Zapata Times
Despite the cold weather at a previous fishing event, pro fisher Keith Combs displays his heaviest catches of the day with a total of 29.1 pounds of bass caught during a past FLW Outdoors fishing tournament. Bassmaster Magazine named the 83,700-acre Falcon Lake the No. 1 lake for bass fishing in its April issue.
Magazine: Falcon Lake is best for bass fishing in US By JJ VELASQUEZ THE ZAPATA TIMES
A national bass fishing magazine validated an opinion tackle owners and county officials have held for the last several years: Falcon Lake is the best bass fishing lake in the country. Bassmaster Magazine, published by the Bass Anglers Sportsman Society, named Zapata County’s 83,700-acre international reservoir the No. 1 lake for bass
fishing in its April issue. Falcon Lake was ranked along with 99 other lakes in the United States. “We’ve always known this is one of the best bass lakes, but I guess now the whole nation knows,” said Norma Amaya, who owns Robert’s Fish N’ Tackle with her husband. Among the criteria the lakes were judged on were catching rates, tournament results and the fishery’s health. These were
culled from experts in each state, according to a press release. The organization then polled outdoor writers, professional anglers and industry leaders to whittle down the list further. “At the top of the list are lakes where you will catch giant bass, and plenty of ’em, in a beautiful setting,” the press release states. “As you read further down the list, trophy potential may drop off, or perhaps numbers may dwindle.”
WORKFORCE
Stats: Half of new grads are jobless, underemployed By HOPE YEN ASSOCIATED PRESS
WASHINGTON — The college class of 2012 is in for a rude welcome to the world of work. A weak labor market already has left half of young college graduates either jobless or underemployed in positions that don’t fully use their skills and knowledge. Young adults with bachelor’s degrees are increasingly scrap-
ing by in lower-wage jobs — waiter or waitress, bartender, retail clerk or receptionist, for example — and that’s confounding their hopes a degree would pay off despite higher tuition and mounting student loans. An analysis of government data conducted for The Associated Press lays bare the highly uneven prospects for holders of bachelor’s degrees. Opportunities for college graduates vary widely.
While there’s strong demand in science, education and health fields, arts and humanities flounder. Median wages for those with bachelor’s degrees are down from 2000, hit by technological changes that are eliminating midlevel jobs such as bank tellers. Most future job openings are projected to be in lower-skilled positions such as home health aides, who can provide personalized attention as the U.S. population ages.
Taking underemployment into consideration, the job prospects for bachelor’s degree holders fell last year to the lowest level in more than a decade. “I don’t even know what I’m looking for,” says Michael Bledsoe, who described months of fruitless job searches as he served customers at a Seattle coffeehouse. The 23-year-old graduated in 2010 with a creative writing degree. Initially hopeful that his col-
lege education would create opportunities, Bledsoe languished for three months before finally taking a job as a barista, a position he has held for the last two years. In the beginning he sent three or four resumes a day. But, Bledsoe said, employers questioned his lack of experience or the practical worth of his major. Now he sends a resume once every two weeks or so.
See GRADUATES PAGE 10A
PAGE 2A
Zin brief CALENDAR
SATURDAY, APRIL 21, 2012
AROUND TEXAS
TODAY IN HISTORY
SATURDAY, APRIL 21
ASSOCIATED PRESS
Saturday academies will be held at Fidel and Andrea R. Villarreal Elementary School for 3rd grade math and reading, 4th grade math and reading and 5th grade science. The March of Dimes March for Babies is from 8 a.m. to noon today. Begun in 1970, it has raised $2 billion to benefit all babies. To register a family or company team, visit http:// www.marchforbabies.org/. The Rio Grande International Study Center will co-sponsor Let’s Celebrate Earth Day 2012, scheduled for today at LCC’s Lamar Bruni Vergara Environmental Science Center. Registration starts at 7:30 a.m. A trail workday is from 8 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. Laredo Fire Department spokesman Capt. Eloy Vega will speak at 11:30 a.m. on protecting the local aquatic environment. Loving Laredo Hike No. 8 starts at the Paso del Indio; those interested should meet at 7:45 a.m. in the science center parking lot. All events are free and open to the public. For more information, call 718-1063.
Today is Saturday, April 21, the 112th day of 2012. There are 254 days left in the year. Today’s Highlight in History: On April 21, 1962, the Century 21 Exposition, also known as the Seattle World’s Fair, opened. President John F. Kennedy spoke briefly to the event by telephone from Palm Springs, Fla., where he tapped a gold telegraph key to signal the official start of the sixmonth fair. On this date: In 1509, England’s King Henry VII died; he was succeeded by his 17-year-old son, Henry VIII. In 1649, the Maryland Toleration Act, which provided for freedom of worship for all Christians, was passed by the Maryland assembly. In 1789, John Adams was sworn in as the first vice president of the United States. In 1836, an army of Texans led by Sam Houston defeated the Mexicans at San Jacinto, assuring Texas independence. In 1910, author Samuel Langhorne Clemens, better known as Mark Twain, died in Redding, Conn., at age 74. In 1918, Baron Manfred von Richthofen, the German ace known as the “Red Baron,” was killed in action during World War I. In 1930, a fire broke out inside the overcrowded Ohio Penitentiary in Columbus, killing 332 inmates. In 1955, the Jerome Lawrence-Robert Lee play “Inherit the Wind,” inspired by the Scopes trial of 1925, opened at the National Theatre in New York. In 1960, Brazil inaugurated its new capital, Brasilia, transferring the seat of national government from Rio de Janeiro. In 1972, Apollo 16 astronauts John W. Young and Charles M. Duke Jr. explored the surface of the moon. In 1986, a rediscovered vault in Chicago’s Lexington Hotel that was linked to Al Capone was opened during a live TV special hosted by Geraldo Rivera; aside from a few bottles and a sign, the vault turned out to be empty. In 1992, Robert Alton Harris became the first person executed by the state of California in 25 years as he was put to death in the gas chamber for the 1978 murder of two teenage boys, John Mayeski and Michael Baker. Ten years ago: In a huge upset in French politics, extreme-right leader Jean-Marie Le Pen qualified to face incumbent Jacques Chirac in the runoff for French president. (Chirac ended up winning.) Today’s Birthdays: Britain’s Queen Elizabeth II is 86. Actress-comedian-writer Elaine May is 80. Singer-musician Iggy Pop is 65. Actress Patti LuPone is 63. Actor Tony Danza is 61. Actress Andie MacDowell is 54. Rock singer Robert Smith (The Cure) is 53. Rock musician Michael Timmins (Cowboy Junkies) is 53. Actor John Cameron Mitchell is 49. Comedian Nicole Sullivan is 42. Football player-turned-actor Brian White is 39. Rock musician David Brenner (Theory of a Deadman) is 34. Actor Christoph (cq) Sanders (TV: “Last Man Standing”) is 24. Thought for Today: “I try to avoid looking forward or backward, and try to keep looking upward.” — Charlotte Bronte, English author (born this date in 1816, died in 1855).
SUNDAY, APRIL 22 The Knights of Columbus, Council 10939 will celebrate their 20th anniversary today, starting with Mass at Blessed Sacrament at noon. It will be celebrated by Most Rev. Bishop J. A. Tamayo, with reception to follow at the Embassy Suites.
MONDAY, APRIL 23 The Texas A&M International University Rec Center will have free Fitness Nutrition Sessions from 5:30 p.m. to 6:30 p.m. Mondays in Room 128. Sessions are free and open to the public. Throughout the semester, the nutritionist will provide presentations and handouts. Each class will offer optional body fat and body water percentage measurements. For more information, contact Denise Schuster at 326-3017 or dschuster@tamiu.edu.
TUESDAY, APRIL 24 STAAR testing for 3rd- and 4thgrade math will take place at all Zapata County ISD elementary schools. The trustees of the Zapata County Independent School District will meet a 6 p.m. at the Professional Development Center, 702 E. 1770.
Photo by Erich Schlegel | AP
Willie Nelson takes the stage during “Fire Relief, The Concert For Central Texas” at the Frank Erwin Center in Austin in this 2011 photo. Nelson was expected to help unveil an eight-foot statue of himself in downtown Austin on Friday.
Austin to honor Willie By CHRIS TOMLINSON ASSOCIATED PRESS
AUSTIN — Country music legend Willie Nelson was expected to help unveil an 8-foot statue of himself in downtown Austin on Friday, which happens to be a national day of protest for the legalization of marijuana. The privately funded monument near the new Moody Theater shows Nelson in a relaxed pose and holding his guitar to the side, as if in conversation. Philadelphia sculptor Clete Shields said the leaning pose and heroic scale are intended to show Nelson’s openness and whimsical side while honoring his tremendous influence on music and the city. “We wanted to get a timeless Willie, an ageless Willie,” Shields said. Nelson is a 10-time Grammy Award-winning musician who has sold more than 40 million copies of 105 albums in a career built
WEDNESDAY, APRIL 25
Mistrial in case linked to courthouse shooting
STAAR testing for 3rd- and 4thgrade reading will take place at all Zapata County ISD elementary schools. Historical romance author Laurie Alice Eakes will speak in the Laredo Public Library H-E-B Multi-Purpose Room, 1120 E. Calton Road, from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. today. Eakes will read from her books and answer questions about them. The books are available for checkout at the Laredo Public Library or purchase at Books-A-Million, located in Mall Del Norte. For more information, contact Pam Burrell at 7952400, extension 2268, or pam@laredolibrary.org.
BEAUMONT — A judge has declared a mistrial in a Beaumont sexual assault case connected to a fatal shooting outside a Southeast Texas courthouse. Bartholomew Granger remains jailed under $4 million bond on nine felony charges, including counts of murder. Those charges stem from the March 14 shooting that killed a 79-year-old woman outside the Jefferson County courthouse. District Judge John Stevens declared the mistrial Friday due to heightened attention following the shooting.
THURSDAY, APRIL 26
Texas toll road users wrongly charged
STAAR testing for 5th-grade science will take place at all Zapata County ISD elementary schools.
SATURDAY, APRIL 28 The National Drug Take Back event is today from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at United Middle School, 700 Del Mar Blvd.; Ryan Elementary, 2401 Clark Blvd.; and Texas A&M International University at the Student Center, 5201 University Blvd. The DEA, Webb County Community Coalition of SCAN and other partner organizations will accept unused, unwanted or expired prescription drugs and over-the-counter medication for safe disposal, no questions asked. For more information, call Melissa Belmares-Cavazos or Veronica Jimenez at 956-724-3177. The South Texas Food Bank will hold a citywide bucket brigade from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. today. Food bank volunteers will be at eight intersections in North, Central and South Laredo collecting monetary donations. For more information, call South Texas Food Bank marketing director Salo Otero at 324-2432.
MONDAY, MAY 14 The Zapata County Commissioners Court will meet at 9 a.m. at the Zapata County Courthouse.
SATURDAY, MAY 19 The Bass Champs tournament takes place from 7 a.m. through 6 p.m.
AUSTIN — More than 1,600 account holders in the Texas Department of Transportation toll road system can expect a credit following a cyberattack. The agency said a total of $46,000 will be credited.
on not conforming to country music norms. Nelson fused country music with jazz and rock in the early 1970s to create the “outlaw country” movement in Austin and helped give the city a reputation as a music city. His first major hit came when Patsy Cline recorded his song “Crazy” in 1961. Nelson was also a founder of the Farm Aid movement and has appeared in 37 films and television shows, ranging from a starring role in the 1982 western “Barbarosa” to making a cameo in the 1998 Dave Chappelle stoner comedy “Half Baked.” The unveiling takes place on April 20, or 4/20, which is slang for smoking marijuana and a day pro-legalization forces have used for annual gatherings to demonstrate in support of the cause. Nelson is a well-known advocate of legalizing marijuana and has been arrested several times for possessing it.
Moody Foundation’s $25.5 Man dies after getting off million gift to aid UTMB Austin bus, run over GALVESTON — The Moody Foundation of Galveston is awarding the University of Texas Medical Branch $25.5 million for research and to help build a new hospital. The donation was announced Friday. The $438 million hospital will open in 2016 and house 310 patient rooms, a 28-bed day surgery unit and 20 operating suites.
AUSTIN — Police say a bus accident in Austin has left a man dead after he stepped off the transit vehicle and was run over. Austin police say the accident early Friday killed a man who had been a passenger on a Capital Metro bus.
Man held in deadly immigrant smuggling case
EL PASO — Authorities say fire has destroyed a downtown El Paso building that was once where a gunfighter practiced law. The El Paso Fire Department on Friday reported nobody was hurt in the blaze that destroyed what was known as the John Wesley Hardin Building. A 1962 historic marker described Hardin as “the West’s most feared gunman” who killed at least 26 men. Hardin was shot dead at the Acme Saloon in El Paso on Aug. 19, 1895. — Compiled from AP reports
McALLEN — A sixth person facing federal charges for his alleged involvement in an illegal immigrant smuggling ring in which nine Mexican citizens died in a van crash will be held pending trial. Carmelo Diaz Gopar waived his preliminary hearings Friday and was ordered held by U.S. District Magistrate Judge Peter Ormsby.
Fire destroys historic downtown El Paso building
AROUND THE NATION Wis. gives $765,000 in bonuses despite cutbacks MADISON, Wis. — Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker established a program that has given hundreds of thousands of dollars in merit raises and bonuses to some state workers even as he preached cost-cutting and pushed through a law reducing most public workers’ pay and eliminating their union rights. An analysis of data The Associated Press obtained through an open records request showed Wisconsin agencies have handed out more than $765,000 in bonuses and merit raises this year to nearly 220 employees.
Judge rules against CIA whistle-blower WASHINGTON — A federal judge has ruled a CIA whistleblower will have to forfeit any future money he earns from a scathing book he wrote about the
CONTACT US
Photo by Paul Aiken/The Daily Camera | AP
A man posts an area closure sign on the Norlin Quad of the University of Colorado Boulder campus on Friday. The university is restricting visitors for a day in a bid to stop an annual marijuana protest. spy agency after he failed to get approval from his former employer prior to publication. The CIA accused the officer of breaking his secrecy agreement with the U.S. The former officer published the book in July 2008. The CIA says his book, “The
Human Factor: Inside the CIA’s Dysfunctional Intelligence Culture,” was submitted to the agency’s publications review board under a secrecy agreement, but was published before the process was completed. — Compiled from AP reports
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SUBSCRIPTIONS/DELIVERY (956) 728-2555 The Zapata Times is distributed on Saturdays to 4,000 households in Zapata County. For subscribers of the Laredo Morning Times and for those who buy the Laredo Morning Times at newsstands, the Zapata Times is inserted. The Zapata Times is free. The Zapata Times is published by the Laredo Morning Times, a division of The Hearst Corporation, P.O. Box 2129, Laredo, Texas 78044. Phone (956) 728-2500. The Zapata office is at 1309 N. U.S. Hwy. 83 at 14th Avenue, Suite 2, Zapata, TX 78076. Call (956) 765-5113 or e-mail thezapatatimes.net
Crime & More
SATURDAY, APRIL 21, 2012
Man convicted in pot possession case By CÉSAR G. RODRIGUEZ THE ZAPATA TIMES
An Angleton man was convicted this week of having and attempting to distribute 1,400 pounds of marijuana valued at $1.1 million while driving along U.S. 83 in Zapata County, federal authorities announced this week. U.S. District Court Judge George P. Kazen set sentencing for Carlos Gonzalez, 44, for a later date to be determined. He faces up to life in prison and a $10 million fine. He has been in custody since his arrest Sept. 28. That day, a U.S. Border Patrol agent conducted an immigration inspection on a white 2008 Dodge Ram 3500 hauling a gooseneck trailer about a mile north of Falcon, a criminal complaint states. During trial Monday, the agent stated that Gonzalez got nervous when he saw the marked Border Patrol unit car on U.S. 83.
A 36-year-old man was arrested on several charges after allegedly fleeing from a Zapata Count sheriff ’s deputy during a motor vehicle stop on April 8. Hector Daniel Martinez was charged with unauthorized use of a motor vehicle, evading arrest and escape. Justice of the Peace Fernando Munoz set a total
THE BLOTTER ASSAULT An assault was reported at 9:07 a.m. Monday at Zapata Middle School. A juvenile was referred to juvenile probation. An assault, family violence incident was reported at 1:57 p.m. Monday at Fourth and Miraflores streets. Guadalupe Gonzalez Jr., 17, was arrested and charged with aggravated assault at about 8:15 p.m. Monday in the 1000 block of Roma Avenue. He was taken to Zapata Regional Jail, where he had a $25,000 bond. A 33-year-old woman reported at 9:47 a.m. Tuesday in the 900 block of Medina Street that someone assaulted her.
was arrested and charged with driving under the influence at about 2 a.m. April 15 in the 5200 block of Lopez Lane. He was later released to appear in court. Jose Aaron Uribe, 18, was arrested and charged with driving under the influence at about 4:30 a.m. April 15 at Seventh Street and Ramireño Avenue. He was taken to Zapata Regional Jail.
HIT AND RUN A hit-and-run accident was reported at 5:39 p.m. April 14 in the 600 block of Medina Street. A hit-and-run accident was reported at 3:01 a.m. April 15 at Aqua Restaurant and Bar, 178 S. U.S. 83.
Courtesy pohto
An Angleton man was convicted in federal court this week of possessing 1,400 pounds of marijuana U.S. Border Patrol agents seized in Zapata County on Sept. 28. The agent also stated he saw an after-market compartment built underneath the wooden floorboards, according to a U.S. Attorney’s Office news release. Court records state Gonzalez, a U.S. citizen, was the only occupant of the truck. The hidden compartment held 76 bundles of marijuana. A criminal complaint
states Gonzalez told agents the contents in the truck and trailer were his. However, Gonzalez did not testify during trial, the U.S. Attorney’s Office news release states. Defense counsel argued that “his nervous behavior is typical of anyone stopped by the police.” (César G. Rodriguez may be reached at 728-2568 or cesar@lmtonline.com)
Three charges await man who fled deputies SPECIAL TO THE TIMES
THE ZAPATA TIMES 3A
HECTOR DANIEL MARTINEZ: Facing several charges.
bond of $20,000 for all three charges.
Stolen car A 1998 BMW reported stolen from Laredo and which Martinez had been
driving before his arrest was impounded by the sheriff ’s office. The attempted stop by the deputy occurred at about 6 p.m. near the Best Western Inn on U.S. 83. Sheriff ’s deputies said Martinez fled on foot during an investigation but was later caught. Martinez is a Texas registered sex offender, according to the sheriff ’s office.
DOG BITE
POSSESSION
A dog bite was reported at 10:30 a.m. April 14 on Elm Street.
Deputies arrested Vanessa Jeannette Morin, 37, and charged her with possession of marijuana at about 2:30 a.m. Tuesday at the U.S. Border Patrol station. She was taken to Zapata County
DUI Roberto Saldivar Jr., 17,
Jail and held on a $20,000 bond.
PUBLIC INTOXICATION Joel Arnulfo Vargas, 41, was arrested and charged with public intoxication at about 7:15 p.m. April 13 in the 100 block of Madison Avenue. He was later released for court appearance. Juan Jose Guadalupe Herrera, 59, was arrested and charged with public intoxication at about 7:45 p.m. April 14 at Casa Trinidad Apartments, 1009 Lincoln St. He was given time already served.
THEFT A 27-year-old man reported at 6:45 p.m. April 14 in the 1100 block of Laredo Avenue that someone stole a battery from his motorcycle. A 74-year-old man reported at 12:30 p.m. April 16 in the 1000 block of Fresno Street that someone stole two gold bracelets valued at $2,000.
PAGE 4A
Zopinion
SATURDAY, APRIL 21, 2012
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OTHER VIEWS
N. Korea gets a pass on prisons By JONATHAN GURWITZ SAN ANTONIO EXPRESS-NEWS
Some day — and God willing, some day in the not too distant future — the Kim dynasty will come to an end in North Korea. Then the world will finally get a good look at the hermit kingdom’s political prison camps, the likes of which have not been seen since Stalin’s gulag or Hitler’s concentration camps. The North Korean camps contain as many as 200,000 prisoners who, for various crimes against the state, are subject to slave labor, starvation, torture and death.
A book look Until then, “Escape from Camp 14” will have to suffice. The new book, written by PBS “Frontline” journalist Blaine Harden, documents the life of Shin Dong-hyuk, the only person known to have grown up in a North Korean prison camp, to have survived, and then to have escaped to the West to tell his story. Shin was born in Camp 14 in 1982, the product of forced breeding between his two inmate parents. His ”crime” was that two of his uncles fled to South Korea — during the Korean War, three decades before he was born.
Torture common Harden provides a stark account of the casual brutality of a camp where summary executions and inhumane torture are commonplace, as well as the uplifting saga of Shin’s escape at age 23 from the only place he had ever known behind an electrified fence to a world he could never have imagined. “Escape from Camp 14” delivers a squalid, close-up view of life and death in the North Korean penal colony. For years, however, satellite photos have documented the camps’ existence to the outside world.
U.S. support Why is it that the prison camps and human rights have never been priorities in the long history of negotiations with North Korea? How, in spite of crimes against humanity, a history of aggression and support for international terrorism, has North Korea actually been able to blackmail
the West into giving it the food and energy needed to perpetuate this vile regime?
Bad behavior There are a number of partial explanations. But the permanence of the prison camps is largely a function of Pyongyang having mastered the nuclear fuel cycle. As long as the country’s dictators have the ability to assemble nuclear weapons, however crude, and mount them on rockets, however undependable, they can continue to operate Camp 14, unleash artillery barrages on South Korea and torpedo its warships with impunity. Now the rulers of another nation that imprisons and murders its own people for political crimes, has a history of aggression and supports international terrorism would like to create its own nuclear shield. The leaders of Iran have learned well the lesson of the Kim dynasty’s longevity.
What if? If Saddam Hussein had nuclear immunity in 1991, Kuwait would still be Iraq’s 19th Province, and Kurds, Shiites and other enemies of the Baathist state would still be filling mass graves. If Moammar Gadhafi had nuclear immunity in 2011, there would have been no NATO air campaign against his forces, no stopping the expected massacre of civilians in Benghazi. A conventionallyarmed Iran plots to assassinate the Saudi ambassador to the United States, assists insurgents attacking U.S. forces in Afghanistan, empowers Hezbollah in Lebanon, gives aid to the Assad government in Syria, bombs civilian targets in Argentina. How would a nuclear-armed Iran act?
No feminism for church By MELINDA HENNEBERGER THE WASHINGTON POST
There were two Santa Maria stories out of the Vatican this week. First, the bad news: The ultratraditionalists of Marcel Lefebvre’s Society of St. Pius X are another step closer to being welcomed back into the fold — though they have yet to sort out the problem of the dissident group’s Holocaust-denying bishop, Richard Williamson, whose excommunication Pope Benedict XVI lifted two years ago. Then there was the even worse news, by my votive lights, that the Vatican is cracking down on American nuns — who, as one of my fellow Catholics noted over a cup of unconsecrated wine last night, “Only do what Jesus told us to do,” in their hospitals, schools and orphanages, “so no wonder they’re in trouble.” After a lengthy investigation by the office formerly known as the Inquisition, Archbishop Peter Sartain of Seattle has been signed up to oversee a forced reform of the Leadership Conference of Women Religious, which represents about 80 percent of the 57,000 Catholic nuns in this country. That’s because, according to the Vatican report released Wednesday, a number of the good sisters appear to investigators to
have been influenced by “radical feminism,” and to have fallen out of step with church teaching on homosexuality and women’s ordination. Maybe timing isn’t everything, but the juxtaposition of these two announcements on the same day was perfect. If, that is, the intent was to send the message that while schisms may come and go, feminism won’t be tolerated. Or that a man who says, as Williamson did, that history is “hugely against 6 million Jews having been deliberately gassed” will be waved back in, but women accused of dissent can leave if they like. In fact, with the 50th anniversary of the opening of the Second Vatican Council coming up in October, what better time to remind people how far we still have to go, five decades since Pope John XXIII promised to throw open the windows of the church and let in some fresh air? Some things about the Vatican report do leave me torn: I can’t, for instance, decide if my favorite part is where they dare to indict the sisters for silence on abortion since, if memory serves, the Vatican itself has now and again been accused of keeping quiet when it shouldn’t have been. Or maybe it’s where they describe one sister’s language about “moving beyond the
Church” as “a cry for help.” “Such a rejection of faith,” the document warns, “is also a serious source of scandal and is incompatible with religious life.” The Vatican, of course, knows a lot about scandal — to the point that the nuns are the only morally uncompromised leaders poor Holy Mother Church has left. Keep right on like this, your excellencies, and before you know it even more Catholics will be “moving beyond the church.” This whole course correction, the report said, must be properly “understood in virtue of the mandate given by the Lord to Simon Peter as the rock on which He founded his Church: “I have prayed for you, Peter, that your faith may not fail; and when you have turned to me, you must strengthen the faith of your brothers and sisters.” But to the uninitiated, the exercise looks a lot like a common garden power play by a bunch of guys whose control is slipping, their authority undermined by their own failures. It also looks like payback. Some American bishops openly criticized the Leadership Conference of Women Religious’s support of the Affordable Care Act, which the bishops strenu-
ously opposed. And though it’s probably a coincidence, the LCWR approved of President Obama’s compromise with religious institutions over providing their employees with insurance coverage that covers birth control — a proposal the bishops have not accepted. Some of the complaints go back much further and suggest ancient grievances, polished to a high shine: “The LCWR publicly expressed in 1977 its refusal to assent to the teaching of Inter insigniores on the reservation of priestly ordination to men,” the Vatican report said. “This public refusal has never been corrected.” NETWORK, a nunfounded Washington lobbying group that focuses on poverty, immigration and health-care issues, was singled out in the report as “silent on the right to life.” “I think we scare them,” NETWORK’s executive director, Sister Simone Campbell, told my Post colleague Liz Tenety, referring to the male hierarchy. American sisters do outnumber the priests, and it’s the women who have the troops, too — at schools and hospitals the bishops couldn’t close if they wanted to. The nuns no longer only empty the bed pans, but now own the place, too, and you have to wonder whether that’s the real problem.
More diplomacy There’s still time for diplomacy to work its course and for sanctions to take effect in Iran. But if diplomacy and sanctions don’t work, then some day in the not too distant future, the civilized world will have to decide whether it will allow another nation of political prisons and casual brutality to become safeguarded behind a nuclear barbed-wire fence. (Email: jgurwitz@express-news.net)
LETTERS TO THE EDITOR POLICY The Zapata Times does not publish anonymous letters. To be published, letters must include the writer’s first and last names as well as a phone number to verify identity. The phone number IS NOT published; it is used solely to verify identity and to clarify content, if necessary. Identity of the letter writer must be verified before publication. We want to assure our
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N. Korea: Like father, like son MCCLATCHY-TRIBUNE NEWS SERVICE
North Korea’s new leader served up a surprise during recent celebrations of his grandfather’s 100th birthday. At a military parade, Kim Jong Un spoke for 20 minutes in a speech broadcast live across the country. It was a dramatic departure from his father, whose voice wasn’t heard by the populace until a 1992 parade. But if anyone expected the coun-
try’s youthful dictator to pursue a new approach, they were disappointed. Kim said his “first, second and third” priorities would be to make the military stronger. Not mentioned was the country’s attempt to launch a satellite, and what that failure suggested about the state of the North’s technological capacity. Before his accession to power, some analysts had wondered wheth-
er Kim Jong Un might chart a course to ease North Korea’s severe isolation and the poverty of its people. In the third century, a dying Roman emperor advised his successor to see to the care of the soldiers, to ensure they would take care of the emperor’s power. Unfortunately, the young Kim seems determined to do the same, no matter the cost to those whose sacrifices pay the bill.
DOONESBURY | GARRY TRUDEAU
SATURDAY, APRIL 21, 2012
THE ZAPATA TIMES 5A
HELPING KEEP ZAPATA COUNTY CLEAN
Pot rally faces fertilizer stink By REMA RAHMAN ASSOCIATED PRESS
Courtesy photo
IBC Bank-Zapata employees Jocelin Resendez, Jensine Garcia and Leslie Lozano helped remove litter from a two-mile stretch of FM 496 as part of the Don’t Mess with Texas Trash-Off event on April 14.
DENVER — The pungent smell of pot that blankets a popular quadrangle at the University of Colorado-Boulder every April 20 is being replaced by the stench of fish-based fertilizer Friday as administrators try to stamp out one of the nation’s largest annual campus celebrations of marijuana. After more than 10,000 people — students and non-students — attended last year’s marijuana rally on Norlin Quadrangle, university officials decided this year to apply the stinky fertilizer to the quad to deter pot-smokers. They’re also closing the campus Friday to all unauthorized visitors and offering a free campus concert by Haitian-born hip-hop star Wyclef Jean timed to coincide with the traditional 4:20 p.m. pot gathering. The measures pit Colorado’s flagship university, which has tired of its reputation as a top party
“
I do not see any justification for the university shutting it down. We do have to play a game of chess with the authorities.” STUDENT ORGANIZER DANIEL ELLIS SCHWARTZ
school, against thousands who have assembled, flash mob-style, each year to demand marijuana’s legalization or simply to have a good time. With more than 30,000 students, Colorado was named the nation’s top party school in 2011 by Playboy magazine. The campus also repeatedly ranks among the top schools for marijuana use, according to a “Reefer Madness” list conducted by The Princeton Review. “We don’t consider this a protest. We consider this people smoking pot in the sunshine,” said university spokesman Bronson Hill-
iard. “This is a gathering of people engaging in an illegal activity.” “I do not see any justification for the university shutting it down,” said student organizer Daniel Ellis Schwartz, who contends the measures infringe on First Amendment rights to protest. Schwartz, a physics major, and other supporters of the 4/20 smoke out plan to move it to a nearby park off-campus. He suggests there also will be some form of off-campus protest against the measures. “We do have to play a game of chess with the authorities,” Schwartz said.
Many students at the University of Colorado and other campuses across the country have long observed 4/20. The counterculture observation is shared by marijuana users from San Francisco’s Golden Gate Park to New York’s Greenwich Village. In Austin, Texas, country music legend Willie Nelson, who’s open about his marijuana use, was expected to help unveil an 8foot statue of himself in downtown Austin at 4:20 p.m. local time on Friday. The number 420 has been associated with marijuana use for decades, though its origins are murky. Its use as code for marijuana spread among California pot users in the 1960s and spread nationwide among followers of the Grateful Dead. Like most counterculture slang, theories abound on its origin. Some say it was once police code in Southern California to denote marijuana use (probably an urban legend).
Profits not impressive despite stock market gains By BERNARD CONDON AND PAUL WISEMAN ASSOCIATED PRESS
NEW YORK — When it comes to happy surprises on Wall Street, it’s hard to get better than this. U.S. companies made more money in the first three months this year than almost anyone expected. As earnings reports roll in, they’re beating the estimates of stock analysts at a rate not seen in more than a decade. Yet stocks have languished. The Standard & Poor’s 500 index has fallen about 2 percent in April. So why aren’t investors impressed? For starters, earnings season has just begun. The real test is the next two weeks, when more than 300 companies in the S&P 500 report. Apple, the most valuable company in the world, reports Tuesday. Topping estimates is no great
feat. Publicly traded companies do it almost every quarter. They tell analysts to expect a number the companies know will be low. Then they can enjoy a “pop” in their stock price when — surprise! — they clear the hurdle. And this quarter, it’s not much of a hurdle. Just a month ago, companies got analysts to expect first-quarter earnings to grow so little you’d need an electron microscope to spot the rise — just 0.5 percent. “People aren’t as excited as they would be if the estimates hadn’t been taken down,” says Uri Landesman, president of Platinum Partners, a hedge fund. Still, some beats are impressive. Yum Brands Inc., owner of Pizza Hut and Taco Bell, turned a profit of 96 cents per share, trouncing the 73 cents expected by Wall Street.
Of every 10 companies that have reported first-quarter results, eight have posted higher profits than Wall Street analysts had estimated, according to S&P Capital IQ, a financial research firm. That’s the highest ratio of “beats” since 2001. Thanks to surprising results in the past two weeks, S&P 500 companies are on track now for earnings growth of 4.3 percent over the first quarter of 2011. They’re growing across industries, too. Analysts had expected seven of the 10 industry groups in the S&P to post lower profits than a year ago. Here’s a look at what the higher profits portend.
Will they push stocks up? Maybe, but only if investors be-
lieve future numbers are heading higher, too. For all the upbeat reports, investors tend to buy and sell stocks based less on what companies earned in the past than on what they’re likely to earn in the future. And the outlook is OK, not great. After an 11 percent increase last year, companies in the S&P 500 are expected to grow earnings 7 percent in 2012, according to S&P Capital IQ. Just six months ago, Wall Street was expecting a 12 percent jump. The good news is that lower expectations don’t always push stocks down. In the first three months this year, analysts slashed estimates for first-quarter profits, and the stock market had its best winter since 1998. There have been periods when earnings barely budged and stocks soared. In the five years through
1986, the S&P nearly doubled while earnings slipped 2 percent. Sometimes stocks rise because investors get more comfortable with the idea of buying stocks generally, and they’re willing to pay more for each dollar of profit — even if those profits are expected to grow more slowly. And sometimes stocks fall even if profits grow faster. Chalk it up to less confidence about the future or perhaps higher expected inflation, which erodes investing gains. The upshot: Investing is more complicated than just looking at past profits or guessing, even correctly, future ones. “What’s driving stock prices? Is it the beat rate, the forward guidance, a European recession forecast or the sovereign debt crisis?” asks Sam Stovall, chief equity analyst at S&P Capital IQ. “The answer is, Yes. They all do.”
6A THE ZAPATA TIMES
SATURDAY, APRIL 21, 2012
Drugs used in animals focus of debate By MATTHEW PERRONE ASSOCIATED PRESS
WASHINGTON — The bacon you had for breakfast is at the center of a 35year debate over antibiotics. That’s because the same life-saving drugs prescribed to treat everything from ear infections to tuberculosis in humans also are used to fatten the animals that supply the chicken, beef and pork we eat every day. Farmers say they have to feed the drugs to animals to keep them healthy and meet America’s growing appetite for cheap meat. But public health advocates argue that the practice breeds antibiotic-resistant germs in animals that can cause deadly diseases in humans. The U.S. government moved to ban the use of some of the drugs in animals in the 1970s, but the rule was never enforced. Then, last week, the Food and Drug Administration outlined plans to phase out the use of antibiotics in farm animals for nonmedical purposes over three years. The U.S., by far the biggest global consumer of meat, follows Europe and other developed nations in restricting the use of penicillin and other antibiotics in animals. The issue has moved to the front burner as documentaries such as “Meet Your Meat” and “Food Inc.” have led Americans to focus more on what goes into their food. Sales of antibiotic-free meat, for instance, are up 25 percent to $175 million in the past three years. “Consumers are begin-
ning to understand the cost of eating cheap meat,” said Stephen McDonnell, CEO of Applegate Farms, which markets antibiotic-free meats and cheeses. “As people really understand what it takes to create a healthy animal they will probably eat less meat, but they are going to eat better meat.”
The history Antibiotics have been hailed as one of the greatest medical discoveries since their first use in humans in the 1940s. They’ve enabled doctors to cure diseases like tuberculosis, typhoid fever and meningitis. The FDA approved the use of antibiotics in livestock in the 1950s after studies showed that animals that got the drugs in their feed put on more weight in less time than animals on a traditional diet. For example, pigs that got an antibiotic were shown to need 10 to 15 percent less feed to reach the same weight as pigs on regular diets. Since feed can account for as much as 70 percent of total animal production costs, the discovery was a windfall for farmers. It meant they could produce more meat for less money, resulting in fatter profits. But by the 1970s, researchers began warning regulators that routine use of antibiotics was contributing to a surge in drug-resistant germs, or superbugs, that render antibiotics powerless against deadly infections. Professor Stuart Levy of Tufts University conducted the first study in 1976 showing highly resistant e. coli. E. coli bacteria
Bill would end farm subsidies By JIM ABRAMS ASSOCIATED PRESS
WASHINGTON — The Senate has begun laying the groundwork for a halftrillion-dollar farm and food bill that would end unconditional subsidies to farmers, but House Republicans’ resolve to cut its biggest component — food stamps — by $13 billion a year dims its prospects of passing Congress. The current five-year farm bill expires at the end of September, and the Senate’s agriculture committee on Friday released a draft of its plan to redesign safety nets that help farmers weather bad times while achieving some $23 billion in deficit reduction. The full committee is to vote next week on the plan, which consolidates conservation programs and takes several steps, such as stopping lottery winners from getting assistance, to make the food stamp program more accountable. But before getting a bill to the president, lawmakers must satisfy multiple constituents with different agendas — northern corn growers, southern cotton farmers, insurance companies, banks, nutrition groups and environmentalists. Most difficult will be narrowing the gap between the Democratic Senate and House Republicans taking aim at the food stamp program that comprises some 80 percent of the bill’s spending.
Farmers are also cursed by their own successes. With farm incomes as high as they’ve been in decades, it’s harder to convince lawmakers that they still need strong protections for future disasters and market downturns. Most give chances of success at no better than 50-50, which frustrates farm groups seeking some certainty in government policy. There’s still seven months to work on a bill before the presidential election, said Jon Doggett, vice president for public policy at the National Corn Growers Association. The Congressional Budget Office says that at the current spending pace, the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or food stamps, would spend about $400 billion over the fiveyear life of a farm bill enacted this year. Crop insurance subsidies would average about $9 billion a year, commodity subsidies $6.6 billion and farm conservation programs $6.5 billion. Last fall, when the congressional supercommittee was making its futile attempt to come up with a long-term deficit reduction plan, Senate agriculture committee chairman Debbie Stabenow, D-Mich., and her Republican colleague in the House, Frank Lucas of Oklahoma, came up with a plan to cut $23 billion from farm and food aid over the next decade while replacing direct payments to farmers with a new revenue insurance program.
Photo by Matt Rourke | AP
David Martin holds a turkey raised without the use of antibiotics at his farm, on Wednesday in Lebanon, Pa. The Food and Drug Administration called on drug companies to help limit the use of antibiotics in farm animals, a decades-old practice that scientists say has contributed to a surge in dangerous, drug-resistant bacteria. could pass from chickens to farm workers who worked with the animals in just a few weeks. The study contributed to the FDA’s decision to ban nonmedical use of penicillin and tetracycline in farm animals a year later. But farmers and drugmakers pushed back, and the FDA rule was never enforced. “Why did no one act on it? Because there was a strong lobby,” said Levy, cofounder and president of the Alliance for Prudent Use of Antibiotics, a nonprofit advocacy group that favors restrictions on the drugs. “They said, ‘Well, show us the deaths. Show us the real problem. Other-
wise, this isn’t so terrible.’” But it’s difficult to link the overuse of antibiotics to deaths. It’s tough to find the source of bacteria-resistant germs, which can spread from animals to humans in many ways, including undercooked meat and drinking water contaminated by animal waste. And bacteria mutate when passing between species, meaning the same strain of drug-resistant bacteria in chicken can take on a different form once it enters the human body.
The debate While the issue mostly
was tabled in the U.S., it was gaining momentum elsewhere in the world. In 1999, the European Union backed a ban on penicillin and other human antibiotics for growth in farm animals. Within four years, the use of antibiotics on animals fell 36 percent in Denmark, 45 percent in Norway and 69 percent in Sweden. Levy, the Tufts University professor, and his colleagues had hoped that the EU’s ban would bolster the case for restricting the use of antibiotics in the U.S. But instead, the data has been used to argue both sides of the issue. U.S. farmers have seized
on reports that cases of diarrhea among young pigs increased in the first year after the EU ban. But public health advocates say that the outbreaks among pigs decreased once farmers improved the sanitary conditions by cleaning feedlots more frequently and giving animals more space. U.S. groups like the National Chicken Council warn that restricting use of antibiotics will result in sicker animals, increasing costs for farmers — and the price of meat and poultry for consumers. Some industry groups have projected costs for farmers would rise by $1 billion over 10 years.
Board OKs math standards By WILL WEISSERT ASSOCIATED PRESS
AUSTIN — The State Board of Education approved math curriculum standards for all K-12 students in Texas for the next 10 years on Friday, despite concerns by an influential business group that the new requirements weren’t strenuous enough to train the future workforce. The unanimous vote came with little fanfare or debate, even though the issue has sparked strong feelings among supporters and critics. The new curricula for students in kindergarten through eighth grade are expected to take effect in 2014, and high school standards should begin the following year.
Approval only went smoothly after the education board spent hours Thursday going through curricula for each grade, tweaking language and the requirements. There was little support, however, for delaying a final vote to allow for more-substantial rewriting. The proposed requirements are based on previous Texas standards and past curricula in California, Massachusetts and Minnesota, as well as standards in Singapore. They don’t adhere to the widely used national standards outlined in the Common Core State Standards Initiative, which is coordinated by the National Governors Association Center for Best Practices and the
Council of Chief State School Officers. Texas is just one of five states to shun the national standards in math, language arts and other essential subjects, which were developed working with teachers, school administrators and experts. The standards are meant to provide a benchmark for preparing students for college and the workforce. The national standards have been seen by some in Texas as a national overreach and a threat to state control of schools. Texas Education Commissioner Robert Scott urged the board to come up with standards unique to the state — but ensure they were better than the ones adopted almost every-
where else in the country. The Thomas B. Fordham Institute, a nonprofit think tank that lawmakers have previously described as conservative, said Friday that it supports the new Texas curriculum but believes the requirements don’t go far enough. “The new standards are an improvement on the current mediocre standards but still flawed and inferior to the Common Core math standards,” said Kathleen Porter-Magee, senior director of the High Quality Standards Program at the Washington-based institute. Some education groups and classroom experts have supported the standards as a major step forward.
SÁBADO 21 DE ABRIL DE 2012
Agenda en Breve LAREDO 04/21 — Celebre el Día de la Tierra en el Centro de Ciencias Ambientales Lamar Bruni Vergara (dentro del Campus Fort McIntosh de Laredo Community College). A las 7:45 a.m. ‘Loving Laredo Hike’ (un recorrido por el Paso Natural del Indio; de 7:30 a.m. a 11:30 a.m., limpieza del Paso del indio con plantación de plantas nativas de la región; y, a las 11:30 a.m., charla con Eloy Vega, acercade Cómo Preservar el Medio Ambiente Acuático. Igualmente se invita al “Picnic por el Planeta 2012” en terrenos del Centro de Ciencias. 04/21 — Ciudad de Laredo y Keep Laredo Beautiful invitan al Festival del Día de la Tierra de 10 a.m. a 5 p.m. en Laredo Civic Center, 2400 avenida San Bernardo. Habrá talleres, película, manualidades, desfile de moda, música y entretenimiento. Evento gratuito. 04/21 — Mercado Argícola “El Centro de Laredo” es de 9 a.m. a 12 p.m. en Plaza Jarvis. Estacionamiento gratuito en Edificio de El Metro. 04/21 — Planetario Lamar Bruni Vergara de TAMIU presenta ‘One World, One Sky Big Bird’s Adventure’ a las 4 p.m., ‘2012: Ancient Skies, Ancient Mysteries’ a las 5 p.m. y 6 p.m., y ‘Pink Floyd’s Dark Side of the Moon’ a las 7 p.m. Costo: 4 dólares para niños y 5 dólares para adultos. 04/21 — Caminata “March for Babies 2012” de March of Dimes es de 8 a.m. a 12 p.m. Puede inscribirse en http://www.marchforbabies.org/. El programa ayuda a recaudar dinero para apoyar programas de ayuda a madres y bebés. 04/21 — ‘Cri-Cri: El Grillito Cantor’ visita el Recital Hall de Texas A&M International University a las 7 p.m. Costo: 5 dólares. Niños de 10 años y menores entran gratis. 04/21 — Taller de Ópera de Laredo Community College presenta “The Fantasticks” a las 7:30 p.m. en el Teatro del Guadalupe and Lilia Martinez Fine Arts Center del Campus Fort McIntosh. Entrada general: 10 dólares. Otra función el domingo a las 3 p.m. 04/22 — Hoy es el Cuarto Día de Campo Familiar Anual organizado por Voz de Niños–Corte Asignada de Defensores Especiales, en IBC Lago del Rio, de 1 p.m. a 5 p.m. 04/22 — La Orquesta Filarmónica de Laredo interpretará ‘Black Swan’, ‘Star Wars Suite’, ‘Blue Cathedral’, ‘Swan Lake Suite”, y otras piezas a las 3 p.m. en el Salón de Recitales del Center for Fine and Performing Arts de TAMIU. Costo: 15 dólares (adultos), 12 dólares para adultos mayores, y gratis para estudiantes con identificación. 04/24 — Juego de exhibición entre Laredo Heat Soccer Club vs Águilas del América (Sub-20) a las 8 p.m. en el Complejo de Soccer de TAMIU. Evento tiene costo. 04/25 — La escritora Laurie Alice Eakes mostrará sus técnicas para crear historias, de 6 p.m. a 8 p.m. en la Sala de Usos Mútiples H-E-B de la Biblioteca Pública de Laredo, 1120 East Calton Road. 04/27 — El evento “Relay for Life” de la Sociedad Americana del Cáncer, inicia hoy a las 7 p.m. en Laredo Energy Arena (6700 Arena Blvd.), para concluir a las 7 a.m. del domingo. El objetivo es recaudar fondos y crear atención sobre el cáncer. — Tiempo de Zapata
Zfrontera Peligro del migrante POR CLAUDIA TORRENS ASSOCIATED PRESS
NUEVA YORK — El refuerzo de seguridad en la frontera entre Estados Unidos y México no ha evitado que más drogas sean traficadas a través de los límites ni que haya más inmigrantes expuestos a la violencia de los carteles mexicanos, aseguró un reporte difundido el jueves. El Colegio de la Frontera del Norte (COLEF), en Tijuana, y la Washington Office on Latin America, dos dependencias no gubernamentales, emitieron un informe conjunto que evidencia como los narcotraficantes de drogas se involucraron en el tráfico de personas porque representa un negocio lucrativo. “Se ha visto una participación más estrecha entre
las organizaciones de tráfico de drogas y los traficantes de personas que pone a los inmigrantes en más riesgo”, dijo Maureen Meyer, quien trabaja para WOLA como experta en México y es una de las autoras del reporte. “Como es más complicado cruzar la frontera y como están cruzando migrantes en zonas más aisladas, se requiere una mayor estructura criminal para llevarlos hasta su punto de destino en Estados Unidos. Eso también ha facilitado que los traficantes de droga entren en el negocio del tráfico de personas”, dijo Meyer durante una entrevista con The Associated Press. Meyer sugirió que el aumento de recursos con que Estados Unidos reforzó la frontera podría haber de-
sembocado en esta situación, pero aún así, esa conclusión merece mayor estudio, señaló. A pesar de que cada vez menos inmigrantes cruzan la frontera, las cantidades de drogas interceptadas han aumentado, asegura el informe. Entre el 2005 y el 2010 la incautación de marihuana aumentó un 49%, la de metanfetamina un 54%, la de heroína un 297% y la de extasis un 839%. Según el estudio, la mayoría de las drogas llegan a Estados Unidos a través de los 45 puestos fronterizos terrestres de entrada. “La incautación de productos ilícitos ha aumentado en todos los frentes”, señaló la portavoz Joanne Ferreira en un mensaje de correo electrónico enviado a The Associated Press.
Foto por Ulysses S. Romero | The Zapata Times
Camiones comerciales empiezan a hacer fila en el lote de importaciones en el Puente del Comercio Mundial. Estudio pudiera provocar sugerencias para resolver los tiempos de espera en cruces.
CRUCE Y COSTO Estudio analiza tiempos de espera POR CÉSAR G. RODRIGUEZ TIEMPO DE ZAPATA
Una carta enviada por la Senadora de EU Kay Bailey Hutchison, R-Texas, a la Oficina de Responsabilidad Gubernamental de EU (U.S. Government Accountability Office —GAO), dirigiendo un estudio para reducir tiempos de espera en los cruces fronterizos de EU-México, está provocando buenas críticas de la comunidad comercial. En la carta fechada el martes, y dirigida al Interventor General de EU, Gene L. Dodaro, Hutchison detalla la misión bipartita de Aduanas y Protección Fronteriza de EU (CBP, por sus siglas en inglés) para asegurar la frontera y, al mismo tiempo, facilitar el comercio legítimo. “CBP debe balancear de forma efectiva estas misiones para asegurar la seguridad de nuestras fronteras, así como el flujo del comercio legítimo”, escribió Hutchison en la carta. Ella agrega que las políticas y procedimientos deben realizarse “efectiva y eficientemente para ayudar a minimizar los impactos adversos en el comercio que cruza la frontera”. De acuerdo a la carta, varios grupos han reportado que “largos tiempos de espera” en los cruces fronterizos pueden tener un efecto negativo en el comercio y turismo. La Alianza de Comercio Fronterizo (BTA, por sus siglas en inglés) es uno de estos grupos. BTA es una organización sin fines de lucro con oficinas centrales en San Antonio, y la cual sirve como un foro para participantes — desde sectores privados hasta públicos — para atender temas principales afectando el comercio, turismo y seguridad en Norteamérica, indica la alianza en su sitio de Internet. Un borrador del reporte del 2008 titulado “Improving Economic Outcomes by Reducing Border Delays” para el Departamento de Comercio, identifica a El Paso, Hidalgo, Laredo, Otay Mesa, Calif.; y Nogales, Ariz., como los cinco puertos de entrada más ocupados en la frontera sur. Estos puntos de entrada promedian más de una hora para cruzar a EU. Estos resultados en un promedio de pérdida económica de 116 millones de dólares por minuto que dure el retraso, indica el bor-
rador del reporte. Jesse Hereford, vice presidente para BTA, cree que actualmente esa cantidad pudiera ser de alrededor de la misma cantidad, si no es que más alto. Explicó que la entrega de mercancías puede ser respaldada en los cruces internacionales, aquellas que provocan un impacto negativo sobre el comercio. Esto pudiera eventualmente afectar los envíos, negocios y pudiera últimamente llegar al consumidor, dijo Hereford. “Este reporte dará realmente un mapa carretero para ver cómo podemos reducir los tiempos de espera en los cruces fronterizos”, dijo Hereford. “Esperamos que el estudio que la Senadora ha respaldado nos brinde cifras sobre cómo mejorar los tiempos de espera en los puertos de entrada”. Hereford y Víctor González, presidente de la Asociación de Agentes Aduanales Licencia de EU en Laredo, Inc., están anticipando ampliamente los resultados que el estudio del GAO pudiera brindar. “El Puerto de Laredo maneja el mayor volúmen de camiones y eso nos convierte en el Puerto más ocupado a lo largo de la frontera EU-México y, por ende, tenemos la mayor ganancia de las conclusiones y recomendaciones de este estudio para reducir los tiempos de espera”, escribió González en una declaración para Laredo Morning Times. González dijo que la asociación de agentes aduanales ha estado involucrada en varias reuniones con oficiales y agentes aduanales en ambos lados de la frontera, trabajando unidos para “contribuir sugerencias que hará los cruces más eficientes y, por tanto, reducir los tiempos de espera comerciales en el Puente del Comercio Mundial”. El vocero de GAO, Chuck Young, dijo que se desconoce claramente cuando iniciará el estudio siendo que el proceso continúa en sus primeras etapas. “Recibimos la solicitud pero necesidad pasar por un proceso de planeación aquí, y eso puede tomar varias semanas antes que tengamos una programación”, escribió Young en un correo electrónico. (Localice a César G. Rodriguez en el (956) 728-2568 o en cesar@lmtonline.com)
PÁGINA 7A
Agua común crea tensión entre países POR CHRISTOPHER SHERMAN ASSOCIATED PRESS
McALLEN — La nieve derretida apenas empezaba a llegar borboteando al lecho seco del río Bravo, en la frontera entre México y Estados Unidos, cuando estalló una guerra de palabras sobre el destino del líquido: una franja delgada de cultivos en ambos países. México solicitó y consiguió una entrega anticipada de agua de los embalses que comparten los dos países para evitar una demora en la siembra de la temporada. Los agricultores de Texas, temiendo que una sequía histórica pueda volver a endurecer su posición en el verano boreal, pidieron aplazar la entrega un par de meses, a fin de que sus cultivos tengan agua para sobrevivir al momento más seco del año. La distribución del agua del río Bravo —como se llama en México o “Grande”, como se le llama en Estados Unidos— es una complicada cuestión anual que está reglamentada por acuerdos crípticos y cálculos imperfectos. México le pidió a la Comisión Internacional de Límites y Aguas —el organismo binacional encargado de aplicar los tratados que rigen el río y la frontera— el suministro de su parte en
marzo. La comisión ordenó la entrega del agua y los agricultores de Texas la aceptaron, aunque bajo protesta. “La solicitud de entrega en marzo es muy normal para México”, dijo la vocera de la comisión, Sally Spener. “Lo que causó la inquietud fue que, en un mundo ideal, todos recibirían las entregas al mismo tiempo porque esa es una manera más eficiente de mover el agua”. El responsable estadounidense en la comisión dijo que se atuvo a un acuerdo de 1906 cuando tomó partido por México en marzo, pero funcionarios agrícolas y ambientales de Texas dijeron este mes en una carta que la decisión viola los términos del acuerdo y “resulta en la protección de los ciudadanos de México a expensas de los ciudadanos de Estados Unidos”. Jesús Armando Reta Mar, delegado de la Secretaría de Agricultura de México en el Valle Juárez, en la frontera con El Paso, dijo que entendía la incomodidad de Texas con la reciente decisión de la comisión, pero dijo que los agricultores mexicanos no tenían otra alternativa, porque sufren la peor sequía en el país desde que comenzó el registro oficial de la lluvia en 1941.
IRS busca a quien no declaró POR IRMA R. TREVIÑO ESPECIAL PARA TIEMPO DE ZAPATA
El IRS (Internal Revenue Service) se encuentra ofreciendo ayuda a aquellos contribuyentes quienes perdieron el plazo, del 17 de abril, para realizar su declaración de impuestos. Entre esa ayuda se encuentran varios consejos. No entre en pánico pero presente la declaración tan pronto le sea posible. Si debe dinero entre más rápido presente la declaración, menos multas e intereses tendrá que pagar. Incluso si envía por correo la declaración, entre más pronto se reciba, mejor. E-File sigue siendo su mejor opción. Los programas de e-file del IRS están disponibles para la mayoría de los contribuyentes hasta la nueva fecha límite prorrogada del 15 de octubre de 2012. Free File sigue estando disponible. Verifique el IRS Free File en www.irs.gov/freefile. Los contribuyentes cuyos ingresos son 57.000 dólares o menos califican para presentar gratuitamente a través de IRS Free File. Para las personas que ganaron más de 57.000 dólares y que se sienten cómodos para preparar sus propios impuestos, el IRS ofrece los formularios rellenables gratis. No hay ayuda con el software de formularios rellenables gratis, pero hace por Usted los cálculos de matemáticas básicas. Pague lo más que pueda. Los contribuyentes que adeudan impuestos deben pagar lo más que puedan cuando presentan su declaración, incluso si no pueden pagar el monto total y después pueden solicitar un acuerdo de pagos a plazos para pagar el saldo restante. Acuerdos de pagos a
plazos están disponibles. Solicite un acuerdo de pagos con el IRS. Complete el Formulario 9465, Solicitud de Acuerdo de Pagos a Plazos o solicítelo en línea usando Online Payment Agreement Application disponible en www.irs.gov. Podría adeudar multas e intereses. Los contribuyentes que perdieron el plazo de presentación podrían estar sujetos a una multa por presentar tarde después que venció el plazo. Si presenta la declaración tan pronto le sea posible las multas serán mínimas. Y los contribuyentes que no pagaron el total de impuestos sobre todo para la fecha límite tendrán que pagar la multa tardía. La mejor manera de mantener la multa al mínimo es pagar lo más y rápido como le sea posible Aunque no se pueden anular los cargos de intereses, el IRS considerará reducciones de las sanciones si puede establecer una causa razonable para la presentación y pago tardío. Información sobre multas e intereses esta disponible en Avoiding Penalties and the Tax Gap (en inglés). Reembolsos podrían estar en espera. Los contribuyentes deben presentar tan pronto como sea posible para obtener sus reembolsos. Incluso si su ingreso está por debajo del requisito de presentación, puede tener derecho a un reembolso de impuestos retenidos de su nómina, pagos trimestrales estimados u otros créditos especiales. No se le cobrará intereses ni multas, por presentar después del plazo, pero si no presenta una declaración dentro de tres años podría perder su derecho a recibir un reembolso. Más información disponible en www.irs.gov.
8A THE ZAPATA TIMES
SATURDAY, APRIL 21, 2012
Shooting description shocks courtroom By KARL RITTER ASSOCIATED PRESS
OSLO, Norway — In testimony too graphic for any parent to hear, Norwegian far-right extremist Anders Behring Breivik shocked an Oslo courtroom Friday as he calmly described hunting down teenagers on an island summer camp. As his words rolled out, survivors and victims’ relatives of the July 22 massacre hugged and sobbed, trying to comfort each other. That testimony was also broadcast to 17 other courtrooms in Norway where others affected by the attacks were gathered, but was not carried live on Norwegian television. The 33-year-old Norwegian left out no detail from his rampage, explaining how he shot panicked youths at point-blank range. Sixty-nine people, mostly teenagers, were killed on Utoya island and others only survived by diving into chilly waters to escape. Breivik said he did not anticipate his victims’ reactions. “Some of them are completely paralyzed. They cannot run. They stand totally still. This is something they never show on TV,” Breivik said. “It was very strange.” Breivik has admitted to setting off a bomb July 22 in Oslo, killing eight people, before opening fire to the governing Labor Party’s annual youth camp on Utoya island. But he has pleaded not guilty to criminal charges, saying his victims had betrayed Norway by embracing immigration. The main goal of the trial, now in its fifth day, is to figure out whether Breivik was sane or insane —
two official reports have come to opposite conclusions on that point. Looking tense but focused, Breivik spoke calmly about the shooting rampage, beginning with the moment he took a small ferry to Utoya, an island in a lake outside Oslo. He was disguised as a policeman, carrying a rifle and a handgun. He also brought drinking water because he knew he would get a dry throat from the stress of killing people. Breivik’s first two victims were Monica Boesei, a camp organizer, and off-duty police officer Trond Berntsen, a security guard. “My whole body tried to revolt when I took the weapon in my hand. There were 100 voices in my head saying ‘Don’t do it, don’t do it,’” Breivik said. But he did. He said he pointed his gun at Berntsen’s head and pulled the trigger. He shot Boesei as she tried to run away. Then as they lay on the ground, he shot them both twice in the head. The first shot was “extremely difficult,” he declared, saying he then entered a “fight-and-flight modus” that made it easier to continue the killing spree. Breivik said he couldn’t remember large chunks of the approximately 90 minutes he spent on the island before surrendering to police commandos. Still, he recalled some of the shootings in great detail, including inside a cafe where he mowed down young victims as they pleaded for their lives. Some teenagers were frozen in panic, unable to move even when Breivik ran out of ammunition. He changed clips. They didn’t move. He shot them in the
Photo by Lise Aserud | AP
One of the survivors from Utoya, Siri Seim Soenstelie, left, her sister Thea and their father Erik Soenstelie talk at the Oslo courthouse at the end of day five of the ongoing terror and murder case against Anders Behring Breivik. head. Others pretended to be dead. He said he shot them, too. Breivik continued his rampage around the island, luring youth from their hiding places by telling them he was a police officer who was there to protect them. When they came out, he gunned them down. He said his goal was to kill all of the nearly 600 people on the island. He said he had thought about wearing a swastika on his chest as a pure fear factor, but decided against it because he didn’t want people to think he was a Nazi. His testimony was physically revolting. Inside the
Oslo court, a man who lost his son on the island closed his eyes hard, squeezing them shut. Another man to his left put a comforting hand to his shoulder. A woman to his right clutched onto him, resting her forehead against his arm. Breivik said he was deliberately using “technical” language as a way to keep his composure. “These are gruesome acts, barbaric acts,” he said. “If I had tried to use a more normal language I don’t think I would have been able to talk about it at all.” Earlier, Breivik said he took to the Internet to
learn how to carry out his bombing-and-shooting rampage, studying attacks by al-Qaida, Oklahoma City bomber Timothy McVeigh and the 1993 bombing of the World Trade Center. The confessed mass killer told the court he paid close attention in particular to the World Trade Center bombing in New York and McVeigh’s 1995 attack on an Oklahoma City government building, which killed 168 people and injured over 600. Breivik also said he had read more than 600 bombmaking guides. He called the Islamist alQaida “the most successful revolutionary movement in
the world” and said it should serve as an inspiration to far-right militants. “I have studied each one of their actions, what they have done wrong, what they have done right,” Breivik said of al-Qaida. “We want to create a European version of al-Qaida.” Comparing himself to a Japanese “banzai” warrior during World War II, Breivik said too many Norwegian men were “feminized, cooking food and showing emotions.” A lawyer for the victims noted that Breivik himself had cried on the first day of the trial as prosecutors showed an anti-Muslim video he had created.
Senator: At least 20 women are involved By LAURIE KELLMAN ASSOCIATED PRESS
Photo by Delcia Lopez/The Monitor | AP
Two chairs, one painted with a rooster, sit in front of the farmhouse where an illegal cock fighting event took place in the early morning hours Thursday near La Blanca. Masked gunmen opened fire, leaving three people dead and eight wounded, authorities said.
Sheriff: Shooting was sloppy hit on brothers By CHRISTOPHER SHERMAN ASSOCIATED PRESS
McALLEN — Authorities believe the wild shooting that left three dead and eight wounded at a cockfight was a sloppy hit on two brothers. Three people were charged with cockfighting and engaging in organized criminal activity Friday just before officials identified the victims, who all had criminal pasts. The brothers believed to be the target of the shooting were among those killed. The gunmen remained at large. Hidalgo County Sheriff Lupe Trevino described a chaotic scene when gunfire broke out at the cockfighting ring near Edcouch, just after midnight Thursday. As many as 200 attendees trampled each other, and whatever evidence could have helped investigators piece together the ambush that witnesses said was carried out by between two and four masked gunmen. The scene was littered with an estimated 300 beer cans and some 20 dead roosters. "Obviously they’re amateurs," Trevino said of the shooters. Killed in the fray were 49year-old Ramiro Garcia and
his brother, 53-year-old Juan Santos Garcia, and 42-yearold Arturo Buentello Garza. Trevino said Garza was likely a bystander, but the Garcias were well known to authorities for previous criminal activity, including drug possession. "We believe there are a lot of different groups that had it in for the Garcias," which will make it difficult to pinpoint the group responsible for the attack, Trevino said. The shooting had no connection to violence in Mexico, he said. Trevino’s comments came shortly after arraignment hearings Friday for 51-year-old Heriberto Leandro; his wife, 52-year-old Leticia Leandro; and 37year-old Humberto Blanco. They were taken in for
questioning the night of the attack and arrested Thursday. The Leandros owned the small ranch. Heriberto Leandro built the corrugated metal pavilion that covered the bleachers and ring. He told investigators he had tried his hand at running the fights but didn’t make money at it so instead rented the facility to Blanco. All three were held on $1 million bonds, each charged with one count of cockfighting and one count of engaging in organized criminal activity.
WASHINGTON — At least 20 foreign women and as many Secret Service officers and Marines met at a hotel in Colombia in an incident involving prostitution, and lawmakers are seeking information about any possible threat to the U.S. or to President Barack Obamawho arrived for a conference soon after, congressional officials said Tuesday. In briefings throughout the day, Secret Service Director Mark Sullivan told lawmakers that 11 members of his agency met with 11 women at a hotel in Cartagena and that more foreign females were involved with American military personnel. Obama and some key congressional Republicans, meanwhile, said they continued to support Sullivan. “The president has con-
Photo by J. Scott Applewhite | AP
Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, is one of the senators investigating an incident involving Secret Service agents and prostitutes in Cartagena last weekend. fidence in the director of the Secret Service. Director Sullivan acted quickly in response of this incident and is overseeing an investigation as we speak into the matter,” said White House spokesman Jay Carney. Sullivan shuttled between meetings with lawmakers Tuesday, outlining what his investigators in Washington and in Colombia have found about the incident.
“Twenty or 21 women foreign nationals were brought to the hotel,” Sen. Susan Collins, the ranking Republican on the Homeland Security Committee, said Sullivan told her. Meanwhile, Sullivan told the chairman of the House Homeland Security Committee that the 11 Secret Service agents and officers were telling different stories to investigators about who the women were.
SATURDAY, APRIL 21, 2012
THE ZAPATA TIMES 9A
Mexico volcano spews ash as shelters readied By MARK STEVENSON ASSOCIATED PRESS
XALITZINTLA, Mexico — The white-capped volcano that looms over Mexico City emitted a terrifying low-pitched roar Friday and spewed roiling towers of ash and steam as it vented the pressure built up by a massive chamber of magma beneath its slopes. Authorities prepared evacuation routes, ambulances and shelters in the event of a bigger explosion. Even a large eruption of the 17,886-foot cone of Popocatepetl is unlikely to do more than dump ash on one of the world’s largest metropolitan areas. But the grit could play havoc with Mexico City’s busy airport, and tens of thousands of people in the farming villages on its flanks could be forced to flee. Popo, as it’s commonly known, has put out small eruptions of ash almost daily since a round of eruptive activity began in 1994. A week ago, the eruptions started growing larger and authorities slightly elevated the alert level for people living nearby. Before dawn on Friday, the mountain moved into what appeared to be a new level of activity, spitting out dozens of ash clouds and shot fragments of glowing rock down its slopes while frightening the residents of surrounding villages with deep roaring not heard in a decade. People in the village of Xalitzintla said they were awakened by a windowrattling series of eruptions. Mexico’s National Disaster Prevention Center said one string of eruptions ended in the early morning, then the volcano started up again at 5:05 a.m., with at least 12 eruptions in two hours. “Up on the mountain, it
feels incredible,” said Aaron Sanchez Ocelotl, 45, who was in his turf grass fields when the eruptions happened. “It sounds like the roaring of the sea.” A 35 million cubic foot chamber of magma is seething about six miles beneath Popocatepetl, Roberto Quaas, director of the disaster prevention center, said at a news conference laying out emergency preparations. Scientists have no way of predicting whether the molten rock in the chamber will be slowly released, or erupt in a powerful explosion like the one on Dec. 18, 2000, that sent up a plume of red-hot rock and forced the evacuation of thousands of people who live at the volcano’s base, Quaas said. He compared the volcano to a bottle of champagne: “You could take the cork out quickly and all the gaseous material and liquid rushes out suddenly, or it could also happen slowly.” However, he said, “we know that this lava dome, sooner or later, will be destroyed by internal pressure.” Scientists have detected fracturing about 3.5 miles down, accompanied by small earthquakes measuring about 3.4 magnitude, he said. An iconic backdrop to Mexico City’s skyline on clear days, Popocatepetl sits roughly halfway between Mexico City and the city of Puebla — meaning some 25 million people live within a 60mile radius of the volcano, Quaas said. “These are figures that obviously alarm and concern us,” he said. President Felipe Calderón and the governors of Mexico, Puebla and Morelos states that neighbor Popocatepetl said on a live national television broadcast that they were keeping roads open around the
mountain, preparing emergency shelters and making sure residents know the latest information about a potential eruption. “It’s our obligation to stay alert, to stay on guard, so we can keep carefully following developments and have the opportunity to respond quickly, if needed, and efficiently, to whatever might happen,” Calderón said Gregorio Fuentes Casquera, the assistant mayor of Xalitzintla, a village of 2,600 people about seven miles from the summit, said the town had prepared 50 buses and was sending out its six-member police force to alert people to be ready to evacuate. “Everyone needs to take this seriously. This buzzing, this roaring isn’t normal,” he said, adding that he believed about half the populace would be willing to evacuate, while the rest would want to stay. As the quiet of the corn fields and fruit orchards was pervaded by the volcano’s spooky roaring, dozens of women lined up in Xalitzintla’s main square to get free face masks and bottles of water. Health authorities were giving out 10 masks and 10 bottles of water to each family, and the surgical-style masks, intended to filter out the fine ash released by the volcano, were becoming common among the town’s students, who are required to wear them in school. Few adults wore them. “Right now we’re not scared. When it’s scary is at night, when it’s putting out lava,” said Nancy Agustin Inclan, 14, as she removed her mask and took a break outside the gate of the town’s middle school. Webcam images on the site of the National Disaster Prevention Center
Photo by Joel Merino | AP
A plume of ash rises from the crater of the Popocatepetl volcano on Friday. Authorities prepared evacuation routes, ambulances and shelters in the event of a bigger explosion. showed the plume rising from the top of the peak at dawn, though clouds obscured the volcano for people further away. The Televisa television network broadcast images of red, glowing material rising from the crater and falling on its slopes. The ash was blowing to the northeast, in the general direction of Puebla. The recent round of eruptions ended a period of decades in which the volcano named after a legendary Indian warrior was seen as a peaceful, sleeping giant, and a tourism attraction. Homero Aridjis, a Mexican poet who has written about Popocatepetl and the sharper-edged neigh-
boring Iztaccihuatl, named for the warrior’s mythical lover, said people ascribed deep significance to the volcano’s eruptions. He noted that the last times Popo, also known as Don Goyo, had major activity were in 1994 and 2000, both presidential election years like this one, and some believed he was angry at the choice of candidates. For others in Mexico, the eruption and a series of recent strong earthquakes are fueling speculation about what some believe to be a Mayan prophecy that the world will end in 2012. “Popo is a godlike figure,” Aridjis said. “Like the Japanese with Mount
Fuji ... a natural presence, a historical one, a figure of legend.” David Gorzo Navarro, a 45-year-old street vendor in Huejotzingo, said even if there was a major eruption, people wouldn’t leave. “The people will bring mole to Don Goyo,” he said. “Every year we bring an offering and today we’re going to do it even earlier.” “I’m not afraid. He’s my uncle,” said Oscar Olate, expressing the personal relationship many in the Mexico Valley feel toward Popocatepetl, whose name means “smoking mountain” in the indigenous Nahuatl language of the Aztecs.
After four-month surge, gas prices down 6 cents By CHRIS KAHN AND SANDY SHORE ASSOCIATED PRESS
NEW YORK — The worst is over, for now. Gasoline prices are starting to fall. After a four-month surge pushed gasoline to nearly $4 per gallon in early April, drivers, politicians and economists worried that gasoline prices might soar past all-time highs, denting wallets, angering voters
and dragging down an economy that is struggling to grow. Instead, pump prices have dropped 6 cents over two weeks to a national average on Friday of $3.88. Experts say gasoline could fall another nickel or more next week, saving drivers about $2 per fill-up. Drivers might also get to say something they haven’t since October 2009 — they’re paying less at the
pump than they did a year ago. "It’s nice, much more manageable," said Mark Timko, who paid less than $4 per gallon Wednesday in the Chicago suburb of Burr Ridge, Ill., for the first time since March. "I wasn’t sure how high they were going to go this year." Gasoline prices are lower than they were a year ago in 11 states, according to the Oil Price Informa-
tion Service. At $3.88, the national average is still high, but it’s down from a peak of $3.94. Predictions of $5 gasoline earlier this year have — mercifully — evaporated. Tom Kloza, publisher and chief oil analyst at Oil Price Information Service, expects gasoline prices to drop to just above $3.80 by late next week. Stuart Hoffman, chief economist at PNC Financial Services
Group, said the falling prices will put more money into the economy for Americans to spend elsewhere. A 10-cent drop in gasoline prices would mean drivers would have an extra $37 million per day to spend on other things. Gasoline prices have been pushed high by crude prices that have averaged $104 per barrel this year. World oil demand is expected to set a record this year
and a series of production outages around the world have kept supplies low. Oil rose to $110 as the West tightened sanctions on Iran in an effort to make it harder for that country to sell oil and pressure it to abandon its nuclear ambitions. Fears that retaliation by Iran could disrupt Middle Eastern supplies pushed oil prices up by as much as $15 per barrel, experts say.
10A THE ZAPATA TIMES
SATURDAY, APRIL 21, 2012
JOBS Continued from Page 1A ties, which lost 4,000 jobs last month. Unemployment rates are adjusted for seasonal trends in hiring and firing,
which most economists believe give a more accurate picture of the job market. Without the seasonal adjustment, the jobless rate
in Texas would have remained at 7 percent from 7.2 percent in February. Midland again had the lowest unemployment rate
FALCON Continued from Page 1A at 3.7 percent. The San Antonio-New Braunfels area recorded a 6.6 percent unemployment rate, down from 6.8 rate.
GRADUATES Continued from Page 1A Bledsoe, currently making just above minimum wage, says he got financial help from his parents to help pay off student loans. He is now mulling whether to go to graduate school, seeing few other options to advance his career. “There is not much out there, it seems,” he said. His situation highlights a widening but little-discussed labor problem. Perhaps more than ever, the choices that young adults make earlier in life — level of schooling, academic field and training, where to attend college, how to pay for it — are having long-lasting financial impact. “You can make more money on average if you go to college, but it’s not true for everybody,” says Harvard economist Richard Freeman, noting the growing risk of a debt bubble with total U.S. student loan debt surpassing $1 trillion. “If you’re not sure what you’re going to be doing, it probably bodes well to take some job, if you can get one, and get a sense first of what you want from college.” Andrew Sum, director of the Center for Labor Market Studies at Northeastern University who analyzed the numbers, said many people with a bachelor’s degree face a double whammy of rising tuition and poor job outcomes. “Simply put, we’re failing kids coming out of college,” he said, emphasizing that when it comes to jobs, a college major can make all the difference. “We’re going to need a lot better job growth and connections to the labor market, otherwise college debt will grow.” By region, the Mountain
West was most likely to have young college graduates jobless or underemployed — roughly 3 in 5. It was followed by the more rural southeastern U.S., including Alabama, Kentucky, Mississippi and Tennessee. The Pacific region, including Alaska, California, Hawaii, Oregon and Washington, also was high on the list. On the other end of the scale, the southern U.S., anchored by Texas, was most likely to have young college graduates in higher-skill jobs. The figures are based on an analysis of 2011 Current Population Survey data by Northeastern University researchers and supplemented with material from Paul Harrington, an economist at Drexel University, and the Economic Policy Institute, a Washington think tank. They rely on Labor Department assessments of the level of education required to do the job in 900-plus U.S. occupations, which were used to calculate the shares of young adults with bachelor’s degrees who were “underemployed.” About 1.5 million, or 53.6 percent, of bachelor’s degree-holders under the age of 25 last year were jobless or underemployed, the highest share in at least 11 years. In 2000, the share was at a low of 41 percent, before the dot-com bust erased job gains for college graduates in the telecommunications and IT fields. Out of the 1.5 million who languished in the job market, about half were underemployed, an increase from the previous year. Broken down by occupation, young college gradu-
ates were heavily represented in jobs that require a high school diploma or less. In the last year, they were more likely to be employed as waiters, waitresses, bartenders and food-service helpers than as engineers, physicists, chemists and mathematicians combined (100,000 versus 90,000). There were more working in office-related jobs such as receptionist or payroll clerk than in all computer professional jobs (163,000 versus 100,000). More also were employed as cashiers, retail clerks and customer representatives than engineers (125,000 versus 80,000). According to government projections released last month, only three of the 30 occupations with the largest projected number of job openings by 2020 will require a bachelor’s degree or higher to fill the position — teachers, college professors and accountants. Most job openings are in professions such as retail sales, fast food and truck driving, jobs which aren’t easily replaced by computers. College graduates who majored in zoology, anthropology, philosophy, art history and humanities were among the least likely to find jobs appropriate to their education level; those with nursing, teaching, accounting or computer science degrees were among the most likely. In Nevada, where unemployment is the highest in the nation, Class of 2012 college seniors recently expressed feelings ranging from anxiety and fear to cautious optimism about what lies ahead.
With the state’s economy languishing in an extended housing bust, a lot of young graduates have shown up at job placement centers in tears. Many have been squeezed out of jobs by more experienced workers, job counselors said, and are now having to explain to prospective employers the time gaps in their resumes. “It’s kind of scary,” said Cameron Bawden, 22, who is graduating from University of Nevada-Las Vegas in December with a business degree. His family has warned him for years about the job market, so he has been building his resume by working part time on the Las Vegas Strip as a food runner and doing a marketing internship with a local airline. Bawden said his friends who have graduated are either unemployed or working along the Vegas Strip in service jobs that don’t require degrees. “There are so few jobs and it’s a small city,” he said. “It’s all about who you know.” Any job gains are going mostly to workers at the top and bottom of the wage scale, at the expense of middle-income jobs commonly held by bachelor’s degree holders. By some studies, up to 95 percent of positions lost during the economic recovery occurred in middle-income occupations such as bank tellers, the type of job not expected to return in a more hightech age. David Neumark, an economist at the University of California-Irvine, said a bachelor’s degree can have benefits that aren’t fully reflected in the government’s labor data.
based economy to one anchored by ecotourism, with recreational fishing playing a central part in that. Recently a $1.8 million park and boat ramp was unveiled at the lake that includes an outdoor pavilion and amenities officials hope will reel in even more anglers. Topping off a national magazine’s list is the best publicity the lake has received in a while, said Paco Mendoza, Zapata County Chamber of Commerce president. “When they see Falcon being No. 1, we’re confident that’s going to help us bring in a lot more people,” Mendoza said, adding that the organization that publishes the magazine is one of the biggest bass fishing tournament companies in the U.S. Mendoza said the ranking would help Falcon Lake edge out its regional competitors in Del Rio’s Lake Amistad and Choke Canyon Reservoir, near George West, to attract the most lucrative bass fishing tournaments. When the lake hosts major fishing tournaments, it fills local lodging establishments and gives restaurants more mouths to feed. In the wake of recent dips in oil and gas activity,
Zapata’s economy has been thrust onto the shoulders of Falcon Lake and the anglers that come to fish its famously large and abundant supplies. Recent records on the magazine’s circulation could not be found Friday, but according to a document on ESPN’s website, more than 500,000 people subscribed to Bassmaster Magazine in 2008. ESPN owned B.A.S.S., which publishes the magazine, from 2001 to 2010. Mendoza said the list could lure magazine readers who have yet to visit Falcon Lake. “These people who have never been to Falcon are going to want to come down now,” he said. “They’re going to want to know what all the buzz is about.” Amaya, who owns a fishing tackle, hopes the publicity helps boost local business. While she said the angling world has been well aware of Falcon Lake for several years, this latest ranking will make it hard to ignore. “If you’re talking about big fish and quality fish, this is the lake,” she said. “This is where you want to come.” (JJ Velasquez may be reached at 728-2567 or jjvelasquez@lmtonline.com)
SATURDAY, APRIL 21, 2012
ON THE WEB: THEZAPATATIMES.COM
Sports&Outdoors HIGH SCHOOL GOLF
The final hole Hawks end season at regionals By CLARA SANDOVAL THE ZAPATA TIMES
The Zapata golf teams didn’t receive the warm welcoming they were expecting at the region IV-3A golf tournament in Corpus Christi, but the Hawks are building for the future regardless. The opening round was flooded by torrential rains
that washed out play Monday, the opening day. The boys played at the Gabe Lozano Course on Tuesday, while the girls teed off at the Oso Beach Golf Course on Wednesday and Thursday. The boys played a oneday, 18-hole event to determine the regional champions in the rain-shortened tournament.
The Hawks improved by 40 strokes over their second-place finish at the district meet to leave a positive impression at the regional event but still came up short at regionals, finishing in 30th place. Two seniors closed their high school careers at the tournament. Tony Gutier-
Courtesy photo
The Lady Hawks prepare to tee off at the region IV-3A golf tournament in Corpus Christi on Wednesday.
See GOLF PAGE 2B
HIGH SCHOOL TENNIS
PLAYING WITH THE BIGS Alvarez keeps pace at regionals By CLARA SANDOVAL THE ZAPATA TIMES
Zapata sophomore and District 32-3A champion Trey Alvarez competed in the region IV-3A tennis tournament at the H-E-B Tennis Center in Corpus Christi on Wednesday and Thursday. Alvarez’s bid for a state berth was stopped short by the eventual region 3A champion, Rockport Fulton’s Trevor Gittinger. Alvarez entered as an unseeded player, drawing Needville senior Joaquin Muñoz in the opening round of 16. Muñoz, a foreign exchange student from South America, presented a challenge for Alvarez. Muñoz had placed second in District 27-3A, behind defending regional champion Ryan Beene of West Columbia. The match was even at 4 when Alvarez broke Muñoz’s serve. Alvarez powered his serves to hold on and win the first set 6-4. The second set mirrored the first, with each player holding serve and playing tough, but Alvarez got the break he needed and closed out the match 6-4, 6-4. The win set up a quarterfinal match with Gittinger, the No. 2 seed, who advanced to the state tournament last year. Initially, Gittinger tried to overpower Alvarez with hard hits, but Alvarez was prepared. Alvarez exploited Gittinger’s weakness, his serve, to jump out to a 3-0 lead. Gittinger gathered himself and responded, breaking Alvarez’s serve to make the score 3-2. Alvarez again relied on his big serve, going up 4-3, and broke Gittinger again to close out the first set 6-3. Gittinger switched strategies and began taking some pace off the ball, engaging Alvarez in long rallies. The switch in tactics proved effective for Gittinger, who outlasted Alvarez to win the second set, 6-1. The players were allowed a 10-minute break between sets, and that’s when Alvarez’s coach, Robert Alvarez, took the opportunity to talk to his player.
Courtesy photo
Zapata’s Trey Alvarez entered the regional tournament in Corpus Christi as an unseeded contestant and nearly upset Trevor Gittinger, who advanced to state last year.
See TENNIS PAGE 2B
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CLARA SANDOVAL OVAL
Zapata, my 2nd home W
ith the summer fast approaching, people are making travel plans for vacations across Texas or even outside of the United States. They will ponder where to go and how much it will cost to get there, but despite their ponderings, I’m sure of one thing: People overlook the small town of Zapata. I enjoy Zapata; it reminds me of the small town I come from. I love the atmosphere. I enjoy the laid-back attitude that gets me away from my hectic day-to-day lifestyle. I attempt to make it back to my hometown a few times a year, but if I can’t, I just hop in my truck and head to Zapata for the day. I love the local eateries and the noplace-to-go and no-time-to-hold-meback everyday approach. When I first moved to Laredo, 15 years ago, I didn’t want city life and was ready to move to Zapata. It didn’t matter that I would have to commute; I was willing to become a road warrior because I longed for that small-town feeling again. The things that held me back were the one-lane roads connecting Laredo to Zapata. During my first year of living in Laredo, a few major accidents happened on the road and I changed my mind, opting to stay in Laredo. When I head to Zapata for the day, whether to bum around or take pictures at Falcon Lake, it’s a slice of comfort. Zapata has a lot to offer, from the annual County
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COLLEGE FOOTBALL
A&M hosts Slive, symposium By CHRIS DUNCAN ASSOCIATED PRESS
Photo by Dave Einsel | AP
Southeastern Conference Commissioner Mike Slive, seen here exchanging helmets with Texas A&M President R. Bowen Loftin, left, during A&M’s SEC invitation ceremony in September, made a return trip to A&M Friday for a college football symposium.
COLLEGE STATION — Southeastern Conference Commissioner Mike Slive says next week’s meeting of Bowl Championship Series leaders is “just another step in the process” toward refining the oft-criticized system. Slive visited Texas A&M on Friday and met with reporters before he participated in a panel on conference realignment. BCS leaders are scheduled to convene Monday in Hollywood, Fla., when the Football Bowl Association holds its annual meeting. Slive would not say what he hopes the meeting will accom-
plish, characterizing it as a “sharing of ideas.” Options up for discussion include minor tweaks to the current system, a four-team playoff and a playoff that tries to preserve traditional bowl rivalries for the Pac-12 and Big Ten. Part of the discussion includes whether the games should be at bowls, on campus or at neutral sites. “It would be really silly for me to start talking about the BCS when we’re going to start meeting again on Monday,” Slive said. “It’s not productive.” The 11 BCS league commissioners and Notre Dame’s athletic director met in Texas last month and Slive said then that
“there’s no consensus yet on anything.” The upcoming, weeklong meeting in Florida will be the fourth of the year for BCS leaders. The BCS is in the middle of a four-year deal with ESPN that runs through the 2014 season. A new BCS format must be in place before the fall when television negotiations with ESPN open. “We’re going to go back (this week) and hopefully refine our thinking,” Slive said Friday. “This is a marathon, not a sprint. We don’t really have to make a decision until summer-
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SATURDAY, APRIL 21, 2012
Goodell pushes for new Vikings stadium By BRIAN BAKST AND JON KRAWCZYNSKI ASSOCIATED PRESS
ST. PAUL, Minn. — NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell didn’t say the Vikings will move to Los Angeles if Minnesota lawmakers don’t pass a financing package this year to build the team a new stadium He didn’t say they wouldn’t move, either, and that appears to have turned up the urgency to bring an end to this long-running saga. Goodell and Pittsburgh Steelers owner Art Rooney II met with Gov. Mark Dayton and legislative leaders on Friday in hopes of jumpstarting a stalled stadium debate. “They were here basically to say, ‘This is it folks,”’ Dayton said. A simmering movement to put a franchise in Los Angeles came up in the discussion at the prompting of lawmakers, Dayton said. Sen. Julie Rosen, a Republican sponsoring the stadium bill, said legislative leaders heard that Los Angeles is an option, even if there was no explicit threat from the NFL. “There is no ultimatum, but we did clearly talk about L.A. We did clearly talk about that is an open market,” Rosen said. “I do believe there is a feeling in some legislators and even in some folks throughout
the state that they would never leave. So it was good to hear from the NFL, and from a very prominent owner, that they do have the right to move or be sold. For us it was good to get everyone on the same page saying this is the year that it needs to be done and we need to move forward.” Vikings officials, including owners Zygi and Mark Wilf, were not present at the meeting. Afterward, most who were in the room said the need to act is urgent. “There were no implied threats or any threats at all,” Goodell said. “What we talked about is the importance of creating a solution here that works for the team, that works for the community. This isn’t a new issue. It’s been discussed here for several years. I think the legislative leaders and the governor understand the time is now.” Rooney, chairman of league’s stadium committee, was also on hand just days after a proposed $975 million stadium failed in a key committee. “We came to express our concern about where the situation is and do everything we can to encourage that action be taken now,” Rooney said. “It seems like there has been an agreement in place that all the parties have worked and is very close to the goal line.
Djokovic to semifinals By JEROME PUGMIRE ASSOCIATED PRESS
MONACO — Novak Djokovic dropped serve four times before beating Robin Haase 6-4, 6-2 to reach the Monte Carlo Masters semifinals on Friday, saying he had thought about pulling out of the event following his grandfather’s death. Playing the day after his grandfather died, the topranked Djokovic looked distracted at times against Haase. He missed a first chance to serve out for the match at 5-1 before breaking the unseeded Dutchman for the seventh time to seal victory. The win kept Djokovic on course for a final against seven-time defending champion Rafael Na-
Photo by Claude Paris | AP
Novak Djokovic will play in Monte Carlo Tennis semifinals. dal, who overcame a slight blip in the first set before beating Stanislas Wawrinka 7-5, 6-4 for his 40th straight win at Monte Carlo. Fourth-seeded Jo-Wilfried Tsonga was upset 7-5, 6-4 by ninth-seeded Gilles Simon in an all-French match.
Photo by Jim Mone | AP
NFL Commisioner Roger Goodell listens to a question during a media briefing at the State Capitol on Friday, in St. Paul, Minn., after meeting with the governor and state lawmakers in an effort to get a bill passed for a new Minnesota Vikings football stadium. We just came to see what we can do to encourage the legislature to move the ball across the goal line.” Rosen said the visit “served us a reality check.” She later added, “We cannot wait until next year.” The Vikings have sought a replacement for the Metrodome for more than a decade, and although they will play next season in the Dome, their lease has expired. Dayton has pushed for a stadium deal for months, saying the state is at risk of losing the team just as it did the Lakers long ago. “Whether the Vikings get sold and somebody’s going
to move them or move, they didn’t address that, and no one knows,” Dayton said. “What it is going to create is a lot of uncertainty, and essentially Minnesota’s going to be backing the Vikings and the league into a corner and giving them no way out except to take the back door out.” Moving the team is not permissible under league rules this year, but there’s always 2013. The Vikings are no longer legally bound by a lease to stay here. They’ve been contacted before by two separate groups trying to lure a team and build a stadium in Los Angeles but have said, for now,
they’re not interested in selling. Under the stalled plan, the Vikings would pay $427 million of the construction costs for the new stadium, which would be built on the Metrodome site in downtown Minneapolis. City and state taxpayers would be on the hook for the other $548 million — or 56 percent of the total cost. Dayton said the state leaders didn’t ask league officials to enhance the private contribution in the financing package. Dayton said the NFL delegation ran through a league loan program that could give the team access to up to $200
million, but it has long been believed franchise owners had figured that money into their calculations. “This is a two-minute drill and things will have to be moving a bit more quickly,” said Republican House Speaker Kurt Zellers, who declined to guarantee an up-or-down vote this year. The plan awaited action later Friday in a Senate committee where the proposal stalled more than a month ago. The lead Senate Democrat, Tom Bakk, said his caucus would provide the needed votes to dislodge it. Bakk said the stadium puzzle gets even tougher next year, when another projected budget deficit is the main focus and with anticipated legislator turnover after November’s election. Democratic Rep. Mary Murphy, a 35-year Capitol veteran, said she is undecided on the Vikings stadium and doesn’t anticipate taking a side until she sees the final bill. But Murphy said she senses sentiment is shifting in favor of the Vikings and the visibility campaign by the NFL could play a part as the session wanes. More calls and emails are coming in, too. “We’re going into the final weeks. People are going to be more vocal as we’re out and about” back home, Murphy said. “I just have a feeling it’s shifting for the stadium. People’s attitudes are.”
A&M Continued from Page 1B time. This set of meetings is our annual meetings, but it’s just another step in the process.” Slive joined American Football Coaches Association executive director Grant Teaff, Cotton Bowl chairman Tommy Bain and Texas A&M president Bowen Loftin on the symposium panel, conducted in the endzone club at Kyle Field. Teaff and Slive said one of the main arguments for keeping the current system is preserving the importance of the regular season. And Teaff said the sport’s popularity is validation for the BCS system, created in the 1990s. “If you just think about where we are in football,” Teaff said, “it’s never been more popular. College football is THE game. And that all stems back from these decisions that were made early on.” Slive said the BCS has created more fan interest and connected fan
bases from coast-to-coast. “Games in other parts of the country that really wouldn’t have mattered to other parts of the country, now mean something to the nation,” Slive said. Teaff called the BCS the most significant step for college football since President Theodore Roosevelt demanded reforms to the game in 1905. His meeting with the coaches from Harvard, Yale and Princeton at the White House led to the creation of the NCAA. “No matter how much criticism the media and the fans and everybody else wants to give the BCS,” Teaff said, “the BCS has played the most important role in college football since Teddy Roosevelt called everybody together and said, ‘You better fix this, or I’m going to eliminate it from the American scene.”’ The panel touched on several other issues, but focused mainly on re-
alignment. Texas A&M and Missouri bolted from the Big 12 last year and will begin competing in the SEC in July. A&M’s departure ended the program’s annual football series with Texas, and Teaff acknowledged that the ends of rivalries and traditions can be a regrettable by-product of realignment. Teaff takes solace in knowing that the presidents at each school have considered the effect on rivalries and traditions before committing to a conference switch. “It is bittersweet for most coaches,” said Teaff, the former coach at Baylor. “You change rivalries, there’s a bigger distance to travel in certain cases. But again, in the times that we live in now, my answer has always been that these are very wise, intelligent individuals and they look at the broader picture and they have to take care of their own, so to speak.”
TENNIS Continued from Page 1B “I told Trey that he was going to have to stop trading shots with Gittinger and be more aggressive,” Robert Alvarez said. “I wanted him to take every short ball and pound it and go to the net.” Alvarez listen to his coach’s advice and executed the strategy well early in the third set when he was trailing 3-2. Alvarez missed some approach shots and volleys to go down 4-2, but fought back to 4-3. After the match, which lasted more than two hours, Gittinger went on to win the tournament, defeating Chris Monroe of Lampasas, 6-2 and 6-3, in the finals to advance to state. Alvarez won more games against Gittinger that any
other player at the tournament. “I’m really proud of Trey,” Robert Alvarez said. “He gave it everything he had, (and) this was the best match I have ever seen him play. “I think back to where we were last year, when he couldn’t play the whole summer because of the herniated disk, to now, and I am amazed.” Trey has no time to rest. He’s competing in an FFA State Meet in Lubbock this weekend and will play in a major junior tournament in San Antonio next weekend. “I think I will give him some tome off after that before we start our summer schedule,” Robert Alvarez said. “He has earned it.” Courtesy photo
ZAPATA Continued from Page 1B Fair to great fishing and outdoor activities. It’s a haven for sports, leisure and hospitality. It’s a place that has become my second home, and I seize every opportunity I have to head to this wonderful place. I have been fortunate to attend football games and experience the love and support for the Hawks — not just in football, but every sport or endeavor. People in Zapata look forward to Friday night football games and even travel out of town to support the Hawks. Zapata reminds me of my hometown, Raymondville, and despite leaving almost 20 years ago, I find Zapata is just the right prescription to keep me going.
Ricky Prado, Tony Gutierrez and Victor Garza, of the Zapata golf team, pose Tuesday during the region IV-3A golf tournament in Corpus Christi.
GOLF Continued from Page 1B rez placed 33rd overall with a 7-overpar 79, and Ricky Prado shot an 87. On the girls’ side, Leanna Saenz, who has been leading the Lady Hawks all season, placed in the top 20, claiming 17th overall out of a 96player field. Krysta Lozano shot a 101, Leanna Hughes shot a 105, and Jessenia Garza shot a 111 to round out scoring for the Lady Hawks. As a team, the Lady Hawks shot a
406 to end the golf season, good for fifth place at the regional tournament. “We had a pretty successful season overall,” Zapata coach Clyde Guerra Jr. said. “Our girls are young and improving.” The region tournament marked the end of Gutierrez’s, Prado’s and Victor Garza’s high school careers. They graduate in May. All three have been vital to the
Hawks’ success on the course and helped Zapata to a second-place finish in district. Now Guerra must build for the future, and he’s starting at the middle school level. “We have a great junior high program that is gaining numbers,” he said. “I would like to thank Mr. Jorge Flores, Los Ebanos golf pro, for his help with our high school and middle school kids.”
SATURDAY, APRIL 21, 2012
THE ZAPATA TIMES 3B
HINTS | BY HELOISE Hello, Heloise: I read your column in the Port Charlotte, Fla., Sun newspaper, and I really appreciate all your wonderful ideas and the ideas of your readers. I hate having to toss PLASTIC FOAMINGSOAP BOTTLES into the recycle bin. Is there a way to make my own foaming soap? — Mimi, via email Yes, there is, and it takes no effort or extra money at all. It’s the pump mechanism inside the bottle, not the soap itself, that makes the foam! Any liquid soap will work. Just make sure that the label on the bottle you plan to refill says “foaming.” You might want to add a bit of water. We recycled a foamingsoap dispenser at Heloise Central and used ordinary liquid hand soap. Reuse and save money! — Heloise PET PAL Dear Readers: Ann in Victoria, Kan., sent a picture of her son’s shorthaired orange cat, Koko, yawning! Ann says he seems to be saying, “Hey, where’s my coffee?” To see Koko and our other Pet Pals, log on to www.Heloise.com and click on “Pets.” — Heloise ON THE RIGHT TRACK Dear Heloise: My 2-1/2year-old grandson was visiting, and brought his small toy cars to play with. I put wide blue painter’s tape on my coffee table around the edges so we would have a “track” to play on, and my table would be protected from scratches. I used painter’s tape so there would not be any residue after the tape was lifted. We had a lot of races and crashes during his visit, and I didn’t have to worry about my table.
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HELOISE
— Linda D. in Florida DISPOSABLE PANS Dear Heloise: Please remind thoughtful friends and family to use disposable aluminum pans when delivering meals to the elderly or funeral meals for grieving families. I still have a dish whose owner is unknown because it was not marked. Families have enough to go through. They don’t need the extra errands of returning dishes to worry about. — Donita E., Rawson, Ohio Yes, a very good heart hint. — Heloise EASY CLEAN Dear Heloise: I bathe my Chihuahua in the kitchen sink so I can use the sprayer. It is easier to do if I put a mat or towel in the sink first; she feels more sure-footed. She still doesn’t like to have a bath, but it’s a bit more bearable! — Liz in Texas SEEING HELOISE Dear Heloise: This compliment is not for you — it was for me. I was at my annual high-school drillteam luncheon on a Saturday not too long ago. Another lady was checking out my name tag. We did not know each other; we were in different classes. She told me she was looking at my name tag because “you look like Heloise.” I have long gray/ white hair, too. I considered it a compliment! — Freya in Deer Park, Texas How charming. So, you are my doppelganger? Hope you behave in public! — Hugs, Heloise
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SATURDAY, APRIL 21, 2012
Dreessen psyched to sign with Denver By ARNIE STAPLETON ASSOCIATED PRESS
ENGLEWOOD, Colo. — When he was a teenager growing up in Fort Morgan, Joel Dreessen would grab a football, dart into his backyard and pretend like so many other Colorado kids that he was John Elway. Now, the 29-year-old tight end in his seventh NFL season counts his childhood hero as his boss, too. Dreessen, a former Colorado State University standout, signed a threeyear, $8.5 million free agent deal with the Broncos this spring after spending the last five seasons in Houston. He and Jacob Tamme, who played in Indianapolis from 2008-11, are part of a revamped tight ends group that will give quarterback Peyton Manning big targets and extra protection as he makes his comeback in Denver after spending the last of his 14 seasons with the Colts sidelined by neck trouble. “It’s a blessing to be back in Colorado,” Dreessen said this week during a break in the Broncos’ offseason conditioning program. “I was the biggest Broncos fan ever, I really was,” Dreessen said. “I can’t tell you how many times I threw the football up to myself in the backyard pretending I was John Elway. I did it so many times. I was a sophomore and junior in high school when they were winning the Super Bowl in ‘97 and ‘98, and I was skipping class to try to get down to Denver to go to the parades and all that. “When I left CSU and I was a couple of years into the league, my best friend and roommate, Erik Pears,
Photo by Mel Evans | AP
Jon Jones, on top, will fight his former friend and workout partner, Rashad Evans, tonight.
Former friends to fight By GREG BEACHAM ASSOCIATED PRESS Photo by Dave Einsel | AP
Former Houston Texans’ tight end Joel Dreessen, a former Colorado State University standout, signed a three-year, $8.5 million free agent deal with the Broncos this spring after spending the last five seasons in Houston. he played for the Broncos (in 2006-07). I remember joking around with him saying, ‘I’m going to be a Bronco someday. You wait and see.’ And it came fullcircle.” Dreessen’s pro career was nearly cut short long before he had a chance to cash in on free agency this spring. The New York Jets drafted him in 2005 in the sixth round, but cut him the following year. He spent 2006 out of the league. “That playing in the NFL is a privilege and I don’t take a single day for granted,” Dreessen said of the main lesson he learned during his forced sabbatical. “From that moment on — I’m not saying that I didn’t do it my rookie year — but after being cut by
Eric Mangini and the Jets, I was like, ‘Man, this thing goes fast. You have to sacrifice everything to make it work.’ So, I don’t take a single day for granted. I try to come in as early as I possibly can and I try to stay late. “At the same time, within those hours, you have to be productive. Whether you’re studying, learning the offense, whether you’re watching tape, whether you’re working out — it’s a matter of working smart.” Dreessen hooked up with the Texans in 2007 but his career didn’t take off until 2010. Ten of Dreessen’s 13 career touchdown grabs came in the last two seasons, including six last year. Overall, he has hauled in 110 passes for 1,364 yards.
Just over a year ago, Rashad Evans and Jon Jones were friends. The upstate New York natives bonded and trained together at an elite mixed martial arts camp in Albuquerque, N.M. Nobody figured Jones and Evans would ever break the sport’s unwritten rule against fighting a teammate. How these two light heavyweights ended up in the octagon at UFC 145 in Atlanta on Saturday night combines a little Greek tragedy, the dueling viewpoints of “Rashomon,” and a good dose of “Warrior,” last year’s MMA film about brothers who fight for a title. “I know how he really feels,” Evans said. “Jon always wanted to fight me. Jon never wanted to be teammates, or to be like brothers. Jon came on the team to learn the way to beat me, so he can fight me.”
The UFC just hopes it makes for thrilling television when Jones defends his 205-pound title against the division’s former champion in the most anticipated pay-per-view bout of the spring. “He thinks he knows everything I bring to the table, but a lot has changed since he left the gym a year ago,” Jones said. “I’m a much different fighter than the one he trained with. I hope he is ready to see and feel that difference.” Jones and Evans have maintained a nonstop barrage of trash talk for months, with Evans questioning Jones’ character while Jones bemoans Evans’ immaturity. While Evans has been painted as a villain, Jones has added some intrigue to his good-guy image, which he has used to become a UFC poster boy and high-profile corporate pitchman. Both claim the saga isn’t promotional posturing: They’ve genuinely
grown to dislike each other in just over a year. “I really want to beat Jon, but I also want to be champion again,” Evans said. “It’s really hard to say for me, which one I want more. It’s kind of like a toss-up.” They are two of the UFC’s biggest stars, and the 24-year-old “Bones” Jones (15-1) is on every short list of MMA’s pound-for-pound best. He has rocketed through the sport and into popular culture since his pro debut in April 2008, with his freakish athleticism honed in respected trainer Greg Jackson’s gym in New Mexico. The 32-year-old Evans (22-1-1) merely has been a relentless winner for nearly seven years, beating a host of former champions and holding the title belt for one fight until Lyoto Machida took it away. Evans also was on the sport’s pound-forpound lists before a 15month injury absence, which ended last August.