The Zapata Times 5/8/2010

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SATURDAY MAY 8, 2010

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COMMUNITY

LOCAL GOVERNMENT

County eyes land use Commissioners examine zoning rules for some subdivisions

By LORRAINE L. RODRIGUEZ THE ZAPATA TIMES

Courtesy photo

A house at 205 Kennedy Street was found completely engulfed in flames at about 2 a.m. Friday. No one was injured in the blaze.

Zapata County Commissioner Jose E. Vela will seek approval to apply zoning regulations on certain subdivisions in the next regular meeting Monday.

According to Vela, a concerned constituent sent a letter detailing the plans of an individual to build a church on several lots located in a residential area.

“It is a residential area, (it’s) not for a church,” Vela said.

Vela will also seek approval to lease an acre of land from Juan A. Medina to construct a Little League baseball park in the Falcon and Lopeno area.

According to Vela, the Falcon and Lopeno area does not have a Little League park, and if one is constructed, enthusiasts

will have the opportunity to create teams, practice and compete.

“It is beneficial for the kids,” Vela said.

Also on the agenda, Aida Garcia, Olga V. Figueroa Zapata County Public Library director, will request authorization to allocate funding to construct the library in a new location. The request follows a sewer flooding incident, caused by heavy rain,

which effectively closed the library for several days.

“I don’t know if it will be approved or not,” Garcia said. “We’ll just have to wait and see what happens.”

In other business, Judge Rosalva Guerra is requesting permission to modify or change the existing “Welcome to Zapata” sign on the north side of Zapata

See ZONING PAGE 9A

American Red Cross helps ATHLETES ENJOY SPECIAL DAY fire victims

By LORRAINE L. RODRIGUEZ THE ZAPATA TIMES

A Zapata family of four lost their home and all of their belongings early Friday morning in a blaze believed to have been sparked by an unattended candle. No one was injured.

According to Fire Department Chief Juan H. Meza, firefighters responded to a small structure fire at about 2 a.m., but arrived to the 500 block of Kennedy Street to find that the house was completely engulfed in flames.

“The fire was too advanced,” ZCFD Chief Juan J. Meza said.

The family of four — a single mother and her three children — were not in the house at the time of the fire.

The residence did not have electricity, Meza said, and the mother had been using candles for light.

“The lady said she did not have electricity and was using candles,” Meza said. “She left one on.”

Although the residence

was next to several small mobile homes, they were not affected by the fire.

“My guys did a tremendous job in containing the fire to the house only,” Meza said. “No one got injured.”

According to Isela Sanchez, American Red Cross Laredo Branch Manager, the family was provided immediate economic and shelter assistance by the American Red Cross Laredo Branch volunteers.

They will be housed temporarily in a hotel and will have to look for other accommodations after a week. The initial monetary assistance is for clothing, shoes and bedding.

“They lost everything in the home,” Sanchez said. “We give them assistance on their basic needs.”

According to Meza, many fires occur when the base of the candle breaks. It is better to place a burning candle on top of a pan or in the sink to prevent any potential fire from spreading, he said.

(Lorraine L. Rodriguez may be contacted at (956) 728-2557.)

Photo by Cuate Santos | The Zapata Times

Zapata Special Olympics team members participate in the parade of athletes Wednesday morning at the SAC for the Area Special Olympics.

Locals take part in Laredo competition

By LORRAINE L. RODRIGUEZ THE ZAPATA TIMES

Z

apata was well-represented when more than 700 athletes from around the region participated in the Special Olympics Texas Spring Games 2010 in Laredo.

Several competitors with vari-

ous intellectual disabilities from Villarreal Elementary, Zapata South Elementary, Zapata Middle School participated, and while Zapata High School competed in track and field and softball events.

“They have a great time,” said Christina Piña, Zapata High School head coach. “They are

able to show their athletic abilities.”

Competing for Villarreal Elementary were Miguel Garcia, third grade, and Fransisco Guzman, fifth grade.

Alexis Servino, a fifth-grade student, was the only competitor

See OLYMPICS PAGE 10A

CENSUS 2010

Census Bureau enumerators visit residents

By LORRAINE L. RODRIGUEZ THE ZAPATA TIMES

The United States Census Bureau is now sending enumerators from door-to-door in its next phase of accounting for the U.S. population.

The enumerators are charged with collecting the information of residents who did not fill out

and send back the questionnaire, which had a deadline on April 16.

The operation coincides with a similar operation that began in March to target “hard-tocount” residents who live in colonias, new developments and rural areas.

“Some of the areas (on) the border are unique, so the census

takers started at the end of March,” said Efren Salinas, U.S. Census Bureau Dallas Region media specialist. “We’re not done.”

The nonresponse follow-up began Saturday, May 1, and is expected to run through mid-July.

According to Salinas, there are thousands of enumerators, also known as census takers,

who will be working 10 to 40 hours per week and who have been trained to either call or visit homes up to seven times if the resident is not responding.

“We’re fully staffed,” Salinas said. “We need to get the job done.”

If a resident does not open the door, the enumerator will leave an official census bureau notice

that tells the resident they were visited and to contact the bureau through the phone numbers provided to schedule a better time to be contacted or give the necessary information by phone. The resident may dial 1-866-872-6868 for English and 1-866-928-2010 for Spanish, but the enumerators

See CENSUS PAGE 9A

PAGE 2A

Zin brief CALENDAR

SATURDAY, MAY 8, 2010

AROUND TEXAS

TODAY IN HISTORY

SATURDAY, MAY 8

ASSOCIATED PRESS

Team Roping Productions presents Zapata County Employee Club Team Roping at the Nick Gutierrez 4-H Arena today at 10:30 with roping at noon; 70-percent payout guaranteed.

For more information, call 361-3191139.

Marine Corp League is hosting a BBQ Plate Sale at noon at the Marine Corp Building on 22nd and Hildago Street. In exchange of a $6 donation, plates include fajitas, sausage, macaroni salad, beans, jalapeno, and a drink.

Monies go to fund upcoming community projects.

In honor of the National Association of Letter Carriers Food Drive, letter Carriers will collect non-perishable food items for distribution to food banks in the community today. For more information, call your nearest U.S. Postal Service.

Today is Saturday, May 8, the 128th day of 2010. There are 237 days left in the year.

Today’s Highlight in History: On May 8, 1945, President Harry S. Truman announced in a radio address that Nazi Germany’s forces had surrendered in World War II, and that “the flags of freedom fly all over Europe.”

On this date: In 1541, Spanish explorer Hernando de Soto reached the Mississippi River.

In 1794, Antoine Lavoisier (lah-vwahz-YAY’), the father of modern chemistry, was executed on the guillotine during France’s Reign of Terror.

In 1846, the first major battle of the Mexican-American War was fought at Palo Alto, Texas; U.S. forces led by Gen. Zachary Taylor were able to beat back the Mexican forces.

In 1884, the 33rd president of the United States, Harry S. Truman, was born in Lamar, Mo. In 1958, Vice President Richard Nixon was shoved, stoned, booed and spat upon by antiAmerican protesters in Lima, Peru.

In 1962, the musical comedy “A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum” opened on Broadway.

In 1970, antiwar protests took place across the United States and around the world; in New York, construction workers broke up a demonstration on Wall Street.

In 1973, militant American Indians who’d held the South Dakota hamlet of Wounded Knee for ten weeks surrendered.

In 1978, David R. Berkowitz pleaded guilty in a Brooklyn courtroom to murder, attempted murder and assault in connection with the “Son of Sam” shootings that had terrified New Yorkers.

In 1984, the Soviet Union announced it would boycott the upcoming Summer Olympic Games in Los Angeles.

Ten years ago: The remains of Cardinal John O’Connor were entombed inside New York’s St. Patrick’s Cathedral after a funeral Mass that drew thousands of mourners, including President Bill Clinton.

Five years ago: President George W. Bush and Vladimir Putin, meeting in Moscow, went out of their way to take a unified stand on Middle East peace and terrorism after sharp words in recent days about democratic backsliding and postwar Soviet domination. Steve Nash edged Shaquille O’Neal by 34 points to win the NBA’s most valuable player award.

Today’s Birthdays: Comedian Don Rickles is 84. Naturalist Sir David Attenborough is 84. Singer Toni Tennille is 70.

Actor James Mitchum is 69.

Country singer Jack Blanchard is 68. Jazz musician Keith Jarrett is 65. Singer Philip Bailey (Earth, Wind and Fire) is 59.

Rock musician Chris Frantz (Talking Heads) is 59. Rockabilly singer Billy Burnette is 57.

Rock musician Alex Van Halen is 57. Actor David Keith is 56.

Actor Stephen Furst is 56.

Thought for Today: “The biggest big business in America is not steel, automobiles, or television. It is the manufacture, refinement and distribution of anxiety.” — Eric Sevareid, American news commentator (1912-1992).

SUNDAY, MAY 9, Our Lady of the Lake University presents a free Mother’s Day concert by award winning performer Jose Ruben De Leon at the historical Sacred Heart Chapel at 3 p.m. The performance will feature songs in English and Spanish. For more information, visit their website at www.ollusa.edu.

LCC with have its 40th Annual Mother’s Day Concert at Guadalupe and Lilia Martinez Fine Arts Center theatre at 3 p.m. The first 150 moms will receive a free carnation. The concert will feature a romantic serenade by the LCC Spanish Traditional Group.

For more information, call 721-5140.

WEDNESDAY, MAY 12 The U.S. Small Business Administration and the Texas A&M International University-Small Business Development Center will present information on two available small business certification programs; the 8(a) Business Development and HUBZone Programs today at the TAMIU-Western Hemispheric Trade Center room 126 from 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. For more details, call 3262001.

THURSDAY, MAY 13 American Legion Auxiliary hosts elections today at 1:30 p.m. at 2213 North Hwy 83.

Young scientists and nature lovers from ages 4 to 14 are encouraged to sign up now for the annual summer camps of the Lamar Bruni Vergara Environmental Science Center at Laredo Community College’s Fort McIntosh campus. The first session for ages 6 to 8 begins May 31. For more information, call 764-5701.

FRIDAY, MAY 14 Texas AgriLife Extension Service & the Zapata County ANR Program Area Committee invite you to a free Bull Selection Workshop, part of the 2010 Beef Improvement Program Series today at 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. at the Zapata County Courthouse, 2nd Floor Conference Room. Topics to include: Registered Bulls vs. Commercial Bulls, EPD’s, Physical Bull Selection, Trichomoniasis and everything in between.

For more information, contact Caleb L. Eaton at 765-9967 or cleaton@ag.tamu.edu Parade of Home begins today.

The three day event spotlights eight Local Builders which will be showcasing their beautiful homes in six subdivisions throughout North Laredo. Tickets are $5 for adults and one ticket is good for the entire three days. For more information, contact Laredo Builders Association at 722-5553 or visit their website at main.laredobuilders.org/

SATURDAY, MAY 15 The Laredo Builder’s Association, Border Media and Sames Motor are teaming up once again to host the 4th Annual "Parade of Stars" to be held at this years 13th Annual Parade of Homes at Los Ebanos, San Isidro Subdivision off North Loop 20 (across from the new Academy). For more information, check out www.laredobuilders.org.

Laredo Legend Riders Motorcycle Club Ride for the Hungry today from South Texas Food Bank to Tio Hut Restaurant. $10 per biker, $5 per rider and cars are welcome. Monies collected benefit the South Texas Food Bank mission of feeding the hungry. More than 100 bikers are expected. For more information, call 791-6633.

To submit an item for the calendar, send the name of the event, the date, time, location and contact phone number to editorial@lmtonline.com

Photo by Dr. Scott M. Lieberman/file | AP

Texas Gov. Rick Perry speaks at the Oil Palace in Tyler, Texas on Saturday, April 24. Perry has repeated his call for more federal resources, including National Guard troops and an unmanned drone, to help secure the Texas-Mexico border.

Perry repeats call for border security ASSOCIATED PRESS

MISSION, Texas — Gov. Rick Perry has repeated his call for more federal resources, including National Guard troops and an unmanned drone, to help secure the Texas-Mexico border.

Perry, who is running for re-election against the Democratic challenger Bill White, said “Washington needs to quit fiddling while the border region of America burns.” He spoke during a campaign stop.

Some elected officials along the border have suggested Perry’s talk of spillover violence from Mexico’s war against drug gangs has hurt the image of southern Texas. Perry responded that he would not be getting the endorsement of several south Texas mayors — the purpose of Friday’s visit — if they thought he was hurting the region’s economic development. White has previously received endorsements from many elected leaders in the heavily Democratic Rio Grande Valley.

Officer says shooting was Man challenges admission justified, not reckless to Brownsville slaying HOUSTON — A police officer says his heart sank after learning the man he shot Was mistaken for an auto theft suspect.

But Sgt. Jeffrey Cotton defended the New Year’s Eve 2008 shooting, telling jurors Friday he was protecting himself, believing the man, an aspiring baseball player, had been reaching in his waistband for a gun.

Oil from gulf spill could wind up in your tank HOUSTON — The oil that BP is hoping to funnel through a giant 100-ton box on top of a ruptured well will be shipped to a Texas refinery and likely end up in people’s gas tanks if the deepsea operation is successful.

The oil spewing from the blown-out well contains large amounts of natural gas and water. Crews will burn off the natural gas and decant the water before shipping it to a BP facility.

BROWNSVILLE — A man accused of killing the executive director of the Brownsville Museum of Fine Art told police he was drunk and angry during the fatal stabbing.

A pretrial hearing resumes Tuesday in Brownsville for 20year-old Ernesto Ivan Martinez as he seeks to have his admission banned as evidence.

Martinez is charged with murdering Barry Horn, 59.

Austin officer in fatal shooting fired, DWI case AUSTIN — An Austin police officer who fatally shot a man in 2009 has been fired after being arrested in January for alleged drunken driving.

Senior Officer Leonardo Quintana has 10 days to appeal.

Police Chief Art Acevedo on Thursday fired Quintana, who in May 2009 fatally shot Nathaniel Sanders II.

July deadline for Ike trailers in Galveston GALVESTON — The last temporary mobile homes set up in Galveston County following Hurricane Ike are expected to be removed within two months.

FEMA in December granted a request, from Texas, to extend the deadline from March 12 to July 9 to allow displaced residents to stay in the mobile homes until they found permanent shelters.

Nelson statue planned outside Austin studio AUSTIN — Country music great Willie Nelson is being honored in Austin with plans for a guitar-in-hand bronze statue and a street named in his honor.

The city council on May 27 is scheduled to vote on dubbing a stretch of 2nd Street “Willie Nelson Boulevard.”

A smaller version of a Nelson statue was unveiled Thursday.

-- Compiled from AP reports

AROUND THE NATION Priest asks for prayers for Va. lacrosse suspect

CONTACT US

CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. — Mourners at a Roman Catholic Mass honoring slain Virginia lacrosse player Yeardley Love were urged Friday to pray for the player on the men’s team who’s accused of beating her to death.

Father Joseph Scordo people should treat their enemies with love and forgiveness.

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Jury awards $500M damages in hep C case Photo by Ross D. Franklin | AP

LAS VEGAS — A jury in Las Vegas ordered two drug companies to pay a combined $500 million in punitive damages in the first of hundreds of civil cases stemming from a hepatitis C outbreak two years ago.

The Clark County District Court jury on Friday ordered Teva Parenteral Medicines to pay $356 million. Baxter Healthcare Corp. was to pay $144 million.

A pro-Proposition 100 sign is shown Friday, in Phoenix. The proposition, to be voted on May 18, would increase the state sales tax from 5.6 cents on the dollar to 6.6 cents, for a temporary three years, to raise a projected $1 billion annually.

Family of woman slain in Mexico criticize inquiry LOS ANGELES — The family of a former “Survivor” producer’s wife who was found slain

in Mexico blasted investigators on Friday, saying it was taking too long to make an arrest.

The criticism came nearly a month after the body of Monica Beresford-Redman was discovered at a resort in Cancun.

-- Compiled from AP reports

SUBSCRIPTIONS/DELIVERY (956) 728-2555 The Zapata Times is distributed on Saturdays to 4,000 households in Zapata County. For subscribers of the Laredo Morning Times and for those who buy the Laredo Morning Times at newsstands, the Zapata Times is inserted.

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The Zapata office is at 1309 N. U.S. Hwy. 83 at 14th Avenue, Suite 2, Zapata, TX 78076. Call (956) 765-5113 or e-mail thezapatatimes.net

SATURDAY, MAY 8, 2010

Zlocal

Knife fight ends in two arrests

By CÉSAR G. RODRIGUEZ LAREDO MORNING TIMES

A verbal confrontation that escalated to an aggravated assault with a deadly weapon landed two men behind bars on Sunday, May 2, in San Ygnacio.

The motive for the fight was unknown.

Authorities responded to a fight in progress involving knives at about 5:45 p.m. in the 400 block of Ocampo Avenue in San Ygnacio, an incident report states.

Upon arrival, deputies met with the victim, who stated that Antonio Martinez-Sanchez, 23, had assaulted him with a cutting instrument.

The victim sustained a minor laceration in his arm.

Jaime Zepeda, 26, identified Antonio Martinez-Sanchez, 23, as his alleged aggressor.

Martinez-Sanchez was subsequently arrested

for aggravated assault with a deadly weapon.

After deputies took MARTINEZ MartinezSANCHEZ Sanchez into custody, Zepeda slapped his alleged offender. Deputies then arrested Zepeda on ZEPEDA charges of assault causing bodily injury, according to an incident report.

Both men were booked and transported to Zapata Regional Jail.

Martinez-Sanchez was held in lieu of a $20,000 bond. Zepeda was released, pending a court appearance.

(César G. Rodriguez may be reached at 7282568 or cesar@lmtonline.com)

PAGE 3A

Black to be transferred

By JOE RUTLAND THE ZAPATA TIMES

Randy Black of ConocoPhillips, a familiar face within Zapata County’s rich energy industry, has received a promotion from his company.

Black, ConocoPhillips’ South Texas operations manager, will now become operations manager for its Gulf Coast business unit. He said Thursday that this promotion means he will move to Houston, where ConocoPhillips’ United States operations center is located.

Black will oversee ConocoPhillips’ consolidation of its Louisiana offshore, East Texas, Central Texas and South Texas operations, under one umbrella.

“While this is a management change, we will still have our core leadership here,” Black said.

His effective start date is Monday, but Black said he will not be relocating to Houston until later this summer.

ConocoPhillips’ South Texas operations are located in Aguilares, east of Laredo.

“Our philanthropic endeavors will stay the same,” Black added.

ConocoPhillips has provided thousands of dollars for numerous South Texas groups, including the United Way of Laredo, Habitat for Humanity of Laredo, Texas A&M International University and other nonprofit organizations in Webb, Zapata, Jim Hogg

and Starr counties.

“I’m trying to contact as many of these organizations as possible and let them know about my move,” he said. “Our commitment to Laredo Community College on establishing an associates’ degree program, along with supporting the tax bases of Webb and Zapata counties, stays the same.”

ConocoPhillips employs around 130 people in Laredo, Zapata and Aguilares.

Salo Otero, South Texas Food Bank director of development, said Black was a valued member of the food bank’s board of directors.

“I mean, he came here and was involved with the food bank in Alaska and we heard about it, contacted him and (he) said he’d be

more than happy to be on our board,” Otero said. “He is a community-minded person. He just loved the food bank… we hate to see him go, but maybe he’ll be able to help us more from that position (in Houston). He’s definitely for South Texas and helped us greatly.”

Black, who moved from Alaska, to Laredo in 2007, called Zapata “figuratively and literally the warmest place I’ve ever been.”

“I have never been in a place where there are more compassionate, caring and kind people than here in Laredo,” Black said. “This is a great place. It is a home to me that I’ll truly miss. I am an advocate for Laredo. This city has an undeserved reputation.”

Man arrested for burglary, possession

By CÉSAR G. RODRIGUEZ LAREDO MORNING TIMES

A man wearing a ski mask broke into a furniture store and was found in possession of more than $17,000 in merchandise, as well as cocaine, on Sunday, May 2, according to Zapata County Sheriff ’s Office deputies.

Roberto Garcia Jr., 49,

was arrested on charges of burglary of building and possession of a controlled substance at GARCIA Fred’s Fine Furniture, corner of U.S. 83 and Madison Street.

Deputies responded to the store after the business

burglary alarm was activated at about 3:12 a.m.

When they arrived, deputies noticed damage to the sheetrock on the south side of the building, where it is believed the alleged offender entered. Deputies then surrounded the building, Sgt. Mario Elizondo said.

Inside the store, deputies saw a man with a ski mask dressed in black. They took

him into custody.

Deputies recovered a black ski mask, a tire wrench, a flashlight and crescent wrenches.

The man was booked and transported to Zapata Regional Jail, where he was held in lieu of $30,000 bond.

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

THE BLOTTER ASSAULT

BURGLARY

Gerardo Rodriguez, 23, was arrested on charges of assault-family violence at 3:30 p.m. Thursday, April 29, in the 2000 block of Yucca Drive. An incident report states the man assaulted a known woman.

He was booked and transported to Zapata Regional Jail, and later released, pending a court appearance.

Mayra Antonio-Hernandez, 28, and Amelia Hernandez-Mendoza, 30, were arrested on charges of assault-family violence at about 11:15 p.m. Sunday, May 2, in the 600 block of Ramireño Avenue. They were booked and transported to Zapata County Jail.

Deputies responded to a burglary call at about 4 p.m. Thursday, April 29, in the 100 block of Iowa Street. An incident report stated someone forcibly entered the complainant’s storage shed.

Deputies responded to a burglary of habitation call at about 2:15 a.m. Saturday, May 1, at the intersection of 19th Avenue and Bravo Street. An incident report states the alleged offender fired a handgun stolen from the victim’s house. The individual discharged the weapon seven times and took off running down the street, where he was picked up by a white four-door passenger

car. Deputies recovered casings from the front of the house. No arrest was made.

Nobody was harmed and no property was damaged, according to officials. The department has an open investigation in the case.

Deputies responded to a burglary call at about 8:15 p.m. Sunday, May 2, at Lakefront Lodge, 493 Oak St. The complainant stated unknown people stole the rearview mirrors from his vehicle while it was parked at the lodge’s boat ramp.

DISORDERLY CONDUCT Nelly Guadalupe Mercado, 19, was arrested on charges of disorderly conduct at

about 9:30 p.m. Friday, April 30, at the intersection of 22nd Avenue and Elm Street.

She was booked and transported to Zapata County Jail. She was released, and is later scheduled to appear court for magistration.

juvenile probation.

Deputies responded to a theft call at 9:30 a.m. Sunday, May 2, in the 100 block of Madison Street. The 83-year-old female complainant reported someone stole her neighbor’s trash can.

THEFT Three juveniles were arrested at 11:45 a.m. April 30 at Zapata Middle School, Seventh Avenue and Carla Street. Deputies say the boys stole a PSP. The juveniles were charged with theft and engaging in organized criminal activity. They were booked and transported to the Sheriff’s Department juvenile processing office and turned over to

POSSESSION Francisco Manuel Rios, 22, was arrested at 3 a.m. Thursday at the intersection of Fourth Avenue and Costa Rica Street. The man was charged with possession of a controlled substance, penalty group one. After booking, he was taken to Zapata Regional Jail, and held in lieu of $10,000 bond.

PAGE 4A

Zopinion

SATURDAY, MAY 8, 2010

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR SEND YOUR SIGNED LETTER TO EDITORIAL@LMTONLINE.COM

COLUMN

OTHER VIEWS

Democrats always need a villain

By GARY ANDRES HEARST NEWSPAPERS

W

ASHINGTON — President Obama and the Democrats in Congress didn’t invent the politics of vilification, and they will not be the last to practice it.

The president and his political allies, however, have refined the practice to an art form — they say they abhor vilification, yet consistently demonize when promoting their legislative aims.

But will it work?

Some of the best stories include the worst villains.

And political tales are no exception. But the president and Democrats in Congress jumped the shark, in terms of predictability. A clear blueprint has emerged over the past 16 months. Every time the White House and its allies on the Hill decide to promote a legislative initiative they slaughter a sacrificial lamb.

Attack on the GOP

True, some folks deserve a little demonization now and then. But why has this pattern become such a predictable part of every single major issue Obama and Democrats pursue? It seems odd and even unprecedented in terms of frequency.

Capitol Hill and White House veterans told me they don’t recall this kind of regular singling out as a political strategy. The Clintons bemoaned the “politics of personal destruction,” but they were responding to attacks on them. In other words, they were on defense, not offense.

These tactics also contradict the president’s lofty aspirations in his inaugural address where he beckoned us to bring “an end to the petty grievances and false promises, the recriminations and wornout dogmas that for far too long have strangled our politics.”

Hypocrites

COLUMN

US must pull head from sand

By JONATHAN GURWITZ

Despite the president’s calls for a new politics in 2008, the vilification began almost immediately after his inauguration.

Early last year, the majority in Congress and the president wanted an excuse to spend a lot of money on an economic stimulus bill.

The playbook was simple. First, find a rogue.

How about George W. Bush? His policies produced a sputtering economy, faltering financial institutions, crumbling infrastructure — if it weren’t for his presidency, the story goes, we wouldn’t have to do all this.

Nancy Pelosi got the memo. “The Bush Administration policies created a huge jobs deficit, and getting Americans back to work has been and will remain our top priority,” she said in a statement quoted in The Hill newspaper in December of 2009 So did President Obama, although he was more circumspect when it came to demonizing his predecessor by name: “By any measure, my administration has inherited a fiscal disaster,” the president lamented in a speech last March.

It also makes the president’s recent calls for civility—like his commencement speech last Saturday at the University of Michigan where he said: “You can disagree with a certain policy without demonizing the person who espouses it”— ring hollow or even hypocritical. The address made him sound like a victim — the target of over-thetop attacks — not a perpetrator of the same crime.

Only three explanations for the Democrats’ politics of contempt seem possible.

First, they’re electorally dim-witted or politically tone deaf. I don’t buy this argument. Based on their performance at the polls in 2006 and 2008, first in Congress and then in the race for the White House, most Democrats understand politics.

Second, they believe Americans want Democrats to find and challenge bad guys. Perhaps.

But if the solution to the rogue-induced problem is always the same — create a new federal program, spend more federal money, let Washington figure it out— many voters get nervous. They’ve heard it before, and they’re not sure it works.

Aiming at health

Looming election

Same story on health care. But this time the insurance industry was in the barrel.The speaker joined the public relations fusillade last summer imploring her troops to fight the “immoral villains.”

“Of course, they’ve been immoral all along,” she scolded, according to Politico. “They are the villains in this, they have been part of the problem in a major way.”

Obama piled on last month, leading the Washington Post to write: “The messages are part of a strategy that Obama and those around him have begun to employ lately, to ratchet up the pace and the populist appeal of their rhetoric against the health insurance industry.”

The bus continues to drive on. Over the past year, “Big Oil” took its lumps, while CEO’s have been a recurring pinata.

Wall Street has now joined the villain-of-themonth club.

The third explanation makes the most sense. It’s all about mobilizing the faithful. Going into the first midterm election, the president and Democrats need to reenergize their political base. Turnout in these contests typically drops 10-20 percent, and it’s important to get supporters to vote. Demonizing Bush, insurers, CEOs, Wall Street could do the trick, while simultaneously playing the victim card might do just that.

Democrats are panicked that the bottom could fall out this November, causing them to lose a massive number of congressional seats. Mobilizing base voters could create a firewall of protection from a worst-case scenario. Building contempt among core voters is one possible way to do that, but it’s a few degrees lower on the idealism meter than “hope and change.”

(Gary Andres’s e-mail is gary.andresdutkoworldwide.com)

t this point, the Department of Homeland Security might want to reconsider the proposition that veterans, gun rights activists and people upset about illegal immigration pose the greatest threat of domestic terrorism.

you refuse to name.

Last month, the Associated Press reported the Obama administration was rewriting the National Security Strategy, the central document of U.S. national security policy. Out are references to Islamic extremism. In are nondescript terms that gloss over radical religious sources of terrorism.

“We want to move away from the politics of fear toward a policy of being prepared for all risks that can occur.”

Preparing for all risks is smart. But it’s idiotic to suggest that the guy in the camo jacket at the tea party rally somehow poses a greater risk of man-caused disasters than the threat that cannot be named.

Scrutiny

More sensitivity

Failures

A DHS intelligence assessment last year warned that right-wing extremist groups were advancing their recruitment efforts among such crowds.

Not that white supremacists and militia goons don’t deserve close scrutiny. Given their rhetoric and propensity for violence, it would be foolish not to keep a wary eye on them.

There are good reasons to take care not to stigmatize groups because of the actions of a few of its members. But one wonders why the U.S. government wouldn’t show the same sensitivity to, say, veterans, gun owners and people upset about illegal immigration.

Of course Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano had already consigned the T-word to the dustbin of history. At her confirmation hearings last year, she refused to describe al-Qaida plots to attack the United States as terrorism. Instead, she referred to them as “mancaused disasters.”

That is how you fail to prevent Nidal Malik Hasan from murdering 13 people despite warnings about his behavior from Army personnel, despite his Internet postings that endorse the nobility of martyrdom attacks and despite his correspondence with a radical Muslim cleric in Yemen linked to al-Qaida.

That is how you fail to prevent “underwear bomber” Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab from boarding a plane bound for the United States despite his father’s warning to CIA personnel that he had become radicalized, despite an unusual sojourn in the al-Qaida hotbed of Yemen and despite his tutelage under the same extremist cleric.

SAN ANTONIO EXPRESS-NEWS

A

Smearing opponents But it would be even more foolish if you were a president or a Cabinet member or a leader of Congress to gin up the threat they pose, to impute to your political opponents their repulsive beliefs, to smear citizens peaceably exercising their constitutional rights with accusations of bigotry, and all the while avoid any mention of a more serious threat

No more terrorists In an interview with Der Spiegel, Napolitano explained that the suppression of the T-word was intentional.

Radicalized And if the suspect’s own statements are to be be-

lieved, that is how you fail to prevent Faisal Shahzad from parking an IED in Times Square despite his recent five-month vacation in Pakistan during which he claims to have received training in bomb making, despite the Pakistani government’s belief that he was in contact with Islamic militants, and then allow him to board a flight for the Middle East despite being under surveillance and being placed on the man-caused disaster no-fly list.

At a February hearing of the Senate Intelligence Committee, President Obama’s director of national intelligence, Dennis Blair, warned that al-Qaida had made it a high-priority to carry out a large-scale attack on American soil within six months.

Unlucky tries As with Northwest Airlines Flight 253 over Detroit on Christmas Day, only dumb luck prevented Times Square on a crowded Saturday night from becoming a worse tragedy than Fort Hood.

Shahzad’s attempt isn’t the one Blair was talking about. To stop that one — the big one — will require more than dumb luck and a head-in-the-sand attitude toward Islamic extremism.

(E-mail: 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

readers that a letter is written by the person who signs the letter. The Zapata Times does not allow the use of pseudonyms.

Letters are edited for style, grammar, length and civility. No name-call-

DOONESBURY | GARRY TRUDEAU

ing or gratuitous abuse is allowed.

Via e-mail, send letters to editorial@lmtonline.com or mail them to Letters to the Editor, 111 Esperanza Drive, Laredo, TX 78041.

SATURDAY, MAY 8, 2010

THE ZAPATA TIMES 5A

PAGE 6A

Zentertainment

Miss Laredo USA seeks contestants

By EMILIO RÁBAGO III THE ZAPATA TIMES

Do you think you have what it takes to represent Laredo in a statewide beauty pageant?

Or how about representing Texas in the national Miss USA or Miss Teen USA pageant?

Well, you might want to sign up for the Miss Laredo pageant coming up in June.

Miss Laredo Pageant Production Executive Director Roel Gonzalez is currently looking for Laredo — and surround area — beauties to compete for the 2010 titles.

The competition is divided into five categories: Miss Little Laredo, ages 6 to 8.

Miss Junior Laredo, ages 9 to 11.

Miss Pre Teen Laredo, ages 12 to 14; judging based on evening gown and fashionware competition.

Miss Laredo Teen, ages 15 to 18; judging based on interview, swimsuit and evening gown competition; scholarship awarded; no talent required.

Miss Laredo, ages 18 to 27; judging based on interview, swimsuit and evening gown competition; scholarship awarded; no talent required.

This is the official preliminary pageant for Miss Teen Texas USA and the Miss Texas USA pageants, and Donald Trump’s and NBC’s Miss Universe.

There is an entry fee, but sponsorships are allowed. Deadline to enter is May 15. You can apply online at www.misslaredo.com

Organizers will include a free two-week workshop, where contestants will be trained in interview, make-up, hair and modeling.

Besides crowning winners, awards will be given through out the competition.

SATURDAY, MAY 8, 2010

Paulina says she’s pregnant ASSOCIATED PRESS

Laredo does good In recent years, Laredo has established itself as a top contender. Two Miss Laredo Teens that have won the statewide Miss Teen Texas USA pageant.

The current Miss Teen Texas USA is Laredoan Chelsea Nicole Morgensen, 15, who will be competing nationally at the Miss Teen USA pageant. That competition will be held at the Atlantis Resort in Paradise Island, the Bahamas on July 23-24.

The winner earns a year-long stay in Manhattan, New York, rooming in the Trump Tower with Miss USA and Miss Universe, among many other prizes.

Another Laredoan, Ana Rodriguez, was runner up at last years Miss Texas USA pageant.

So there’s a chance Laredo will be well represented in the coming year.

The Miss Laredo pageant will be held on June 11-12 at the Laredo Civic Center.

For more information, contact Gonzalez at 286-3695, or 722-Roel; or Assistant Director Saul Gonzalez at 286-3683.

(Emilio Rábago III may be reached at 7282564 or by e-mail at erabago@lmtonline.com)

Courtesy photo

Miss Texas Teen USA, Laredoan Chelsea Nicole Morgensen, will represent the state of Texas in the upcoming Miss Teen USA pageant in the Bahamas in July.

NEW YORK — Paulina Rubio shared some big news with her fans on Twitter: She is pregnant.

She tweeted: “Life has a new meaning.” And she told her fans that they were going to be aunts and uncles.

She gave no further details on the pregnancy.

A representative from her music label, Universal Music, confirmed to The Associated Press that Rubio made the statement.

Paulina, whose music spans decades, has been in Laredo and Nuevo Laredo several times throughout the years.

Rubio, who will be 39 in June, is married to a Spanish businessman. It will be her first child.

On the Net: http:// www.paulina-rubio.com

Lone Star is newest nightspot

By EMILIO RÁBAGO III THE ZAPATA TIMES

With a capacity for 1,000 patrons, Lone Star Bar and Dancehall, 9502 San Dario, is poised to deliver a lively atmosphere for Laredo’s growing Country music fanbase.

The venue, which has a large dance floor and stage, is ready for Country music acts — large and small.

“People wanted a huge dance floor and artists wanted a huge stage,” said Mike Montemayor, one of Lone Star’s owners. “So we got them both.”

Although Laredo al-

ready has other bars that tailor to Country music, Montemayor’s feeling is that Laredo needed a big place to allow enough space for dancing.

Montemayor, who said he was a singer and songwriter himself, feels it’s his “time to give back to the community.” “We want to help out local talent and upcoming musicians in Country music,” he said.

Lone Star details Western-style dressed waitresses are serving up drinks to patrons sitting

on the handmade, wood table setups.

The rest of the décor is simple. Wood beams, Texas flags, rusty metal stars and frames, and even hay on floors — complete with a ranch smell — add to the ambience.

A banner across the top of the stage reads “Dance Like There’s No Tommorrow.”

In addition to a full bar, Lone Star has a small snack bar, open regularly.

Montemayor, along with his business partner David Quintanilla, had been planning the ballroom for a good six months.

The bar is already gaining popularity with its happy hour specials and Country events and afterparties.

This Saturday, James Lann is scheduled to perform there. He’s best known for his hit, “Honky Tonk Two Step Queen,” which was one of the “ten most spun” songs on Texas radio stations in 2009.

Other acts in the works are the Josh Abbot Band and Kyle Park.

Montemayor said he plans to mix in the tour dates, even on weekdays.

Another plan Lone Star has is making Sunday a

Photo by Ulysses S. Romero | The Zapata Times

Laredo’s newest nightspot, Lone Star Bar and Dancehall, is located at 9502 San Dario Ave. It tailors to the area’s growing Country music scene. family day at the ballroom.

For instance, Montemayor plans clearing land for pony rides and an inflatable mechanical bull.

“I have kids,” he said.

Lone Star is located at the old Exoticas building and its number is 729-1642.

(Emilio Rábago III may be reached at 728-2564 or erabago@lmtonline.com)

SÁBADO 8 DE MAYO DE 2010

Zfrontera

Cinco inician campaña

Agenda en Breve SÁBADO 8 DE MAYO Hoy es el 2do Sábado de Exámenes en las Farmacias H-E-B. Se harán exámenes gratuitos de glucosa y presión arterial. El de colesterol por 3.99; el de colesterol completo (con ayuno requerido) por 29.99 y el de diabetes por 29.99.

Hoy es la primera lección del Museo y Centro Muro de la Tolerancia en la Biblioteca Pública de Laredo (1120 E. Calton Road) a la 1 p.m. en el Salón de Usos Múltiples H-E-B. Se presentará el documental “Camera of my familia” de 19-minutos de duración. El evento es gratuito y abierto al público en general.

Pase la tarde en el Planetario Lamar Bruni Vergara de TAMIU y explore “Kaluoka’hina: The Enchanted Reef” a las 5 p.m., “Attack of the Space Pirates” a las 6 p.m., y “Technobeatz” a las 7 p.m. La entrada general es de 5 dólares y un dólar menos para niños. Más información en tamiu.edu/planetarium.

DOMINGO 9 DE MAYO Hoy es el Concierto por el Día de las Madres, presentando al Grupo Tradicional Español de LCC, dirigido por Ruben Vargas. El concierto será a las 3 p.m. en el Guadalupe and Lilia Martinez Fine Arts Center Theatre. La entrada es gratuita. Las primeras 150 mamás recibirán un clavel.

LUNES 10 DE MAYO Hoy es la Scholastic Book Fair en la Biblioteca Pública de Laredo (1120 E. Calton Road). Será a partir de hoy y hasta el viernes 14 de mayo. El evento es: compre un libro y llévese otro gratis. Más información en www.laredolibrary.org.

Películas estudiantiles producidas por miembros del Programa de Comunicación de TAMIU presentan hoy el “Festival de Cine Estudiantil” de 2 p.m. a 6 p.m.en el aula 236 del Student Center. El evento es gratuito y abierto al público en general.

MARTES 11 DE MAYO Hoy es la 1er Competencia Anual de Narcóticos K-9 del Departamento de Policía de Laredo, con la participación de Aduanas y Protección Froneriza, Patrulla Fronteriza, Alguaciles del Condado de Webb, Condestables, Policía de UISD y LISD, entre otros. El evento es a las 10 a.m. en el 4207 North Jarvis. Más información en el 237-3964.

VIERNES 14 DE MAYO Hoy es el 13vo Parade of Homes Anual de 3 p.m. a 7 p.m.. El evento ofrece una oportunidad a potenciales compradores de casa de ver lo último en diseño y construcción. El costo de entrada es de 5 dólares. Más información es www.laredobuilders.org ó llamando al 722-5553.

PÁGINA 7A

POR MIGUEL TIMOSHENKOV TIEMPO DE ZAPATA

Foto de cortesía | Gobierno de Tamaulipas

Asegura el Gobernador del Estado Eugenio Hernandez Flores que fuerzas federales y estatales se unirán para combatir al crimen organizado y así recuperar la región Ribereña afectada por la presencia de organizaciones criminales en las últimas semanas.

Gobierno buscará rescatar Ribereña POR MIGUEL TIMOSHENKOV TIEMPO DE ZAPATA

NUEVO LAREDO — Las fuerzas del gobierno federal y el estatal combatirán unidas a la delincuencia organizada en Tamaulipas y el principal objetivo será recuperar la región Ribereña.

“Deberemos recuperar la región ribereña a la que le han causado grave daño”, dijo el Gobernador Eugenio Hernández Flores al sostener que para ello se formará un equipo multidisciplinario interinstitucional.

La región Ribereña incluye Nueva Ciudad Guerrero, Ciudad Mier, Miguel Alemán, Camargo, Días Ordaz y Reynosa.

“Analizaremos en detalle lo que sucede en esta parte de México en materia de inseguridad”, dijo Hernández.

“Tenemos que asumir acciones que deslinden los graves daños que han sufrido cientos de familias por la actividad de la delincuencia organizada”.

Aunque las fuerzas federales siempre han tenido presencia en Tamaulipas, la diferencia es que ahora destinarán sus esfuerzos de forma exclusiva al combate a la delincuencia organizada.

Este cambio surge tras que Hernández se entrevistara con Calderón mostrándole elementos suficientes

“

Tenemos que asumir acciones que deslinden los graves daños que han sufrido cientos de familias por la actividad de la delincuencia organizada”.

EUGENIO HERNÁNDEZ FLORES, GOBERNADOR DE TAMAULIPAS

sobre la necesidad urgente de la intervención federal para recuperar los espacios fuera de control del gobierno.

El miércoles, el Secretario de Gobernación Fernando Gómez Mont, en su viaje por EU, declaró que para finales del 2010 disminuirá la violencia en México. El mismo día Calderón pidió mayor comprensión a las fuerzas del Ejército “que han luchado con heroísmo en esta larga y costosa lucha para regresar la tranquilidad a México”.

Calderón también reiteró que no cederá la lucha hasta “restablecer la seguridad y el imperio de la ley en todo el país”.

Cierre de escuelas La situación es tal en la región Ribereña, que las es-

cuelas en Ciudad Mier y Nueva Ciudad Guerrero se encuentran parcialmente abandonadas.

El Secretario de Educación de Tamaulipas José Manuel Assad Montelongo dijo en un comunicad de prensa que esto se debe a la inseguridad que priva en esas comunidades.

En Ciudad Mier al menos seis escuelas sufren alto porcentaje de ausentismo escolar.

En Nueva Ciudad Guerrero los reportes en cinco escuelas primarias hablan de alumnos atemorizados que prefieren no ir a estudiar por temor a ser víctimas de hechos violentos.

Assad dijo esta situación no se presenta en toda la entidad, sino solamente en regiones.

(Localice a Miguel Timoshenkov en el 728-2583 ó en mramirez@lmtonline.com)

Mamás reciben despensa POR EKATERINA GUTIERREZ ARGUELLO ESPECIAL PARA TIEMPO DE ZAPATA

NUEVA CIUDAD GUERRERO — Como un adelanto a la celebración del Día de las Madres, el cinco de mayo, la Alcaldesa Olga Juliana Elizondo Guerra, entregó 275 despensas a mamás de esta ciudad.

“Son despensas que nos hizo llegar el Gobierno de Tamaulipas”, dijo Elizondo.

Haciendo un sumario de las acciones más recientes en el Municipio, en otros renglones, Elizondo mencionó lo siguiente: El 29 de abril se hizo entrega de los Registros de Nacimiento gratuitos a niños cuyos padres participaron en la campaña durante el mes de abril.

El Registro Gratuito de Nacimientos fue organizado por el Gobierno Municipal, el de Tamaulipas y el Sistema para el Desar-

rollo Integral de la Familia (DIF).

Junto a Elizondo participaron en la entrega, la Presidenta del DIF Isela Flores; la Directora del DIF Benita Guerra y la representante de la Oficialía del Registro Civil María de los Dolores González Garza.

Igualmente, el 30 de abril se hizo entrega de un equipo dental completo al nuevo Centro de Salud.

“El equipo fue enviado por la Secretaría de Salud de Tamaulipas”, dijo Elizondo.

“Fueron respuesta a las gestiones que efectuamos previamente”.

El equipo fue entregado al Director del Centro de Salud Rogelio Olivares Villarreal, quien estuvo acompañado por personal de la Presidencia Municipal y de salud.

(Ekaterina Gutiérrez Arguello es la Directora de Comunicación Social en Nueva Ciudad Guerrero)

NUEVO LAREDO — El sábado cinco candidatos a gobernador de Tamaulipas inician campaña, cumpliendo así los tiempos que marca la ley electoral, para acudir a las urnas el 4 julio.

Julio Almanza Armas, candidato por el Partido de la Revolución Democrática (PRD) abrirá en Matamoros.

Alfonso De León Perales es el candidato por el Partido Convergencia.

José Julián Sacramento Garza, candidato del Partido Acción Nacional (PAN) al gobierno del Tamaulipas, abrirá campaña en Matamoros.

Rodolfo Torre Cantú, candidato formal de la alianza “Todos Tamaulipas”, por los partidos Revolucionario Institucional (PRI), el Verde Ecologista de México y el PANAL abrirá su campaña en esta ciudad.

Armando Vera García es el candidato del Partido del Trabajo.

Los comités de campaña de los cinco candidatos estarán elaborando una plataforma de trabajo que presentarán a la comunidad al iniciar sus recorridos por Tamaulipas.

PAN Sacramento dijo que al abrir campaña mostrará su plataforma política, en la cual ha concentrado las formalidades y necesidades del estado.

“Conocemos nuestro estado, lo hemos recorrido varias ocasiones SACRAMENTO consensuado con la comunidad y escuchándoles”, dijo Sacramento. “En el estado hay mucho que hacer. Necesitaremos la participación de la comunidad”.

Dijo además que en su campaña la comunidad tendrá importante participación.

Convergencia De León Perales destacó el agradecimiento de las organizaciones y comunidades que se han sumado desde el registro como candidato a la Gubernatura de Tamaulipas.

“Estoy DE LEÓN entusiasmado y buscaremos el voto en los 43 municipios del estado”, dijo De León. “Sabemos que es tiempo corto pere analizaremos las necesidades del Estado”.

Luis Walton Aburto, líder nacional de Convergencia, dijo que la comunidad podrá avanzar por el cambio, ya que De León, es un excelente hom-

bre de familia, profesional y preocupado por los temas de Tamaulipas.

“Se trata de un candidato enfocado en los temas estatales, su capacidad creativa le permitirá encontrar soluciones que afectan al estado”, dijo Walton.

PRD Almanza dijo que avanzarán “para aplicar nuestro estilo de política”.

El líder del PRD en Tamaulipas Jorge Mario Sosa Pohl dijo que Almanza dará al partido un nuevo imán, porque además de la gente que le sigue, aseguró que seALMANZA rá una campaña de altura, de respeto y de trabajo, que presentara propuestas claras de desarrollo.

María Dolores Padierna Luna, influyente líder del PRD, pidió a los electores de Tamaulipas participar con el candidato de la unidad y esperanza.

PRI El sábado, Torre Cantú abrirá en Nuevo Laredo con dos actos políticos en los que incluye al magisterio y una cena para hacer pública su plataforma de gobierno.

TORRE El primer encuentro se dará con la estructura magisterial a las 6 p.m., con la presencia del líder estatal del magisterio Arnulfo Rodríguez Treviño, el aspirante a la alcaldía Benjamín Galvan Gómez, los candidatos a diputados Aurelio Uvalle, Héctor Canales González y Rosa María Alvarado.

PT Vera estará acompañado por el líder estatal Alejandro Ceniceros Martínez al abrir campaña en Altamira.

Convocó a que los tamaulipecos analicen las propuestas.

“Becáremos a todos VERA los Estudiantes de Educación Media Superior y Superior de todas las Escuelas Públicas”, adelantó Vera. “Ahora la responsabilidad del estudiante será aprobar sus estudios, el del Gobierno cumplirle”.

Resalto que darán la alimentación, atención médica y medicamentos para los niños recién nacidos hasta los seis años de edad.

(Localice a Miguel Timoshenkov en 728-2583 ó mramirez@lmtonline.com)

SÁBADO 15 DE MAYO El Consulado de México en Laredo anuncia que su Programa de Jornadas Sabatinas será hoy de 9 a.m. a 2 p.m., donde se brinda servicio al público que requiera documentación consular además de orientación en el ámbito de protección. Más información en el 723-0990.

El Bubble Home Project anuncia su concurso de canto “Laredo Idol” a fin de recaudar dinero destino a colocar a residentes de bajo ingreso en su propia casa. El concurso se realizará de 11 a.m. a 6 p.m. Más información en www.bubblehomeproject.com.

Gobierno de Mier subsidiará desayunos escolares POR YAHAIRA L. ZAMBRANO ESPECIAL PARA TIEMPO DE ZAPATA

CIUDAD MIER — La Presidencia Municipal de esta ciudad subsidiará el 100% de los desayunos escolares.

La decisión fue tomada por el Jefe de Gobierno José Iván Mancias Hinojosa tras reunirse con directivos de las diferentes instituciones escolares.

Dentro del subsidio se contempla el salario de las cocineras, el suministro de gas, entre otros servicios.

“El objetivo es que todos

los alumnos, estén ó no dentro del programa, reciban su desayuno diario sin costo alguno”, dijo Mancias.

Actualmente en Mier hay aproximadamente 200 familias inscritas que en breve estarán recibiendo sus paquetes de ayuda.

Cambios en ITAVU

Plazuela

Claudia Yaneth Vela Rodríguez asumió la Coordinación del ITAVU, y fungirá como asistente del Director de ITAVU en esta ciudad Roberto González.

Dentro de sus obligaciones se encuentra la recepción de papelería y pagos.

El Fraccionamiento Villas del Cántaro contará para finales de ese mes con una plazuela ó parque de recreación.

La inversión es de 280.000 pesos, adquiridos del programa Suma de Voluntares para la Prosperidad Social.

Ulises Adrián de León, director de Obras Públicas y encargado de la obra dijo que la plazuela contará con banquetas, luminarias, juegos infantiles, pasto y bancas, entre otras cosas.

Centro de Salud A finales de abril, Mancias llevó a cabo la supervisión del avance de la ampliación del nuevo Centro de Salud, cuya inauguración está prevista para julio.

Fue la paraestatal Petró-

leos Mexicanos quien otorgó el apoyo para la ejecución de la obra.

“El nuevo centro asistencial contará con un quirófano, un área de recuperación, 4 camas de hospitalización, baños y vestidores”, dijo Mancias.

“Estamos pensando en las personas del municipio que no cuentan con los recursos suficientes para pagar una clínica particular”, agregó Mancias.

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

National

8A THE ZAPATA TIMES

Debate shows quiet Latino leadership

By JESSE WASHINGTON ASSOCIATED PRESS

Quick: Name a leader of the national Hispanic community.

That’s not easy for some Hispanics, let alone other Americans. Even as the Arizona immigration debate has highlighted concerns of the nation’s more than 40 million Latino citizens, it has revealed a lack of name-brand recognition for those dedicated to serving America’s largest minority group.

This relative obscurity is largely due to the diversity of Latinos, who come from many countries and cultures with unique concerns that are not easily lumped together — but often are.

“When you’re in Colombia, you’re a Colombian.

When you’re in Puerto Rico, you’re a Puerto Rican.

When you’re in the U.S., you’re a Latino or Hispanic,” said Eric Cortes, a Philadelphia resident and member of a local leadership institute that trains people to work in the Latino community.

Cortes could not recall the names of any leaders of national Latino organizations, but he knew many locally based activists.

“I feel like every state or region has that person doing national campaigns for rights. ... It’s hard to pinpoint one person,” he said.

There are, in fact, many Latino leaders with national impact. Yet in the Arizona debate they have been overshadowed by the Rev. Al Sharpton, who led a march in Phoenix on Wednesday, debated Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio, an immigration law supporter, on television and made numerous other appearances and statements.

Several Latino leaders said it’s better to have multiple leaders and groups

Photo by Haraz N. Ghanbari | AP

Brent Wilkes, executive director of the League of United Latin American Citizens, poses for a photo in his office in Washington. A lack of name-brand recognition among those who serve America’s largest minority group is largely due to the diversity of Latinos. who can focus on different areas.

“The political sector, the civil rights sector, the business sector, small business, immigrants’ rights, organized labor,” said Thomas Saenz, president and general counsel of the Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund. “I don’t know if this is a community that can or ought to depend on a single or very small group of leaders.”

MALDEF was founded in 1968 to focus on legal activism. It was born from the League of United Latin American Citizens, or LULAC, the nation’s oldest Latino rights group, which was founded in 1929.

Another major organization is the National Council of La Raza, known as NCLR. On Thursday, it gathered seven other organizations at its headquarters to call for a national boycott of Arizona over the new law requiring police to question people’s immigration status, which many Latinos say encour-

ages racial profiling.

“I worry less about emerging as a singular leader than thinking about what work can I do in the community,” said Janet Murguia, NCLR’s president and CEO. “When you’re in a movement to create change, you don’t do that without leaders across the board.”

Hispanic organizations have helped millions of citizens — desegregating schools and other public places, helping create the Head Start program, pushing for the Immigration Reform and Control Act of 1986.

Yet people like Murguia, Saenz and Brent Wilkes, LULAC’s national executive director, remain unknown to many.

Wilkes sees several reasons. “The African-American civil rights movement, because of slavery, was more dramatic. While there are parallels to some issues, Latinos didn’t face perhaps the same level of discrimination.”

SATURDAY, MAY 8, 2010

Retrial hinges on appeal

By BILL POOVEY ASSOCIATED PRESS

CHATTANOOGA, Tenn.

— Prosecutors say a Tennessee man convicted of two federal charges in the hacking of Sarah Palin’s email account would be retried on an identity theft charge that left a jury deadlocked only if a defense request for a retrial is granted.

David Kernell, 22, was found guilty April 30 in Knoxville of obstruction of justice and unauthorized access to a computer, but acquitted of a wire fraud charge for hacking Palin’s account in 2008. The jury deadlocked on an identity theft charge.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Greg Weddle on Friday noted motions requesting a retrial. He said that only

if a new trial were granted on either of the two charges resulting in conviction, the identity theft case also would be retried.

Defense attorney Wade Davies declined comment Friday about his motions for a retrial. During the trial he made motions for a mistrial and now has numerous appeals pending before the 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals.

SATURDAY, MAY 8, 2010

THE ZAPATA TIMES 9A

School board to Bull Selection talk counselors Workshop is Fri.

By LORRAINE L. RODRIGUEZ THE ZAPATA TIMES

The Zapata County School Board of Trustees will welcome interim superintendent Norma G. Garcia, Ph.D., as she chairs her first regular meeting next week.

The board will hold its meeting on Tuesday, at 6 p.m. at the Professional Development Center, corner of 17th and Carla Street.

As discussed in the last meeting the board, will deliberate on the approval of a permanent counselor for

the Disciplinary Alternative Education Program.

The item follows board member Norberto Lopez’s questioning of the program’s credibility.

“The kids need a lot of help in counseling at the DAEP, and that is why I have been very adamant about having a counselor there as much as possible,” Lopez said.

Also on the agenda, the board will approve positions for the director of bilingual and English as a Second Language program, as well as a reading interventionist and a math

interventionist.

In a special presentation, the Girls and Boys Power Lifting state qualifiers and the track state qualifier will be announced at the beginning of the meeting.

Other action items: Approval of ZCISD Student Admission PolicyFD (local) Second Reading Approval of Memorandum of Understanding between ZCISD and Teaching and Mentoring Communities.

(Lorraine L. Rodriguez may be contacted at (956) 728-2557)

CENSUS Continued from Page 1A will not know if the resident has contacted the bureau by phone unless notified personally, so a resident should expect a follow-up visit.

“It is not guaranteed if the resident does contact the bureau by phone that they will not get revisited,” Salinas said.

According to Census Bureau statistics, Zapata had the lowest mail response rate in the 2000 Census — only 38 percent as of midApril. It was even lower in 2010 — the lowest in the state, in fact — at 24 percent as of April 27.

“The low mail response rate is not something that discourages us,” Salinas said. “We will continue until we’re done.”

According to Salinas, it is estimated that an area will lose about $2,000 for

ZONING Continued from Page 1A near the Department of Transportation.

The Commissioner’s Court will be meeting at their regular time Monday, at 9 a.m. in the Zapata County Court House, 200 E. 7th Ave. Suite 108.

Other consent items include: To install a speed hump at 816 Guerrero Street.

To install security lights at the corners of Morales Avenue and Del Mar Street and 25th Avenue and Hidalgo Street in Zapata.

To install a security light at 405 Juarez Avenue in San Ygnacio.

(Lorraine L. Rodriguez may be contacted at (956) 728-2557.)

According to Census Bureau statistics, Zapata had the lowest mail response rate in the 2000 Census. every person not counted in their area.

Final rates will be posted in the fall.

Because of the low mail response rates achieved by Zapata, it will be more expensive for the U.S. Census Bureau to collect the information. It costs the bureau only 42 cents per question-

naire, or the cost of a postage stamp, to collect information during the first phase. Now, the bureau will be spending about $60 per home to send enumerators out to collect information for about 76 percent of the population.

“We could’ve saved money,” Salinas said.

By STEPHANIE M. IBARRA THE ZAPATA TIMES

Texas AgriLife Extension Service and the Zapata County ANR Program Area Committee are encouraging Zapata and neighboring residents to attend a Bull Selection Workshop from 1 to 4 p.m.

Friday, at the Zapata County Courthouse, second floor conference room.

The workshop, part of the 2010 Beef Improvement Program Series, is free and open to the public.

According to organizer and guest speaker Caleb Eaton, County Extension Agent of Agriculture/Natural Resources, the workshop will cover everything from reading EPDs (Expected Progeny Differenc-

The workshop, part of the 2010 Beef Improvement Program Series, is free and open to the public. es) to discussing recently changed Trichomoniasis regulations.

“We’re going to go through the different things rangers need to know when buying, selecting bulls (and) using regular versus commercial bulls. The Trichomoniasis regulations, brand-new since January 2010, have changed the way people can buy bulls,” Eaton said.

“You used to go to your neighbor. Now you cannot buy a bull for breeding unless they’ve been tested by a certified veterinarian.”

Though set in lecture format, the workshop promises interactive activities, such as sample EPDs, giving participants first-hand experience.

Joe Paschal, professor and extension livestock specialist at Corpus Christi, will also be in attendance as an additional guest speaker.

For more information, contact Eaton at 765-9967 or e-mail him at cleaton@ag.tamu.edu (Stephanie M. Ibarra may be reached at 728-2567 or sibarra@lmtonline.com)

Carmen Ramirez - Rathmell, D.D.S.

“Let your smile be a sign of happiness & good health”

1520 Corpus Christi Street Telephone (956) 726-0160

10A LAREDO MORNING TIMES

SATURDAY, MAY 8, 2010

Box to fight leak on Gulf floor

By HARRY R. WEBER ASSOCIATED PRESS

ON THE GULF OF MEXICO — A BP-chartered vessel lowered a 100-ton concrete-and-steel vault onto a ruptured well in the Gulf of Mexico on Friday, an important step in a delicate and unprecedented attempt to stop most of the gushing crude fouling the sea.

Underwater robots guided the 40-foot-tall box into place. Now that the contraption is on the seafloor, workers will need at least 12 hours to let it settle and make sure it’s stable

before the robots can hook up a pipe and hose that will funnel the oil up to a tanker.

"It appears to be going exactly as we hoped," BP spokesman Bill Salvin told The Associated Press on Friday afternoon, shortly after the four-story device hit the seafloor. "Still lots of challenges ahead, but this is very good progress."

By Sunday, the box the size of a house could be capturing up to 85 percent of the oil. So far about 3 million gallons have leaked in an environmental crisis that has been unfolding

since a deepwater drilling platform exploded April 20, sending toxic oil toward a shoreline of marshes, shipping channels, fishing grounds and beaches. Eleven workers were killed in the accident.

The lowering of the containment device was a slow-moving drama playing out 50 miles from Louisiana’s coast, requiring great precision and attention to detail. It took about two weeks to build the 40-foot box, and the effort to lower it by crane and cable to the seafloor began late Thursday night. After it hit bot-

tom Friday afternoon, the crane gradually eased off.

"We are essentially taking a four-story building and lowering it 5,000 feet and setting it on the head of a pin," Salvin said.

The task became increasingly urgent as toxic oil crept deeper into the bays and marshes of the Mississippi Delta.

A sheen of oil began arriving on land last week, and crews have been putting out floating barriers, spraying chemical dispersants and setting fire to the slick to try to keep it from coming ashore.

Photo by Alex Brandon | AP

Evan Balloy, 3, from Port Sulfur, La., looks at a wahoo fish at the Venice Marina in Venice, La., on Friday. Some areas are still open for fishing in spite of the oil is pouring into the Gulf of Mexico.

OLYMPICS Continued from Page 1A from Zapata South Elementary.

Also participating were Alice Poblano and Ruben Hernandez, seventh graders, and Michael Thatcher, eighth grader, all from Zapata Middle School.

There were six participants from Zapata High School, including seniors Joey A. Ramos, Ricardo Valadez and Nikko Leubano. The only junior student was James Raf Liendo, while the freshman class was represented

by Jose M. Garza and Kevin Garza.

“They train for eight weeks prior to the competition,” said Maribel Santoya, Special Olympics area director.

The opening ceremonies began Wednesday at 9 a.m., as several law enforcement volunteers participated in a torch run to light the torch that symbolizes the opening of the competition.

Zapata High School’s Valadez

represented Zapata during the torch run.

“It is an awesome feeling when the athletes run the torch in,” Piña said. “It’s their shining moment.”

Chendo Carranco, a Laredo businessman and philanthropist, was the master of ceremonies.

According to Piña, the athletes must compete and place in the area competition in Laredo in order to qualify for the state

competition in Arlington. Only the athletes that place first through third get to attend the state competition.

Unfortunately, none of the winners will be competing in the state competition because the seniors’ graduation is scheduled during the same time period.

But that didn’t dampen the fun. When the competition ended Thursday at 11 a.m., Special

Olympics coordinators held a victory dance at the Casa Blanca Ballroom in Laredo.

Santoya also took the time to promote Special Olympics’ volunteer opportunities. This year, there were more than 200 volunteers. There were also about 75 key volunteers, along with 20 committee members, who helped organize the event.

(Lorraine L. Rodriguez may be contacted at (956) 728-2557)

SATURDAY, MAY 8, 2010

ON THE WEB: THEZAPATATIMES.COM

Sports&Outdoors Hawks lead DISTANCE RUNNER MAKES bi-district TRACK HISTORY FOR ZAPATA series 1-0 TRACK AND FIELD

Zapata, Mathis set to play Game 2 this afternoon at TAMUK’s Nolan Ryan Field

By JOY LINDSAY THE ZAPATA TIMES

The Zapata Hawks enter Game 2 of their bi-district baseball play-off against the Mathis Pirates today with a 1-0 lead in the best-of-three series after a wild 22-9 win on Thursday night.

Zapata rallied from a 9-0 deficit in the sixth inning to stun Mathis, which led 6-0 after the first and seemed well on its way to winning the game.

The Hawks (17-8) got their first hit in the fifth inning, scored seven runs in the sixth and exploded for 15 in the seventh to complete a rally for the ages.

“It was just one of those games you can’t explain,” Zapata coach Rene Alvarez said. “You had to be there.”

The Pirates (19-6-1) could

RENE ALVAREZ: Coach hopes to see team’s bats stay hot today. not hold off a Hawk squad that has focused heavily on staying calm in pressure situations and enters today on the brink of elimination.

Game 2 will be played at Texas A&M-Kingsville’s Nolan Ryan Field, the same site as Thursday’s contest, at 2 p.m.

If necessary, Game 3 will be played 30 minutes later.

Bats heat up On Thursday, Mathis starter Anthony Banda shut down Zapata in the Courtesy photo

See BI-DISTRICT PAGE 2B

Zapata High School junior Marlena Garcia competes in the 1,600-meter run at the Region IV-3A Track & Field Championships in Corpus Christi on Tuesday. Garcia made Zapata history by qualifying for the state meet with a second-place finish in the event.

Marlena Garcia reaches state meet

By CLARA SANDOVAL THE ZAPATA TIMES

R

Photo by Jason DeCrow | AP

In this April 22 file photo, Football Hall of Famer Lawrence Taylor, left, and Deion Sanders arrive on the red carpet at Radio City Music Hall for the first round of the NFL draft in New York. Taylor was arrested Thursday in connection with a reported rape.

Taylor can’t seem to escape legal troubles

By BARRY WILNER ASSOCIATED PRESS

NEW YORK — Thanks to Lawrence Taylor, such phrases as the blind side and strip-sacks became part of football’s vernacular. Offensive coordinators built game plans around slowing him down. Rarely did those tactics work.

He was one of the greatest players in NFL history — arguably the best defender the sport has seen — and became a first-ballot member of the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1999.

The only point of contention at the time: his off-field behavior.

Latest problem While Taylor’s arrest Thursday for third-degree rape and patronizing a prostitute stands as the most shocking of his runins with the law, it is only the latest. The list of charges he’s faced, from

drug cases to tax evasion, dates back more than two decades to his playing career and includes several recent entries.

Taylor has been cited three times in Florida over the last six months alone for infractions on the road.

Online records show he was accused of going 95 mph in a 70 mph zone in Miami-Dade County on Feb. 25, a case that’s scheduled for trial in Miami on May 14. He also was charged Feb. 3 with unknowingly driving with a suspended license, and in November for leaving the scene of an accident and careless driving.

In February 2009, he was cited for possessing an open container of an alcoholic beverage by the Florida Highway Patrol.

That case was dismissed.

Back when he was storming around the outside of the offensive line and terrorizing quarter-

See TAYLOR PAGE 2B

ecords come and go in sporting events, but to be the first athlete to set a standard for a school is something someone can cherish for years to come.

Junior Marlena Garcia became the first Zapata athlete to earn a trip to the UIL State Track & Field Championships with her performance at the Region IV-3A meet and will compete on Saturday, May 15, in Austin.

“Marlena had a great run and left everything on the field,” Zapata assistant coach Mike Villarreal said. “All of Zapata is very proud of her and all her accomplishments.”

Garcia, who is the defending regional cham-

pion in cross country, picked a silver medal in the 1,600-meter run at the Region IV-3A Track & Field Championships to etch her name into the Zapata history books.

Garcia started her march to a state berth by picking up gold medals in the 3,200 and 1,600-meter runs at the District 32-3A meet.

Also making a trip to the regional meet for Zapata were Michelle Garcia (3,200 and 1,600), Lauren Mendoza (300meter hurdles and 800meter run), Brandi King (high jump and 400-meter dash), and the 4x100-meter relay team of Clarissa Solis, Adriana Peña, Alexis Garza and Kristina Deleon.

Garcia started off her day in the 3,200-meter run and finished in third place.

Courtesy photo

Zapata High School junior Marlena Garcia, left, stands on the podium with her silver medal after finishing second in the 1,600-meter run at the Region IV-3A Track & Field Championships on Tuesday in Corpus Christi. Garcia made Zapata history by earning a spot at the state meet.

Giving it all With one race left to accomplish her goal of a state berth, Garcia left it all out on the track in the 1,600-meter run.

“We did everything to keep them cool prior to the race,” Villarreal said. “They were focused and ready go. It

See GARCIA PAGE 2B

Westwood leading at Players

By DOUG FERGUSON ASSOCIATED PRESS

PONTE VEDRA BEACH, Fla. — Lee Westwood tries to peak for the biggest tournaments. And while he doesn’t put The Players Championship in his top five, it’s big enough that he is playing some of his best golf going into the weekend.

Westwood ran off three straight birdies to start his back nine Friday on his way to a 7-under 65 to build a one-shot lead over Heath Slocum, Francesco Molinari of Italy and Ryuji Imada.

“As you get older, it gets harder to peak all the time when you want to,” said Westwood, a 37-year-old Englishman. “You have to pick and choose your ones, and you want to play well in the biggest tournaments. And this is one of the biggest tournaments.”

There’s a chance it might finally start playing like one.

Westwood was at 12-under 132, the lowest score to lead after 36 holes at The Players Championship since 1994, when Greg Norman was at 14

Photo by Wilfredo Lee | AP

Lee Westwood watches his shot off the 15th tee during the second round of The Players Championship on Friday in Ponte Vedra Beach, Fla. under on his way to setting the 72hole record.

But as the wind picked up and the temperatures rose late in the afternoon, there were signs that the TPC Sawgrass was starting to get firm after two days of relatively soft conditions.

Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson will be around for the weekend, which is about all that could be said for golf’s two biggest stars. Woods overcame one tee shot that flew off to the right at a 45-degree angle and

See PLAYERS PAGE 2B

PAGE 2B

Zscores

BASKETBALL NBA Playoff Glance FIRST ROUND (Best-of-7) (x-if necessary) EASTERN CONFERENCE Cleveland 4, Chicago 1 Saturday, April 17: Cleveland 96, Chicago 83 Monday, April 19: Cleveland 112, Chicago 102 Thursday, April 22: Chicago 108, Cleveland 106 Sunday, April 25: Cleveland 121, Chicago 98 Tuesday, April 27: Cleveland 96, Chicago 94 Orlando 4, Charlotte 0 Sunday, April 18: Orlando 98, Charlotte 89 Wednesday, April 21: Orlando 92, Charlotte 77 Saturday, April 24: Orlando 90, Charlotte 86 Monday, April 26: Orlando 99, Charlotte 90 Atlanta 4, Milwaukee 3 Saturday, April 17: Atlanta 102, Milwaukee 92 Tuesday, April 20: Atlanta 96, Milwaukee 86 Saturday, April 24: Milwaukee 107, Atlanta 89 Monday, April 26: Milwaukee 111, Atlanta 104 Wednesday, April 28: Milwaukee 91, Atlanta 87 Friday, April 30: Atlanta 83, Milwaukee 69

Sunday, May 2: Atlanta 95, Milwaukee 74 Boston 4, Miami 1 Saturday, April 17: Boston 85, Miami 76 Tuesday, April 20: Boston 106, Miami 77 Friday, April 23: Boston 100, Miami 98 Sunday, April 25: Miami 101, Boston 92 Tuesday, April 27: Boston 96, Miami 86 WESTERN CONFERENCE L.A. Lakers 2, Oklahoma City 2 Sunday, April 18: L.A. Lakers 87, Oklahoma City 79 Tuesday, April 20: L.A. Lakers 95, Oklahoma City 92 Thursday, April 22: Oklahoma City 101, L.A. Lakers 96 Saturday, April 24: Oklahoma City 110, L.A. Lakers 89 Tuesday, April 27: L.A. Lakers 111, Oklahoma City 87 Friday, April 30: L.A. Lakers 95, Oklahoma City 94 San Antonio 4, Dallas 2 Sunday, April 18: Dallas 100, San Antonio 94 Wednesday, April 21: San Antonio 102, Dallas 88 Friday, April 23: San Antonio 94, Dallas 90 Sunday, April 25: San Antonio 92, Dallas 89 Tuesday, April 27: Dallas 103, San Antonio 81 Thursday, April 29: San Antonio 97, Dallas 87

Phoenix 4, Portland 2 Sunday, April 18: Portland 105, Phoenix 100 Tuesday, April 20: Phoenix 119, Portland 90 Thursday, April 22: Phoenix 108, Portland 89 Saturday, April 24: Portland 96, Phoenix 87 Monday, April 26: Phoenix 107, Portland 88 Thursday, April 29: Phoenix 99, Portland 90 Utah 3, Denver 2 Saturday, April 17: Denver 126, Utah 113 Monday, April 19: Utah 114, Denver 111 Friday, April 23: Utah 105, Denver 93 Sunday, April 25: Utah 117, Denver 106 Wednesday, April 28: Denver 116, Utah 102 Friday, April 30: Utah 112, Denver 104 CONFERENCE SEMIFINALS EASTERN CONFERENCE Cleveland 1, Boston 1 Saturday, May 1: Cleveland 101, Boston 93 Monday, May 3: Boston 104, Cleveland 86 Friday, May 7: Cleveland at Boston, 6 p.m.

Sunday, May 9: Cleveland at Boston, 2:30 p.m. x-Tuesday, May 11: Boston at Cleveland, 7 p.m. x-Thursday, May 13: Cleveland at Boston, TBD x-Sunday, May 16: Boston at Cleveland, 2:30 p.m.

Orlando 2, Atlanta 0 Tuesday, May 4: Orlando 114, Atlanta 71 Thursday, May 6: Orlando 112, Atlanta 98

SATURDAY, MAY 8, 2010

Saturday, May 8: Orlando at Atlanta, 4 p.m.

Monday, May 10: Orlando at Atlanta, 7 p.m. x-Wednesday, May 12: Atlanta at Orlando, TBD x-Friday, May 14: Orlando at Atlanta, TBD x-Sunday, May 16: Atlanta at Orlando, TBD WESTERN CONFERENCE Phoenix 2, San Antonio 0 Monday, May 3: Phoenix 111, San Antonio 102 Wednesday, May 5: Phoenix 110, San Antonio 102 Friday, May 7: Phoenix at San Antonio, 8:30 p.m.

Sunday, May 9: Phoenix at San Antonio, 7 p.m. x-Tuesday, May 11: San Antonio at Phoenix, 9:30 p.m. x-Thursday, May 13: Phoenix at San Antonio, TBD x-Sunday, May 16: San Antonio at Phoenix, TBD L.A. Lakers 2, Utah 0 Sunday, May 2: L.A. Lakers 104, Utah 99 Tuesday, May 4: L.A. Lakers 111, Utah 103 Saturday, May 8: L.A. Lakers at Utah, 7 p.m.

Monday, May 10: L.A. Lakers at Utah, 9:30 p.m. x-Wednesday, May 12: Utah at L.A. Lakers, TBD x-Friday, May 14: L.A. Lakers at Utah, TBD x-Monday, May 17: Utah at L.A. Lakers, 8 p.m.

TRANSACTIONS BASEBALL American League CLEVELAND INDIANS: Activated RHP Kerry Wood from the 15-day DL. Optioned RHP Jensen Lewis to Columbus (IL).

National League CHICAGO CUBS: Selected INF Starlin Castro from Tennessee (SL). Optioned INF Chad Tracy Iowa (PCL).

Midwest League QUAD CITIES RIVER BANDITS: Announced OF C.J. Beatty was activated from extended spring training.

United League AMARILLO DILLAS: Signed C Matt Ceriani.

FOOTBALL NFL CINCINNATI BENGALS: Waived CB Antonio Smith.

NEW YORK GIANTS: Signed QB Riley Skinner and LB Micah Johnson. Waived QB Dominic Randolph.

WASHINGTON REDSKINS: Signed LB Chris Draft.

HOCKEY AHL AHL: Suspended Texas C Warren Peters for one game as a result of his actions in a May 5 game against Chicago.

SOCCER MLS MLS: Announced the addition of a Montreal franchise for 2012.

COLLEGE CONNECTICUT: Signed men’s basketball coach Jim Calhoun to a five-year contract.

LIPSCOMB: Announced junior F Adnan Hodzic has withdrawn from the NBA draft.

MCNEESE STATE: Named Terry Gamble women’s volleyball coach.

MISSISSIPPI STATE: Promoted Scott Stricklin to athletic director.

PENN STATE: Named Fred Chmiel women’s assistant basketball coach.

RICHMOND: Announced junior G Kevin Anderson has withdrawn from the NBA draft.

SETON HALL: Announced junior G Jeremy Hazell, junior F Jeff Robinson and junior F Herb Pope have withdrawn from the NBA Draft.

ST. BONAVENTURE: Announced junior G Lewis Leonard has left the men’s basketball program.

TAYLOR Continued from Page 1B backs, Taylor’s lifestyle already was an issue.

NFL suspension In 1988, he tested positive for cocaine and was suspended for 30 days by the NFL. Even before then, there were whispers throughout the league that Taylor had a drug problem, and that Giants coach Bill Parcells weeded out any such players — except for LT — after the 1983 season.

Taylor did not shy away from discussing his wild times. Two autobiographies were published and he told CBS’ “60 Minutes”

in a 2004 interview that he often called six prostitutes a day, would spend $1,000 on escort services, and once showed up at a Giants team meeting with handcuffs he brought from a night spent with several women.

Less than a year after the cocaine test, Taylor was arrested for DUI when he was found sleeping behind the wheel of his car, which was on the shoulder of a parkway. He was acquitted based greatly on testimony from two doctors who said he suffered from food poisoning.

Taylor also was charged with criminal property damage in 1991 for alleg-

edly damaging a taxi in Honolulu. Five years later, he was cited for leaving the scene of an accident, which came just two weeks after being arrested for buying crack cocaine from an undercover officer in South Carolina.

Two years after that, Taylor was charged with the same crime in Florida.

Failed rehab Twice in 1995, he entered drug rehab. He has been arrested for failure to pay child support and for tax evasion, and also has filed for bankruptcy.

“Drugs have kept me

from being the Christian I want to be,” Taylor once said.

“It’s something you’ve got to fight. It’s been a lifetime battle and you’ve got to give yourself a life to do it.”

LT often has said he’s used the golf course as his sanctuary, a place where he can escape his problems and find solutions.

He often played golf on a course a few miles from the hotel where the alleged rape occurred in the latest case.

Taylor’s troubles occasionally are mentioned in the same breath with O.J. Simpson, whose presence in the Hall of Fame is considered an embarrass-

ment by some. Should Taylor be proven guilty on the rape charge, he almost certainly will be lumped together with Simpson in any movement to throw them out of the Canton shrine.

On the field The off-field issues certainly were raised 11 years ago when Taylor became eligible for the Hall, and several voters said they wouldn’t even consider him. But he also had his supporters, including then-commissioner Paul Tagliabue.

“The Hall is about per-

formance on the field,” Tagliabue said. “Lawrence was one of the greatest players ever. I think the public understands that by making a judgment on what he did on the field, you’re not judging what he did off it.”

When voting was over and Taylor won election to the Hall, he took a moment in an interview with Fox Sports to express his resentment at the journalists who did the voting.

“You’ve got those guys, and they want to sit there and put me on some moral trip,” he said. “They’ll hold me to a standard higher than they’ll hold themselves.”

BI-DISTRICT Continued from Page 1B early innings but could not keep the Hawks off the board all night.

“I think we were a little bit nervous, and their left-handed pitcher caught us by surprise,” Alvarez said. “He had a good breaking ball and a nice little change-up. We were trying to do too much with it and couldn’t catch up. But then we started shortening up our swings and putting the ball in play and making them play defense. That rattled them, and the pitcher started losing control. They ended up using three pitchers overall.

“He was doing well, but once we got the initial onslaught, we got into the game.”

Junior Jorge Garcia got the first hit of the game for Zapata in the fifth inning, and things really started to heat up for the Hawks in the sixth.

“Jorge Garcia broke the ice, then we got a walk and the next guy hit it hard down the line, but they fielded it and just stepped on third,” Alvarez said. “Then, the onslaught began. We started

off with back-to-back hits, then they made back-to-back errors, then we had another hit.”

After pulling within two runs in the sixth, Zapata sent 21 batters to the plate in the 15-run seventh.

The Hawks’ top hitters in the game were senior Jerry Gutierrez (4-for-5, triple, double, five RBIs), Garcia (3-for-5, double, two runs, six RBIs); juniors Robert Bustamante (2-for-4, three runs, three RBIs), Ricky Martinez (2for-5, double, two runs, three RBIs) and Joey Saenz (2-for-4, three runs, two RBIs); senior Roel Ramos (2-for-4, three runs, RBI) and junior Rogelio Campos (1-1, RBI) “We started hitting, and we didn’t stop,” Alvarez said. “I wish we could have played again (on Friday), but we’ll see how things go (today).”

Key plays Though Zapata’s offense was

crucial in Thursday’s win, the Hawks nearly didn’t get the chance to shine at the plate.

After the Pirates scored six runs in the bottom of the first, four with starter Oscar Flores on the mound, they tacked on another in the fourth and two in the fifth to move with a run of ending the game.

With the 10th run at second base, Mathis batters flied out to center and popped out to first to keep Zapata alive.

Alvarez cited several other defensive plays, including a crucial double play in the first, as keys to his team’s success.

Junior pitcher Louie Gonzalez was also a vital factor, as he tossed 6 2/3 innings in relief, striking out seven, including the first two batters in the bottom of the seventh.

One popout to second base later, the Hawks had done what was seemingly impossible just innings earlier and are now just one win away from an area playoff berth.

“We were mentally prepared to face adversity,” Alvarez said.

“We’ve been preaching to them to keep their head on their shoulders and their feet on the ground.

We got past that, now hopefully we can go back to relaxing, having fun and just playing baseball.”

What’s ahead What would be most fun for Zapata is a matchup with the Pearsall Mavericks, who earned a bye for the bi-district round and await the winner of the Hawks’ series in the area round.

To get there, Zapata needs to keep playing the way it did to close out Thursday’s win.

“Obviously, we have to hit,” Alvarez said. “If we can continue to put the ball in play, we can put the pressure on them, make them make the plays.”

While on the field, the Hawks just need to stay solid defensively after making only one error on

Thursday.

The defense will be backing up Gutierrez, the team’s win leader on the mound during the regular season, in Game 2 today.

“Jerry’s been playing well for us,” Alvarez said. “He’s been one of our top guys, probably our No. 1. Hopefully he continues what he’s been doing.”

If the series is taken to a third game, Alvarez will have to make a choice as far as who to put on the mound after scheduled starter Gonzalez threw plenty of pitches on Thursday.

“We have some options,” Alvarez said. “I can go with Oscar again, or bring in one of the other three or four kids we have who can pitch, or bring in one of the JV kids. They know the defense will help them. They just have to throw strikes.”

If Zapata advances to face Pearsall, which it defeated in the area round last season, the teams will play a best-of-three series in either Alice, Kingsville or Laredo, expected to begin next Thursday.

GARCIA Continued from Page 1B was just a matter of performing on the track.”

Villarreal was also cautious of Garcia heading out to fast in the opening lap and dying out in the final lap.

“In any race, one or two athletes go out too fast, and sometimes the top athletes go with them,” Villarreal said. “Marlena did a great job of staying within her race.”

Garcia kept her composure and stayed in the middle of the pack as they raced around the track.

As the second lap came around, Garcia positioned herself in a great place to succeed as she continued to move her way up to the front of the pack

with the top five leaders.

In the third lap, Garcia and three other athletes separated themselves form the rest of the field.

“The important part was that Marlena went with the pack. I was seeing déjà vuall over again,” Villarreal said. “In the 3,200-meter run she did not go with the pack and started her kick too late.”

Big finish When the bell sounded for the final lap, Villareal kicked his coaching into high gear to .

Garcia worked her way into second place and was five yards

behind Maira Salinas from Luling for first, with athletes from Gonzales and Ingram Tom Moore trailing her.

With 300 meters to go, Garcia was passed by the Gonzales and Ingram athletes to fall back into fourth place.

Garcia was not going down with a fight and started her kick at the 200-meter mark to see who would get to extend their season and who got to stay home.

“It is hard to explain when I saw her coming down the straightaway,” Villarreal said.

“All I kept thinking was to last year when she was in third and was caught from behind.”

Garcia outlasted her competi-

tion and crossed the finish line in second place with a time of 5:27.55 and punch her ticket to the state meet.

“When she crossed the finish line I kept looking around to see who I could find to celebrate with,” Villarreal said. “The closest person to from Zapata was Mr. Jaramillo, so I gave him a high five. I finally found the basketball coach and gave him a big old slap on the back and kept screaming, ‘We are going to state!’”

State chances Garcia is among the top eight athletes in 3A in the state of

Texas and is currently ranked No. 5 in the 1,600.

“She is in the middle of the pack, and a state medal is not out of the question,” Villarreal said. “We are looking for her to run three seconds faster.”

One advantage that Garcia has over her competitors is the Zapata heat that she trains in every day, and Villarreal is hoping that will play a factor at the state meet.

“Our advantage is the heat,” Villarreal said. “Every day in Zapata is hot, and in other parts of Texas they are just experiencing hot days. We’ve been having hot days all track season, so she is suited better for that weather.”

PLAYERS Continued from Page 1B gave him double bogey for a 1-under 71. Mickelson flirted with the cut line late in the day until making a tough chip look easy for birdie on the 16th. He shot a 71.

They were at 3-under 141, nine shots behind.

That might be too far back on a course where there already have been 73 rounds in the 60s, the most after two days since 1993.

But with more heat and more wind, the final two days could be as unpredictable as ever.

It’s going to be really hard for major champions like Angel Cabrera, Stewart Cink, Vijay Singh and defending champion Henrik Stenson to make any move

at all. They were among 15 players poised to make the cut on the number at 1-under 143 until John Merrick make a birdie putt just outside 12 feet on the final hole to knock them out.

That tied the tournament record for the lowest cut at 142.

Westwood might be at the top of the list among those to have never won a major, with his 30 career victories and having not finished worse than third in the last two majors, including a runner-up to Mickelson at the Masters.

Slocum had perhaps the most impressive round of the day with a 66 in the afternoon.

Woods has never missed consecutive cuts — he’s missed only six for his career — and it wasn’t until a solid back nine that he was secure for the weekend. He hit a drive into the trees on the 11th hole and made bogey, then hit his 3-wood so far right on the 14th that it landed in the middle of a pond on the 12th.

But for every mistake came enough birdies to keep him around par, and keep him at Sawgrass for two more days.

“I wasn’t quite as sharp today as I was yesterday,” Woods said. “Got to keep plodding along on this golf course. Anything can happen.”

Lee Westwood chips to the 18th green during the second round of The Players Championship on Friday in Ponte Vedra Beach, Fla.

Photo by Rob Carr | AP

SATURDAY, MAY 8, 2010

THE ZAPATA TIMES | 3B

HINTS BY HELOISE Dear Heloise: I read your column in The (Prescott, Ariz.) Daily Courier. I have some great hints that will help when DRYING CLOTHES: * To prevent the cuffs on the bottom of trousers from getting crimped up, I hold them in place by putting two large paper clips on them. I put two in the front and two in the back. * I stretch seams gently before placing the garments in the dryer, and this helps reduce puckering. * I shake items and untwist them before placing in the dryer. This not only reduces wrinkling, but it allows the items to dry a bit faster, and this saves energy.

-- Kathryn Mitchell, Prescott, Ariz.

Good hints, indeed, especially shaking and untwisting the wet items before putting them in the dryer. Here are a few favorites from Heloise Central: * Toss pajamas in the dryer for a minute or two, and they’ll get toasty-warm. * Mark items that need special attention with a safety pin, to know which should be dried at a lower

“

HELOISE

temperature or not at all.

-- Heloise CROSSWORD PUZZLE Dear Heloise: I save my daily newspaper crossword puzzles and take a few with me when I know I’ll have a wait in a medical office or transportation station. Great for auto trips and motels, too. -- Jean in New Jersey GIFT PERFECT Dear Heloise: When traveling to my daughter’s home at Christmas, I found that the gifts that were wrapped at home arrived somewhat crushed no matter how they were packed in the car.

This past year, I placed the gifts, by recipient, in a large vacuum storage bag. I placed the gift bags and tissue paper in a large shopping bag. Once at our destination, it was simple to assemble the gifts, and nothing was wrinkled or crushed. I wish I had discovered this trick years ago. -Ann Looney, Allentown, N.J.

DAILY CRYPTOQUOTES — Here’s how to work it:

HOMES FOR SALE 61 519 Palencia Ave 3bd/2ba $85,000 obo Call 956-727-9436 or 209-6277 Alexander- 3608 Josefina 4bd/3ba/2cg, Pool,3,000sqft LA,REDUCED $298,500 Call 774-9702; 771-3831 Alexander- 3608 Josefina 4bd/3ba/2cg, Pool,3,000sqft LA,REDUCED $298,500 Call 774-9702; 771-3831 Del Mar C,4bd/6ba,5600 Sq.Ft., $650,000 For more info. call: 235-7272

Los Presidentes New House 2202 Nautla 3bd,3 bath,located in big corner lot, $130,000 Call:753-6300 San Isidro- Tiara Trail 704 lapiz Ln., 3bd/2ba/2cg, block fence, tile, aluminated attic, $155,000 Neg. Call 956-229-7123

CONDOS FOR SALE 64 Regency Oaks Townhomes for sale,4246 Dorrel 2 & 3 bedroom,starting $87,900.

Near Target on Loop 20 . Call 956-237-2377

MOBILE HOMES FOR SALE 67

BUSINESS OPPORTUNITY 82

For Sale Mobile Home 99’3/2, a/c, $14,500 cash Call 956-333-8355

Restaurant for sale with all equipt. $20,000 OBO Call 337-6701

Mobile Home and lot for sale. 3bd/2ba, single wide, $6000 down & take over payments. Call 206-8596 or 949-2953

RENTALS

LOTS FOR SALE

Lot in Encinal Tx w/water and sewer 10,000 call mike 956-693-8803 North Laredo, Lauren Ln., Tiara sbdvn,approx 7,050sqft., near schools, shopping center,near hospitals, great location. $55,000 OBO Call:337-7738

Champion Bloodline Doberman Puppy, male $400 OBO. Call J.J. (956)334-6708

OFFICE SPACES FOR RENT 118 Office for Rent (services included) 220 W. Hillside #9. Call 724-5656

HELP WANTED

WINFIELD Residential lot

4001 Cullaton (23,125 sqft.)

$129,000.

Call: 206-4508 ACREAGE FOR SALE 76 1 acre in Pueblo Nuevo HWY359, 5min. from Laredo. $30,000 nego.

724-7561

FARMS & RANCHES 77

PETS & SUPPLIES

PETS & SUPPLIES 128

70

HELP WANTED

122

Dental Office Excellent opportunity for an energetic multitasker with strong people skills to join our progressive,fast paced practice.

Must be self-motivated team player who can take the initiative to accomplish goals. We are looking for a •Chairside Assistant, •Hygieniest & •Administrative Assistant.

Excellent benefits.7002 McPherson St. #104 or fax resume to 717-4106

DENNIS THE MENACE

FAMILY CIRCUS

Chihuahua apple head puppies, all shots/ dewormed $150 call:319-2469 Chihuahua puppies,short & long hair, 6wks,dewormed & 1st shots, pure breed $200 & up Call 775-2536 Guacamaya,habla,chifla con todo y jaula. $1250 OBO call: 740-6400 K9 Belgian Malinois Pups, 3mths., $300ea. Call 436-7283 Pomeranian puppies, Parents on site, 8wks, dewormed, Sable & cream color $350ea. Call 489-8244

Pug 1yr.old male, fawn silver color, $200 Call; 286-8401 Pure Breed Boxer Puppies,5wks, Parents on Site. $150ea. Call 645-5401 Pure Yellow Lab,parent on site,5f dewormd 1st shots, 6wks old, $200-$250ea. Call 333-1720

LIVESTOCK & SUP PLIES 130 CABRITOS,Live/Vivos $50 ea.

Please Call 956/948-5218 Longhorn Cattle for Sale. $300 & up Call 956-285-2222 Longhorn Cattle for Sale. $300 & up Call 956-285-2222 Round bells for sale $80.00 Call: 401-3070

MISCELLANEOUS

GARAGE SALES

134

Fri,May 14 & Sat,May 15!

8a-5p,2308 County Rd.Good Stuff,free clothes line if you dig up the poles!

ARTICLES FOR SALE 136 *NEW RCA HomeTheater Surround Sound System,tuner,1000 watts.

Lemark Printer model X5650;19”TV VHS/DVD. $150 401-7410

VENDO CONDOMINIOS EN NUEVO LAREDO, 2/1.5, $47,000/$5,000 ENGANCHE Y $600 P/M. INFORMES: 237-2377

2.10 acres,electricity on site, 15mi.out on HWY59,Las Pilas,$36,000 Call 956-319-5010; 645-7000 Possible Owner Finance

MOBILE HOMES FOR SALE 67

COMMERCIAL INVESTMENT 79

25”in. TV, Playhouse, 2 3/8 Pipe 31’ft. Starting at $80 & up Call 508-0304

For Sale 1980 14x42 2bd,mobile home W/Lot 46x110,4509 La Cienega 32,000 OBO Call 251-6038

HWY 83 LOPENO STORE,FUEL & APARTMENTS. OWNER FIN.$140K RE/MAX GOLD TEAM 361-592-4011

52”HDTV Big Screen,great condition! $300 OBO Call 229-9932

Rottweiler for sale, 5.5yrs. old, $100 Call 725-5472

20 Pantalones de mujer Tallas: 0, 9, y 10 $100 725-5472

ARTICLES FOR SALE 136

ARTICLES FOR SALE 136

6ft Display Case for business. Exc. Cond. $250 OBO Call 220-4310

Mattress Queen size w/base.$90 Call:401-8223; 235-9572; 791-1286

Aluminum Windows, Insulated, 3’x6’, $75ea.

(5 avail.) 237-4322; 645-4797

Maytag Washer, working cond. $80 Call 722-8771

Antique Oak China Cabinet with glass doors, 2 pieces, $200 OBO 724-7316 Antique Oak Dinning Table with extension & 4 wooden chairs $180 OBO 724-7316

New 26”,12 speed mens mountain bike $95 724-7316

BAR-BQ GRILLS Kingford & Uniflame in box. $20 & up 401-7410 BilliardTables,parts,service $25 & up 744-1575, bimbo1951@yahoo.com Black 3 compartment Gum/Candy machine. Good cond., $60 Call 693-9144 Black GE Refrigerator,exc.cond., $250 OBO Call 693-9144 Blusas y faldas talla 14-16,saco c/ manga corta.NUEVOS Y SEMI-NUEVOS $100 725-5472 Commercial- 13 tables, 44 chairs, & 8 bar stools for sale $1600 OBO Call 857-5640 Country Club Membership $2000.Buyer pays transfer fees. Info Call 285-0270 Entertainment center for a 36” TV,lighted shelves, Pine wood, $150 OBO Call 319-4646 Fullmattress w/ headboard & base. $225 call:401-8223; 235-9572 Kenmore refrigerator capacity, $295 Call 722-5400; 724-8801 after 5pm

Mistubishi 52” tv screen , $200 OBO Call: 229-7803

Nordic Track E5VI Elliptical Exercise Machine.NEW!! Never used. $450 Call 319-7087 Print Sofa,Good condition $75 Call 724-2988 Queen bedroom set 5pc., w/mattress, $550 Inf: 401-8223; 235-9572; SCR (GNB) CHARGER 100 (NEW) FOR ELECTRIC FORKLIFT’S $1000 OBO CALL: 285-1682 Trailer BBQ Pit 6’x30” doble door w i t h disc for Tripas $1600 Call 337-1794 Vitrina,made out of Red Cedar wood, beige color, $250 OBO Call: 286-8401 Waterford Lismore crystal, stemware, glasses and assorted pieces, $5,000 OBO. Call 723-7955

SPORTING GOODS 142 Semi auto Russian SKS 762X39, 30Rd mag., $600 Call 401-6001

TRANSPORTATION

HEAVY EQUIPMENT 192 53 ft. Dry Van trailers for sale. $3,500 (956)237-6284.

145*2*55224 DOT ready.

We Also Rent!

2005 Freightliner,Classic XL, blue, excellent cond., $30,000 Call 722-8570

Flat Trailer, 18ft., holds up to 12,000lbs. $2600 Call 763-8748

MOTORCYCLES

196

Harley Davidson Dyna Superglide ‘08,468 miles, $12,000 Call 324-3188; 645-1987

Harley Davidson Superglide ‘03, 3,800 Original miles,$9500 Call 337-8358 Kawasaki Ninja 1000 ‘06, blue title, 1000 miles, $4900 Call 237-7272

TRUCKS FOR SALE 198 2000 Grand Marquis,66K miles, $4,800 Call: 727-2495 2004 Ford Astrovan, blue title, A/C, interior paint in good cond., $3,550 OBO Call: 284-5257; 635-6583 2008 GMC Canyno SL 4cyl, reg cab., excellent cond., 14,500 mil., $11,000 dll Call 956-251-5608

‘96 Ford F-150, good cond., A/C, $2500 OBO Call: 645-0757 ‘99 Chev.SUV 102,500 miles,as is $4950 Call: 285-6953

TRUCKS FOR SALE 198 Chev. Suburban LT ‘03, black, 1 owner, 63Kmil., $11,900 Call (956)206-8088 Ford E-250 ‘99 Wheel chair lift Van, 6cyl., $5500 OBO Call 286-1323 Ford Ranger Edge ‘03,white,a/c, good cond.,$4850 OBO Call after 3pm 726-4159 Ford Ranger Edge ‘03,white,a/c, good cond.,$4850 OBO Call after 3pm 726-4159

CARS FOR SALE

200

2003 Grand Marquis,blue title, 78K miles, $5000 OBO Call: 337-6550; 135*831*14211

2004 Gallant, 51K miles, 4dr., $3,900 OBO Call:771-2937 2005Toyota Corolla 84K miles,4 dr., A/C,4 cyl.,great cond.,Auto, $9000 OBO Call: 956-220-3356 2007 Honda Civic SI,6,500 miles, $17,500 OBO call: 236-6333 Ford Crown Victoria ‘05, Police Interceptor, 90Kmil. $4000 Call 436-7283

Ford Thunderbird ‘94, 20” wheels, $3000 OBO Call 285-9740 Mercury Gran Marquis ‘97. See it at 1901 Garfield $2900 Negotiable 744-7898 Mercury Sable 2001, 6cyl., auto, gold, power windows, good cond., $1,800 OBO Call: 229-7803 Oldsmobile 01’ Alero, Red, good cond., A/c, $2,700 OBO, call 763-8023 Toyota Celica ‘01,new paint, excellent running condition,sunroof, $4900 Call 763-7853

Sports

4B THE ZAPATA TIMES

SATURDAY, MAY 8, 2010

McGwire staying out of spotlight in return

By R.B. FALLSTROM ASSOCIATED PRESS

Photo by Steve Campbell | AP

In this May 1 file photo, Houston Dynamo’s forward Luis Angel Landin, left, works the ball against Kansas City Wizards defender Matt Besler during the first half of a MLS soccer match in Houston. Landin is one of six so-called designated players in Major League Soccer.

MLS pushing for top foreign players

By CHRIS DUNCAN ASSOCIATED PRESS

HOUSTON — Luis Angel Landin charged down the left side, controlled a pass from Dominic Oduro and chipped the ball past Kansas City goalkeeper Jimmy Nielsen for an easy goal.

The 24-year-old forward from Mexico also had an assist in the Houston Dynamo’s recent 3-0 win over the Wizards, the kind of performance that the team was banking on when it signed Landin as its first designated player last August.

Landin is one of six socalled DPs in Major League Soccer, stars signed to big deals that exceed the salary cap under a league exemption. The MLS first allowed designated players for the 2007 season, one per team, and it’s been dubbed the Beckham Rule because English midfielder David Beckham was the first player signed under the provision.

The league expanded the rule this year, so teams can now sign two designated players and pay a $250,000 fee for a third.

Risky option This presents teams with a tantalizing but risky option, the green light to throw big money at a few world-class stars, perhaps sacrificing overall team performance for the potential windfall in ticket sales and merchandising.

“What we want to do is make sure our teams have flexibility to build their rosters in a way they think is best,” MLS executive vice president Todd Durbin said. “It’s about putting a great player on the field to help the product, that’s what the rule is designed to do. It gives us the ability to bring in high-profile play-

ers, star players and players of great ability.”

So far, the DPs have provided mixed results, a track record that is making some teams think twice about using the rule to make bank-breaking offers for overseas talent.

“It would be the equivalent of an NFL team messing up a No. 1 draft pick,” Dynamo chief operating officer Chris Canetti said.

“You’ve got to get it right.

If you don’t, you could feel the ill effects of that for years.”

Transition game Landin acknowledged that his transition has been difficult. He says international players underestimate the level of play in the MLS. “They think it’s an easy league,” Landin said through an interpreter, “but the players who play in it know it’s a hard league.”

The salary budget for each team is set at $2.55 million, and each designated player counts for $335,000 against the budget, regardless of how much the team decides to pay the player overall. If a team signs a player at midseason, then he only counts $167,500 against the cap.

Lagerwey and other executives acknowledge the potential of a franchise hitting the jackpot, corralling three top-notch players who mesh perfectly and create a juggernaut.

That scenario worries smaller-market teams, who think the rule change may eventually lead to competitive imbalance. And being a “have not” could mean financial trouble.

“It’s a rule change that clearly favors big-market teams,” Lagerwey said.

“It’s certainly encouraging those big clubs and profitable clubs to spend more

money and give more avenues to effectively do that.

It’s a real advantage.”

Winning without Then again, Real Salt Lake won last year’s MLS Cup with no DPs, beating Beckham and the high-profile Los Angeles Galaxy in the final. In fact, no team with a DP on its roster has ever won the MLS Cup. Also before the 2007 season, MLS began requiring each franchise to start youth academies, and some think that’s the way to go — building with minor league prospects instead of big-name free agents.

“You’re putting a lot of money toward only three players, so what is that going to do to your team?

You’ve got to weigh all that in,” Fire technical director Frank Klopas said. “I’d rather invest in our academy because we have a lot of talented, young players here and we want to be able to find ways to bring them into the highest possible level as soon as possible, so we can create our own DPs in our system.”

The league only began play in 1996, and it’s only now gaining credibility in the soccer world.

MLS franchises, at least for now, can’t compete with European clubs that can offer mega-contracts to top players; Forbes Magazine ranks Beckham as the world’s richest soccer star, but only a small percentage of his wealth comes from his five-year, $32.5 million contract with the Galaxy, the largest of any MLS player.

Portuguese midfielder Cristiano Ronaldo was second to Beckham on the Forbes list, but became the highest paid soccer player in the world in June when Real Madrid bought him from Manchester United for $130 million.

ST. LOUIS — In the dugout hubbub after David Freese’s third home run in four games, the rookie saved a special celebratory forearm shiver for the St. Louis Cardinals’ new hitting coach.

For Mark McGwire, moments like that have made his closely watched return to baseball all worthwhile.

“To be quite honest I didn’t know what to expect because I’ve never really been in this situation,” McGwire said in an interview. “It’s been very, very enjoyable.”

It’s tough to call the public image rehabilitation of McGwire anything but a success. Earlier this week, the Cardinals traveled to their fifth National League city and, for the fifth time, there was no discernible public backlash for what was viewed during the winter as a controversial hire. No jeering fans, no “Cheaters Go Home!” banners, nothing.

At least, nothing negative.

“Yeah, I’d hire him,” Phillies manager Charlie Manuel said. “Because of things I’ve seen him do, and I know how much he likes the game and how much he’d put into it, too.”

Comfortable role It’s this type of feedback that’s allowed McGwire to settle into a comfortable, behind-the-scenes role with his old team.

“So far, so good,” McGwire said. “I think people have really moved on from the subject. People are tired of hearing about it.”

The subject, of course, is steroids. Last winter, McGwire ended years of denials and a self-imposed exile by admitting that he had used steroids and human growth hormone on and off for a decade, starting before the 1990 season and including the year he broke Roger Maris’ singleseason home run record in 1998.

The confession came in January, about three months after he was hired by the Cardinals and a month before the start of spring training.

The statements and interviews — and the comfort zone he’s in now as a Cardinals coach — were all part of a carefully crafted plan.

Staying honest Before he came clean, McGwire hired former White House press secretary Ari Fleischer in an attempt to raise his chances of getting a positive response. Fleischer said that his major point of emphasis to the former home run king was simply that

Photo by Matt Slocum | AP

In this May 4 file photo, St. Louis Cardinals batting coach Mark McGwire blows a bubble as the Cardinals warm up before a game against the Philadelphia Phillies in Philadelphia. he be himself.

He scoffed at the notion that Big Mac’s tearful confessions had been orchestrated, the delivery scripted.

“I just helped get him ready with what he wanted to say,” Fleischer said.

“It was Mark. Mark is emotional, Mark is heartfelt. If you’re not real, if you’re not sincere, people will see right through it.”

Fleischer said he remains in occasional contact with McGwire and looks forward to a get-together in New York when the Cardinals play the Mets in July.

Hall questions It’s highly unlikely McGwire’s mea culpas won enough converts among Hall of Fame voters to get him in. The public at large, though, appears to have accepted the apology.

“I think there’s a powerful lesson in our forgiving country,” Fleischer said. “If you acknowledge you did something wrong, if you ask for forgiveness and you’re sincere and people see it, you can earn your way back.

“That’s what Mark did.”

Fleischer, in fact, believes McGwire deserves credit for being the first prominent baseball player to voluntarily step forward. Even if it was a step McGwire felt he had to take.

“Others did it because they were outed or because their tests came back, and still others have fought or are fighting,” Fleischer said. “Mark could have stayed happily and comfortably retired in Southern California. It takes a big man to do what he did, and I think he and baseball are much better for it.”

Unwarranted fears The Cardinals’ fears that McGwire might become a spring training sideshow were never realized. After a few days of scrutiny at the start of camp, he’s been free to do his job in peace.

Much of a typical work day at home in St. Louis takes place in indoor batting cages that were offlimits to media long before he was hired, or just out of the spotlight while observing Albert Pujols and Matt Holliday hone their batting eye. Unlike pitching coach Dave Duncan, you’ll never see Big Mac step on the field during a game to remind Colby Rasmus what he’s liable to see on a 2-1 count.

“It’s a nonevent with regard to what was being written all winter,” general manager John Mozeliak said. “He’s working very well with our players, learning his role and fitting in quite nicely.”

Manager Tony La Russa said it doesn’t hurt that McGwire takes plenty of time to sign autographs.

“I don’t want to challenge the Philadelphia fans, but the reaction has been great,” La Russa said. “I’m sure he’ll get some hoots here or there or other places. Maybe here. But it’s not like he’s out there playing.”

Staying hidden During the game, McGwire will typically sit in the dugout while the Cardinals are hitting, then retreat to the clubhouse to watch replays of the atbats on video.

“I didn’t think it would be so tough to see pitches from the dugout but it is, it’s really tough,” McGwire said. “We can think, ‘Well, that’s a really good pitch,’ and it’s way off.”

La Russa spends much of his time before the first pitch visiting with reporters and guests. McGwire’s job, he said, is the toughest on his staff because it chews up so much time.

“Manager included,” La Russa said. “He’s working it in an impressive way.”

Much like predecessor Hal McRae, McGwire has thus far been unable to solve the puzzling offensive inconsistency that plagued the team last year, especially during a threegame first-round playoff sweep by the Dodgers last fall.